by Cee, DW
Dinner was done, the cake was frosted, and the present was wrapped. The twins decided to reward my extra efforts tonight by going to bed even earlier than their 6:30pm bedtime. It was blissfully quiet as soon as their eyes shut. I loved them dearly, but I enjoyed my quiet time.
"Sleeping already?" Jake tip-toed into the room, and kissed me quietly on the cheek. "I tried to get home earlier to help you today, but my students wouldn't let me leave the campus. How'd you manage our cranky son, all day by yourself?"
"He wasn't all that bad. I held him as much as he wanted to be held and gave him the extra attention he needed, and he was as content as a teething 4-month old was going to be."
"And dinner? Did you use the same methods and dinner suddenly appeared?" Jake pulled me out of the kids' nursery and onto our bed. Next thing I knew, he had me laying right on top of him. It felt wonderful to lay my head on his chest and to be cradled and cherished, as always, by my husband.
"While Ellie napped in her crib, James napped in the baby carrier. It wasn't easy cooking with him glued to my chest, but it all worked out and everything got done in time."
"You think some more about getting some help? It would do you a world of good to have someone come in while I'm at work. I worry about you when I'm not here." Not once did my husband stop kissing me or caressing me while he spoke. I hoped all the other women in the world felt as loved as I did, daily.
"I like the craziness of each day. I don't want anyone else to experience anything with the children that I can't experience. I want to be there for both kids, all day and every day." I spoke into his chest. "I know I sound like a control freak, but along with you, I want to be their only love for a long time."
"Alright, my sweet wife. We'll table this for now."
Jake pulled me up and had me under him in no time with the intent of starting something I knew we didn't have time to finish. As soon as the clothes started coming off, assuredly the doorbell rang, and this day continued on.
(Max) August 9, 2012 An unexpected confidant
I got an unexpected text from Jake while I was in class today.
You have time to stop by the house after rounds today?
Yes. What's up?
I want to talk to you about a summer internship you might want to apply for, and I also wanted to talk about Jane.
If your sister is involved, let's meet outside. Drinks? Can you come alone?
I can meet you after I help Emily put the babies down. Text me the location and time of where you want to meet and I will be there.
Okay see you soon.
I got paired up with a group of smart, responsible, and fun third-year med students. I considered myself very lucky this time. There was nothing worse than being with a bunch of lazy med students.
"Max, do you want to grab some dinner with us?"
"Thanks for the invitation Joyce, but I'm meeting somebody right now."
"Who are you meeting?"
"Dr. Jake Reid.”
"Okay. Don't forget we are all catching a movie this weekend."
"I haven't forgotten. See you tomorrow, Joyce."
I rushed out to meet Jake. I looked forward to talking to him about his sister since I hadn't been in touch with her the past four months. As much as I missed her, I wasn't going to contact somebody who told me not to ever call her again.
"Hey, over here," Jake called out to me. "How were rounds?"
"I'm with the fantastic group of people this time so it was great. We are also trailing Dr. Henry Reid so it's even more fun. I can't believe he has time to take around third-year med students. As Chief of Staff, I'm sure this is not part of his job description."
"Uncle Henry loves working with the students. And when I'm lucky enough to fill-in for him, I understand why he does it. It gives us a fresh perspective."
"So what's up?" It was a genuine surprise to read the text from Jake. Last I talked to him, Em had just given birth. Even though I was at the same hospital as Jake, we never ran into each other and I didn't make an effort to catch up with him.
"I got this in my inbox today, and I wanted to see if you were interested. I'll send in my recommendation if you want to go."
"What is it?”
"Our hospital supports a small village hospital in Mexico, and we always send some doctors in the summertime for a month or two to help out their clinic. It's dirty, the weather is crappy, and conditions are rougher than you're used to...but it'll be one of the best experiences of your life."
I looked over the printouts after we ordered dinner and listened to Jake explain more about this program. It was exactly what I was looking for in my quest to be a pediatrician. I could help underprivileged children for a short time, and see if this is honestly what I wanted to do the rest of my life.
"Have you done this?"
"Yeah, I did this the summer before I graduated from med school. I've wanted to go back since, but my schedule has not allowed me to, and now with the twins, I don't think I'll ever get back there. Maybe after the kids are all grown and out of the house, Emi and I can go out there. But I thought this would be perfect for you. Take some time and read it through."
"Thanks for the information Jake. I will consider it. Though it does concern me if Jane and I were to get back together, how she will react to me going away for the summer."
"You can do the short one where you are only gone for a month. Don't tell me that you can't be away from her for 30 days. Haven't you guys been apart for more than four months now?"
"Yeah." I said feeling like crap again. "How is she doing?"
"She's busy. All I can say is that she doesn't have time to come up for air because the firm keeps her so busy. Don't you miss her?"
"I miss her like crazy."
"Then why haven't you called her? Emi tells me the two of you haven't communicated since the twins were born."
"Jane made it clear she didn't want me to call her ever again."
"And you believe her? You're stupider than you look."
"I don't know what the hell to believe. She's so infuriating and yet…"
"And yet…?"
"Your sister has this crazy notion that she ranks below Em in order of importance in my life. She's under this stupid ass assumption that I am still in love with your wife."
"Are you still in love with my wife?"
"Are you fucking insane? I have a difficult enough time dealing with one woman. Do you think I can handle another one, plus her husband, her kids and the rest of her family breathing down my neck, if I were to be in love with her? You're as idiotic as Jane if you believe that. I don't give a rat's ass if you don't like it, but I will always love your wife like family...maybe even more so than my own.”
"Calm down." Jake chuckled. "I know you don't have any inappropriate feelings for my wife, but I needed to check one last time. And by the way, you should give my wife a call. She says you've been avoiding her, and you haven't seen her nor the babies since April. Don't upset my wife, Davis. Call her and say hello. God only knows why, but Emi misses you. And as for Jane, you know she's being an irrational woman about the whole Emily situation. It's next to impossible to change Jane's mind once she has an idea in her head."
"Great, then how am I supposed to convince her that I don't have any feelings for Em?"
"That's for you to figure out. I've done my crazy courtship and paid my dues. It's your turn!" Now Jake was laughing at me. "This is your just punishment for making my life miserable a few years back." His moronic laugh got even louder.
"Thanks for the advice, but I don't know if there will be a next time for me and Jane. She was pretty adamant about me not ever calling her again."
"You give up too easily. You gave up too easily with Emily when you left her on graduation night as well."
"Didn't that work to your benefit?"
"It did, and I thank you for selflessly letting Emi go so she could find me, but now I'd like for you to fight for
my sister. I think you two are good for each other, and Emily believes with all her heart that you two are meant to be. It hurts my sweet wife to see you both miserable."
Now I got it. This tête-à-tête was Em's doing. I'm sure Jake was concerned for my welfare as well as the welfare of his sister, but it all came down to making his wife happy. Those two were a match made in heaven.
"What's with the smile?" Jake asked quizzically.
"I'm just glad Em found you. If there is any person on earth who deserves to live a blessed life, it's Em. Make sure you keep her content the rest of her life."
"Yeah, I plan to do that!”
We finished dinner and went our separate ways.
(Max) Dec. 3, 2012 She's home!
"What's got you grinning from ear to ear?" Pete, my best friend since undergrad asked.
"Jane is back. I'm going to call her right now and see if she wants to go out with me."
"How'd you know she was back?"
"I saw Jake at the hospital today, and he told me she came home unexpectedly late last night. Apparently, no one knew of her plans till she arrived with her bags."
"You sure you want to go there again with her? She was nothing but heartache for you the year you guys dated on and off."
"I gotta try again, Pete. I wanna try again..."
"It's your heart, Bud, not mine!"
"Let me make this phone call and we'll go shoot some hoops."
"Sure. I'm gonna heat up some pizza. You want some?"
"Yeah," I answered, and walked into the bedroom to talk to Jane privately.
"Hello?" Jane had no idea it was me on the line since I called her parents' land line.
"Hey," I called tentatively. "How are you?"
She was silent.
"It's me, Max." Damn! Had she forgotten my voice already? It'd only been eight months. "Did you really forget who I am or are you pretending not to remember me?"
She was still silent. Shit! This wasn't going to be easy.
"I don't know how you could forget such a good looking face, but if you give me a few hours on Friday, I'll show you what you've been missing." She didn't laugh. I guess humor wasn't going to do it. "You might have been so busy that you've forgotten to miss me, but I know I've missed you something fierce the last eight months. How about it, Jane? Can you spare a few hours for a guy who hasn't gone a day without thinking about you? Can we try again...? Slowly...? Cautiously...?"
"Hi Max." She finally answered, sweetly, carefully.
"Hi. You wanna hang out on Friday? Are you free? I have the whole day off."
"Yeah. I'm free."
"I'll pick you up in the morning? We can go for a ride and spend a day together?"
"Sure. I'd like that. See you Friday morning."
"Bye!"
"Bye."
I was fist-pumping like a moron. I didn't know why I was so excited to start up again with a girl whose mind and heart were so unreadable and unpredictable. Hell, she was more unpredictable than LA weather in the wintertime. But, I wanted to make it work this time. When things were good between us, it was heaven. This girl had spunk to her personality and fire to her soul. She wasn't half-bad to look at either. In fact, she was sexier than all the girls out there and she knew it.
"Hey Pete, I'm off to go look at bikes. Join me?"
"Bikes as in a bicycle or a motorcycle?"
"Bikes as in a Harley Davidson. There's one I've been eyeing. Let's go check it out, man."
"Dude, seriously? You have money to invest in a bike?"
"Yeah. I've been saving up a bit, plus I want to go riding up the coast with Jane on Friday. Come test drive one with me."
"Alright! Let's go."
Two hours later, we came home with a Harley Davidson Switchback. It had that classic Harley Davidson throwback look with a powerful engine. I added a large saddlebag for our luggage if we wanted to go away for a few days, and a backrest pad so Jane would be comfortable whenever she rode with me. The bike was perfect for the both of us. It gave us a chance to be close together and yet the freedom to enjoy the ride, any which way we wanted. I was positive Jane would love it as much as I did.
"Max," Pete called from the living room. "Your phone's ringing."
I bolted from the bed, hoping it was Jane calling. "Hello?" I answered expectantly.
"Hi Max. It's me, Joyce."
"Uh, hey Joyce. What's up?"
"Well, a few of us wanted to see if you wanted to go to the movies on Wednesday, after rounds?"
"Um..." I hesitated because I didn't want to go and because of Jane. Knowing she was back home and knowing I'd have a chance to see her again in a few days, I had no desire to spend my time with anyone else.
"Everyone's going and it'd be a bummer if you didn't come," Joyce left her statement open-ended and hanging. I felt bad saying no since the rest of the group was going.
"Yeah, sure. I'll be there." I agreed reluctantly.
"Great!" I'll see you tomorrow?"
"For sure, bye."
Pete shook his head at me. "She asked you out, again?"
"She wasn't asking me out. Everyone's going to the movies after rounds. I can't just slip away," I answered unconvincingly.
"Dude, she's majorly into you. You need to be extra careful, especially if Jane's back in the picture."
"There's nothing going on with me and Joyce. We're only friends."
"It doesn't matter what you think you are, it only matters what Jane and Joyce think. This ain't gonna end well," he warned. "Don't go out with her.”
"I'm not going out with Joyce," I insisted. "We are all going to the movies. It isn't a date!"
"Whatever...don't say I never looked out for you," Pete chuckled.
"Shut up, and let's go shoot some hoops."
(Max) December 5, 2012 Uncomfortable!
I took my time getting to the theater after we all parted from the hospital. I didn't really feel up to all of Joyce's questions and attention. Though I denied it the other night to Pete, I knew that Joyce's interest in me went beyond the friendship boundary, but I figured it was no big deal. So she crushed on me. I enjoyed her company as a friend and she understood that I had a girlfriend, or at least I did...and soon I would again? Shit. Life was more complicated than I ever imagined it would be.
"Max!" Joyce was already there waiting for us. Unfortunately, no one else had arrived.
"Hey, Joyce." She came over to me for a hug so I had no choice but to give her one. Damn! Pete was right. I needed to be extra careful and this definitely would not sit well with Jane. "Where's everyone?"
"Crazy thing..." She laughed nervously. "They all got called back to the hospital. It's just you and me."
Shit! How was I going to explain this one to Jane?
"Okay, well let's go in and watch the movie," I let out that same nervous laughter.
The movie was of no interest to me. There was no way I could concentrate on the film when Joyce sat right next to me, insisted we share a tub of popcorn - though I drew the line at sharing a drink - and kept smiling at me during the movie. I decided to look only at the movie screen and forget that I was sitting next to a girl who wasn't Jane.
"So...are you seeing anyone?" Joyce asked during dinner. Rather than pretend-concentrating on the movie, I should have come up with an excuse as to why I couldn't have dinner with her. She caught me off guard right after the movie and here we were, eating dinner at 10pm.
Here was my chance to nip this in the bud. "Jane is back from New York and we're going to give our relationship a try, again. In fact, I'm going to take her up the coast this Friday. Maybe we'll spend the weekend up in Santa Barbara." That should do it.
"Oh...okay. Jane was the girl you've been seeing on and off?"
"Yeah. I think we will only be on from here on out. I don't plan to lose her again."
"She's a lucky girl." Joyce sighed.
"No, I think I'm the lucky one," I answered
with a hopeful smile. Hopeful that Jane would stick with me this time, and hopeful that Joyce would let go of me immediately.
"I wish you and Jane well..." Joyce called out eerily as we parted from dinner.
Damn. I was never going to doubt Peter's words ever again!
Indelible Lovin' Max & Jane's Story Vol. 1
Dec. 7, 2012 A Harley Man?
