Chapter 13
“Oh thanks Mom,” Jody said as she hugged her mother. “It’s beautiful.” Her parents had given her a beautiful elephant figurine for the holidays along with a few DVD’s. Jody was just as happy when her parents had equally as great reactions to Jody’s present of a gift certificate to a nice restaurant. It was a nice day all around and it was a little after three when Jody and her parents arrived at her aunt’s house. Her grandmother was already there and everybody met with a happy reunion. Before too long, it was nearing eight and Jody’s grandmother started to get tired.
“G’night Gramma,” Jody said as she hugged her grandmother goodnight. Jody’s aunt was going to drive her home since it wasn’t a long drive.
“Have a safe trip back to school Jody,” Gramma wished. “And don’t forget about that Derek Jeter. He’s a handsome young man.”
“He’s not so young anymore, Gramma. He’s over 30!” Jody teased.
“Oh you!” Gramma teased back as she left.
“Jode, you’re phone’s ringing,” her aunt said as she also left.
Jody went into the room where her purse was and saw that the caller ID said that it was Taylor.
“Hey you,” Jody said as she curled up in the corner with her phone. “Merry Christmas.”
“Yeah, Merry Christmas,” Taylor said miserably.
“Uh oh... That didn’t sound very happy.”
“That’s because it wasn’t.”
Jody immediately shifted gears. “You OK?”
Taylor shrugged on the other line. “Not really.” Jody was silent and it urged him to go on. “Natalie and I fought...all day.”
“Oh babe...”
“And it sucked.”
“I can imagine.”
“No you can’t,” Taylor said bitterly. “You didn’t come up short as a person.”
Jody sighed. “Taylor, you are a wonderful person. You’ve got a big heart, a loving family, and you’re a great father. If that’s coming up short, then I don’t want to know how high your standards are.”
“It almost ruined Christmas,” Taylor commiserated. He was sitting on the couch wishing desperately that Jody was there with him.
“It did not ruin Christmas. It probably didn’t come close.”
“Zac and Kate came in while Natalie and I were fighting.”
“So?”
“So I didn’t hear the doorbell and they had to use their spare key to get in.”
“Because you two were arguing?”
“Uh huh.”
Jody took a pause. “How’d Ezra take it?”
“Zac told him we were arguing over what to make for dinner.”
“That was nice of him,” Jody tried to soothe. “He sounds like a really nice guy.”
“But he shouldn’t have had to cover for me like that.”
Jody nodded. “Granted.” A silence settled on the line. “You gonna be alright?”
“Do I have a choice?”
“Not really.” She took a breath. “How was the rest of your day?”
“Issac never showed.”
“Did anything positive happen today?”
Taylor sulked on the other line. “No. I mean, I’m talking to you and you’re the best part of today.”
“I’m gonna take that as a compliment.”
Taylor sighed. “So how was your Christmas?”
“It was pretty great. Spent the day with the family and now I’m at my aunt’s house.”
“Oh,” Taylor said slightly embarrassed. “I didn’t mean to take you away from your family.”
“No no, it’s fine. I’m glad you called.”
“Go back to them, Jody. I didn’t mean to disturb you.”
“We were winding down anyway. Besides, you need me more than they do.”
“No, Jode, go spend time with them. You never see them.”
“I just don’t want you to be unhappy.”
“I’ll be fine. It’s time to hang up.”
“You sure?”
“Positive.”
Jody sighed. “Fine, but you call me if you need me.” She heard him smile. “I mean it.”
“I know you do. You’re the best, Jode.”
She smiled. “You’re not so bad yourself. I gotta run so nobody gets suspicious that I’ve been gone so long.”
“Yeah, it’d be terrible if we were found out,” he said with a bit of humor. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow, right?”
“And you’ll see me two days after that. I’ll see you in no time.”
“Alright. Come back to me in one piece.”
“I’ll try my best. G’night Taylor.”
“Night Jode. And Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas to you too.”
Both parties hung up. Jody looked at the phone in her hand and smiled. She really liked Taylor.
“Jody, you in here?” her mother questioned.
“Yeah, Mom, I’m here.”
“Good, ‘cause we’re gonna go home in a little bit. Your father’s getting tired.”
“OK, yeah. I’ll be right there.” Jody moved to get up.
“You know, that’s a good look for you.”
“What is?” Jody asked, completely confused.
“That look on your face. Whoever was on the phone must have been someone special.”
Jody shrugged. “It was just a friend, Mom.”
“What’s his name?”
“Nice try,” Jody said as she got up and left the room.
Taylor checked his watch nervously. Where was she? She said she was going to be on the 4:15 bus and it was already, he checked his watch again, 4:22. He was waiting at Port Authority by where her bus was to pull in. He alternated between tapping his foot and rocking back and forth on his feet. As per usual, his hands were shoved deep in his pockets. His face was slightly flushed from the commotion of the big bus terminal and his hair hung hap-hazardly in his face.
His thoughts were broken by a bus pulling into its allotted space. Taylor scanned the weary passengers to see if the one person he was waiting for was on board.
No Jody. No dice.
Dammit, where was she?
He hated being out in a big place like this- it was like asking to get recognized. The sooner he could get out of here the better.
The sound of yet another set of screeching breaks caught his attention. He walked down a few lines to see if his hunches were indeed correct.
He scanned the occupants of the bus but to no avail. He couldn’t spot her anywhere. Downtrodden, he started to walk away when he saw something out of the corner of his eye. It was just a small flicker of a tan jacket, but it was enough to turn Taylor completely around.
The tan jacket navigated the Port Authority traffic as Taylor did the same. The two reunited and their bodies collided into each other with the greatest of ease. They held each other as if they were lovers. It took both of them by surprise, but the chemistry between them was too hard to resist. Taylor pulled away from Jody enough to kiss her with such warmth and such hunger that it absolutely took her breath away. She barely knew what hit her.
“Welcome home,” he whispered in her ear as he pulled her close again.
“Thanks,” Jody said. “You OK?”
“Much better.” She stared at him in wonderment. What exactly had he meant? “You ready to go?”
“Yeah, I’m all set.” She adjusted the strap of her Yankee bag that was flung over her shoulder.
“How was the family party?” he asked as he took her hand and they went down the escalator.
“Lots of fun. Sleigh riding, presents, the whole nine.”
“You were serious about the sleigh riding bit?” Taylor questioned.
“Of course! We always go sleigh riding.”
“And you’re not broken?”
“I was a little sprained, but it wasn’t too bad.”
“Sprained? What happened?”
Jody laughed softly to herself. “Let’s just say that me, a sled, a big hill, a patch of ice, and a dog aren’t exactly a good combination.”
Taylor laughed out loud. “A dog? How’d a dog get involved?”
“It’s cousin Chrissy’s dog and it always plays in the snow with us.”
“And it got involved in this how?”
“Can we call it a big game of human fetch?”
This caused Taylor to laugh even harder. “I wish I had been there to see it.”
“You would have had a blast.”
“Sounds like it.” A silence settled on them as they continued to walk. Taylor could see that Jody was thinking about her weekend and he was content watching her do so. “You don’t have to go back right away, do you? I mean, to Long Island?”
Jody paused a moment. “Nope. I took tomorrow off to recoup from the trip.”
“You wanna take a detour back to my place? We can do dinner if you’d like.”
“You know, that sounds good.”
He squeezed her hand.
Before too long they had arrived back at Taylor’s apartment. He opened the door for her and she set her bag down. He took her jacket and hung it up along with his. She had already found her place on the couch and was awaiting Taylor’s return. She rubbed her hands together to try to generate some heat. True to form, she was frozen.
“You cold?” Taylor said slightly puzzled “It’s warm in here.”
“My Reynaud’s is acting up again.”
“Reynaud’s?”
Jody nodded. “I’ve got a joint problem. My circulatory system isn’t all that great and my hands and feet get cold very quickly. When they get cold, they stay cold.”
Taylor took a seat next to her. “Does it hurt?”
“Sometimes. It’s just a dull, aching kind of hurt.” Jody looked down. “I don’t really like to talk about it.”
“You need any ibuprofin or anything? I’ve got just about anything.”
Jody smiled at his thoughtfulness. “I’ll be OK. My body has a mind of it’s own sometimes.”
He took her hands in his and rubbed them. “Is that a little better?”
“Just a lot,” she replied.
“You sure?”
“Positive.”
“I’m glad you’re back,” he said as he stopped rubbing her hands and looked at Jody.
“I wasn’t even gone 4 days,” Jody tried to reason playfully. She really liked spending time with Taylor alone. Ezra was great and everything, but he left so little time for Taylor and Jody to be together.
A cold chill crept up Jody’s spine and she shivered.
“Still cold?”
“A fraction.”
“Come here,” Taylor said as he opened his arms for Jody to come and snuggle into. Jody smiled and went to move. She grabbed the blanket that was over the arm of the couch and brought it over with her. The two of them spread the blanket over themselves and cuddled. Jody’s head was rested on his chest and her arm was wrapped around him. He was like the missing piece to Jody’s puzzle.
Taylor was very content with the seating arrangement on the couch. Having Jody all to himself was even better than he imagined. He gently kissed the top of her head as she cuddled closer.
After a few moments, Jody spoke.
“What are you thinking?” she questioned tenderly.
“How pretty you are,” he responded after a beat.
She looked up at him and smirked. “Good answer.”
He smiled back down at her. “I meant it.”
“Of course you did,” she teased.
“Really, Jode.”
She took the opportunity to reach up and kiss him gently. The way he kissed her, she could have stayed there all day. He made her feel so good about herself. When she was with him, she felt like she could fly.
Taylor felt the same way about Jody. He felt like he was needed, and that was exactly what he tried to reciprocate.
Taylor kissed her again, this time brushing his fingertips across her jaw line and slowly down her neck, causing Jody to shiver.
Taylor and Jody broke the kiss, both smiling. “You still cold?” he asked.
She looked at him with a sly look in her eyes. “I think I’m warming up a bit.”
Chapter 14
Index
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