Then he took a break to drink some of his beer and shovel a few nachos in his mouth. He pushed his plate toward her but she just shook her head. “Are you all right?” he asked.
She shrugged. “You were very late.”
“I apologized,” he said. “I had Cheryl call you. If you didn’t want to wait, you didn’t have to.”
“Did it occur to you to call me yourself?”
He appeared momentarily frozen. He dabbed his lips with his napkin and leaned back in his chair. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know,” she said, shaking her head. “I felt abandoned.”
“Though of course you weren’t. I was tied up. We got a little behind schedule and there was a patient who had come a long way to see me, so I made sure to see her.”
Jessie lifted one brow. “Oh? And what was so important?”
His jaw clenched. “A fifteen-year-old girl, with her parents, came all the way from Reno. She has a glioblastoma, temporal lobe, and I’ll be operating on her on Tuesday. She’s frightened, as anyone would be. There were a lot of questions. As expected. I wasn’t about to cancel or reschedule. Or cut her short.”
“Oh,” she said, contrite. “Well, I had a hard day, too.”
“I didn’t have a hard day, Jessie. I was running late.” He drank some of his beer. “Do you want to talk about your day?”
“No, I just want to eat,” she said. “Maybe it’s low blood sugar...”
He granted her a small smile. “Then let’s get you fed.”
And she thought, Oh God, I’m doing it again! What is the matter with me?
She forced herself to be pleasant, to laugh at the right times, to show empathy when it would count, to ask him questions that would get him talking and take the pressure off herself, to have a lovely dinner. She was rewarded for this effort by having him ask if she’d like to come to his place and she said yes, thinking that the pleasure of lovemaking would take some of the pressure off her poor head.
For a while, that seemed the answer, for Patrick was the most wonderful, tender and powerful lover. But after sleeping for a couple of hours, she startled awake, her head pounding.
Jenn called Michael and in her cheery little voice said, “I’ve made the most wonderful batch of enchiladas and I’d love to share it with you.”
“That’s so sweet, but I can’t really go out tonight. I have to do a little laundry and I have some lesson plans to work on. I’ve got football practice every day and have no extra time.”
“That’s all right, Mike. I’ll bring the enchiladas to you.”
“My apartment is kind of a mess...”
“So I’ll help you straighten up while you work on your lessons.”
“You’re determined, aren’t you?” he asked, adding a little laugh, hoping to lighten up the message.
“If you’d rather not have company, just say so,” she said.
He thought for a moment. “Enchiladas sound good.”
“I’ll pack it up and see you soon!”
So then tonight would be the night, he thought with despair and fear. He would break up with her.
Over the enchiladas she made because he loved them? Classy.
Jenn was one of the best girls he’d ever dated and he was crazy about her. She was a beautiful girl with creamy skin and long, soft brown hair. When he looked into her eyes, they reflected the same blue as his, but lighter. She was funny and had a gentle, kind and patient nature. She taught second grade; she would have to be patient. But maybe the most important thing about her was she wasn’t given to melodrama. So many young women her age were teetering on the fine ledge of high drama. He wasn’t so sure they didn’t welcome it!
Not Jenn. She came from a pretty functional family who seemed to laugh through their quirky dysfunctions, kind of like his own family in that way. Jenn had a granny who enjoyed her vodka and she was hilarious when she’d had a couple. Michael had Blanche, who didn’t drink much but her crusty demeanor and sailor’s mouth made them all laugh and Blanche just enjoyed the heck out of it.
Jenn loved teaching and she wanted to have a family someday. She considered educating to be custom fit to her future plans. She thought she could continue to work while she raised her children. Since Michael loved coaching and teaching, her plans were well suited to his.
And he loved her. She was steadfast and honorable. She was decent and yet the sexiest woman he’d ever been with. She turned him on like mad, though his libido hadn’t been working too well since his dad died.