Chapter 10
Melissa woke to Glenn caressing her face, saying, "Melissa, Baby, wake up."
Once she finally fully woke up she tried to hide the blush that snuck onto her face, remembering the events of the night before. "Good morning." I'm sorry to wake you up."
Melissa returned smile, saying, "Good morning back. It's ok that you woke me up."
Seeing his expression slightly change, she asked, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing. How are you feeling?"
Blushing more, she answered, "A little sore, but I'll live."
Suddenly serious he said, "I have to go. The hospital called. One of my patients needs me. I'm not sure how long I'll be gone, I'm sorry. Make yourself at home. I'll be back as soon as I can."
"O.K. Be careful," She replied.
He kissed her deeply and left.
Laying in bed for a few more minutes, she replayed the events of the night before. She smiled to herself, loving the knowledge that she had saved herself for this wonderful man. She got out of bed and went to take a shower. After showering, she dressed in the only clothes she had with her. The clothes from the day before. She found her purse, and sifted through it, finding her cell phone, she quickly dialed Rachel's number, hoping she would answer. Thankfully, her best friend answered on the third ring. Melissa wasted no time telling her friend everything that had happened since the day before.
"Rachel, hey. Got a minute to talk?" Melissa quickly asked.
"Yes, sure. Not long, though. Kevin and I are packing to go to Louisville for the concert." Rachel said.
"That's perfect. I'm in Louisville now. I'm at Glenn's apartment that he keeps here." Melissa said.
"Where's Glenn? Is he there with you?" Rachel asked.
"No, the hospital called him away. I'm not sure how long he'll be gone. He said a patient needed him. I need to talk to you, though," she told her friend.
"Is something wrong?" Rachel was suddenly worried.
Melissa quickly said, "No, nothing's wrong. I slept with Glenn last night."
Her statement was followed by silence. Melissa said worriedly, "Rachel? You still there?"
"Yeah, I'm still here. A little shocked. What are you doing, Melissa? You dated Scott for a year and a half and you wouldn't sleep with him. You go out with Glenn on two dates and give him your virginity. What are you doing?" Rachel began lecturing her.
Melissa said, "I know, Rachel. It's different with him. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think I'm falling in love with Glenn. Oh, God! I've never felt this way in my life. When he looks at me, I fell like I'm going to explode with happiness. Is that normal? Is something wrong with me?"
Laughing, Rachel responded, "No, there's nothing wrong with you. Look, I gotta go. I'll call you when we get to Louisville and maybe we can find each other, ok?"
"Sure sounds great." Melissa said, "See you later. Be careful."
"See you later."
She put her cell phone back in her purse and went to find some breakfast.
Glenn parked his car in the physicians parking, dreading going into the hospital. The patient who needed him was a thirty year old mother of three children and the wife of a man she married at eighteen. Straight out of high school. She had been battling brain cancer for three years. Today, she would lose her battle.
He made his way to Jennifer Stanley's room and began his assessment of her. Grimly, he walked out to the hall to speak to David, Jennifer's husband. Shaking David's hand, Glen began explaining what would happen in the next few hours.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Stanley. Jennifer fought hard. We've done all we can do. The only think left is to ease her passing."
He waited to continue until her family regained their composure, somewhat, after receiving the news that Jennifer would die today.
David spoke first, "Is she in pain? Is she suffering?"
Glenn hated this part of his job. He answered the grieving man the best he could. "She is not in much pain. We can give her medicine and make her passing less painful. I'll stay with her and your family until the end. Please, any questions you have, ask them. If you have religious beliefs, you may want to have last rites given to her."
The man nodded and turned to a family member, giving instructions where his wife was concerned. Glenn returned to Jennifer's side and administered the promised medicine.
The next few hours saw more family members come into the room to say their last words to Jennifer. Some cried uncontrollably, others silently kissed her goodbye.
As night fell, Jennifer had begun to fade more. Finally the time had come for Glenn to pronounce this young, beautiful woman's time of death. He helped console family members as much as he could.
When his long day had finally ended, he sat in his car, trying to relieve some of his stress, telling himself he had done all he could. He decided the best thing he could do was take advantage of the weight room his building offered.
Melissa had busied herself trying to clean an already clean apartment. She took the sheets off the bed, washed and dried them, and put them back on the bed. She ran the vacuum, though the carpets looked almost new. She answered her cell phone when it rang, happy to hear it was Rachel. Rachel had the idea to meet at a place in Louisville called Fourth Street Live. Melissa found an extra key to Glenn's apartment, called a cab and set out to meet her friend.
Rachel and Melissa met in front of a bookstore and set out to find a restaurant for lunch. After ordering their meal, Rachel asked, "So, tell me everything. Is he romantic?"
"Absolutely," Melissa answered. "But he's also a lot of fun. He took me to a bar that had a mechanical bull. I got on it and thrown off it pretty quick." They both laughed at this. Rachel listened to Melissa as she recounted her date with Glenn.
"I gotta tell ya, Melissa," Rachel began, "you look so happy. Much happier than I have ever seen you."
"You don't think it's too soon to have the feelings I have do you?" Melissa asked. She admired her friend's honesty, though blunt it could be at times.
"Yeah, I do. But who am I to question you. You know what you're feeling better than I do." Rachel answered her friend.
"But," she continued, "I do think you need to step back and think about this. And you defiantly need to talk to Glenn about this."
Melissa let her breath out slowly, "I was afraid you would say that. What if I scare him off?"
Rachel shook her head, "You won't. I didn't mean right now, but you need to talk to him. Give it a few weeks, though."
Melissa let the words sink in. Rachel was a great friend. She would be lost without her. After they finished their meal, they decided to go shopping. The hours passed by quickly. Before they knew it, Rachel had to go back to the hotel room. She and Kevin were having dinner before the concert.
Melissa hailed a cab and went back to Glenn's apartment. She put her shopping bags on the floor next to the door and went to find something to cook for dinner.
Almost on cue, the sound of keys turning in the door broke the silence. Melissa went to greet Glenn at the door but stopped when she saw the depressed look on his face.
"Are you O.K?" She asked him.
He nodded. With one quick move, he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her to him. He kissed her and said, "I need to go down to the gym for a while. It's how I work off stress." he said.
"O.K. Do you want to be alone?" She asked.
"I know you've been alone all day, and I'm sorry, but I do." he said.
"I haven't been alone," she explained, "My friend Rachel is here for a concert and we met up earlier. I left you a note in case you got back before I did."
"Oh, good," he said.
He went to the bedroom and changed into his gym clothes, kissed her again and went to work off his stress. She wished she knew why he was so upset. Maybe when he got back, he would tell her.
She shrugged her shoulders, and rummaged through her shopping bags. Finding what she was looking for, Melissa changed her clothes. She then started cooking dinner, sure Glenn would be hungry when he came back from his workout. An hour later, Glenn came back in and went to take a shower. When he came out to the kitchen, Melissa was setting the table. He noticed the new flower print dress she was wearing and smiled. He decided she looked best in pastel colors.
Glancing over her shoulder, she said, "Hey, just in time. Dinner is almost ready."
Smiling, he said, "Smells good." He went over to her and kissed her passionately.
Breaking away, she brought the finished food to the table. She listened as he told her about his day. She felt so sad for his patient and her family. Glenn tried very hard to save the young woman's life, but to no avail. She was touched at his level of emotion at losing a patient. She concluded anyone would be lucky to have Doctor Glenn Jacobs fighting to save their life.
After dinner was done, she cleaned up the kitchen and washed the dishes. That task, done she joined him in the living room. He asked her about her day and how she enjoyed her day in the city. Glenn had a feeling this woman was in his life to stay.
Both a little tired from their busy day, they decided to stay one more night, instead of driving back. They got ready for bed. Melissa snuggled into Glenn's arms and fell asleep quickly. The next morning, they headed back to Glenn's house.