***Chapter 7***
***Beach house***
Jennifer was in her robe on the terrace, enjoying coffee. She was still so hurt by Jonathan not paying the increased demand. She didn't know how they got to this place, where they weren't the most important things in each other's lives. Maybe he was getting back at her for the book tour. Maybe he was upset because she wasn't as young and spry as she used to be. Maybe, he had fallen out of love with her and didn't want to admit it.
She was trying to hold back the tears. She knew now, that she had lost them. What they had, all that they shared, was over.
She heard a noise behind her and turned around. He was standing there with her bags.
She got up and went inside.
"I was expecting Kelly".
"I know. I told her I would take care of it".
She looked at him for the longest time.
"Thank you".
She reached down to take her bags from him.
He reached out to touch her.
"Don't!"
She took a step back.
"Darling-"
"No, Jonathan."
"What's wrong?"
"You mean you don't know?"
"Jennifer-"
"Well, let me spell it out for you. It's a little sobering to find out that your husband, who claims to love you more than life itself, only thinks you are worth a certain amount and isn't willing to pay a penny more to get you back. It's also very hurtful. I am done being tossed aside by you. Now, if you will excuse me, I am going to go get dressed".
He stepped aside and let her go upstairs. He sat on the couch and waited for her to come back down.
About 20 minutes later, she came back downstairs and saw him sitting on the couch.
"I thought you left".
"I am not leaving till we discuss this".
"We don't have anything to discuss".
"Jennifer, please".
She stared at him.
"Just hear me out".
She nodded.
She went and got another cup of coffee and came and sat down on the couch.
"Before you got to Hart Industries, I called Lt. Grey. He said he was sending two undercover officers to pose as janitors. They were cleaning the hall outside. They were wired. So, when he started demanding more money, I said no, thinking they were going to bust in and arrest him. I was unaware that they had been stripped of their wires, and stuffed into a closet by Grant Matthews before you all came in. It's not that I wouldn't pay whatever for you, you know I would. It was a stall tactic. That's all".
"Jonathan, the man I married would have come around the desk and punched him and saved me without ever having to use a stall tactic".
"Jennifer, if I had done that, you could have been hurt".
"I used to be your top priority, but now it doesn't seem like I am. I don't think you fully get how hurt I am by this".
"Jennifer-I was trying to do the right thing by everyone".
"Everyone except me".
"No, everyone including you".
"If you had done the right thing by me, I would have been your top priority, and instead you were balking at writing a check. Hell, you could have written the check, saved me and then called and canceled it. You could have punched him after you knew I was safe. Instead, he was all "Give me 5 more million, and you were all no, not a penny more".
"It was all stall tactics".
"I am tired of being your second thought. I miss the days when I was your first thought. But I realize now, those days are long gone and what we had then is gone too".
"Jennifer-you are always my top priority. If I didn't care about finding you, I wouldn't have written the first check to begin with. I wouldn't have called the police and I wouldn't have showed up at the office at 10 p.m."
"If I was truly your first priority, you would have handed over your checkbook and told him to take all of it, because no amount of money was too much. Instead, you placed a value on my head, one that I cannot live up to."
She stood up.
"You can see yourself out. I just want to be alone for a while".
She went upstairs.
He wanted to go to her, but he didn't want to push her.
He left her a note and headed home to Willow Pond.
***A few hours later***
Jennifer had gone upstairs and laid on the bed and cried. She wanted him to realize that she was hurt, and that he was the one who had hurt her. But as they talked, she didn't see that understanding in his eyes.
She got up after a few hours and washed her face. She came downstairs and found his note.
"Darling- I tried to express to you that I was sorry for this misunderstanding. I am afraid that my words didn't come out that way at all. I want you to know that I love you so much, and you are the only thing that matters to me. I had a couple days to live without you and I hated every second. I will be dropping your car off for you today, and I hope that when you are ready, you will come back home to Willow Pond with me, where you belong. I love you-Jonathan".
She teared up. She went and looked out the window. Her Porsche was sitting there on the driveway.
She went outside and got in, and started the car. She opened the sunroof and put her music on. She drove to Willow Pond. She entered the gate, and drove up the driveway. All of his cars were there. That meant he was there. She continued out the driveway and back to the beach house, without stopping and going in.
***Jonathan***
Jonathan was working from home indefinitely. He wanted to be there when she came home. He saw her drive through the gate, and he saw her keep going and leave again. He was disappointed, but he knew she did things on her terms, when she was ready. He thought about calling her, but wanted to give her space. She had shown him in the last few weeks that she didn't like being pushed into something, and he was trying to honor that.
He resolved to do this on her terms, not on his.
***A few days later***
Jonathan hadn't heard from Jennifer in several days. He was going crazy but he was trying to let her come around on her own. He had sent her flowers and ordered her dinner and had it delivered one night. She had sent him a note at the office to thank him, and tell him she was ok.
He had gone into the office on Thursday, for a meeting.
She went by the house while he was gone and got her laptop and writing files and some more clothes. She left him a note on the piano.
"Sorry I missed you. Just came by to get a few things. Hope you are doing well".
He immediately called and ordered her a bouquet of her favorite flowers. The card read "I would be better if you came home to me. Glad to hear you are ok".
She called and left a message with Kelly to thank him for the flowers, and to tell him she was going to Seattle for her rescheduled book signing.
"Tell him I will be back in about 5 days. He can reach me at the Marriot if he needs to".
"Yes, Mrs. Hart".
Jonathan sent some flowers to her at the hotel, and told the desk clerk to tell her to put whatever she wanted on the hotel bill and that he would pay for it.
He resolved that if she wouldn't come back to him on her own, he would romance her back into his life. He had made her fall in love with him once before, he could do it again.
***A few days later***
Jennifer was in Seattle. It was her last night.
She was in her room about to go to bed, when the phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Hi. How are you?"
"Hi. I'm fine. How are you?"
"I would be better if you were with me".
"That's sweet".
"Jennifer, I promised I wasn't going to bother you while you were away, but I thought you would want to know, Max has gone into a coma. The doctor from the facility called a little while ago. He thinks this is the end. I can charter a plane for you tonight, if you want to come home right now".
He could hear her crying on the other end.
"Jonathan, if I did that, I would be at the airport at 1:30 a.m. I can't do that…"
"I will pick you up myself. I promise".
"I can't ask you to do that".
"You aren't. I'm offering".
"Good point. Ok. You get the plane. I will pack my bags and change clothes and head to the airport".
"Great. And Jennifer-I can't wait to see you".
"Me too".
She hung up.
She was at the airport within the hour, and they were wheels up about 20 minutes after that.
She slept on the plane, but it was a short flight, so it wasn't good sleep.
True to his promise, Jonathan was there, waiting on her when she arrived.
He took her bags and opened the door for her.
"Thank you".
They headed to the facility.
"How was your trip?"
"Nice, I suppose. Everyone was so sweet regarding the rescheduling".
There was a pregnant pause. She looked at him again after a few moments.
"Thank you for the flowers".
"You deserve them, darling. I missed you".
She smiled at him. She missed him too and she wanted to say that, but she didn't want him to get the wrong idea. Truth was, she had no idea where they stood. She had hoped she would figure it out on her trip, but she hadn't.
They pulled up and parked, and headed to Max's room.
He was resting comfortably. He wasn't on life support, but he was on a heart monitor.
She went over and kissed his cheek lightly. She whispered in his ear, "I love you, Max".
Jonathan stood at the foot of his bed and saluted him. That was their thing.
They took a seat on the couch, and waited.
She looked at Jonathan and whispered, "What are we doing?"
"I don't want him to be alone. We are all he has".
She nodded.
Max's room was set up like a house. He had a couch and a love seat, and a recliner. It was like a studio room-he was in the bed and there was a big TV on the other wall.
Jennifer was exhausted.
She whispered to Jonathan, "Wake me up if something happens".
He nodded at her.
She leaned over and rested her head against the arm of the loveseat.
He got up and picked her up.
"Jonathan, what are you doing?"
"You take the whole thing. I will sit in the chair".
She nodded.
He saw her shiver. He looked around for a blanket and seeing none, he took off his jacket and covered her with it.
She looked up at him. "Thank you".
He leaned down and kissed her forehead, and then headed to the recliner. He pulled the recliner over to Max's bedside. He thought about all the adventures and memories he had made, and how Max had been by his side through all of them. Countless pieces of advice, infinite numbers of poker games and horse races. If Max hadn't found him, he would have probably gone to jail. He for sure would have never been able to build Hart Industries, which means he would have never met Jennifer. Max had brought them together in more ways than one. Max had always tolerated his other girlfriends, but with Jennifer, it was different from the start. He had accepted her from the very beginning, and had always treated her like she was his daughter.
Jennifer wasn't exactly sleeping herself. She was laying there with her eyes closed, thinking about Max. How he had been so helpful to her throughout the years, so welcoming, how he treated her like family from the very beginning. Even when he knew she wouldn't like what he had to say, he said it respectfully. He never raised his voice to her or to Jonathan. He was more than their houseman, he was their very best friend and the sweetest person they had ever known.
A couple hours had passed, and Jennifer had an ache in her back. She sat up to stretch it. It wasn't going away, so she got up and kicked her shoes off and started walking around. She ended up over by the bathroom, which was the farthest place away from Max in the room.
Jonathan got up and went to her.
"Here, let me", he whispered.
"You don't have to- oh, that feels good". She whispered back.
He rubbed her back for a few minutes and then she turned to him.
"Thank you".
He nodded.
"Why don't you take the bigger couch, so you can stretch out all the way?"
"Good idea".
She headed to the bigger couch and took his jacket with her.
Jonathan stretched out on the recliner, and was just about to fall asleep himself when he heard that familiar gravelly voice.
"Mr. H, how long you been here?"
"Max! You're awake".
Jonathan got up and went to get Jennifer.
"Darling, he's awake".
She got up and went and kissed him.
"Hey Mrs. H."
"Hey Max".
Jonathan let her have the recliner. He pulled the loveseat over to the other side of the bed.
"Doctors say I ain't got much time left".
"What do they know, Max? They don't know you".
"Yeah, but this time feels different, Mrs. H. This time, I think I might believe them".
"Max, you are a fighter. Always have been. That will never change".
He turned to Jonathan.
"I need to tell you something, Mr. H."
