Indelible Love - Emily's Story (41 page)

Not having consumed anything since six
in the morning, the three of us were ravenous. Lunch was next on
the list before another fitting at the bridal shop.

Finally
, Jake called.

“Hi, Honey!” My voice bubbled with
enthusiasm.

“Hello, my love. What are you and my
parents up to right now?”

Even with Sandy and Bobby by my side,
I felt such a void without Jake.

“We are eating a grilled veggie salad,
and after lunch, we’re going to the dress shop for another fitting.
Your tuxedo is here and they want you to come in for another
fitting as well.”

“I probably won’t get there till the
week of the wedding.”

“OK, I’ll stop by the store and let
them know.”

I proceeded to tell Jake all that had
been accomplished today, and he told me about his day thus far. I
excused myself from the table and went outside briefly to finish
our conversation.

“Jake?” I bemoaned.

“Yes, Love. What’s the matter?” he
asked in a comforting voice.

“I really miss you. Can’t you come
home any earlier than midnight?”

I could almost hear his smile over the
phone as he said, “I miss you too. I’ll be home as soon as I can,
but don’t wait up for me. It will probably be very
late.”

I told Jake how difficult it had been
today without him by my side. He had spoiled me the last week with
his constant attention. Who would have believed that I had spent
five months apart from him by the sound of my wimpy confession? Of
course, I heard the pager go off and we said good-bye. I went in to
finish my lunch.

The fitting went well, and Sandy and
Bobby both loved the wedding dress.

“Emily, you will be the most beautiful
bride,” Bobby said.

“Thank you,” I answered, embarrassed
by the compliment.

Our stop at the caterer took the
longest of all of our stops. The caterer would not only take care
of the food and beverages, but they would also provide all the
rentals—tent, tables, chairs, linen, and of course the cake. We
tried many flavors and since we were going to have a four-tiered
cake, each one of us chose a flavor. I chose one for Jake in his
absence. The caterer would send linens over to the house tomorrow
morning so we could pick out color schemes.

The three of us had accomplished much
today with the time allotted. Sandy and Bobby dropped me off at the
restaurant just in time for my dinner with Sarah, Charlie, Peter,
and Max.

“Thank you for all your help, Mom and
Dad. I’m honored to be joining your family,” I said, giving each of
them a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

“We’re really happy to welcome you
into our family as well,” Bobby and Sandy agreed with a hug and
kiss in return.

We parted and I walked into the
restaurant bearing gifts for my closest friends.

“Em, over here,” Max said, as I
searched for them. They were hidden away in a corner
table.

I ran over to them and gave them all a
big hug.

“Let’s see the ring,” Sarah exclaimed.
“OMG! Why is it so big?”

“I know, I said the same thing to Jake
when he gave it to me. It’s almost embarrassing to wear this ring,
especially with the band on the other hand. Jake says I have to
wear both, and I told him I’m asking for a mugging.”

They all laughed.

“Hey, where’s Peter?” I asked
surveying the dining hall.

“We have this tough doctor who’s been
working all the students. Peter got called in right as we were
headed out the door,” Max explained. “He should be at General
Hospital by now.”

“That’s where Jake is today. Maybe
they’ll run into each other.” Of course my face lit up talking
about my fiancé. I didn’t want to appear too giddy, so I turned to
all of my friends and announced, “Presents!”

Sarah opened her gift and her face
immediately turned red.

“You like?” I asked.

“I really like!” Charlie
affirmed.

Charlie thought his architecture book
paled in comparison to the lingerie gift that was more for him than
for her.

“Max, this is for you,” I said handing
him his gift.

He opened it and flipped
through the book realizing that it was Charles Dickens’
A Tale of Two Cities
from 1918. He read my inscription on the second
page.

Thank you, from the bottom of my
heart, for giving me four wonderful years of your life. You
challenged me to grow as a person, and I hope I made you as happy
as you made me. I will never forget your love. You will always hold
a special place in my heart.

Love,

Em

Max turned and hugged me. I knew he
understood how much he meant and still means to me.

During dinner, I told everyone about
Paris and how Jake proposed. Max showed a sadness that made me
conscious of my glow. Rather than continue with wedding talk, I
turned the conversation on my dear friends and asked them about
their lives. “What are you and Peter doing during your summer
vacation?” I asked.

“What summer vacation? Only the
teachers get time off. We are in the hospital working every day. In
fact, I have to go in for a midnight to 6:00am shift.”

“What a bummer. I thought that
everyone was off during the summertime.”

“No. I wish. I’ll probably see Jake if
he’s at GH the whole time. I’m sure they’ll send me up to the OR at
some point.”

Charlie talked about the newest house
that he was designing. It was for a big movie star whose name he
couldn’t reveal. We all begged for a hint. Even Sarah had no idea
who he was working with.

Sarah’s advertising firm kept her busy
all the time. I seemed to be the only one with not much to do on a
daily basis.

“Oh, Sarah, I brought your dress.” I
interrupted Charlie’s flow. “The hostess is holding it for me in
the front so you need to take it with you, OK? Also, can you come
by Jake’s parents’ house? I want to show you where the wedding will
take place.”

“I can come by after work,” she
answered.

As soon as dinner was done, my head
started nodding and I kept apologizing to my friends for falling
asleep on them. We decided to part and Max drove me home before his
midnight shift.

“Thanks for the book, Em. I really
love it.”

“You’re welcome. Jake actually wanted
to buy the book for you, but I didn’t let him. I wanted it to be a
gift from me.”

“Tell Jake I said thanks, as
well.”

“You tell him if you see him tonight.
Also, if you see him, tell him that I’m pining away for him at
home.”

That probably wasn’t the most
sensitive thing to ask my ex-boyfriend to tell my
fiancé.

“Sorry. TMI, huh?”

“It’s OK,” he said with an attempt to
laugh it off.

It saddened me to see Max so down. I
knew Max was happy for me, but I sensed that he hadn’t gotten over
me rejecting his proposal. I hoped our encounter in Arizona would
become a distant memory and that he would find his happiness
soon.

“I guess I’ll see you at your
wedding.”

I hated it when his face turned
somber, and he couldn’t look me in the eye. I smiled, hugging him,
and answered, “We’ll definitely see each other before then. Bye.” I
gave him a quick peck on the cheek and walked toward the
house.

It was near eleven o’clock when I got
home and washed up for bed. Pulling an all-nighter last night made
me extremely sleepy, but I tried my hardest to stay up and wait for
Jake. My head bobbed up and down trying to watch whatever was on
the television. Instinctually, I jerked awake at the sound of the
garage door opening and closing. My legs took me as fast as they
could downstairs in my pajamas, excited to see Jake. As he opened
the door, I surprised him and jumped into his arms, almost knocking
us both down.

He dropped whatever was in his hands,
picked me up, and started embracing me. I didn’t think twice about
the fact that he was carrying me, kissing me, and walking up a
flight of stairs. What was the worst that could happen? We would
fall and break his surgeon hands? We got to his bedroom and lay on
our bed. We made out like two hormonal teenagers. For the first
time, I didn’t stop him or push him away. I responded to his every
move. I let him explore with his hands, his mouth, his tongue and
soon my pajama top came undone. As my body continued to
reciprocate, Jake paused and stared at me.

“Aren’t you going to stop me?” he
questioned. “This is unusual that you haven’t said no
yet.”

“Um, I wasn’t ready to stop, but I
guess we should, huh? Sorry I got carried away.” I
giggled.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. I
stopped us?” He had this incredulous look on his handsome face. “I
can’t win.”

“Yup, I guess I have you trained
better than I thought.” I giggled even harder.

Jake groaned and walked in to take a
shower.

I must have fallen asleep while Jake
showered because when my eyes opened, I was alone nicely tucked
away in his bed. It was 4:00 a.m. and sleep was done for the night.
I was tempted to crawl into bed with Jake in Nick’s room, but I
thought I should be good. There were only a few more weeks left for
us to be apart. Instead, I drove downtown to the fish market and
bought a variety of fish to make sushi today.

The fish market was bustling with
vendors and chefs. It was tiny compared to the Tsukiji fish market
in Tokyo, but the fish and seafood smelled fresh and delicious
memories of Japan paraded through my morning. Mr. Yamaguchi’s
suggestions for the day were tuna, salmon, yellowtail, halibut,
sweet shrimp, and uni. This would absolutely make a nice lunch for
the whole family. Maybe I would surprise Jake and bring him lunch
at the hospital.

Once home, I put all the fish away and
started making a batter for crepes. All the necessary ingredients
for my own version of the Ritz Hotel crepes were found in the
pantry. I chopped up bananas, strawberries, and peanuts and whipped
up some heavy cream with vanilla and confectioners’ sugar. Sandy
and Bobby cheerfully walked from their room, ready to be my
chauffeur and wedding planner again. Though today, we needed to
stay home and work with all the vendors who wanted to come see the
layout of the house. Samples of linen would be sent to the house by
8:00 a.m., and Aunt Barbara, the chief’s wife, offered to be our
interior and exterior designer for the wedding. Since I didn’t have
much of an eye for design, I was glad she volunteered to
help.

Good morning. I have strawberries and
whipped cream crepes or Nutella, peanuts, and banana crepes. What
can I get you?” I offered.

“Good morning, Emily. I’ll take one of
each,” Bobby said. “I really enjoy your breakfast in the mornings.
I feel like I’m at a bed and breakfast.”

“Emily, dear, you know that you don’t
have to make us breakfast every morning, right?” Sandy looked
worried.

“Oh, I know. It’s not a have to, it’s
a want to. Cooking is something I love to do. Plus, I can’t sleep
beyond 4:00 a.m., so I might as well be useful. Don’t get too used
to it, though. Jake will tell you I’m not much of a morning person.
Breakfast may soon be a thing of the past so enjoy it while it
lasts.”

I went to work on my new electric
crepe maker that I picked up yesterday while registering for my
wedding gifts. The first few crepes turned out too thick so I threw
them out, but after that, I got the hang of using the wooden rabot
and perfected the spreading technique. Each crepe after the first
few came out perfectly. Aunt Barbara and the chief came over and I
made them each a couple of crepes. The kitchen island simulated a
diner and I felt like a short order cook. It was fun.

“How do you take your coffee?” I asked
both of them.

“Emily,” Aunt Barbara said, “I’ll get
our coffee. Why don’t you sit down and eat with us?”

“I’ll wait till Jake comes down.
Oh…speaking of, there he is.” My mouth grinned from ear to
ear.

I heard Barbara turn to Sandy and
whisper, “Look at how her face lights up at the sight of
him.”

Sandy in turn said, “You think that’s
bad; my son’s a hundred times worse!”

Jake ambled into the kitchen and our
eyes locked immediately. With his back to the family, he grabbed me
and devoured my lips. A bit friskier than I would’ve liked with an
audience, I turned crimson, but didn’t pull away. I was learning to
cherish every touch without being so self-conscious about what
others might think. Brazen? Bold? Audacious? Whatever it was, I was
enjoying it too much to stop.

“Hi, Beautiful. Did you sleep well?”
Jake asked with an adoring look.

“I slept very well, all four hours of
it.”

“You got up at four this
morning?”

“Yeah, I couldn’t go back to
sleep.”

“You could’ve come into bed with me.”
He looked vexed I didn’t.