Welcome Home

"No, not like that, but I still have to work around her though. I hope that doesn't bother you."

"As long as she leaves you alone and doesn't mess with you, then she'll be alright with me," Jenny replied firmly.

Deciding to tease her a little bit, I leaned over and kissed her behind her ear, said, "And if she doesn't leave me alone?"

A delightful little smile crossed her face as she replied, "Then I'll do the same thing to her that you did to Eddie Barnes," making both of us laugh.

After that was all settled, I began to make dinner, which consisted of Fried Chicken, Mashed Potatoes & Chicken Gravy, and Corn on the Cob. I also found a bottle of brandy that Dad had stashed in my sea-bag. It had a note attached that read:

Mikey,

This brandy has analgesic qualities, and I thought you might want to take it along with you on your trip. Also, be sure to tell Jennifer that your mother and I said hello and that we wish her a speedy recovery.

Dad

My Dad is the best father in the whole world, but then I would imagine that everyone thinks of their fathers that way. However, it sure doesn't change the way I feel about mine though.

After we had both eaten our fill, I put the food away and saw to it that the dishes were done. Jenny was a little upset that I wouldn't let her lift so much as a finger to help, but she quickly got over it, as I convinced her with a toe curling kiss that left her seemingly breathless.

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Jenny had put on a Steely Dan's Anthology album a few moments earlier, and now the light sounds of their music poured through the pen windows of the house as we sat together, holding hands and enjoying the beginning of dusk.

"You know that my Dad had my sea-bag packed with enough clothes to last me two weeks, and sitting on my bed waiting when I went home earlier," I informed Jenny, with a smile on my face, "And him and Mom both told me to tell you 'hello' for them.

"Your Mom and Dad are very nice people. I guess it means that you're going to be staying here with me all week, until we leave for Padre Island, huh?"

"I just hope it's alright," I replied uneasily.

"And why wouldn't it be Michael," Jenny countered, her arms folded across her chest in a defensive posture.

"Whoa," I laughed," I was just making sure that I wasn't going to be an inconvenience for you, that's all."

"You're a silly man," she said, her frown melting into a smile, "You could never be an inconvenience for me, Michael, and don't you ever forget it. Oh, and thank you for making dinner, it was delicious."

"I'm glad you liked it," I said smiling, and taking her by the hand, "I do need to talk to you about something though."

"What is it, Michael, honey?"

"I was just wondering if you were gong to be alright here by yourself, while I'm at work tomorrow."

"I'll be just fine, handsome," she said, wrapping her arms around my waist.

I saw Jenny yawn, making me follow right behind her, "I think its bed time, and you need total rest, pretty girl."

"Aw Michael, but I'm not...."

"No buts, sweetie. Besides; you heard what the doctor said," I interrupted, leading her down the hall to her bedroom. I had put my sea-bag in the guest room, and after I led Jenny to her bedroom door and kissed her good night, I went into what Jenny called 'my room', set the bedside clock so I would wake up in time for work. Then I took off my clothes, literally fell into bed, and was sound asleep within a few short minutes. Chapter Six

I was dreaming that Jenny and I were enjoying a day on the beach, when all of a sudden; a gang of hoodlums came driving down the beach at break-neck speed. As they drew nearer, I could hear Jenny begin to weep and whimper loudly. When their vehicle, a black sedan with tinted windows, finally reached us, two men jumped out of the backseat and took Jenny at gun-point. As the car pulled away I cold hear Jenny screaming and calling my name.

All at once I abruptly awoke and sat straight up in bed. Then I heard it again. "NO!!! STOP!!!! MICHAEL, PLEASE HELP MEEE!!!!" cried out in the darkness, from the direction of Jenny's bedroom. I reached over and turned on the bedside lamp as I got out of bed, threw on a pair of shorts, and then made my way across the hall to Jenny.

As I opened her bedroom door, the light from the hall way spilled in revealing the heart-breaking sight I was bearing witness to. Jenny was randomly flailing her arms in the air in front of her, trying to defend herself from an unseen attacker. I rushed to her side, and once again, gently grabbed her arms, holding her closely to me and said, "Jenny! Jenny it's me, Mike. JENNY!!!"

Again, she awoke totally disoriented until, reaching over her, I turned on her bedside lamp. Hopefully, she would be able to quickly make the distinction that she was home, safe, and awake enough to know that she'd been having a nightmare and nothing more. The moment she realized that it was me who was holding her, Jenny wrapped her arms tightly around me, and then burying her face into my chest, broke down and began to cry. I knew that simply holding her and letting her get it out was all that I needed to do, and so that's exactly what I did.

"Are you okay, Sweetie?" I asked, as she began to calm herself.

"Yeah," she sniffed, "I'm alright. I guess I was having a nightmare, but it seemed so real?"

I smoothed the dark locks of hair away from her face, and giving her a gentle kiss on the cheek; I smiled and replied, "Nightmares aren't meant to come true. That's why they call them nightmares ya know."

"Oh yeah?" she smiled, looking dreamily into my eyes, "When did you get to be so smart?"

I began to laugh, and in doing so, I realized that I had failed to notice how she was dressed, or in this case, undressed, for bed, when I came into her room to begin with. Jenny was wearing a wife-beater tank top, and that was it. The covers accidentally slipped down far enough that I caught a quick glimpse of a small dark strip of neatly trimmed pubic hair, nestled softly between the tops of two creamy smooth thighs. I began to feel a tingle arising in my groin so, to avoid any embarrassment for me, or her, I quickly moved the comforter up to a position of decency for her and security for me. "If you're okay then, I'm going back to sleep. Well, good night, Jenny," I said, leaning down and kissing her cheek, then leaving to go back to my room.

"Michael, wait," she said, just as I got to the door.

"What can I do for you, sweetie?" I asked, turning around to face her.

"Michael, I want you to stay with me tonight," she said, her eyes so innocent yet, so deeply alluring. There had never been a greater conflict within me than what I was experiencing at that moment in time. I knew that, while she was hurting and reaching out to me, if were to go to her, I would be helpless and no longer able to resist the yearning passion I felt churning inside of me every time she was near. Without me realizing it, Jenny had become the keeper of my heart, and to drive the point home, as well as break me from my reverie; She held her arms open, letting the covers fall back down to show, just a hint of what I'd seen earlier, and smiling sweetly, said, "Please stay, Michael. I really need you."

I don't have to say what I did next. However, and much to Jenny's disapproval, I slept on top of the covers that night, holding Jenny closely to me. With very breath I drew, I took in her scent, her smell, her very essence, and I succumbed to that which I feared most, the surrender of falling in love. As I reached over to set the alarm clock in her room, as well as turn off the light, I leaned down and gently kissed her lips, and said, "Good night, beautiful."

"Mmm, good night, Michael," she purred, drifting back to sleep.

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At work the next morning, Kelly didn't hesitate to seek me out, first thing. "Mike, I'm really sorry for acting so badly to you this week-end," she said, while I was getting myself a cup of coffee before the Monday morning staff meeting.

There were too many people standing too closely so, having her follow me to a more private area to speak, I looked at her plainly, and said, "Look Kelly, I'm sorry for the nasty things I said to you right before I left that morning, but you really didn't act so badly at all."

"No?" she asked surprised.

"Not really, no," I replied smiling, "There's nothing wrong with telling the truth, it was just that your timing kinda sucked."

Seductively raising her eyebrows at me, she winked and said, "Well, maybe we need to try to find a way to uh...try it again...maybe."

"I already told you, Kelly, I'm not that way, but that doesn't mean we still can't be friends."

"The reason that I don't want a relationship is because I've been hurt so badly in the past, Mike," Kelly said sadly, "I can see now that maybe I should've taken a chance on you, but I've got the feeling that it's too late for that."

She was looking down at the floor by the time she'd finished speaking. I still thought of her as my friend though. And wanting to be a friend, I put my finger beneath her chin, and gently raising her face to look at me, I smiled and told her, "You're still my friend Kelly. You're a very beautiful and sensual young woman. I'll bet you'd be real surprised at what happens if, when you meet someone you really like, you'll make see your heart long before you let them see your body."

"You're a good guy. Mike, "said Kelly, kissing me on the cheek, "And any girl would be very lucky to have you." Then she scurried away, smiling as she disappeared down the hall.

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"Hey, Sport, how's Jenny doing?" Zeke asked, as we were scrubbing for surgery that morning.

"She's doing well, Zeke," I smiled, "She was discharged from the hospital and I took her home yesterday morning. The doctor said that, other than a few minor scrapes and some bruises, she's gonna be okay."

"Can I ask you something rather personal, Mike?"

"Sure you can," I replied, but dreading what he was going to ask.

Zeke smiled, and I could tell that he was trying to choose his words carefully, when he said, "I remember what you told me about your relationship with Jenny when I saw you at the hospital Saturday night. I noticed something different about you then, and I can still see it now. I guess what I'm asking is, she's the one, isn't she?"

I no longer had the desire to fight the truth when I smiled and said, "Yeah, I think she is...I really think she is."

"I think she is, too," Zeke laughed, "I wish that you could see the stupid grin on your face right now."

Holding my clean hands in front of me, I put my back to the swinging door of the surgical suite. Right before I pushed against the door to open it, I laughed and said, "Come on, Doc, if you're waiting on me, you're backing up so, let's get to work, ya bum." "Smart assed kid," Zeke chuckled, following me into the suite.

The first surgical procedure of the day was, repairing the large intestine of a fifteen year old boy that had accidentally fallen into the back of a truck full of scrap metal. A small, but very sharp, piece of angle-iron had pierced his left side, leaving a jagged and nasty perforation on the proximal side of the intestine. After I'd made an assessment of the wound, I looked at Zeke and said, "Man, this one is gonna take a while, Doc."

"Can you handle it," Zeke challenged, grinning beneath his surgical mask.

"Even on my worst day, man," I laughed, baiting him in return, as well as feeling very confident that morning.

Backing away from the patient and removing his mask, Zeke put his back to the doors of the suite, then smiled and said, "Well then, Doctor, I'm going to get a cup of coffee," he laughed, "Then I'm going to go up into the observation gallery and watch you fall on your ass in front of all these people," he continued with a laughing challenge.

"I'm so sure I can handle this one that I'm willing to wager on it, Doctor, what do think? You feel up to losing your ass?" There it was, a dead-on, open challenge dropped in front of a number of witnesses. I stood there grinning like a Cheshire cat.

To the snickers of everyone in the suite, Zeke laughed and said, "Well, well, well, another would be warrior steps up to the plate," everyone now openly laughing. Then he crossed his arms and arrogantly said, "Okay, I'll bite, what are the stakes?"

"When I finished repairing the perforation in this young man's large intestine, I want the next week off," I conceitedly replied.

"What do I get when you ask for my help?" laughed Zeke, making everyone chuckle.

I looked around the room and then back at Zeke, then laughed haughtily and said, "Name it, Doctor Frankenstein," causing everyone to howl with laughter.

Zeke smiled at everyone laughing, then peering, almost glaring at me, and with an almost menacing tone of voice, he growled, "Okay kid, you've had your laugh. Now, these are my terms. You're going to need my help with this procedure, I assure you. I'll be more than willing to help you, too, you know that, but when you do, be prepared to give me seven days straight, working sixteen hours a day."

"Seven, sixteen hour shifts?" I asked grinning, "Okay, but if I'm gonna be working double the amount of time that is considered to be in a standard work week, then I want two weeks off instead of one week."

"You can't change the bet like that," complained Zeke.

"What's the matter, Doctor, not up for the challenge?" I cockily sneered.

"Okay then, you're on, kid," laughed Zeke, "Oh; I am SO going to work your ass off next week."

"What about my class on Tuesday and Thursday?" I asked, not really worried either way.

"Dorothy Miller is a good friend of mine so, you leave that to me," said Zeke, smiling.

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Zeke walked out of the operating suite and up into the gallery, sitting front row with a satisfied smirk on his face.

I began the procedure by making sure the surgical site had been scrubbed properly, and of course it had. I made the initial incision and was about to call for a pair of retractors to hold the tissue out of the way, when they appeared in front of me, followed by a familiar female voice that said, "I know I was supposed to wait until you called for these, but I just couldn't resist, Mister Peterson."

I looked up to find that Claire Wilson had snuck into the operating room, and was grinning at me through her surgical mask. "Professor Wilson, what're you doing here?"

"It's Claire, and I'm here to learn from you today, Doctor," she giggled.

What neither Zeke nor Claire either one knew, was that I'd had more than one experience with this kind of surgery, in that it was a traumatic type of injury to the stomach. I'd been assigned to a Marine Corps company and had seen a little action, albeit unwillingly, and in both cases; these guys had been shot up pretty bad. But because of my training, and moreso by the grace of God, these two Marines are still alive to this day. At any rate, I was finished with the operation, including having sent the patient to the recovery room, in just under than three hours.

As I was doing my post-op scrub, Zeke came walking up to me still grinning cockily and said, "You did very well today, Doctor. I guess I owe you two weeks, huh."

"Yeah, you do, and they commence the second I'm finished with this shift," I laughed

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On the drive home from work that evening, I felt a deep satisfaction in knowing that I had the next two weeks off to do whatever tickled my fancy. With the thought of that came thoughts of Jenny. She had taken seven days of sick time while she was convalescing at home.

The moment I stepped into her house, Jenny was there to meet with a gentle yet passionate kiss. "Hi handsome, I'm sure glad you're home."

"You are," I replied, wrapping my arms tightly around her waist and pulling her body to mine. Then after lightly kissing her on the lips, I smiled and asked her, "Have I told you lately how beautiful that I think you are?"

"No," she giggled, "But I'm all ears, sweetie."

"Oh, hey" I smiled, "I've got a surprise for you."

"Ooo, I love surprises, "she purred, "What is it?"

It was then that I informed her of the bet that I'd made with Zeke, and how that, if we wanted to and she felt like it; we could leave for Padre Island the next morning.

She squealed, then threw her arms and legs around me and said, "That's just fine, Michael, and I love you so much.

We had dinner at Ming's Chinese Restaurant that evening. Jenny had Beef with Snow Peas and I had Kung Pao Chicken. We both had Egg Drop Soup and plenty of Spring Rolls with hot mustard. And when we got home that night, again I slept next to Jenny, only this time; she insisted I sleep with her beneath the covers. I can't remember ever sleeping better in my life, but we still hadn't made love up to that point. I just wasn't ready because I wasn't sure.....yet.

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After driving for almost seven hours, Jenny and I arrived at 5508 Gulf Boulevard just in time to stock the pantry and fill the refrigerator before it got dark. Along with the kitchen, dining room and living room, there were two bedrooms and a full bath on the ground level. The master bedroom and master bath took up the whole upstairs, opening out onto a French veranda-style balcony. This particular place had been built back in the late nineteenth century, around 1890, I think, and had been in our family for several generations. It was willed to Mom when my grandmother died. Mom was an only child so; it belonged solely to her and Dad, and of course my sister, brother and me, were all allowed to use it anytime we wanted. Mom and Dad were very generous to their children with, not only their fortunes made over the years, but their love, too, hence the reason we were all so very close to one another.

There were occasions that Mom and Dad leased their house out for certain people whom they were involved in business with, and in doing so, had employed a local realtor to keep the place clean and ready to go at a moments' notice. (Those kinds of services didn't cost a whole lot back then, at least not like they do today.) I made sure to call ahead and let them know we were coming so everything would be just the way I wanted when Jenny and I arrived.

After we were finished storing the food in the kitchen, I smiled at Jenny, and taking her hand, said, "Close your eyes and don't open them until I tell you to, okay?"

"Michael, what are you up to?" she laughed.

"Trust me, baby," I breathed into her ear. I heard her quietly gasp as, by the hand, I led her up the stairs, one at a time, and onto the master floor. The stairs came up in the far corner of the room, and the first thing you saw upon entering the room was an Emperor-sized bed with net linens that hung down on all sides. To the right was and art-deco era iron tub, steeped in porcelain and brass, with a sink and walk-in shower to the right of that against the far wall. The whole back of the room opened out onto what would be considered enough space for three more bedrooms. "Okay, open your eyes, Jenny," I said.

"Oh my God, Michael, this is beautiful," she gasped, looking around the room, "It looks like something out of an old nineteen-twenty's movie, or something."

"I know," I laughed, "Mom is an old movie buff and she had it done like this a few years ago."

"Oh, but it's so romantic," she breathed, "It's timeless, Michael."

Suddenly, the simply act of just watching her explore the room, smiling as she would gently run her hands across the bed, or along the ornamental silk sashes hanging from the ceiling and all around the room, pulled heavily at my heart. I went to her, and standing behind her, I brought my arms up and encompassed her, gently hold her against me. I could feel her leaning all her weight against my chest, and I knew then that I would surrender my life before I would ever let any harm come to this beautiful creature in my arms. I could almost feel that pain that I now know she went through when we were all so young. I wished things had been different back then, and I most certainly wished that I had done more for her. I mean, I didn't let anyone pick on her, but I wasn't friends with her either. The guilt of the past began to set in and it was at that moment that I started to wonder if I really even deserved to be with a girl like Jenny.