by Cee, DW
At this point I didn’t care if Emily still had feelings for her ex. I just wanted to comfort her and let her know I wasn’t upset with her.
“It’s OK, Emily. You don’t have to explain,” I answered pulling her into my chest.
“I promise I wasn’t trying…”
I cut her off. “Shh. Emily. It’s all right.”
She still couldn’t let it go. I saw the tears swell. She looked like a little girl caught with her hand in the cookie jar. Even this look was lovable.
“Nothing happened, I promise. I’m sorry.” Her voice was defeated.
“Emily. I wish I didn’t make you so anxious. It’s OK. I’m OK. You don’t need to apologize. Let’s go back to the table.” I did my best to reassure her but she didn’t look comforted. I couldn’t tell whether her sadness was caused by me or Max. I didn’t know which would be worse. I needed to let her know that there was a possibility I might have to leave. That’s the last thing I wanted to do, but it was my reality.
“What will happen if I have to leave you early tonight?” I feared her answer.
“Do you have to leave?” Her visible disappointment was a happy response this time.
“No, not yet. There’s a chance.”
We were about to sit down when the pager went off again. I kissed Emily on the forehead and walked out to make my call.
“Dr. Reid, I think you need to come back. Your patient needs you.”
“All right. I’ll be there soon.”
I made a quick call to Uncle Henry. “Chief?”
“Yes, Jake.”
“I’m being called back into the hospital right now even though I’m not on call. I need you to give me the rest of this weekend off.”
“I got it. I’ll make sure nobody looks for you this weekend. Now go see your patient. Obviously they really need you or else they wouldn’t have contacted you.”
“I’m holding you to it.” I trusted Uncle Henry would keep his word. Next I needed to call Uncle Dave.
“Uncle Dave? This is Jake.”
“Hey, Jake. What’s going on?”
“I have a favor to ask of you.” I prayed he could help.
“What do you need?”
“Can you get me a table for two at French Laundry, tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow? Do you think I’m a miracle worker?”
“Please, Uncle Dave. I’d like to take Emily tomorrow for lunch. Please!”
“I’ll try. I won’t know till tomorrow morning. I’ll be in touch.”
“Thank you.”
“When do we get to meet this girl, Jake? You’ve said a whole lot but haven’t shown us anyone.”
“Christmas. You’ll meet her then. Thanks again.”
So far, all has gone according to plan. I needed to go back to Emily with a plan. Using my phone I booked two seats on the 8:30 a.m. flight out of Burbank, then I called Jane.
“Jane, do me a favor.”
“Well, hello to you too, big brother.” I ignored her sarcasm.
“Are you still up North?”
“Yeah. What do you need?”
“I’m bringing Emily up tomorrow and I need you to get me seats at the Opera House. I believe they’re doing Carmen. I’ll give you my credit card number. Reserve the best seats you can. Also, can you go out and get her something to wear? If you’re busy, I can have concierge do all this for me.”
“No, I’d love to do it for you. Can I come too? I can’t wait to meet her.” Jane had always wanted a sister. Knowing how lonely Emily had been for a good part of her life, she and Jane would grow to love each other like sisters. They complemented each other well.
“That would be nice. Emily has been asking about you too. Make dinner reservations also. We’ll probably get to the apartment around three.”
“I’ve got plans all day tomorrow but will meet you and Emily for dinner. I’ll email you all the information. I can’t wait to meet her, Jake. By the way, what size dress and shoes do I get for her?”
“I’m not quite sure but you and Emily are about the same size. She’s a bit thinner and much prettier.”
“Great, thanks. You’re always so encouraging.”
I chuckled and got off the phone. Now it was time to face Emily. I walked in the ballroom hoping not to find her in Max’s arms again. The sight before me made me laugh. This time she was talking to Jennifer, Max’s girlfriend. What a night for Emily. I was only about to make it worse.
My sweetheart looked at me with hope and jitters. “Hi. Done with your call?”
I confirmed her fears as I let my sentence trail. “Yeah…”
“Oh, that doesn’t sound good.” She let out her cute whine.
“Well, I’ve got some good news and some bad news. Which do you want first?”
“The bad.” She was always the pessimist.
“I have to go back to the hospital,” I said as quickly as possible.
“No!” she protested. “Not again. I thought you had the whole night off. Jake, we hardly ever get to see each other. I think I’ve seen you once a week in the last couple of months.” Her protest was completely founded and I had stood her up too many times. I also didn’t want to leave her tonight of all nights, as she appeared so fragile, so unprotected—like a raw wound flinching at the sight of pain.
As an apology, I uttered, “I know, and I’m sorry. I thought we’d be together tonight but my patient came back with complications, and I might have to go back into surgery.”
She unhappily shrugged her shoulders and submitted to our reality. “Save another life tonight, Dr. Reid. I want to stop you but I can’t…I won’t.”
I loved this girl for always understanding my crazy work schedule. Tonight would not be the easiest night for her but she was letting me go without much fuss.
“But,” I told her, “the good news! Chief gave me the whole weekend off so I’m taking you on a surprise trip. We’re going somewhere far where no one can call me back to the hospital. Can you be ready by 7:00 a.m.? I’ll pick you up at your house.”
“Sure…” She still sounded glum. “Where are we going?” I was taken aback that she didn’t sound more excited. “How shall I dress? Is it going to be very cold?”
“It’s always cold up there,” I slipped, hoping to generate more excitement.
“Up there?” I got her attention. “When will we be back? I assume we will be back tomorrow night?”
The enthusiasm in her voice gave me hope that we could finally spend a night together. Two months and very little intimacy, this was long overdue.
“Do we have options? Can we stay the weekend?”
Her silence was uncomfortably long. Maybe she felt self-conscious answering in front of eight pairs of eyes waiting for her to speak. They all appeared way too interested in our conversation. Max definitely couldn’t hide his interest.
“Um…”
I didn’t like the sound of this…
“No. I don’t think it’s wise for us to spend the night.”
No matter. I would convince her otherwise when we got up there. Excited to spend an entire day with her, I gave her an intense kiss while my pager beeped endlessly.
“Bye, I’ll miss you.” I then added, “And please, don’t fall back into your ex’s arms after I leave.” We both got a good laugh.
With Emily being alone, I hoped Sarah and Charlie would take care of her. Peter would drive my girl home, so that was one thing off my mind, but I wasn’t sure what frame of mind or better yet, what her heart would look like when I picked her up tomorrow morning. After seeing Max tonight, I hoped she’d put everything behind her and start new with me without any baggage.
Chapter 8
You’re a What???
Even with only three hours of sleep, the thought of being with Emily all day woke me with a frenetic energy. I showered and went to pick up breakfast for my girl and got to her door exactly at 7:00. I rang the doorbell.
; She opened the door wearing a knitted dress with knee-high boots. The dress clung to her body, and as always she looked stunning. I leaned in to kiss her lips.
“Good morning. Are you ready to leave?”
“Not quite. Come in.”
I handed her a croissant and latte while surveying the house. “Whoa, what happened here? Slumber party?” Peter and Jeff were asleep on the floor.
Emily explained that these guys drank too much to drive home, and they ended up sleeping here.
“I think they’re getting up now.” She looked over at them. “Good morning. Did you sleep well? Are your backs OK?” While she talked to them I could only think that I hadn’t even spent the night here yet, and these random guys were lucky enough to be with her, though they weren’t exactly with her.
“Jake? Do you still have my spare keys? Can I have them back?” She held out her hand. I didn’t want to give them back, but I had no choice.
I watched her throw my keys at Peter, so I picked up her coffee with one hand and held out the other for Emily so we could leave. A guilty look dawned on Emily’s face, and I quickly followed her eyes to see Max come out of the guest bedroom. He had spent the night as well. Outraged but trying to keep composure for Emily’s sake, I didn’t say a word. Emily looked worried again.
Peter broke my angry mood and asked about going on a road trip with Emily and all of her friends. Knowing Max would be there with her, I didn’t want her to go alone, but I knew I couldn’t get any more time off after Hawaii.
Hawaii. I forgot to tell Emily about Hawaii.
“Emily, what are you doing next Monday through Thursday?” Emily’s rattled look turned into a blank stare. “My mom called this morning to tell me we are all going to Hawaii right before Christmas, and she wants me to bring you along. You know my family’s been dying to meet you. She’s reserved a seat for you on the plane, and you can room with my sister, Jane.”
Flustered, but with a smile, she asked, “With your whole family?” She thought about it some more and then questioned, “How did you get four days off?” This one really stumped her.
I guess I had never told her about Uncle Henry. “Well, the chief of staff at the hospital is my dad’s brother. Mom reminded Uncle Henry that I haven’t had a vacation since I got there. It also didn’t hurt that she promised him four tickets to the Rose Bowl game.”
“I see. Are you sure you want me there for four days with your family?”
How could she possibly ask this after my many heartfelt confessions to her? I suppose another reassurance was in order. “I couldn’t think of a better Christmas present than to have you spend four days with me and my family.”
There was a glint in her eyes. “OK, then. Tell your mother I said thank you and that I’d love to go.”
Emily grabbed a coat, said good-bye, and we headed out the door. No more than a few steps out, she stopped me.
“Jake, I’d like to explain about the guys you saw this morning, especially Max. I know that was really uncomfortable, and I’m sorry.” It wasn’t so much guilt I saw in her face; it was more a voice of penitence. She feared hurting me.
“Emily, you don’t have to explain anything.” I tried but couldn’t hide the awkwardness.
“I do. Peter and Jeff went out to the bar with our friend and they got so drunk, they couldn’t drive home. We found them lying on my doorstep and they asked to spend the night.”
“Can I ask where you and Max were at this time? I assume you weren’t with them?”
Now this answer scared me more than everything she’d told me about her and Max combined. After seeing them together last night, this relationship wasn’t completely over for either one of them.
“No. We went out for a bite to eat. I didn’t have any dinner, and Max suggested we grab a bite to eat before we met up with the rest of the gang. Our dinner took longer than expected, and when we got back to my house, Peter and Jeff were comatose on my front porch.”
“Dinner?” I asked in a frightened tone.
Emily’s face broke into a chuckle. I couldn’t understand how she found humor in this situation. “It was literally dinner,” she answered, grabbing the hand I let go. “We also had a good talk, which I’d like to share with you whenever you’d like to hear about it. Are we good? Can we go on with this day without us being uncomfortable with one another?” She now softened into her beautiful smile. “I told Max last night that I was really looking forward to spending a whole day with you. Even though we’ve been dating a few months, I don’t think we know each other very well.”
What? How could she think this?
“What do you mean we don’t know each other very well?” While I held her door, she held back her grin. “Get in. We need to get going or we’re going to miss our flight.”
I couldn’t even last a few seconds into the drive, before demanding, “How can you say we don’t really know each other?” I was still flabbergasted at her last statement. This woman, whom I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, complained that we were almost strangers. We had a long ways to go before I could even broach the topic of marriage.
“Jake.” She sounded slightly piqued this time. “When was the last time…better yet, has there ever been a time when we spent an entire date without being interrupted? Our first date at the Mexican restaurant—what happened? You got paged and went in to perform some surgery. Our second date, brunch—what happened? The chief sent you to some conference in Atlanta. That’s also when we got into our first argument and couldn’t even talk it through because you had to leave.”
Perhaps I shouldn’t have brought this up. She was making a strong argument in her favor.
“Don’t get me going on our third date to Santa Barbara that ended before it even started. We didn’t see each other for almost two weeks.”
“But, I came to see you at the airport, we worked everything out, and I told you how much you mean to me,” I defended myself.
“Only after I postponed my flight twice, hoping you would show up. My flight was at 8:00 p.m. You showed up sometime after eleven.”
“Didn’t I make up for it in New York?”
Emily leaned over and kissed my cheek. “You did. But I would’ve given up all the luxuries in New York to have spent one full day with you.”
This time, I leaned over and she met my lips.
“You would’ve given up the first class seat?”
“In a heartbeat.”
“The driver?”
“Without a doubt.”
“The suite at the W?”
“Of course!”
“Le Bernardin?” I was truly curious to hear this answer.
“Absolutely…not.” She burst into a cackle. “I told you, as much as I enjoyed Sarah’s company, I wished you would’ve been there with me that night. None of this means much if you’re not with me.”
Heaven. Her answer put me in a state of bliss. How could I not love this sweet girl?
“Your answers might have earned you an unforgettable lunch,” I hinted. “So are you done with your argument?”
“Nope. Let’s not forget last night. You left me stranded before dinner was served. Although I think we managed to spend an entire three hours together. That’s a record, you know.”
“But what about all the times I come by, call, or text you?”
“Are you kidding me? The last time you came by my house you got mad at me and left in the middle of dinner. You call from the hospital and have to hang up within minutes. Your texts look like an hour-by-hour hospital itinerary. How did you ever have a relationship with this schedule? Does your hospital have no other doctors but yourself?”
She shook her head in disbelief and laughed. “So, you see why I’m so excited to spend this whole day with you?”
Sweetly she smiled and put her hand over mine.
“I suppose I get your point.” I could marry her today, but she obviously didn’t think she knew me well
enough. “I already feel very close to you, but you apparently need more convincing. That will be my mission today. Ask me whatever you like. I’ll answer all your questions.”
“First question—where are we going? Burbank Airport? Could we be flying to San Francisco? It couldn’t be Seattle, that’s a bit too far for a day trip. Any hints?”
“Not a chance. You’ll have to wait until we get there.” Happy to keep her guessing, I didn’t give her a clue, even though she told me how she didn’t like surprises. What girl didn’t like surprises? Emily could be a bit odd at times.
Out of nowhere, Emily leaned over and my body froze. Her lips slowly grazed my neck and went up to nibble my ear.
“Are you sure you can’t give me a hint?” she whispered.
My foot stepped off the pedal and the car went on autopilot. Though I enjoyed the coaxing, I was forced to ask her to stop before we got into an accident.
When we got on the plane Emily stopped us from sitting in our seats and asked, “You don’t have to go into work today, do you? They can’t make you come back from San Francisco or worse yet, find you an operation to perform up in San Francisco?”
I had to laugh at her paranoia. “Does my job make you that nervous?”
“Yup!” she immediately answered. “I think I’m going to reconsider dating a doctor, or at least I’m going to date a doctor who doesn’t ever have any emergencies.”
I knew where she was taking this conversation. My expression stayed nonchalant. I didn’t want to give her the satisfaction. “Yeah? What kind of doctor would that be?”
“Maybe a dermatologist or a podiatrist,” she answered with a smirk on her face.
With her ring in my jacket pocket, I knew she would be solely mine after lunch today. “Trust me, after today, you’re not going anywhere from me.”
She retorted, “Very confident there, Dr. Reid. We’ll see about that.”
My words didn’t carry as much weight as I thought they should.
We landed at SFO and I had two texts waiting for me.
Confirmed 11:00 a.m. lunch for two. Have a great time. Can’t wait to meet the future Mrs. Jake Reid.—Uncle Dave
