Just One Sip (5 page)

I sat side-by-side with Jet in the waiting area of the administration office. The chairs were brown and stiff, and pressed together. My head rested on Jet’s shoulder while his left arm was slung over my shoulders. Our feet swung back and forth, a few inches from the ground.

I sighed and glanced at the clock. “Think Principal Martin will give us detention?”

“Probably,” Jet answered quietly, his eyes glued to the numbers on the clicking timepiece. “It’s past fifteen minutes. We were supposed to be called in already.”

I shrugged and watched how my blue tennis shoes seemed to blur against the darker blue carpeting with each fast swing. “They called our parents. That’s probably what’s taking so long.”

Jet leaned his cheek against the top of my forehead. He whispered, “Thank you for doing that.”

I giggled softly, remembering Mr. Rupert’s expression. “You’re my best friend, Jet Mak.” I punched his side lightly. “I’ll do anything for you.”

Mrs. Mak and my mom rushed inside the office door. Both appeared frazzled.

Though, they stopped in their tracks when they saw us.

We didn’t move. We stayed huddled against one another.

Our moms stared for long moments, running their wide eyes over us, and then both started patting their windblown hair. All business. The expressions they shot the receptionist would have made me hide. I wasn’t sure who started harping first, Mrs. Mak or my mom. I watched as the receptionists—literally—ran to the Principal’s office.

I mentioned quietly, “Maybe we won’t get detention?”

Jet snorted. “Maybe not.”

Present Day

The dinner table was set. Chicken parmesan sat in the middle of the table—Jet’s favorite dish. A bottle of red wine was left to breathe on the counter where the wine glasses sat. I had two red candles burning and the lights turned down two notches to set the mood for a personal affair. The china wasn’t expensive, but it was clean. As was my small apartment, the boxes all unpacked thanks to my mom helping me.

I wanted tonight to be perfect. Jet was the man I wished to spend the rest of my life with. It was best to start our adult life out on the right foot, date wise.

Intense and quiet. A hint of the odd. With a spark of heat.

All backed by passion and loyalty.

Just like us.

I squinted at the clock. Two minutes until eight o’clock.

I hurried to turn on the music. Jazz played on my favorite station in Karim.

Check
. That was perfect.

I smiled, nodded my head, and then ran my hands down the pure white, two-piece tunic dress I was wearing. No shoes. My pink toenails gleamed in the subdued light from under the hem of my floor length skirt that lightly ruffled against the beige carpet.

I was ready for him. I peered at the clock again. Eight o’clock.

Knock. Knock
.

Right on time. As always.

Trying not to grin like a silly school girl, I walked quickly to the front door.

It wasn’t Jet.

The Mak family’s’ long-standing driver, Mr. Hurshle, waited outside. With an apologetic nod, he handed me a small red envelope. With my grin long gone, I opened the crisp envelope. As my eyes scanned the contents of Jet’s scribbling, I instantly leaned against the doorframe. Swallowing heavily from a dry throat, I peered up to Mr. Hurshle. “Is she at Karim Hospital?”

“She is, Ms. Plume.” His lips pinched. “From what I’ve heard, she took quite a fall.”

“Will you take me there?”

“Of course, Ms. Plume.”

It was the reason why Jet had sent his driver. “Thank you. Give me just a moment. I need to blow out candles and grab my purse.” A perfect night this wasn’t going to be. I glanced down at my bare feet. “And probably shoes, too.”

“Mr. Mak would be mighty upset if I let you leave without them.”

Stepping inside the sterile hospital room, my attention instantly honed on Mrs. Mak. In all my years of seeing her, it had never truly occurred to me just how much older she was than my mom. Mrs. Mak had to be in her mid-seventies. It was odd that I had never taken the time to ask her age.

To me, she was always just…Mrs. Mak. Jet’s mom. The woman who always opened her door wide and had a grand smile on her face when I was a child. But tonight, she lay sleeping in a hospital bed. Her skin, always so shiny and porcelain, was now pale, like someone had taken a scrub brush and rubbed away her natural glow. Her previously up-kept died black hair was currently matted down from sweat and whiter than a first snow. The sweet wrinkles on her face were so pronounced it was hard not to stare. Though, my right hand lifted to my mouth in horror as I saw the left side of her face. It was black with varying tones of violet.

Instantly, I walked to Jet. He sat on the loveseat watching me enter.

My whisper was strained. “Is she going to be all right?”

He grabbed my hands and pulled me down onto his lap. He held me snug against his heated body while we both gazed at his mother. His words were gruff but soft. “The doctors say she’ll be okay.”

Her face…it was dreadful. “What
happened
?”

“Her nurse said she found her lying in the shower. She must have slipped.”

My nostrils flared, and I glanced quickly into his ice blues. “Do you believe this nurse?”

“I do,” Jet stated and rubbed my back gently. “I personally pay her paycheck.”

Comforted by that, I situated my legs more easily over his. Resting my head back against his shoulder, I murmured, “I’m so sorry, Jet.”

“She’ll be fine.” He paused and tapped his fingers on my left thigh. “But she’ll be cranky as hell when she wakes up.”

“If I were her, I would be spitting fire.” My gaze swept over the horrendous shade of her precious face. “She’s got a bigger shiner than you did when you fought Rick.”

Abruptly, Jet’s chest vibrated against my back. He gently nuzzled his cheek against mine. “That prick only got one punch in. Just one. He deserved the beat down I gave him after that.”

I couldn’t believe he still thought he was right. “He stole a book from me, Jet.”

“Exactly.”

Steadily, I intertwined our fingers together, my brows furrowing deeply. “I’ll stay here with you tonight.”

His soft lips brushed against my left temple. “I know.”

December 31, 2009 – Age 19

Grandma grinned as she handed me the phone. “It’s your friend. That Jet boy.”

I rolled my eyes. “He’s more than just that.”

Her hazel eyes damn near twinkled as she strolled to her weathered sitting chair. “You say this like I don’t already know it, Lucy-Bear.” She waved a hand at the darkened window and winked. “Tell that boy he’s not
jetting
you anywhere anytime soon. You’ve got more school to finish up.” She paused and peered out the window. Absurdly, she snickered. “Though, it does appear to be a blue moon tonight.” She waggled a finger at me as she sat down. “Anything can happen on a blue moon.”

I had no idea what a ‘blue moon’ was, but I nodded anyway. “Gotcha.” Then I politely gave her my back. I smiled as I only did when Jet called. Keeping my voice down, I murmured, “Hey. I miss you. I miss you. I miss you. I miss you.”

Jet rapidly retorted, “Dad put Mom in hospital care. At Lakeside Center.”

My smile instantly fell. I thought about his words for a full minute before I replied, “You don’t agree with his decision?” His mom had been getting worse…and worse. Her Alzheimer’s was debilitating.

“That’s the thing. I don’t know if I do or if I don’t.” He groaned severely. And added a few curse words in a growl. “She’s my mom, Lucy. It feels like she should be at home with us. It’s not like we don’t have the room or enough staff…but, at the same time, it’s
hard
.”

My lips thinned. “How often does she remember, Jet?”

He didn’t answer. Only dead silence met my question.

“Jet, how often does she remember you? Or your dad?”

His tenor was whisper-quiet. “It’s barely a blink now.”

Even though my chin began to quiver, I kept my manner steady for his sake. “It sounds like your dad’s making the right decision.” I shook my head and ran my fingers through my hair. “Especially after the last episode, where she wandered away in the middle of the night. If she’s with professionals one hundred percent of the time, they’ll know how to take care of her. Right? And it won’t tear you or your dad apart seeing her like that every day.” I spoke so softly. “Your mom wouldn’t want you guys to suffer because of this. Because of her ailment.”

He hesitated, and then sighed quietly. “I know. She said as much before.”

I knew that. “Jet…I’m sure your dad knows what he’s doing.”

He grunted, his deep voice taking on more force. “Bad shit happens in hospital care.”

I snorted. Give me a break. “You’re a Mak. Make sure it doesn’t.”

There was a silent pause. Eventually, he chuckled. “Your ironies are one of the reasons why I adore you.”

I amended my previous statement. “Wait! Real accidents do happen. They happen to all of us. But bad shit shouldn’t.” I nibbled on my bottom lip. “Understand?”

“Perfectly. Accidents, okay. Bad shit…not so much.” He paused. “Boom.”

I groaned. “You’re gonna drive me crazy.”

“I hope so.” He cleared his throat—pointedly. “As soon as you get your ass home.”

“It’s only a few more years.”

“I’m waiting. Impatiently.”

I did smile then. “I love you, too.” I snorted softly. “Happy New Year’s Eve.”

“I’m saving every New Year’s kiss for you.”

May 19, 2009 – Age 18

Jet’s lips were silky soft as they brushed up the back of my bare right leg.

I giggled, turning my head on his pillow. “That tickles!”

“Hmm?” He hummed quietly, pausing behind my knee where it was so tender. “Right here?”

I laughed outright, squirming to lie on my back, firmly underneath him. “You know
right there
.”

With the morning sunlight shining in through his windows, his purple hair hung down around his cheeks. Rumpled and adorable. The light kissed his dimples as he grinned. “I suppose I do.” His long, strong fingers lifted the sapphire ring on my necklace. Methodically, he watched as he brushed the jewel back and forth over my jawline. “I don’t want you to leave.”