I'll Be Seeing You

  Just as I suspected, he says, "I can't be positive, but I have a strong feeling it was Emma." After we settle back in bed, he takes me into his arms, bringing the blanket up over us. Snuggling close to me, he reassures me, "Don't worry, she won't be back tonight. I just can't, for the life of me, figure out what it is she wants." I lie and think about it for a short while until I can't stay awake any longer and drift off to sleep.

  My sensitivity to smell has me waking to the aroma of coffee. Slipping into my bathrobe, I tie it making my way downstairs. It doesn’t take long before Matthew follows behind me.

  "Well, there she is," Lillian says happily. "Come over here, Joy. I've made breakfast. Do you like waffles? Matthew loves them, so I had to please my boy this morning. Besides, the men are cooking us brunch tomorrow before we go to the spa. We can't spend the day getting beautiful for the ball on an empty stomach, especially when they serve us mimosas."

  I take a seat at the breakfast bar and enjoy the coffee Matthew sets in front of me before kissing the top of my head.

  ~.~

  "Dad, I still don’t know what you did with my mom," Matthew says.

  "I assure you, son, this is your mother. She just realizes that she needs to slow down, and stop missing out on both yours and Maddie's lives any longer. Now that both of you have fallen in love, she doesn't want to miss any more family gatherings. Thanksgiving was special because we took a second honeymoon to Paris," Dad explains as he walks up to Mom, giving her an affectionate hug.

  "I didn't know that was a honeymoon trip, Mom." I look at her, and she nods her head as Dad slips behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist.

  "Joy, dear, I was thinking that you and I could go for a little drive today, maybe stop at Pike Place for lunch or something?" Lillian suggests.

  "That sounds good. How about we do lunch first then go for the drive? I was going to have Matthew drop me off at my place this morning, so I can get a few hours of work in."

  Joy has been away from home and likely needs some downtime and a few hours won't hurt.

  "Sure, I'll drop you off, and Mom can pick you up for lunch."

  "I can get in about four hours of work and check in with Mr. White and I'm sure I have bills that need to be paid. My mailbox is probably running over, too." Joy says, running down her mental list.

  "Do I have time to shower, Matthew?" she asks, shoving the last of her waffle in her mouth, moving to take her plate to the sink.

  "Sure. I don't have to be at the office for another hour."

  "I'll be ready in thirty minutes. I'll just leave my clothes and stuff here. Oh, wait, what about Conrad? I need him."

  "We'll take the SUV. You go out with Mom today, and I'll swing by the apartment to pick him up and bring him home with me."

  "You're the best." Joy kisses me before she turns to go upstairs. Her lips have the flavor of maple syrup, and if my parents weren't in the room, I'd lick the very last bit of flavor off them. I look at my mother and smirk at her grinning at us.

  I watch Joy masterfully climb the stairs, and again I'm amazed at how well-adjusted she is in her blindness. I can't wait for the day she runs up those stairs while I chase her to our bed where she jumps, landing in the middle of it. I want to see her face at the wonderment of the world around her. I want to see her look into my eyes while I make love to her, telling her how much I love her. I want to see the love in her eyes when she tells me she loves me.

  "What's the matter, son?" my dad asks, bringing me out of my reverie.

  I glance at both my parents, then up the stairs to check if Joy closed the bedroom door before I talk to them. I look between my mom and dad before I speak.

  "I’m undeniably certain that I can repair Joy's eyesight. There's one small minor problem — she doesn't want any more surgeries. She has emphatically stated that after this one, there will be no more. I know she will see if she would allow me to perform my procedure, but she won't."

  "Oh, Matthew, that's wonderful, darling," my mother coos. "What are you going to do?"

  "I have a plan. I'm taking her away for New Year's, and I'm going to tell her then. I plan to educate her on the procedure, if I can get past her initial denial. I'm expecting an argument and even expect her to want to leave me. That's how against another surgery she is." I look into her eyes and see sadness and apprehension. "But she'll see, Mom. I'll be able to look into those beautiful golden eyes of hers, and they will be responsive."

  "Well, if there’s anything I can do to help, you let me know, all right?" I nod and sigh at the long road I have ahead of me. I don't want to fight with Joy. I just want her to know that she can trust me when I tell her that she will see again, and that she has nothing to fear.

  Hearing a door open to one of the upstairs bedrooms, I look up and see her coming down, but what my father says next surprises me. He wants to come down to the clinic and make rounds with me today. Although it was a strange request, I would enjoy having him there.

  "Would you like to ride to the office with me, or do you want to drive yourself? Since Mom and Joy are taking your rental, you can use the Jag if you want," I say, not believing what has just come out of my mouth.

  "A Jaguar? Sure!” If he wasn't a grown man, and my father, I would say he was about to wet his pants. His reaction reminds me more of a teenager than the man he is. Smirking at him, I wonder if I should rethink the idea, but by the look on his face, I think he will enjoy driving it, so I toss him the keys.

  "Wow," my dad says, his eyes wide with excitement. I watch him as he holds the keys up and looks at the Jaguar on the key ring. It's not even a key actually. It looks more like a small metric screwdriver.

  "You ready?" I ask, bending down, kissing the top of Joy’s head inhaling her sexy scent. "Mm, you smell good."

  "Thanks. Maddie brought me some shampoo the other day." She runs her fingers through her wet hair, bringing it to her nose. Examining the bandage covering her eye, I decide to change it before we leave.

  "Hey, let’s change the shield dressing before we go. It's been a few days, all right?"

  "Okay, but can I leave it off for a few hours? It sure would feel good getting some air to it, and that can't hurt, right? I'll wear sunglasses to cover it," she promises.

  Standing there, I stare at her thinking about the consequences of leaving the patch off her eye for a few hours.

  "Let me see how the eye looks first. If it looks free of infection and seepage, then sure, a few hours can't hurt. We can have Mom put it back on for you when she picks you up. Is that all right?" I’m talking into a very happy face right now. She nods in understanding while I clean her eye.

  "Mom, when you pick her up, you need to put this clean shield over her eye, all right? But first, put three drops of this into it, and then tape this gauze over her eye and then the shield."

  "Yes, son, I do believe I know how to do this," she says smugly.

  "I don't know, mom. I mean, you only know how to open a small chest and make the heart beat again. Do you think you can handle bandaging an eye?" I tease. I wouldn't know the first thing about the workings of the human heart, but give me a brain or an eye to operate on … absolutely.

  "Okay, go get your son, baby," I say to Joy before placing a kiss on her sick eye. "Dad, I'll see you in a little while. Krista will know where I am if I’m not in my office when you arrive." I say, guiding Joy and Conrad to the garage.

  On the drive to her apartment, I take hold of her hand, rubbing my thumb over the back of it. Raising her hand to my lips, I kiss her knuckles and run my tongue along them.

  "What's going on, Matthew?" she asks, looking in my direction with a quizzical brow.

  "Oh, not much. I was reminiscing about making love to you last night. How wonderful you make me feel." I squeeze her hand tightly to emphasize my feeling. "I love you very much, you know that, right?"

  "Yes, and I love you as well. You make me very happy."

  I kiss her hand again and pull the car up to the curb in front
of her apartment building. "We're here, baby. Stay there … I’ll get the door for you." After assisting her out of the car, I open Conrad's kennel. When he jumps out, he joyfully runs in circles, pushing his nose into Joy's hand. She instinctively bends down to hug him.

  "Hey, there, Conrad. How's my big boy?" I watch as she nuzzles his neck, and he actually puts his paws over her shoulders and nuzzles his head into her neck, hugging her.

  After Joy stops at her mailbox to pick up her mail, I escort her and Conrad upstairs. "Don't overdo it today, all right? Just a few hours and please try not to walk too much."

  "I won't. If I feel myself getting tired, I'll tell your mom to bring me home, okay?"

  "To my house, right?" I ask, needing reassurance.

  "Yes, Matthew, to your house," she says with a giggle. Lifting onto her tiptoes, she kisses me, slipping her arms around my back and onto my shoulders.

  "You are a mighty fine kisser there, Miss Johnson," I say into her mouth giving her a few more lust-filled kisses before I leave her.

  "I need to go before you make me even more late," I say, giving her a peck on her nose. "Call me if you need anything."

  "I will. Now go, will you?" She turns me around and forces me toward the door.

  It’s only a short drive to the clinic and after I pull into my parking space, I reach in the backseat for the medical bag that my mother gave me as a graduation gift.

  Hearing the chirp the key fob makes when locking the doors, I pull my phone out of my pocket to check for texts or missed calls. Happy there aren't any, I slip it back into the breast pocket inside my suit coat. As soon as I look up, my heart stops and my blood runs cold.

  "Well, you’re looking mighty handsome this morning," she coos as she pushes herself off her car, sauntering toward me. "I forgot how sexy you look in a suit."

  Physically, she hasn't changed. Her five-inch black heels click on the concrete with each slow, meticulous step. She's allowing me the time to watch her.

  “What are you doing here, Emma?"

  "Oh, baby, you know exactly what I'm doing here. You've heard my voicemails. You know I want you back and in my bed again. I miss how you feel buried inside me," she says in a breathy voice. When she runs the palms of her hands up my chest to grasp my lapels, I jerk them off me.

  "It's not going to happen, Emma. Ever. Why do you persist with this behavior?" I move to make my way to the elevator, but she manages to clamp her hand around my arm.

  "Matthew,” she begins seductively, “it will happen. You will be mine again, or I will take you down along with your pet project. Why don't you come back to my hotel with me? I need you to fuck me in the worst way, baby. We were good together once; we can be that again," she purrs, running her hand up and down my arm. I jerk it free and step back from her.

  "You haven't changed one single bit, have you? You’re still the manipulative whore you’ve always been. You think that you can flaunt your body for everyone, and they will drop everything for you. For the first time in my life, I have someone who loves me and plays no games. Just go away, Emma, and leave me alone." I turn from her and come to a stop when she speaks.

  "Does Joy know about your plan to do your magic on her yet?"

  My blood turns to ice. I turn to her and quickly close the few short feet between us.

  "You … do not say her name," I snarl, my face a mere inch from hers.

  "Oh, darling, did I just strike a nerve?" she asks, sticking out her bottom lip in a pout.

  Backing away, I relax my stance and laugh at her. "What is it you really want, Emma? It isn't me, certainly. What do you want?

  "Oh, all right, if you insist," she sighs, waving her hand in the air. Shifting her weight to one foot and sticking her hip out while looking at her ridiculously long fake nails, she finally says it. "I want in. I want to be part of your project. I want to be there when it gets the approval. I want to be at your side when it goes global."

  My blood curdles, and my eyes squint as I look at her. "How did you know about Joy?" I demand, and as soon as I ask the question, she bursts into vindictive laughter.

  "You think I'm stupid, don't you, Matthew?" she draws out slowly, closing the distance I put between us. "Have me share your bed and make me a partner, or you and your precious Joy are history."

  I go numb and my mouth falls open at her request.

  "Matthew?" I look over Emma's shoulder and there stands my father. Emma snaps around to look behind her and then back to me. She puckers her lips at me in a mock kiss and turns to walk toward my dad.

  "Why, if it isn't Leland Davis," she shouts across the garage, strolling toward him in the same manner she walked toward me. "Aren't you a sight for sore eyes?"

  In a seductive glance, she looks over her shoulder at me.

  Sashaying a circle around him, she regards my father from head to toe. "I wonder if Lillian would mind if I fucked you and your son together … at the same time." She throws her head back in one of the most sinister laughs I've ever heard. "She could watch if she wants to."

  "Get the fuck out, Emma. Now!" I yell at the top of my lungs.

  "See you around, Mattie," she says, waving her fingers as she walks away.

  "Matthew, what was she doing here? Are you —? I mean, you aren't —?”

  "NO! Fuck, Dad! How can you even ask that?" I shout, picking up my bag that I don't even remember dropping.

  "What was she doing here?" he asks again, his eyes huge from shock.

  We both turn toward the elevator, and I look over my shoulder to make sure I don't see her following. "She … she knows about Joy. She knows I want to do my procedure on her." Clearly shaken, I put my hand on the wall to help with my balance. To hear that vile human being even say Joy's name turns my stomach.

  "What did she say?" my father asks, pushing the elevator button.

  "She said she wants to be part of my project. She wants me to make her a partner. She threatened me." I have a sinking feeling and the gloom and doom sensation that comes with it.

  "Well, what the hell did she say, Matthew?"

  "Um … she asked me if Joy knows about my plan to operate yet." I try to recall everyone who knows. There's my family, of course, Laura and Brian, but they don't even know Emma. "God, dad, this is making me nauseous. I'm sick at the thought that she's not going away. She's been calling and stopping by my office. I think it was her at the house last night too. Now this." No, she's not going to go away easily, I think.

  After the elevator stops on the tenth floor, Krista is at her desk, as usual.

  "Good morning, Krista. You remember my father, Leland, don't you?" I ask, while thumbing through the abundant stack of messages already received this morning.

  "Yes, absolutely. How are you, Dr. Davis?" Krista stands out of respect and shakes his hand.

  "I'm very well, thank you. It's good to see you again." He returns her smile.

  "Krista, my father and I are going to make rounds together this morning. Would you get the interns together that are on the schedule?" I request before we enter my office.

  "Shut the door behind you, will you, Dad?"

  Taking off my jacket, I put on my lab coat and start where I left off. "She somehow knows about Joy. She knows about the procedure. She knows my plan to operate on Joy and she actually wants to be part of the team I will need to build around the success of it. She plans on blackmailing her way in, and she's threatened to take the project down if I don't." Running my hands through my hair, I drop into my desk chair. My dad takes a chair across from my desk.

  "Can she do that? Take the project down, I mean?" my father asks, sounding sincere.

  "She took down Johns Hopkins without even blinking an eye, ruining our relationship while doing it. She doesn't care who she walks on, or damages in the process. I don't think she'd have a problem or the lack of ethics doing it."

  "I just wonder where she learned about Joy." I speak my thoughts out loud. I look up at my dad and he's watching me.

  "Let's
not tell your mother about what she said in the garage, okay? She would go ballistic knowing another woman talked to me like that. Lillian may be on the reserved side, but in reality, she's fiercely possessive over what's hers."

  "So that's where I get it." I smirk at him, recalling my past protective and possessive behavior over Joy. I chuckle when he raises an eyebrow at me.

  "Let's not mention this to Joy either. If word is leaked to her about the procedure and her name in the same sentence, 'ballistic' won't begin to describe it." We both nod at each other in agreement and head out the door to make rounds.

  Once we’re in the elevator, my father springs some rather surprising news on me.

  "Matthew, I need to talk to you about something, and now is as good a time as any, I guess." I look at him as he rubs the back of his neck.

  "Your mother and I are selling our practices in Chicago and moving to Seattle."

  "What? Wait … What?" I push off the wall of the elevator and stare at him. "You guys are all right, aren't you? I mean, you aren't sick or anything?" If I was nauseous earlier, nothing can describe what I'm feeling now.

  "No … No. Nothing like that," he quickly replies, holding his hands up in surrender.

  "Are you sure, Dad? You aren't placating me or anything, are you?" I search his face for anything that tells me he's not being truthful.

  "We just decided that we want to be closer to our family. We're getting older and with you and Maddie here, we want to be here, too. Are you okay with that?"

  How can he even ask me that? I throw myself at him, wrapping him in a tight hug when the elevator doors open and naturally, in walk three of my interns, looking at us skeptically.

  "Gentlemen, let me introduce you to my father, Dr. Leland Davis. Father, this is Dr. Murphy, Dr. Justice and Dr. Wilson." All three shake my father's hand, and then he looks back at me.

  "I'm happy to hear the news, Dad," I say, throwing my arm around his shoulder.

  "Good, because I'm looking for a job." He laughs as the elevator door opens again and walks out into the hallway, leaving me frozen to the spot.