Chapter Three
Life with Seth was becoming more and more difficult. He moped around trying to convince her they should set a date until she barked at him that she wasn't going to be bullied into getting married. That got his dander up and he had been emotionally distant ever since.
Everyone in town was constantly greeting them and asking for the date but Jessica always stated she didn't have a date and Seth deferred to her. It was awkward at best. Seth was dropping by frequently, often trying to persuade her to see his side of things. She had to threaten to go to New York for peace and quiet to get him to stop.
Dating was at a standstill. He wanted to go shopping for rings, or looking at houses. Was she being stubborn for the sake of having her own way? She took a hard look at herself before finding an answer she accepted as truth. She told him from the start that she didn't want to give up her independence or freedom except on her terms. Maybe she wasn't ready for a partnership.
She couldn't seem to settle into writing today. Her mind kept wandering and she couldn't focus on her characters. The tension had been building for several days now and her head was being squeezed in a vice, or at least it felt like it. Seth was coming over for dinner so she decided to give up on writing and to make a salad. Once it was chilling in the fridge, she went upstairs and showered. She wanted to dress up and hopefully have a pleasant evening. She put on a flattering dress and heels. Her necklace was given to her by Seth for her last birthday.
Seth was punctual and came inside calling out her name.
"Seth, on time as usual," she greeted with a smile. She kissed his cheek and bade him to come into the family room. "I want to show you my first sampler."
He made appropriate noises but she pointed out the details to him.
"These are your initials here and there's mine. On your side there's a heart, a stethoscope, and a microscope. On mine, there's a book, a plane, and flowers." In the center were three words, love, cherish, devotion. She looked at Seth with tears in her eyes. "I do love you, Seth."
"I like where you hung it," he acknowledged. He kissed her cheek. "I love you, Jess."
She smiled at him and took his hand. "What are we having for dinner tonight?"
Seth began pulling out ingredients and gave her instructions on what to chop while he prepared the rest. It was like old times, talking and laughing while making a meal. The tension slowly eased and Jessica found herself wishing it could always be like this.
Things improved between the two as they became more considerate of each other's needs and insecurities. Seth backed away from pressuring Jessica and she in turn became more reassuring about wanting to be in a relationship with him.
"Seth, I've been thinking," began Jessica. "I've never included you in my life as JB Fletcher. I mean the publishing world, the events, the tours, interviews, etc. I would like you to find a week or so where you can travel with me. I'm hoping you'll understand more of my life outside of Cabot Cove."
"Jess, I'd love it!" Seth beamed at her. The past couple of weeks they had grown closer, less argumentative even. "I'll ask Beverly to find some time."
Jessica had always been pretty careful to keep her life compartmentalized into separate categories. In Cabot Cove she was Jessica Fletcher and loved to fish, to garden, to go antiquing with Seth. It was a pleasant life filled with a lot of laughter, good times with good friends, and occasionally a murder that she could 'help' solve.
But life as JB Fletcher was a bit different. It wasn't just being in New York either. It was the television appearances and radio interviews. It was being recognized by strangers on the street. It was having to go to dinners with agents, publishers, etc. It was certainly a more glamorous lifestyle but it was a lot of hard work as well. She hoped Seth would be more understanding of it.
It took a couple of weeks and many phone calls from her publisher who was thrilled she wanted to do more advertising for her latest book. She and Seth were going to stay at her apartment for the two weeks but she warned him there wouldn't be much free time. A warning he didn't believe at first.
Seth tried to refrain from complaining. They had only been in New York for two days and he was already sick of it. From the moment the plane landed he was pushed and bumped and shoved aside and he didn't like it one bit. Everyone wanted to speak with Jessica. Her latest novel was already a best seller and there was talk about a movie which would mean another trip later to California possibly. She had three meetings already since arriving. She insisted he remain with her throughout and he had agreed before they came but he was regretting it now. They were awakened at four AM because she was going to be on a morning show and she had to be there at 5 AM for makeup. The day had dragged on and on and finally at 10 PM they were back at the apartment only for her to tell him they had to leave by 7AM the following morning. He had barely ten minutes alone with her the entire day!
She had a book signing today and a lunch interview. Seth begged off on the book signing. What was the point of him watching her sign books over and over and chit chat with her fans? Instead he did a little shopping on his own.
"Seth dear, I canceled, well postponed, the dinner tonight so we could have a meal in peace," said Jessica as they entered the apartment. "I had some groceries delivered earlier so I'm hoping you can scrounge up some of your famous spaghetti bolognese.
Seth's eyes lit up. "Of course, I can. Why don't you have one of your soaks in the bathtub while I cook?" he suggested.
Jessica set the table before heading to her bathroom for a bath. Seth added candlesticks and set out a bottle of wine in addition to her efforts. The meal was pleasant and romantic. There was no talk of novels or interviews, just conversations about the new plants she wanted in her garden and Seth's capture of a 38 pound fish the last time they were out on Caleb's boat. Clean up was quick and they settled in the living room in front of the fire.
"Now this is what I'd like to do every night," announced Seth. "Spending time together like this is just what we needed."
"I agree," commented Jessica. "After a few weeks on tour, I appreciate Cabot Cove even more. I like connecting with my fans too, don't get me wrong, but I couldn't do it every day."
"But why do you need to do it at all?" asked Seth. "Your books sell well without all this hoopla and running around."
"Seth, why do you operate? You can just run a general practice and hand off the surgeries to someone else?" She tried to keep her voice pleasant. "You can have a Monday through Friday, nine to five practice."
"No, I don't want just the basics. I love my practice." Seth frowned. "I don't want you telling me how to do things. It's my career."
Jessica looked pointedly at him until he understood. "And you don't need me to tell you how to manage your career," he stated softly. "It's not about the money, it's about the personal fulfillment."
"Can you accept it?" she asked. "You don't have to travel with me, at least not every time and I could take breaks in between and not travel two or three months at a time. There is room for some compromise but I'm not going to stop traveling."
"And people will know who you are and stop you when we're out and about but that just goes with the territory," he admitted. "I'm an idiot."
"Hey, you're putting down the man I love," smiled Jessica. She snuggled against him. "I think we reached an ah-ha moment."
Seth smiled sheepishly. "I don't know why I couldn't see it before."
"I'm sure being a stubborn pig headed chauvinist had nothing to do with it," she winked at him. She kissed his lips lightly then more firmly. One kiss led to another and soon she was lying on top of him and kissing passionately.
Seth pulled his lips away. "This, this right here is what happened on New Year's Eve," he announced.
Jessica looked at him quizzically.
Seth smiled at her. "I sat on your bed because I was a little woozy and you sat in my lap and knocked me on my back."
Jessica smiled trying to remember. "I don't recall that, Seth."
"I assure you, that's what happened," he declared. "The next thing I remember is you lying on top of me, kissing."
"Then what happened?" she asked.
"Well, uh…you started moving…" Seth stuttered a little.
"What I remember is you putting your hand on my derriere and telling me I'm wearing too many clothes," she smiled at him. "And when I stood up to remove my pants, you removed my underwear too."
Seth couldn't stop the blush from forming. "I may have."
Jessica kissed him. "Let's try it again, only differently."
"What do you mean?"
"Seth, you're wearing too many clothes." She stood up and Seth followed suit. Reaching for his trousers, she unbuttoned him.
"Jessica!"
"I thought you might like to have your underwear pulled down," she laughed at the look on his face. "Go ahead and button up, dear. I'm just teasing you."
Seth looked uncertain.
"We better call it a night. We're up early tomorrow." she suggested.
"Would you mind if I went to a couple of the maritime museums?" he asked while buttoning his pants.
"Not at all, there are a few really good ones in the city, I hear." She agreed. An idea popped into her head as she kissed him goodnight.
The next day Seth went to three museums. The Hudson River, The Intrepid, and the Maritime Industry were full of information, models, and displays. The guides were knowledgeable and he enjoyed himself immensely. He brought back a few brochures to show Jessica and he picked up a model of one of the destroyers from World War Two. It was nearly dinner time and he was hungry so he hoped Jessica was back too.
The doorman recognized him now so he wasn't stopped and he took the elevator to the sixth floor. Using the key she gave him, which was now his key, he opened the door and stopped.
Music was playing softly and there were rose petals on the floor. He saw the lit candles displayed throughout the room. He looked at the kitchen and there were two covered plates on the warmer and a bottle chilling in an ice bucket. He turned towards her bedroom and stared. There she was. She was wearing the dress she wore New Year's Eve and she looked as lovely now as she did then.
She walked forward. "Darling, shower and put on your tux. I laid it out for you." She kissed his cheek and pushed him toward the guest room.
When he came out a half hour later, she had dimmed the lights and was sitting on the sofa. She stood as soon as she heard the door opening.
"Jess, what is all this?"
"The biggest regret I had about New Year's Eve was not knowing how much I loved you." She spoke gently. "I thought a do over was necessary, with one notable exception, of course."
"Of …of course," he stuttered agreeably. "We can make love another time."
"You misunderstand me, dear." She took his hands and wrapped them around her waist while putting her arms around his neck. They began swaying to the music. "I love you." She kissed him softly. "And I'll marry you."
Seth stopped dancing. He was shocked. "You will?"
"I will, darling." She smiled beguilingly. "I told you we just had to work out the kinks and after the fussing and fighting we finally started doing it."
Seth kissed her passionately. He had no words. He felt the tears coursing down his cheeks. He was so happy. It was more than a dream. Stroking her cheek, he smiled widely at her. "I love you so much, Jess."
"Show me," she suggested. She tugged on his hand and started making their way to her room. "Unless you'd rather not?" She asked, almost daring him to decline.
Jessica made certain their lovemaking was a memorable event this time around. She felt loved and cherished. If Seth had any misgivings he certainly didn't show it. Eventually, wearing robes, they ventured out of her bedroom and ate their slightly overcooked meal. Neither noticed.
Jessica confided in Seth that she would love to marry on New Year's Eve, in the morning where they could have a reception that afternoon and ring in the new year together without anyone else.
Seth agreed. Four months was plenty of time to make arrangements. They decided to keep all their homes until a time when a choice needed to be made. Now they could tell their family and friends to save the date. Because there was such an accumulation of things in their homes, they opted not to receive wedding presents and set up various charities where their guests could donate proceeds. Cabot Cove Beautification Project, Cabot Cove library, Cabot Cove Food Bank, the hospital, and the homeless shelter.
Their love blossomed deeper than either could imagine and while Seth still complained and grumped and Jessica continued to 'help' Sheriff Metzger, they both agreed life was better since becoming a couple, bumpy roads and all.