Jake's Reward

"Oh God, yes."

"Don't make me come back George. By the way, there's a copy of a nice video with a perfect sound tract of you with Giovani Antolini purchasing your supply of cocaine. If you cause problems, I just might send a copy of the original to the police and Mr. Antolini. I'm sure he'd be real interested in the note that would go along with the video. You get my drift?"

Between sobs George said, 'YES, YES. Now for Gods sake, leave me alone. Christ, I wish I had never gotten mixed up with that Bitch."

"No, NO Georgie boy, that's no way to talk about the lady. Do we have to continue our little talk?" I said as I grabbed his hair.

George screamed "No! No! I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

"Good, I'm glad we understand each other. Good bye George."

With that, I let go of his hair, picked up my toys and the Barretta and left George still lying in a pool of his own piss. On the way out, I made one last sweep through the house to make sure I hadn't missed anything and to take the battery from George's cell phone and to cut the wires to the charger, then left.

Contrary to what you may think, I never derived any joy or pleasure from my time with George. He needed to be taught a lesson, to be scared shitless and I did that to the best of my ability.

I went back to the Ramada Inn, again without anyone seeing my comings and goings. I cleaned all of the equipment I took over to George's house on an old surgical drape and put them away. Once done, I rolled all the rags and used cleaning supplies up in the drape and then put it in a black plastic bag to be thrown away after I had left the motel. It was about 5:15 in the morning when I fell asleep after putting the DO NOT DISTURB sign out. I slept until about 6:30 PM when I awoke to the people in the next room having a huge argument. I got up, packed what little else I had left, showered and got dressed.

I watched TV until 9:00 PM when I packed the car, checked out and then headed to Tim's office where I had switched vehicles initially. After putting my equipment in my truck, I locked up the rental and left for home. When I got there, I gave Tim a call and made arrangements to get him the key so he could return the rental car.

Neither Angelique nor I ever heard from George again. Apparently, he had learned his lesson

Monday rolled around again and I was back at work "PASSING GAS" as we say in the business. The next week went by smoothly, which gave me time to figure out what to do about Angelique. By the following week I had come up with a solution to my dilemma – "What could Angelique do for me?" As the saying goes, I could kill two birds with one stone.

On Monday, I called one of the telephone numbers she had given me and reached Jennifer, her personal secretary (I know that this is not the politically correct title but I'm old fashion so sue me). I found out that Angelique would be in meetings until noon, I told her my name and gave her my home phone number and asked if Ms. Chamberlain could return my call some time after 9:00 PM as I had to work late in the OR, then thanked her.

I had just arrived home a little after 9:00 PM when the phone started to ring. As I answered it, I was pleasantly surprised to hear Angelique's voice. We spent a few minutes exchanging pleasantries then I got to the heart of the matter.

"Angelique, you asked me what you could do to repay me for all that I have done for you, correct?"

"Yes."

"Well I have finally figured out what you can do for me."

"What is it?"

"I would…. I'm not sure if you'll agree to this."

"Will you please just tell me. I was beginning to think that you would not follow through on your promise."

"Well, what I would like from you is to spend two evenings of my choice with you. What we do will be all above board in very public places."

"Huh? Are you saying that you want to go out on two dates with me? That's it?"

"Yes I would."

"I find this hard to believe. Of anything you could ask for, you only choose two dates!"

"Yeah, that's it."

"All right, I'll be glad to go out on two dates with you. When would you like to go?"

"Well it's kind of short notice but what about Wednesday and Friday evenings of next week? Would that be all right with you?"

"I believe so, but just to safe, just call my personal assistant Jennifer in the morning to set up the times for me in my schedule, OK?"

"That would be my pleasure."

"I still can't get over the fact that of anything you could have asked for, you chose to have two dates with me."

I again thanked Angelique and said good night. As I hung up the phone, I thought to myself that the dates I had planned would coordinate quite nicely with my upcoming vacation.

I called Angelique's secretary, Jennifer, the next day to set up the dates for the following week. Just before I hung up, she told me to be good to her as "she has been through a lot these last few years." I assured her that I would.

At lunch, I made a couple of phone calls to collect on some favors that were owed to me. For Wednesday, I arranged premier seats at The Kennedy Center for the showing of "CARMEN" that was playing. For Friday, I made dinner reservations at "THE INN AT LITTLE WASHINGTON" and reserved a limousine for both nights. With everything arranged, I was able to kick back and really enjoy the rest of the week. I had plenty of cash on hand so I decided to treat my self

By going out and renting a tuxedo for Wednesday and buying myself a new Armarni suite and all the extras needed for Friday. (This all came out of my little "SLUSH FUND" that I had set up as a result of settling my account with Cindy's lovers)

The following Wednesday was my first "Big Day" so to speak, with Angelique. As is common with hospital work, especially in the OR, shit happens, and as a result, I was late leaving even though I was supposed to be early out seeing as I was on-call Thursday night. So I hustled my tail end home and quickly did the 4 ES'S (shit, shaved, showered, and shined), had a bite to eat and had just finished when the limousine arrived. I grabbed the roses that I bought on the way home and was off to pick up Angelique.

The limo arrived at her house and promptly at 6:30 PM, I knocked on the door. When Angelique answered the door and invited me in, my teeth just about fell out. She was stunning – dressed in a Vera Wang long, form fitting black strapless dress that showed off her femininity in a very sensuous but sophisticated way. When I presented Angelique with the dozen long-stem red tea roses, I could tell that she was surprised but extremely pleased with the gift.

"Please come in, I'll just be a moment while I put these beautiful roses in some water." Five minutes later, she was back with her purse and matching long black evening gloves.

As Angelique stepped out of the front door, she was met with another surprise when she saw the limo waiting. After settling in the back seat, she looked at me with a raised eyebrow saying: "My, you are full of surprises tonight. Not that I'm complaining, it's just that no man has ever gone to the lengths that you have for me so far tonight or on any date let alone on a first date. I'm wondering if you have any ulterior motives in mind?"

I took several long moments to collect my thoughts before I spoke. "Angelique, as to your concern about whether I have any ulterior motives, the answer is NO, there are none. My parents had some very old fashion beliefs when it came to how gentlemen should treat ladies. They taught me to treat a lady with courtesy, kindness and respect. Period, end of statement! My mother also taught me that I should always bring flowers to a lady regardless of how long I had been dating that particular woman and as far as the limo is concerned, well I didn't want to drive tonight so I rented one."

"OK, now that I've managed to put my foot in my mouth, I apologize for being to analytical of your behavior. But you must realize that after the last few experiences with men, I'm a bit skeptical about all men in general, especially as their behavior is concerned."

"I can understand and appreciate your point of view. However, I would have thought considering my track record of our interactions, that you might have cut me a little slack and reserved judgment for a little bit later in the evening."

"You are absolutely right and I am sorry for making the assumption I did about your behavior."

"Apology accepted and you're forgiven. Now, how about we change the subject and just enjoy the evening." As I finished speaking, we arrived at The Kennedy Center for the opening performance of "CARMEN."

As we were ushered to our seats, Angelique was again surprised. Turning, she said, "I'm very impressed! Even with all my connections, I have never been able to get tickets for opening night for these premiere seats. However did you manage to get your hands on tickets for these seats especially for the opening performance of "CARMEN?""

With a twinkle in my eyes I said, "Trade secrets. I could tell you but then I would have to kill you."

Laughing, she said, "No, really how did you do it?"

"Well, I called in a couple of favors that were owed to me." Just then the lights dimmed and the opera began. At intermission, while we were having a glass of wine, Angelique asked me a question from out of the blue that totally caught me off guard.

"Jake, why have you asked me out for these two dates? I have been trying as I might, but I just can't reason it out and it is really annoying me that I'm unable to. Would you please explain your reason to me?"

I looked down at the floor to collect myself, then looking her in the eyes, I said very sincerely, "I'm not sure I can adequately explain it but I'll try. I grew up living a very comfortable life. I did not want for anything. I guess you could say that my parents, who were very hard workers, were at the top of middle class society. Well, I have always watched the rich and very rich girls and women of society from the sidelines. The couples of times that I tried to introduce myself and get to know these females, I was ridiculed and humiliated by them.

I have always had wish, where I would meet someone of high society, get to know them a little then go out on a date or two. I harbor no delusions of grandeur that we would fall in love, get married and live happily ever after. I've seen and experienced too much of reality to believe in that. So why did I ask you out , I guess it boils down to this. I get to fulfill my dream while at the same time satisfying your wish to do something for me. Thus as they say, killing two birds with one stone.

Please don't misunderstand me, this evening is extremely enjoyable and everything I could have imagined. Thank you for going out with me."

The lights flickered just then indicating that intermission was over. The second half of the performance was just as enjoyable as the first. On the way back to her house, Angelique and I had a very stimulating conversation about the performance.

When we reached her home, I walked Angelique to her door while she unlocked it and turned the alarm system off. Taking her hand gently, I thanked her for a wonderful evening and said good night. As I turned to leave, Angelique stopped me and gave me a gentle kiss good night then went inside, after which the limo dropped me off at home.

Thursday night at the hospital was non-stop surgery from 3:oo PM until about 5:00 AM and as was my habit, I wandered the halls to think and unwind. Ultimately, I ended up on the pediatric cancer ward at the nurse's station where I had to answer a bogus page. In order to make it look good to the nurses and avoid raising suspicion, I called home and held a conversation with my answering machine, all the while scanning the patient cardex with the names and diagnosis of the children. After hanging up, I looked around and seeing that here were no nurses in sight, I walked down to one of the private rooms where there was a little 4 year old girl with an Astrocytoma cancer (a very aggressive and in this case non-treatable brain tumor). As I slipped into her room she woke up.

She asked me what I was doing in her room. "Jamie, I'm here to give you a gift from God. I'm going to make you all better. However, you can never talk with anyone but Jesus and God about my gift to you. If you talk to other people about this, then I won't be able to help other children get well. All right?"

She said OK. Then taking her little hands, I activated my gift. Five minutes later, I quietly slipped out of her room after she had fallen back to sleep to wander the halls until 7:00 AM when I got off work.

When I got home, as usual after healing a child, I was violently ill for several hours after which, I crawled into bed and slept the rest of the day. I awoke to my alarm at 4:30 PM feeling like crap but I was not about to cancel my date. After eating some food and drinking about ½ gallon of water followed by a shave with a long hot shower, I felt half way descent. I ran down to the florist, picked up the white roses that I had ordered ,and ran back home to get dressed for the evening.

The limo picked me up and arrived on time to pick Angelique up at 6:30 PM seeing as I had made reservations for 8:30 PM. She answered the door in her dressing gown, not quite ready but was very pleased with the flowers I brought. After fixing the roses, she excused herself to finish getting ready.

Angelique came down stairs 10 minutes later wearing a maroon satin dress that was form fitting and again showed off her figure. The dress she wore to the opera was floor length where this one ended about three inched above her knees and the 4-inch stiletto high-heeled shoes that she wore just further accented her perfect legs. Before I could stop myself, I said "OH, my God!!"

Stopping mid-stair, she said "Is there something wrong?" then continued on down.

"No, nothing is wrong. It's just that I think I've died and gone to heaven. Never have I ever seen a more exuberant vision of perfection than you standing there. Compared to you, my ex-girl friend looks like an ugly crossbred mongrel. I am at a loss as to how to describe your beauty."

Laughing she said, "Jake, you never cease to amaze me with your gallantry. Thank you very much for your compliment. However, it was not necessary."

"Yes it was. Your Ex must have been a fool and completely insane not to treasure you."

Angelique frowned when I brought up her former husband.

Seeing her reaction, I said "I see that I've upset you by bringing up the topic of your former husband. I'm very sorry. I didn't mean to put a damper on tonight by mentioning Raymond."

"No, I shouldn't let him still bother me. Let's just forget him and go have a pleasant dinner."

Since we had at least a ninety-minute drive to the restaurant, it gave us a chance to get further aquatinted with one another. I started things off by asking Angelique about her childhood, her parents and grandparents, her education and her field of law that she specialized in, and anything that allowed me to learn more about her.

After I had been questioning her a fair amount of time, she asked; "Why the third degree all of a sudden?"

"I just wanted to know something about the beautiful lady that I've been fortunate enough to help, that's all."

"All right. By the way, just where are you taking me for dinner? We've been driving for quite some time now."

"I made reservations for us at the "INN AT LITTLE WASHINGTON." Have you ever been there before?"

"I have heard of it but I've never been there before."

"Well, if you enjoy good Gourmet Food, you are in for a treat."

As we drove on, she gave me a picture of her life. She was an only child that had been forced to become an "Over Achiever" by parents that had very, very high and unrealistic expectations of their daughter. From the very start, Angelique's life was mapped out for her. (No wonder she was known as the "ICE QUEEN." This little tidy bit of information I'd gotten from my lawyers) By the time we reached the restaurant, Angelique had finished regaling me with her life history and I had made a conscious decision to try to heal some of the pain and loneliness in her soul. As we were being seated, we both were amused by the fact that Angelique drew a lot of looks from the men and the women (especially those who felt threatened by her looks).

During dinner, which by the way was exquisite and most enjoyable, it was my turn to be given the third degree. As we ate, I gave her my life history from the time I was a small child up to the present. We found that we both had a deep appreciation and love of classical music as well as the performing arts. Over desert we had an invigorating discussion of the merits and differences between Beethoven, Strauss, and Bach as well as other classical composer's.

On the ride home, Angelique wanted to know about my job as a Nurse Anesthetist. I gave her a brief history of Nurse Anesthesia, what my training entailed, and what I actually did as a CRNA. Having very limited knowledge of the medical profession, she was pleasantly surprised with all the information and with the passion that I expressed about my given profession.

By the time we returned to Angelique's house it was well after 11:00 PM. As we walked to the front door, I mentioned I had one other thing that I'd like to quickly share with her inside. Since we had developed a mutual level of respect and trust she invited me in.

Once Angelique was seated, I walked over, knelt down and picked up her hands. "Angelique, I wanted to thank you for the two most perfect evenings of my life and for allowing me to fulfill one of my dreams. I guess it can be said that sometimes dreams can come true." With that said, I began using my "Gift." We both felt this tremendous shock as I started the healing process. This shock was something new that I had experienced, usually, I just feel the gentle flow of energy into and out of the person I heal for about five minutes. What I felt with Angelique was almost violent in nature and lasted more than fifteen minutes before I was done.

Angelique had passed out during the healing process so I picked her up and carried her to her bedroom, gently laying her on the bed. Finding a spare blanket in the closet, I covered her up. I quietly said good bye to her, knowing that she wouldn't hear it, then locked the door as I left.

Climbing into the limo, the driver asked if I was all right. "Yes, I'm just tired. I had to work all last night and things just sort of caught up with me all of a sudden so I would appreciate it id you could get me home as quickly as possible." A short time later, we pulled up to my apartment and as I got out, I gave him a $100 tip and thanked him for his services.

I had never used my "Gift" to heal people two days in a row so by the time I got to my apartment, it was just about all I could do to unlock and open my door. As I stumbled in and closed the door, I knew I had to get undressed before I fell apart.

I had just managed to put on gym shorts and a T-shirt when the first wave of pain hit me. After it passed, I went to the kitchen to set out some snacks and water for later. With that done, I headed back to my room only I never made it. Just as I stepped into the living room, all hell broke loose. I was wracked with so much pain that I just collapsed to the floor, withering in sheer agony. Never before had I experienced such intense pain and I usually healed 4 to 5 children a month so I was used to this painful process. As this wave passed, I realized 2 things; that it would be a very long hell filled night and that I needed to get a bucket for when I started to vomit as I knew I would.

I had just managed to drag a plastic pail out when everything hit. I won't go into detail about what happened; suffice it to say that it went non-stop hour upon hour upon hour of waves of pain followed by vomiting. Somewhere around 08:00 in the morning the frequency began to lessen dramatically and I was able rest and get short naps.