The Part of Me I Never Had 29

A pang of hurt echoed through my body when I�d see Jessie wince or yelp in pain every time she moved. She seemed so helpless, but not. I promised myself that I wouldn�t pity her.
There was a backboard she strapped around her middle to help her back hurt less. It just seemed to frustrate her. I hated to see her like this. That�s what I was thinking when I was carrying her into the house. Michael and Keith were following silently behind me.
�I�m sorry you had to spend your vacation like this. I was hoping you could catch up on your sleep, but I guess you didn�t.�
�It�s ok. It�s been worse.�
�But it�s your birthday JC! I wanted it to be special.�
�What I wanted was for you to be with me, and you are. That�s all that matters.�
�You�re very sweet, you know that?� she asked, smiling brightly.
�It depends on the girl,� I replied, really smiling for the first time in 3 days.
She pulled on my neck and kissed my lips softly. My nerves exploded. I really wanted her when she was in a coma, and I was glad I got her.
I opened the door.
�SURPRISE!�
I almost dropped Jessie. She held my neck tightly.
�You almost made me drop her!� I yelled irritated. This is how it all started. A party.
�Sorry man,� Justin apologized.
I gently set her down on the couch.
�Hey girl, we really missed you,� Chris said hugging as gently as he could.
�I missed you too Chris.�
�What about me?� Justin said playfully, holding his arms out.
She smiled. �I missed you too, so don�t think I didn�t.� She hugged him.
She hugged the rest of the guys, then her friends. She looked so happy. But I knew her true feelings. She was in pain.
�Isn�t this party supposed to be for JC?� she asked.
�Yes, but we were just welcoming you back,� Lance pointed out.
�I already got my present. And it�s the greatest gift of all,� I said.
She smiled warmly towards me, then to Justin. �Justy, could you help me up the stairs? I need to get JC�s present.�
�I don�t need you to get me any present. Just you being here is great.�
�I�ve been waiting a long time to give you this, so don�t try to stop me!� she laughed.
Her laugh was like music to my ears. I hadn�t heard that sweet sound in days.
I watched her and Justin go slowly up the stairs as I sat on the couch.
�Well, it looks like someone got bitten by the love bug,� Mikayla teased,
I ignored her. I felt uncomfortable around her because of what happened be-fore. Luckily, I didn�t lose Jessie that day.
I waited patiently for Jessie to get back, ignoring their remarks. They wouldn�t understand love unless they were one of the lucky ones.
She was finally on the steps, with Justin beside her. He was carrying a large, thin, rectangle shaped package. It was neatly wrapped with cloud-patterned paper. There was a large blue bow on it. I anticipated the moment when I would open it.
She took the present, sat down next to me, and put the present in my hands.
I took the paper off slowly and carefully. I gasped when I saw what it was.
I ran my hand over the masterpiece. She had painted us together, and then added a beautiful balcony under a full moon. It was perfect. I was in awe. Her talent shone through in this one painting. Every detail was painted on. The mark she had near her neck, the tone of my skin�everything was perfect. The glowing moon was as breathtaking as it would be in real life. Every groove and every curve had been shown. Every hair on our heads, every thread of fabric on our clothes, heck, she even painted the sparkle in our eyes.
�JC?� she whispered.
�Wow,� was all I could say. �Wow. It�s perfect. I never knew you could paint like this Jessie.�
�There�s a lot of things you don�t know about me C. You�ll figure me out soon enough.�
I continued to stare at the painting. There was a layer of something over the paint to protect it. I felt the back of the painting. My hand hit what I was looking for. I stood up and walked over to the fireplace. I took down the picture of a piano and replaced it with the painting.
�It looks perfect,� I said, mostly to myself.
Then I walked back to the couch and sat down.
�Anybody have more presents?� Jessie asked the rest of them.
Everyone drew presents from behind his or her backs. Then they placed them all in a pile in front of my feet.
I picked up one that was wrapped in shiny silver paper. I opened it. It was a light blue book with a heart frame in the middle. There was a picture of Jessie and me together in the frame. I could feel Jessie looking at it too. Slowly, I opened the cover. My eyes widened once I saw all the pictures inside. There were some pictures of us when we weren�t looking. �Those sneaks.� A lot of the pictures I had never seen before. I finally turned to the last page. It was a picture of the guys, including me, and Jessie. I closed the book and looked through the paper and found the card.
Here�s what it read: �JC. I wish you a happy birthday. Hope you like the present. Justin.�
I looked at Justin who smiled.
�Thanks. I love it,� I commented.
He just nodded.
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�Just look at all this stuff you got JC!� Jessie cried.
�It�s nothing compared to yours,� I said softly, sitting next to her.
Everyone had left to a movie. I had told them to. I wanted to ask Jessie something very important.
�I worked night and day on it,� she said, leaning against me.
�Is that why you only came out for lunch and stuff?� I asked.
�Yeah.�
I gently put my arm around her.
�Jessie?�
�Yeah?�
�Do you love me?�
She lifted her head and looked at me, confused. �Of course I do. More than anything.�
I got her into a sitting position. Then I got on one knee. And from the gleam in her eyes, I knew she knew.
I withdrew a velvet box from my pocket. The same one I had 3 months ago. I opened it. There was the bracelet, and there was a matching ring, but with a bigger diamond. Jessie�s eyes gleamed with tears.
�Jessie, I love you more than anything in the world and I can�t live without you. Will you marry me?� I asked softly.
Tears fell from her happy eyes. �Yes. Yes I will.�
I heart exploded with happiness. I was completely oblivious to the tears falling when I put the ring on her finger and when I clasped the bracelet on her right wrist.
My eyes met hers for a few seconds, then she hugged me. Tighter than ever before. I hugged her as tight as I could without hurting her.
�I love you JC,� she whispered.
�I love you too,� I whispered back.
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I looked at her sleeping figure. She looked so serene. So worry free. Her body rose with each breath. The diamond glinted off her finger in the morning sun. I swept the lock hair that fell to her face.
She stirred, but didn�t wake up. It was already 9:30. Only 2 more days left of vacation. It didn�t matter to me. I was gonna get married to the greatest woman I have ever met.
Her eyelids fluttered open. She smiled.
�Morning Beauty,� I whispered.
�Mornin� C,� she yawned.
�How�s your back?�
�It�s been better.�
I glanced over at the pile of presents I got. I had gotten-besides the painting and the photo album-a video camera from Lance, a plaque of a lion from Chris, a couple new CDs from Joey, a shirt with a picture of the guys and Jessie saying �Happy Birthday� from Keith and Michael, and from the girls, a book telling me all about Jessie. I read it, and I found out a lot.
I was about to leave the room when Jessie said, �JC?�
�Yeah?�
�How are we going to tell them?�
�They�ll figure it out.� With that, I turned walked out.