Sweet Serendipity (10 page)

“Do you want to come and have a sleep over?” Rebecca asked.

“Maybe later in the week I will. I have to pick Ashlee up at eleven at the movies. I just wanted to vent. Thanks, sweetie, I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

They hung up the phone and Rebecca sat at her table staring blankly. Her thoughts were cut off when she heard the doorbell. The clock said it was near nine o’clock at night. She wondered who it could be and debated ignoring it until the doorbell rang again and the person started knocking. She walked to the door and opened it.

Standing there carrying a big bag of food was Ethan. Rebecca looked at him in shock.

“How’d you know where I live?”

“I have the internet, and you are listed in the phone book.” He waited for her to let him in. She held the door open and gestured for him to come in. She looked over at her property line and noticed her nosey neighbor watching them. She closed the door and locked it behind her. Ethan found his way into the kitchen and began pulling the still steaming food from the bag. He had veal scaloppini and chicken masala served over a bed of linguini. He pulled out a bottle of pinot grigio to go with the food.

“Why are you doing this, Ethan?”

He grabbed her by her hips and pulled her to him.

“Because I’ve been thinking about doing this all day.” He leaned in and kissed her with a fierce hunger that left her breathless. He released her and she had a hard time finding her footing. He smiled as he pulled out a chair for her to sit down.

She helped serve the dishes and she ate while watching him animatedly ramble on about his day of nonstop painting. She liked the way it felt to have someone sitting there. It was nice to replace Jack’s empty chair with someone who wanted to sit there.

They finished their meals and Ethan poured two more glasses of wine when he finally realized what she was wearing.

“It’s really early to be in your bathrobe, although, you look pretty sexy.”

She suddenly felt very self-conscious. She pulled her bathrobe closed. Ethan got out of his seat and walked over to her.

“You don’t have to hide from me. I already have every curve of your body etched in my mind.”

He lifted her hand and pulled her to her feet. He tilted her chin toward his lips and kissed her. Her lips tasted of wine. He pulled her closer and she could feel that he was already aroused. He lowered her robe and allowed it to fall to the floor. Her body began reacting to his desire. He placed her on top of the table and spread her legs. He leaned down and kissed her neck. She moaned, and he smiled. She wrapped her legs around him, pulling him closer to her.

He then lifted her up off of the table and carried her up to her room. He placed her feet on the floor and she began pulling his shirt over his head. She pushed him down on the bed and unbuttoned his jeans. He laughed at her aggressiveness. He pulled her on top of him and entered her. She cried out in pleasure as she began to move her hips. Ethan rolled her over until he was on top of her. He awakened a part of her she didn’t even know existed. He made her scream out as she reached her climax. Feeling her body quaking under him made him explode with pleasure.

He collapsed on top of her. Their bodies felt as one. He rolled onto his side and traced the outline of her body. She didn’t even care that she was completely exposed. She wanted him to see her. It made her feel sexy. He kissed her neck.

“You have no idea what you do to me.”

She leaned in and kissed him gently on his lips. She was spent. She curled up into him and he wrapped his strong arm around her. She slept soundlessly.

Rebecca woke up and looked at the sleeping Ethan. She couldn’t help but smile as she watched how peaceful he looked. She snuck out of bed and threw her nightgown back on. She hurried down to the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee. As she was waiting for the coffee to brew, she stared out her kitchen window. She noticed the summer sun seemed different somehow. It seemed brighter, warmer. Was that even possible? She asked herself.

A set of strong arms wrapped around her from behind. She looked up and smiled.

“Good morning,” he said to her.

“Good morning. I have coffee but not much else. I’m sorry. I guess with the kids gone, I’ve just been lax in my household duties.”

“I’m fine. Coffee is fine. I don’t need anything else.” He nuzzled her neck. “Except you.”

She turned around in his arms. “As tempting as that sounds, I have to be at the shop in an hour.”

“Hmm, I’m pretty sure that we still got you to work on time yesterday, didn’t we?”

“You are going to be the death of me. I’m already having a hard time standing.”

He cracked up laughing.

“I didn’t say anything about walking.” He pushed her over to the counter and sat her down on it.

“Here?” she asked him

“Anywhere and everywhere.” He slid his hand up her nightgown and stroked her until he knew she was aroused. She wrapped her legs around him and he pushed into her. She grabbed at his back as she threw her head back in pleasure. She never had someone want her the way that Ethan did. He made her feel so alive.

When they were through she slid off the counter and pushed him out of the way.

“You need to keep your distance. I won’t get anything done if you keep doing that.”

He laughed as he sipped his coffee.

“That’s the general idea,” he teased.

She grew quiet, and she emptied her cup into the sink. He looked at her.

“What just happened?” he asked her with growing concern.

“Nothing, Ethan, I just I don’t know what this is that we are doing here, but I don’t expect you to stop living your life for me.”

“Becca, I don’t know what just happened, but I am living. You make me feel more alive than I have ever felt. If you are telling me to forget you, and this, it’s not going to happen.”

“I need to get going, Ethan. Emily is expecting me to open the shop. I really have to go.”

She turned and walked upstairs. She stripped off her nightgown and jumped in the shower. She dressed in a floral skirt and coral-colored t-shirt. When she walked back into the kitchen she expected Ethan to be there, but he was nowhere to be seen. She looked out in the driveway, and his car was gone. He had left.

Feeling a little let down, she grabbed her pocketbook and headed to her car. She drove to the harbor and parked her car in her usual spot. She walked to the store and found herself looking down the street at Ethan’s door, but she saw no signs of anyone there. Disappointed, she opened the shop and walked in. She flipped on the lights and turned on the cash register. Emily arrived within the hour. She was all smiles.

“What?” Rebecca asked.

“Nothing, it’s just that I saw Ethan’s car at your house this morning.”

“Please don’t, Emily.”

“Don’t? Come on, this is huge. He stayed the night at your house.”

“Yeah and then I scared him off this morning. He left without saying anything.”

“What did you do?”

“Well, we had just finished…you know, and then I kind of wigged out. I basically told him that he shouldn’t wait around for me, that he should go out and live his life. Then I told him I had to get ready for work. By the time I got showered, he was gone.”

“Becca, honey, you have to get over your fear of intimacy. It’s no wonder. He has some pretty deep feelings developing for you, and you basically slammed the door in his face. You bruised his ego. I’m sure he’ll be fine.”

“I think maybe it’s for the best. The kids come back this weekend. I can’t exactly carry on like this once they are here. It’s not right. I’m a mom.”

“Ugh, Becca, sometimes I want to shake you. You are also a woman. You can’t forget that.”

The day passed by. The store stayed busy with all the tourists. By the early afternoon, Rebecca noticed Ethan walking down the street on the opposite side. Her heart sank; she knew he was avoiding the store so that he wouldn’t have to see her. She tried to keep herself busy and not to think about him. By closing, all she could think about was Ethan.

Emily laughed, and told her, “Go to him. Don’t wait for him. You hurt him, so you fix it.”

They were about to leave the store when Tasha called Rebecca’s phone. Rebecca couldn’t make out anything that she was saying, she was crying to hard.

“Rebecca, please come over, I need you.”

“We’re on our way, sweetie.” Rebecca hung up the phone and told Emily that something was wrong with Tasha.

They took Emily’s car and hurried over. The door was unlocked and they rushed inside. Tasha was on the kitchen floor, crying hysterically. Rebecca and Emily fell to the floor on both sides of her and wrapped their arms around her.

“What is it, Tasha? What happened?” Rebecca asked.

Tasha couldn’t stifle her cry. She cried harder because her friends were now there. Emily wiped Tasha’s eyes with a tissue and pulled her hair out of her face.

When Tasha calmed down enough, she looked at her two best friends. “I have cervical cancer.”

She waited for her friends to react before she continued.

“My pap smear came back irregular. They took another swab and rushed the test. It came back positive for abnormal cells. I went for an ultrasound and I have tumors that are now riddled throughout my entire cervix and uterus. It’s not good.”

They all sat in silence, speechless, not knowing how to respond to such a bomb shell. Rebecca swallowed the lump in her throat.

“What happens next? I mean, surgery or chemo therapy?”

Tasha wiped her eye and looked into Becca’s sad brown eyes.

“Surgery, I have to check into Brigham and Woman’s at ten in the morning. They are going to give me a hysterectomy. Then I will have to go through two rounds of chemo. I can’t even wrap my mind around it. I won’t be able to have another baby, ever.”

Emily looked at her startled. “I didn’t know you wanted one.”

“Please, I get around your little bundles and I realize that in the back of my mind, I always hoped I’d meet Mr. Right and have another baby. That dream is over; I’ll only be half a woman. That is, if I survive all of this. There is a high probability that the cancer has already spread beyond the cervix and uterus. If that’s the case, it’s a death sentence.”

“Don’t talk like that, ever. You are the strongest woman that I know. You will do whatever you have to do to get healthy and we will be here for you throughout all of it. We’re not going anywhere.”

“I’m going to call James and tell him that I’m staying here. He has his mother, so the kids will be fine. We have an appointment in Boston tomorrow, so I can’t go with you, but I’ll meet up with you afterward.”

“Emily, I love you and appreciate all that you are offering, but you have your own family to worry about. It’s a big day for Andrew. I don’t expect you to be with me.”

“I’ve got you covered. After you get out of the hospital, you are going to stay with me. You can’t stay alone. Ashlee can bunk with Riley, they will love it, and you can recover in my guest room,” Rebecca told her.

“I don’t want to impose on you. You don’t need two extra people to worry about. Besides, you now have Ethan, how does he fit into this?”

“Tasha you have been my friend for over twenty years, there is nothing that could keep me away. We have been through hell and back together, and somewhere along the way, we scooped up Emily for the ride, but the three of us stick together through everything, this is no different.”

Tasha hugged her two best friends and cried. They stayed huddled in the kitchen until all the crying stopped. It took hours, but they finally stood up.

They spent the night curled up in Tasha’s king-sized bed, comforting her. No one knew what tomorrow would bring, but for tonight they were just three friends being there for one another.

Emily hugged her friends goodbye as she walked to her car.

“I’ll call Rebecca’s phone when I am through with Andrew’s appointment, and then I’ll have James drop me off at Brigham and Woman’s. I love you both, and Tasha, I will be praying for you every second.” She blew them a kiss goodbye and drove off down the street.

“Do we need to pack you a bag? Where is Ashlee? Don’t you think she should be here just in case?” Rebecca kept asking.