Jennifer came out of the bathroom and everyone decided to have dessert.
Susan spoke up when everyone had their plate.
"Guys, Laura and I were talking. What do we think about taking a trip together?"
"That sounds fun".
"Yeah, it does sound fun. Where does everyone want to go?"
"What about a cabin where we can go hiking or fishing or out on the lake?"
"Sure. I can bring my boat".
"Oh, that would be so fun!"
They worked all the details out, and agreed to go to the lake the next weekend.
Everyone stayed at Drew's house till almost 11 and then headed home.
"Thanks everyone, this was such a fun night."
"Yes, it was, and it was great to meet all of you".
"It was so wonderful to meet you too. See you next week".
Jonathan's House
Jennifer and Jonathan came inside and found Max at the table.
"Hey you two, how was poker?"
"Great Max".
"Yeah, great for Jonathan, not so great for the others".
"How was your evening, Max?"
"Did pretty well at the track, and poker was ok, till Monk's sister brought out the potato salad. That's when I decided to come home".
"You play poker with a real monk?"
"No. We just call him that because he doesn't talk".
"What was wrong with the potato salad?"
"It was spoiled, and they began to take bets on who could eat the most".
"Well, we will see you in the morning, Max. We'll probably sleep in, so don't go to any trouble for us".
"Good to know".
"Goodnight Max".
Jennifer hugged him and kissed his cheek.
Jonathan got them each a glass of water, and they headed to the bedroom.
"So what did you think of poker dinner?"
"It was fun! I really enjoyed it. Everyone was so nice and welcoming. And I cannot wait for our trip".
"Yeah, that should be fun".
"Have you ever traveled with them before?"
"The guys and I went to Vegas for a fight once, but that was it".
"The ladies were so sweet".
"I knew they would love you, and I was right".
"Oh? What makes you say that?"
"When you went to the bathroom, they told me that under no circumstances am I allowed to break up with you".
She started laughing.
"I agree with them".
Jennifer climbed into bed and scooted over towards Jonathan.
"You know what? I do believe that moving here with you was the best idea I ever had.
"Oh you think you're so cute, do you?" He started tickling her.
"Ok, ok, it was your idea. I give in".
He rolled on top of her and gave her some sweet kisses.
"Darling, can you look and see if my back scratcher is in the drawer of that nightstand?"
"I thought I was your back scratcher".
"Well, now that you live here, you are. But before, you were my New York back scratcher. The plastic one was for when I was here without you. Can you check and see if it's there?"
"Certainly".
He climbed off her and she leaned over and opened the drawer.
Lying right on top was an envelope with a bow on it.
"What's this?"
She looked at him, quizzically.
"Maybe it's your anniversary present".
"Well, we agreed to only count the months we were together, so that means we don't have an anniversary coming up".
"Oh. Well, you can always put it back in the drawer".
"Oh, nice try".
She opened it and slid some papers out.
"It looks like a deed to a house. Did you buy me a house?"
"More like I gave you one. I went and put your name on this house, darling. You live here too, it's part yours".
"You did that? For me?"
"Yes. You aren't just living here with me, I mean, I'm in this too. I'm living with you. And let's say I didn't already have this house. We would have gotten one together, and your name would have been on this one too".
"I love you".
She leaned over and kissed him several times.
He took her in his arms and rolled on top of her and made love to her, before they fell asleep together.
A Few Days Later
Jennifer was at home, working on the final formatting of her article. She had a phone interview scheduled for that afternoon with an editor.
She had just made a list of things she wanted to mention in the interview when the phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Jennifer? Hi, it's Susan. Can you meet me for lunch today?"
"Sure".
"Great! How about A Fresh Catch, down on the beach road? It's a great little seafood place".
"Sounds yummy! I'll see you there, in say an hour?"
"Ok, see you then".
She hung up and then called Jonathan.
"Hart industries, how can I help you?"
"Hi, this is Jennifer. Can I speak to Jonathan, please?"
"Sure, right away".
A few seconds later, he picked up the phone.
"Hey".
"Hi. Listen, Susan just called and invited me to lunch, and I said yes. What's the best cab company to use out here?"
"Where are you going to lunch?"
"She said a place called Fresh Catch, on the beach road".
"Don't call a cab. The keys to the Bentley are in the kitchen, on the hook. And when you pull out of the driveway, go to the right, and at the end of the neighborhood, take a right and then a left at the light, and the restaurant is down about 3 blocks, on the right".
"Wonderful! How are your meetings going?"
"Good so far. I'm supposed to be in one right now, but he hasn't shown up."
"I see. Well, I have a very important phone call this afternoon, so if the office door is shut when you get home, that's where I am. I love you".
"I love you too. I should be home around 5".
She blew him a kiss and then hung up.
A Fresh Catch
Jennifer arrived, right on time, and found Susan waiting for her.
"Hi! Thanks for coming".
"Hi, thanks for the invite".
They placed their orders and then took a sip of their drinks.
"Ok, so I wanted to talk to you about the trip this weekend. We are all getting there on Friday. So, the meals we are going to have to prepare are Friday dinner, all three meals on Saturday, and Sunday, and Monday morning breakfast".
"Ok, so what if we grill out each night, or we can grill two nights and go out one night? We can do steaks one night, chicken the next, and we can do sandwiches and stuff for lunch and snacks, and then something simple like waffles or pancakes for breakfast?"
"Great idea!"
"Jonathan and I can go shopping and get all the food, and everyone can just chip in and pay us back".
"I love that! And Drew and I will get drinks, and each couple can bring their own drinks too, if they want".
"How many bedrooms does this place have?"
"One room with at least one queen-sized bed and one room with two double beds, and there are three rollaway beds in the place".
They tried to figure out the sleeping arrangements, but they couldn't figure out one where everyone was comfortable.
"Why don't we just say girls stay in one room, and guys in the other?"
"That seems to be the only fair arrangement".
"Jonathan's bringing his boat, and we can do that most of Saturday and Sunday. We could probably bring some cards or a few board games to play at night. And if you all want, you can just come to our house and follow us Friday morning".
"Wonderful!"
Susan was very impressed with Jennifer's knowledge of how to crack crabs.
"I grew up in Maryland. This is what we did".
They chatted and ate, and then paid the check and headed home.
"See you Friday!"
"This was so fun! See you Friday!"
As soon as Jennifer got in the car, she said a silent prayer to herself.
"Ok, all that's left is to get through the interview".
Jennifer and Jonathan's House
Jennifer came home and went inside.
Max was coming in from the track.
"Hey Miss Edwards".
"Hey Max. Listen, I have a very important phone call to make this afternoon, so I'm going to be in the office, and I don't want to be disturbed. Jonathan said he will be home around 5".
"Got it. If you need me, let me know".
"I will. And listen, you've asked me every single day this week what I wanted for dinner, and you so graciously fulfilled every request. Tonight, make something that Jonathan loves, ok? It's his turn".
"You got it, Miss Edwards".
"Thank you".
She filled a glass with ice water and then headed into the office and shut the door.
Jonathan got home around 5, and as he expected, she was still in there.
"She went in a couple hours ago, and she ain't come out yet".
"It's ok, Max. She told me it was important".
Jonathan went and changed clothes and made himself a drink while Max started dinner.
About 30 minutes later, Jennifer opened the door and came out.
"Hi darling".
"Hi! You sure were in there a long time".
She came over and kissed him and sat next to him.
"How long have you been home?"
"Almost an hour".
"I didn't even hear you come in".
"So what was the important phone call about?"
"I got hired by an editor today. I have to send her my last 5 articles and she has agreed to publish every one. She was already familiar with my work, from the Times. And I get to work from wherever, pick my topics, and she pays good".
"Congratulations, I'm so proud of you".
He leaned over and kissed her.
"Thank you. I'm pretty proud of me too".
She scratched his chest a bit, and then looked at him.
"Darling, we need to go shopping tonight. Do you have a cooler?"
"Yes, I have 4 of them".
"Perfect. Susan and I planned it all out for this weekend. We are going to grill out each night for dinner and we talked about maybe going to a restaurant one night, and doing sandwiches and stuff for lunches, and simple things like pancakes and waffles for breakfast. We are getting the food, and they are all chipping in to pay us back. And she and Drew are bringing drinks for everyone, but we can all bring our drinks too".
"Ok, that sounds great. We can go shopping tonight after dinner."
"Thank you".
She kissed him a few times.
She and Jonathan went and had dinner, and then headed to the grocery store.
After buying practically everything in the store, they checked out and headed home.
Jonathan and Max put the groceries away and rinsed out the coolers, while Jennifer began to pack for their trip.
Just when she had finished, Jonathan came and joined her.
"You are going to think we are crazy. But the only way Max and I could get everything in the fridge and freezer was to take everything out of the fridge, put all of the groceries in the fridge and then to try and make the contents fit."
"How did you make it work?"
"It ended up with the new groceries in the fridge, and the old groceries in the cooler for now. We can
She chuckled.
"It's only for another day or so, and then we'll be swapping it back and packing the coolers".
"Good plan".
"Drew and Bill and James are coming over tomorrow night after dinner. And so are the ladies".
"For what?"
"Tomorrow afternoon, I am going to get a truck. And then when the guys get here, we are going to go get my boat, and while we do that, the ladies can sit here and chat".
"I love that idea".
Just then, Max came into the room.
"Miss Edwards, your things just arrived".
"Oh good!"
She and Jonathan headed to the front door and began to speak with the movers.
"Well, we had a little accident. Your boxes are fine. But your car is not".
"What kind of accident?"
"Truck sprung a radiator leak when we got to Kansas City. We had to switch trucks, and the accident happened when we were loading the new truck and moving your things. Your boxes are fine. But your car has a tiny amount of damage".
"Tiny, like a scratch? Or like a ding?"
"Tiny, like…I'd rather not say. We are going to unload your boxes and then you can examine it".
She nodded.
She and Jonathan sat on the front porch while they unloaded the boxes and took them inside.
Max was directing them to put them upstairs in the loft.
"Ok, ma'am. You can come inspect the vehicle now".
She walked over and watched them roll her Corvette off the moving truck.
"What in the world did you do to my car?! It looks like you dropped a beam on it with a crane or something".
"Well, that is what I was trying to explain to you. We had the radiator leak, so the driver pulled into the parking lot. And the other truck met him. And there was some construction going on, and the driver was yelling at the moving crew but the construction guy overheard and thought his crew was talking to him, and he dropped the beam he was carrying, and it hit your vehicle".
Jennifer was flabbergasted.
"That is hardly what I call little!"
She just kept staring at it and staring at it and staring at it.
"I'm sorry, it's not drivable, but it can be pushed off the ramp. And there just so happened to be an insurance estimator on site, so he wrote you up an estimate to give to your insurance company. And this is the name of the owner of the construction company-he said to call him when you know the cost".
She nodded and took it from him.
"We apologize, ma'am".
"I hope you know that you and he can expect to hear from my lawyer...this is totally unacceptable!"
"Now, ma'am. We don't really have to go that far and get lawyers involved".
"Oh, I think we do".
"Now let's not overreact here. This was an accident, nothing more".
"It was negligence!"
"Well, our contract doesn't hold us liable for accidents".
"Darling, I'm going to go inside now and take a long, hot bubble bath. Can you take care of this?"
"Certainly".
She headed inside and soaked in the tub for at least a half hour.
When she got out, she was no happier.
She found Jonathan in the living room.
"Feel better?"
"Not really".
"I told him to expect to hear from our lawyer. And to save his pennies, and prepare to pay up big time".
"Thank you".
She came and sat with him on the couch.
"I know it feels like it, but it's not the end of the world".
"I know it's not. It's just, that was the first car I ever paid for, all by myself. And I have been very diligent about making sure that every time it needed a repair, that it was done with certified parts, and that I was not decreasing the value".
He comforted her as best he could, and just loved on her the rest of the night.
She brought down the boxes of her clothes and unpacked some, and sat with him while he packed his suitcase.
Max bid them goodnight and said he was taking a sleeping pill and would see them in the morning.
They climbed into bed and turned out the lights.
"Is that a new nightgown?"
"Yes, do you like it?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact I do".
"I figured you might".
She snuggled up to his chest.
"How were your meetings today?"
"Well that one meeting never showed up. But the others were ok. I had a hard time concentrating in the last one. All I could think about was coming home and making love to you".
"That would have been nice. Darling, I was thinking. We need to find ourselves a hideaway. Like a romantic, private place, that only you and I have access to. And then you can have a meeting out of the office sometimes, and I can be your meeting".
"I love the way you think".
He rolled on top of her and kissed her neck a few times, while she scratched his shoulders.
"Jonathan-"
Before she could finish her thought, he passionately made love to her till they were both exhausted and she fell asleep in his arms, all traces of that thought completely gone out of her head.