Thank you all for the positive encouragement. I'm good most days when it comes to coming to terms with the end of my marriage - you know the term "life goes on". Well, it's marching forward for this girl and I can truly say that I am blessed for it.
I also would like to thank those who took time to read my work and have enjoyed it so much so far. I am not going to go so far with the sex in this update, but the story between these two does move forward, as well as for another pair of characters related to the main couple. One thing to keep in mind is while writing this update I listened to "Charlene" by Anthony Hamilton - it will make some sense later in the chapter. Actually the whole album reminds me so much of the 50s, 60s & 70s R&B songs of love and loss that made music of that time so incredible.
Please comment -- constructive criticism is much appreciated. Thanks all!
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*
"How are you today miss?" asked the polite bus driver as he smiled down on the smaller woman.
"Fine. Thanks for asking." mumbled Julianne, swiftly turning her head away from the smiling man.
"That's good. Where are you going today?" He asked, still smiling at her.
"I'm going to Little Falls, New Jersey." she answered while looking at her bag.
She handed over the ticket she paid for in cash to the smiling man. She felt nervous and uncomfortable with him looking at her the way he did. He took the ticket, making sure to subtly touch her fingers. Her hand snapped back from his in surprise at the contact. Instead of the heat she was used to seeing in Peter's flaming eyes, there was a warmth in his deep brown eyes that seemed reassuring as he looked back at her. She blinked a little in confusion, and looked away waiting for him to be finished with whatever he needed to do with her ticket.
"Here you go miss. Do you have any bags you need to check?" he asked politely while handing back her ticket.
"Just my backpack. I'll be carrying my purse on the bus." she stated while looking up at him briefly. He smiled again, and effortlessly picked up the bag after checking the paper tags on it.
She turned to walk up to the bus. On her way up the stairs she heard him say, "I hope you enjoy the ride."
Her head turned slightly to the side before continuing up the steps, pretending to ignore the double entendre and knowing that he was watching her ass move under her heavy black sweatpants as she walked away.
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*
"This doesn't look good Josie." said Jacob to his wife.
They both looked in the distance as they saw Peter talking to Julianne. Peter stopped walking, and waiting for Julianne to notice. The background noise of the party kept the couple's conversation a mystery to the two onlookers. Josephine stepped closer to her husband. She sighed and took his arm in her own.
"No baby. It doesn't look good at all." she said as he wrapped a hand over her exposed one.
They watched the scene unfold before their eyes. Julianne stopped Peter from talking, and put her hand over her stomach. She said some more words before turning around and walking away from Peter toward the front gate of the mansion. A valet came up to her to ask her where her car would be. She must have told him to contact Peter, but before he could do so Peter was standing right behind her.
They watched him run his hand down the back of her exposed arms and lean in to her slightly once the young man went away to retrieve their driver and vehicle. Once the man showed up, Peter said some words to him. During this entire exchange, from the moment Peter came to Julianne's side, she had her head down and turned away from Peter.
The midnight blue Rolls Royce came up to the waiting couple and Peter opened the door for her before turning fully to the driver and giving him some directions. They heard the door close in the distance and watched, along with Peter, as the car left the party, leaving their eyes with a burning trail of red tail lights.
Josephine sprung into action the moment she saw Peter move unsteadily on his feet. The moment she reached him, Jacob was in the other direction shouting for a doctor in the house to help a collapsed Peter. By the time Jacob came out with a doctor, Josephine laid next to Peter, checking for a pulse.
"Please step aside madam. He needs a bit more room." grumbled the much older man as he shooed Josephine away from Peter's side.
"Watch how you talk to my wife doctor!" said Jacob in a menacing tone.
The older man waved an irritated hand at him as his other hand went to Peter's pulse. It was slightly irregular and faint. Peter's breathing was labored. The older man contacted the hospital where he was the head of cardiology, realizing that Peter was going into cardiac arrest.
The ambulance came within moments of the doctor's initial call. The paramedics loaded Peter into the back of the vehicle and allowed the doctor to come aboard to administer first aid to him. They arrived at the hospital in minutes with Josephine and Jacob in a car following right on the heels of the emergency vehicle.
The hospital's intake staff gathered Peter's information and made Josephine and Jacob wait in the waiting room near the emergency room entrance. Jacob paced around the room making phone calls all over the place. He started with Josephine's mother, Millie, and ended with a call to Peter's father, Stephen. Within the hour several of Peter's longtime friends and college fraternity brothers, Millie, and finally Stephen came to be there for the news of Peter's health.
Josephine kept close to her mother, who held her own shaking hand. Peter's mother Maryse died about a decade earlier from a long battle with skin cancer, and Peter, who was not close to his father since their discussion all those years ago, did not keep in touch with him except to argue over the direction of the firm he inherited.
