All the Waters of the Earth

Chapter 25: Another Definition of Heaven

The next day, I felt even better, and dropped Rob off at Carlos's house; the Judge's order required a twenty-four hour visit from nine in the morning to the next day at nine. Obviously I wasn't happy to leave Rob with his dad after what had happened the last time, but there was nothing I could do about it. Watching Rob walk up the pathway to the front door, my heart dropped down low into my stomach, and stayed there, even after I saw him wave at me and the door close behind him.

I drove back home, cleaned up the detritus from the day before, and then decided to indulge in a day spa at home. I gave myself a facial and a pedicure, took a long bath, and a nap. This was a definition of heaven.

Earlier, I had heard Jake do his usual routine of getting up, going for a run, getting ready, and going to the office, even though it was the day after Christmas. I shook my head. He still needed to learn that it was okay for him to work fewer hours. Easy for me to say, though, progress on my book was going well, despite an interruption due to my illness.

That evening, late-ish, he came over for dinner, dressed in his suit and tie. As we ate, we chatted about his day and how I felt. Then I asked, "When are we going to take your vacation?"

He looked at me thoughtfully. "I don't know. I'll have to get out my calendar, and check my work schedule."

"Jake. Seriously? Pick a weekend and we'll go. It's better if it's a weekend that Rob's dad is watching him, but if not, I'll ask my parents to watch him." It was proving difficult to convince him to take a break that wasn't an emergency.

He looked at me, his cool, dark blue eyes registering an emotion that I didn't understand. "For you, I'll do it." And it felt like it was settled.

After dinner, he took off his tie, and we sat outside on the patio, looking at the pool and drinking wine. At Christmas time in California, you had to put on the air conditioning to have a fire in the fireplace. Tonight was no exception: even though it was cool, it wasn't cold. You could go swimming.

That gave me an idea.

"Come in the hot tub," I cajoled. "Time to get some warm water on us."

Unlike scheduling a vacation, on this he caved easily. "Alright. I'll meet you out there."

As Jake walked back into his home, I heard his cell phone ring. "Don't answer your phone," I whispered to myself, willing him to be stronger than it.

Dammit, he answered it.

So we still needed to work on that.

I headed into my house and changed into my bathing suit. I wore my navy blue, string bikini this time, with high-heeled espadrilles. Toting a towel under my arm, and taking my keys, I teetered down to the pool, set down the towel, slipped off my shoes, turned on the jets, and tiptoed into the hot tub.

Aaaaahhhhh.

The complex had quieted down and gone to bed for the night, although you were allowed to swim until ten. There were a few lights on in rooms, but otherwise it was a silent night.

A few moments later, Jake strolled down, holding a towel, barefoot, shirtless, wearing black swim trunks that sat low on his hips, tied with a white string. I wanted to undo that string. Between his work schedule and my time with Rob, even though I lived next door to Jake, I didn't get to spend much time with him naked. But since shirtless Jake was a treat, this would have to do for now.

He walked over to the side of the hot tub and hopped down next to me. In the cool, evening air, the steam from the water lingered a constant foot or more above it, creating patterns in the night. A dim light lit the water beneath us, but instead of being clear, the jets made the water an opaque white, from the streams of air moving through it.