Page 24

KAREN

Karen had awoken early this morning just as she heard the front door close and the slight whine of the elevator in the distance. Checking her phone, she saw the text messages from Jett.

Going to the Arena – be back in a few!

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oh - and for good measure?

?? Muah!

And laughed at the kissy faces he’d texted with it.

Rolling over in the bed, she sighed loudly – and then let out a giggle.

That was the stupidest, most insipid, love-struck sigh she had ever uttered in her life, and it was because of him.

Those kisses, those looks, those words – and she sighed again in sheer exuberant joy that was bursting at the seams with love.

“I love him,” she breathed, sitting up and continuing to speak aloud to the silence as if the room was listening.

“I love my husband – and I think he cares for me. Incredible… no, it’s a miracle.

I’ve been given a miracle, and he’s six foot two, snarky, incredibly smart, and blows my mind every time he looks at me. ”

Climbing out of bed, she dawdled for a bit before drawing a bath. If he was going to be a little while at the arena, she was going to enjoy this day to the fullest.

She put a capful of bubble bath beneath the water, pinned her hair up, and sank down in the glorious garden bathtub happily, turning on the jacuzzi function for a few minutes to really get the bubbles frothy.

“I feel like a Disney princess right now,” she whispered – and began humming some of her favorite songs. She wasn’t sure how long she was in the bath, but just as she realized her fingers were wrinkling up… she heard something nearby. “Hello?”

Silence.

“Huh, must be nothing,” she muttered – and went back to humming, unready to get out of the tub just yet… and paused again, looking at the bathroom door that was firmly shut and locked. Her eyes widened as she saw something on the floor, under the door.

“What the…”

And saw it pushed through, under the door, a moment later. There, on the bathroom floor, was a pink rose petal.

“Jett?” Karen called out nervously. “Are you here? Are you playing a joke on me?”

Silence.

“Hello?”

And another rose petal was pushed under the door, lying there beside the first one. She saw a tanned finger briefly as another rose petal was pushed under the door again. Now, there were three rose petals on the floor – and one creative husband on the other side, playing with her.

“I know you are out there,” she called out, her voice wary yet amused. “What are you up to?”

Silence.

And another rose petal along with the finger pausing long enough to manage a slight wave before disappearing back under the door – and she held back a laugh.

Smiling widely, marveling at this side of him, she sunk down into the tub, pulling the bubbles over her, almost nervously as she waited, holding her breath for another petal… or for the door to crack open despite the lock.

And another petal appeared.

She chuckled – and heard his own soft laugh from the opposite side of the door.

Just as she was about to say something or call out to him, she heard a crinkling sound.

Her eyes zeroed in on the base of the doorway where that slight gap had become the stage for whatever her husband was doing and saw a piece of pink fabric appear – and then disappear – before it was pushed back underneath… using a butterknife.

There was another rose petal lying on the pink scrap of fabric, with a gap underneath. Was there something hiding under the petal?

“Jett? I know you are out there. What are you doing?”

Silence.

“Jett? I’m trying to take a bath, and you…” her voice trailed off as she realized that he must be aware of what she was doing – and her voice sounded like she was scolding him.

If he knew she was in the bath and sliding rose petals under the door, he was being romantic… and playful. Peering at the doorway once more, she saw the light under the door suddenly dim.

“Jett?”

The bedroom door closed in the distance.

He was gone.

Looking at the petals on the floor once more, Karen slowly rose, got out of the tub, dried off, opened the valve to let the tub drain.

Silently, she donned her robe that was hanging on the back of the door, all the while, listening for any sounds of him in the condo.

She picked up the petals, putting them on the counter, and lifted the last one – the one lying on the pink material – and caught her breath.

There was a smiley sticker underneath that looked so out of place – and so classically him. She couldn’t help the laugh that emerged as she knelt there, picking it up… and hesitated.

Turning over the sticker, she gasped – her mind blown once more by her husband. Jett had stuck the sticker to a small golden circle that gleamed and glistened with diamonds.

He got her a ring.

A ring.

She turned it over, stunned at the simplicity and the beauty as the light caught all of the glittering facets, sparkling like nothing she’d ever seen before up close.

The view blurred as her eyes burned, on the verge of tears as she slid it onto her finger, where it gleamed beautifully.

She tugged on the satin material, wondering if this was another gift, slowly pulling it forward, inch by inch, like a child tugging on a string… waiting.

The satin slid across the floor, her breath catching, as she waited to see what this was. It was obviously an article of clothing, she just didn’t know if it was a teddy, a negligee, or a slip – and then suddenly, it popped free from under the door, completely on her side, and she paused.

Weird .

There was no lace, no strappy bands, no elastic or… her mind worked as she held it up and then burst out laughing. It was a gaudy, satiny, cheap T-shirt meant to be slept in – and there on the front was her husband’s ‘touch.’ In big bold white letters, right across the front, it said ‘MINE.’

She heard his muffled laugh in the distance, looked up at the door, and realized it was close enough to have known she found the ring, the shirt, and caught on to the joke, yet he was giving her space.

Opening the bedroom door, she saw that the fan light above was off, the blinds were closed, and a variety of candles had been placed around the room, setting an obviously romantic mood – but the best sight of all… was the one before her.

Jett was sitting cross-legged on the bed, wearing the same pink cheap satiny shirt that said ‘HERS’ across the front. He was wearing shorts, had a tray in front of him with two cups of coffee, and a rose clasped between his teeth.

Wait…

“What happened to your face?” Karen yelped in sheer panic, moving in a rush toward the bed. “Oh my gosh, Jett, honey, what happened? Were you mugged? ”

“Felt like it,” he retorted and brushed away her hands as he reached for him. “Hang on! Hot coffee?! You’re supposed to sit up here, and we’re having our coffee date – sheesh – why are you trying to mother me?”

“Oh my gosh, stop it and lemme see your lip!” she yelled back at him as his voice escalated, pushing her hands away, snapping back and forth at each other.

“I’d have gotten you a nurse’s outfit at the porn shop if I knew you were gonna…”

“You did not…” she seized, gasping in horror at his words.

“No, but I shoulda!” he barked back.

“You did not go there – did you?” she hissed, her eyes narrowing as she tried to look at his lip.

“The roses were a nice touch, weren’t they?” he countered, dodging her fingers.

“Let me see your face and quit wriggling around!” she ordered.

“Did you like your ring?” he began again, weaving once more, obviously trying to distract her and pushing her hands away just as she got close.

“Oh-em-gee! Why are you still slapping my hands away from your face!”

“Of course, I went to the smut shop; they don’t sell shirts with ‘Boobs’ or ‘Mine’ on the chesty part of your top at Bloomingdales, ya’ know? You just gotta ‘slum-it-up’ to get your point across sometimes.”

“Jett!” Karen screeched, locking up as he pushed her hands away once more, nearly spilling the tray holding the two cups of coffee in the bed – and had neatly dodged her attempts to look at his face again.

“What!” he popped back in the same tone – and then winked at her. “I’m fine.”

“Well, I’m not.”

“Did you miss me?” he said tenderly, giving her a slight smile. “I missed you this morning, so I thought to bring the coffee date home because I couldn’t wait – and I might have made a few pit stops along the way.”

“Yes, I missed you,” she said, melting at his words. “Are you really okay? What happened to your face? Did you really get mugged?”

“Hockey and friendship are rough sports sometimes,” he chuckled and winked at her. “Being in love isn’t, though – or at least it shouldn’t be,” he added, frowning. “You’re out of uniform.”

“Excuse me?” she replied, completely flabbergasted and struggling to keep up with his ping-pong personality that left her reeling sometimes.

“While the robe is hot, it’s not the correct thing.

Go put on your shirt, Nutella. My coffee is cooling down,” he said in mock protest, but that smile was there, shining from his eyes as his lips twitched.

“Vamoose! Andalé ! Skedaddle! I wanna see that shirt on you. Coffee is supposed to be hot – unless it’s iced coffee, and I am lacking a few cubes to consider it anything remotely ‘icy’ by any standard in this universe…

and I’m still waiting,” he drew out stubbornly, giving her a mocking frown.

Laughing, Karen grabbed a pair of pajama pants, a sports bra, and her T-shirt, retreating to the bathroom once again and looking at him.

“Go.”

“Are we not going to talk about…”

“Uniform?” he cut in, raising that infernal eyebrow at her – and she did the same, shutting the door and closing her off so she could change.