The Big "O": A Romantic Comedy (26 page)

After herbal tea, they retired to the former bedroom. Juliette lay on the floor as Isis fitted Emily into her new outfit. Emily went all in and bared her soul to the two women.

“It’s so strange… he wants another baby. I thought he was thinking of running out on us, with some chick named Simone who is really his therapist,” Emily said.

“Well, that's good news,” Isis said.

“What are you doing about Edwin?” Juliette asked Isis.

“Je suis amoureuse de lui. Stay with him, what else can I do?” Isis sighed.

“Even though you'll be sad to be an old unmarried hussy?” Emily asked.

“Oui,” Isis admitted, “and anyway, my career is really heating up.”

“So, it’s Dr. Devereux, now?” Emily said to Juliette.

“Uh-huh,” Juliette admitted, “it’s surreal, though. I don’t feel any different. Okay, maybe I feel ten times more exhausted than I did three years ago but I don’t feel like a different person.”

“Dr. Deverux,” Isis said and smiled, “congratulations, beautiful.”

“Voila!” Isis said and stepped back from Emily. Juliette looked up and was stunned into silence.

“How is it?” Emily said and rotated, holding out the skirt of the gray serge vintage suit which had been recut and resewn and fitted perfectly for her figure.

She wore a top made of pale, silky, sheer gray and delicate shell-pink fabric and her accessories were made of the faux pearl and rhinestone necklace and earrings that Isis had shown them months ago, although they’d been upcycled and added to, made more into statement pieces.

“Wow, just wow,” Juliette said, “it’s fantastic. Old, yet new. Vintage, yet modern and chic. Understated, yet incredibly elegant. I love it.”

“I do, too,” Emily said, “and I can’t thank you enough Isis. It’s me and I feel both professional and incredibly glamorous.”

“Max is going to love this on you,” Isis said. She evaluated the outfit and saw that it totally worked. Emily's updated hair made the outfit even more becoming than it would have been otherwise.

Emily grinned happily.

“So,” Isis said and turned to Juliette.

“So,” Juliette replied and smiled widely.

“Well?” Isis asked, “how’re things with Vic?”

Juliette laughed.

“The man’s learned some new moves,” Juliette admitted.

“But no dice?” Isis asked subtly.

“He’s getting there,” Juliette said and the girls giggled like teenagers. They spent the rest of the evening catching up, sipping red wine, and making plans for the future.

Isis shared how Edwin had insisted upon backing her business.

He’d looked over her business plan and had even set up meetings with additional investors. His approach was gentle, not heavy handed. He offered input and then waited for her decision.

“He really wants to support me,” Isis said happily.

Roberto had placed an initial order. So Isis had, with Edwin’s silent-partner financial support, placed an order for garment prototypes of her full initial line, to finalize patterns, materials and notions, with a sewing contractor.

While Isis was waiting for the sewing contractor to finish the initial order, she was working on designing and creating her other concept, a small couture collection, chic, sleek, elegant and modern, with a vintage style edge, for the contemporary business woman, all based upon existing vintage garments.

Juliette let them know that she was taking a few weeks off before starting back up in a full-time position in research, along with an associate professorship, at the university.

“I'm getting used to being finished. It really is a bit strange, to slow down, to be ready to enter life as an adult,” Juliette said.

Emily had lots of good business news to share. First off, that same day she and Max had gotten a call back from Ferguson. She was still in shock about it, although her marital situation still took up most of her thoughts. Her friends were happy to hear that things were looking up for her both personally and professionally.

“Good things are finally happening, and as stressful as it's all been, it seemed like everything had unfolded the way that it was meant to,” Emily acknowledged.

They rinsed out their wine glasses in Isis' tiny little kitchen and the girls said their good-byes and, in the warm rosy glow of a truly enjoyable evening, promised that it wouldn't be so long before they got together again.

By the time that she went home, Emily did feel much better about everything. It was incredible, the power of friendship.

To her surprise, things were okay still with Max. The little guy was down and the two of them spent a bit more time touching base about their business, discussing current sales trends and so on. Max was incredibly grateful to learn that they were on a serious upswing, business-wise.

They both slept well, after Max carefully and lovingly wrapped Emily in his arms and held her as they drifted off.

I
NSIDE OF THE UNIVERSITY, Juliette proudly delivered a copy of her bound dissertation to both the library and Dr. Smith, her adviser and first reader. As she walked away, she noticed that she felt a little bit numb. Was it really possible that she had really and truly done it?

Walking through the hallways, she felt a sudden futile wish that she could share the news with her father and mother. Daddy had been a professor and her mother had taught school. But they were dead. Her family of origin was all dead. And so from a young age she'd understood the fragility of life. From youth, she'd learned to the value the love that one found, to cherish it as long as one could, because you never knew when life would snatch that love and the loved ones that you shared it with.

Her bitter-sweet emotions, over completing her degree requirements and being unable to share that with her parents, were suddently infused with joy. She had a husband that she loved who loved her deeply. He was going to be so happy for her.

Feeling a surge of happiness and energy, she ran outside and took off her shoes and stood in the fresh-cut green grass barefoot and called Victor.

“Honey, the deed is done,” Juliette said.

“Baby, honey, Dr. Devereux?” Victor asked.

“What is it, my darling, Mr. Devereux?” Juliette replied.

“First off, congratulations, I knew you could do it because you're amazing and brilliant,” he said.

“Thank you, darling,” Juliette said.

“Secondly, when might Dr. Devereux be available to make a baby with me?” Victor asked.

“What?” Juliette said and laughed nervously and blushed.

“It seems like a good time,” he said, “seeing as how you've finished that huge project of yours. I know how you like to keep busy, so I thought we might start a permanent, life-long huge project of our own,” Victor said and chuckled.

“Juliette grinned and, dumbfound, slid down to the ground and sat upon the soft green lawn in the mid-morning sunshine of Southern California.

“Oh, yes, Dr. Devereux, now that you've handled that thing and that other thing, your research and dissertation and becoming a doctor, I say we immediately get started.”

“Get started?” she asked.

“On making a family and living happily ever after,” he said, &ldquoWhat do you say?”

“Why, yes, Mr. Devereux, that sounds like pure bliss,” Juliette said and forced herself to breathe deeper.

“Come home, Dr. Devereux, I'll be waiting for you,” Vic said.

“I'm on my way,” Juliette said breathlessly.

Inside of Victor and Juliette’s bedroom, in the dark, Victor lit a large scented candle. He felt breathless and a bit afraid. Thoughts of making a baby with Juliette made his heart ache in a good way. He felt that their life together was precious and it made him a bit nervous.

Calm down bro, he told himself mentally. He laughed and took a deep breath. Then he lit a few more candles and surveyed the room. Everything was looking good.

He’d cleaned the bedroom, including vacuuming the carpet, made the bed with deep rose-colored silk sheets, then scattered real red rose petals throughout the bedroom. He brought a tiny dish of Juliette’s favorite sweets, dark chocolates with gushy flavored centers, and a bottle of champagne in and placed them on the bedside table.

He admired the room for a long mome. It looked perfect. Then he hopped in the shower and got clean, got out out and dried himself, then put on a fluffy bathrobe.

The entire time that he got ready, he meditated upon the fact that intimacy and powerful lovemaking were based on being vulnerable.

He thought about how, in past relationship endeavors, he either focused upon his own pleasure or felt numb whenever a woman was around. He sat quietly and practiced focusing upon his breath, being present, until he heard his wife’s car in the driveway.

Moments later, Juliette entered and looked around at the nearly dark room. With closed curtains and a few lit candles, it was so terribly romantic. Victor stood and met his wife at the doorway to the room and then embraced her. Juliette relaxed in her husband’s arms.

“I did it,” Juliette whispered. Victor grinned and his heart melted. He could hear the almost childlike wonder in her tone. She sounded surprised, as if she'd thought that she might not accommplish her goal.

“I knew you would, Dr. Devereux,” Victor said and his voice was warm as his words vibrated against her ears. Juliette giggled.

“Vic lead Juliette on a path of rose petals toward the bed.

“I wasn't sure I could do it,” Juliette admitted.

“I'm so proud of you,” Victor said.

“I couldn't have done it without you,” Juliette replied. He flushed with warmth. It felt great to be acknowledged.

“Really?” Victor asked.

“Really,” his wife said and looked up at her handsome husband. His eyes were soft, he was looking at her strangely, and she felt like he was about to reveal something deeply personal and romantic.

“I always feel like such a shit-head, it's hard to believe you love me… that you won't leave,” Victor said. His admission, his deepest darkest fear, was the one thing that he hadn't been explicit about in either his email to his wife or their post-email discussions.

“What?” Juliette asked, entirely shocked.

“Now you've got your Ph.D., maybe you don't need me anymore. You might want someone smarter, more educated, who dresses better and shit… maybe someone without my predilection for profanity,” Victor admitted.

“Are you crazy?” Juliette said and her eyes got wide and Victor knew, somehow, in an instant, that what she meant was that she never would leave him for someone else, that it was insane of him to fear that she would leave.

He felt a burst of joy and almost laughed out loud.

Victor slanted his mouth and captured Juliette’s mouth and kissed her slowly as his hands moved down her back. She inhaled deeply, then held her breath as he slid the straps of her dress off of her shoulders.

“Where would I find a man who loves cereal as much as you? Where would I find someone with your heart and eyes?” Juliette whispered, when she managed to catch her breath.

“I dunno,” Victor whispered in his low attractive voice and felt himself get hard as he locked his gaze on her own.

She tasted him, his sweet mouth on her lips, and finally exhaled slowly. He tasted like sugary cereal marshmallows and her heart felt warm to realize how much she loved this man.

Unlike in the past, Victor was ever so slowly stroking her lower back and pressing her pelvis against his hips. She felt him getting harder yet he didn’t move to undress her or push her back onto her back on the bed.

He moved at a super slow, for him, pace and it began to drive her wild.

He nibbled and bit and kissed her mouth.

Slowly, slowly, and slowly, she drew in another breath. Her chest heaved and rose with each breath and Victor slid his hand from around the back and onto the front of her body.

His hand moved against her waist, and the front of her pelvis, and he rubbed her stomach and she moaned. Juliette shifted and strained her body to press it against his.

He pressed the palm of his hand on her neck and gently pulled her mouth back against his own. She moaned with desire and finally forced him back onto the bed.

Her skirt had slid upward and she yanked it up and pulled her panties aside. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt this much desire for Victor.

He was breathing hard and she felt almost overcome with emotion. He leaned up on one elbow and smiled at her.

“I'm gonna be your old lady,” Juliette said, then kissed him and pushed him backward and got on top of him.

“So, this is it?” Victor asked between kisses.

Juliette kissed his neck, then replied.

“This is it,” she murmured and then ground against him, “I'm never letting you go.”

“No, I'm never letting you go,” Victor said softly, brushing his lips against hers.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and as their eyes met, a beautiful still and sacred connection, an energy and emotion, descended upon them both, as they fumbled with buttons and such.

Their clothes fell away and finally there was nothing between them.

Victor took control and gently slid Juliette onto her back on the bed… she arched against him.

Pleasure came over them both, they looked deeply into each others eyes and neither one was able to look away.

“I’m so in love with you, Juliette,” Victor admitted, “I would die without you.”

Then he kissed her deeply as he lowered himself onto her. The silk sheets were silky and cool beneath them.

She shivered with pleasure and emotion… as the possibility of separation vanished and their bodies trembled and, although he wasn’t inside of her yet, both Victor and Juliette felt as one.

Later, after Juliette was completely ravished and satisfied, Victor and she cuddled. They were truly close. Though it was getting later, they were both wide awake.

He felt strange. He was alert and emotional yet really clear and entirely relaxed. It was as if he saw his entire future with Juliette stretching before him. It was just as he’d always known it would be… perfect.

It was almost as if his neurotic fear-filled past had never existed. Strange. He was lost in reverie when Juliette spoke.

“Ferguson?” she asked. Yeah, tonight was the night, he realized. Emily and Max were on tonight.

Click! Victor turned on the TV.

“Mebbe I'll write a fucking tome,” Victor said softly to himself.

Juliette hid her grin and didn’t comment.

Max and Emily cuddled over coffee and pastries in the CBS, Late, Late, Show, greenroom.

Max stared into Emily’s eyes. She smiled happily.

To think that I almost lost this, she thought to herself. I was tired. I let myself go. My man had issues and concerns and all that I could focus on was myself. I became a huge mess of a person and he was the one who had the guts to go out and get therapy. Emily squeezed his hand hard.

He squeezed back and took a good look at his wife.

The outfit that she wore, which initially seemed kind of weird, too different for his taste, looked spectacular on her. She was so beautiful in the dress. It took his breath away for a moment and he felt deep gratitude that he hadn’t lost his marriage.

“You look spectacular,” he said to Emily. She blushed then smiled.

“Thank you,” she said and kissed him, then asked a question, “Max, did you notice that I
did
something spectacular?”

She grinned at him and Max was reminded how, under certain circumstance, in the right light, when his wife was experiencing a particular emotion, she looked like a delighted child.

He laughed then pointed at a large take-out coffee container of Astro Cafe coffee set up on an adjacent table. Emily looked around and noticed that their new client had catered the delicious breakfast pastries as well.

“It's a good thing you weren't seduced into a day job by that corporation. Who drinks those fancy-schmancy coffees anyway?” Max asked and laughed.

“Uh, like everybody, including me, drinks those coffees. They are SO delish. Plus, don’t be a dick, honey, show the new client some love. Their stuff is great,” Emily said.

“Alright, alright. The coffee is good,” he said, lifting his cup, “I’m still holding a tiny grudge that you very nearly left our start-up for a cushy position as head of their marketing department.”

Emily laughed and licked a golden-brown, fluffy, perfectly toasted hot cross bun. She looked at the pastries: a chocolate croissant, a pink lemonade cake donut with sprinkles, and the world’s most seductive over-sized double chocolate chocolate chip muffin, and her mind was flooded with marketing ideas.

Maybe Astro Cafe would be interested in sponsoring a morning show?

It could be an amazing thing for the nation to watch a talkshow and see the hosts drinking Astro Cafe coffee and munching their amazing pastries every day. Talk about subliminal messages.

“But you’re right,” she said, licking buttery sugar off of her lips, “that was a good thing, my not taking a day job with Astro Cafe and instead getting a huge consulting contract. It made turning down all that regular cash a lot easier to swallow. But, honestly, honey, I did do something spectacular…” Emily said.

Max waited for it, but Emily made him ask. He stared into her eyes and said a prayer of gratitude that she hadn’t left him when she thought that he was seeing a high-class hooker named Simone.

“What was it, my beautiful coworker, boss, lover, wife?” Max asked.

“I got us on Ferguson, my handsome coworker, boss, lover, hubby,” Emily said as a production assistant entered the room.

You’re almost on, just a few more minutes, follow me,” the production assistant said.

Emily took a deep breath and grabbed Max’s hand and they hurried through the hallways toward the set where the TV show was filmed.

Max and Emily waited, just off of the set, and watched the opening credits to the show on a huge monitor.

The titles read: It's The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson

Wavy Rancheros, an alligator puppet, popped up on screen, waved, and then began to dance back and forth to the music which increased in volume.

Wavy Rancheros lip-synced in falsetto to Dire Straits "Money for Nothing".

Wavy popped out of frame as the host of the show, Craig Ferguson, danced out to the opening music of the song and lip-synced himself.

Performing as Dire Straits, Wavy Rancheros, the Shark, the Scottish Unicorn and the Clam, played instruments as Ferguson lip-synced and danced.

The puppets lip-synced as several sexy women gyrated and danced around the show puppets.

Max and Emily, wearing the outfit designed by Isis, entered. Ferguson approached them, waved them forward and indicated that they were to join him in lip-syncing.

The three of them, Emily, Max and Craig, all lip-synced together.

Wavy Rancheros popped up wearing a blond wig with an earring and joined Craig Ferguson in lip-syncing then Wavy disappeared as Craig lip-synced along with Emily and Max as the puppets, lypsynced about money, played instruments.