Wistful Remembrance (Wattys 2014 HQ Love Award Winner!)

13. I Already Want To Take A Nap Tomorrow

Chapter 13

I Already Want To Take A Nap Tomorrow

 

 

‘Give me a day’ didn’t turn out to be exactly what I thought it did.  John wanted me to pick an actual day, whether it was the whole day in general or just something that happened on a certain one, and he would tell me everything.  I wasn’t going to question it, though, especially when I wanted all of them.

“Really,” John said, still smiling at me as he held me close, moving his arms so that he could wrap them around my waist.  “Give me a day you want me to tell you about and I will.  You’re right when you say that telling you about what’s happened in the last year will help you.  And I’m tired of you not knowing.”

I laughed.  “I love it when you tell me I’m right.”

He immediately rolled his eyes.  “You’re still the same Emmy, that’s for damn sure.”

“And when did I tell you I wasn’t?  I might not remember a lot, but I’m still the same woman, thank you very much.  Maybe you just need a good smack and it’ll get you to see that more clearly.”  He laughed again and I went on.  “But let’s start with an easy one…day one.  Tell me everything.”

He quirked an eyebrow.  “Everything?”

I nodded.  “Everything.”

 ***

We got through the first four days we knew each other by five o’clock in the morning. 

Though I knew the significant things that happened on that first day, getting to know what happened between the two of us from his perspective was eye-opening.  Even though he claimed to have hated me at first, I could see what he was really feeling in his eyes as we sat beside each other.  Throughout the time we were there in his office, he couldn’t stop touching me, always having to hold my hand or brush my hair behind my ear.  I knew I probably should have found it strange and uncomfortable, but it wasn’t.  It felt so familiar.

So the next morning, after only getting another hour of sleep, I was practically dead on my feet as I took a shower and got ready.  I wasn’t sure exactly what we were doing, but John had said something about showing me and my family the reason he’d gone to get the canvases.  I couldn’t exactly do that in my pajamas. 

I was trudging to my door when there was a hesitant knock.  And when I opened it, John was standing out in the hallway in jeans and a t-shirt, looking at me like a nervous sixteen-year-old about to ask a girl out on a date. 

A slow smile spread across my face.  “You okay?  You look a little sick…”

He immediately rolled his eyes and grinned back.  “Yeah, that’s it.  Every time I look at you, I feel like…”

“Hey, now,” I said, slapping his arm.  “Don’t start being mean.  It might change my mind about wanting to know about the old us…”

When he grabbed my hand, pulling me more toward him, my mouth shut before I could finish that threat.

“That’s what I thought,” he said softly, smiling down at me.  “After everything earlier this morning about you wanting to know everything…I wouldn’t think you would even threaten that.  None of us would get what we want then, would we?”

I quirked an eyebrow.  “And what exactly do you want out of this?”

I didn’t know why I asked, especially when I already knew the answer.  It was plain to see as he looked at me, that slight smile still in place.