Love M.D. (40 page)

Morgan wears a black suit with a
crisp white shirt and the only tie I brought–the purple one I gave him for
Christmas. We know things aren’t color coordinated, but this is no normal
wedding.

What we choose to do today is about
us, how we feel about each other and the sentiments that come along with this
trip and being here. I haven’t paid Lucas yet, but it will be the best money I’ll
ever spend.

At Emerald Lake, we take the cold, scenic
walk to a peninsula that jets out into the lake. From certain angles, it looks
like an island with a bridge to the mainland. The conference center looks like
a cute log cabin with huge windows that capture the views. We will be married
in front of a two-story bay window. With below freezing temperatures, I know I
won’t be outdoors longer than necessary.

We enter the building, and I’m
surprised at the beautiful melody that comes from the harpist in the corner of
the room. The priest, Reverend Joseph, and a photographer awaits us when we
enter.

“Welcome, Morgan and Zoë. It’s a
pleasure to see you both.”

“Nice to see you again, Reverend
Joseph,” I reply. Morgan shakes his hand.

“So this is it?”

“Just us,” Morgan replies.

“You weren’t kidding when you said
it would be a tiny ceremony.”

“No. We weren’t.”

“Are we ready to begin?”

“Definitely,” Morgan replies.

A table with a lovely white floral
arrangement sits in front of the window. Nicholas places the boxes with our
rings on it. Standing in front the table, Morgan and I hold each other’s hands
as the priest says a blessing.

 “When I got the call yesterday
saying you wanted to get married today, I must admit, I had my reservations.
That is, until I sat and met with you two. Thank you for inviting me to share
some words of advice with you today as you start this journey together.

I love that you two have decided to
start you lives thinking about your love for each other first, and not with the
fanfare and extravagance that seems to be the priority in so many weddings
today.

Though you’ve only known each other
for five months, the journey you’ve shared with me up to this point has been
long. You’ve been through a lot of adversity together and still managed to make
it through. If you two continue to put each other first, I truly believe you
will have a happy marriage.

It does not mean that things won’t
get hard, or there won’t be rough times or disagreements, but if you continue to
love each other and support each other, and continue to be there for each other
and put each other first, you will make it through. May God bless you both.”

I am in tears when I repeat the
vows after the minister says them. Morgan looks at me seriously, as he says
his.

“You said you had some words you
wanted to share with each other? Zoë, you go first.”

“I remember the first time I set my
eyes on you, the first time you kissed me, the first time you told me you loved
me, the first time we fought, the first time we said we were sorry, the first
time we made up, and the first time I knew that I was in love with you.

You were there for me when I didn’t
know I needed you, and no matter what, I intend to be there for you. You’re my
best friend and my lover, and I trust you implicitly with my life—my mind, my
body and my soul.

All my life I’ve been angry with
God for taking my family away from me. Today, I’m no longer angry. Today, I am
thankful, more than ever, that he brought you into my life. Your whole existence
is the epitome of the word love. Je vous aimerai toujours. Vous êtes mon cœur.”
[I will always love you. You are my heart.]

“Je t’aime aussi,” [I love you,
too] he responds. “Zoë, you came into my life at a time when I had been through
a difficult experience. You helped me smile again, and even though you weren’t
aware of it, you showed me that I needed to love again.

I know your life hasn’t been easy,
but as of now, I will always be at your side. I will always be in your corner,
you will always have me to lean on, and I will always love you. I can’t wait to
officially start a life with you.”

My hold on his hands tightens.
Tears continue to flow, and I know it’s not time yet, but I embrace him tightly
in my arms.

“I love you too, and I will always
be here for you.”

“Beautifully said.” Reverend Joseph
smiles.

He opens the box with my ring and
hands it to Morgan. I smile as I see the emerald ring he bought me. “With this
ring, I thee wed.”

Morgan almost chuckles when he sees
the ring I bought him. “With this ring, I thee wed.”

Excited and eager, I slip the ring
on his finger.

“Doctor Morgan Drake, you may kiss
your bride.”

He circles my face in his palms.
His kiss is soft and passionate and as his tongue gently caresses mine, he
wipes away my tears with his thumbs.

“I love you so much.”

“I love you, too, baby,” he says,
embracing me.

“I present to you all Doctor and
Mrs. Morgan Drake.”

By the time we’re done with
pictures, it’s close to noon.

We change into a pair of thick
sweaters we purchased for our wedding day, and my husband treats me to a
special day he planned for us at a resort restaurant about an hour away. We
drive through the mountains, through some very dangerous cliff-side terrain and
past a town named Golden. Across a river and up some steep hillsides, we
finally park at the mountain resort. I think we have arrived, but he smiles at
me and tells me that our trip isn’t over yet. Through the parking lot, I see
gondolas.

We hop aboard. As it makes its
ascent, the resort disappears in the distance, with the mountains and blue
skies as its backdrop. Gondolas pass us on their way down, but I soon realize
this climb is far steeper than I could have ever imagined. I look forward,
wondering where our final destination will be. I look back to where we started
and see our starting point has almost disappeared into the scenery. Finally,
maybe after ten or fifteen minutes, I see the summit ahead. As the car comes to
a halt, I see a wooden cabin with beautiful gables straight ahead. It’s perched
upon a mountain, 7700 feet above sea level. Stunning, rugged mountaintops and
clouds hover below as far as the eye can see.

“God Morgan, this is unbelievably
spectacular,” I murmur as I turn to look at the 360-degree views. “And it’s
flipping freezing.”

Wrapping me in his arms and rubbing
my shoulders, he says, “It’s magnificent. More than I could have ever imagined.
The view alone makes the entire trip worth it. But by now, I’m sure you must be
hungry.”

“I am.”

He takes my hand in his. We cross a
short bridge and enter the building. Amazing floor to ceiling windows kiss the
vaulted ceilings and mountain ranges can be seen for miles. An enormous stone
fireplace blazes in the middle of the space. We sit near one of the corner
windows. I don’t ever remember being this happy in my life, and as I gaze into
Morgan’s eyes, I’m compelled to seal the moment with a long, lingering kiss.

“Maybe I should have set this party
at the resort,” Morgan laughs. “Not a smart move on my part.”

“It’s fine. This is a must see. It’s
wonderful being in yet another splendid place. We have three days left, and if
you like, we can spend it in bed consummating this marriage.”

“Sounds like the best idea I’ve
heard since we said I do.”

A waitress comes by, greets us
warmly, and we place our order. I start with one of their special coffees, it’s
called the Avalanche—Baileys, Frangelico, Dark Crème de Cacao, Fresh Whipped
Cream and Coffee. The ingredients make my mouth water. Morgan settles for iced
tea. It’s too cold. I don’t think I can stomach one cold beverage.

“You think when we leave in a few
days we’ll ever come back?” I ask after taking a sip of my delicious coffee.

“There’s a lot of world to see out
there, but this place is special. We’ve created so many memories here, we have
to come back.”

“When do you want to start making
babies?”

He kisses me on my neck and
murmurs, “We can start practicing from tonight, but I’m selfish. I want you to
myself for a while first.”

“Do you think we can wait? I’m not
getting any younger.”

“When this mess at the hospital is
over, we can see a professional and find out. We’ll make a decision from
there.”

“I don’t even want to think about
that now. Only happy thoughts.”

We enjoy a wonderful meal and by
three o’clock, when the sun starts working its way down, we decide it’s
probably best to head back to Lake Louise before night sets in.

In the gondola on the way down, it
begins snowing. Morgan whispers in my ear, “When we get back, I’ll run us a
nice hot bath and rub and kiss your feet then your ankles. I can work my way up
from there.”

“I can’t wait,” I laugh.

We make our way to the vehicle. I
sense someone is watching me, but when I turn, I see no one. Morgan opens the
door to the SUV and lets me in. As he walks around the back of the vehicle to
the driver’s side, I think I see that man who accosted me a few days before
standing near a vehicle, staring at me.

I crank up
the heat and wait for Morgan to enter. It’s
our wedding night. I wonder if I should say anything about this. I don’t want
to ruin what has been an exceptional day so far. I decide to stay quiet for
now. Maybe I’ll tell him in the morning so we don’t ruin our incredible wedding
day.

“You good?” He slips into his seat.

“I’m great. Let’s just get back to
the hotel. It looks like we’ll be getting a heavy dose of snow tonight. The
roads are salted.”

“Yeah, we’ll be okay. We’ll be
there in about ninety minutes.”

He laces his fingers through mine,
kisses the back of my hand, and slowly backs out of the parking spot. We begin
the slow and steady drive through the winding road along the steep cliffs back
to the hotel.
I Won’t Give Up
by
Jason Mraz
plays on the radio. It’s such an appropriate song for
today.

As darkness descends, I get an
uncomfortable feeling in my gut. Goose bumps cover my skin. In the side mirror,
I see a vehicle in the distance behind us. I turn around and look over my
shoulder.

With the snow coming down and the
bright headlights of the vehicle, it’s hard to make out anything.

“What’s wrong?” Morgan asks.

“Nothing,” I mumble. However, for
some reason, this antsy sensation intensifies in my stomach.

“Baby, I can feel a pulse through
your hand. What is it?”

At the same moment, the vehicle
pulls close behind us. I look behind us, and I can’t even see the headlights
through the back of the SUV.

“That person’s getting awfully close
to us,” Morgan glances in the rearview mirror then speeds up to increase the
distance between the two vehicles.

“I didn’t want to worry you when
you got into the vehicle, but I think I saw that guy.”

“What guy?”

“The same one who accosted me a few
days ago.”

“When?”

“When we got to the parking lot.”

“Are you sure? That would be one
heck of a coincidence seeing him across two provinces.”

“I can’t be certain.”

The vehicle pulls up again, this
time revving the engine behind us. Morgan speeds up some more.

“Maybe it was him,” Morgan
continues. “This person is fucking crazy. Why didn’t you tell me about this as
soon as I got into the vehicle?”

“Because I knew you’d get upset,
and I didn’t want that to ruin our wedding night.”

“I’m not upset at you, but you
should have told me. I would have never ventured out onto such a treacherous,
snowy road had I known the possibility might exist that that asshole is out
there.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think it
through.”

“What kind of vehicle do you think
he might be driving?”

“He was standing by a greyish
looking pickup truck.” I turn to look behind me again. “It’s getting close
again, but I can’t make out the color. The snow is too heavy.”

“Get your phone and call 9-1-1. Make
sure your seat belt is secure.”

He pulls his hand away from my
hold, fastens it tightly to the wheel and accelerates.

As I dial the number, I hear the
continuous revving behind us. Grains of salt sprinkle the vehicle’s
undercarriage. Three beeps and the call goes dead.

“Shoot.”

“What’s wrong?” Morgan asks.

“There’s no signal up here. The
call won’t go through.”

“Okay. Don’t panic, sit tight. We’ll
be at the hotel soon.”

The lights disappear behind us.
Maybe there was a turn off I didn’t notice. The vehicle is nowhere in sight;
and although I think I should feel settled, butterflies still dance around in
my stomach.

“We’ll be fine. Don’t worry about
it,” Morgan says, tightening his grip around my hand.

I am thankful the vehicle is gone,
but just as I have that thought, something hits the back of our SUV or we’ve
run over something. Tires skid out of control. I press an imaginary brake on
the floor and a scream leaves my lips. The vehicle spins and spins. All I can
think of is the precipice lining this road. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I
see the lights of oncoming vehicles. I’m not even sure in what direction we’re
supposed to be heading, but when the vehicle comes to a stop and I look out my
window, all I see is blackness below.

We’re on the wrong side of the
road, eighteen inches away from the edge of a cliff. A foot-wide concrete slab
is the only thing stopping us from going over the edge.

Tremors take over every inch of my
body.

Morgan pulls me in an embrace, “Are
you okay?”

I nod and barely reply, “You?”

“I’m fine. Try to relax. We’ll be
okay.”

Slowly and carefully, Morgan makes
a three point turn in the middle of the road, and we continue our descent. Two
trucks stop ahead, and as we slowly drive by, a trucker asks if we’re okay.
Morgan thanks them and lets him drive ahead. We now have two trucks
accompanying us. We drive back mostly in silence, Morgan’s fingers knotted
through mine. I’m thankful when, in the distance, I get a glimpse of Lake
Louise Drive, a mostly flat road.

A sigh escapes my lips. When we
arrive at the hotel, I finally release Morgan’s hand. Only then do I realize
how tightly I held onto him.

We look at the back of the SUV but
don’t see any damage. It looks like we must have run over something.

I’m relieved at the sight of the
familiar surroundings. It’s only on the way up the elevator the tremors leave
my body. Morgan holds me tightly in his arms, and when we’re about to enter our
room, silent tears run down my cheeks.

Zoë and I
enter our suite greeted by candles and red
roses throughout. This is supposed to be our wedding night. Now all I have on
my mind are images of that vehicle following us.

“It’s okay, baby. I won’t let
anyone hurt you,” I say, embracing her.

“I’ll be okay,” she whispers, but
the shivering that engulfs her body tells me otherwise. Holding her hand, I
lead the way upstairs through the candlelit space. We sit at the edge of the
bed.

“Look, I don’t want to fight or
argue about this. I don’t know what that was that happened a while ago, or who
was behind us, but I do know I’m not comfortable. I don’t feel safe. There will
be other trips here if you wish. However, at this moment staying here any
longer than necessary is not worth risking your safety. I’m making arrangements
for us to leave here as soon as possible.”

She looks into my eyes and nods. It’s
at that moment I realize the extent to which this frightened her.

I pull my phone from my pocket and
dial Lucas’s number.

“Doctor Drake? Is everything okay?”

“I need you to make arrangements to
get us out of here as soon as possible.”

“Was there a problem?”

“I can’t be one hundred percent
certain, but I think we might have been followed tonight.”

“Are you at the hotel right now?”

“Yes.”

“Where was Nicholas? He was
supposed to be with you at all times once you left the property.”

“I told him I wanted to be alone
with Zoë for the afternoon and gave him the rest of the day off.”

“He’s calling me now on the other
line. Can you please hold? This must be related to you.”

“Sure.” While I wait, I say to Zoë,
“I’m going to run us a hot bath and get you some tea. It will help you relax.”

She nods. I head to the bathroom
and start filling the tub with water.

Lucas returns, “Doctor Drake, I don’t
think it’s necessary for you to return. Nicholas still kept an eye on you as I
instructed. That vehicle behind you was a drunk driver. He ran off the road and
into a ditch.”

“That’s good to know, but it makes
no difference. Since we’ve been here, a man has accosted Zoë, and she thinks
she might have seen him earlier tonight. For my sanity and his safety, I think
it would be best if we returned home.”

“Then I’ll make the arrangements. Nicholas
will be in touch.”

“Fine.”

“There have been some developments
you should be aware of,” Lucas says hesitantly.

“What is it?”

“Doctor Roberts was found dead at
the hospital.”

“How?”

“I don’t know the details yet. I’ll
inform you when I do. Would you like me to get someone up there to pack your
bags?”

“Not right now, thanks. I’ll handle
it. I have to go.”

“Good night, Doctor Drake.”

I help Zoë out of her clothing, and
she steps with me into the tub. I know this whole thing traumatized her and
right now, I just want to get her through this and get her out of here as
safely and as quickly as I can. As the water pours down her thick, black, curly
locks, I massage her scalp. She turns to face me and wraps her arms around me.

“I know this is hard, but don’t
worry. We’ll leave as soon as it’s safe to get out of here, okay?”

She looks at me and nods. There are
tears in her eyes. Encircling her face in my hands, I graze her lips with mine.

“I won’t let anyone hurt you. I
promise.”

She holds me tightly, and a sobs
finally escape her lips. As the water runs over our bodies, I hold her close,
doing my best to console her. Slowly, the sobs fade. We embrace each other in
complete quiet.

After the day and the night we had,
we’re emotionally and mentally spent. We dry off and climb into bed. This is
not how I saw tonight playing out, but under the glow of the soft candlelight,
as Zoë lies in my arms, she slowly falls asleep.

Now that she sleeps, and after some
long, deep breathing, the anxiety discharges from my body.

Suddenly, Zoë jolts beside me. She
says nothing, but as I glance at her, I realize her eyes are wide open.

“You okay, baby?”

She nods and surprises me when she
inches up to my head and kisses my chest, my neck, my lips. I roll over, so she
is now positioned beneath me, and I savor her kisses as I glide my naked body
against hers.

“You’re sure you want this?”

“I need it,” she whispers. I gaze
into her eyes and realize that I do, too. It is so much more than wedding night
sex. In fact, it’s nothing like it. We almost lost our lives and each other
tonight.

By noon the
next day, we are home. When we get to the
house, Slater, the guard who was shot about a month ago, is there to greet us.
I am thankful when we enter the house to see that Peaches and Pixie have been
returned. Zoë curls up with them on the living room couch. Although she smiles
every time I pass by, I know she is far from okay.

I sit next to her and pull her in
my arms.

“Do you like the ring?” I ask.
“Because if you don’t, we can send it back tomorrow and exchange it. You can
pick a new one.”

“I love it, it’s perfect. I’m not changing
anything,” she responds.

“Me, either. When I looked at the
men’s rings, I picked the same one you got me. You know me well.”

“I would hope so. We’re married,”
she chuckles. “This is still surreal. I can’t believe we’re married.”

“We are, baby. You’ll never get rid
of me now.”

She giggles, poking me on my rib.

“I know you’re trying to distract
me. I’m okay. It’s just a lot to take in. I’m sorry we had to cut your
Christmas present short. So much for New Year’s at Lake Louise.”

“Don’t worry about that, baby. We’re
here, we’re healthy, we’re married and happy, and we’re safe. That’s all that
matters.”

“I suppose.”

She stands. I’m not sure what she’s
going to do, but she heads over to the piano and plays one song, then another
and another. I suppose this is therapy for her. For a few hours, the sounds of
her playing fill the house. Silently, I sit beside her, supporting her.

That night, Jada calls and invites
us to an impromptu party she and Jonathan are putting together for New Year’s
at their house. She says they will have security, and we can bring ours along,
so we agree to go. I think we can both use the distraction.