Chapter 24
Jennie
"Today is our last day to stake a claim on the beach and never leave," I say, running a comb through my wet hair. "I'm not ready to leave in the morning."
"Me neither. I know my surgery schedule and it's back-to-back operations."
"I feel bad for you," I tell Lisa, turning away from the mirror to look at her. "I have Sunday off before going back into work." I comb out a tangle, regretting keeping my hair down while we were at the beach today. "Will you work as much in the fellowship?"
"The workload will be more intense, and the hours will probably be similar."
Her words make me cringe, but only on the inside. Lisa needs a break. She deserves one more than anyone I know. "It's just two years," I say, trying to be optimistic. But two more years of working eighty hours a week sounds awful. Lisa closes the balcony doors and lays down on the bed, turning on the TV. We spent the day on the shore, had an early dinner, and are going whale watching. Lisa doesn't seem as excited as I am about it.
I get the tangle out and towel dry my hair the best I can before putting it in a French braid.
"Do you think it'll get chilly on the boat?" I ask.
"It might be windier than on shore. Bring the sweater," she answers, knowing what I'm thinking. She gets me, and I'm sad our vacation is coming to an end. Being with her this week has been so nice.
"I'll grab your jacket then too. Ready?"
"Yeah." She turns off the TV and looks me over. "I don't know how you look so good in everything you wear."
"You must have gotten too much sun or something. I'm in leggings and a tank top."
"If you haven't picked up on it yet, I think you look hot in anything."
I smile and go over to her. "I hope you always think so."
"I don't see why I won't."
"What if I get really bad stretch marks?"
"Then you get really bad stretch marks."
I raise my eyebrows. "You'll still find me attractive?"
Lisa plants her hands on either side of my waist. "I know there's a stigma against gaining weight and not having perfect skin, but I love you, Jennie. And if you get stretch marks from carrying our daughter, I'll look at them and remember everything you went through in order to bring me Ella."
My eyes well with tears and I can't find any words to say. Besides, if I opened my mouth, sobs would probably come out instead.
"Any one who finds their girlfriend or wife or whatever less attractive because she bears the marks of pregnancy and birth is a fucking asshole." She slides her hands to my ass. "Yes, I very much enjoy how you look right now, but I know what your body goes through during pregnancy. Your organs shift around. Getting stretch marks is the least of it."
I blink back tears and straddle Lisa's lap, hoping she doesn't make a move. I want to be close to her, but I'm not in the mood for sex. Which is nothing against her, but we've made love a lot on this vacation. My lady bits need a break. "You do have an appreciation for the arrangement of organs."
"I do. Probably more than the average person." She looks up at me, eyes a little glossy. "I've cut open a lot of people and have seen their insides. And it still blows my mind that something so incredible can grow inside of you."
I smile. "Out of context, that would be a very strange sentence."
She laughs. "A lot of what is said among surgeons sounds very bad out of context. Also, if you knew how small your uterus was before you got pregnant, you'd be amazed at what it holds at the end. It fits in your hand when there's no baby inside."
I make a face. "I never thought I'd date someone weirder than me, but I think you fit the bill."
Lisa laughs. "But I'm weird in a sexy way, right?"
"Oh, for sure." I run my hands through her hair. As much as I want to go whale watching, snuggling in bed while she rubs my back is tempting too. "And you can lie and tell me I am."
"I always knew I'd end up with someone who loved robot fights, computer codes, and cats."
"Damn. You set the bar high."
Lisa laughs and nuzzles her head in between my breasts. Shit. I think she's going to want to have sex. I don't understand how she has the stamina for it all the time. I love her with all my heart, but I'm tired, dammit.
"Would you think it was lame if we ordered room service and crashed after whale watching?" Lisa asks.
"Hell no. That's my kind of night."
She tightens her grip on me. "I knew there was a reason I fell for you."
"Do you want to go for one last walk on the beach?"
I just sat down in bed and don't feel like getting up, but the look in Lisa's eye can't be described as anything else but romantic.
"Yeah," I tell her and get up. "Should I change?" I'm still in the dress I wore earlier, and my hair is in a messy bun on the top of my head.
"No, that's perfect. You might want to bring a sweater." She smiles and rolls her eyes. "Only you would be cold on a tropical island."
"The night air has a bit of a chill to it. I was expecting it to be super humid all the time here."
Lisa looks at me as if I'm crazy. "It is humid here."
"Not really."
"Have we been on the same vacation?"
I laugh. "I guess I'm comparing it to Disney World in the summer. That's brutal."
"I was thinking about that the other day, actually."
"About Disney?"
"Yeah. You said you wanted to take Ella for her first vacation. Maybe can go for her birthday."
I smile so big my face hurts. "That would be so fun!" I go into the bathroom to pee and brush my hair. I grab my sweater on the way out and walk close to Lisa as we go down to the main lobby.
"Looks like someone is having fun," I say, looking at a group of girls stumbling about.
"A little too much," Lisa notes, frowning when she sees them.
"Is Dr. Fuddy-Duddy coming back out?"
"She never went away." Lisa takes my hand again and pulls me close. "You like her, don't lie."
"The responsible side of you is attractive, I'll readily admit it."
She goes in to kiss me and someone screams. I jerk up, looking at the source of the scream. One of the drunk girls has collapsed and is convulsing on the floor. Lisa lets go of me and rushes over. I stand there in shock for a few seconds and then notice the bleeding. The girl hit her head on the way down.
Things happen in a blur after that: someone from the hotel says they're calling an ambulance, and Lisa works on stopping the bleeding and attending to the seizing. She's focused, fully aware how dire the situation is, but isn't scared.
She's in the zone, and this is her element.
I force myself over, asking what I can do to help. Lisa says there's not much we can do other than keep her stable until the EMT's arrive to take her to the hospital. And she does just that, and as I stand there watching her take care of a perfect stranger, I know without a doubt she has to take that fellowship.
