By: Jamie Sommers
Email: jamiesommers@hotmail.com
Rated: PG
Date: August 2002
Disclaimer: Warner Bros owns them…blah blah blah…
Synopsis: Read the story and you’ll find out what it’s
about. Just kidding! An A/U story about Landon and Jamie.
“Jamie! Hurry up!” He called out. Under his breath he said, “we’re gonna be
late.”
“No we’re
not,” she said as she walked up behind him wearing only a pair of shorts and a
bra.
“Uh
baby? I know it’s only Roselli’s but…I
still think they require you to wear a shirt,” he chuckled then quickly added,
“unless of course you’ve changed your mind and we’re ordering in?”
She answered
his flirtatious question with a roll of her shoulder, a flip of her hair and a
look in her eyes that clearly said, ‘you’re taking me out Carter.’
“Okaaaay…guess
we’re going out, but if you don’t hurry…”
“Landon, I’m
going as fast as I can. Don’t worry,”
she pecked him on the cheek and ran her hand across his arm, “I’ll be ready in
no time.”
“No time,” he
mumbled to himself as he watched her sashay up the stairs to finish getting
dressed. “Sure.” He intentionally called out loud enough to
make his point, “The movie’s not gonna wait you know,” but quiet enough for her
not to hear it.
He walked
into the bathroom adjacent to the kitchen and checked his appearance in an
attempt to kill some time. His hair was
looking pretty good tonight. He was
wearing the new shirt that Jamie gave to him as a gift this morning and a pair
of freshly pressed khakis. He was just
about to pull out his electric razor and give himself a quick shave as he
caught her reflection in the corner of the mirror. ‘Wow,’ he thought.
‘Definitely worth the wait.’
She stood
behind him wearing a pair of white and red-checkered Capri pants, a red
sleeveless, collared shirt that tied in a knot at the waist and a pair of red
and white sandals that looked like they were made for the sole purpose of
matching her pants. Her hair was pulled
atop of her head in a ponytail and at her ears she wore the earrings that
Landon gave her this morning over breakfast.
“You just about ready?”
“Uh…yeah. I’m ready if you are.” He stood staring at her and tried once more
in a lame attempt to convince her that spending the evening in would be to
their best interest. “You sure you
wanna go out?” He walked up to her and
placed his hands on her waist pulling her in for a soft kiss. “We could always order in,” he whispered
against her smiling lips.
“I haven’t
been out of this house in…I can’t remember how long Landon Carter, so yes! We are going out.”
“Okay,” he
held up his hands in defense. “Okay…I get the message. You wanna go out, but if we don’t leave now
we’re never gonna make it to the movie on time.”
“I’ve been
ready Landon. I’m just waiting on you,”
she said as she gave him a flirtatious grin.
“What?” He sighed and shook his head as he watched
her walk out to their car.
“You coming?”
she called out over her shoulder. “The
movie’s not gonna wait you know.”
“Yeah…yeah…yeah…”
he chuckled on his way out the door.
They drove to
one of their favorite restaurants, Roselli’s Pizza: a small, hole in the wall
eatery that specialized in Italian dishes such as Manicotti, Lasagna, Choppino,
Antipasto and of course…Pizza. Not just
any pizza but true Italian pizza.
As the
Carter’s made their way into the little restaurant to put their name on the
waiting list they were greeted by an overly plump woman with her gray hair
piled high on top of her head.
“Ahhhh. Meester and Meeeses
Carter,” her thick Italian accent butchering almost every word she spoke. “Joo no beeeen here-ah eena sucha long
time.” She squeezed Jamie in a bear hug
saying, “Ooooh. He’sa notta feedin’
you. Nuttin’ butta skeen anda
bone.”
Jamie smiled
and hugged the woman back, “Hello Rosa.”
“Anda you,”
she smacked Landon playfully across the back of his head then pulled him in for
a hug that matched the one she gave to Jamie.
“Joo gotta make-ah sure she eats.
None-ah dis ahla have-ah salad.
Capische? Joo gotta feed her da
pasta. Putta da meat on her bones.”
“I’m working
on it Rosa,” he said as he leaned down and kissed her cheek.
“Excuse me?”
The young hostess directed her question to Landon and Jamie. “Would you like to
put your name in for a table?”
“Eh??” Rosa
called out making a wide variety of hand gestures to the new girl. “Dey no needa to wait. Whazza matta wit joo?” She led them to a quiet little table located
in the back of the restaurant. “Joo
hafta scusi thatta one. She’sa no too
much upadastairs,” she tapped her finger against her temple. “Butta she’sa good for da beezness, ifa joo
know whadda mean,” she said with a wink.
Turning to walk away she began barking orders at the other employees and
threw her hands up in the air, as she greeted another regular couple waiting at
the door, with open arms.
“So,” Landon
asked. “Whatta ita beee?”
Jamie laughed
at his impersonation and said, “hmmm…I suppose I can’t have a just a salad or
she’ll hit you again so…pizza?”
“Sure. Pizza sounds good.”
The server
walked up to the table and introduced herself taking their beverage order and
reciting the evening’s specials. “Do
you know what you’d like or do you need a few minutes?” She asked.
“Actually,”
Landon said. “I think we’re just going
to order a pizza tonight.”
“What would
you like on that?”
Landon and
Jamie both looked at one another, then at the waitress and said in unison,
“Hawaiian.”
As she walked
away Jamie called out to her, “Excuse me.
Could we get an order of fried calamari too with extra lemon?”
“Sure thing.”
“Oh,” she
called to the girl once again. “A side
salad too please, with ranch…no…wait…blue cheese…no…raspberry vinaigrette…ooooh
wait. Can I have all three?” At the waitresses disgusted look she added a
meek, “please?”
As the girl
left they held hands over the table and looked around the room.
“This place
is busy tonight,” Landon commented.
“It seems to
get busier every time we’re here.”
The waitress
arrived shortly with the salad, the three different dressings and a look that
clearly said, ‘that’s really gross.’
“So…” Landon
began but stopped short when he saw his wife digging into her salad with such
gusto. “Is that good?”
“Mmmmm…mmmm
hmmmm.”
He watched
her shove bite after bite of the concoction into her mouth and tried not to
laugh. The dressings which were placed
on the side by the waitress were now all mixed together on her plate leaving
her lettuce leaves covered with a creamy, lumpy, pink topping. “Jamie?”
“Hmmmm,” she
said as she grabbed a breadstick out of the basket in the middle of the table
using it to soak up the dressings that was pooled on the side of her salad
plate.
“Uh…baby…you
a little hungry tonight?”
“Mmmmmm,” she
shrugged and continued eating with relish.
The server
brought their appetizer of calamari to their table and a plate of lemons
asking, “Do you want a refill on your
drink?”
“No, I’m
okay,” Landon, replied looking at his half full glass of iced tea.
“Mmmmmm,”
Jamie nodded and picked up her glass sucking down the remnants of her drink
until there was a distinct slurping noise.
“Ahhhh. That’s such good
tea.” She looked at the waitress and
handed her the empty glass and asked politely, “Would you mind refilling it for
me please?”
Landon
watched as Jamie took a piece of lemon and held it over their appetizer. With one hand she poked at the fruit with a
fork and with the other hand she squeezed it’s juice out onto the batter-fried
squid. He tried in a lame attempt to
continue their conversation but she seemed completely engrossed in her current
project of saturating her food in lemon juice.
Piece after piece of the tart fruit was squeezed until it was completely
dry, then it’s rind was discarded on a near by plate. When the last piece was used and the fish was swimming in a
citrus puddle, she grabbed a fork and began to dig in. ‘What the hell...’ he thought. ‘I’ve never seen her eat so much.’
She devoured
the appetizer and drank another glass of tea while Landon sat and watched. With three pieces of calamari left on her
plate she looked at Landon and said, “Ohhhh.
Did you want some of this?”
“No,” he held
his hand out if front of him and lifted the corner of his mouth in a grin. “You go ahead and enjoy it.”
“Are you sure?”
She asked, already leading one of the three remaining pieces to her lips.
“Positive,”
he smiled.
They sat
until their pizza arrived making conversation about basic everyday things. Groceries, bills, car insurance and so
on. They made plans for the upcoming
week, arranging their events around Jamie’s doctor’s appointments.
“I thought
you didn’t have to go as often anymore,” Landon asked with concern. “I mean the bone marrow transplant was a
success so why…” he trailed off.
“Jamie? Have you been feeling
all right?”
“Oh yes. I’m feeling great. It’s just that I’ve been pretty tired lately and…well there are a
few things that I’ll be needing a doctor for.
That’s all.”
“But…I mean…”
“Landon. I’m fine.
I’ve been cancer free for quite some time now so quit worrying.”
“Yeah but…”
“Landon. Really.
I’m fine.”
His face
relaxed as she took his hand in hers and brought it up to her lips to place a
kiss against his knuckles.
“I’m more
than fine,” she smiled, “I’m starving,” she said as she released his hand and
attacked their pizza.
He grinned as
he watched her eat five pieces of pizza to his three and thought once again,
‘where on earth are you putting all of this food?’
“Would you
like dessert?” the waitress asked as she cleared their empty plates away.
“No I don’t
think…” Landon began but was quickly interrupted.
“Oh! Can I have one of those tube things? Umm…”
“Canoli?”
“Yeah. A canoli.”
“Sure. Would you care for anything sir?”
“No thank
you. I’m stuffed.” Landon watched as the waitress walked
towards the kitchen and said, “Jamie?
Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure honey,”
she reached to the center of the table and took the last breadstick out of the
basket and began to nibble.
“Where are
you putting all of this food?”
She just
looked at him and shrugged. “Just
hungry I guess,” she laughed softly.
##
“Two for You’ve
Got Mail please?” Landon was handed
the tickets through a little space in the window and took Jamie’s hand leading
her into the theater.
As the usher
took their tickets he said, “It’s down the hall and to your right. Screen number two. The movie’s just about to start so you may want to hurry,” he
advised.
Landon felt a
tug on his hand stopping him from walking down the hallway that led to the
theater. “Baby,” he said, “the screen’s
to the right.”
“Yeah but the
concession stand is to the left,” she said with a bat of her eyelashes and a
pull of his hand.
“What on
earth could you possibly want to eat after that meal at Rosa’s?”
“Well
Landon…we’re at the movies.”
“So?”
“Popcorn. You can’t see a movie without popcorn.”
“Oh.” He succumbed to her request when he noticed
the pleading look in her eyes. “Lets
get some popcorn then.”
“Thank you,”
she said softly as they made their way up to the counter.
“Hi can I
help you?” the young boy asked.
“Uh sure,”
Landon looked over the different sizes of popcorn and said, “We’ll take a small
popcorn and a small coke please.”
“Okay one
small…”
“Uh excuse
me?” Jamie interrupted. “Could you make
that a medium popcorn and a medium coke please?”
“Yes ma’am,”
the attendant replied. “You know we’re
running a special right now if you buy a large popcorn and a large soda you get
one free refill and a package of Twizzlers…”
They made
their way down the aisle of the darkened theater trying to find a seat without
spilling their booty onto the floor.
Jamie sat down in the newly furbished theater seat placing her large
soda in the cup holder and her large popcorn on the floor next to her feet
while she adjusted herself in the chair.
Landon placed
the bag of twizzlers on his lap and put his small soda in the cup holder to his
right. “Jamie,” he whispered. “I don’t understand why we couldn’t just
share the soda.”
“Hmmm?” She completely ignored him and took the box
of raisinettes out of his shirt pocket while her eyes became glued to the sight
on the movie screen.
‘It’s useless
Landon,’ he thought to himself. She was
completely engrossed in the movie.
Tom Hanks and
Meg Ryan were walking the city streets of New York while Jamie watched on and
Landon watched Jamie.
She bent down
and picked up the bucket of popcorn from the ground, delicately nibbling on the
kernels, taking turns rotating between a chocolate covered raisin and the
buttery treat. She bent over and sipped
her drink while moving her hand over to Landon’s lap. She removed a Twizzler from its packet and began chewing on the
sweet, gummy candy.
Landon’s
crooked smile went unnoticed as he continued to watch his wife enjoy the entire
movie experience. It was as if she had
never been to one before. Suddenly a
thought occurred to him. He personally,
had never taken her to a movie before; sure they had rented videos and watched
them since they’ve been married. Prior
to that they watched them either at Landon’s mom’s house or Jamie’s father’s
house, but he never took her to a theater to see one. He leaned over to whisper in her ear, “Jamie?”
“Hmmm?” She
turned toward him. Their faces were a breath apart.
“Have you
ever been to a movie before?”
Her eyes glazed
over--in a look of adoration--as she shook her head indicating no.
He leaned in,
placing a light kiss against her lips.
Reaching around her he put his arm leisurely over her shoulders in order
to let her experience the theater the way a young woman should--with her date
trying to make a move on her--he grinned to himself and dug into the bucket of
popcorn.
They watched
the romantic comedy and laughed. Jamie knew that this wasn’t exactly Landon’s
type of movie but he allowed her to choose the film this evening and she was
quite grateful. It was, after all,
their re-birthday. Well it was more her re-birthday then his, but they both
celebrated this day with delight. It was
a year ago today that she got her bone marrow transplant from an anonymous donor
and shortly there after was pronounced cancer free. Landon had a habit of calling it her re-birthday, since it was,
to him, the day she came back to life.
She held his
hand and squeezed it in her own as the credits began to roll. “Thank you for taking me to see this movie
Landon. It was very good.”
“Oh no,” he
shook his head as though every look she gave him, every glance mesmerized
him. “It was my pleasure. Watching you eat two buckets of popcorn and
an entire package of licorice was worth it alone,” he laughed.
“Well I can’t
help it that I was hungry,” she said with a mischievous grin. “Speaking of hungry…” she trailed her
fingers up his arm and curled them into the nape of his neck, pulling him to
her for a kiss.
“Mmmm,” her
murmured against her lips. His heart
began to race as he envisioned Jamie in her bra and shorts again. His breath caught in anticipation for the
night that lay ahead.
“Landon,” she
sighed.
“Yes baby?”
He moaned. His hands working their way
up her back.
She pulled away
and kissed a path from his mouth, across his jaw, to his ear whispering, “Do
you know what I want?”
“What do you
want Jamie?” he asked in a breathless reply.
The blood was pounding in his ears with excitement as his heart cracked
against his ribs.
She took a
deep breath and released it against his earlobe whispering, “Ice cream.”
His eyes flew
open in shock, “What?” He pulled back and stared at her. “What???”
“Ice cream,”
she said innocently. “Doesn’t that
sound good?”
“Ice cream?”
came his dumbfounded reply.
“Mmmm hmmm,”
she nodded. “Rocky road. I want rocky road,” she said matter of
factly and stood up to leave the theater.
“Ice cream,”
Landon mumbled to himself. “She wants
ice cream…” he trudged up the dimly lit path behind her looking at the sway of
her hips in her snug fitting pants thinking, and where are you going to put
that ice cream Mrs. Carter.
##
The Dairy
Freeze had been a part of Beaufort for more years than Landon could
remember. Landon had vague memories of
his mother and father taking him there when he was just a boy.
The jangling
of the bell hanging from the doorframe brought him back to a happier time. A time in his life girls were icky and Jamie
Sullivan was just the preacher’s daughter.
When all the other kids were idolizing Superman and Batman, Landon
thought no one was better than his father.
“Landon,
you heard your mother, if you want a banana split you’ll have to eat all of
your burger and fries first.”
“Awwwwww. But Daaaaad. There’s too many fries.”
“I’m sure
you’ll have no problem finishing them off,” his father winked at him and
grabbed a few of Landon’s fries to help make the process go a little faster.
“Landon? Landon??”
Jamie’s voice pulled him out of his dream state, “Do you know what you want?”
“Yeah,” he
grinned.
They chose a
booth next to the jukebox and sat down with their desert choices, a banana
split for Landon and a hot fudge sundae made with rocky road ice cream and a
strawberry shake chaser for Jamie.
Landon
watched his wife’s eyes light up as she dipped her spoon into her whipped cream
and said, “You’re pretty happy right now.”
“Yeah,” she
beamed. “I am.”
“Any
particular reason why?”
“Hmmm…” she
shrugged. Her eyes met his and her
heart fluttered. She was trying to
wait. She wanted to tell him tonight,
but not until they got home. She had it
all planned out. She would wait until
he suggested they lie on their hammock as he did every warm summer night before
bed, and when she was lying securely in his arms she would tell him her
news. It was just so hard to keep her
mind off of it. She wasn’t sure how he
was going to react. ‘Oh Landon,’ she
thought, ‘please be okay with this.
Please be strong for me. I’m
going to need you.’
“Hey baby?”
“Yes.”
“Nothing,” he
said breathlessly.
Their
unblinking eyes were locked.
He could feel
a force pulling him to her. It was just
as strong now as it was the first time he felt it…stronger even.
Their spoons
dropped simultaneously as they lifted themselves up and leaned over the table.
He could
taste the combination of chocolate and strawberries upon her lips as his tongue
glided across the seam of her mouth.
“Jamie,” he said hoarsely.
Her legs were
trembling as she sat back down. She
needed to tell him. She just didn’t know
how.
Landon
noticed the sudden change in her demeanor and asked, “You okay baby?”
“Yeah,” she
cleared her throat. “I’m fine.”
“You sure?”
“Mmmm hmmm,”
she said as she took a sip of her thick shake.
“You just
seem like you’ve got something on your mind.”
He was worried. He knew that she
probably wouldn’t tell him today of all days.
She wouldn’t want to ruin their day, but he couldn’t seem to get rid of
this nagging feeling that she was hiding something from him. “Jamie?
You know you can talk to me, right?
You don’t have to keep anything from me.”
She dropped
her spoon onto the napkin that laid next to her empty sundae dish and said,
“Gee Landon…really?” In an attempt to lighten the somewhat tense mood.
He could hear
the sarcasm dripping from her comment and smiled. After all this time and everything that they’ve gone through,
there was nothing that they couldn’t talk about. Yet something was amiss.
Something just wasn’t right with her tonight.
“Are you
gonna finish that?” she asked innocently eyeing up his desert and pulling him
out of his reverie.
“Well…” he
looked down at his half finished treat and back up to her grinning face. “Here,” he pushed the dish between them and
said, “Let’s share,” with a wink.
##
They drove
home silently; her hand safely nestled within his. When they arrived it was his habit to walk around to her side of
the car and open the door for her, she was usually halfway out by the time he
got there but tonight she sat and waited.
She was
nervous. She didn’t know how he would
react to the news. Could he go through
such a life-altering thing again? Was
he strong enough to face this? Could their
love survive yet another shock to her health?
“You wanna
lie out on the hammock for a little while?”
With her back
facing him she smiled and said, “I’d love to.”
They walked
hand in hand across the dewy grass to the hammock.
As they lied
there quietly, thoughts of another night like this passed through Landon’s
mind. The night he was certain that she
wouldn’t make it through till morning.
They talked about their past that night and the path that brought them
together. Landon was certain the phone call that saved her life came just hours
before impending death. He pulled her closer to him and placed a kiss against
her forehead. His palm cupped her cheek as he looked into her sparkling
eyes. “Happy re-birthday baby,” he
whispered gently.
“Landon,” she
sighed. “I love you.”
“I love you
too.”
“Oh Landon,”
she looked away and blinked back the tears.
She had to tell him. She
couldn’t keep this from him anymore.
She didn’t want to keep this from him anymore. It was time and they would face this together…come what may. She took a deep breath and released it into
the crisp night air.
“What is it
Jamie?” His voice was trembling. He was petrified of her answer, but he would
stand beside her through everything. He
vowed to love her…cherish her all the days of his life and he meant it. “Jamie,” he looked down into her tear filled
eyes. “Please baby. Tell me. What’s wrong? Is it the cancer?
Is it back?”
“What?” Her head turned sharply towards him. “My cancer?”
“Is that
what’s been bothering you?”
“Oh Landon,”
her fingers threaded through his hair as she pulled his face a breath away from
hers. “No. It’s not the leukemia.”
“Then what is
it?”
“Landon,” her
lips brushed against his and she whispered, “I’m pregnant.”
“What?” He
shook his head in disbelief. “What??”
“We’re going
to have a baby.”