Okay. So this is one of my favorite chapters of the entire fic. I tell you why at the bottom. So once you read, don't skip the small A/N at the bottom. It's the super secrety thing about this chapter.
But Sam couldn't help but be sad. The days were passing, and she knew the day would come that Jake would go to SNC. She dreaded that moment. Her Gram, on a rare night that Jake wasn't eating with them, pulled her aside after dinner as Sam did the dishes.
"Sam, don't you think you and Jake are spending an awful lot of time together?" Gram asked.
Sam was shocked. They all knew they'd talked about marriage in late spring. Didn't they see they were close, that they were together? Didn't they realize that no matter what she called herself, wife, friend, whatever, his leaving for college would be one the hardest things she had ever faced? Were they totally blind to her feelings? She calmed herself. "There's a lot to do before he leaves. I want to help."
Gram said "That's nice, Sam. But don't you think he should spend time with his...family before he goes away?"
It was all Sam could do to bite back a retort. "I think that he can decide for himself. I've always been around him. Why is this different?"
Gram replied, "Oh, honey. I know you love him, and that he loves you. I'm glad the engagement idea seems to have cooled off. His leaving will be hard enough, even if you're only friends right now. But don't you think you should be working on friendships that will be here after he goes?"
Sam was furious. She tried to be calm. "No, Gram. Jake says he wants to do things, have memories, before he leaves. I'm helping with that. My social life is fine. Please. Gram, let it be."
Gram put away a serving bowl, "Sammy, I just...don't know. Please, just think about trying to make this transition easier, somehow."
Sam tried, in her own way. She filled albums and albums of pictures of the most daily things. She made Jake get a Skype account and taught him how to use it. Jake just hugged her more than usual. He seemed worried that there wouldn't be enough contact in a day to get him though the weeks of a Sam free existence. It was a terribly bittersweet summer. They had a wonderful time working with the horses and the kids, and life was timeless and perfect. But there was a ticking clock lurking in the background that ticked louder every day.
If his wife was worried, Jake Ely was frustrated. There was a lot of work to do in preparing to go away to school and there wasn't enough time to do it. His mother insisted that he go through his room and streamline and start packing early. He didn't want face the situation, but he somehow couldn't express that to his mother, who was beyond excited for the coming adventure, as she'd called it.
Cleaning his room with her was an interesting process. She found a pair of Sam's socks under his bed. That took some footwork to explain, but she didn't seem all that phased after rasing seven sons. She was more ticked off by the amount of mail he hadn't sorted. He simply thought it was dumb, and he had other things to do, so mail seemed like this huge chore. It was especially true because he was getting a lot of junk mail from various schools and credit card companies. He learned that day never to tell his mother that something was bullshit. No matter his age, she made him shovel extra for the use of that word to her.
Maxine simply put all of the mail in a washbasket and carried it to the kitchen table to be sorted. "Sit down, Jake. I'll even help you. Let's make piles." As they sorted the months of mail, his mother asked him if needed to go shopping for things in his dorm room. He protested, but somehow he was steamrolled and a "day out" was planned.
As this planning was going on, Jake nearly had a heart attack when he saw a credit card ad addressed to "Mrs Jacob Ely" How dare they try to screw him over like this? His mother never saw it, or if she did she passed it off as a typo. He breathed a sigh that got caught in his breath as his mother picked up a large envelope. It was from the courthouse in Vegas. Sam had asked for a copy of the certificate for her records so that if he went away, she also had a copy. His mother said "Wonder what this is? Here, let me get some scissors. Be right back."
In the meantime, Jake had opened it by attacking the seals with vengeance. He was thrilled to see they had also included a voter registration for down at school, likely in an effort to save postage. When she returned he said, "It was mostly just some papers about registering to vote down at school."
"Baby bear, you're getting to be so grown up. I can't believe you're leaving in a few days. I just can't think of it." His mother seemed sad.
"I know, Mama. I won't be gone long." He replied.
The next morning, his mother woke him up and insisted they leave right after breakfast to pick up Sam and drive to the store. She was in her general mode, her planning mode, and there was no stopping his mother. She was going a mile a minute. When Sam got in the car, Maxine spent 10 minutes talking about how nice sam looked in the tan skirt and pink shirt she was wearing. In Jake's estimation, too much of her shape was clearly outlined, but to say anything would have meant an early and very painful death. Still, he wasn't looking forward to all the attention Sam would garner. Why couldn't he have an ugly wife? Why couldn't they still be little kids? Adult relationships were far more difficult than childhood, especially since he had to deal with assholes looking at his wife's legs.
In a blur, he found himself pushing a cart into a store famous for towels. Towels. This just blew. He had work waiting at home. His mother was going on about a theme. After walking down the aisle, he said the words that sealed his fate of simply following after the two women for hours on end. "Mom, just let Sam pick. Why else did we bring her?"
"Idiot, she brought me for company!"
"Look, Brat. This stuff is, for some reason, is important to you. Pick the stuff you want."
Max grinned. "You're letting Sam choose everything for your dorm room?"
"It's not like I'll be living in the dorms for a long time." He replied.
Sam's eyes grew bright "I don't know, one day with Hello Kitty sheets can seem like a decade, don't you think, Max?"
"She's right, Jake. It'll need to last you four years." Max said.
Jake smiled slyly thinking about how wrong his mother was, "Who said I was giving up veto power?"
As Max walked ahead, Sam pressed her mouth close to Jake's ear. He nearly dipped his head to kiss her, but she pulled away just enough to whisper "Who said I would listen?" and flounced after his mother in that skirt.
Three hours later, Jake was exhausted. He'd been drug from pillar to post looking at all sorts of crap. He had a bed, a dresser, and desk at school. He did not need new hangers. He did not need new pillows. He did not need an extra lamp. But his mother insisted, and therefore, she prevailed.
Lunch was a cheery affair. If Sam was a bit distracted sitting next to Jake, Max didn't say anything. And if Jake was the source of that distraction, Sam didn't indicate, though she spent time when she got up trying to iron out the crinkles that had been made by someone playing with the hem. Sam insisted on leaving the tip. Again. It made Jake a bit broody, but he had no idea what was in store for him next.
Back at the car, Maxine spoke "Jakey, you need some new clothes. Sam mentioned she could some things for school herself. We're going to do that next."
"Mama, my clothes are just...they're fine." He nearly begged.
But twenty minutes later, he was standing in the misses' department holding hangers. He exchanged a look with another man in the department. The man was at least a decade older, but the look they shared could dissolve barriers. It was a look of commiseration, a swift, deep, acknowledgment of another male in a female domain, and was as old as time. Or at least shopping. Sam was decisive, but Maxine still insisted that she try things on, because it would be a real issue to return anything. Jake loved his wife, and God knew he enjoyed her body, so it was completely baffling that this shopping thing brought out her body issues. Where Sam saw widening and thickening, Jake saw her curves. Where she saw short legs, he saw those same legs twisting around his as they slept and stealing all the blankets, among other things. She moped, though, when the changes in her body brought an extra number on the tag. He remembered the night of Prom, which she had insisted they attend. Her green dress had highlighted the red in her hair. She had caved, though, and restricted her food for days to fit the dress, though he hadn't known it until after, when she relished in eating a cookie. To his mind, every inch of her was more to love.
Soon enough, Sam was tallying up her potential purchases. Jake had gone and selected a few things for himself, but he had yet to pay. Max asked "Do you have everything you want, Sam?"
The girl replied "Yeah, two new jeans, three blouses, two sweaters, and a skirt. They'll all work together and last me a long time. I also found this plum sweater on markdown, but I'm not getting it."
"Oh, why not, Sammy?"
The girl hung it back up "It's a bit long for working, and too nice. It's cute though. I just don't need it. Where on earth would I wear it?"
Sam and Max moved towards the register, and Jake added the purple sweater to the bottom of his pile. Hopefully his wife wouldn't see it, at least until it was too late to turn around and take it back. As it turned out, she didn't see it until his mother insisted on sharing his purchases with Grace over a cup of coffee. Sam and Jake, though they'd poured their own cups, seemed to be sharing his. Sam got raised eyebrows from her Gram at that.
"It's his fault. Whenever I pour my own coffee, he messes it up. So I'm stealing his." Sam asserted. At this, Jake scowled. Sam knew that he wasn't really angry, though.
Grace shook her head, and said "You two will never grow up, will you?"
Maxine, sensing disaster approaching, changed the topic and made Grace look at what Sam purchased. Then, she pulled out each of Jake's more interesting pieces. At this point, Sam took the dishes to the sink, believing she'd seen it all. Max took her time, but when she got to the sweater, a look crested over her face. "Looks like you've taken up wearing women's clothing, Jake."
"Must've gotten into my pile."
"Uh huh." She sounded as though she was realizing something that made the whole world make sense once again. She spoke again "Sam, here's that sweater you left behind."
Sam replied, "Max, you really didn't need to..."
She was cut off. "I didn't. Jake did."
Sam said "Oh, thanks, Jake."
He frowned, "Don't thank me. It's a sweater."
She retorted, "Well, right again, Captain Obvious!" But there was no venom in her voice.
Grace sought to defuse the situation. She didn't think they were really dating, as such, but she didn't think she could handle another kiss at the table. "And a lovely sweater it is, too! Sam, go and put all your new things on your bed."
Jake volunteered to help her, though they all realized she didn't need it. Sam turned to him as they crossed the doorway. "You really didn't need.."
Again a voice cut her off "I didn't buy it because you need it. I bought it because you wanted it. Sometimes, you should have something because you want it."
She rose up on her toes and embraced him. "Love you, too..."
Meanwhile, down in the kitchen, Grace voiced her thoughts "Well, that exchange a few minutes ago was interesting."
Maxine agreed, but she had a lot to think about, so she merely said, "Indeed."
There were many things I loved about the chapter. 1) Jake shares a bad habit of not opening his mail with me. Max stole my mother's pile system from when I was younger. 2) I liked that Jake showed her he loved her, even though he thinks he doesn't tell her enough. 3) Has anyone ever seen the strange male custom of one male noting the presence of another when shopping?
Someone asked how I publish so quickly. For one, this story is pretty far ahead in my own writing. I've been working on for a long time before I started uploading. Also, I'm working from home due to illness, so I type between work stuff. The dramas herein distract me from my own medical stuff. So writing this is an escape right now.