Jessica, the Untold Story: Yesterday’S Montreal News

By Adriana

We would be happy all of us to know that you could be with a man that can give you the protection your soul needs. I meant what I said on our wedding night. I promised you that I would always give you the best of me. You must believe me, Luvey and you must believe that you will be in love again. For you to move on, Luvey, you have to love someone else. All of Emanuels associates will agree with me that if we could turn this event around, we would. But, we cannot.

Jessica, The Untold Story

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Sep 16, 2004
• ISBN: 9781418486990

Adriana

Roses are Red while Violets are Blue – Life has been quiet without you.  Daily inspiration drives her to write.  Whatever fascinates her mind, her heart even her soul – she writes.  Adriana loves her three children plus whatever life has to offer.  Jessica, Cassandra & Marco are her biggest fortune. Newly acquired one year old Sadie, the dog keeping company to five year old white cat Babushka.  Being single since 1995 – Adriana still believes in love at first sight.  “A man said once that I would not recognize love even if it came knocking at my door” She admits that no one has knocked on her door as of yet.  “I’m going on an Inspirational World Tour starting with Spain.”

Book preview

2004 Adriana.

All Rights Reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 09/26/2013

ISBN: 978-1-4184-8699-0 (e)

ISBN: 978-1-4184-8697-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4184-8698-3 (hc)

CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10

CHAPTER 11

CHAPTER 12

CHAPTER 13

CHAPTER 14

CHAPTER 15

CHAPTER 16

CHAPTER 17

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

First and foremost is Jessica I loved the longest since she was born first. She always asked me if today was tomorrow and I always answered YES and then Cassandra with those golden eyes and angelic look who always gets me wondering if she isn’t just smarter than all of the rest trying to exercise my wits. Marco is just a man born with 2 brains. Top and Bottom brain look different, but believe me… the same – I was blessed to see that he did have the smarts. And there is Stephen King – the man who always appears as the nightmare of all times in my mind. My kids make me proud and Stephen King is a challenge. We’re working on something that could amaze the socks off of you, well, maybe a little!!!

CHAPTER 1

MONTREAL – EARLY 1970"S

The unusual extremely hot weather in Montreal has claimed the lives of four elderly citizens during these last three days. These individuals whose ages are ranging from 78 to 87 years old succumbed to the intensity of the heat of their rooms. Proper ventilation was not available in the complex. An investigation followed immediately after families of the victims complained of lack of care from the personnel prior to the incident. Meanwhile, Ontario has not been marred without any incident as winds as powerful as eighty miles an hour have been able to destroy a few barns in Niagara Falls region. Thank God, no deaths have been reported. There is a good ending to some of the events in Canada as our Queen Elizabeth will be visiting shortly our beautiful Province of British Columbia. It will cost in the vicinity of one million dollars to entertain her highness and her much needed entourage. On that note, this is Jason Redbird wishing you a good and pleasant evening.

In the darkness of her room, Jessica reached for the radio and turned it off. Conceivably, the combination of the sounds of the fan and the pounding of her heart was enough to make her want to scream out loud and destroy everything in sight. Instead, she began crying once again so very quietly while her head was deeply buried into her pillow, something that became a ritual of lately. Months of tormenting pain and still its intensity was not yet ready to be suppressed reducing her sluggishly into a pitiful broken doll. To the common bystanders nothing was amazingly apparent but to her father and some close friends who knew her well everything was more than just a painful event. Yet, amazingly, Jessica had progressively learned to recondition her mind to particularly process the most desirable and pleasant events that had revolved around her life. This contemplation in itself enabled her to smile once more and that just at the mere thoughts of the cherished moments that she had experienced during the spring and the summer of 1970.

Thereupon, she painstakingly succeeded in displaying happy facades for all to see in every single episode of her empty life. It did not take Jessica too long to masterfully impersonate the strength of a progressive and capable woman willingly allowing her mimicry to bring about a whole new appearance, nevertheless, wanting to resemble nothing like that puny fragile being she seemed to portray. It became a dexterity of mind manipulation permitting her moods to drift wherever it transformed into a haven or something like that concentrating on only those happy and foremost memorable moments between her and her lover.

Silently at times but now less often, she found herself touching her lips with her fingertips forcing her memory to recapture and retain the sensations of their kisses. It was something beyond her control and when she closed her eyes and concentrated even harder, it surprisingly aided her mind to instantly reanimate those precious moments when their lips first touched and when his arms encircled her. Jessica opened her eyes and moved her hand around her pillow trying to locate her diary. She then reached for her night lamp right and switched it on. She picked up her diary. Once again, she found herself reading all of the entries surrounding his premature tragic death in Vietnam in April of 1971. All their dreams and future projects went crashing down with him that day leaving a deep scar in her heart as it also put a lasting dark cloud on her birthday. Jessica no longer felt special on that day and consequent birthdays never brought back that joie de vivre which had expired along with Emanuel.

Jessica was re-reading her diary when her father entered her room one evening. Give me these memories of yours he said as he took her diary away from her and her little treasure box where she kept all their pictures and his letters. I’m not letting you destroy yourself any longer. I’m throwing them away. He said feeling responsible for her unhappiness. It was her father who introduced Emanuel to his daughter and now he felt devastated to such a point that he needed to remove all traces of his existence. He kept saying gently, you will hurt now once only…and then you will be able to reconstruct your heart so that you can move on with your life.

At first, she resisted the adaptation and the acceptance of a fearful emptiness trying to move on into her destiny without him or their promises. As her father predicted, time did elapse and the pain did lessen. Eventually, the memory of them faded ever so slowly. She could see his face in her dreams but then that too faded away. What was still visible were the times when other women looked at him and how jealous she felt. Now, she wished many times over and over that this was the case where another woman took him away from her. At least then, she would have had chances to win him over and possibly have great pleasure at doing it.

Jessica kept on reading her notes in her new diary and saw how she managed to recollect herself and how she became the executive secretary of a distinguished trading company. Her position demanded constant negotiations, which in turn, permitted her to travel extensively and in June of 1971, she reshaped her destiny. It all started when Esteban Gonzalez, President of Gonzalez Imports asked her to make arrangements for them to attend a business meeting in New York. Mr. Gonzalez was a three-time divorcee businessman who never gave too much attention to anything serious until Jessica walked into his office. He hired her on the spot. There was something about her. At first, he was wrapped up with her appearance then there was that physical attraction that he could not deny but he kept it very quietly to himself. She represented a challenge that he had never confronted before. There was this mixture of class, seductiveness and ingenuivety giving her the allure of a mistress instead of an assistant. Yet with time, he discovered to his chagrin that she was the woman that was always but never the same entirely made of the same clothe. Jessica proved to him to be all business and with time brought about many innovative and creative ideas throughout it all implementing the necessary beneficial changes in the company.

One particular morning when Esteban brought coffee and bagels, he began to feel uncomfortable as he noticed something different in Jessica as she was settling down at her desk. He felt her stare quietly dissecting him section by section. Immediately, unwillingly full of curiosity, he followed her shifting eyes as they were examining him from head to toe. For a brief moment, it sort of bothered him but when she started to smile, he felt more at ease. Jessica saw that he possessed a flair for fashion garbed in his fine Italian custom-made suit, elegant white shoes and his favorite delicate fragrant designer cologne Vetiver de Carven from France. Esteban represented refinement and style reminding her at times of John who carried a comb in one pocket and a bottle of cologne in the other. She also observed his abilities to pick out the feature products according to the constant changes of the supply and demands of the consumers. She looked into his piercing steal blue eyes and smiled again. As usual, Esteban’s eyes were emitting those peculiar mysterious rays deriving from a possible chemical reaction stimulated inside his brain by an enticing magnetism of an appealing prospect, may it be a business transaction or just simply by a particular woman. Jessica discerned this incredible charismatic feature about him which pulled women and business people to him as they became casually entranced by it all quite by magic. He was a rare bird, good looks, good taste and an attractive savoir-faire. He also had a few other exceptional qualities and one of them was that he never judged anything or anyone verbally until he was truly sure about what he had to say. Her thoughts were interrupted by the mailman’s voice as he brought a large stack of letters tied up with an elastic band and placed it on her desk.

Jessica reached out for the mail as Esteban placed his own hand on hers and when he looked into her eyes, he met one of the coldest reception he ever had the misfortune to experience. Oops was the only sound he muttered before he walked away silently.

The following afternoon, Jessica and Esteban went straight to their hotel rooms on their arrival in New York. They were to meet later on for a quick supper just to review certain matters that would be tackled during their luncheon meeting the following day. Jessica took notes and revised their draft on their tentative approaches. Having said all that could be said, the discussions turned into private matters making Jessica shy away from further conversation. I can’t wait to understand why I always get caught with my pants down! Esteban chuckled with that famous twinkle in his eyes. Jessica turned her glare the other way avoiding to comment or even respond on this topic of conversation not the least interested in his private life and how it was unfolding.

Immediately afterwards, Jessica left abruptly excusing herself from the table, she still wasn’t ready to linger on after a meal to simply gaze into a man’s eyes during personal and intense conversations. She rose from her chair and immediately collided into a man. Their bodies touched and she felt his shoulder caress her right cheek. With obvious irritation, she looked up and saw one of the most handsome man in the world. He reached for her face with a seemingly weak and trembling hand. He cupped her chin firmly and with a charming English accent said, So sorry. I kept a close watch on you since that miserable day

She was pleasingly surprised to see him and yet he had changed a little since the last time they were together. She had met John through her father and some other acquaintances of Emanuel’s during a Liberace concert a La Place des Arts in Montreal. John and Emanuel were for the longest time best of chums because of their fathers’ relationship being colleagues in the army during the second World War. Blushing, Jessica noticed how elegant John appeared all attired in his very dark blue silk suit explaining perhaps the shade in his eyes which displayed an unusual swarthy gray color instead of the light blue that she could remember. Charmingly and trying to sound casual, he said, "how about a cup of tea, say in my room?

Why that would be delightful! She eagerly accepted. Jessica felt sort of girlish when they walked hand in hand sort of chummy-chummy feeling as her whole being transformed into a precious solid and seductive woman again. Her thoughts were recalling instances of his attentiveness as he once memorized every single detail about her.

When they arrived inside his room, he moved the two armchairs resting against a wall and placed them in from of the window. Prior to their sitting down, he ordered a bottle of French bottle of wine.

They laughed out loud as their conversation turned to his youthful follies. To this very moment, she had not realized how many priceless memories they made and they were brought back in no time during one hour of light talk. As John recounted certain incidents that he and Emanuel had experienced, Jessica could not help but noticing that at that exact moment how much of Emanuel she saw in John. There as that sensitivity and that certain warmth filled with so much sientimienti as Esteban would word it.

His words were vibrating all around him, he was endowed to talk and to be heard. There was a charm about him that attracted her or aroused her to such a point that she wanted to let him know but instead, she kept it locked in deep inside her heart.

John detected the uneasiness in her eyes and decided to stop talking about events that brought back sadness in her heart. As far as he was concerned, John was not going to say more on that subject. It was a unique and exquisite summer love, vividly, he still could see Jessica waving goodbye to her man as she blew kisses towards him as his plane was taking off. She kept kissing the palm of her hands and her fingertips as tears came down her eyes. John also recalled that it was pouring rain on that day in September of 1970.

Meanwhile in her mind, Jessica was recalling quietly Emanuel"s last words to her as he told her that she should accept it as if he was on a forced vacation and that he would be back in no time. She remembered the last kiss and the last words that were exchanged which she kept all engraved in her mind.

She remembered saying, Emanuel, I feel that I will never see you again And, in a very low tone she added, are you sure that you want to do this? He had turned away from her, with his back to her, he replied, "Look at you! Now answer quite frankly, who would want come back to you? And marched straight to his plane without ever looking back.

She had overalls on that day and Emanuel occasionally made fun of the way she looked by pointing out the unfeminine and tomboy look of her. He always made fun of her and always found a way to irritate her just to get slapped around. Many times, he got out of situations because of his sense of humor. He was unaware how she really felt about him as she never told him. In front of others, Jessica was very formal and never showed any indication that she loved him very much. John knew. He was her confident. Jessica was now thinking about certain regrets she had such like hardly wearing those sexy dresses for him. Also the times that she did her very best to convince him that he had no major role in her life. Everybody knew but no one knew for sure how the story would end. Many rumors were circulating during those years that the was not going to last too long and many of the men that left for Vietnam believed that they were going to make a definite difference for both parties and countries.

They had stopped talking for a short while as he noticed Jessica looked out at the window where rain had started to pour down. He was certain that she was reminiscing about Emaule as he was constantly on her mind. John decided not to interrupt her as he saw that she was smiling all by herself. He was sure that she was there beside him in her mind.

John stood up and planted a resounding kiss on her ear bringing her attention right back to him. Eventhough, the whole matter seemed harmless to him, he just detested the idea that she wasted all of her energy on some sad situation that no one except God would be able to mend. Heaviness crushed his chest as he noticed that his mere touch carried some weight as her eyes moved around desperately to find his. Obviously, her thoughts returned to John and to herself. She found him just standing there looking down at her lovingly with concern. She looked away simulating innocence.

John developed an analytical look about him whenever Jessica demonstrated a peculiar pattern in her behavior. He felt a tremendous need to shelter her. He instantly recognized the indications, which became so familiar to him whenever her thoughts were on Emanuel. Jessica’s eyes would close and her jaw would twitch simultaneously. He touched the tip of her nose with his finger and sort of gently stroked it in a downward motion. At the contact of his touch, she opened her eyes making John turn away from her as he felt the distress in her being. He knew that his presence was a constant reminder of Emanuel and at once, he realized that her mind was in Vietnam. She had been there and back and, now, he was certain that he needed to give her room to breathe.

His hands touched her shoulders and finally, he was face to face with her. He tried to put on a convincing performance when he said, Jessica you are not responsible for what happened. Can you hear me… I am talking to you. Listen, Emanuel made a decision entirely against your wishes. Yet, he did it for you, but you know what wars are all about? They are senseless, useless and… did I forget to mention that they are absurdly illogical.

She was not responding to his voice or to his touch. He shook her a little and managed to lock his eyes into hers. A stubborn glare surrounded her, compelling him to make a promise. John displayed his best composure as he reassured her that their lives would change for the better. We are going to put our foot down He declared with a touch of venom in his voice. Unable to instill any kind of reaction from her, he changed his tone and gradually said nothing else. He stood there considering his next step with a watchful expectation while his eyesight never left Jessica. Perhaps, there would be some kind of indication in her eyes that would translate that she would be the person he once met and got to know. Instead, her eyes were vacant propelling convictions of a point of no return setting out the impression that she would be lost forever unable to retrace her way back home or to anyone else again. The woman she was before the incident. He was standing now in front of the strong portrayal of a woman who became devastated by a particular war which brought on enormous tragedies to the many who became misunderstood by all.

With a gentle shake, he pulled her body close to his and whispered some words in her right ear and when he felt her pull away he said, Emanuel didnt expire for nothing, we will find a way to continue what he could not." John was still holding onto her tightly when he kissed her cheek and caressed her hair. It bothered him to see that Jessica did not respond to his embraces as she was totally engrossed in distant obscure thoughts miles and miles away from him. She began to hear the echo of voices getting closer but still faint as if she was listening into someone else’s dream. Her hands went to her ears trying to block the sound of water currents rushing through her eardrums similar to the timbre of waves continuously hitting on a wall of rocks. She tried to make out the words; they sounded so strange but so familiar. She heard those voices once before.

A sensation, which he misunderstood, had John all worked up even if Jessica was right there in the very same room, he felt a loss. He felt her leaving him and then he found himself blinking, wanting to make sure that it truly was her back that he was facing. No matter how he tried to reason out this mounting fear, John was sure of one thing, she is definitely losing her grip and I am losing my grasp on her. He thought out loud. He was sensing that something was definitely bothering her hoping that he could understand what she was saying. Then, as she repeated the words several more times, they still sounded incoherent to him, John reasoned it as words in Spanish, a language that he had never learned but perhaps Peter would be able to explain them to him.

Jessica remained silently immobile pouting nearby the window. John reached for her and led her to the bed where he began to slowly and methodically undress her never leaving his watchful eye on her. She just sat there motionless but yet consciously abandoning herself to his manipulation. He felt her trust in him and that was all that mattered at the moment.

John felt weak as his knees were giving in underneath him; it was such a pathetic sight. He stretched her body on the bed and moved beside her mechanically pulling the covers over them. He started to kiss her trying to sweep whatever was ailing her beneath a rug or something like that. He started with her neck reaching for her hand he brought her fingers to his lips. He kissed them at first and then moved himself to her right ear lobe, unquestionably, it was his favorite ear. He began whispering profound poetic words to her, some turned out wild, some were heated and romantic but yet they were transforming to visionary words. In turn, she responded slowly coming back from her reverie as she kissed his lips returning the gesture without any sign of willing participation. He acknowledged that there was an urgency in restoring part of her existence that had been crushed by the whole mess but it could not be done in one night. It had exploited on her equilibrium, which was in a state of vulnerability chiefly draining, in a cancerous manner, the vitality out of her. As soon as he remained still, John fell asleep. Jessica turned slowly on her side while his arm was still laying across her waist. She took a good long look at him now. John’s lips were partially parted. She noticed his long eyelashes which prompted her to kiss his cheek and then, she looked at his lips again and kissed them ever so gently while two of her fingertips gently stroked his cheek. He was very handsome and she was afraid to let him know.

They both fell asleep in a very emotional embrace. Jessica hardly stirred all night, the weight of his body made her feel very secure. John was the first one to greet the morning by pushing the chair away from the bed and night table. He got up. Silently, he watched Jessica turn on her stomach and something disturbed him when he heard her sigh making him want to bend down and kiss her neck. At that very same moment, Jessica moved her head upward and the back of her head smacked him right underneath his chin.

Ouch… always as delicate as a gazelle. I see that some things never change! John yelled out in pain.

Taking a look around, he found some clothes and walked out of the room. He returned several minutes later annoyed at the sight of Jessica sitting on the bed her nose buried in a newspaper. What could be so important in that damn newspaper that could capture your attention so much that you did not even hear me come back in? John said almost sounding like he was overly envious or jealous of whatever he felt was taking her away from him.

Nothing much, it’s just an article about Elvis coming to New York, something he hasn’t done in a while. I was just reading the commentaries. Why? Jessica replied quite innocently but actually detecting that he was possibly creating an excuse to argue with her about something. She pushed the thought away from her mind and when John approached her, Jessica knew that he was unhappy about something. He sat on the edge of the bed to roughly grab her by her shoulders and pulled her to him. John stayed there for what seemed like a very long minute and then he couldn’t help himself when his index pushed her chin upward and kissed her. It was a side of him that she had never seen and to think that it all started because she read about Elvis in the newspaper.

Yuck, let go of me… Don’t touch me! Jessica screamed out while she stood up from the bed. She was wearing one of his t-shirts and only her panties. Jessica looked around and when her eyes spotted the newspaper, she ripped it apart and threw it all over the bed, in his direction and on the floor behind him. John was shocked and ran after her.

Luvey, I don’t know what came over me. I always feel like I’m losing you. I just don’t know what came over me. Will you forgive me? Say you will… say it! John whispered in her ear.

Yes. Don’t let this ever happen again. You don’t mean that much to me, you know. Jessica answered wanting so much to hurt him right back.

You know, luvey, some Americans can be quite rude. It is so absurd. I might as well disregard the whole matter and go on with my business. He said in a very serious tone as he kept his eyes down the whole time. His glance shifted from one foot to the other.

"So what happened that was so bad? She asked trying to sound very interested and curious.

He realized that it made her smile and seizing this chance, he added with a twinkle in his eyes, "Do you always snore and so much in bed? One more time, he was trying to provoke some kind of commotion.

It certainly hit the spot, she immediately replied with a loud outburst, Let me tell you one thing. You are lying, I don’t snore! Jessica pulled the covers over her head and turned around. He felt satisfied to watch that she had regained some of that spunkiness he thought she lost somewhere in the shuffle. From the side of the bed, he crawled under the covers and immediately resisted but only for a short while.

They tickled each other and their game was suddenly interrupted with a knock on the door. It was room-service. A man wearing a tuxedo entered the room wheeling a card over right next to the bed with what was their breakfast. Jessica could not believe her eyes as they rested on the middle of the table. There was a mountain of bacon for at least 20 persons and that alone made her smile. What started laughter was when she noticed the waiter’s disturbed look as he glanced around the room.

Where is everybody and who made all of this mess? Were the only words the waiter muttered as he looked around. Their clothes were scattered all over the floor, the couch was covered with towels and empty bottles and then his eyes rested on the bra that was laying on top of the telephone which was off the hook. When the waiter left and the door closed, John stood there with his back on the door laughing so much that he started to slide down to finally land hard on his buttocks. They were both laughing and he remained there sitting on the floor as he watched Jessica’s astonished but smiling face. It would be just a matter of time before the whole personnel of the hotel would hear of what may have happened in the room and then there was all that bacon and only two people to eat it. The last time they did that, it was to Emanuel. He always hid to eat bacon. He was health conscious and was afraid to gain weight on all that grease, he once said…

Wrapping a sheet around her, Jessica went back to her room. John started to whistle just to catch her attention. Jessica turned to him and then he said gently, Do us a favor, remind me to carry a camera. I never seem to come outfitted for these rare occasions when you are garbed for the kill.

Jessica smiled and continued her walk to her room. When she closed her door, he closed his softly feeling some relief as a little weight had come off his shoulders. In no time, he was dressed and ready to leave. He also was in New York for business meetings regarding his greeting card company. Jessica and John wrote many sentimental verses together and used them for his company. He wanted her to work for him but she didn’t want to move to England. He liked it there and he would not move for all the money in the world but Jessica enjoyed living in Montreal and told him so.

John, there is a reason why I was born in Montreal. My parents wanted me to be there. I am not turning my back on my parents. I feel that this is my destiny. He remembered her saying. John was profoundly worried about her obsessions attempting to take in account that she was marked by the eventualities of war. He felt the obligation to be there by her side at her beck and call. He knew he loved her very much and respected her decisions for the time being but deep inside John was certain that he would put his foot down soon and ship her back to England where she belongs.

In her room, Jessica turned on the shower and before jumping in, she paused to watch the steam fill the room. A shiver ran down her back and for a moment, she was able to shrug it off as she walked to her bed. She chose her mossy green dress for the meeting and arranged it on the chair right next to her luggage. On her way to the washroom, she heard the sound of paper being ruffled beneath the door. Jessica was surprised to see a red piece of paper being slipped through. Without even bothering to open the door, she picked up the envelope and tapped on the door. She decided to look at it after her meeting. She needed to hurry right now.

Jessica met Esteban at noon sharp at the restaurant of the hotel. At once, they went about their business discussion taking them well in the middle of the afternoon. The two American businessmen remained patient while they sometimes disagreed with some of the agreements as their dollar was losing its value and it seemed like they were getting the shorter end of the deal. Jessica was able to make them reason that the value of the dollar was just a technicality and some bonus compensation could be incorporated to finalize the accord. The businessmen eagerly and seriously returned their interest and compromised in their dealings.

Within two hours, Jessica had time to read the letter. She went to the ladies room to find privacy. With much anticipation, she opened the red envelope. It was from John. He wanted to see her before his departure for England. He wanted to meet with her for a while to spend some time together sort of sharing one more night together. She stopped reading and reconsidered the possibilities. John’s handwriting was very bold. It felt like a man of power and audacity. One would never understand a man like John, he donned on his best social behavior but when no one was looking, he was a different person. She ceased to read the letter no longer conscious of her movements as her thoughts went into a blank for a while until she heard someone enter the washroom.

One more time, she glanced at the letter. He mentioned his need to see her and for her to stay in her in her room. He signed it: so don’t wait up for me

Furiously, Jessica tore the letter and flushed it down the toilet to promptly return to the meeting where the men were sharing a drink engaged in a relatively quiet discussion. As she was approaching the table, the men stood up on her arrival. After what seemed a long session, Esteban was very thrilled with the outcome of their business deal. At the conclusion of their meeting, they returned to their room almost with the urgency to just get out of there and head on back home. Together, they cordially agreed to looking forward to their next meeting.

Esteban was in Jessica’s room helping her with their luggage and the paperwork. There was a tap on the door making Jessica look at Esteban. When he shrugged his shoulders, she opened the door. She was surprised to see no one was there until John cleared his throat and showed himself at the door.

He went down on his knees and looked up. In his hand, he had a tiny velvet box. He opened the box and showed her the ring. It was a diamond shaped in a teardrop surrounded with precious little emeralds. He was pleased with her reaction. He knew for sure that he was beginning to discover all of her expensive qualities. Jessica knew the value of quality but sometimes she forgot the price tag attached to it. Anyway, he thought to himself. He had once again made an excellent selection. He remembered what she told him about the ring that Emanuel wanted her to look at. It was a beautiful solitaire but according to Jessica, there was always a sad story attached to a solitaire. She felt that when a man would give a woman a solitaire, he was giving her innuendoes that they would be some day separated and that the woman would find herself standing alone and lonely.

John, I am not being superstitious. It was a nagging feeling that came over me that day at the jewelry store. She insisted. When they talked about his death, John reminded her that it was just a coincidence. He was still on his knees when she said, why are you on your knees? Pray tell.

Once more, he cleared his throat before he shouted his proclamation in just one breath, "I have been hitching to ask you this for a while now. Perhaps the two of us could make some magic happen. So what do you say we get married, hey?

She noticed a shyness in him that she had never really seen before until now. At first, Jessica laughed and gave him a negative reply. Subsequently, she glanced on the floor right next to him; there was a bottle of Spanish red wine, orange roses and a pair of shoes. At that instant, she knew that she had to accept his proposal.

He immediately stood up and handed her one single fragrant rose. I figure that this means I can come in now. You accepted so easily, I am going to start wondering about you." He said to her and walked past her with his head down.

Jessica took the ring out of his hands and said, "just give me the ring and shut up.

Are we getting married or not? She tore at him in a mounting anger. After lashing out many words of hostility, Jessica retrieved her poise. He started to laugh very hard and loud. She reacted instantly by pushing him away from her and said, You are worse than thunder. You have a way of making my chest burst inside that I fear everyone around would hear it and make fun of me.

He stopped laughing and kissed the back of her neck. She became submissive and began to wonder if he was just not putting on an act with the tears in his eyes. Whatever he tried to accomplish, it worked like wonder. Observant of her every actions and words, John responded by kissing her on the tip of her nose. Then he held her close and suckled on her cheeks. Jessica restrained herself from telling him what he was becoming in her life, instead she turned away and resumed packing her black briefcase.

There was this peculiar comportment that John began to detest about her. He felt her extremely apprehensive and non-respondent to his caresses and his tender words. She became quiet again or more so evasive. He was going to just wait it out, after all, the negativity surrounding her were realities and much too fresh to tackle in one evening. In his corner of the room, John fervently wished that it was just a phase of denials and that what was transpiring chiefly around her strange facial movements was just a chain reaction of her deep thoughts of sadness. Sadness is such a lonely word when you are the only one suffering. He wrote down on a paper napkin and left it by the telephone.

They were married on June 30, 1971. He made arrangements for them and she finally felt and looked happier. He had bought a penthouse in New York. The décor was superb. The walls of the washroom were painted deep fuschia with natural fresh flowers hanging from coconut woven baskets. The master-bedroom was exquisite. The round brass bed was underneath a sky-dome window with her in mind knowing that she enjoyed watching the sunrise, the sunset, the moon and the stars. John had it re-built just for her. He also purchased massive Mahogany furniture from Massachusetts and never even looked at the price tag. What he enjoyed the most was the feeling of sheer delight when he walked on the white long-haired carpet. The atmosphere breathed refinement and unique style very well put together and appropriately garnished to impress her enormously. The kitchen was pure white and too much on the modern style to her taste but then again, he did not expect Jessica to cook when they would be in New York. The living-room was adorned with an impressive piano and two French Provincial loveseats facing each other with a harmonious brass and marble tables. Further down a corridor, three other bedrooms furnished in modern styles were made available for friends and relatives.

A brief ceremony was performed in front of a handful of business partners such as Donald Sunn and Peter Longchamps along with her boss Esteban and the best man, John’s best friend and associate George Barrymore. The celebration went beyond 48 hours. There was more food and liquor than the guests could consume. So much champagne, vast assortment of hors d"oeuvres and plenty of take-out pizza and Chinese food. The radio was on and they all sat together in front of the fireplace when John and George suggested that they pull their forces