Indelible Lovin' - Max & Jane's Story (Blog in progress)

Dec. 27, 2012 Getting to know you, getting to know all about you...

I jumped my new boyfriend the moment he came out of JFK Terminal 5.

“Whoa!”  Max hadn’t quite braced himself before I lunged at him.  We almost fell to the ground.  “You are quite the welcoming wagon.”

“Uh-huh…wait till you see what’s waiting for you back at the apartment,” I answered between sucking on his lips.

“What lascivious thoughts are going through that pretty head of yours?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“I…would…love…to…find…out…”  Each ellipsis represented the make-out intervals between the inside of Terminal 5 and curbside.

“Where’d the car and driver come from, and what are you doing here?  Of course, with that kind of welcome, I’m not complaining.”

“My brother lent us his car and driver, and I’m here because after your Christmas surprise, I realized I wasn’t nice enough to you.”

“And how will you be nice to me?”  He had that mischievous, bad-boy grin I loved.  Because Max was the quintessential boy-next-door, I found the whole Harley Davidson rebel image he was portraying, hawt! Next thing you know, he’ll come bearing a tattoo.  That image was seriously doing things to me.

“I have a super fun few days planned.  But tonight, there’s a dinner at my brother’s new place.”

“Who’s sleeping where?”

“Bold question, Mr. Davis.  You, Nick, and Doug are on the twin beds and pull-out sofas, and Laney and I are in the master bedroom.   Not what you had in mind?”

He had that grin again.  “Now that you and I are seriously pursuing this relationship, we need to further every aspect of this relationship.”

I leaned over and whispered, “There are ears other than ours in the car.  Why don’t you sweet talk me later?”

Max and I met Nick, Doug and Laney at Fish Restaurant, and after rounds of beer and oysters, we decided to get our hands dirty and have the all-you-can-eat Maryland blue crabs.

“This is so much work for so little payback.  I want to find a man who will deshell an entire crab for me and hand it to me on a silver platter,” Laney dreamed.

“Good luck.  You’ll be fortunate to find a man who can afford to buy you crabs, let alone feed you crabs.”  Her brother, the party pooper, burst her bubble.

“I want someone like Jake who will adore me and lay down his world for me.  You guys didn’t see him when he came to find Emily in Japan.  He believed his life was over because she wasn’t with him anymore.  It was so sad and romantic at the same time.”

“Jake’s a wuss.  He’d stay home and stare at his wife and kids all day if Emily would let him.  He’s such a goner.  None of his buddies see him anymore unless they come visit him at home.  I, for one, don’t want to be so enamored with a woman.  I’d like a life.”  Nick stated while shoving a mound of crab into his mouth

“Jake won’t care what you say about him, but don’t bring down Emily.  He won’t be happy,” I warned.

“Nothing wrong with Emily.  I love my new sister.  It’s Jake that’s the problem.”

“I don’t care what you say, Nick.  I want someone just like Jake!”

“Your family is wonderful,” Max mused as we walked the High Line after a filling lunch, while the rest of our lunch mates went home for a nap.  “You’re very fortunate to get along with all your cousins.”

This was finally my chance to ask Max about his family.

“Is your family not that close?  I thought most families got along.”

Max took a nervous pause and just kept walking for a while.

“You asked me once why I still had such strong feelings for Em.”

Jackpot!  I hit the motherload with this question.

“My feelings for Em are not what you’re thinking.”

“Ok…what am I thinking and how is it not…?”

“You believe that I never stopped loving Em – that I still want her in my fantasy world, since in reality, your brother would kick my ass if I came anywhere near his wife.”

We both gave in to a light chuckle.

“It’s nothing like that.  I still do love Em and will always love her, but it’s a familial kind of love.  My family is not the lovey-dovey, touchy-feely type of people.  I didn’t grow up with hugs and kisses and high praises for what I’d accomplished.  My parents were militant about our upbringing.  I think they reproduced only because it was the right thing to do.  Though, they were disappointed that they didn’t have the perfect family consisting of a mom, dad, son and daughter.”

I pulled Max down onto one of the reclining wood benches and we sat with our coffees in our hands.

“My parents never told me they loved me, and my brothers and I pretty much raised ourselves.”

“That’s rough to have parents who are only physically there.”

“So imagine my surprise when I met Em.  She, too, was starved for love – for a whole different reason than mine – but whatever the case, she was the first person I openly loved.  And boy, did she love me back in return.  Do you understand now what Em means to me?”

“No.  What you just said makes me even more insecure.  How could you ever stop loving Emily if she was the first person you really loved?”

“Jane!”  He was frustrated now.  He always pushed his fingers through the front of his head when he was frustrated.  “Emily was my first love, yes, but she was also family to me, and I to her.  That’s our bond – a familial one.  I consider her my one true family member.  Even though Em had a loving family in the past, and has a loving one now in the present, we love each other like…brother and sister.  Em does nothing for me as a woman.  At this moment, you, and only you, fill that position.”

He moved over to my bench and put his face really close to mine.  “You get it, now?”

“I get it.  I don’t know if I fully believe it, but I’ll work on believing what you just told me.  But for now, we need to pick up some tres leche donuts for Emily at Doughnut Plant and get over to their new home.”

“So, why the home in New York?  Are they planning on moving here?”

“Oh no.  The entire Reid family would die if the twins moved.  Since Emily likes this city so much, Jake thought it’d be nice for them to have a home here to visit, often.  With the two kids, it’s hard to go in and out of hotels.”

“Maybe I should’ve gone into heart surgery.  You’re brother isn’t hurting for money, is he?”

“You, who wants to go give free medical care to the poor in Africa, thinking about riches?”  I kidded with him.  “No, Jake and Emily aren’t hurting but they also don’t have much to spend their money on.  Their house was gifted to Jake by my grandfather, and outside of the new minivan Emily got, she never spends money.  She’s beautiful, and with that perfect frame, no matter what she wears – Stella McCartney couture or Stella McCartney H&M – she looks fantastic.”

“She is that.”

“She’s what?  Beautiful?”

“Yep, beautiful.”  Grinning, he knew I was jealous.  “As Em is beautiful, you, my green-eyed monster, are stunning!  Nobody can pull off this dark-hair sparkling blue-eye combo like you can.  And for now, and maybe even for a lifetime, I prefer stunning.”

Did he just say that???  Crap.  That was hot!