Disclaimers:
We don't own any characters although it would be nice to borrow them sometime.
This is not really a science fiction, so the effects of any future technological advances are minimized - for all we know, Katie could have cloned Jessie
Rating: A couple of love scenes, but nothing really smutty
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Chapter 2: This Old Room
KAREN'S HOUSE
That Same Day
Jessie smiled as her mom sat beside her, bringing milk and cookies. Eli and Sarah and the kids chose to stay in the city for the weekend before they fly back to New York on Sunday afternoon, but Jessie always stayed with her mother whenever she was in town.
Jessie put her head on her mother's shoulder while Karen put her arms around her. At that moment, she was little Jessie again, safe in her mother's arms. And Karen thought that Jessie would always be her baby.
"Honey, where are Zoe and Jeff going for their honeymoon?" Karen inquired.
"I am not sure, but it's either the Mediterranean or the Far East," Jessie said without looking up.
"Lily did a nice job, planning the wedding long distance. It was nice to see everyone there. Oh, your dad and Lily are moving back to Sinclair. Next month I think. I guess they just want to retire here," Karen continued.
"I know, Mom, dad emails me all the time," said Jessie.
They were quiet for a while, watching a repeat of Saturday Night Live, laughing sometimes, but mostly just enjoying the moment, revering in the stillness of the company. So many things have changed, and yet, they stayed the same. Karen was now a circuit judge in Chicago, and doted on her 2 grandsons. She never re-married although came close a couple of times. She was also on the Board of Booklovers.Com, the world's largest and most profitable on-line bookstore founded by Judy. After buying Amazon, Judy decided to step down as CEO but remained chief of the Booklovers chain of bookstores.
"Honey, when will I get to plan a wedding?" Karen broke the silence. She knew that Jessie would not answer, but still, she had to ask. "Any kind of wedding?" Please?"
Jessie looked up and started tickling her mother and they both started to laugh, and then the phone rang. It was almost 11 o'clock, almost midnight in the East Coast. Nobody was allowed to call Karen after 9 at night, except her children. As she grew older, Karen became more and more entrenched in her routines that made her life as organized as it could be. Jessie wondered if it was someone from the hospital; she left her mother's phone number at the desk in case of emergency, and her mobile phone had been off the whole weekend.
"Hello?" Jessie answered. Despite all the technology available in 2022, Karen still did not have a videophone or caller ID. What for, she used to ask, when the only people who knew her phone number were the people who mattered.
"Hello?" Jessie asked once more, before hanging up the phone. "Hung up. Probably a wrong number."
"Well, I am going to bed. Goodnight, honey," Karen said as she stood up and gave Jessie a kiss on the forehead. "We're having brunch with your brother tomorrow."
"Night, mom," Jessie kissed her mother back.
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JESSIE'S OLD ROOM
Jessie looked around – her mother had kept her room the way it was when she left Sinclair. Aside from the new mattress and latest electronic gadgets, her posters and her picture frames were still where she left them. She looked at an old paper flower, wrapped in plastic, in a vase by her dresser.
She smiled as she remembered the day Katie gave her that paper flower, an art project, a gift from the heart. She absently touched the flower, now yellow and old. Behind the vase was a picture of 2 girls, hugging each other. They both looked very happy, Jessie thought, you could REALLY see it in their eyes.
She did not know how long she stood by the dresser, staring at the picture and the flower, a floodgate opening in her brain. She knew the drill – that floodgate always opened whenever she came home – she would stare for a while, tears streaming down her face, happy, melancholic tears. And she would be carrying this gape in her heart for a few days until the reality of her life took over again.
She did not hear Karen walking to her half-opened door, peeking in.
"I saw your light still on," Karen said softly.
Jessie did not answer, it was almost 1 in the morning, and she was very tired from the wedding and the reception. Her mind was as empty as a vacuum, yet her heart was so full of memories, sad, happy memories.
"Oh honey," Karen said as she walked towards Jessie. She knew that look, she knew that posture, and she knew that Jessie was as lost as she had been that day she announced that she and Katie had broken up.
"Eli saw her, mom. She now lives in New York, " Jessie whispered. "I think of her all the time, yet I knew that we were on different continents, different time zones. That realization made the memories more bearable."
Karen stared lovingly at Jessie, her hand on Jessie's shoulder. She also knew enough not to say anything, she only needed to listen. Oh, her heart was breaking as she watched her little girl go through the pain of it all.
"But now, she's 4 hours away! Suddenly, she is real again and not some ghost from the past that I had treasured, hidden away in the depths of my heart," Jessie continued. "She abandoned me, she forgot all about me, she outgrew me. And I thought I outgrew her, mom, but I did not need to; she grew with me, she stayed with me. Every time something good happens to me, I wish she was there to share it with, and listen to her stupid retorts. And every time something bad came along, she was the only person I really wanted to be with."
"Jessie, honey, I know. I see it in your eyes and I hear it in your voice. I have never seen you as happy as you were when you were with Katie," Karen said softly, wiping away the tears from Jessie's eyes.
"Mom, I have never stopped loving her," Jessie said as she hugged her mother. Karen knew that as well, Jessie did not have to say anything. Every time Jessie came home, she always noticed some dried tears by the dresser, and on the picture and the flower.
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BEAR'S BAR
Chicago, IL
Monday Night
"Dr. Sammler, " called out Tad and Russell, as Jessie made her way through the Sports bar. Tad was a lawyer in private practice, and Russell was now a Lieutenant with the Chicago Police Department.
"Hey, boys! It's so nice to see you!" Jessie said as she excitedly sat down.
The trio ordered burgers and fries and a pitcher of beer. They haven't seen each other since Grace's wedding ten years ago, also in Sinclair. They sent each other the required Christmas cards and called on each other's birthdays, and that had kept them in touch all throughout. They had completely given up on calling and seeing each other more often, as their own respective lives got in the way.
"And Alexa wanted the house, wanted sole custody of the kids, wanted the summer house, and I said no way! She was the one who was cheating, she makes more money than I, and I am a lawyer!" chucked Tad.
"So, are you dating now?" Jessie asked while continuing to munch on her fries. I am giving myself a cholesterol overdose, she thought.
"He dates anyone younger than 21!" exclaimed Russell. "You know who was in town? Katie Singer!" Russell continued. "She had to give a lecture at the University of Chicago, and she called me up for coffee!"
"When did Katie leave for Oxford again?" Tad asked.
"2003," Jessie softly answered without looking up. "She spent a semester at the University of Chicago before her father got transferred to London."
"Yeah, remember, we had a party for her at Sarah Grasser's house! Katie was pissed," Russell chuckled some more. "Hey, but Sarah insisted!"
Jessie kept silent throughout this repartee. She knew about the party. She knew about Oxford. She hoped to visit Katie in the UK. She hoped to be with her at Oxford, she actually tried, but her parents were adamant on her going to Northwestern. Jessie called whenever she could, but the time difference and the rigors of studying took their toll. She would still be in school whenever Katie called, and Katie would be asleep by the time she called. And emails did not have the same warmth that Katie's hand on hers could bring.
"Oh, anyway, Katie looked me up the phone directory, called home, got me at the precinct, and we met for coffee. That was 2 weeks ago," Russell continued. "She was only in town for 2 days and had to fly back to New York. But she promised to stay longer next time."
Russell and Tad then talked about the ruckus that the three of them – Katie, Russell, and Tad – caused together. They were a team, and they acted so silly together. Russell and Tad never thought of Katie as a girl, just one of the gang. They laughed, amused at the memories. Jessie just listened to them, fondly remembering her girlfriend who commanded the affection of anyone who knew her.
And watching Tad and Russell, she was amused with the fact that no matter how far all of them have gone, they still laughed at the same silly things when they were together.
Then Russell gazed at Jessie, and said with conviction, "She is not with anyone, Jess. She just broke up with her latest squeeze, some artist from SoHo or something."
Jessie pretended to be surprised, although she wasn't really. Through the years, whenever she got together with anyone from Sinclair, the conversation would eventually lead to Katie and her latest conquest. There was a model from Paris and an Olympic skier from Switzerland and a violinist from New York and an actress from London. She never kept track, she did not seek out the information. She was busy becoming a doctor and she couldn't afford to chase any other dream.
"Hey Jess – how about giving Katie a full physical," Tad said as he winked at Jessie.
"You are still so stupid, Tad! I am a pediatric surgeon, I don't do physical on adults!" Jessie said seriously, as though Tad actually meant what he said.
"Just suggesting… you know, you 2 were the hottest couple on Campus!" Tad defended his stupidity. And then he remembered that the topic of "Jessie and Katie" was not exactly welcome in Jessie's company, and he silently cursed himself for his gift of tactlessness.
They watched the baseball game on the TV monitors, interrupting each other periodically with some stupid recollection. They called it a night at 9 o'clock, and promised to call each other more often although they all knew it was not likely to happen, and then they went home to their respective lives.
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MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL
Boston, MA
Wednesday
"Dr. Sammler, you have a phone call on line 2," Jessie heard over the PA. She was in the middle of a procedure, and she asked one of the nurses to take a message.
She came back to work after a one week vacation, the longest she had taken since becoming an attending 2 years ago, and found her schedule full as it could be with urgent cases. This was her second to the last for the day, but she was still on call for the next 12 hours.
"Did not leave a message, said she would call back," the nurse said after hanging up the phone.
"Was it my stepsister?" Jessie wondered, as only Grace would call her in the hospital whenever Ryan wanted to talk to his godmother. And Jessie loved that – she needed the break and Ryan's innocence always provided that.
"Nope," the nurse just said and they proceeded to finish up the surgery.
Jessie looked at the clock on the wall – it was 3 o'clock in the afternoon, she should be done with the last procedure by 5 and then she could bike home to her condo on Beacon Hill and crash. She had been in the hospital since 5 am and would be on call until the following morning, but she could always benefit from a 2-hour nap and a warm shower before she goes back to the hospital.
Jessie walked over to the desk to hand over the chart to Ruth, the desk clerk, before she prepped for the last procedure of the day. She noticed the bouquet of yellow roses sitting by the desk; it must be somebody's birthday, she thought.
"Oh, Dr. Sammler, this came for you," Ruth called her back as she started walking away.
"For me?" Jessie wondered, as she took the bouquet and brought it to the doctor's lounge. She took out the card, her brows furrowed as she read it:
"Billie – I have come back home. Love, Billie"
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