Page 52 of Someone to Call My Own
“Promise? I don’t want this to be a dream.”
“I promise, Em. I love you.”
“Love you too.”
His assurance spoken in a dark, velvety voice eased my mind, and I stopped fighting sleep.
The next time I opened my eyes, I did feel a little more alert. As promised, Jon’s face was the first thing I saw. Jon raised my hand that he still held to his mouth for another kiss. I looked around the room and noticed that at some point while I was sleeping off my anesthesia high they had moved me to my hospital room. The television was playing a college basketball game, but I was still too groggy to follow the action on the screen.
“Are you ready for your visitors?” Jon asked. I nodded slightly. “You can only see two at a time, so I’m going to step outside and let them say hello to you.”
“Okay, but don’t go far.” I would’ve rolled my eyes at the neediness I heard in my voice, but I saw how much Jon liked it.
“I’ll be right outside the door.”
Memphis was right. My friends were awesome, and I had an amazing life in Blissville. I sent up a silent thank you to River for sending me there and pushing me into Jon’s arms. That thought sparked a memory of something—a conversation I had with River while I was under sedation. As happy as I was to visit with my friends and accept their gentle hugs and warm wishes, I needed to tell Jon something very important.
“Hey, baby,” Jon said when he and Memphis entered the room after the final two visitors left. “How are you feeling?”
“Tired, but okay. I think these meds are strong enough to keep the worst of the pain at bay.” I waved him over. “I need to tell you something.”
“What is it, Em?”
My eyelids felt weighted down again, and I knew sleep was just around the corner. I wanted to tell Jon before I forgot. “River kept me company while I was in surgery and he…” I felt Jon’s hand stiffen in mine and I paused. I reopened my eyes and turned my head slowly to look at him. “He sent me to you, Jon. There’s no need for you to be afraid. I love you. He told me something important; a few things, actually. One of them is a message for you.”
I felt Jon relax before he asked, “What did River have to say, Em?”
“Well, it was strange because we were sitting on a bench in a lovely park that overlooked a river. I’m not sure where it was because I didn’t recognize it. He joked and said he chose it because of its name, River’s Edge. Anyway, it was a lovely place, and we had a nice chat.” Jon’s grip tightened on my hand, but it relaxed just as quickly. “River took my hands and said, ‘Atta boy, Emory. I knew you still had a lot of love to give some lucky guy. You just needed to come to terms with the fact that you were the love of my lifetime, but I wasn’t meant to be yours. I want you to smile and be happy when you look back on our life together, but I need you to always keep your focus on what’s in front of you and the future you’re building with Jon. He’s a good man, even if he doesn’t know it.’ Then he got a crooked smile on his face then said, ‘Tell Jon that Nate is okay and he’s happy that Jon found you. Nate said to start with Yankee Stadium.’ I tried asking him what he meant, but he said that Nate was waiting for him.” I smiled at Jon. “I got the idea that they’ve become quite friendly. That makes me really happy.”
Jon was quiet for so long that I worried I had upset him. He closed his eyes and tears slid silently down his face. “Me too.”
“What did Nate mean when he said we should start with Yankee Stadium?” I asked.
“Nate and I planned to visit every MLB stadium because we both loved baseball so much,” Jon said. “You probably think it sounds silly.”
“I think it sounds wonderful,” I said on a drowsy sigh.
“Sleep now, baby. We’ll talk about it later.”
The rest of my stay at the hospital followed a pretty consistent pattern. Sleep, wake up and rejoice that I didn’t conjure Jon up in a dream, eat a little, try to chat with my visitors, do my physical therapy exercises, then sleep again. I felt stronger each day and looked forward to going home. Dr. Rosenau’s enthusiasm about the success of my surgery made me hopeful that this would just be another speed bump in the road of life. I had some amazing plans to carry out with my guy.
Jon.True to his word, I don’t think I opened my eyes one time when he wasn’t right there by my side. That cot had to be miserable to sleep on, but he wouldn’t listen when I suggested that he go home and get some sleep at night in his comfortable bed.
“I’ll return to my comfortable bed once you’re able to sleep beside me,” he had replied. “Or, we can go straight to your house.”
Jon’s house was closer to the hospital where I would need to return for therapy, scans, and other tests over the next few weeks, so I chose to go there with him rather than have him drive me back and forth to Blissville. It didn’t surprise me when Jon invited Memphis to stay with us, but Memphis accepting the offer did take me by surprise.
Memphis simply shrugged and said, “I like your people. Maybe Blisstucky would be a great place for me to make a fresh start too.”
“I’d love to have you here with me,” I said excitedly. “You can stay with me until you can find a place to rent.”
Memphis smiled sheepishly and said, “I found a place already. Chaz told me that his aunt Sandra’s house on Maple Lane is available to rent at a low cost. He warned me that I would be surrounded by overbearing, meddling women who would only want what’s best for me. Sounds like a great place to live.
“I’ve done some research, and independent stores do well in that tiny little town. Somehow, someway they’re not gobbled up by the chain stores. There’s an open retail space, and I’m thinking about accepting someone’s very generous offer to help me start my own business.”
“Memphis, that is so exciting. I will love having you so close by.”
Later that night, I worried that my excitement over returning to Blissville would hurt Jon’s feelings. I loved the weeks we spent at his house in Hyde Park during my recovery, especially watching the sun rise through the amazing wall of windows while he slowly made love to me, but the house wasn’t his home.