Chapter 4

Amy headed back to Attleboro the next day. She and Jake were so comfortable with each other. After they both woke the next day, neither of them bothered to get dressed until well past noon. They just traipsed around the house, looking like they had just woken up all morning long.

At long last, when the sun was beginning to fade, Amy's car appeared in the drive. She and Jake walked hand in hand down the stone steps. Amy handed her bag to the driver and turned to Jake.

There was a comfortable silence as they stared at each other. They were so in tune with each other that they didn't need to say anything sometimes. They just 'got' each other.

Finally, Jake spoke, "Ames, my dad is coming home next month. He called Att and I a few days ago. I forgot to mention it to you earlier. I'd like for you to meet him."

Amy's face was stoic; she knew Mark Rosenbloom didn't like her. "Ok" was all she said. Jake picked up on her apprehension.

"It'll be OK. Don't worry. He'll love you." Jake said with his winning smile, but he looked a little unsure behind it.

"Jake, your father doesn't like me. I already know that." Amy said taking his hand.

"Well, he used to think that. A lot of time has passed. He knows we're dating." Jake paused, "He knows I love you," he added.

"Maybe, but he blames me for all the trouble you and Att have been in, and, I'm sure he associates my family with Astrid's death." Amy sighed.

"Don't worry about it Ames, I'm going to have him singing your praises before he leaves-you'll see." Jake said drawing her in for a long kiss.

That evening, Amy disappeared into her bedroom, sat on the bed and dialed Nellie's number. She picked up on the first ring.

"Hey Kiddo!" Nellie said in her familiar accent.

"Hi Nellie, how are you?" Amy said smiling into the phone.

"I'm, like, sooo good. Sammie and I are having drinks at this amazing pub along the Rue de Lyon. Amazing." She said. She continued to talk about her craft beer experience, mentioning words like 'hops' and 'licorice' and Amy was pretty sure she heard 'barrel-aged.'

"That's nice Nellie," Amy paused. Nellie could sense Amy had something on her mind.

"What is it Ames?" Nellie finally said. "Is everything alright?"

Amy proceeded to launch into everything, letting is spill out of her mouth like a volcano. She told Nellie about being accepted into Brown and how great things were with Jake and how much she loved him, but she couldn't figure out why she was so hesitant to take their relationship to the next level. She also mentioned that Jake's father was coming back home for a time next month and how he felt about Amy and all Cahills in general.

Once she was done, she sat and listened to silence on the other end.

"Nellie, are you still there?" Amy asked with slight alarm on her face.

"Yeah, I'm here. I'm just trying to process everything you just barfed out." Nellie said slowly.

Amy smiled and waited for Nellie to speak.

"Whoa, ok. You have a lot on your mind, don't you?"

"Yeah, I guess I do." Amy sighed. It was so good talking with Nellie. She would give her the right advice.

"Well, for starters, congrats on Brown. You'll love it there. I'm coming to your graduation, so don't even think about not inviting me." Nellie teased.

"As far as Jake goes, it's a big deal to become intimate with another person. Don't feel strange about wanting to wait awhile with Jake, that's completely normal. I know you love him, and so does he, which is why it's such a good idea to wait. Listen, you two have big plans with each other. You'll be off on some artifact hunt 10 years from now, hand-in-hand as the 'Rosen-cahills for hire', or something like that. Neither of you is going to even think about this time in your lives again. Sleep with him now, or 4 months from now, it doesn't matter in the long run. You two are destined for each other-"

At these words, Amy blushed. I guess Dan was right, everyone could see it. That made Amy have a glimmer of hope for Jake's father to see it too.

Nellie went on, "but, there are some practical aspects of your relationship with Jake that you need to plan for." Nellie got a little smile in her voice with the next words. "Any time you swap bodily fluids with anyone, you had better have a plan!"

Amy turned purple but smiled. This was the Nellie she loved. "I know, I know, and we've discussed this. You won't believe it, but Jake…actually…his mom made him…get a vasectomy."

"WHAT?" was Nellie's only reply.

"I know, that was my reaction too, but listen. Jake's mother was the most amazing woman. She had extremely honest talks with her sons about everything, including women's reproductive rights. She taught them that birth control should always be a man's job. So, she told them that as soon as they turned 18, they needed to go get a vasectomy until they were ready to be fathers, at which point, they would have it reversed, only to have it repeated at some point down the line when they were done. Jake's father had this very thing done, so he's been a good role model for both boys." Amy finished with a smile, thinking about these conversations she and Jake had.

"Whoa, that is one bad-ass feminist raising sons. I love their mother! I can't wait to meet her!" Nellie said with excitement.

Amy's voice turned sad, "You can't-she's dead. Killed by Vesper 1 three years ago."

Nellie was quiet.

"Nellie, what do you think I should do? I mean, we have the whole, 'bodily-fluids' thing figured out." Amy asked.

Nellie's voice was quiet and calming when she spoke, "Then Amy, you have to just trust your gut. It won't steer you wrong. Your instincts are top-notch kiddo. If you have hesitation in your gut, then trust it. I'm sure when the time is right, your hesitation will disappear."

Nellie continued, "As far as Jake's dad is concerned, I'm starting to think your hesitation with Jake and meeting his father may be related."

This was something Amy hadn't considered. Maybe Nellie was right. Maybe Amy's reluctance to be sensual with Jake stemmed from the implications that it meant they were headed down a much more permanent path together? What if that path was stopped by his father? What if that path was impeded upon by a man whom Jake admired and looked up to, but disliked to the point of contempt toward Jake's one true love? Now it was Amy's turn to be quiet.

Nellie said, "Ames, what are you thinking?"

"I see what you're saying. It makes sense. I think Jake and I are going to end up together in the long run, so it makes sense that I'm worried about his father's opinion of me. I mean, this is my potential future father-in-law." Amy said this last part while being alarmed at that phrase. She wasn't ready to think of that!

"Exactly" Nellie said. "But, kiddo, you can't spend too much of your time worried about what future in-laws might think. You'll go crazy if you do."

"Ok, you're right. I just have to be myself when I meet him." Amy said.

"Yep, that's right. I mean, take Sammie's parents: do you think they wanted their Egyptian son to fall in love with a Mexican-American with pink hair?" Nellie said laughing, "Hell no, they wanted him to find some modern-day Nefertiti. But, that's not what they got. We're good though. The main thing is, they figured out that I love Sammie and he loves me. They just want their son to be happy, you know?" Nellie added as an afterthought, "I know Mark Rosenbloom will want that for his son too."

Amy sighed. Nellie had a way of cutting through all the chatter to get to the heart of the matter. Amy smiled.

"Thanks Nellie, I can always count on you to help me see things the right way." Amy said

"You're doing the right thing kiddo, don't doubt yourself. You have the most amazing instincts of anyone I've ever met. You'll be fine. Keep me posted, OK? I want to know how this all shakes out."

Amy said goodbye and then clicked the phone off. She sat there in silence staring at the phone, trying to process everything Nellie had said. It all made sense.