I'll Be Seeing You (20 page)

"I'll grab us a table," Jessie says, clearly depressed.

"Okay, see you in a bit."

Taking my time in the shower, I skip shaving to save time and make it to the diner only five minutes late. Jess is already there waiting with coffee for us.

"I'm starving," I say, clapping my hand on his shoulder. When I get no response, I look over at him.

"Dude, what is up with you?" I ask when I see the sour look on his face. Looking out over the street, he watches the passing cars.

"I'm really fucked up about this Laura thing. I have no clue how to fix it, if it can be fixed at all," he says sadly.

"Yeah, I think you had her heart, but you threw it away, man. She's just one of the smarter ones that didn't stick around until you totally stomped on it. " I say, pretending to look at my menu.

Just as I say that, the waitress comes over and warms both our coffees. She nearly over-pours Jessie's cup while staring at him.

"I'll have the Early Bird with an extra order of bacon please," I say, still looking at the menu.

"I'll take a Denver omelet with English muffin and a large milk," Jessie orders. He looks up at her while handing her the menu. The waitress blushes and licks her lips at him. He smirks and rolls his eyes at her.

"Listen, Jess. You’ll be there at Thanksgiving so you'll see her then. But don't even try to mend things if you aren't into it. Is what you are feeling right now rejection and the loss of a challenge? Do you want her back so you can say you won, or do you actually want her?" I ask in all sincerity.

"I really want her. She was the best, I tell you. She treated me good, but didn't take any shit from me. She gave it right back, and that turns me on, you know that." I swear he's going to start crying in his coffee.

When I hear the bell on the door jingle, I look up and see the prettiest girl in the world walk in. I jump up and nearly run to her, and lift her into my arms.

"Baby," I say, spinning her around. Instantly I realize I shouldn't have done that. I scared her so badly, she screams in my ear.

"Ouch, Joy," I say, putting her down. "Damn, you can scream, girl."

"Well, don't scare the living daylights out of me, Matthew," she scowls, hitting my chest, and then throwing her arms around me.

"God, I've missed you," she says. She has no hesitation in kissing me soundly in front of everyone.

"Back atcha, babe. Seeing you this morning is a bonus." I kiss her lips once more before turning and saying, "Hi, Laura." She waves at me before she sneaks a peek at Jessie through her lashes.

"Hi, Jess," she says, quietly.

"Hi, Laura," he returns. Yeah, he's got it bad … real bad.

I look at both of the girls and ask if they want to join us.

"Um …" Laura says, looking at Jessie.

"Yeah, join us." Jessie's eyes brighten substantially as he jumps out of his seat to pull a chair out for her.

Laura sits next to Jessie, and I pull Joy onto my lap, holding her as close to me as I possibly can.

"Matthew, what are you doing? You’ll get us thrown out of here, and I'm starving." She giggles while I nibble on her neck.

"I'll give you something to eat," I whisper. "I'll make sure you're nice and full." Her blush is the exact reaction I want.

"Matthew, you can't talk like that here. Now stop. I want you bad enough as it is." I love it when she whispers in my ear while running her fingers along my neck.

"Okay, but damn, you have no idea how badly I need you right now. I'm about ready to take you in the car." Kissing her once more, I move her over to her chair to see Laura and Jess staring at us.

"What?" I ask. "I haven't seen her in two days. I'm just glad to see her; is that all right with you?" I wrap my arm around her shoulder and kiss her again, making sure everyone knows she's mine.

"Get a fucking room, dude," Jessie says. Laura’s head snaps in his direction, her brow furrowed in distaste.

"Dr. Montgomery, that is an overused cliché, and you, my friend, are clearly envious," I say, taking a sip of coffee, looking at him over the rim. I can see I've hit a very exposed nerve.

The waitress comes over and hands the girls their menus and I take Joy's for her. I make a request to the waitress to hold our orders until all of them are ready. She fills our coffees, smiles at Jessie again, and leaves. Laura shakes her head, no doubt realizing this will be an ongoing event if she hooks up with him. I'll give him credit. He doesn't even look at the waitress. As it should be … the moron.

Looking around the table, I decide to open a discussion. "So, Thanksgiving, huh?"

"Oh, thanks for reminding me. I have the shopping list you asked for. Are we staying the whole weekend, or just overnight?" Joy asks as she rummages through her purse for the list.

"You can stay as long as you want.”

I study Jessie and Laura and see how uncomfortable they are. “Look, I need to get rid of the white elephant in the room. Are you two going to play nice this weekend?"

"I, uh, I won't be there for Thanksgiving," Jessie says, taking a sip of his coffee. He looks into his cup, then quietly places it in the saucer.

Flummoxed by what he just said, I look at him with surprise, but he keeps his eyes down. My eyes dart to Laura, and she stares at him like she's about to cry. We are all stunned when she puts her hand on his arm and asks why.

"I sort of promised some friends I would hang out at their place, so …" All eyes are on him as he moves his cup around in the saucer.

"You liar," I belt out. "You're coming, Jessie."

"Matthew, don't," he says quietly. Looking at Laura again, I see even more hurt in her eyes. We both know why he's not coming.

Laura places her hand on her lap and says, "I want you there." He looks at her, then back down into his coffee cup.

"I can't, Laura. You don't understand," he says.

"I know why you aren't coming," Joy says, breaking the silence. "You aren't coming because you think Laura doesn't want you there. Well, she does. We all do. It won't be the same without you."

"Yeah, Jess. You're my bud. I won't have you spending Thanksgiving alone, so you're coming."

"Jessie, please? I was hoping we could talk over the weekend. You know, see if we can figure all this out?" she says. He looks at her, and his eyes brighten considerably.

"Really?"

"Really."

"I'd like that, Laura. I really would."

"Me, too,” she beams. “So, it's settled."

All’s right with the world and we all smile when the waitress brings our food out.

After we finish eating, Laura suggests going to the outdoor festival at the park that has live music today. Agreeing to meet at the entrance of the park, we hurry home to change into warmer clothing, grab a few blankets and a Thermos of hot chocolate to drink. I think Jessie likes the idea when Laura suggests that he ride with her. I know I do. I miss my girl. A lot.

Joy and I drive in silence most of the way to the park, but I sneak glances at her periodically. "Quit staring," she says, giggling.

"I'm not staring. I'm peeking." I grin when she smiles and take her hand in mine. A feeling of contentment comes over me when she lifts my hand to her face and begins to rub her cheek over it.

After we park the car and grab our gear, I see Jessie and Laura at the gate, waiting for us.

"I got the tickets already," Jessie says, holding them up for me to see. "Let's go. I'm looking forward to this."

"I am, too," Laura says as she takes Jessie's arm.

They walk ahead of Joy and I so I explain to Joy the scenario.

"He held out his arm to her," I whisper. "I think they’re getting along a lot better now. Jessie hasn't even thought about looking at another woman since Laura showed up, however, I’ll know more once he’s not around her." Jessie doesn’t typically flirt with other women in front of Laura. It’s when he’s on his own that he strays.

"I hope things work out. Laura was crying this morning. She really likes him, but she doesn’t think they’ll make it. She doesn't think he can change," she explains.

"Oh, I think Laura is in for a little surprise," I say.

Wrapping my arm around her, I pull her close to me. "I love you," I whisper, kissing the top of her head, and her arm wraps more tightly around my waist. Yeah, this is what home feels like.

Once Laura finds us the perfect spot under two perfect trees, we spread our blankets underneath them. Wrapping the big throw blanket around Joy and me, we sit against the tree.

“Sit here, babe,” I say, positioning her between my legs, pulling her back against my chest.

The first song played is Nature Boy, which is one of my favorites. I feel a vibration coming from her and I listen as she sings so low that no one can hear her but me.

"Louder, let Laura and Jessie hear you too. You have such a beautiful voice.”

I feel her body relax against me, and her singing becomes a little louder with the music. Laying my head against the rough bark of the tree, I close my eyes and listen to her sexy, gravelly voice sing the melancholy tune.

"My God, that was the most beautiful thing I've ever heard," I whisper in her ear. "Has anyone ever told you that you sound like that Celine girl?"

"Yeah, all the time."

"Well, thank you for singing it. That song has always been one of my favorites, and you brought it to life for me."

After another song begins, I pour a cup of chocolate for us to share, and then toss the thermos and cups to Jessie.

"Here, take this, Joy," I say quietly, placing the cup in her hand. "Don't spill it. If you spill it, I'm going to spank your sexy bottom till it glows, do you understand?" I ask. She nods her head frantically in understanding.

After I make sure she is warmly bundled, and the cup is secure, I hold the blanket tight with one hand and graze my fingers over her breasts. When I begin to unbutton her jeans, I whisper in her ear, "Don’t make a sound," I warn before gliding my hands under the band of her panties. "And most importantly, don't make your sexy face." No sooner do I slip my fingers into her folds, she gasps.

"Not a word, Joy," I remind her, pinching her clitoris as punishment. Discreetly, I part her legs, so I have better access, instructing her to bend one of her legs at the knee. Slipping my finger inside again, I gather some of her wetness and use it to feel my girl come alive under my touch.

"I hear your breathing, Joy. Are you ready to come already?" I whisper. She nods her head quickly again, so I stop my movements until she calms down.

"Do you like this, baby? Do you like me touching you here in front of everyone? Knowing that if they look under the covers they will see me touching your beautiful pussy?" Her breathing hitches and I feel her hips begin to move.

She turns her head to speak to me, her breathing rough and ragged.

“Quit talking to me like that, Matthew, or else I will scream your name when I come.”

"Don't move," I remind her. I begin stirring my fingers inside her, feeling how juicy wet she is. Caressing and stroking her to the rhythm of the music, she swells under my touch.

"Are you going to come for me, baby?" She nods as her breathing begins to labor.

"Don't make a sound. I want you to kiss me when you come, do you hear me?" I apply pressure and pick up the pace just enough to send her over the edge. She brings her mouth to mine, and I swallow her moans as she comes under my hand. She doesn't make a sound and she doesn't move a muscle, except around my fingers. Her tongue is desperate as it searches inside my mouth. Her labored breathing is a result of the pleasure she’s experiencing, and yet she refuses to move.

"Ah, my perfect, beautiful, Joy," I say against her lips. "Did you like that?"

"Oh, yes," she whispers.

"You taste so fucking good," I whisper, licking her off my fingers, which causes a brilliant blush to envelope her cheeks. I chuckle in her ear while I zip and button her pants.

I glance over at Jessie and Laura hoping they couldn’t hear us, but the minute Jessie sees Joy's flushed face, he shakes his head in admonishment. I smirk and shrug my shoulders.

Taking the cup from her so she can relax, I nuzzle her ear. "No spanking for you."

"Can I move now?" she asks.

I laugh out loud, bringing attention to us. "Yes."

"I love you so much, Matthew."

"I love you more, little girl."

After rain spoils the rest of our afternoon in the park, I ask Joy to spend the night at my house. We drive by her place to gather Conrad and some food for him, and drive to my place. The first item on the agenda is to build a fire. Staring into the flames, the thought of telling her about the procedure passes through my mind, but it’s been such a perfect day, I know it will only result in an argument. I would rather not end this weekend at odds with her. It also furthers my decision to wait until after the holidays to broach the subject.

With Jim Brickman playing on the stereo, Joy and I are cuddled together on the couch in front of the fire, enjoying each other in comfortable silence. Laying my head back onto the pillow, I begin to run my fingers through her hair, feeling the soft and silky strands when my stomach growls. "You hungry, babe?" I ask.

"Mm, not just yet," she answers quietly, and then settles in closer against me. "I just want this for a little bit longer."

"M'kay," I mumble in agreement. My eyes already feel heavy, and I know a nap is inevitable.

A high-pitched whine wakes me out of a deep sleep. Opening one eye, I find Conrad standing in front of us, telling anyone that will listen that he needs to go outside. Poor guy. I try to get up without waking his mistress, but I know it's an impossible task because she has herself draped alongside me from head to toe. Trying to remove my arm from underneath her, it doesn't work.

"Where you going?" she asks sleepily, grabbing for me, pulling me back down with her.

"Your son needs to go out, and how can I make him wait when he was a good boy for telling us to begin with?"

"Yeah, he's good that way, aren't you, Conrad?" she says sweetly, reaching out to pet him.

"Come on, boy," I call to let him out the back door. "I'm hungry," I shout from the kitchen.

"Me, too," she replies. But no sooner do I look her way that she’s fallen back to sleep.

"Let's see what Rebecca left for us," I say as if someone is listening. Opening the refrigerator, I find a clear glass dish with a note on it.

Matthew - I made you Potato Leek soup. There’s fresh bread in the bread box breadbox. Enjoy. -  Rebecca

Nice!

Emptying the contents of the container into a pot, I heat it up on the stove and cut a few thick slices of the bread, warming them in the toaster oven. When the timer goes off, I drench the slices with softened butter.

After the soup is heated, I arrange everything on a tray, along with bottled water, and carry it out to the family room.

Placing the tray on the coffee table, I go to the back door and let Conrad in. Figuring he must be hungry too, I fill his bowls.

Looking down at her sleeping form, I sit on the floor next to her, stroking her forehead to wake her for dinner. She's warm. Touching her face and then her neck — she’s very warm. Getting up to get my bag in search of my thermometer, I take her temperature and get an immediate reading of one hundred and one.

What in the world?

"Hey, baby," I say softly, waking her. She stirs a little, and her forehead furrows as if she's in pain. "Hey, are you feeling all right?" I ask, placing my hand on her forehead again.

"Not really," she answers, attempting to sit up.

"Here, have some soup. It's potato." Placing the spoon next to her mouth, she turns away, refusing to eat.

"Tell me what's going on, Joy."

"I get this way every now and then. My temperature flares, and I need an antibiotic. It's usually amoxicillin," she says, taking a drink of the cold water I hand her.

"What do you mean 'usually amoxicillin'? Does this happen a lot?" I ask, trying to figure out what is going on with her.

"I get a periodic infection flare-up in my body. No one has been able to detect what the cause is or where it comes from, but it happens," she explains, lying back down on the pillow. "The first few times it happened, it went undetected and I was hospitalized. The cause has never been determined, but need to get a prescription right away, or I will be in the hospital by Monday. I need to call my physician to get a prescription called in," she says.  Attempting to get up from the couch, she fails miserably, falling back down. She is already weakening.

I grab my cell off the table and dial Jessie.

"Hey, Jessie, I need a favor, I say anxiously. "I need a prescription for amoxicillin. Would you run to the clinic and bring it to me?" I touch Joy's forehead again, becoming worried by the way she is fading fast.

"Sure. What's wrong?"

"It's Joy. She's running a high temperature and says this happens periodically and that it takes an antibiotic to get it under control." Getting up, I hurry to my office, thumbing through her files. "She has an infection in her body that flares up, which causes her to have high temps, and if it isn't managed, she’s hospitalized," I explain further while reading the papers.

"Okay, I'll get them and be right there," he says.

"Thanks, Jess. I really appreciate it," I say before hanging up.

I quickly walk back to Joy's sleeping form and find her in the fetal position, wrapped up in a blanket. Her face is flushed which prompts me to take her temperature again. It’s now one hundred and two degrees. I run to my medicine cabinet and get her two aspirin, then run back to her, forcing her to take them.

"Joy, baby, one more degree and you are going to the hospital," I warn her. She nods her head in agreement and lies back down. Determined to find the underlying cause of this, because there’s no reason this girl should go all these years without an explanation as to why her body has this dormant infection. Someone has dropped the ball here, and I’ll make sure I find the cause.

After a while, her temperature starts going down, and I am certain it's from the aspirin. Once I get the antibiotic in her, she will start to feel much better, and so will I.

While sitting on the floor, watching her fuss in her sleep, I'm startled when the doorbell rings and I rush to the door knowing it's Jessie.  I’m totally surprised to see Laura with him.

"Hey, thanks for doing this, Jess," I say again, taking the bottle of pills from him to give one to Joy right away.

"Laura, she said this happens periodically. What’s going on?" I ask, near frantic in desperation for information.

"She's done this since we were teenagers. About once a year to every six months, she'll get an outrageous fever that knocks her out and puts her in the hospital," she explains. "No one knows why, but when it happens, it's bad."

"Were tests run? I didn't see anything in her records indicating that Dr. Jenkins had run any," I say, trying to recall anything that might help to figure this out.

"I don't know; probably. She’s really tired of doctors, I do know that," Laura says, looking down at Joy's still form.

I take her temperature again, and it hasn't changed. I'll give it another fifteen minutes, and if it hasn't gone down, I'm putting her in a bath.

Once I'm comfortable that her temperature is stabilizing, I decide to, leave Joy in Laura's care to review her medical files again.

"Laura, let me know if her temperature goes up, will you?" I ask, watching her stroke Joy's brow. Shaking my head, I’m puzzled at what could possibly be making Joy react this way. I turn to head toward my office.

"Can I help?" I startle at the sound of Jessie's deep voice, and nod, motioning him to sit across from me.

"Sure. You can take a look at these," I say, handing him a stack of files. "These are from age fifteen to eighteen. I'll take from twelve to fifteen." We sit in silence, and read page by page.

After an hour of reading, I look at Jessie. "You don't think it's the infection she had in her retina, do you? I mean, she developed the infection in her right eye. You don’t think it lies dormant then flares up periodically, do you? Perhaps by an airborne allergen?"

"It's a very strong possibility. It makes more sense than anything else we've found here. You would have to do a blood panel on her right now, though," he says, his head still buried in the files.

"Yes, and she will fight me all the way, but at this juncture, I don't care. I want to have a look."

If I can narrow this down to her diseased retina, I will have a strong argument for her when it comes time to introduce the idea of allowing me to perform surgery on her.

"How’s she doing?" I ask Laura when Jessie and I walk back into the family room.

"I think her temperature is down," she answers, looking at us with hope in her eyes.

Taking her temperature again, it is indeed down to one hundred degrees. Now, if I can keep it that low, I'll be happy. I just don't want to have to take her to the E.R.

"Joy? Baby? How are you feeling? Do you hurt anywhere?" I ask, drying her damp brow with my palm, making sure her hair is out of her eyes. When I bend down to kiss her cheek and she whimpers.

"I'm thirsty." Thirsty is good. Laura runs to the kitchen to get her a fresh bottle of water that she pours into a glass, handing it to her. I smile when she drinks it all down.

"Baby, I'm going out to the clinic to get a blood sample kit to run a blood panel on you. Will you be all right with Laura while I'm gone?"

"Matthew …" She opens her mouth to argue, but I won’t have it.

"No, Joy. No arguing, okay? I'm running tests, and that's final. I'll be back."

"Okay," she murmurs, giving in.

Oh … well … that was easy.

"Jessie, will you call the lab and let them know I’m bringing in a sample tonight and I want it run, stat?"

"You got it," he says, picks up his phone and walks to another room to make the call.

I check her temperature once more before I leave, and it’s at one hundred and one … up a degree.

Fuck.

"Laura, would you ask Jessie to check her temp again in a few minutes and let him know it was just at one hundred and one? If it gets up to one hundred and three, put her in the tub with lukewarm water and call me. I'll be back as soon as I can, all right?"

"All right," Laura answers, stroking Joy’s brow.

I'm thankful I don't live far from the clinic and make it there in record time. Parking in front of the building, not giving a fuck if I get a ticket or not, I rush to the supply desk to sign out all the supplies I need, placing everything in a sterilized container, and rush back home.

When I enter through the garage door into the kitchen, I hear Joy yelling and when I run into the living room, I see her fighting Jessie.

"What's going on?" I shout at them. Laura is the first to speak up.

"She needs to get in the tub, but she won't go without you. Apparently, Jessie's not allowed to see her naked."

"I'll take her. What's her temperature, Jess?"

"Almost one hundred and four."

"Okay, baby, time for a bath. I'll take one with you; how does that sound?"

"I don't want a bath, Matthew. I just want to be left alone," she cries. She’s getting grumpy and rightfully so.

"All right, I’ll let you decide. Either you get in the tub, or you go to the hospital. Hurry with your answer."

"Neither," she yells.

I slip the thermometer in my pocket, lift her in my arms, and carry her kicking and fighting me all the way up the stairs. When I get to the bathroom, I find that Laura has already run the bath. I undress a fighting Joy and set her on the floor while I do the same. Once I get us into the uncomfortable bath, I continuously cover her with water along her upper torso. She lays her head back against my shoulder, crying silently. It breaks my heart to see tears fall from her eyes without even the slightest whimper. This is terribly uncomfortable for me, so I can imagine how it must feel to her.

After a while of cooling her skin with the bathwater, I reach over the side of the tub to grab the thermometer. "One hundred," I say more to myself than to her.

Getting us out of the cold water, I dry us both and pull back to look at her to see that she is barely awake. Carrying her to my room, I slip one of my favorite t-shirts on her and tuck her under the covers, making sure she’s warm. Once I have taken care of her, I hurry and dress myself. Removing an arm from under the blanket, I look in search for a good, visible vein in which to draw the blood. It was then that Jessie knocks on the door.

"Come in," I answer, continuing my task of running my fingers over the inside of her elbows, deciding to take it from her right arm. Jessie hands me a pair of sterilized gloves and puts on a pair for himself. He has already begun to remove the contents of the sterilized bag, spreading it all out on the bed for me. He then hands me the rubberized tie, which I use to wrap around her arm.

"You okay, baby?" I ask as I prepare her arm.

"Yeah," she replies in a weak voice.

Looking up at her, she is clearly upset. "This won't take long,” I say in an attempt to reassure her, leaning down to kiss her forehead. "I'm going to fix all this, okay?" She closes her eyes and nods.

"She doesn't have a very visible median cubital vein, but I think I can get it," I say to Jessie. I continue to push on the vein, hoping to stimulate it closer to the surface.