Love Me Tonight

“I am, and I’m sorry, Judson. It’s really nice of you to do this, but I’m feeling too sick to be civil, much less good company.”

At least she didn’t apologize for the way she looked, and she needn’t have. The woman looked great even with a runny nose, watery eyes. He walked into her room where she was clutching the covers tight around her neck. Why didn’t that surprise him? He didn’t laugh, but it took a lot to keep a straight face. “Have you had lunch?”

“I don’t think I ate today, but if you brought me eggs, I’ll scramble them and eat a bit later.”

He removed his jacket and hung it on the back of a chair. “I can do that, Heather. Don’t get up. I’ll find what I need.”

He awakened her sometime later to the aroma of chicken. He had placed a tray on a chair beside her bed. “Think you could eat a little something?” he asked her in a tender voice.

When she tried to sit up, Judson reached over, and propped some pillows behind her back. “If you’ll give me a second, I’ll get you a damp towel and you can wash you face.” He came back with the towel and handed it to her. “You’ll feel better.”

She did as he suggested. “You’re right. I do.” She looked at the tray beside the bed. “You fixed all that?”

“It isn’t much. If you eat a little of everything, you’ll feel better. And take this Ester-C vitamin.” He put the tray in her lap and sat on the chair.

“Chicken soup.” She tasted it. “Judson, this is delicious. Why’d you go to all this trouble?”

“I wanted to make you feel badly for blowing me off,” he said with a smile.

With the spoon halfway between the soup bowl and her mouth, she paused and looked at him with a curious expression. Suddenly she laughed. “You’re sarcastic, and I wouldn’t have thought so.” She tasted the soup. “This is so good.”

“Eat some of the eggs. You need the protein.”

She ate the two scrambled eggs. “Hmm. You weren’t kidding.” She frowned slightly and seemed to be making up her mind about something. She finished chewing the toast and put her fork on the tray.

“I want to ask you about something you said the night we met, and if you think I’m out of line, just say so. I can handle it.”

“Fine. As long as you don’t ask me why I’m here.”

“I wasn’t going to ask that. The night we met, you said ‘I was lucky I was anybody’s child.’ Scott didn’t say anything, but it got me thinking. May I ask what you meant?”

He never had liked answering personal questions. He had nothing to hide, but he liked his privacy and guarded it tenaciously. Considering where the conversation seemed headed, it was better that she know now rather than later. “I was adopted, Heather, and now that both of my parents have died, I’m at a loss about my birth parents. I never asked my mother and father, because they loved me so much, and I was a happy child. But I always wanted to know about my background, especially who I looked like. I didn’t ask them because I was afraid they’d think I was unhappy or that I was lacking something that I thought my birth parents could have given me.”

“I’m sorry, Judson. Your parents seem to have done exceedingly well by you.”

“Absolutely. They couldn’t have done a better job, and especially since I was at times very wayward.”

“You!” she exclaimed, in a teasing voice.

“I had a mind of my own, and if I didn’t see the logic in something, I wouldn’t do it. That caused friction between me and my parents until they understood and took the time to explain things to me. By the time I was twelve, we didn’t have those problems.”

“I can’t imagine how important it is to you to know who your biological parents are, but will you be terribly unhappy if you don’t find them?”

“I don’t have to meet them, Heather. I just want to know who they are or were. Then I’ll have a better sense of who I am. My adoption probably improved my chances for a good life, so I don’t think I missed out on anything material.”

She resumed eating her soup. “This is so good.” She put down her spoon. “Judson, if your adoptive parents loved each other and treated you well, you are fortunate. My parents constantly fought. Dad claims that they were madly in love when they first got married, though I never believed it—they acted as if they hated each other. When I was nine, my mother had had it. She left, and I have no idea where she is. When I asked my father about her, he said marriage was very difficult for her, that the day-to-day discipline of marriage didn’t suit everyone. I believe that.”

He could see that it still pained her. “I’m sorry that your childhood was unpleasant. What does your father do?”

Her pride was obvious when she smiled and said, “He taught history at the university until he retired six years ago. They’ve named a distinguished chair for him in the department. Now, unfortunately, he’s confined to the house and sometimes to bed. He hasn’t been well for a couple of years.”

“At least you still have him with you,” Judson said. “Do everything you can for him, so when he’s gone, you won’t have any regrets.”

She closed her eyes briefly, and he imagined that the thought of losing her father hurt her. He covered her hand with his because he couldn’t help it. “Is there anyone close to you?” She let her hand remain covered by his.

“Thanks. There’s Annie. She keeps house for my father and takes care of him. She’s like a mother to me. Father hired her after my mother left, and…I used to wish he’d marry her.”

“So you’d have a mother?”

She looked at him almost as if seeing him for the first time. “I don’t know. I hadn’t figured that out. Maybe. You are very perceptive.”

He could see that she was beginning to tire. “Let me take that tray back to the kitchen. I’ve stayed too long, and you’re getting tired.” While he cleaned the kitchen, his mind traveled back to their conversation. He hoped they would get to know each other, and after today he liked her even more than before. She was compassionate and caring, and those traits in a woman meant everything to him.

“I’d better go, Heather. Do you mind if I look in on you or call to see how you are?”

“I don’t mind at all. I don’t think I’ll go in to work tomorrow, but I may. Mind can control matter.”

“I don’t doubt that one bit,” he said.

“Thank you for the visit, for the company and for my wonderful supper.”

“The pleasure was mine.” He put a bottle of Ester-C vitamins in her hand. “Take two before you sleep.” Then, he leaned down and kissed her cheek. He hadn’t planned to do it, and he surprised himself. “Don’t go to sleep without locking that door.”

“It will lock automatically when you leave, but I’ll double check.” She seemed suddenly pensive. “Judson, I don’t lead a normal life. If you invest your time in me, it may prove futile.”

“Don’t be so sure. Good night, Heather.”

“Good night, Judson.”

He got on the elevator and, after standing there for a while, realized that he forgot to push the button. As he descended, he felt a growing confidence. He took a chance, and it paid off. Heather Tatum wouldn’t be easy. She had to be tended like a seedling in a garden. Fine with him. He had the time and the patience.

When he got home, he greeted his dog, Rick, checked his answering machine and saw that he had five calls from Scott.

He dialed Scott’s home number. “What’s eating you? I didn’t get five calls from you all last month,” Judson said.

“Where the heck were you? How’s Heather? Is she mad at me?”

He sat down, rested his left ankle on his right knee and prepared to enjoy himself. “How would I know? To the best of my knowledge, she didn’t mention your name.”

“Come on, man. How is she?”

“Well, when I give a woman TLC, she becomes as soft as a pillow. You should try it.”

“Judson,” Scott said firmly. “Heather’s my friend. Is she all right?”

“She has a bad cold, and she hadn’t eaten all day. So I gave her soup, scrambled eggs and toast.”

“Good. Are the two of you going to be friends? I mean…you know what I mean.”