by Cee, DW
“I have. It’s been a crazy day, but it’s almost over.” I’d tried to have lunch with Larry today but he was inundated with patients. I was glad he stopped by to say hello. “I’ve been meaning to tell you all day that my sisters are in town and would like to see you.”
“They are? They didn’t tell me they were coming.”
“It was a last minute add-on.”
“Explain, Dr. Tanner.”
“Mom had an emergency meeting in LA. The company allowed her the use of the plane. The daughters hopped on a free flight and will use my place as free lodging and free food. Get the picture?”
I laughed. “Would you, Lucia, and Lilly want to come over for dinner tonight? Alex would love to see all three of you. It’s been too long.”
The hesitation was there, but only for a second. “OK. You sure the husband won’t mind? Shouldn’t you ask him for his permission?”
This time, I laughed at him. “No, Xander won’t mind, and no, I don’t need his permission to invite friends over to our home. He will welcome you as will our daughter. Can you come a little earlier since Alex goes to bed by seven-thirty? Is five too early?”
“Nope. I’m off now. I can swing by and pick up the sisters. They’re lounging in the backyard as we speak.”
“Perfect. Since Alex played hooky from school, again, she’ll be happy to see someone other than her father.”
“All right. We will be there at five bearing gifts for that gorgeous little girl of yours.”
“Please. No gifts. She has too many already.” I knew Larry wouldn’t listen.
“See you soon.”
I thought about calling Xander to let him know of our plans tonight, but I decided against it. No use informing him of Larry coming over. Once we were all together, Xander would figure it out and behave like the perfect gentleman that he was.
*******
“Hello!” The wife was home.
“Alexandria. Momma’s home. Let’s go give her a big hug and a kiss.”
“OK, Daddy.” I walked behind a two-year-old who ran into her mother’s arms. “Hi Momma.”
“It must’ve been a good day today for the Momma moniker to make an appearance. What’d you do today, Alex? Everyone at preschool missed you.”
“I don’t wanna go to school. I wanna stay with Daddy.”
“You can stay with Daddy forever, Baby.” I kissed my daughter on the cheek and my wife on the lips. “Good day?”
“Definitely a good day. I need to tell you a few things about tonight.”
“OK. I have a few things to tell you too.”
Before either of us could say another word, the doorbell rang and we heard my sister calling from the outside.
“Alex! Open the door. This present is too big and heavy for Auntie Lele to hold.”
“Present? Auntie Lele?” Ever the savvy one, our daughter wiggled out of her Mom’s arms and ran to open the door. “Help!” she practically yelled at us to give her some assistance. “Auntie Lele’s here.”
“As if she’d be this excited about her auntie if I didn’t have a gift in my arms,” we heard from the outside.
“Hello, Auntie Lele.” Jenna kissed my sister on the cheek and welcomed her into our home.
“Auntie Lele! Auntie Lele!” Our daughter would not be ignored. With outstretched arms, we didn’t know whether she was asking for a hug or for her gift. It was most likely the latter.
“Hello, Squirt. Long time no see. Did you miss me?” Lex, the smart girl that she was, still had the gift in one hand while nuzzling her niece full of kisses.
“What’s that?” Alex asked coyly—if that word was even possible with this girl.
“It’s a great big surprise for you. Would you like to open it?”
“Yes.” She nodded her head hard enough for me to worry it might fall off, again.
“Then Auntie Lele needs the biggest hug and kiss, ever.” Alex quickly complied. “Here you go. Open it.”
While my little girl went to town ripping open the wrapping paper, Jenna lamented, “Lex. You can’t come bearing gifts every time. You’re just as bad as your brother.”
“Considering it was my brother who bought the present, you can blame him.”
Jenna’s frown was darling. I kissed her until she smiled.
“Look Momma! Look! Look! Look! It’s a shopper!” My daughter seemed to like adding the letters e and r to every word.
“Yes, Alex. It’s a shopping cart. How wonderful. Auntie Lele is the best. Why don’t you thank her again?”
She could care less about her auntie now. She zoomed off with her shopper.
“Her love is so fickle,” Lex lamented with a smile.
“I’m glad you’re here, Lex. This will be like old times,” Jenna commented. “Larry and his sisters—” The doorbell rang again and Jenna called for Alex to come out as she opened the door. “Lilly! Lucia!” she greeted two young women.
“Jenna! It’s been so long.” The ladies returned her enthusiastic sentiment. “Your house is stunning. Why haven’t we been invited sooner? I’d like to be a houseguest here for about ten years.”
“Lucia, you’re so funny.” Jenna gave both ladies another hug.
“Where’s my welcome?” There was no mistaking the man I once considered my enemy.
“Whatever, Larry. You see Jenna all the time. We never see her.”
Then Lex joined in the merriment. “What about my welcome?”
“Oh. My. Gawd! Lexie! What are you doing here?” One of the young women yelled as my sister bowled into their group hug. The four of them were having a lovefest, leaving the two of us to greet one another.
“Hello. I’m Xander.” I didn’t have a choice but to make nice with a man whom I didn’t think would ever be standing in my living room.
“I’m Larry. The especially loud one is Lucia,” he pointed to the slightly shorter young lady. “The one jumping up and down is Lilly. They’re my sisters from Columbus, Ohio, who apparently don’t get out enough.” I liked this Larry’s sense of humor.
“What’s happening?” Our baby girl came out with her “shopper” and asked.
“Alex!” The loving happened all over again.
“Do you remember me? I’m Auntie Lilly.” Alex shook her head no.
“What about me? Auntie Lucia?” Once again, Alex told them that she had no idea who they were.
This time, it was Larry’s turn. “I know you remember me, Alex. I’m the one holding all the presents.” He pulled over a giant trash bag full of wrapped gifts.
“Hi, Doctor.” My daughter was as clever as the MD who gave her much affection. Surprisingly, it didn’t bother me to see him loving my daughter. Somewhere along the way, I’d have to thank him for being there for my family when I wasn’t. Today was not the day, but I’d get there sometime this century.
It wasn’t easy talking over a foursome of ladies whose goal was to talk louder than the last person. However, Jenna and I needed to get going soon.
“Jenna.” There was no answer. “Jenna.” Nope. Still, she was too enamored with her friends. “Jenna Blane!” I yelled.
“Oh. Xander. Sorry. Let me introduce you to Lucia and Lilly. Ladies, this is my husband.”
The two sisters checked me out. I was surprised they didn’t ask me to do a three-sixty before giving me their four thumbs’ up approvals.
“Jenna. We need to get going.”
“What?” My wife sounded as if I’d told her we were going to go bungie diving. “What do you mean? But my friends are here. I invited them over for dinner.”
Shit. No good deed went unchallenged with this woman.
*******
What the hell was Xander talking about? I hoped this wasn’t because he was unhappy about Larry being here.
“You all are welcomed to stay for dinner. However, Jenna and I have plans. I apologize.”
“What?” I asked again. “What plans? You never told me we had plans.”
“That was the point
, Dear Wife. It is a surprise. If you knew what was happening, then it wouldn’t be a surprise.”
“But Xander. I invited my friends over.” What was I to do?
Surprisingly, Larry came to my rescue. “How about we hang here with Alex and Lexi and you go out with your husband?” What? “By the way, hi, Lex. Haven’t seen you in a while.”
“Uh, yeah. Hi back. It’s been a while.”
That awkward, bizarre exchange totally threw me off. “But I invited you over for dinner. Lucia, Lilly and I haven’t seen each other in a while.”
“We can have dinner another night.” Larry was being way too accommodating. “Tomorrow?” he asked Xander who shook his head no. “Sunday?”
“Sunday is perfect. Please come over for brunch. We’ll have a nice spread waiting.”
Was this the same man who didn’t want me to work once a week because Larry was my boss?
Was this the same man who told me that friendship with my husband was too soon?
What the hell was going on here?
“Get dressed, Jenna. We’re late now.”
“Um...” I was still unsure what I should do. My friends and family made it easy for me. They all took Alex into the living room and allowed her to open the gifts one by one.
“Go,” my husband urged. “There’s an outfit waiting for you in our bedroom. I’ll get dressed while you shower.”
“OK,” I answered while watching all that was happening around me. How had life gotten this much easier? I had no damn clue.
Whatever. I’d take it.
“At this rate, we won’t get to eat before the main event.” This would be the last warning as Xander picked me up and literally placed me in the shower.
“All right. You’re so bossy.” That was a complaint that wasn’t really a complaint.
Since I was told several times that we were late, I showered, put on makeup and put my hair in a messy up-do. I didn’t think I had the luxury of blow-drying my hair. When I stepped into the room, Xander was already outside, probably tapping his feet waiting for me.
I quickly unzipped the outfit Xander had placed on the hangar and was stunned at the dress before me. It was awesome—like Oscar-quality awesome. I had no idea where we were headed, but I felt like a princess once I wore the dress and placed my feet in the heels. My husband had such good taste.
“Exquisite!” My husband declared when I walked into the room without falling on my face. “You take my breath away, Sweet Jenna.” I was too embarrassed to look at anyone.
“Momma! You look pretty!” My daughter ran up and hugged my legs.
“Thank you, Baby. You’ll be a good girl for everyone here?”
“Yes, Momma. Look. Look at my toys.”
I saw the unthinkable number of gifts my daughter was gorging on and knew we would be in for a difficult day tomorrow.
“Why don’t you put some of those away and play with them tomorrow?” I told my daughter but suggested to the adults who were spoiling her beyond reason.
“This is only half the pile, Momma.” I groaned when Larry made this announcement.
“Bye.” I kissed my girl one last time and left with my husband.
“Incredible, Sweet Wife. You are the most beautiful woman.”
Once again, I turned bright red, embarrassed at the praise. “It helps when your husband has good taste. Thank you for the outfit. I won’t ruin this evening by asking how much this all cost.”
“Good thinking, Jenna. Let’s go enjoy ourselves.”
“Another night out? Xander,” I complained. “Our daughter doesn’t like being pushed off on sitters all weekend. It’s our job to be with her.”
Last night at the opera was stirring on the senses in every possible way. Xander did nothing inappropriate while out in public, but he didn’t and wouldn’t stop touching me. His hand was on me somewhere, everywhere. By the end of the night, I was on edge, wanting to rip his tuxedo off and have sex with him anywhere, everywhere. Damn man knew what he was doing and he enjoyed watching me squirm.
“Tonight will be fun.”
“Every night with you is fun, Xander. Why don’t we spend it at home with Alex?”
“Because, Sweet Jenna, I’m wooing you, and I can’t do it at home with our two-year-old commanding our attention. I need you all to myself.”
“Is that what you’ve been doing? Wooing?” For some odd reason, I had no idea that was his intention. “But why?”
“Lex brought up the fact that you and I have never dated. I don’t know that we have ever gone out to dinner without a fight, and I know that we’ve never been to the movies together. We started backwards and I want right the wrong.”
“Xander, nothing is wrong now. We’re together and I’ve loved every moment of our time. You don’t need to prove anything. I’m fine with what we have.”
“Let me do this for you, Jenna. Had we started off as any normal couple, I don’t think we would’ve separated. In years past, I’ve been too set in my ways. Let me show you that I can be your prince charming.”
As if that was necessary—he would forever be my prince charming. “All right. But, can we slow it down a bit? We have a lifetime for you to woo me. Let’s not try and do it all in one month.”
“Anything you want, Sweet Jenna.”
“Who’s babysitting tonight?”
“Lexie.”
“Speaking of Lex, what was that with your sister and Larry?”
“Which part? The one where he and Lex were asleep, together, on the couch until we interrupted them? Or is it the part where I thought I heard him say he’d be back tonight?”
“What?” I said a bit too loudly.
“He’s your friend. Ask him.”
Last night, we’d come home to find Lex and Larry completely conked out on the sofa. Nothing inappropriate was happening, but it was odd that just the two of them were left alone. Supposedly, according to Larry, his sisters got called away to a party. However, the two single people in question were awkward with one another to a point where Xander and I wondered if anything was happening between them.
“I’ll let them figure it out on their own. They’re grown adults. I’m sure I have nothing to add to a possible budding relationship.”
*******
“Xander, what time do you think you’ll be home tonight?”
Shit. I needed to give my wife the bad news. After spending a spectacular weekend together, I hated telling her about tonight.
“I have a business dinner tonight. It’ll probably last long.”
“Yeah? I didn’t realize you were going to be out tonight. When did this happen?”
“A few days ago. I just didn’t want to tell you.” The way my wife looked at me, I had no choice but to tell her the truth. I just hoped it wouldn’t set our relationship back.
“All right…if you don’t want to tell me, I won’t pry. Maybe I’ll take Alex to the grandparents’ and have dinner with them. We’ll see you tomorrow.”
I couldn’t let her walk away wounded. “Come here.” I caught her before she escaped my embrace. “I didn’t think you’d want to know that I had to have dinner with Jackson White at the Downtown Club.”
“Oh,” was all she could say.
“To make this situation even more bizarre, he’s bringing his new wife, Katie-Rose, to dinner.”
“No way!”
“Yes, way.” With my wife’s pouty lips close to mine, she was asking to be kissed. “So you see why I didn’t want to tell you about this Groundhog-Day-gone-wrong dinner?”
“I see.”
“So you’re not mad?”
“Nope.”
“All is good?”
“Yep.”
“Shall I tell Katie-Rose you said hello?”
That’s when my wife lost it and laughed.
*******
What were the chances that tonight would happen? Same place, same time, same double-dates, and even the same dress. It took a bit of last minute planning, but I kne
w this would work out well.
Once I arrived at the scene of the crime, though, I was so nervous, I almost left. In hindsight, maybe my plan was a bit immature, bordering on lame. Perhaps I should go back home?
“Jenna! Hi. It’s been too long. I was so happy to get your call.”
“Hi Katie-Rose. Thank you for doing this. I hope it doesn’t ruin any business that Jackson has with Xander.”
My former roommate giggled. “Jackson and I thought it was sweet when you called and asked for this favor. Let’s go in. I think the men are waiting.”
I followed Katie-Rose into the oh-so familiar dining room and saw my husband’s back. When Katie-Rose’s husband spotted us, he immediately stood and Xander followed, still with his back to me.
“Jenna?” Jackson called.
I looked up and that’s when I saw Xander. He was still the epitome of every sexy adjective in the English dictionary.
Tall.
Dark.
Handsome.
Powerful.
Intimidating.
Enigmatic.
To this day, he was utterly disarming. As it does every time I realize this man is the father of my child, my body went into shock. It was like a thousand chrysalis to butterfly metamorphoses happening simultaneously—wanting to fly away, but trapped in my body. It was like an electric panel about to overload—sparks flying everywhere just before the breakers burst into flames. I felt eerily like a balloon about to burst because the helium tank wouldn’t shut off.
My husband was truly the epitome of tall, dark, and handsome. If he were a movie star, he’d be Marlon Brando. If he were an athlete, he’d be Michael Jordan. If he were a CEO, he’d be Steve Jobs. He was the ultimate in every category. What a lucky woman I was.
The man gawking at me, wondering what the hell was going on, made me feel like a woman who’d just met her prince charming.
“This is my business associate, Xander Blane.” Jackson introduced us with a chuckle.
“Hello.” I spoke in a bare whisper, hoping my husband would find tonight to be a humorous recreation of our past.
As if he remembered every last detail of that first night, Xander nodded his head and put out his hand for me. What I was supposed to do with his hand? Would I play the simpering virgin or should I be bold and hold onto him for the next seventy years? I chose to play the young, naïve college student. I spied a small grin as he placed his hand on the small of my back and led me to my seat.
