Oregon Coast Ch. 04

"A warm, curvy naked woman versus my cold bed? Not a difficult decision."

She kissed me again and we dozed off.

My cell phone woke me up the next morning.

"So, Doc, how did your date with Allison go last night?"

"Morning, Lydia."

I pushed some of the young lady in question's hair out of my face as she continued to doze on my chest.

"I'd say it went really well."

Allison stirred, and I put a hand gently over her mouth. She glanced up and I pointed at the phone.

"You're right, Lydia, she is a terrific girl. I owe you for helping get this started."

Allison got a devilish gleam in her eye and slid down my body, scattering kisses as she went. I was more than ready for her when she reached her destination, and she sucked me deep into her mouth, her tongue wiggling.

"Uhh...Lydia, I'm kind of in the middle of something here."

Allison's tongue slid around some, and I suppressed a moan.

"Can we talk later? OK, later then."

I hung up just as I reached orgasm. Then I reached down and hauled Allison up to face me. She was giggling even before I tickled her.

"That was a dirty trick, young lady."

"Well, if you're going to complain, maybe I should stop doing that?"

"I wasn't complaining, believe me."

I checked the time on my phone.

"Al, I'm sorry to say this, but I have to be at the hospital in two hours."

"I know your schedule's crazy, so don't feel bad about it. Want to take a shower?"

"Yeah, I should."

"Bring that last condom, then, you're going to need it."

The second one had been put to good use when we woke up about two in the morning. She rolled out of bed, casually nude, and led me into the bathroom. The shower took a lot longer than I had learned in the Navy, and I did end up needing the last condom.

Allison kissed me goodbye at her door.

"That was the best date of my life, Al. I'm sorry to have to rush off."

"Like I said, I knew that you had a crazy schedule when I agreed to go out with you. It didn't stop me then and it doesn't bother me now. Call me when you have a little free time, though."

"I will."

One last kiss and it was back to the grind. Some of the nurses asked why I had a smile on my face all day, but the older ones just grinned wisely and slapped me on the back.

"Glad you finally found yourself a nice girl, Emerson."

"I didn't say anything about that."

"You didn't need to, it's all over your face. Just don't forget that you still need to sleep once in a while."

That was the start of some of the best months of my life. Work was still crazy, so I didn't get to see Allison as much as I would have liked, but we made the most of the time we could spend together. She was pretty busy herself in her first year as a full fledged teacher and never got cranky about wanting more of my time. Just knowing that I had something—make that someone--to look forward to when I got away from the hospital made an amazing difference in my morale. The wild sex didn't hurt my morale either. Eventually I decided it was time to take her to meet Grandma.

Grandma lived in a retirement home that specialized in Japanese-American residents. She was really old, and while her mind was still sharp she needed help physically. She actually liked the lifestyle where she was: the food was familiar, the other residents understood her, and the activities fit her interests.

Grandma knew I was bringing a girl to meet her, which in itself made it a special occasion. Her eyebrows went up when she first saw Allison, though. I made the introductions, and Al stepped forward and spoke in perfect Japanese.

"Emerson said that you liked Japanese cookies, so I made these for you the way my mother taught me. It's only a small thing, but I hope they are to your liking."

"Thank you for going to the trouble."

"It was no trouble at all."

In the unlikely event that a Japanese ever gives away the Hope Diamond, he is sure to tell the recipient that it's a worthless trinket and an insignificant gift. The only thing that would be more rude would be showing up empty handed. The fact that Al not only knew the old fashioned protocol but followed it perfectly obviously impressed and reassured my grandmother.

"Please sit down. Would you like a cup of tea?"

Before I knew it they were chatting away like old friends. I had to step in after an hour or so.

"Allison, I have to go to work and I promised you a ride home."

"I'm sorry, but I have to go, Miyahara-san."

"Please, Allison-chan, call me Oba-san like everyone else."

I knew we were going to be fine if she was telling Allison to call her "grandmother" after one meeting.

I didn't get to see Grandma for any length of time for a couple of months after that. Residency was killing me. I pretty much knew what the first question would be when I did.

"That Allison isn't Japanese, is she?"

"Half Japanese, Grandma. The rest is white, black, and maybe some Native American."

She thought about that a little.

"Some of these folks here get visits from their pure Japanese daughters and granddaughters that act like tennenboke. Always on cell phone, rude to everyone, act stupid and don't know it. Embarrassing for their elders. Allison has good manners. Her mother's Japanese, right? She was brought up well."

In Grandma's world that was about the highest praise possible.

"That's right, Grandma. You know her that well from one visit?"

"You didn't know? She brings her Japanese Language Club from the high school here sometimes. The kids play board games and practice speaking Japanese with the folks here. Sometimes learn Japanese cooking and stuff like that. She wants them to learn Go, but those kusojiji always teaching the boys to play poker instead."

One of the men in question glanced over from where they were watching the Mariners game. Apparently he was used to being called an old fart, since he just smiled, waved, and went back to the game.

"She never mentioned it to me. I guess she thinks I'm busy enough at the hospital."

"Too busy. You look worn out. When I was young nobody dated someone from a different race. These days, though, who knows? Maybe Allison's not pure Japanese, but I'm proud when she comes to visit. Not like those kyapi kyapi pure Japanese girls whose grandmothers want me to get them dates with you. I never tried, neh? Don't need an airhead daughter in law. Allison is a good girl on the inside, where it matters. Who cares about the outside? Anyway, she's beautiful on the outside too. You going to marry her?"

"I don't know, Grandma. We like each other a lot, but it's early to be talking about that."

"Don't wait forever, OK? If I get great grandkids better sooner than later. I'm going to get old one of these days."

"You're never going to be old, Grandma."

"Oh, go on, you. Get some sleep. You work too much."

There was a stir near the door of the dining room, and I was surprised to see Allison come in. She was obviously popular with the residents, greeting most of them by name and switching back and forth from English to Japanese depending on which language they addressed her in. It was all the more impressive because she did it with no apparent effort. She stopped at a couple tables.

"Yamahara-san, I hear your oldest granddaughter was admitted to Stanford?"

The old lady beamed.

"Yes, she was. We're very proud of her."

Allison reached into the old backpack she usually carried and pulled out a package.

"Please give this to her for me. It's only an old student sweatshirt from when I was at Stanford, nothing important, but I hope it makes her feel that she fits in a little better. Some of my high school girls like this old fashioned stuff."

Mrs. Yamahara couldn't have been more pleased.

"That's very kind of you, Allison-chan. She will like this very much."

"It's nothing. Tell her to call me if she has questions about what to expect."

"I will. Thank you very much."

As she got closer to our table one of the old men called out.

"Hey, Allison-chan, that young doctor of yours still too busy for you? When you going to let me take you on a date?"

Allison laughed.

"Ogata-san, I know your type too well. Always chasing a different girl. I'm a one man woman, and I want a one woman man. Not a playboy like you. Thank you for the offer, though."

Mr. Ogata cackled as she bent over his wheelchair to plant a kiss on top of his bald head. Finally she got to our table.

"Hi, Emerson. I didn't expect to see you here."

She put a hand on my shoulder.

"Don't get up, please. I know you're tired."

I squeezed her hand, knowing it was as much affection as I could display in front of these old folks without causing offense.

"I got a couple of hours down time, so I wandered over. What are you up to?"

"Just going over some language lesson plans with Oba-chan. Never hurts to get a second opinion."

Never hurt to make an old person feel useful, either, I knew. The fact that she was using the affectionate "chan" rather than the formal "san" to refer to Grandma showed that Grandma appreciated it.

"Well, I'll leave you to it. I have to get back to work. Want to walk out with me, Al?"

"Sure. I'll be right back, Oba-chan."

Grandma winked.

"No hurry, Al-chan."

In the stairwell, I grabbed her and did what I had wanted to do as soon as she reached our table. She was more than happy to engage in a little sneaky making out.

"You think Oba-chan knows what we're up to?"

"She's old, not stupid, and she's been young. It's fine, though, she thinks the world of you. You might want to fix your lip gloss."

Al quickly made some repairs and cleaned up my face a little.

"How long have you been bringing the kids here?"

"Since I met Oba-chan. I realized that there's a big pool of native Japanese speakers here with lots of time on their hands, and everyone has fun. Hey, you don't mind what Ogata-san said, do you?"

"Flirting with you? Why should that bother me? Probably the most excitement he's had in months."

"I know you're not jealous of a ninety year old man, Doc. You kidding? I mean about you not having enough time for me."

"Hell, I know I don't have enough time for you, Al. I'd like to see a lot more of you than I can now. The question is, can you stick it out until I finish residency?"

"I've said it before, Doc. I knew being a resident's girlfriend was going to be a tough job when I took it. Just promise that we'll have more time together once you finish."

"Absolutely. All doctors have to pass this initiation but once it's over we own our own lives again. Hey, you're going to be on summer break when I finish in a few months. One of the doctors I work with offered to lend me his vacation condo on Kauai for a few weeks. Feel like going?"

"It's a date. Would you consider Paris instead, though?"

"I'm flexible on it. I have to get going. We don't have to make a decision right now."

I kissed her and ran for the hospital.

I was hard at work a few weeks later when she called me.

"Hey, Emerson, I've got the day off and I'm in the neighborhood. Can I bring you some lunch?"

"Sure. About an hour?"

"Sounds good."

Now that I thought about it Allison had never seen my office, which wasn't surprising since I wasn't there much myself. She made it, though, and I closed the door and kissed her before she set a fragrant bag on my desk and started pulling out food.

"Any trouble getting here?"

"Not really. I got a lot of strange looks when I started asking for directions, though."

"Believe it or not, I've never been much of a ladies' man. They don't see a lot of pretty girls wandering around looking for me."

"Some of them seemed offended."

"The younger women tend to think they should have first claim on single male doctors."

"Too bad for them, then, they had their chance. You were never tempted?"

"I can't say I've never gone out with someone I met here, but I didn't care for it. Who wants to talk about work after working eighty hours a week? I'd rather hear how my favorite high school teacher is doing."

"Doing OK, really. Final exams are next week."

She went silent suddenly. I looked where she was looking. The picture on the wall was of our unit in Afghanistan. Me, Brian, Eric, and a bunch of other guys perched all over a D-9 Cat, grinning or trying to look tough for the camera. I stepped up behind her and slid my arms around her waist.

"Hard to believe we were ever that young and adventurous."

She touched the glass covering Eric.

"I miss him. Doesn't having his picture here bother you?"

"I'll always remember him and regret his death, but I can't change it. I did all I could."

Her hand moved to the small silver star hanging from its ribbon in its simple frame next to the picture.

"More than most would have. Sounds like you're doing better."

"Yeah, I am."

I nuzzled the soft, sweet smelling skin of her neck.

"You helped with that. Thanks."

I kissed her under the ear.

"Keep that up and you're going to have to lock that door."

"It doesn't lock."

"Well, then, knock it off before you risk a scandal when someone walks in."

"That might actually be a good thing. It would shed my reputation for being too serious."

"And what kind of reception would I get the next time I came to visit?"

She turned, kissed me, and backed away a little.

"Anyway, Al, I need to know your work schedule so I can order our tickets to Kauai."

"What about Paris?"

"After years of overwork I want to just relax for a while. I was thinking Paris would be a better destination for the honeymoon."

"The WHAT?"

"The..."

"I heard you right. My God, Emerson, did you just propose to me? Over a takeout lunch in a dinky hospital office? Are you serious?"

"Yep. Yep, I did. What do you say?"

She was still staring at me in disbelief.

"Nothing. Nothing right now. If you want an answer you're going to have to do a better job than that of asking."

She shook her head and smiled slightly.

"If you do, though, I promise you're going to like the answer. Hey, your lunch break is over."

And with that she kissed me and left.

The Girls chewed me out for doing such a poor job of proposing before they helped me do a better one. Allison's cheerful acceptance was hardly a surprise, but I was glad to make it official. They had all been married on the beach at Brian's family's house, and were more than thrilled to help Allison organize another beach wedding. I almost cracked up at their smug looks and winks as they stood in a row behind Allison in their bridesmaid's dresses, but I kept it together and got the job done. The only bigger smile was on Grandma's face.

A couple days later, in bed at our hotel just off the Champs Elysee, Allison was staring at the ceiling.

"I just wish Eric could have been there to give me away."

"In a way I felt like he was. Manny did a good job standing in, and his tribute to him went over well."

"That was a nice touch. I was surprised he didn't mention the ambush or your Silver Star."

"I told him not to. How many times do I have to tell you, Al, I'm not a hero."

"You'll always be a hero to me, Emerson. I didn't marry a hero, though, I married a damned good man. And I couldn't be happier that I did."

"You and me both. This is going to be fun."

And it is.