Jessie woke up the next morning in Merweyn’s apartment and couldn’t help smiling. It was the first time in a long time that life felt perfect. A big part of him really missed his old job and his mentor, but his new adventure was becoming increasingly more fun. Last night after he and Merewyn left her ex for what they both hoped was forever they enjoyed the perfect night. The sushi restaurant they found hit the spot and then they went out to the bar. There was nothing like a good game or two of pool to really solidify a relationship.
That’s what they were, officially. A relationship.
His new friend Jean, the bar tending waitress, came out and asked Merewyn what her intentions were with him and he about spit his beer everywhere. He remembered he couldn’t breathe as he waited for Merewyn to respond to Jean.
The moment he heard her say “He’s my boyfriend what do you think my intentions are,” made Jessie’s head spin with joy. He was getting a chance to fix all the wrongs they made as kids, and he was certain to not take her for granted this time. Nothing was going to come in the way of what they had.
Except for work.
He looked at the clock on her wall and saw he had an appointment at the clinic in fifteen minutes. He wouldn’t even have time for breakfast. This is why people, no; responsible adults didn’t go to clubs during the work week. Jessie leaned over and placed a kiss on her lips.
“Good morning beautiful, I gotta go, sick puppy calls.”
Merewyn wrapped her arms around him and mumbled into his mouth as she returned his kiss something that sounded like don't go.
“I have to M, seriously don’t want to, but I do have a clinic to run.”
“They can wait I need you one more time.”
“Oh you’re killing me.” He said to her as he felt his lower half start to stir with her encouraging touches. “If I didn’t have an appointment I would stay but it is with your mom’s friend I personally told your mom I would help the sick puppy.”
“I moved out, my mom isn’t supposed to come up in bed anymore.” She teased at him.
“Never again, now I will see you later. Call me when you know what you want to go do tonight.”
Walking away from her lying in the bed was hard for Jessie but he still had a reputation to build in town. Just because he grew up here, that wasn’t going to guarantee him any customers. Only quality care for their pets would do that. That meant he had to actually show up on time.
Lucky for him he kept a spare shirt in his car. Usually it was in case one of the animals got sick on him but it would also work to keep his staff from knowing he didn’t make it home to change clothes last night.
On his way to work he hit every red light, which only consisted of three, but that caused him to be six minutes late. Luckily his staff had covered for him and had already started to prep the patient and her owner.
“Thanks Carrie I owe you.” He said to his assistant as she held out his lab coat for him to slip on before walking into the patient’s room. When he pushed open the door he saw the cutest little Chihuahua sitting on this elderly woman’s lap. She, the owner, looked like she had been up all night crying and just a total mess. The puppy on the other hand looked like he was ready to run right out of her lap and eat anything in sight.
“Good morning Ms. Conners my name is Dr. Jessie, what’s going on with little Panda Bear today?”
Panda Bear, what a crazy name for a tiny puppy but who was he to judge what people called their pets.
“Oh doctor I don’t know what to do, he keeps peeing everywhere I never can get him to go outside.”
“Hm well that is a problem, why don’t you let me take a look at him.” Jessie watched her stand up and place the puppy on the exam table. “He is also chewing anything and everything in sight. It is just horrible. He has eaten three of my arthritic soled shoes in a week! Do you know how expensive those are?”
Part of him wanted to laugh when he heard her talk, he was pretty sure he already knew the diagnosis before he did the exam. “No ma’am I don’t but I can’t imagine they are cheap.”
“No sir they certainly aren’t.” She said with a huff and a sigh. “Can you fix him?” Her eyes were pleading with him for good news.
News that he didn’t think she was going to like. “I can’t promise miracles Ms. Conners but let me finish my exam.” Jessie was gentle with Panda Bear as he first realized it was a male puppy. One that was very much large and in charge in his own little mind.
Ms. Conners looked over his shoulder with eager eyes awaiting anything that showed she was going to have relief casted down on her in any moment. When he placed Panda Bear on the floor he walked over and pulled the chair around and sat down so he could look at Ms. Conners eye to eye.
“Ma’am, Panda Bear is about nine months old, right?” He asked confirming what he already read on the puppies chart.
“Yes doctor about that. Why?”
Jessie nodded and continued, “Well I have two suggestions. The first isn’t a necessity but I do think it is something you should consider if you are not planning on breeding little Panda Bear.”
“You want me to clip him don’t you?” She said with a sad tone. That caught him off guard. He hadn’t expected a nice elderly woman to speak so casually about that.
Jessie nodded his head and continued, “It is something we do suggest in general to animals that aren’t being used for pure bread breeding. It would also calm down his need to mark his territory as much.” Jessie turned around and looked at some of the pamphlet on the wall and reached over to retrieve one. “This will tell you more about the process.”
He watched her take the reading material from his hand and place it into her purse, “And second,” she asked.
“Second I suggest you get this little guy as much exercise as you can manage. The more you tire him out the easier your world will be.”
“Dr. Jessie I am seventy three years old how do you expect me to do that?”
A smile passed his lips, he couldn’t help it. “That’s easy, you could walk him around the block, you could play catch in your living room with him, and you could even hire some teen in the neighborhood to take him running. Carrie can get you the name of a great pet walking service we sometimes use here at the clinic if you would like. But this little guy is just going to get worse before he gets better if you don’t do something. And the more he is walked or ran the better his behavior will be. Think of it like this he is a toddler and they are on the go constantly, unless they are asleep. Same concept. Wear him out.”
“I don’t know if I like this advice doc,” she said in a soft voice, “maybe I shouldn’t have gotten the dog.”
Jessie didn’t like discouraging the elderly from pets because it was a proven fact that pets helped extend quality of life, but he also didn’t want to lie to the woman. “Nonsense you are just going to have to adjust your perspective that’s all. I’ll tell you what I will do to prove to you this will work. Carrie will set up the dog walking service for one week to come to your house free of charge, the clinic will pick up the tab. If little Panda Bear’s behavior improves you can decide if you want to keep the service or not, if it doesn’t improve it didn’t cost you a thing. What do you say?”
“I can’t believe you would do that for me?” She said with a smile across her face.
“Yes ma’am I will. So is it a deal?” He reached his hand out towards her to shake it and she only hesitated for a brief second before extending her arm out and taking his hand.
“Deal.”
“Great, I’ll go let Carrie know and she will check you out. Have a great day Ms. Conners and why don’t you bring him back at his 12 month mark for his next round of shots that will be due.”
“Yes sir I will, thank you again Dr. Jessie.”
“My pleasure.” Jessie walked out of the exam room and went into his office and sat at his desk. He typed out a quick message on his laptop and sent it to Carrie who quickly responded saying she would handle all the details and he went onto his next task at hand.
His morning flew by and when he saw Merewyn walking into the clinic at noon with a basket his mind completely forgot the animal he was currently discussing with its owner. His eyes focused on only her, her tight jeans, her knit top and her eyes, her clear beautiful eyes.
“Hey Doc.” She said to him.
“Hey yourself,” He replied.
“Thought we could grab lunch,” she motioned to the basket that she was carrying.
“Love to, let me finish up and I’ll meet you, want to wait outside under the tree?”
Merewyn smiled at him and nodded, “See ya there.”
Jessie’s heart skipped a beat as he watched her walk out of his clinic, yes he was doomed, he really had fallen in love with her all over again and finally he was going to get the girl of his dreams.
“Carrie I’ll see you in an hour, enjoy your lunch.” He said after he had wrapped up with the feline patient he was working with. “I think Wednesday’s are my new favorite day of the work week.”
“I hear ya, they would be mine too if I had someone waiting under a tree with a picnic basket full of food for me to arrive.”
“You sound jealous,” Jessie teased his assistant.
“Not jealous, just stating a fact.”
“Your husband doesn’t do that?”
He suddenly felt guilty when she shook her head no, “Not married just a single mom working to take care of her daughter.”
Jessie hadn’t realized that he honestly didn’t know his few employees well yet and that made his stomach sink, what an ass, what kind of boss was he. “Carrie I am so sorry.” She rose up a hand signaling him to stop and shook her head back and forth.
“Don’t be I am happy and my little girl is happy. Go get your picnic started I’ll see you in an hour.”
He watched her grab her purse and then walk out of the front door. He knew he was probably being overly sensitive and he shouldn’t let this hiccup derail his lunch and his day. He locked up the office and walked over to the tree where his woman was waiting on him.
Jessie was going to make it a point to get to know Carrie more and his other aid Jessica. He wanted to be the kind of boss that wasn’t exactly friends with his workers but had a decent enough relationship that he could trust them and they could trust him in return. That was very important to him. It was something that his mentor had taught him about running a successful clinic and he believed it was right. Maybe he should have them and their families out for a Saturday lunch or Sunday dinner at one of the local restaurants. He could bring Merewyn and they could even make it a quarterly thing between the staff. He liked that idea a lot and made a mental note to set something up soon. Maybe he could get Merewyn to help him plan it; she would know the good places to eat since he was still getting reacquainted with the city he grew up in.
Everything in his mind faded to the background when he looked at Merewyn and saw how the sunlight was capturing her frame. She was stunning and she was all his.
I watched him walk across the green lawn and head straight for me. He looked like a man on a mission and I loved that. Everything about this moment was perfect. This had been exactly what was missing in my life. A man to desire me like that.
Last night had been the final closing in one chapter of my life and the start of another and I couldn’t have felt more happy and excited if I tried. Everything was going to work out this time, not because I needed it to happen just to have my freedom and independence, but because I realized I finally found who I wanted to be with for the rest of my life.
It almost caught me by surprise last night when it all clicked in my head. We were enjoying a few California rolls together when the light went off in my head that I am never as happy on my own as I am with Jessie around. He brightens even my worst days. I knew that there was no need to rush into anything because I still had a lot of learning to do about myself but that didn’t mean I couldn’t finally understand what love was.
Through this whole debacle with Albert, Jessie had stood with me and supported me. Cared for me, helped fix things that needed fixing and helped save me from the dangers of Albert and myself. He cared for me, and not just in a friendship way, in a way that meant forever.
Being high school sweethearts possibly made this whole thing easier because we already had a foundation. Even if that foundation was years old and ended poorly, it was still there. A foundation was all it took to build something great, and that was exactly what my intentions were. To build something great.
By the time he had made it over to me in the short distance my mind had already played out the rest of our life together and it made me catch my breath, I really was jumping into this head first no looking back.
“Merewyn you look stunning.” He said to me as he knelt down next to my side and kissed my lips.
“You don’t look too bad yourself Doctor Jones.” I said the last two words with the inflection mimicking the movie Indian Jones. I always got a kick out of that as a teen. It made Jessie smile.
“I could get used to these pop ins of yours, better not make it a habit or I will start wanting it daily.”
Laughter came from my mouth, real honest laughter. “I love you.” I closed my lips quickly once I realized what I had blurted out and my cheeks flushed red.
“I love you too Merewyn.”
“I didn’t expect you at all Jessie and now that I have you I can’t picture what my life would have been like without you.”
“You know the preacher on Sunday always says ‘God works in mysterious ways’ maybe this is our meant to be story.”
“Maybe?” I questioned him smiling and teasing.
“Sorry, this is our happy ever after.”
“That’s more like it.” I said beaming as I leaned over and kissed the man that I love knowing that everything was going to work out just fine.
“What did you bring us to eat for lunch?” He questioned while trying to peer into the basket.
“Lots of goodies all finer foods so I hope you washed your hands.”
“I’m a doctor; of course I washed my hands.”
I shook my head back and forth and pulled out wet wipes from the basket, “You're also part boy and I know for a fact that is the last thing that is ever on ya’ll minds.” I handed him two wipes and watched him as he cleaned his fingers and palms off from all of the animal germs.
“Don’t act like you know me so well, I might just surprise you one day.”
“Oh I am sure you will surprise me, one day, just not today.”
Jessie’s laugh sounded rich and healthy, just what you wanted in a man. I noticed him watching my every motion as I set the picnic out in front of our legs on the ground. I was glad I brought the blanket with me, I would have not enjoyed sitting on straight grass. The food would be too tempting for the ants.
“I have tuna salad, crackers, cubed cheese, sliced fruit, sliced chicken and ham.” I said as I placed each container in front of him. “I also have a small little travel size eight ounce bottle of white wine and two little cups along with a couple cookies for a sweet dessert.
Jessie looked over the display carefully and then looked into my eyes. His left side of his mouth started to tilt upwards in a grin, “Your mother did all of this didn’t she?”
I couldn’t hold in my laugh that belted from my lips, I nodded in confirmation and wipes my eyes front he tears that were forming. “Yes Mom did this, but to be fair she makes me a picnic all the time, this time she just made it for you too.”
“Have I told you how much I love your mom?”
“No, but don’t tell her that, she will start planning wedding bells and I don’t need that added stress.”
“Careful what you say M, looking at this spread before me I don’t think that idea would be half bad. I could get used to this life.”
“Me too Jessie, me too.”