The road to love (editing!!)

Chapter 17 - Plotting and planning

Jessie's POV

I woke up feeling rested and refreshed, checking the clock on the wall of the living room to see I did indeed sleep most of the day away.  It seems that little pill that Sharon gave me packed quite a punch.  I got up and went in search of something to eat as my stomach was making itself heard loud and clear.

Since it was almost time for Sharon to come back to her place, I made us both some dinner while eating and apple and listening to the radio which I switched on on the way to the kitchen.

“Honey, I’m home!” I hear my friend’s voice from the front door as I put the finishing touches on the spaghetti bolognaise.  “Mmmm something smells good,” she smiled while walking into the kitchen.

I smile a hallo at her before handing her a plate and motioning towards her small kitchen table.  “Yeah well, I owed you a thank you.”

“Food will do,” she grins as she digs into her plate with gusto.  “How are you feeling?”

“Ok, I guess,” I shrug before taking a bite of my dinner and chewing.  “Just wondering where I go from here.”

“We get the DNA we need, just like we discussed last night.  We have it tested and prove to your mother how screwed up her thinking is, after which you drag your prince charming to the bedroom and make wild, passionate love to him.  Wine, we need wine,” my best friend comments before getting up to grab 2 glasses from the cupboard and the wine from the fridge.

A couple of glasses of wine later, we are both sitting on the living room couch and giggling at Sharon’s efforts of mapping out the plan of action for me.  “Oh come on Jes!  Be serious!” she giggles.  “We have to think of a way to get the DNA.  I already contacted my cousin Candice at the lab.  She’ll help us out and speed the process along so we don’t have to sit and wait in agony.”

Oh the joys of having a connected best friend.

“OK,” I try to focus again, “I think the gum idea will work best.  Otherwise a glass or cup that he drank from of even a tissue he sneezed in.”

“Ew gross,” Sharon commented.

Yeah, kinda my reaction too.  

 Sharon puts down her now empty glass and jots down a few notes on a notepad she kept on the living room table.  “So we get the DNA, in whichever way possible,” she makes a grossed-out face, “we get it to Candice and then we just wait for the results.  No biggie!  All will be fine soon.  I’m just a bit worried about you in this whole thing.”

 I sip my wine and look at her curiously.  “Why?  I’m feeling much better now.”

 She shifts a bit uncomfortably before looking me in the eye.  “You do realise you have to stay away from him, romantically, until we know the outcome of the test, right?”

 Oh, that.  “Yes, I know,” I sigh.  I know Sharon is right and I hope to heavens we can prove my mother wrong, because I seriously have the hots for that hunk of meat I see in traffic every day and with the way things were progressing between us, I might have my hands full staying away from him.  Or keeping him away from me.  “I’m going to find an alternate route to work too.  The less I see of him for now, the better.”

 “You better start thinking up excuses for not going on dates with him too.  From what you told me, I think you’re going to need them.”

 Ah heck.  How am I going to be able to keep away from Dean?  I have all these feelings rushing up and down my spine whenever he’s near me.  There’s no way I’d be feeling like that around my own brother, right?  I mean, we women have a sixth sense, for goodness sake!  This whole mess sucks.

 I went home after dinner and the chat with Sharon, to find my mother had left me a lengthy letter explaining that she was really sorry about our fight.  She also let me know that she tried phoning me, but since I wasn’t answering, she’d left me the letter instead.  She had gone to a seminar in Durban for 3 days, after which she was going to stay with an old friend she had there for about a week. 

 I didn’t really know what to feel after reading her letter.  Yes, on some level I was still upset with her, but the sincerity in her letter really touched my heart.  We’d always been close, so I really could not think that I would be mad at her forever.  At least she was giving me time.

 I showered and went to bed, switching on my phone before plugging it in to charge.  My phone vibrated with text and messages and emails all coming in after the phone had been off for a day.  I quickly scanned through them, noticing a few from Dean which made my heart leap, only to crash back down when the reality of our current situation bombarded my thoughts again.

 As I was contemplating texting him back on his last message, the phone vibrated in my hands.

 “Don’t know why you are so quiet.  Hope you’re ok.  Sleep well. D”

 I felt my heartstrings sing at his text and tears were threatening to fall again, so I quickly texted him back.  “Sorry, not been feeling well, but better now.  Sweet dreams. J”

 I switched off the bedside light and cleared my head of any thoughts.  For now I need my rest.