"What's all this?"
"We are throwing you guys a couple's shower."
Jennifer was shocked.
Jonathan was more than surprised.
"I can't believe you did this".
"Come on over here, and make yourselves a plate. And then, after everyone has eaten, we will open the presents and Jennifer can meet everyone".
Susan had gone all out for this. The buffet included grilled chicken and veggie skewers, mini buffalo chicken sliders, toasted ravioli with marinara sauce for dipping, caprese salad sticks, a fruit plate with marshmallow dip, artichoke dip, and pasta salad.
They quickly made a plate and went and sat down, and several people came and joined them.
After everyone had eaten, they started opening the gifts.
"Ok, so as your gift is selected, introduce yourself to Jennifer and tell everyone how you met Jonathan. Each gift has a number on it, and before they open the gift, we will ask them the questions that correspond to that number".
"Oh, this should be fun". Jonathan looked a little nervous.
"Darling, it will be fun, I promise".
"Ok first up, is question 4. Jonathan, what was the first thing that Jennifer ever cooked for you?"
"Hmm. Well, the first thing I ever ate that she cooked, she didn't cook it for me, she brought it to a party. It was a dip that you eat with fries. The first thing she ever made for me specifically, would have to be coffee, I guess".
"Yes, that's right. I haven't ever made him dinner just the two of us. I was making the meals for the family".
"What was the dip?"
"It's called Loaded Baked Potato Dip. You mix bacon, cream cheese, cheddar, sour cream, and chives and a little bit of hot sauce, and refrigerate it for an hour. You serve it with potato chips, or warm waffle fries".
"It's amazing".
They opened the gift and found that it was one of the kitchen appliances they had registered for.
"Ok, next question. Who liked who first?"
"Hard to say. He wanted a date first, but I wasn't looking for anything serious, so he acted like I was invisible on our date. And even though I wasn't into him, it hurt my feelings. I guess, in the end, he was interested in me before I was interested in him".
"Yeah, that's right. I had to talk her into it".
They opened that present to find a place setting.
"Yay! Max can eat with us, too".
"Jonathan! Max, you can always eat with us".
"Ok, next question. Jennifer, what's the first thing Jonathan made you?"
"Angry".
Everyone laughed, as she reached over and patted his arm.
"Seriously, I think it was grilled steaks and shrimp, and a chopped salad. It was at the end of what we call the week of Hell in New York".
"Oh yes. That's right".
"Why was it a week of hell?"
"Because two hours after we got engaged, the oldest daughter of the kids we were watching came down with strep and we got into a little argument over it, and then the doctors gave her some medicines and one of them made her completely crazy. Also, she and her brother were fighting all the time, and I was feeling taken for granted. So, Jonathan took the kids to school that day and picked them up, punished them for fighting, and told me to take a bubble bath. He took care of 2 fighting kids plus a 5 month old and cooked dinner for all of us while I was taking a bubble bath and enjoying peace and quiet in the bedroom, and when I came out, the kids were all at the dinner table, and he had grilled me and him steaks and shrimp, and made chicken nuggets and mac and cheese for the kids. After dinner, they gave me apologies and cards and didn't give us any trouble about bedtime. It was the greatest thing he had ever done for me".
She leaned over and kissed him. Everyone agreed that was a very wonderful thing to do.
They continued answering questions and opening presents till they had two left.
"Ok, next to last question is What's the biggest thing that has tested your relationship so far?"
"Oh, that's hard to say. Before we were officially together, we had some pretty tragic things that happened. She printed an article that I didn't want her to, because it named my company. I was pretty angry with her over that."
"And he made a list of things about me that he couldn't live without, but I thought it was a list of reasons not to be with me, so I was slightly irritated with him".
"Your slightly irritated looks like a 9.5 on the Richter scale".
Everyone laughed.
"And we lost our best friends in a car accident, and got thrown into being parents in a matter of minutes".
"After we were a couple, we dealt with him having surgery and not remembering me after he woke up. We broke up for a while, until he remembered. And since he remembered, I would say the biggest thing that has tested us has been house hunting".
"She's right. House hunting was no picnic".
"Ok, final question. What's the most romantic thing each of you has done for the other?"
"Hmmm. The most romantic thing she has done for me is when I had mentioned that my favorite dessert is ice cream sundaes, she made me a surprise sundae bar for dessert a few days later, with all my favorite toppings."
"The most romantic thing he has done for me-it's a tie. When I moved to New York, I bought a used Corvette and had it completely rebuilt with original parts. After we took over the care of our friend's children, I traded it in and got an SUV. On Christmas Eve, at the bottom of my stocking, there was a key, and my Corvette was in the garage. The second one would have to be the way he re-proposed to me. He sent me flowers at work, and got my boss in on it. The card said to dress up and go to the gift shop at the Empire State building. So, I did, and the lady working there handed me a bag, and told me to skip the line for the roof, and talk to the security guard. He told me to go to the left corner on the roof. So, I did, and a few minutes later, Jonathan was there. I didn't think I was meeting him, because his office told me he wasn't in town. So, after he convinced me that I was meeting him, he proposed again, and then carried me to the elevator and we left the Empire State building in a lighted horse-drawn carriage".
They opened the last gift, and then thanked everyone.
"Thanks everyone. This was really fun, and it's nice that you guys want to celebrate us".
"Yes, thank you. Before today, the only people I know in this room were him, Max and Susan. I love that you guys went out of your way to welcome me and celebrate us. We are so thankful".
"Ok, everyone. Get some more food, and let's have a great time".
Everyone got a second plate, and about an hour or two later, the party was over.
Max and Jonathan packed everything into the car.
"Susan, you are the greatest friend we could ever have. Thank you so much for this wedding shower".
"You're so welcome. We love you guys, this was a fun evening".
They shared a round of hugs and then headed home.
Jonathan and Max carried all the presents in and put them in the dining room.
"I'll unpack those tomorrow and get them put away".
They said goodnight to Max and headed upstairs.
A few minutes later, they were snuggled in bed.
"Darling, if I could make you anything you wanted, what would it be?"
"Married to you".
"How sweet. I meant for dinner".
"Darling, you don't have to cook for me."
"Oh, I see".
"Now come on, I didn't mean it like that. What I meant was-Max cooks, and you and I like to go to dinner, and if you want to cook for me you can, but you don't have to".
"I know I don't have to. But did it ever occur to you that maybe I wanted to?"
"If you want to, you can".
"I know that. But do you want me to?"
"I'm not opposed to it".
She moved off him and leaned up and kissed his cheek.
"Goodnight".
She rolled away from him and went to sleep.
"So that's it, we aren't going to talk about this-you're just going to go to sleep mad?"
"I don't want to talk about it. I think you've made your point".
"I didn't know I had a point!"
"Fine. You made the point that you didn't know you had. Happy now?"
"No, actually. I don't want you to go to sleep angry at me".
"I'm not angry, Jonathan."
"Then what are you, exactly?"
"Trying to sleep".
He sighed and turned out the light.
***The next morning***
Jennifer woke up when she heard Jonathan in the shower.
She went downstairs and poured a cup of coffee.
She was sitting at the table when he came down.
"Morning, darling".
"Morning".
"Morning, Mr. H."
"Morning Max".
"Want some breakfast? I made hash browns and scrambled eggs".
"Sure, sounds great".
Jennifer kept reading the paper.
After he had finished, she headed to the living room to go upstairs, and he was headed to the door.
"Bye honey, have a great day".
She kissed him.
He pulled her back.
"I love you, you can cook for me whenever you want, whatever you want."
"I don't have to, remember? You have Max".
"So, that's what this is about? You want me to fire him?"
"No, don't be silly. I want you…to want me".
She kissed him again and headed upstairs.
He almost went after her, but in the end, he headed to the office.
She came downstairs after she had showered and dressed.
She spent about 3 hours organizing the kitchen cabinets and finding space for all the presents they had gotten.
Around 1, there was a knock at the door.
She went and answered it and found a delivery man.
"Flowers for Jennifer Edwards".
"That's me".
"Here you go. Have a nice day".
"Thank you".
She opened the box and found a gorgeous flower arrangement, filled with pink porcelain lilies, heliconias, blue morning glories, birds of paradise, and hibiscus.
She dug for the card and set the vase down.
It was a handwritten card from Jonathan.
"My darling Jennifer-I love you, and I want you-and a life with you, more than I have ever wanted anything else. Enjoy your flowerS and I can't wait to see you Tonight. I love you 1000 times infinity, plus one-Jonathan".
She put them on the table, and got back to organizing the cabinets.
A few hours later, she heard him coming in the door.
"Jennifer?"
"In here".
He came in and found her on the floor, with her head in the bottom cabinet.
"What are you doing?"
"Trying to make these things fit in here".
He helped her up and kissed her.
"Thank you for my flowers".
He kissed her again and then went to change clothes.
He came back downstairs and found her sitting on the couch, with a glass of wine.
She was reading a magazine.
He sat next to her and turned on the tv.
"Where's Max?"
"He's here somewhere."
"You still coming to the office tomorrow?"
"Why wouldn't I?"
"Just wondering".
He got up and went to find Max.
He came back a few minutes later.
"He's sick, in bed."
"Do we need to call the doctor?"
"No, he says he'll be fine with some rest".
She put her magazine on the table and finished her wine.
He leaned over and kissed her temple.
"Want to order a pizza?"
"You can. I have a dress to fit into".
"Want to cook dinner with me?"
"Sure".
He grabbed her hand and they headed to the kitchen.
They decided to grill shrimp and veggie packets, and Jennifer made a chopped salad.
He got the grill started and then came back to the kitchen.
He turned on the radio, and held his hands out to her.
"Dance with me?"
She nodded and started dancing with him.
She rested her cheek against his, and they danced for several songs.
He grabbed her hand and led her to the grill and checked on dinner, and then sat down and pulled her into his lap.
"I'm sorry I hurt your feelings. I want you, Jennifer. I don't know how else to make you see that".
"I do know that. It's just, we played that game and I realized that you do way more for me than I do for you. And I want to do stuff for you, but I want it to be perfect and I don't ever want you to have regrets. And when I asked you about it, so it would be perfect, you said "You don't have to", and it made me think you don't want me to. And I just want you to want me, that's all".
"I do want you, I want you all the time".
She leaned forward and kissed him.
"Darling, we need to talk about finances. Do we want a joint account, do we want separate? I have a 401k that I need to put somewhere, from the Times and the London Tribune. And I have a few other accounts that my mom left me".
"Why don't we do a joint account, and then whatever else you want to do with your accounts is fine".
She nodded.
They got up and checked on dinner again, and took it inside.
After they were finished eating, they went to the living room.
"Darling, how dressed up do you want me to be tomorrow?"
"Well, it's not like evening attire or anything. But I don't let the employees wear jeans, so a nice outfit will be fine".
"Got it".
They snuggled up on the couch and watched TV, and Jennifer fell asleep on his shoulder.
After their movie was over, he gently woke her up.
"Baby….wake up. Movie's over".
"Huh?"
"Wake up, the movie is over".
"Oh".
They got up and locked up and headed up to bed.
She quickly changed into one of his pajama tops and climbed into bed.
He joined her a few minutes later, and wrapped his arms around her.
"Darling, can you rub my shoulder blade? It's throbbing".
"Certainly".
He started rubbing her shoulders and then concentrated on her shoulder blade, making small circles in an "L" pattern.
A few minutes later, she was fast asleep.
He kissed her head and then fell asleep right behind her.
***Tuesday***
She arrived at his office at 10:30, and parked right next to him.
She got off the elevator and headed towards his office.
"Hi, I'm Jennifer. Is Jonathan in?"
"Yes ma'am. You can go on in".
"Thank you".
He was on the phone when she got in there.
"I need those reports soon, Walker. We don't have a lot of time to waste. We have to figure out what we are going to offer".
She went and leaned against his desk.
"Ok, bottom line-You have till Friday at 1. The meeting is Friday at 4, so you have till 1 to get me the reports".
He hung up and turned to her.
"When did you get here?"
"Just now. What time are we having lunch?"
"In about 10 minutes".
"Is this the pizza party?"
"Yeah. I told HR to order pizzas for everyone. We figured on 20 cheese pizzas, 25 pepperoni, and 25 veggies. And there's two special ones".
"What do you mean?"
"One is a veggie pizza with a cauliflower crust, and olive oil base, and non-dairy cheese, just for you, and the other is a meat lovers, for me".
"Aww, thank you. That's so sweet".
She leaned down and kissed him.
A few minutes later, Deanne buzzed them to tell them that the pizzas had arrived.
"Ok, thanks".
They walked down to the conference room, and saw it was all set up.
"Mr. Hart, I think we need to open the other side of the room, so everyone will fit".
"Great idea, go right ahead".
He introduced Jennifer to everyone who was in the room and they were all so gracious and kind.
"Ok Mr. Hart, you and Jennifer get your pizza first".
After they both had their plates, they were taken to special seats, which were big and fluffy and white.
Pretty soon, the entire room was full of employees.
"Ok, Mr. Hart, Miss Edwards, we want to say a few things. We realize that this was a thank you lunch from you to us in regards to the cleanup. However, we made it a wedding shower from us to you to celebrate your marriage. So, as soon as you two finish eating, we are going to play some games and open some presents".
"Wow! We weren't expecting this".
"No, we were not. Thank you, guys, so much".
"We figured that you probably had everything you needed, so the gifts for this shower are going to have a little different theme. You'll see".
They ate their pizza and chatted with lots of people, and then it was time for the games.
They had puzzles to put together of each other, and then they had to answer questions about the other and see who got the most right.
Jennifer won the puzzle, Jonathan won the questions.
After the games were finished, they started opening the gifts.
All of the gifts were cards, and they all had a visa gift card in them, and also a piece of paper with a number on it.
"Just put the pieces of paper into this vase".
They opened all the cards and had amassed a nice collection of Visa Gift Cards.
Kathy Prince, the head of HR, came and sat across from them and brought a trash can.
"I don't understand the number thing".
"I don't either. Would someone like to fill us in?"
"Well, you booked your honeymoon with the company travel agent, yes?"
"Yes I did, and it's a surprise so no locations, please".
"Got it. Anyways, since I am the head of HR, she and I had a chat and she told us how many miles it is from here, to your honeymoon location and back. We had everyone donate a dollar amount, and write down that amount on the paper. Our goal was one dollar for every mile but people were allowed to donate more if they wanted. We are going to add them up for a total donation".
She turned around towards the door.
"Margeaux-can you bring the calculator please?"
She turned back to them.
"You guys get more pizza and then we will add up these slips and give you a total".
She took the gift cards and stacked them up.
"We are going to do something with these, as well".
Jennifer and Jonathan headed to get some more pizza and then came back.
"Miss Edwards, is he as strict at home as he is here?"
She chuckled.
"Not really…"
"Who's the boss in the house?"
"She is, definitely".
Kathy and Margo announced they were finished, so they got everyone's attention again.
"Ok, so the slips of paper represented how much money people were donating to the Orphanage. That total is…..$174,250."
Jonathan was so touched. Jennifer rubbed his arm a couple times.
"And the total of your visa cards is $20,365. We are going to call Visa and see if we can get all of these put on to one Visa Card, for you guys to use on your honeymoon".
"This is the kindest thing that's ever been done for me, and for us. I'm so thankful."
"Yeah, me too. I'm shocked. I cannot believe how generous you guys have been. Thank you so much".
"Thank you for the pizza, and for being a great boss".
Everyone came over and congratulated them, and then headed back to their offices.
Jennifer agreed to bring home the supreme pizza for him and the special veggie one for her.
"Take a pepperoni and a veggie for Max".
"Max likes veggie pizza?"
"Max likes pepperoni pizza with veggies on it. He can mix them together".
"Got it".
Kathy appeared and promised them she would have the Visa cards ready by the end of the day.
"It was lovely to meet you, Kathy. Thank you for the impromptu shower. Darling, I'll see you at home".
"I'll walk you out. Thanks, Kathy. Anyone who wants the leftovers is welcome to them".
He carried the pizzas and the bag with the cards in them, and they walked to her car.
He put the pizzas in the backseat on a towel, and then opened her door for her. She dropped her purse into the seat and turned to embrace him.
"Are you ok?"
"Yeah, I'm just so touched. I never expected that".
"Me either. Darling, if you want to give the honeymoon money to the orphanage, I'm ok with that".
"I'll call the orphanage and talk to the Sisters and see what they need".
"I love you, 18 days, Mr. Hart".
"18 days. Hope they go by fast. I love you, too".
"Relaxing night at home, just you and me?"
He nodded.
He gave her a few kisses and then headed back to the office.
She headed home and went inside.
After changing clothes, she sat down and made a few phone calls.
Her final one was a long distance one.
"Hi, this is Jennifer Edwards. I need a favor".