“Don’t be silly, Mr. Jake. You and Miss Jessica are family. Oh, Miss Jessica, you had an accident?”
Jessie laughed, “Yeah, I accidentally married a cheating asshole!”
Consuela cackled, “I’m so sorry, sweetheart. Esas trampas, nada bueno, mierda de gallina! All of them, except you, Jake. You are such a good man. You take care of Miss Jessica. We will take care of you.”
With our cars following, Consuela drove us home in her Escalade, and regaled us the whole way with stories about her three ‘chickenshit’ ex-husbands.
I stilled lived in the home Elise and I had purchased when she sold her first book. After she left, I redecorated the entire house, changing, as much as possible, everything that had her stamp on it or reminded me of her.
By the time we thanked Consuela and said goodbye, I was starting to sober up. Jessie, not so much.
“Oh, Jake, I may be sick.”
“I’ll get you some ice water, and we’ll get you in a hot bath, sweat the alcohol out.”
“Sounds good…and thank you, Jake.”
“No worries…”
“No Jake, I mean, thank you! Thank you for being here for me. Thank you for always being here for me.”
Her hand was already on the back of my neck, and she pulled my head down and pressed her warm, full lips into mine, kissing me firmly for several seconds. Releasing the kiss, she placed her head on my shoulder, leaning into to me, swaying a little.
“Sorry,” she mumbled into my shoulder.
“No apology, necessary.” I held her by the shoulders and separated us, so I could look her in the eyes…and so she wouldn’t feel my penis react to that kiss, which it did.
“You never have to apologize to me for anything. Come on, let’s get you into a hot bath. I’ll get your robe and pajamas, and a lot of ice water.”
After getting a pitcher of ice water and a glass, I led her to the guest bath, next to her bedroom, and when I saw she was steady enough to get undressed, I went to fetch robe, slippers and night clothes.
Long before Elise left, we had set up one of the guest suites for Jessie and Derrick. They occasionally came for weekenders, and when Derrick traveled, Jessie frequently came for visits, even if I was out of town, as she and Elise got along swimmingly.
When Elise left me, I think Jessie felt almost as betrayed as I did.
I knocked on the bathroom door, “Got your clothes.”
“Come in.”
Jessie was standing at the vanity, sipping ice water and studying her face in the mirror. Her clothes were in a pile at her feet. Only a lacy pair of powder blue panties provided any coverage of her long, sleek body. I stood and stared, a lump in my throat and one forming elsewhere. I had seen Jessie in a bikini, many times, which also had a serious effect on me, but this was different.
Elise wasn’t here. Derrick wasn’t here. My emotions were all over the place. And I was in love with the naked woman in front of me.
When I entered, Jessie distractedly glanced my way, “Thanks, honey.” And went back to looking in the mirror.
“I’ll get the water running,” I mumbled as I set her clothes down and passed to the tub, trying not to stare at her nude form.
I got down, activated the stopper, turned on the water and tested it for temp.
Behind me, in the smallest voice, “Jake?”
I turned and looked up. Jessie was standing less than three feet away, looking down at me. My gaze involuntarily traveled up her long, finely-muscled legs, and firm, elongated torso to her slightly pouting, teacup-shaped breasts, capped with medium-sized, chocolate-brown aureoles and long, eraser-shaped nipples. In all these years, I had never seen her beautiful breasts. My breath stuck in my throat. When my eyes met her troubled gaze, I quickly refocused.
“Jess? What is it?” I reached for her hand and stood.
“Jake, I don’t understand,” she started, her lower lip quivering, “why, why wasn’t I enough for Derrick? Why couldn’t I be…”
I grabbed her to me and crushed her in my arms, “No, no, no. Jess, this is not about you, about what you are or are not. It’s about Derrick.” As I spoke into her ear, I stroked her long, wavy hair. “You remember telling a scared, confused little kid one time that ‘it isn’t about you, stupid people say and do stupid things’. Well, Derrick is a stupid man, who gave in to foolish lusts, sacrificing the best thing he could ever have hoped to have in his life — you. I don’t understand how he could do that, either. He couldn’t possibly have been in love with you, even half as much as I…”
I caught myself too late.
I felt Jessie move in my arms. She grasped my shoulders, and slowly moved us apart to look me in the eyes. Her troubled expression was replaced with one of surprise, confusion.
“You love me? You don’t mean like a sister…” her voice faltered.
I hung my head and slowly shook it, no.
“You are ‘in love’ with me?”
I nodded slightly, still not meeting her gaze.
“How long…Oh, I’m going to be sick!” She quickly broke from me and crouched over the toilet.
I immediately felt sick, too. I was crushed. This was worst reaction I could have imagined to that confession.
“I’m sorry, Jess, so sorry…”
“No, Jake, the alcohol,” she managed between wretches.
I gathered her hair up with one hand and held her shoulder with the other, then realized the tub water was almost to the overflow. I reached over and shut it off.
When she had finished, I helped her stand and offered her water to rinse with.
“Okay, drink the rest. It may make you throw up again, but will get the alcohol out of your stomach.”
She nodded and finished the water. After that came up, she indicated that she was better, went to the sink and brushed her teeth and gargled. I checked the tub water. It was hot, steam drifting off it, but I judged not too hot. When she had finished rinsing her mouth, I suggested getting in the tub to help her body sweat out the rest of the alcohol. She nodded and moved to the side of the oval tub, hooking her fingers in her panties to pull them down.
“I’ll be outside if you need me,” I said and turned to the door. As I was leaving, I heard her settle into the hot water.
“Jake, stay. Please. I don’t want to be alone…and we need to talk.”
I turned back and went and sat on the toilet seat. She reached a slender, wet hand up, took mine and gripped it firmly. Looking up at me, her face was now relaxed and her expression had softened.
“Jake, honey, thank you for sharing that with me. I know you didn’t mean to, but I’m thankful you did. It makes this a lot easier for me.
When you came to live with us, I soon realized that you were infatuated with me. I thought it was cute, and also it tickled me. I was 16 and in the middle of teenage girl angst, wondering if I was pretty, if boys would like me, if my body was too skinny. Other girls were filling out, getting their ‘cheerleader’ boobs and hips. I was very self-conscious. And, I was attracted to some boys in school who were Caucasian, and didn’t know if they would be attracted to me. Your attention helped me with that.”
“You know,” she continued, after I went to college, I missed you, missed your attention. And while I was gone, you grew up, became a man, almost without me realizing it. I did notice when I came home to visit, that you were getting taller, filling out, and becoming quite handsome. But what really got my attention was when I came home for your graduation. I had missed your 18th birthday because of school and felt terrible about that, but made sure to be home to see you graduate.