Jennifer gave him a puzzled look and he smiled slightly, "May I come in?"
"Oh, of course." She said stepping back, "I shouldn't let my illness give cause to being ill mannered." She quipped, "So you talked to my father?"
He looked around the apartment, classic Jennifer, antiques and pure understated elegance. He looked at her, taking in the changes in her appearance, some from just the normal passage of time but it was clear the illness was taking its toll, "Yes, I did." He moved toward her not knowing what to say to the woman he had loved more than life itself, once upon a time, "Jennifer…"
She back away and put her hand up in protest, "Jonathan, please don't." She crossed the room back to the bar, "Would you like a drink?" She asked pouring herself one, "Do you still drink brandy?"
He was bewildered by her nonchalance, "Yes…no I mean, no thanks," He paused, "Jennifer, please, talk to me."
She took a drink, letting the brandy slide slowly down her throat, "What do you want me to say, Jonathan?" Her eyes narrowed, "Do you want to know how I'm doing? Well, that's easy. I have cancer and the doctors don't hold out much hope. I can go on with the chemo but it doesn't seem to be halting the attack on my cells and lymph nodes, so what's the point?"
"I know, your father told me all that." He replied, "But how are you…emotionally, I know that's a dumb question…"
She gave him a half smile, "What makes you think it's dumb?" She questioned, "What's the old saying? That which does not kill us makes us stronger?" She took another drink
"Jennifer, don't even joke like that." He said, his voice almost a whisper
She looked down, "I'm sorry." She raised her head to meet his eyes, "Would you like to sit down?" She gestured to the sofa
He nodded and took a seat, "I think I can help you, if you'll let me explain."
She joined him on the sofa, "How can you help me? Did you go to medical school in the ten years since we divorced?"
He laughed slightly. Humor had always been a defense for her. He thought back to the time when a hit man posed as her long lost cousin and set the oven to blow up…If you didn't want veal for dinner you should have just said so…I knew you weren't going to let me remodel the kitchen so...she joked when he came home to survey the damage, "No, I didn't but Hart Industries has gotten involved with UCLA Medical Center and we are making great strides in cancer research and treatment. I'd like for you to come out to California to meet with some of the doctors."
"Oh Jonathan, I can't…" She began
He put his hands on her shoulders, "Yes, you can."
"But…" She started again, the thought of going back to L.A. and being that close to him, she didn't know if she was strong enough to handle it.
"But nothing." He replied, "Are you too proud to accept my help?"
She shook her head, "No, it's not that." She explained, "I just…"
He reached into his suit pocket and pulled out an envelope and placed it in her hand, "This is some information on what we're doing, research, treatments, results. Go over it with your doctor and see what he thinks."
She shook her head again staring at the envelope, "Why?" She asked look up again, "I mean, you flew all the way here just to talk to me about this?"
"We are talking about your life, after all." He reminded her, "I didn't want to do this over the phone or have some stranger come in my stead." His eyes were soft and his smile warm, "And there is no one I would rather see get help from our research."
She suppressed the lump in her throat,"Alright, I have an appointment with my doctor tomorrow. I'll talk to him about it." She agreed
"Good." He replied standing up, "Well, I better get going."
She stood to walk him to the door, "Where are you staying?"
"At the Regency on the other side of Central Park." He replied as they reached the door, "I'll be flying out tomorrow. Here's my cell, call me once you've talked to your doctor." He took out a business card and pen and wrote his private cell number on the back
She noticed the cards were the same as he'd had before and he was still at the house on Willow Pond Road, "So you still have the house."
"Yeah, I don't think I've made many changes to it." He looked down, "You always had great taste."
She smiled slightly, "Good night, Jonathan."
"Good night."
She closed the door behind him and the tears fell again
That night sleep eluded her…again. It wasn't the illness. She tossed and turned, held hostage by her past and the dark places she thought she had managed to escape.
"Jonathan, it's just a ride down to the lake and back. I've done it a hundred times."
He pulled her close to him, "Maybe, but you haven't been carrying junior here all those times." He ran his hand across her abdomen
She smiled and kissed him, "I promise I'll be careful."
He sighed in defeat knowing he couldn't win, "Alright, but I'm going with you."
They saddled up and headed down to the lake and all of a sudden a shot rang out and Sweet Sue reared back wildly and Jennifer was thrown. The next thing she knew she was waking up in a hospital. Jonathan was right by her side.
"What happened?" She asked opening her tired eyes
"You were thrown from the horse." He explained
She tried to recall what happened but couldn't, "I was…oh Jonathan, the baby. Is our baby alright?"
His face was solemn, "No, sweetheart, you lost the baby."
Though his words were meant to be comforting, his tone was anything but. She studied his face for a moment and even in her tired, medicated stated, it was clear to her that he placed the blame squarely on her
She woke up in a sweat, looking around, realizing where she was. Her heart was pounding wildly in her chest. She looked at the clock 3:22. How prophetic she thought, the day her world fell apart, March twenty second. She laid back down, her breathing rapid and shallow, staring at the ceiling.
Oh, Jonathan…
THE NEXT DAY
She sat quietly while Dr. Archer looked over the information Jonathan had given her. It was impressive to her what Hart Industries was accomplishing but she wasn't a doctor. She held her breath as the doctor finally looked up from the papers.
"Well…" She offered
He smiled, "Jennifer, I don't have any easy answers for you but I don't see anything in here that would give me pause."
"Really?" She asked
"I wasn't aware of this research. I guess the buzz hadn't reached the East Coast yet." He explained, "But I don't want to give you false hope, either."
"I know." She acknowledged, "There is no guarantee."
"No, but I guess that's true of everything in life." He observed, "Tell me how you came to find out about this again."
"My father read an article about it." She explained, "But Jonathan Hart is my ex-husband. My father contacted him and he flew out here to see me."
He shook his head, "Well that's a new one." He mused, "So are you hesitant at all about … well…"
"I'd be lying if I said no." She replied, "But if there's a chance they can help me… and it's not like he's the one who'll be treating me. I may not even see him while I'm there."
"Well, the only reason I ask is that if this will be a stressful situation then I don't recommend it." He explained, "You'd be surprised what stress can do to you physically."
She smiled slightly, "I doubt I'd be surprised at all, Doctor."
After leaving Dr. Archer's office, Jennifer went home and called Stephen to tell him what she had decided and he was happy and relieved at the news. Then she took the business card out of her purse and placed the call to his cell. He answered on the first ring
"Jennifer?"
"Good guess." She quipped
"Well, I don't have that many people calling my personal cell from New York. My business associates call my blackberry."
She smiled thinking about him wheeling and dealing. You could see oil to the Arabs, "I talked to my doctor and he didn't see any reason not to give it a shot."
"So you'll come?" He asked
"Yes, I'll come." She confirmed
He smiled in relief, "Great. I can send my pilot to fly you here."
"No, Jonathan, you don't have to…" She began
"I want to and there'll be an apartment available for you to stay when you aren't at the hospital." He explained
"That really isn't necessary." She protested
"Jennifer, I have a whole floor at the Regency Towers for patients to stay. I figure they need a place to go that's away from the hospital."
"Alright." She acquiesced
"I'll call you back after I speak with Frank and let you know when he'll be flying in."
"Okay." She said softly, "And Jonathan, thank you."
"You don't have to thank me." He said, "Just be the fighter I've always known you to be."
TBC