Water under the bridge

Part 17: The surprise

Part 17: The surprise

Everything is perfect and ready, the only thing missing is her. The table is set and decorated in a very romantic style, white tablecloth, beautiful flowers and candles. Slow jazz is playing in the background. I cooked her favorite dinner, grilled salmon and a nice salad and I'm wearing her favorite tuxedo. I feel kind of nervous.. I don't know why. Maybe it's because I just want this night to be perfect and I want her to feel special.
It's 5pm and she should be home any minute now.

It's been a long day and I can't wait to get out of these heels and just relax in front of the tv and not have to think about anything.
As I open the door to the penthouse I'm met by the most beautiful site. John is standing there with a big smile, dressed in my favorite tuxedo and holding a single yellow rose. "Honey what is all this?" I ask as I approach him, eyeing him from head to toe. "I just wanted to give you a nice surprise sweetheart and spend a special evening with you..I think we deserve that, don't you?"
I don't even know what to say, I'm so baffled by all this. I walk up to him and caress his face, my fingers tracing his lips. I look into his eyes and say "I do...this is beautiful...you're beautiful...what did I ever do to deserve you?"
He doesn't answer, instead he wraps his large hand around my wrist and kisses my palm. Holding my hand he leads me to the table which is beautifully set. Always the gentleman, he moves the chair out for me. When I sit he kisses my neck and then my cheeks. He walks into the kitchen and comes out with two plates...he cooked my favorite food. It smells and looks delicious. "Did you make this?" I say in awe.
"I did...only the best for you...So tell me about your day Dr Evans" he says as we start to eat. I tell him that I saw Carrie and Mike today looking very close, closer than just coworkers. I share my concerns about her relationships with Austin and Mike "I just hope she has thought this through before she does something that can't be undone". John looks at me with his eyebrow raised and I know what he is about to say. "Kind of reminds me of this beautiful woman who found herself in a similar situation once. Lucky for me things turned out to my advantage....I know it's not the same Doc, but we have to let her make her own choices. Her heart will guide her in the right direction. You should know Honey... you can't fight what the heart really wants no matter what the consequences might be."
I can only agree with him, knowing first hand what he is talking about.
"Thank you for a lovely dinner darling" I smile at him and wonder what else he has in store.

God she is adorable, sitting in front of me with rosy cheeks, a content smile, eyes full of love and completely unaware of what tonight is going to bring. If she knew she wouldn't be sitting there. She would be ripping my clothes off before we even got to dessert. I know what these weeks of celibacy have done to her and tonight I'm going to make up for it, in ways she can't even imagine. But before I reveal my little surprise we need to have dessert. "Are you ready for some dessert sweetheart?"...
"You could have warned me that you made dessert, I don't think there's room for more" she says as she rubs her stomach. "Trust me Doc, you don't want to miss this" I take our plates and go to the kitchen to prepare for round two.
When I come back, she has taken off her high heels and her jacket, leaving her sitting in her camisole and pants. She is making it very difficult for me to not blow my cover and reveal my intentions for tonight.
"Tonight's dessert is made with love, desire and memories. A smooth chocolate mousse topped with whipped cream and strawberries. Did you know that  chocolate is believed to heighten your sexual desire? And the strawberries and whipped cream... well, you have first hand experience in what that does to you". She doesn't say anything, she just stares at me with an expression that I can't read.

I don't know what it is with me these days, my emotions are all over the place. This sweet surprise and him standing there looking so handsome should make me the happiest woman in Salem....it does, but at the same time I feel sad and no matter what I do, I can't stop the tears that are threatening to break free. My hand tries to cover my eyes, but he already knows these aren't happy tears. He is quickly kneeling in front of me, taking my hand away so he can look me in the eyes. "Sweetheart what is the matter...did I do something to upset you?" He asks, his face filled with deep concern. I look away, feeling ashamed of my unstable emotions and for making him believe that he has done something wrong, when he went out of his way to make this evening special for me..for us.
I need to explain to him. I palm his face and take a deep breath to calm down my quiet sobbing.
"No..no darling you haven't done anything wrong. I don't know what it is with me these days..this is all just perfect.. you are perfect...I just..I..." I stutter, as I try to find some kind of explanation to my sadness. "I don't know...I just miss you, miss making love to you..I thought that I lost you forever when your plane crashed. I kept thinking about all the things we never got to do and say to each other. I have been trying to be strong for you, for everyone, and now everything just hits me. How scared I was thinking that our story had come to an end, that I would never hear your voice again, never feel your touch...I don't think I would survive not having you in my life." His large hands cup my face as his thumbs gently remove the tears that's streaming down my face. "Baby I'm so sorry you had to go through that. I know how hard it is... remember I have been on that side before...thinking that I had lost you forever. But look at us..here we are, together, living our best lives, more in love than ever." He places small kisses on my cheek as my sobbing continues.
It feels good to finally let go of all these fears and feelings and just let him comfort me. I clear my throat "Thank you John...for just loving me".
He grabs my hand and kisses it as he says " Oh Doc that is the easiest part.... So are you ready for some dessert now?" He lifts his eyebrow and smiles that boyish smile of his.