I'll Be Seeing You (18 page)

"Yeah, yeah. I'll be there. I've got to go check on a patient. See you later." He turns for the door and stumbles over an imaginary threshold.

“Oh, by the way, Matthew … you’re a real dick!”

"Hey, Jess, wait up," I holler down the hall, laughing. I’m not through with him yet. "Do you want to have coffee with me in the morning at the café? Joy is meeting Laura, so I thought we could go and talk about the schedule with the New York people.” He nods and continues on his way, I almost feel sorry for him.

"I'll meet you in the lobby at ten sharp, and we can walk over together," I suggest. He nods again, shutting the door behind him.

I wish I had a picture of his face when I made that fake phone call. It serves him right. Needing to set this up, I call Joy for a favor.

"Hey, baby. How's my girl?" I ask when she answers.

"I'm good. Just working. What's up?"

"I've done something very conniving, and I need a little follow through. I was wondering if you want to be naughty with me." Hearing her giggle on the other end of the phone gives me the answer and all the encouragement I need.

"Oh, I would love to be naughty with you any day, you know that," she says in a low voice.

That's my girl, I say to myself. After I explain to her what I did with the fake Dr. Simmons date, she laughs and says she wishes she had thought of it.

"I invited Jess for coffee with me tomorrow, so I think you should invite Laura. She's been turning him down when he asks her out, and it's causing a bruised ego, if you know what I mean.”

"You little trouble-maker," she admonishes. "She’s been missing him, but knows that he's not good for her."

"This is kind of fun," I admit, rubbing my hands together, feeling devious. "Anyway, I have to go make my rounds. I'll see you tonight. I'm kissing you right now."

"I have you down my throat right now," she says before she giggles and hangs up on me.

Reaching for my cell, I immediately send her a text.

You are going to pay for that, little girl. ~ Matthew

You always say that ~ Joy

This time I mean it ~ Matthew

She doesn't know it yet, but she's about to pay up.

~.~

"Dude, come on. You're late," Jessie says pulling his sleeve down around his watch.

"It's only two after, Jessie. What's the hurry?" I chuckle as he races out the door onto the street.

What Jess doesn't know is that Joy and Laura won't be there until ten-thirty. He’s going to pace that damned coffee shop, I just know it.

As soon as we enter the café, Jess immediately starts looking around. Not finding the girls, he sits at a table … Joy's table.

"Dude, you can't sit there," I say, my eyes wide with shock as if he should know why.

"Why the fuck not?" he retorts.

"Because that's Joy's table. She always sits there. It's kind of an unspoken rule around here. Everyone knows it's her table, so they leave it open for her."

"Oh. Okay. Cool." So what does he do? He takes the table directly behind it.  Feeling Jessie’s anxiety, I begin a conversation not related to his sex life to take his mind off Laura’s pending arrival. "So, are you going to be ready to give the tour of your department on Thursday afternoon?"

"Um, sure. What time again?" he says, looking at his watch.

"Jessie, it's at three o’clock. If you aren't into having this discussion with me, let's go back to the office," I say, trying so desperately to keep a straight face.

"No, no, I'm good. Sorry. I'll be ready. Then dinner at six."

"No, Jessie. Cocktails at six, dinner at seven. Dude! What the hell is wrong with you?" I ask, feigning anger. As soon as I see his eyes bug out of his head, I know the girls have arrived.

Laura holds the door open for Joy and no sooner they walk through the door, Laura's eyes hone in on Jessie.

"Joy, Matthew and Jessie are here. Did you know that?" I hear her say.

"No, but they won't bother us. Let's just sit right here.” 

After the girls order their coffees, I turn toward Joy’s table and reach out to take her hand, pulling her to me.

"Hey, beautiful. I don’t want to bother you, I just couldn’t resist. We’re about ready to make our way back to the clinic anyway. I'll see you tonight, all right?"

"So, what do you intend to show them of your department?" I ask Jessie after returning to my coffee, "I think the educational center would be a good place to start." I suggest as I watch him focus on Laura.

"Yeah, sounds good," he replies.

Just as he answers, the door opens, and in walks what looks to be a mix of a hot fireman and stripper. I chuckle as he heads straight for Joy's table.

Well, shit.

"What the fuck, dude?" Jessie whispers to me. "Who the hell is that!?" he asks, sounding as insecure as I’m feeling about now. Just as I’m about to answer, Joy calls me over.

"Peter, I want to introduce you to my boyfriend, Dr. Matthew Davis. Matthew, this is Peter White. He’s Mr. White's son and has taken over for Scott."

"Nice to meet you, Peter," I say, shaking his hand.

"Good to meet you as well, Matthew," Peter replies.

It doesn’t take Jessie long to join the party and worm his way into an introduction.

"This is my colleague, Dr. Jessie Montgomery. Jess, this is Peter. He works with Joy at Radiant."

Peter has a bright white smile, and Jessie has a scowl.

"Good to meet you, Peter," Jessie says.

"You, as well," Peter returns. "I'm going to go get a coffee. I'll be right back, Joy. Nice to meet you, Doctors," he says as he heads to order from Myra.

"Okay, I'll call you later," I say, kissing her cheek. "You ready to go, Jessie?"

"No. I want another cup of coffee first," he says, and I have to cough into my hand.

"Sorry, Laura. I don't know what's gotten into him. I’ll take him out of here as soon as he has his coffee," I say quietly to her as I walk back to my table.

Approaching the counter, Jessie talks with Peter. Yeah, Jess looks like he could kick some serious ass. He's jealous … and Laura’s eating it up.

It’s going to be a long day, I fear.

~.~

After dinner at Joy’s we were both exhausted from staying up late the night before, so we ate, cleaned up and crashed early. It didn’t take neither of us to slip into a deep sleep. The alarm came way to soon.

"I've got to get up, Joy. I have a few things to do before the group from New York arrives," I say, pulling her close to me. I love feeling her warm, soft body meld itself against me. She aligns her curves to match mine, and I could hold her like this for hours.

"Mm, not yet," she whines. Joy takes a little while to wake up, but she does it while snuggling and circling her hips into me.

"Mmm," she moans again as she nuzzles her face into my neck. Lifting her leg high over my hip, I know exactly what she wants when she does this, and she doesn’t have to ask twice.

Hooking my arm under her knee, I lift her leg higher and slip into her warm wetness. Generally, she likes it slow and long in the morning, but today, however, she tries something new. Slipping me out of her, she rolls over onto her other side offering herself to me from behind. Once I re-enter her, I position her onto her chest, and push her legs open with mine. Fucking her from behind, she raises her hips higher, telling me she wants me deeper.

"Touch yourself, baby," I whisper in her ear. As soon as I feel her fingers touch us, I look between our bodies and my cock hardens even more.

"Fuck!" I growl, exploding deep inside her. I’m thinking I may go blind myself.

"Oh, shit,” she cries into her pillow while pushing her hips into me. Reaching around her waist, I hold her against me while thrusting into her, just the way she likes it.

Thanking God that she loves morning sex as much as I do, it doesn’t take long for both of us to come simultaneously.

We laugh at the same time as our arms and legs give out from underneath us, and we fall flat. I roll off her, so she can move her face out from the pillow.

"God, I can never get enough of you," I say, feeling my limp cock lay against her beautiful bottom. I quiver at the thought that one day I will take her there as well.

"I love you, Matthew," she says low and sweet.

"Oh, sweetheart, I love you, too,” I return, squeezing her tight.

We lay there spent for another thirty minutes, and now I really have to rush to get home and shower.

"I won't see you until Saturday, will I?" she asks, sadly.

"I'm afraid not, but I’ll call you for sure. I promise. Let's go for a drive this weekend. You plan where you want to go, or what you want to do, all right?" I say, kissing her hair. "I'll call you later, okay?"

"Okay. Good luck today." I smile as she buries her face in my pillow and inhales deeply. Standing back to see her beautiful body lying there, I can't resist and run the tips of my fingers down the middle of her back and down between her legs. Nesting my finger between her lips, I gently stroke her clitoris, giving her one more orgasm as a farewell token.

"There you go, baby," I say, patting her lovely ass. "I love you." Kissing once more as she lays there smiling in her bliss, I turn and rush out the door.

Now, let's see if I can talk these people out of some money.               

The entire institute is buzzing with the arrival of the group from New York. Eugene phones Krista to let her know they’ve arrived and are waiting in the lobby. Instructing him to sign the group in and to give them day-passes, she’ll be down to escort them upstairs. Rising from her desk, she makes her way to Matthew’s office and raps twice on the door before opening it.

"Are you ready?" she asks, smoothing out my jacket and tie.

"Ready as I'll ever be," I reply, the nervous knots going rampant in my stomach.

"Okay, I'll be back," she says before heading toward the elevator.

Ten minutes later, I hear voices just outside my door, and I get up, standing behind my desk to greet them and shake each one of their out-stretched hands.

"Hello, Dr. Fisher, Dr. Adams, Dr. Lawrence, Dr. Stewart. Welcome to the Davis Institute. Would you like to sit and have a coffee or get the tour started?"

"Let's get started," Dr. Fisher answers for everyone.

"All right then,” I say, beginning my tour. “Krista will have a complete itinerary for you in your packets but I’ll give you a cursory review. What we have scheduled is a tour of the patient floors first, and then the surgery center." I detail the agenda as we walk toward the elevator. "Surgery has been scheduled this morning with Dr. Montgomery performing. We’ll be observing from the theater above. I have also scheduled a tour of our labs and then lunch will be in the main conference room before we tour the children's learning center. At three, we’ll meet with Dr. Montgomery, and he will give you a tour of the adult educational center. After that, cocktails are at six o'clock and dinner at seven o'clock at my home," I outline, continuing through the itinerary for the remainder of their visit.

"Tomorrow morning, we’ll meet in the main conference room for a more detailed presentation of my procedure. After that, you’ll have the rest of the afternoon to yourselves," I explain, looking back at everyone. "We’ve planned a dinner at Dr. and Mrs. Clark's home for tomorrow evening; you will find the address on your itinerary. If you are up for a little of our city’s night life, we have reserved the VIP lounge at Trinity, after dinner." I press the button on the elevator and see everyone is smiling at the thought of going out. "Are you ready to get started?" As I enter the elevator, I hear Dr. Fisher say, "Let's go." Pressing floor three, we begin the tour of the patient’s floors.

~.~

Arriving home an hour early to check on dinner preparations, I can’t help but inhale deeply at the wonderful aroma coming from the kitchen. 

"Rebecca, as usual, you have outdone yourself. Everything looks great," I say, curious at what she’s cooking on the stove. "What's that? It smells really good," I ask, while she's stirring something orange looking. She lovingly smacks my hand away when she sees me reaching for a dip of my finger. "I just want a little taste," I whine, then kiss her cheek.

"I am serving Grilled Salmon Kyoto, which has an oriental flavor, grilled vegetables and herbed Basmati rice. The wine is a private reserve Pinot Noir. What I'm mixing here is the marinade for the salmon."

“If that's just the marinade, I can't wait to taste the meal. Thank you for doing this; I appreciate it."

Making sure I have everything needed at the bar, I run upstairs to shower and change into something more casual.

Heading back downstairs, wearing a pair of black slacks and a fitted charcoal-gray button down, I run my hands through my unruly hair once more, and that's when the doorbell rings.

“Hey, Jess,” I say holding the door open for him, and just as he’s ready to tell telling me about his tour this afternoon, the doorbell rings again. 

Showtime.

"Welcome, everyone; right this way to the library," I say, as I escort them down the hallway. I chose the library to hold cocktails because it's comfortable yet closed-in enough that everyone can mingle in one group. Not long after I have prepared everyone a drink, Jennifer approaches me. She leans in close to whisper in my ear, which is a little too intimate for me.

"Well, Matthew, I guess you know that you’ve been approved … unofficially of course."

"Listen, Jennifer, I appreciate you keeping me informed as to the status of my position with the Center, but I need to tell you that I am involved with someone and I —"

"Oh, my god, Matthew, did you think I was hitting on you?" She puts her hand over her mouth to stifle her giggles.

"Well, yes, actually," I confess, somewhat embarrassed by her reaction.

"Dr. Davis, I have been involved with Robert for the past three years. I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong impression, but I just wanted to learn a little more about you and your position before we started working together." I can feel the signs of mortification make its way to my face.

"Thank you, Jennifer. Now that my most embarrassing moment is over, we can discuss my plans, but let's mingle a little bit first, shall we?" I grin at her as she walks toward Dr. Fisher. No doubt, I'll be fodder for their pillow talk tonight.

I spy Jessie standing alone beside the fireplace, while he watches Jennifer walk across the room.

"Hey, Jess. So, about your tour … how’d it go? Were you happy with it?" I ask, his eyes never leaving Jennifer. "She’s taken, lecher, so don't even think about it."

"What?" he says, seemingly shocked that I would say such a thing.

"You just can't quit, can you? Too bad you’re losing a great girl in Laura," I say, frowning at him.

"What? I was looking at that dress. Laura has one just like it, only in blue. It looks better on Laura for sure," he says, taking a drink of his cocktail. I shake my head, wondering if this thing between him and Laura will ever work out.

After several rounds of cocktails, Rebecca announces that dinner is ready. I motion toward the dining room and everyone finds their places wherever they want to sit. Jessie sits to my right and Dr. Fisher to my left. I begin by pouring the wine, placing several bottles on the table.

"Matthew, this wine is fabulous," Jennifer says, looking at her glass. "What label is it?"

"It's called Pandora, and is a private reserve from the Blossom Wineries out of Napa. I enjoy all of their wines; I thought you might as well," I say, smiling at her.

"Well, it's very good," she says, smiling at me.

After Rebecca serves dinner and blushes from all the compliments she receives, Dr. Fisher asks me the one question I have been dreading.

"So, Matthew, you mentioned you have the ultimate patient for your procedure. Tell us about her." I look up and Jessie gives me a curious frown.

"Well, yes, sir. As you all are aware, my procedure is based upon the biological approach to the degeneration.” Looking around the table, I have the interest of everyone, so I continue.

"I have a twenty-four-year-old female who is completely blind from trauma-related injuries as a result of a car accident at the age of twelve. Moreover, and probably due to the family’s lack of funds, her care suffered. It is probable that she contracted a life-long infection that remained dormant most of the year, occasionally flaring up approximately once to twice a year. I believe, because of those outbreaks, her retina was diseased. It is my belief that after a complete retinal transplant and my stem cell sight restoration procedure, she will regain her sight."

"Matthew, is this Joy?" Jessie whispers. I can see the concern in his eyes.

"Yes," I confess, looking down at my plate.

"Have you already planned the surgery?" Dr. Adams asks.

"She's unaware that she's even a candidate. There are other extenuating circumstances surrounding this that could possibly hinder the procedure from occurring," I say, noticing that everyone’s eyes are on me. I sit quietly, not yet prepared to reveal the truth.

"First, she is against further treatment. She has had numerous examinations from various sources, and she openly complains that she is exhausted from any further 'poking and prodding' as she puts it." I look at Jessie again, and he raises his eyebrow.

"Secondly," I pause, dreading the response. "She's my girlfriend." It doesn’t take long for the whispers to start.

Looking around the table, I see Dr. Fisher’s furrowed brow.

"Matthew, this complicates things a bit, don't you think?" he asks.

"Under normal circumstances, I would agree. Number one, this is not a life or death situation, so my emotional levels are not extreme. In addition, we are not under a time constraint. Joy is a very well-adjusted woman who accepted her condition long ago and has adapted extremely well to her environment. If I felt for one moment that my emotional attachment to her would hinder this procedure in any way, I wouldn't do it. I know that if she came out as blind as she was going into the surgery, she would accept the end results, aside from being totally pissed at me.” Everyone at the table chuckles lightly so I continue. "Like I said, she is very well balanced and well-adjusted emotionally. She accepted her condition long ago and has a successful career as well." I look around the table for any other naysayers.

"My only concern is persuading her to agree to it. She is very comfortable with her life, and she is more apt to want to remain sightless than subject herself to yet another experimental procedure. She actually got a little angry at me when I asked to review her files." I chuckle at the memory.

"I have not found another patient as qualified for this procedure as she is. I'm certain this will cure her, but it's talking her into it that’s the battle. She has had her hopes lifted and quashed too many times already and because of that, has accepted her fate and refuses any further treatment. She has adapted to her impairment.” I end my explanation there and decide now’s the time to change the subject.

"Okay, ladies and gentlemen, are you ready for dessert?" I ask, wanting to change the subject.

"Matthew, we’ll talk tomorrow, all right?" Jennifer suggests as she walks into the formal living room.

"Jessie, I don't want you to say one word about this to anyone, do you understand? This falls under patient confidentiality," I caution him.

"I understand, but will she?" he asks, shaking his head as he walks away.

"That's rich coming from you. When did you become so ethical in your treatment of Laura?" I stand there as he pierces my eyes with his glare. "I intend to tell her, Jessie, but not until after the new year. I don't want to ruin our first holiday season together," I explain, as he turns toward the living room.

The following morning, I give my detailed presentation to the group and answer even more questions. After my rounds, I enter my office to find Jennifer waiting for me.

"Hey, Dr. Adams. What's going on?" I ask, taking the seat behind my desk.

"I wanted to chat with you before Robert and I take the ferry to Bainbridge Island for a little Christmas shopping," she replied. "I just wanted to give you a confidential hint." I sit back and wait for her to continue.

"If you can convince Robert that you are emotionally detached from this procedure, as far as your girlfriend is concerned, and if Joy is amicable to it, you have the support of the Center. You can then take that support to the FDA to get your approval." I sigh with relief.

"Thank you, Jennifer. Like I told my friend and colleague last night, I don't intend on approaching her about this until after the holidays. So, you will be hearing from me around the end of January," I say. We both stand at the same time and shake hands before she leaves. "Have a good time on the island."

"I'll see you tonight." she says as she heads toward the door.

"You are coming to dinner at Dr. Clark's house tonight, right?"

"Yes, I'm looking forward to it."

I’ve done all I needed to do here, with the exception of telling Joy. That's the hard part.

Looking at my cell, I decide to call and check in with her before I head home to try and catch a nap before going out for the evening.

"Hey, beautiful," I say when I hear her sweet voice.

"Hey, you," she replies. "I miss you. I can't wait to see you tomorrow. How's it going? Have you heard whether you have their approval?"

"Yes. I have one criterion to meet, and then I will have their letter approving my procedure. What are you up to tonight?" I ask, quickly changing the subject before she asks me what the criterion is.

"Um, nothing much. I might work, since you and Laura both are busy."

"Sounds like fun," I joke. "What's Laura up to?"

"She, um, has a date … with Peter."

"That's great. I'm glad she's not hanging around waiting for Jessie. He's been in a funk since we met for coffee the other day. He's not sharing anything with me, though."

"I just wish he would have committed. She really liked him and still does, but she's not going to stick around while he wishes he was with someone else."

"I can't wait until tomorrow," I confess. "I wish I knew how late I was going to be out tonight. I don't even want to go; I don't do the club scene anymore. Jessie only picked Trinity because it's one of the more popular clubs, and the guys from New York are single."

"Wait, what club?" she asks.

"Trinity. Why?"