Page 91 of Bursting With Love
He climbed from the bed and located the ringing as he dug his cell phone from the pocket of the jeans he’d worn the night before. By the time he’d retrieved it, the call had gone to voicemail. He wandered through the apartment looking for Savannah and found a note from her on the counter.
Dear Jack,
You were sleeping so soundly that I didn’t want to wake you. Make yourself at home. I’m leaving you my extra key, so come and go as you please. I’m tied up most of the day in meetings, but call my cell and I’ll pick up if I can. Good luck with whatever you have planned today.
Love,
S
PS: Happy Friday. I can’t believe we met a week ago today! Xox
Jack picked up the key from the counter and rubbed it between his thumb and index finger. They’d moved so fast and so seamlessly into a relationship that it seemed like the most natural thing in the world to be holding a key to Savannah’s apartment while standing alone in her kitchen wearing nothing but his boxers. He hadn’t thought about how things might flesh out with their living arrangements. He’d never ask Savannah to leave the convenience of her apartment and move out to Bedford Corners, and now that Savannah was in his life, he wondered how often he’d make the drive there himself. Or if he’d ever want to again.
He looked at the missed call registered on his cell and recognized his parents’ number. Although he wasn’t awake enough to deal with his father, he didn’t want the call looming over him for the next twenty minutes, inducing anxiety while he drank coffee and showered. He punched in their number while the coffee brewed.
“Hello?”
His mother’s cheerful voice greeted him. “Hi, Mom. It’s Jack.”
“Oh, honey. Do you really think I wouldn’t recognize my own son’s voice? How are you? You sound tired.”
Jack poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down at the table. “I’m good. Actually, I slept better last night than I have in forever.” He and Savannah had gone to bed shortly after their talk the evening before, and true to his word, Jack had curled his body around her luscious curves, and instead of making love to her, as his body had craved, he’d held her until she fell asleep. The cadence of her peaceful breathing and the comfort and warmth of her body against his had eased him into a deep sleep.
“I called your house phone,” his mother said.
He knew she was fishing for information, and he also knew his father would have told her what Jack had said the evening before. “I’m not there, Mom.”
“You’re not?”
Her feigned surprise brought a smile to his lips. “Mom. Who told you, Dad or Rush?”
“Your father. I didn’t have a chance to talk to you last night, Jack, and I would like to.”
“I’m happy to talk, Mom. Things were a little uncomfortable last night. I have to do some clothes shopping. Why don’t you come along, maybe have some lunch afterward?” Jack hadn’t spent time with his mother in so long that he missed spending time with her and he hoped she’d agree to meet him. “It might be fun.”
“Your father is out for the day. He had an early meeting in New Haven, so why not? Where are you now?”
She would spend all day fishing for details rather than asking. Jack ran his finger over the edges of the key and decided to ease her mind. “I’m at my girlfriend’s apartment in the city.” Girlfriend. He’d played the word over in his mind only a few times since he’d been with Savannah, and even though it rolled off his tongue smooth and secure, it felt much too light for the emotions he had toward her.
“Oh, Jack. I’m happy for you. You’ll have to tell me all about her. Are you shopping in the city? Other than coming into the city for dinner at Siena’s, I haven’t been there in weeks. This will be an adventure.”
He pictured his mother rising to her feet from her favorite reading chair in the sunroom. The room they both loved most. It was filled with plants and flowers that she tended to daily. He could almost feel the cold tiles beneath his feet and the warm transition to the colorful throw rug that had been there since he was a boy.
“Yes, it will, Mom. Want to meet me at Savannah’s or at the store?” Jack glanced at the clock. He had plenty of time to shower and dress before the stores opened.
“Savannah? Is that your girlfriend’s name? That’s just beautiful. Is she Southern?”
He loved hearing the tenderness in his mother’s voice as she tamped down her excitement. If she were Siena, she’d have whooped into the phone at the thought of a girlfriend.
