I gave Jake a how could you look. His shoulders shrugged into a what did I do? look.
“Oh, Gram, Jake can be silly at times. How can he possibly think he loves anyone more than his grandmother? Plus, I’m not that pretty. It’s only in Jake’s eyes.”
“You are too. You’re gorgeous!” Jake interjected before my thought was over. I pinched his arm and gave him a be quiet look.
“I’ve never seen such a beautiful family as the Reid family. I’m sure that’s all a credit to you. Gram, can you send me a picture of yourself?”
Content with my soothing words, she answered, “I’ll have my assistant take a picture of me and e-mail it to Jake. So when can you come see me?”
“Well, my vacation is almost over, but I can come at the end of March during spring break. Would that be OK? Should I bring Jake or come by myself?” I kidded.
“Gram, I want to come too,” he whined into the mouthpiece.
“You can bring him if he’s good to you. Is my Jakey treating you well?”
“He was treating me very well till this morning, Gram.”
Gram sounded aghast. Jake looked horrified.
“What happened, Emily? What did he do to you?”
“He was mean to me and he made me cry.” I added melancholy for special effects. I noticed the entire family had stopped eating, talking, and whatever else they were doing, and stared at Jake.
“Oh my gosh, Emily! I can’t believe you just told everyone I made you cry this morning.” Appalled, he didn’t know what to say. All the aunts accepted my accusation and began scolding Jake.
“But you did,” I answered in my saddest voice.
Back to my conversation with Gram, I said, “Anyhow, I’m going to come see you soon, and as to whether I will bring Jake, I’ll think about it.”
“Emily, are you going to marry my grandson?” Wow—like grandma, like grandson. She didn’t beat around the bush.
“I hope so, Gram. I’m not sure yet. You’ll be the second to know when I decide. Gram, I’ll get your phone number from Jake and call you again. I think I have to get off. Jake’s a bit upset with me. Thank you for talking to me.”
With that, I got off the phone and sat as a spectator watching Jake get himself out of trouble.
“Emily, will you please explain, it was me who should’ve been crying this morning and not you?”
I shrugged my shoulder, winked, and mouthed, “I love you,” then went back to enjoying my meal.
When dinner was over, we all played a mean game of White Elephant. The Reid family was ruthless stealing from each other the few prized items that Sandy added to the pile. The most coveted prize was two floor seats to a Laker game. Doug ended up as the grand prize winner. Most of us got ugly tchotchkes that would quickly be thrown away at home. Jake actually won a great bottle of wine, which he handed over to Chief Reid as a bribe to try to get New Year’s Eve off. He gladly took the wine, but not the bribe.
I stayed as long as I could, then hugged Sandy, Bobby, and Nick good-bye as they went up to their rooms for the night. I turned to Jane and promised her quality time in New York even with her brother in tow.
Our dinner conversation with Gram seemed all but forgotten, or so I thought, when I turned to say good-bye to Jake. I took a step forward as he took a step backward dodging my attempted embrace. Confounded, I waited with my arms wide open.
“I can’t believe you threw me under the bus today.” Oh so that’s what this was all about. “You’re so lucky I didn’t tell my whole family how you chopped up my proposal and my heart into pieces.”
Cuddling up to him, I used my most alluring voice to appease him. “What can I do to make things better? I’ll make it up to you. I’m sorry I got you into trouble, but you were a complete gentleman for not giving me away.” I added a few kisses to buffer.
“Stay the night with me.” This was more a demand than a request.
During my moment’s hesitation, Jake swept me off my feet, carried me up the stairs, and took me to his bed. The words “I can’t” and “I have to go” waited for their cue, but stayed frozen on my tongue. In silence, we headed toward a path with no recourse. Until I met Jake, I believed I would stay spotless till I said, “I do.” Until now, I had never wanted to change my novice status but at this moment, I wanted nothing more than to be with him. My mind was made up—tonight, we would express our love for one another.