“His X-Rays showed only one small bullet fragment and it was easy to get to it, so no worries there. He will be on antibiotics for a couple of weeks to prevent any possible infection. Fortunately, the paramedics got to him in time to get enough fluid into his veins that his heart didn’t stop and also we got lucky and didn’t lose him on the operating table either. He was in really bad shape when he got here, but things are definitely looking better now than when he first arrived. The prognosis for a full recovery is looking very good right now.”
“Thank you, ma’am.” Jessica said as Dr. Michelle Adams stepped closer and placed her hand on Jessie’s shoulder. The doctor gave her shoulder an affectionate squeeze along with a gentle shake. Then patted her on the upper arm before returning to work still smiling. It was as close to a hug as propriety would allow for total strangers. But Michelle was happy inside because it was always a pleasure when you were able to give a grieving family some good news.
“I believe that I am feeling rather peckish at the moment!” Rebecca exclaimed using her best attempt at imitating a British accent. This elicited a giggle from both Jessica and Melanie.
“Oh, no! You poor dear,” Melanie commiserated. “I had truly hoped that someone had escaped Jason’s indoctrination into the Monty Python genre!”
“Honey, you haven’t lived until you see Jase and Roe perform ‘The Dead Parrot Sketch1‘ together.” Rebecca said. “Roe’s Mexican accent is so strong that he can’t really do the British accent too well. That in itself is worth the price of admission! Jase does all of the John Cleese lines and Roe does the lines recited by Michael Palin as the shopkeeper. They are hilarious together!”
“Oh, trust me! We know! They do that gag for EVERYBODY! They also do Jake and Elwood Blues. The entire opening to the first Blues Brothers movie right up to the part where they park in front of the orphanage. That one has everyone rolling in the aisles too!”
The three girls laughed at the images that invoked, then they all agreed that they were starting to get a little hungry as well as thirsty too. Everyone that had donated whole blood or plasma had been instructed to drink plenty of healthy fluids like apple juice or orange juice and to eat well after their donations. None of the three girls wanted to part company with the others so together they gathered in the nearly deserted hospital cafeteria for some sustenance.
They purchased their needs after passing through the buffet line and found a table in a quiet corner for some privacy, being steered to that location by Rebecca. Neither Jessica or Melanie were immediately aware that she had manipulated them into being separated a good distance away from the rest of the people present in the room. Rebecca had an agenda with these two and she had decided to pursue it a few minutes ago after the doctor had reported on Jason to them. Once they were seated, Rebecca gathered her courage to address the other girls.
“Jessie, I know that you probably have no reason to like me at all much less trust me, but please do. I promise both of you that I have no desire to hurt either one of you or Jason. In the past, you were always so distant and aloof with me, but today we’re both behaving just like long lost friends. You hugged me just a few minutes ago and that one little act of kindness made a HUGE world of difference to me. I want us to stay close like this! We really need this Jessie.
“When Jason and I were dating, it made me sad that I couldn’t approach you without walking on eggshells. I never tried to push your buttons, but it just seemed like whenever I spoke to you that I was irritating you somehow. I never wanted us to be enemies. I always wanted you to be just like family to me.” Having spoken her peace, Rebecca lowered her eyes and studied her hands that were resting in her lap. Jessica raised her hand and placed her index and middle fingers gently on Rebecca’s lips to seal her silence.
“Becky, let me stop you right there. I need to apologize to you because everything that happened between us, you and me, was totally my fault. You didn’t do anything wrong other than fall in love with and date my brother. I treated you badly because I was childish and inconsiderate. You didn’t do anything at all to deserve it, but I was still such a bitch to you. It was entirely my mistake and I am terribly sorry for what I did. I was so very, very wrong for how I treated you and it will never happen again if you will please forgive me.”
“Oh Jessie! Absolutely! You’re totally forgiven! Pax?” Rebecca reached out and grasped Jessica’s forearm just below the elbow while Jessica did the same in return. A singular-motion forearm shake between the two girls followed and they grinned at one another.
“Pax,” exclaimed Jessica!
Rebecca took a deep breath and steeled herself for the next part. “Jessie, honey, please don’t freak out on me. I promise that your secret is totally safe with me. It will stay right here with the three of us for all time and my hand to God, Jess, I will never tell another living soul.”
Jessica cocked her head slightly to the side, a puzzled look upon her face. Rebecca lowered her voice to just above a whisper before she plunged ahead.
“The whole reason that you used to hate me was because you were in love with your brother, right? I’ve seen how jealous women behave, hun. You were showing all of the symptoms. That combined with how Jase was keeping you at a distance told me everything that I needed to know.
“But the thing is this, I didn’t figure it out until last Sunday. It was just like trying to assemble a large jigsaw puzzle.” Rebecca noticed Jessica’s demeanor suddenly change to alarm, so she altered her tack. “Easy, babe! Calm down! I told you that I am on your side. Everything is okay and the secret is safe!”
Melanie had moved her own chair in closer now to show support for Jessica.
“Honey, please listen to me. I am not going to hurt anyone here and I’m not asking for anything in return other than just friendship and acceptance. Jase and I have not spoken to each other since our breakup and it is killing me.”
“That’s not entirely true,” Melanie stepped in, the irritation showing in her voice. “You called him on the phone the other day.”
“That’s true in a technical sense. What I mean is that he and I have not spoken at length or had a full conversation since I walked out on him. Look, I’m just trying to share a little information with you to help everyone out. I still care deeply about Jase and I want the three of you to be happy. I am trying to do everything I can to help him, and both of you, too. Please believe me. I am here to give and not to take.
“What you don’t know is that when Jase and I were together I was so totally besotted that my whole world revolved around him and making him happy. I guess it still does even though the embers have cooled a little bit. He has a very dominant personality though and that can sometimes make it difficult and frustrating when dealing with him. So my solution to that problem was to study him closely for certain ‘tells’, just like a poker player does with his opponents. I wanted to be able to correctly read him so that if I were setting my feet wrong, I could change course and fix it immediately before I made him angry.
“To the average person on the street, his quirks are just normal things that everyone else does, so no one really notices. But I was so very deeply in love with Jase,” Rebecca paused briefly and then continued, “Truth be told, I still am.” She paused for a moment to take a deep breath and continued on.
“So a couple of weeks ago, I happened to stop by Kroger for some things that I needed at home. Imagine my surprise when I saw the two of you with Jason inside of the grocery store. You guys never noticed me, but I watched the three of you for a few minutes.
“When Jase and I were dating, there were a couple of times that just out of brotherly love and affection, I noticed him hold your hand for a minute or two. Back then the two of you were holding hands like this.” Rebecca demonstrated by taking Jessica’s hand and curling her own around it holding palm to palm with her fingertips wrapped around the pinky finger side to the back. “When I hold hands with someone in my own family, I do the same thing. So there is nothing out of the normal for this gesture. But then, when I saw you in the store the other day, he was holding hands with you like this.” She changed her grip so that their fingers were now separated and interlaced together, palm to palm and wrist to wrist.
“So?” Jessica asked with a look of curiosity on her face.
Leaning forward to whisper gently into Jessica’s ear Rebecca continued, “That is specifically Jason’s tell for intimacy. He only does that with a girl if he has made love to her. I swear to God that I will not tell another living soul, but I have no doubt that you and Jason are intimate lovers now. All three of you are in a love triangle together. I also saw the kiss between the two of you when you thought that no one was around to see it.” She nodded in Mel’s direction. “That was so totally hot that it left me breathless!
“I’ve seen two girls kiss before. I mean, at this college the girls outnumber the guys nearly 3 to 1, so a certain amount of sapphic love is bound to come out around here. But when you two kissed, it was so totally different somehow. Maybe it was the extra passion that you two put into it. But the two of you knocked my socks off. I have never felt attracted to another female, ever! But after watching the two of you, if the right girl approached me in the right way, maybe I could be seduced into trying it out just to see how it feels.”
Melanie’s face was as white as a ghost and Jessica was too stunned for words. The three young women just sat there for several moments exchanging glances back and forth between them.
“You need to keep this shit quiet!” Melanie had finally found her voice and raised it several levels. “If rumors like that get started it would hurt a lot of people and cause irreparable damage!” In a role reversal, it was Jessica that made the move to calm Melanie down this time.
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