Chapter 3

For Better or Worse

When they arrive back at the house, Linka goes straight upstairs. Wheeler makes a couple of sandwiches and takes them up to the bedroom. He doesn't find Linka there, but notices the bathroom door is shut.

"Hey Babe, I made grilled cheese sandwiches. Want one?"

"Nyet," she calls back to him.

"Are you sure? You haven't eaten since breakfast. Are you ok?"

"Fine. Just not hungry," she says as she exits the bathroom. "I think I am going to take a nap."

"Mind if I join you?"

"Sure."

Wheeler slides under the covers and holds her in his arms.

"Thank you."

"For what?" she asks.

"You know what. It meant alot, and I know it couldn't have been easy for you."

"It was not. But I know it was important to you and your mother."

"Well the good news is, now we can stop focusing on that for a while, and start focusing on this wedding of ours."

"Ok, but can we focus on it after I take a nap? I am beat," she says.

"Yeah, of course. Are you comin' down with something?"

"I do not think so. It has just been a long day."

"I hear ya. Gettin' up that early has wiped me out too."

They lay in silence for a few minutes. Wheeler thought she had fallen asleep when he heard her whisper,

"Promise me you will not leave me?"

"Now why would I go and do something stupid like that? I've been waiting my whole life for this. I'm coming back. Now, didn't I say we can STOP focusing on this transplant?"

"Wheeler...do you know...do you have any idea...how much I need you in my life?" she asks as she rolls over to face him.

"You have me," he says as he kisses her. "And I need you just as much."

She returns his kiss and deepens it, making her intentions clear. When they pull apart for air, Wheeler asks,

"What happened to being tired?"

"Second wind I guess," she replies as she places kisses down his neck and across his chest.

"Well, I'm not complaining!"


"Wow…that was…wow."

"Da."

"It's not just me right? I mean…that was…wow."

"You already said that. And nyet, it was not just you…it was…"

"Really, really good…like, the best ever."

"Da," Linka giggles.

"I mean, geez. I...I feel like...I don't know, like I should thank you."

Linka's giggles turn to full out laughter. "Well, as long as you do not feel like you have to pay me..."

Now it is Wheeler who is laughing,

"Did you just make a hooker joke? You really are turning into a true New Yorker!"

"I guess so. And as long as we are handing out 'Thank yous,' then I should thank you as well!"

"Oh yeah? Then in that case, you're very welcome," he says proudly as a huge smile spreads across his face.

"What do you want? Applause?"

"That's not necessary...I think an encore is in order though! Maybe a standing 'O!'"

"JASON JOSEPH WHEELER!!" she says as she smacks his stomach playfully.

"Ooomf. Hey! I didn't think you'd get that!"

"I have been here for a long time now. I am not the naive young Soviet who had a hard time grasping English cliches. You said it yourself, I am becoming a true New Yorker...at the expense of my own morals!"

"Well, I like it! But I'd still like to know what made this time so good. Nothing was different…unless maybe…"

"What?" she urges.

"Maybe there was a sense of urgency…like, we might not have much longer to do that."

"WHAT?!" she yells. Tears start to well up in her eyes. "WHY...?! WHY WOULD YOU EVEN SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT?!"

"I didn't mean it like it was true or that it was gonna happen, but maybe subconsciously, that's what we were both thinking."

"That is NOT what I was thinking," Linka insists.

"You're missing my point, I said maybe subconsciously, you were."

"I am done talking about this. You have ruined a wonderful moment. I think I will take that nap now," she huffs, as she turns her back to him and pushes his arm off of her.

"Aww Geez. Are you serious? Babe, you can't go to bed mad. It's not good."

"I am not going to bed mad, I am just not as happy as I was 30 seconds ago. Now stop talking because I cannot sleep with your mouth running."

"Fine. But at least let me hold you?" he asks as he lays his arm back across her.

She doesn't say anything at first and lets him curl up behind her, but when he brushes her hair away from her neck and moves to kiss her there, she pulls away and throws his arm off her once again.

"It is too hot for you to be hanging all over me and breathing down my neck. Do you mind? I just want to sleep," she snaps.

"Fine" he relents as he pulls away to the opposite side of the bed, giving Linka as much room as possible.


Once Linka has fallen asleep, Wheeler slides out of bed and gathers his clothes. His mind is too busy trying to come up with an appropriate apology and he cannot fall to sleep. He gives Kwame a call and fills him in about the situation with his father's health, the impending surgery, and the speeding up of the wedding. Wheeler asks Kwame if he and the others minded coming to New York so they could have some input with the wedding planning and get fitted for tuxedos and a dress. They are excited and happy to make the trip, but Kwame expresses his concern over Mr. Wheeler's health and Wheeler's. Wheeler reassures him that everything will be ok and asks Kwame to let Gaia know. Even though he and Linka plan on talking to her and discussing the details when they get back, they wanted her to be prepared, although, they have a feeling that the Spirit of the Earth already knows what is going on.

Once he finishes talking to Kwame, he decides to go over to his parent's place to visit with them. When he gets there, he finds that it is just his dad sitting in the living room with Mindy in his lap.

"Hey Pop, mind some company?"

"Of course not. Have a seat. Your mother went shopping to get some stuff to make spaghetti for dinner. Are you and Linka still going to be here?"

"Yeah, but Gi, Ma-Ti, and Kwame are on their way. Do you think I should go to the store and get more stuff for dinner? I didn't know Ma was planning on making dinner or I would have let her know more people were coming. We were going to take a trip into the city, probably tomorrow, to get some stuff for the wedding. Bridesmaid dresses, her dress, my tux…you up for that? I could use your help."

"Sure. The ladies can do their thing and we can do ours…it'll only take us a few minutes…they'll be gone for hours! And don't worry about the extra mouths to feed. Your Ma always makes too much. When she's cooking for two, she makes enough for four. So now that she's cooking for four, she'll make enough for eight!" Joe says.

"Cool. I need to get myself a wedding band too at some point tomorrow. Is that something that Linka and I should do together?"

"Usually, but she's already got her ring. And it just so happens that I have the one that goes with it."

"What do you mean?" Wheeler asks.

"I have your grandfather's ring. It was with your Gram's wedding band and engagement ring. I figured if she wanted you to have her rings to give to someone special, she'd also meant for you to have your Pap's wedding ring to go with it. If Linka is going to have your grandmother's ring, it's only right that you would have your grandfather's. I was planning on asking you if you wanted to use it once the wedding plans got underway."

"Of course!" Wheeler exclaims. "Like you said, it's only right that we would keep Gram and Pap's rings together. That's so cool."

"I'll go get it. Here," Joe says as he sets the puppy in Wheeler's lap.

A few minutes later, Joe returns with a ring box and hands it to Wheeler. He opens it up, takes out the platinum band, and examines it. He tries it on and looks at his hand.

"Perfect fit…wow, that's gonna take some getting used to! Looks weird don't it?"

"Yeah, it'll take some getting used to. But the plus side is, every time you see it, or feel it, you'll think of why you have it on, and realize how lucky you are."

"Yeah…but I don't need a ring to tell me that! I think about it all the time."

"You really have it bad don't ya?" Joe asks.

"Crazy about her."

"So what're ya doin' over here?!"

"She's taking a nap…and I kinda pissed her off earlier. Said something stupid and insensitive about the upcoming surgery. I didn't mean for it to hurt her, but I guess I didn't think about how she would interpret it before I spoke. I should be used to that by now."

"Misunderstandings are a part of every relationship. You both just need to be mature about it and don't stay mad," Joe advises.

"Believe me, Linka and I have had our fair share of misunderstandings and fights in the past. We always get over it and never stay mad for long. And usually it's her that gets mad at me…and most times, I have no clue what I did! That's just how she is, I know it, and I love it. Is that weird? I like it that she gets mad at me, and I'll admit, I used to do things intentionally to get under her skin. I guess it was just my way of knowing that I had her attention. It hasn't been like that recently though. I mean, since we've been reunited, it's been all good…minus that first night when I said I never wanted to see her again."

Joe raised his eyebrows, surprised to hear this. Wheeler continues,

"I didn't mean it, of course. I was just mad. And everything's been great since then. Better than great."

"Was your argument today as bad as that first night?" Joe asks.

"Not even close!"

"And things worked out for the best then, right?"

"Yeah, but it was a little different. I was the one that was mad at her, but I knew I couldn't stay mad. As soon as she tried to apologize, as hard as I tried to get away from her and not let her, I couldn't. She apologized and I've loved her for so long, I knew I could never stay mad at her. But now she's mad at me and I'm the one that's gotta get back on her good side. Linka's stubborn. She gets mad and stays mad for a while."

"But she loves you. And if she loves you half as much as you love her, this will all blow over by the end of the night. You've got a wedding to plan after all!"

"Yeah, I know. Thanks for listening Pop."

"I'm just glad you felt you could talk to me about this sort of stuff. This is how it always should have been. I should have always been the one you'd come to with girl problems," Joe says sadly as he looks down.

"What's important is that you're here now, when it matters…helping me with problems with the only girl that matters," Wheeler says as he reassuringly grasps his dad's forearm.

"Thanks, son. One more piece of advice…think of a good apology. Even if you don't think you did anything wrong, you'll learn that it's just easier to suck it up and take the blame. The sooner you realize that, the better. It took me over 30 years of marriage to figure that out. I wonder why your grandpa didn't give me any good advice like this!"

"Were you a bad kid? Maybe it was punishment?" Wheeler joked.

"Possibly," Joe laughs. "Well, I promised your mother I'd get the table ready for dinner. And YOU'VE got some serious ass kissing to think about!"

"I'll work on it. Can I bring anything for dinner tonight?"

"You still remember how to make those garlic bread sticks that your Ma's mom used to make?"

"Absolutely! It's the only thing the others will let me cook!"

"Bring those then."

When Linka wakes up, she's not surprised to find that Wheeler is not there. She regrets having reacted the way that she did. Now was not a time to be fighting. She gets dressed and goes to look for Wheeler. When she exits the bedroom, she hears the sound of typing coming from her office down the hall. She follows the sound and leans against the doorway. When he doesn't notice her presence, she clears her throat to get his attention. He turns around in surprise.

"Oh. Hey. Did you have a nice nap?"

"Da…and nyet. I feel re-energized, but it would have been nicer if I woke up in your arms," she confesses, attempting to clear the air between them. "When I woke up and you weren't there, I was worried I had finally crossed the line and driven you away."

"Sorry. You'll have to try harder than that to get rid of me! I just couldn't sleep after our little…issue."

"Then I am the one that is sorry," she says, stepping further into the room. "I was the one that made such a big deal out of nothing."

"If it bothered you, then it's not 'nothing.' I didn't mean to upset you. I'd never do that intentionally. From now on, no more making light of the surgery situation, I promise."

"Ok. And I know you deal with things by trying to make them humorous, but I am sorry. I can not see the humor in this operation."

"I know. I'll try to be more sensitive about that. I'm scared too ya know?"

"You are?"

"Hell yeah! This ain't no wisdom teeth extraction. I'm losin' half my liver!" he says.

"At least it'll grow back."

"Yeah, how freaky is that? Kinda cool how that works."

"Da. And I was surprised to hear that it only took two to eight weeks for it to grow back!"

"I wonder what the Planeteers will do while I'm out re-growing my liver?"

"I guess we will have to discuss finding temporary replacements with Gaia," Linka suggests.

"ReplacementS? As in plural?"

"Da. I am not leaving you alone. Someone will have to take care of you," she says as she walks up to him and ruffles his hair.

When she gets close to him, he minimizes the screen on the computer.

"So what are you doing in here? Writing the next great novel?" She asks.

"Well, I couldn't sleep because I was thinking of all the things I wanted to say to you to let you know how sorry I was and how much you mean to me…and everything I kept coming up with sounded more like wedding vows than an apology…so I decided to write my own vows."

"Oh Wheeler," Linka chuckles as she puts her arm around him and draws him towards her.

"What? You think it's stupid? Kinda cheesy, I know but..."

"Nyet, of course not. I was laughing because I started writing my own vows too! A few days after you proposed actually!" she admits. "Who says we are complete opposites?!"

"Haha! Great minds think alike."

"Speaking of thinking, perhaps we should start thinking of a date. I would like to give Mishka some advance notice so he can make arrangements for time off from work."

"How about 3 Saturdays from now?" he suggests.

"So soon?!"

"Not soon enough," he says as he stands up and holds her in his arms.

"I agree. It just seems that we still have so much to do."

"Well, I've got one less thing we need to do…I've got my wedding band."

"Oh," she says quietly as she looks away from him.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I just thought I would be with you when you chose it."

"I didn't choose it. It was chosen for me. My dad gave it to me. It used to be my Grandpa Wheeler's."

"And my engagement ring and wedding band I will be wearing used to belong to your Grandma Wheeler?" she clarifies.

"Yeah."

"That is very appropriate. Those rings belong together."

"Just like we do," he says as he leans his forehead against hers before lowering his head to brush his lips against hers.

"Mmm hmm," she hums against his lips.

Wheeler attempts to take things further, but Linka reluctantly stops him.

"I have to call Mishka before it gets too late over there."

"Later?" he asks hopefully.

"Maybe."

"Maybe?!" he asks taken aback.

"Da, maybe. Or maybe we should wait until after the wedding. It might make the wedding night a little more special because of the anticipation," she proposes. "It would be the traditional way…sort of old fashioned."

"Oh, well why didn't you say so. Babe, if you want old fashioned, I'll dress up like George Washington!"

She looks at him and shakes her head. "You know that is not what I meant."

"Umm, how about one week?"

"You want to get married in one week now?! No. That is not possible to put together."

"No, the wedding is still in three weeks, but the waiting part…let's start that a week before," he suggests as he pulls her against him and nuzzles her neck.

"Wheeeeeeeelerrrrrrr," she purrs. "Nyet," she says as she puts her hand on his chest and pushes him away.

"I'll get you. You won't last. I'll get to you. You won't be able to resist my charms!"

"We shall see," she says as she takes a step backwards, towards the door. "I am going to call my brother. You keep working on those vows." She is halfway out the door when she turns and says "And if you recall, I had no trouble resisting your so-called 'charms' for YEARS. A few weeks will not be a problem!"

"Yeah, but that was before you knew what you were missing out on!" he calls out to her retreating form.


To be continued...