Chapter 21
"Ray, hurry up!" Jessica said. "We're going to be late."
"Jessica, the movie theater is right down the hallway. We're fine" I said.
"Yea, but the movie starts at 11"
"And it's 10:55. Calm down. There are also a bunch of previews before the movie starts."
"Yea, but we have a full day of stuff to do."
"I know. We can't control how long the movie is either. If we can't finish it today then we'll do it tomorrow. It's not like we have school. It's June 30th, remember?"
She did not say anything after that. She walked back from her running lead and grabbed my hand tight and walked with me. I guess she understood.
We got to the movie theater and bought the tickets. We were out pretty early than normal. Jessica had this whole day planned out for a week now. She emphasized it had to be this Friday for some reason. The first thing she did was make me breakfast when she woke up. She did that before, but this time she went all out. She made eggs, sausage, grits, pancakes, and waffles. Now we were at the movies to watch Jack Reacher, a movie I always wanted to see, but was too lazy to go.
"2 tickets for Jack Reacher, please." I told the woman at the ticket counter.
"Here you go. Enjoy." she said.
"You want popcorn or anything?" I asked Jessica.
"Whatever you want. Like I said you're not paying for anything today. I want to treat you." she said.
"I told you I don't like it when girls treat me to things."
"Shut up. What do you want?"
"Just a small soda, Nestle Crunch, and small popcorn for us to share."
"You could have just said the usual."
"The usual."
Jessica rolled her eyes and went to go order the stuff. I really did not like her treating me to all this, but she was dead set on it so I might as well let her. When she was done we went to go find some seats. The movie has been out for a while so not many people were there. The seats up top were free so we sat there.
"This is going to be the best day ever." Jessica said. "Watch." Then she kissed me on the cheek and laid on my shoulder. The movie began and she stayed like that the whole time.
"You liked it?" Jessica asked me as we left the movie theater.
"It was better than I expected. And I expected it to be okay." I told her.
"Nice. Glad you enjoyed it. What you want to do next?"
"You're the head of this operation. You decide."
She stood and thought about it. "Um. Are you hungry? We could do lunch?" Jessica finally said.
"Yea. I could use some lunch."
"Then it's settled. Where you want to go?"
"To save time we could eat her in the mall. Let's go to the food court."
"That's not romantic at all."
"So. I'm with you. I'm happy." I kissed her.
"Fine."she smiled. "Let's go."
"We went up into the mall. The food court was huge so there were a lot of options. We walked around for a few minutes and made my decision.
"I want Japanese." I said to her.
"I never did give you Japanese food yet. I like the idea." Jessica said and went to the stand to order. "I'm going to order our whole lunch. You won't be disappointed."
After that she ordered our food. The only thing was she said everything in Japanese. I had no idea what she ordered. Then while we waited she had a full conversation with the woman working there. I only caught on to a couple of words because of the anime I watch. I believe they were discussing where they were from because I heard Jessica say something about Tokyo. In the end I had no idea.
"Aye. Arigatou, Hansee-chan" Jessica said as the woman handed her two bags. "You ready for this? She makes authentic Japanese food."
"That's what you two was talking about?" I asked.
"That and how her kids were doing in Japan. We talked before."
"Oh. That explains why you said 'chan'."
"So you do know some Japanese."
"Yeah. I want to learn, but that might take years. Maybe you could teach me some in these last few months."
"There is a table. Let's go eat." She said completely ignoring me.
We sat at a table in the corner. I opened my bag. It was rice, a seaweed looking thing in soy sauce and some type of meat.
"What is this?" I asked Jessica.
"It's fried fish with rice and seaweed duck sauce. My mom makes this sometimes. It's really good. Try it."
I tried the most skeptical thing first. I took the fork and took the seaweed.
"Eat it with the rice. It's better like that." Jessica said before I ate.
I did just that. I trust her. I took my first bite. It was really good. The seaweed was dry, but the duck sauce made it moist and gave it a sweet taste to it. I took a piece of the fish. It was different from any other fried fish I had. It was better.
"Wow. This is amazing." I said.
"I knew you would like it." Jessica said after she swallowed her mouth full. "People think Japanese just eat ramen all day."
"You do." I laughed.
"Shut up, idiot."
I did. I finished my whole lunch in six minutes. Jessica finished soon after.
"That was wonderful." Jessica said. "Good choice for lunch."
"For some reason I think you would have chosen the same place."
"Maybe." she smiled. I know her.
"So, beautiful. Where we going now?"
"That is a surprise. Let's go."
As we walked to the entrance Jessica called a cab. What was she up to now?
We sat on the bench to wait. The whole time we talked. For some reason she seemed distracted. She kept looking at her phone for text messages and the time. She kept tapping her foot. She seemed very impatient today. Finally the cab showed up twenty minutes later.
I got in first. Jessica walked over to the driver. She then whispered something in his ear. I assumed the place we were going. She went to the back and sat next to me smiling.
"Is it that serious?" I said.
"Yes it is. Just sit back and relax, Sweetie." she responded.
"Not in public, Jessica." I said under my breath embarrassed. She just laughed.
"So this is why you said dress casual." I said to her as I looked at the place we arrived to.
"Yep." she said. "You like the surprise?"
"I love the surprise. Six Flags. Damn."
"That's not all." She pulled two flash passes out of her pocket. "I got these too."
"I love you so much."
"I know. Let's get started. It's 3:30. We are here until 7. We have to go back to the house to change."
"Let me guess. Dinner. Where? Wait, it's a surprise, huh?"
"If you know that then let's get started." she said and dragged me along and into the entrance. She's gone all out for this day.
By time I noticed it was already 6:30. The time in the park went fast even with the flash passes. Right now Jessica was currently in the bathroom. I waited on a bench outside. I saw a cotton candy stand so I bought one for us to share when she got out. The whole time there was great. We manage to go on every ride. Some we did twice. We did bumper karts, laser tag, and much more. We did basically everything except water rides.
Except for one…which was why Jessica was in the bathroom. I had on waterproof shorts so I was fine. She was not as lucky.
She came out of the bathroom a few minutes later with a park bought shirt on. She still had on the shorts. Her wet shirt was in a bag.
"You're cruel!" she said.
"I said you did not have to go on." I said. I was laughing the whole time.
"You said I was not going to get wet!"
"I did? I thought I said you were going to get really wet. My bad."
"I hate you." she said as she hit me.
"I'm sorry, Jessica. Here." I handed her the cotton candy.
"I said not to buy anything."
"It's just cotton candy. I know you love it. C'mon. smile!"
She did. "You lucky you're cute." She took the cotton candy and took a piece. "I called a cab while I was in there."
"Back to the house?"
"Yep."
"Thank you for this. The day."
"Don't thank me yet. The day is not over." She sounded more disappointed than happy. At least to me.
We walked back to the entrance. We did not have to wait long for the taxi this time. It only took ten to fifteen minutes. We both got in the back this time. She told the driver where to go and collapsed on my shoulder. She was exhausted.
"We don't have to do anymore today." I said. "I had a great time. You did enough."
"No. We are finishing this day, Ray. I'm just going to rest a bit now. I'm fine." she said.
This day was really important to her it seems. I still did not know why. We had two more months to do this. She's trying to do it in one day.
"Alright. Whatever you want." I said. She was already asleep. I kissed her forehead and we drove.
About forty five minutes later we arrived back at the house. I woke her up. She immediately looked at her phone. It was 7:40. It was dark out.
We got out and she paid the guy.
"Okay. We have about an hour or so to get ready. I'll take a shower first." Jessica said as she went into the house.
"Where are we going?" I asked again as I followed her in.
"You know I'm not saying. Just dress in something formal. Shoes, slacks, button up, and a tie is optional." She took off up stairs.
My parents were not home. They told me they went to go see Grandma. I usually go, but they knew about the day Jessica had planned for us. They said they were going to be back tomorrow. When I did not know.
I honestly did not know they were going to be so cool with Jessica and I dating. We told them a week after we were together. I think they already knew though. My mom said she expected that to happen from the start. I guess that would make sense.
I heard the shower come on. She did that pretty fast. I turned the TV on and waited until she was done. I wonder what else she had in store for me today.
It was 9:25. The cab just pulled up to the restaurant. The place she chose was Rome's Palace. One of the most expensive restaurants in the city, no, the State of New Jersey. I looked down at what I was wearing. I had shoes, black pants, white button up, no tie. I started to think I under-dressed for the occasion. Jessica said I was fine. I doubt that.
Jessica on the other hand looked gorgeous. She cleaned up well in an hour. She wore a strapless red dress that was not tight, but showed her curves. She also wore three inch black heels. She also had on just the right amount of makeup. Her hair was the same, but different at the same time. I was not used to seeing her like this, but she was stunning.
"Maybe I should have grabbed that tie." I said as we went into the restaurant. The inside was just as grand as the inside. It was covered in red velvet, dimly lit, the tables and chairs were golden. There was a huge chandelier hanging from the ceiling. This place was enormous, but not many people were there.
"I told you that you look fine." She told me. "Reservations for two. Kim and Randel" She told the maitre d.
"Ah, Ms. Kim. Right this way." the man said.
We did not go into the dining hall. We went up the steps. There was a series of rooms in a long hallway. We stopped at an open door. A table was set up with candles. There was a fish tank with tropical fish swimming.
"As requested, your private room." said the maitre d.
"Thank you." I said. Not really knowing what to say.
"He gave a head bow. "Your waiter will be with you shortly." Then he left and closed the door behind him.
"A private room?" I said. "How did you afford this?"
"It was only twenty dollars more. I know you don't like people around either. Do you like it?" Jessica asked.
"I like it a lot. It's beautiful. You're beautiful, but why?"
"I told you that this is a special day. Enjoy it."
I went over and pulled her chair out for her and she sat.
"What a gentleman." she joked.
"I still got my manners even though you're treating me to this like a child." I said.
"You are still sour about that. A woman could buy things too, macho man. Just enjoy it and let it happen."
Moments later the waiter came through a door from the back.
"I'm Ben. I'll be your personal waiter this evening." He said then handed us menus. "I'll be back soon." He walked out.
Jessica and I looked through the menus for a couple minutes. Jessica put hers down.
"I ordered lunch for us. You could do dinner." she said.
"Thanks for the pressure, baby." I said.
"No problem." she smiled.
I looked through the menu some more. Ben came back wanting the order moments later.
"You're ready, sir?" Ben asked.
"Yes. We both will have the caesar salad for an appetizer. The main course will be the prime rib dinner, medium on the rib, and dessert the Lemon meringue pie. A Sprite for me and Grape juice, for the lady."
"Yessir. We'll have your salads momentarily." He left out with the menu.
"Wow." Jessica said. "I did not expect you to have all three courses ordered. Impressive."
"Yea. I knew you like similar things to me. Do you like the order?" I asked. I really wasn't sure.
"I'm perfectly fine with it. I was thinking the same thing really."
"Don't just say that."
"I wouldn't." she smiled. "I'm telling the truth."
A few minutes later Ben returned with two salads. Our dinner began.
The whole dinner was wonderful. From the salad to the pie. The main course consisted of 2 prime ribs, mashed potatoes and gravy, steamed broccoli, and cornbread, but not the one I'm use to. The pie was wonderful. That came with a bowl of vanilla ice cream. After the dinner I was stuffed. I could barely move.
"Did you enjoy your meal?" Ben asked as he returned after dessert.
"Yes, Ben, we did." I said.
"It was marvelous." Jessica said.
"Here is your bill, sir."
"Nope I'm treating." Jessiaca said. "Here." she pulled her card out of her purse and handed it to him without looking at the bill.
"Thank you ma'am." He left out with the card.
"You don't need to see the bill?" I asked.
"I got enough no matter the price." she said. "The whole point is that you're happy."
Ben came back quick. He handed Jessica her card back.
"Thank you both for eating here. Have a nice night." He said and walked back to the back. Jessica pulled out a twenty and put it in the middle of the table.
"Are you ready to go?" she asked.
"Our nights not over?" I responded.
"We're headed back to the house, but no the night is not over yet."
I looked at my phone. It was already 11:30? What else had she planned?
We left the restaurant and she called a cab for the last time.
"You're still not tired?" I asked her.
"No. I rested enough on your shoulder. Are you tired?"
"No I'm fine surprisingly."
"Good. You might just need that energy." she smiled. What did she mean by that?
A few minutes later the cab pulled up. At 12:10 we arrived home for the rest of the night. I was intrigued about what was about to happen next.
I went into the living room. Jessica went upstairs. She said she had to go get something. I turned on the TV just for light though. I did not care what was on and I did not want to turn on the living room light because that was too bright. I rarely turn that on. I sat on the couch and waited for Jessica. A minute later she came from around the corner with something in her hand.
"Here. I got you a gift." she said.
"What is it?" I asked.
"Open it, smart one."
I took the gift. It was a box or something. I opened it. It was the complete first season Naruto. I wanted this for a while now.
"You are the greatest girlfriend ever! I love you so much. Thank you." I hugged her.
"I know. You're welcome, Ray."
"I've been wondering all day though. Why? You had to spend like a thousand dollars today. We did so much. Why today? We still got two months left, but you are acting like…" Then it hit me. And the look on her face kind of confirmed it. "Don't tell me…'
"I'm leaving tomorrow Or today seeing the time." she said. "That's why. Surprised you did not realize it earlier."
I was shocked. "What the hell! Tomorrow? Why? This makes no sense."
"I'm sorry. My father is ill. It's kinda bad. My mom wants me to come home and help take care of him and the company. I was supposed to leave before school was over, but I begged her to stay to finish school. I also wanted to stay with you. I didn't say anything because I didn't want to ruin the time we had together. I'm sorry."
"I guess my parents know."
"Yes they do. They're not at your grandma's house either. I paid for a hotel for them for the night. Oh yea, my mom sent me money. I wanted to spend my last day here with you. Just you."
I heard everything she said. I understood. That still did not hold back the tears. I knew this was going to happen.
"I'm sorry for your father, but do you have to go?" I asked
"Family orders. I have to go tomorrow. I'm hurting just as much as you, but I expected it."
"Well I didn't! This is why I did not want to get into this. I knew I was going to feel like this. I was prepared to let you go, but not this early. I love you so much."
"I love you too. That's why" Jessica came over and wiped my tears away. Then she kissed me. It was different from any other kiss though. It had way more passion in it.
"Tonight. I want to have sex with you." she said.
"But…" I started
'I don't know when I'm going to see you again. And I want no regrets. I want this. Please!"
" I don't know. I don't even have a condom."
"I told you." She pulled a condom out of her purse and threw the purse behind her. "I have everything planned."
"Are you sure? This is big. For both of us."
"I am. I thought about this for a while. I'm ready. If you are."
I kissed her. "I am, but I have no idea what I'm doing. This is my first time."
"I don't know either." She kissed me back. "But let's just experience this together."
We kissed again for a while. She looked passionately into my eyes and guided me to the couch. We made love for the rest of the night. Then we fell asleep in each other's arms for our last night together.