Again, I suggest reading the first three chapters before beginning this one. Also, I want to emphasize that if you are expecting a story with non-stop sex, then you will be disappointed.
*
When I woke up the next morning, the first thing I did was check my car. Jessie's purse was gone. I had already noticed that her car was not in the driveway of her parent's house, and one of her parent's cars was also missing.
I tried calling her cell phone over and over, but she never answered. I left a number of messages begging her to call.
Now, all I could do was wait. Had she and her parents gone somewhere? Then why were two cars missing? I paced back and forth from one end of my house to the other for hours, like a caged lion.
Finally, finally I saw her parent's car pulling into their driveway. It was a just a little after noon.
Her parents got out of the car, but there was no Jessie.
I started walking across my yard over to theirs. When her mother, Gloria, saw me she walked over and gave me a hug.
To say I was surprised would be an understatement. I knew we were good neighbors, but not exactly what you would call best friends or anything. We always waved at each other, and often spoke to each other, mostly "Hi, how's it going?"
I had attended a couple of neighborhood functions, and it seemed like Winston, Gloria and I would usually end up sitting together but that was really just social.
"Oh Sam, Jessie is so confused right now. Won't you come over and have some coffee or tea so we can talk," she offered.
Over the course of the next two hours, I found out a lot more about Jessie.
Gloria said when Jessie came in late last night, she was crying so hard she woke her Mom up.
"At first, well . . . I thought you had done something," she said, a little sheepishly. "But when I started to say something about you, Jessie got mad at me and started defending you. Then she told me it was something she did, not you."
Over the next couple of hours, Gloria and Jessie talked. With a lot of tears thrown in.
"Sam, when she was talking about dinner and dancing . . . Sam I haven't seen her smile that much since John Bennett died. Actually, since even before that. "Did you know she and John Bennett were having problems, and almost called the wedding off?"
I was stunned.
"No, she never told me that," I said.
"It was just a couple of days before the wedding; Jessie told me she wasn't sure if she still loved John. She didn't know if she could go through with the wedding.
"Then John was killed. Did you know they had a terrible argument that night, and John left very angry?"
I shook my head.
"A few hours later he was dead . . . and Jessie blamed herself. As the weeks went by, she seemed to forget about all her misgivings. Now . . . well now John Bennett was her one true love, and they had never had any problems.
"Jessie just couldn't accept that the argument might have been responsible for his death so, at least in her mind, the argument never happened.
"What really happened was that John was shot during a bungled robbery at a convenience store. The argument had nothing to do with it. But deep inside, Jessie still blamed herself."
"Did she ever have counseling?" I asked.
"One session, and then she said that was a waste of time and money," Gloria answered. "She never went back. Somehow she managed to repress her fears and anger. At least until last night."
"She told me what happened last night. How she first cried out your name, then John's. It shook her to her very core. Did she love you, did she love John?
"But I think somewhere, way in the back of her mind, she was also thinking that if she actually didn't love John, did that mean she didn't really love you?"
"Gloria, I had no idea. I should never have let it get that far. We pushed too far, too fast," I started.
"Sam, in the past month or so I have seen Jessie come back alive. She calls me nearly every day, and I can tell you she has been happier this past month than I can ever remember.
"She also told me that last night . . . well she said she not only wanted it to happen, but needed it to happen. She needed that contact, that closeness with someone else.
"Unfortunately, her memories got in the way."
"Gloria, do you think Jessie would agree to see the same counselor I saw, after my wife's death?" I asked.
"I don't know. Maybe. Perhaps if she knew you had suggested it. Sam, Jessie is really crazy about you. Maybe she might agree if it comes from you."
Jessie woke up Sunday morning before 6 am, and told her mom she was going back to Athens because she couldn't face me. Gloria knew she was in no shape to drive by herself, so Winston drove Jessie's car, and Jessie rode with her mom back to Athens.
We talked a little while longer, then I returned home where I started looking for my counselor's business card. I finally found it, and luckily it included her cell number.
After I got her on the phone, I tried to explain.
"Look, Dr. Andrews, I have a situation, and I really need to talk to you about it. I know it is Sunday afternoon, but is there any way we can talk?" I asked.
"Sam, I am in Athens," she said.
"Umm, Athens, Greece, or Athens, Georgia?"
"Athens, Georgia," she laughed, "I could never afford Athens, Greece on what the county pays me to meet with you stoic firemen and policemen."
I knew that wasn't true. Dr. Andrews had a successful private practice, but also contracted with the county to provide counseling to any county employee who needed it, at reduced rates. Dr. Andrews explained that she was in Athens filling in for her old psychology professor. He had just had a quadruple bypass, and would be out for about a month.
"Look, Doc, this has nothing to do with the county, and I will pay your regular rates if I can just tell you what is going on. If you can help, I'll also pay your regular rates for that."
"Okay, Sam, why don't you start at the beginning," she finally agreed.
"Well, about a six weeks ago I was pulling weeds out of one of my flower beds when I heard someone yell, 'Look out.' I jumped up just in time to be knocked flat on my face by a soccer ball . . . . . . Then last night she whispered, 'Leave me alone, Sam, just leave me alone."
I had been talking for almost two solid hours, with just a few questions from Dr. Andrews.
I also told her about my conversation with Jessie's mom, and that Gloria thought Jessie might agree to meet with someone if she knew the suggestion came from me.
"Doc, she is in her dorm room. Do you think you could call her and see if she will see you? This is really important to me, Doc."
"I'll call her, Sam, but if she says no, then there's nothing I can do," said Dr. Andrews.
Dr. Andrews had said she would call me back, and 30 minutes later she did.
"Well, that was an interesting conversation. As soon as I told her who I was and that I was a psychologist, I thought she was going to cuss me out, then hang up. She did cuss me out, but before she could hang up I managed to say the magic word," she explained.
"Magic word? You mean 'please,'" I asked.
"No, I mean the magic word 'Sam,' as in Sam asked me to call. Sam is very, very worried about you.
"She just whispered your name, 'Sam? Sam asked you to call? Sam is worried?' Then she started crying.
"I am on my way now to her dorm room. I thought she might feel a little more comfortable there, than in this motel. I'll call you later, okay?"
I figured it would take a couple of hours to hear back, so I left to get something to eat.
Came back and waited and waited and waited. Two hours, three hours, four hours and I am pacing back and forth like a madman.
Finally, five hours later, my phone rings.
