Indelible Love - Emily's Story (6 page)

Jake’s face turned a bit pale.
“Dinner?”

“It was literally dinner. We also had
a good talk, which I’d like to share with you whenever you’d like
to hear about it. Are you OK? Can we go on with this day without us
being uncomfortable with one another?”

I gave him a hopeful smile.

“I told Max last night that I was
really looking forward to spending a whole day with you. Even
though we’ve been dating a few months, I don’t think we know each
other very well.”

“What do you mean we don’t know each
other?” he asked while opening the car door for me. “Here, get in.
We need to get going, or we’re going to miss our
flight.”

Flight. OK, we were probably headed up
to San Francisco. I delighted in the idea of spending this day with
him.

“How can you say that we don’t really
know each other?” I guess he couldn’t get over my last
statement.

“Jake, when was the last time…better
yet, has there ever been a time where we spent an entire date
without being interrupted? Our first date at the Mexican
restaurant, what happened? You got paged and went in to perform
some surgery. Our second date, brunch at the hotel, what happened?
The chief called you and told you to attend some conference in
Atlanta. That’s also when we got into our first argument and
couldn’t even talk it through because you had to leave.”

I could tell by Jake’s surly
expression, he didn’t like where I was taking this conversation. I
personally enjoyed it. “Don’t get me going on our third date to
Santa Barbara that ended before it even started. And last night,
you left me stranded before dinner was served. Although I think we
did manage to spend an entire three hours together. That’s a
record, you know.”

“What about all the times I come by,
call, or text you?”

“Are you kidding me? The last time you
came by my house, you got mad at me and left in the middle of
dinner.”

“I apologized about that,” he defended
himself.

“You did, but only after you realized
you were in trouble because I wouldn’t answer your calls or your
texts. You can be such a five-year-old at times,” I teased him.
“And as for your calls and texts, you call from the hospital and
have to hang up within minutes. Your texts look like an
hour-by-hour hospital itinerary. How did you ever have a
relationship with this schedule? Does your hospital have no other
doctors but yourself?”

I shook my head and chuckled. Time was
a limited and precious commodity with Jake. We had never really
spent any quality time together, and we shared very few meals in
their entirety. Jake stayed quiet for a while and looked to be
thinking over our exchange. He turned his head toward me as if to
retort but stopped himself.

“So, you see why I’m so excited to
spend this whole day with you?” I put my hand over his sitting on
the armrest. He turned his palm up and interlocked our
fingers.

“OK. I get your point. I already feel
very close to you, but you apparently need more convincing. That
will be my mission today. Ask me whatever you like. I’ll answer all
your questions.”

As we drove up the 5 Freeway, I did my
best to get some answers. “Burbank airport, huh? Could we be flying
to San Francisco? It couldn’t be Seattle, that’s a bit too far for
a day trip. Any hints?” He wouldn’t budge. “Aw, come on. I thought
you said you would be answering all my questions.”

“Not a chance,” he said with a sly
grin. “You’ll have to wait till we get there.”

“OK, so here’s something about me you
don’t know. I don’t like surprises. I like everything planned out,
and I prefer to do the planning.”

“Control freak.”

Laughing, I answered, “I know, but I
can’t help it.” Slowly I counted to five and then begged, “Please?
Just a teeny tiny hint?”

Nothing worked till I started slowly
working my lips from his neck up to his ear. “Are you sure you
can’t give me a hint?” My poor attempt as a seductress
worked…well.

“You’re not playing fair.” His body
froze and the car started slowing down. “You need to stop before we
get into an accident. I’ll tell you once we get to the airport. I
promise.”

We parked the car in the long-term lot
and got on the bus headed toward the terminal.

“So, where are we going? You promised
to tell me,” I whined.

Jake grabbed me by the waist and
pulled me in to him. “Where have all the kisses gone?” he asked
while practicing the same moves I played on him in the car. Heading
into terminal three bound for San Francisco, he didn’t have to
answer after all.

As soon as we got on the plane, a
nervous thought ran through my mind. “You don’t have to go in to
work today, do you? They can’t make you come back from San
Francisco, or worse yet, find you an operation to perform up in San
Francisco?”

This time, Jake shook his head and
laughed. “Does my job make you that nervous?”

“Yup. I think I’m going to reconsider
dating a doctor—or at least I’m going to date a doctor who doesn’t
ever have any emergencies.” I peeked over to see his expression. It
didn’t change.

“Yeah? What kind of doctor would that
be?”

“Maybe a dermatologist or perhaps a
podiatrist.” I knew this would bother Jake, as a podiatrist was
vying for my attention when Jake and I started dating.

“Trust me, after today, you’re not
going anywhere from me.”

“Very confident there, Dr. Reid. We’ll
see about that.”

At SFO, Jake rented a car and we
headed north. In a little over an hour, breathtaking scenery filled
with rows and rows of grapevines came into view. Our final
destination—Napa Valley. Though the calendar read December, Mother
Nature still boasted fall with trees full of leaves in gorgeous
hues of oranges, reds, golden yellows, and greens. Quaint wineries
resembled Hansel and Gretel cottages, and the CIA building looked
like the Greystone Mansion. Every building looked
inviting.

“Wine country reminds me of Tuscany,
only flatter.” My thoughts rambled out loud.

“Have you been to Tuscany?”

“Yeah…it was the most beautiful place
I’ve ever visited. I want to go back and hear Andrea Bocelli sing
in some open meadow.” Feeling so at ease, I rattled off one of my
dreams. I looked out the window and fantasized being in such a
place with Jake—traveling together…possibly growing old
together.

“A kiss for your thoughts?” Jake woke
me up from my reverie.

I waited.

“Well?” An uneasy smile tugged at his
lips.

“Where’s the promised
kiss?”

He lifted our interlocking hands and
brought them to his lips.

“I was admiring all the unique
architecture.” Not confident enough to describe my fantasy, I
stated a blasé fact.

“That’s it?”

“My answer was about as exciting as
that kiss you just gave me.” I hid my smile by facing the scenery
through the passenger window.

Before I knew what was happening, he
grabbed me and gave me a full-blown kiss with his eyes on the road.
The car swerved a bit. It took me awhile to regain the composure
I’d lost after that embrace.

“Well? Shouldn’t that kiss elicit a
better answer?”

I had to laugh. “I thought it would be
nice to go back to Tuscany…” I would see what he’d try next in
order to get the rest of my answer.

The next kiss I got off the side of
the road was too indecent to put into words. My cheeks stayed
blushed for a long while after the kiss was done.

“…
with you when I’m old
and gray…” Leaving everything hanging, I didn’t dare look him in
the eye for a while.

The smug look on Jake’s face made me
uncomfortable, so I changed the subject. “It’s so beautiful up
here. Are we spending the whole day here?”

“Would you like to?” he asked with a
smile.

“Sure. But I don’t really care where
as long as we’re together.” This statement erased the insecure look
Jake had been wearing since he saw Max appear from my guest
bedroom. I took advantage of the stop light and leaned over to
return the kiss he bestowed on me just a few minutes ago. “I’m
really happy to be here with you,” I whispered. A myriad of honking
car horns broke our embrace reprimanding us to keep
driving.

Our lips unwillingly
parted.

Jake eventually parked the car on the
side of a beautiful two-story house. I knew exactly where we
were.

We were at one of the world’s
greatest, three Michelin-starred restaurants!

“How did you get us a table here on
such short notice?”

“You know where we are?” he asked
without a hint of surprise. “I had to pull favors from a few people
last night. I didn’t know till we landed in SFO that we’d gotten a
reservation,” he explained as we got seated right away.

My dream restaurant sat on a gracious
piece of land. What looked to be a two-story brick house was
comprised of offices on the second level and the restaurant on the
bottom. There was a small courtyard and an organic garden, which
most likely supplied all their greens. It was visually stunning. I
assumed it would be no less than a sensory treat for the
palate.

“How did you know this was my dream
restaurant destination? I can’t believe we’re here! Thank you,
Jake.”

“The foodie that you are, how could I
not know?” Though he formed it as a question, he meant it as a
statement.

This thoughtful man brought me to the
one destination I’d been longing to visit. How could I not
appreciate the heart behind the action?

Lunch began with an amuse bouche—the
legendary salmon tartare cornets, a savory black sesame seeded cone
filled with salmon tartare and red onion crème fraîche. Enjoying
every bite of this teaser course, the inquisition began.

“Jake, tell me about your family. I
can’t wait to meet them.”

“Well, as you know, I’m the oldest of
three kids. My sister below me, Jane, is a senior in law school
right now. Nick, the youngest is a senior in undergrad, and the
real genius in our family. Most likely med school is in his near
future but it’s a bit up in the air. He’s talented in so many ways,
he’s torn about what to do with his life. He’s also the foodie in
the family. You two will get along well.”

“Did you all go to the same school?” I
asked while slurping my oyster with caviar.

“Jane actually went to undergrad up
here. She’s the black sheep of the family,” he joked.

“Huh? I don’t understand.”

“My grandfather, my dad, his brothers,
most of their wives, and we children all went to the same school.
Gramps made a lot of money in real estate and was a generous man,
as he donated much of it. My sister liked the convenience of his
money, but not the notoriety it sometimes brought. So, she decided
to come up here and then go live in New York. The rest of us were
not as brave or as creative.

“You’re quite the homogenous
group.”

“Boring is a better
definition.”

“You must have been a hot commodity at
school. The girls must have thrown themselves at you to become a
part of your family,” a hint of jealousy noted my voice.

“I suppose, but I never met anyone
that made me want to settle down…” he trailed off. “After med
school, residency was at Valley Hospital, and since then I’ve been
at General Hospital, thanks to the chief selecting his nephew over
hundreds of applicants.”

“Is the name Reid the reason why we
got a table here today as well?”

He seemed abashed as he confessed that
one of his uncles was an investor in many restaurant
ventures.

“I guess I’ve had it pretty easy all
my life. But, my parents encouraged us to work hard.”

“Excellent! Good-looking,
hard-working, and great earning potential,” I joked. “You’re
definitely a keeper!”

“OK, now your turn. Tell me
everything.”

Before giving my autobiography, I
quickly savored the third course—cured hamachi belly.

“It’s not too exciting. It’s probably
more tragic than anything else. I was born in Texas and spent most
of my childhood there. My dad was a structural engineer, and he
died when I was in eighth grade. He was at a job site for the city
when a part of the building fell on him. He died instantly,” I
explained.

“I’m so sorry! I didn’t realize that
you were that young when your father passed away.”

“Well, the story gets worse, so hold
that thought.” I sighed. “After my dad died, my mom and I came to
LA to live with my grandparents. My mom had never worked before so
she held odd jobs here and there, and we lived modestly. Mom missed
Dad terribly, and she was never truly happy again after his death.
This was hard on me because I felt the need to be happy around her,
always. It was my job to lift her spirits up. During my senior year
in high school, my mom died of a heart attack. That’s what the
doctor’s told me, but I think she died more of a broken
heart.”