Bridge
By Sarah
This is a sequel to "Laptop".
As usual, this is just for fun because these characters aren't my own - I'm
just borrowing them.
Jessica woke with a smile on
her face, as she stretched lazily in the early dawn light. She and George
were visiting Grady, Donna and Little Frank in Chappequa
for the weekend. They were staying in separate rooms at Jessica's
insistence. Neither she nor George had been able to sleep knowing
that the other was just down the hall, so they met in the kitchen for a
midnight snack. Their kitchen rendezvous had turned into an amazing makeout session. Amazing and sexy, she said outloud to herself as she sat up on the edge of the
bed. She hadn't spent that many hours just kissing since she
was a teenager and this far surpassed those days, as George was unbelievably
good at kissing. She pulled a robe over her pajamas and headed downstairs
to start her day with a cup of coffee. She found Little Frank
engrossed with Saturday morning cartoons while slowly working on a bowl of
cereal and Donna stirring pancake batter.
"Good morning,"
she said as she entered the large kitchen.
"Good morning
Jessica," Donna replied cheerfully. "Frank, say good morning to
your Aunt Jess," Donna gently reminded her eight year old son.
"Morning Aunt
Jess," he said with a full mouth.
"Good morning, my
little love," she said as she took a seat next to Little Frank.
"Here, Aunt Jess, have
a cup of coffee. Did you sleep well?" she asked as she handed a
Jessica a large mug and set the cream in front of her.
"Mmmhmmm,
like a log," she responded, pouring a tiny bit of the half & half in
her cup. "Are Grady and George up yet?"
"As a matter a fact,
they went for a run at dawn," Donna said
"At
dawn? They've been gone an
awfully long time," she murmured thoughtfully.
"Cause Daddy's givin' Uncle George the riot act," Frank said.
"Frank! Shhh! Daddy didn't say that!"
"Uh huh, Mom, he did
too. I heard him say that to you. He said he wants
to know what his tenchuns to Aunt Jess
are."
"Frank Joseph!
You finish your cereal and then go up and get dressed."
Jessica couldn't help but
laugh. "That's okay, darling, I'm sure Uncle George and your Daddy are
getting along just fine," she said leaning over and giving her grand
nephew a hug.
"Aunt Jess?"
"Yes,
darling?"
"Did you get
pinched?"
Before Jessica could answer,
the backdoor flew open. Breathless from their run, Grady and George
came in the kitchen with big smiles on their faces. They bid both
ladies morning greetings. Grady poured a cup of coffee for George
and then helped himself.
George sat down at the table
next to Jessica and leaned over to give her a proper kiss on her
cheek, "Morning love. Sleep well?"
"Mmmhmmm. Good
run?" she asked with a smile.
Still insistent on having his
question answered, Little Frank repeated his question, "Aunt Jess, I
want to know did you get pinched? It looks like you have a pinch mark on
your neck. I got a mark like that on my arm when my friend Jason
and I were having a pinching contest. Who pinched you Aunt
Jess? Was it Uncle George? Cause he has a pinch too. Were you
having a contest? I think you both lost since you both
have that pinch mark."
George choked on his
coffee. Jessica's eyes grew large as she realized what Frank was
asking. She turned and looked at George's neck .
There it was. She had left a mark on his neck where her lips had lingered
too long. She clutched her own throat, feeling her temperature rise
as her face flushed. Grady and Donna were doubled over in laughter and
George had buried his face in his
hands. She scooted back her chair and hurried out of the
kitchen. She dashed up the stairs to the bathroom and looked in the
mirror. Sure enough, there was a mark on her neck as
well. She ran a washcloth under the cold water. She pressed
to her neck and returned to her room to wait.
There was a light knock at
the door. "Aunt Jess, it's me. Can I come in?" Grady
called out softly. When she didn't answer, he continued, "Aunt Jess,
I have something to say to you."
Finally, she said,
"Come in." She was still holding the cloth to her
throat.
"You know that doesn't
work, Aunt Jess. Neither does holding a cold spoon to it," he said as he took a seat next to her on the window seat.
She blushed again, "It
doesn't?"
"Nope, it just has to
go away on its own," he said as he put his arm around her.
"How do you know
anyway?" she asked.
"You don't remember
grounding me for giving Jennifer Simms a hickie when
we were in the 10th grade?"
She thought for a minute.
"Oh yes, as a matter of fact...wait a minute, you're not going to turn the
tables on me are you?" she asked with a laugh.
"Nope, but it is sort
of funny, don't you think?"
"Well, maybe just a
little. It's also a little embarrassing."
"So, that's enough
punishment, I think," he admonished.
"Oh,
Grady, really."
"So that boy of mine is
precocious, no?"
"Like father, like son,
Grady."
"Aunt Jess, about
George," he began.
"What about him?
You do like him, don't you?"
"I like him very
much. I like him even better knowing that he's making you so
happy."
"I am happy,
Grady. I love him very much. And he loves me."
"He asked me for your
hand."
"He did? What did
you say?"
"Yes, he did. I told him that I didn't especially like the
idea that he might take you across the
"Thank you, my darling. I love you as my own and it
means the world to me to have your blessing. But
you needn't worry about him taking me across the ocean. I don't
plan on that happening."
"But
why not? It's been a
long, long time since Uncle Frank passed on and it's about time you had
somebody in your life, Aunt Jess."
"He hasn't asked yet
anyway."
"Come on. Don't
you want him to?"
"Well, we'll just cross
that bridge when we come to
it," she said, just has George came into the room.
"What bridge?" he
asked with a grin.
"Oh, uh, we were just
talking about you and Aunt Jess babysitting Frank tonight so I can take Donna
out for a much needed night in the city. What do you say, Uncle George?"
"I'd love it as long as
Jess is up to it," he responded eagerly. He wasn't about
to pass up a chance to play house with Jessica. "As a matter of
fact, why don't you stay at our place for the rest of the weekend? A bit of a swap?"
Jessica looked at George
nervously. "Well, I, uh...how about staying at the Waldorf? I
do have a voucher and wouldn't a night being pamered
in a hotel be lovely?"
"Jessica, what's wrong
with our place?" George asked, not understanding the look on her face.
Grady looked at his aunt's face and then at George's. Suddenly, George's demeaner changed as he realized that Jessica hadn't
divulged their living situation to Grady yet.
George cleared his throat,
"Oh right, Jess, you know I do have all those points built up at the
"Aunt Jess, your apartment will be fine. No need to
give me your hotel points, or whatever. Unless you
really don't want me to stay there?"
"Uh, well, Grady, it's just that....oh good grief, you might as
well know. George and I are living together."
Grady snickered, "Aunt
Jess, I know that you and George are living together."
"You know?"
"Of course, I know. Since January right?
"Yes. But, how
did you know?"
"Aunt Jess, it doesn't
take Sherlock Holmes to pick up the clues on you two, now does it?
Besides, remember when I in the city for that meeting in February and you
and I were supposed to have lunch? Well, when you called me to cancel from
your office, I was already at your apartment building so Oscar let me in
so I could wash up. Anyway, I didn't mean to snoop but the signs were
fairly obvious anyway... a pipe, a bottle of Scotch on the kitchen counter, and
then of course, a man's electric razor in the bathroom. I am your nephew after all. I did pick
up a couple of sleuthing skills after all these years."
George took a seat on the
edge of the bed across from Jessica and Grady. He cleared his throat
again, "You're okay with this, Grady?"
"Of course, I am.
Besides, what would I say anyway? I just want Aunt Jess to be happy
and if this is what she wants then it's fine with
me."
Jessica sighed with relief,
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, Grady."
"That's okay, Aunt
Jess," he leaned over and kissed her cheek. He then reached
out and shook George's hand, "So, you're on board for babysitting and
Donna and I can stay at your place?"
George took the apartment
keys out of his pocket and tossed them to Grady, "Aye, fine with me.
I'm looking forward to an evening with that boy of yours. He's
already challenged me to a game on nintendo."
Grady laughed, "Well, I hope you're up to the challenge. But
remember, his bedtime is 8:30."
Jessica smiled, "Yes,
8:30. I can't wait. We're going to have a terrific time."
"And just remember, you
two, no more pinching contests!"
She laughed out loud,
"Oh, Grady."