The honeymoon

“We have all the time in the world”

She hissed as her lips grazed his cheek.

“But babe we’ll miss our UBER and it’ll be here in five minutes”, argued Jim as his arms tried to create a gap between himself and Gabby.

“To hell with it”, came her protest as her body closed the distance between herself and him.

Jim breathed a shuddery sigh of concession as his lips reintroduced themselves to hers. Gabby got what Gabby wanted and this morning all she wanted was him. She had a way with Jim that he couldn’t fully comprehend. One could liken it to a mind bending spell that made him puddy in her hands or a puppet on strings. Her mouth continued to goad his further into a dance only lovers could do & by now there was no more talk of the UBER as their lips continued to mingle. 

“..Ga…Gab…Gabby”

“mmm…Yes?”,she asked in a sultry manner that would turn any man to goo.

Jim made a little distance between them with a heavy breath and continued,”We made reservations for seven at Raul’s that we sure as hell cannot afford to cancel”

Gabby with her hands to her hips said,”Well if it’s soooo ‘important’ let’s get going we wouldn’t want ‘Raul’s’ to be disappointed now would we?!” 

She turned away from Jim but not before giving him a pout to remember. He scratched his hair, almost regretting his dumb statement. 

“You really did know how to kill the mood don’t you? You clutz!”, came the thought in his mind. 

The UBER ride to Raul’s was punctuated by silence as Gabby looked out the window whilst Jim childishly fiddled his fingers whilst glancing at his timepiece every five seconds. 

“You know we could have rescheduled right?”, Gabby said as her voice tried not to betray her annoyance at him.

“That wasn’t part of the plan babe.”, came the short and curt reply

“Oh jeez! You’d almost swear the world was ending with your insistence on ‘sticking to the plan”, she said mockingly whilst trying her best to replicate the sound of his voice.

“What’s that supposed to mean Gabby?” his tone almost betrayed his bubbling anger when he said her name. 

“Mean?! I’ll tell you what I ‘mean’. We’re supposed to be on our honeymoon and the only thing that concerns you is if we’re ‘on time’, ‘on schedule’ or ‘in the plan’! ”

Jim couldn’t muster a single word and that added with the look of perplexity on his face just made the situation more tense and awkward. 

“.....”

“If you’re just gonna sit there and act like you don’t understand what the hell is wrong then I’d better leave,”, & with that Gabby left Jim all alone at the table wondering what went wrong. 

“Good evening sir I am Jaun. I’ll be taking your order for the night.”, came the cheerful introduction from the waiter. 

“I’ve bought the bottle of chardonnay as you requested.”, continued Juan as he set down two wine glasses.

Jim hunched down in his chair like a veteran who had seen the trenches of war & had taken a beating.

“That won’t be necessary, Jaun ....I think I’ll be leaving. Just bring the bill for reservation,”

Juan's eyebrows arced up in curiosity as he left the table. He couldn’t help but wonder if he had done anything to upset him. If only poor Juan knew that his suspicion was further from the truth than he could ever fathom.

Jim took a lonesome stroll on the Spanish streets of Malaga as the humid air blew a gentle whisper on his face. In the distance, he could hear the lapping waves meet with the beach as the seagulls filled the air with their noisy song. He had never seen the look of anger & sheer disappointment on Gabby’s face. Sure they’d had their arguments but this was a different realm altogether. He knew that by now Gabby would be at the hotel furiously packing her bags for their flight back to the States tomorrow probably cursing under her breath as she did. 

“All I wanted to do was have a nice, well-planned honeymoon. Is that too much to ask?”, he thought to himself. After all, he had worked hard toiling night and day to secure enough money to make sure this honeymoon even happened. If he had tried his best to do so, what was she complaining about? Hadn’t he done enough as the husband and breadwinner to give his bride the most unforgettable honeymoon?

“Gabby is acting like a spoiled ungrateful chi…”, Jim stopped mid-thought as realization began to dawn on him. The Mallagan streets dimmed out of view as JIm stood still in pondering contemplation. He began to stroke his hair with his left hand as he often did when in thought. Gabby wasn’t a spoiled child, she was the woman who had stuck by when all he could only afford to eat noodles during college. She was the one who had spurred him on to start his online sales business. Despite her father’s disapproval, she had stuck with him through thick and thin proving herself a worthwhile woman. If anything he was being the unreasonable one.

All she wanted was to have him to herself & enjoy all the pleasures that life could offer. She wanted his embrace, his kiss, his touch, and every fiber of his being instead he had been too busy being a disciple of ‘schedule’. He had been too concerned with being on time & sticking to the itinerary that unknowingly he sucked the fun & spontaneity out of their honeymoon. The outburst back at Raul’s had been an amplification of one of many protests that Gabby had made over the past week.

“Just a little longer babe”

“You’re being a dud right Jim”

“Take in the sights dear”

These and many other statements had fallen on Jim’s ears but he had been deaf to their true meaning and now all alone near the beach of Mallaga Jim could honestly say he now understood. Even though he was off work for the next three weeks, & he hadn’t touched his laptop his mind seemed elsewhere trying to conceive his next deal when he got back to the U.S. For Jim being the best provider he could be to Gabby meant a great deal to him. It meant making the woman who’d brought so much joy to his life the happiest one she could be. On a personal level, it meant he’d outgrown his humble beginnings to become what his now father-in-law called him, a ‘made man’. He had an undeniable drive to succeed but now he was a victim of his own ambition.

Jim knew what needed to be done and he immediately made a U-turn for the hotel. He’d be damned if he’d let the love of his life be angry because of him. Just then he felt a buzz in his pocket and took out his phone. 

“Hey babe.”, he said without even thinking,” I was just…”

“Excuse me, is this Jimmy Taylor?”

“Yes, this is him. How can I help?”

“I’m Isabelle from reception at the hotel…..”

“Oh yes, Isabelle what’s going on?”

“........”

“Isabella?”

“Mr Taylor I got some bad news”, said a sullen Isabelle as she proceeded to change Jim’s life with her report. Gabby had been found unconscious in their hotel suite and had been rushed to the hospital. According to Isabelle, she was still breathing when the paramedics arrived and had been taken to a hospital not far from the hotel they were staying. Jim’s mind raced with a million questions as he frantically looked for a cab, a UBER, or anything to rush him to his Gabby. All the while he could hear & feel his heart beat louder & louder with each second. An UBER finally rescued him from his anguish and he wished it had come sooner. He barked orders to the driver to speed up but the poor driver could not understand a single word as he repeatedly said, “Lo siento senor. Por favor Lo siento!”

The driver pulled up to the hospital’s entrance and Jim sped into the lobby shouting, “Gabby! Gabby!”

“Sir please calm down”, an older woman said in a thick southern Spanish accent, “We can help you. Who are you looking for?”

“Gabrielle Stevens.”

“OK, sir. May you please take a seat.”

In that moment Jim wanted to utter words he’d often been admonished for using but he decided against it as tears formed in his eyes.

“I’d rather not. I just want to know where my wife is.”

The elderly woman nodded and proceeded to a computer at the reception and after a few minutes, she looked up at him and said, “ICU. it’s down the hall to your left.”

Jim broke into a sprint as he rushed down the hallway. As soon as he saw the ICU sign he felt a bit relieved he asked the nurse in the hall for his wife’s location. 

“Wait here. I’ll come back for you.”, she said as she disappeared to find a doctor.

Jim paced back and forth in his worked-up state as he prayed that Gabby would be alright. A minute later the doctor appeared with a look that told the whole story. Jim didn’t need to ask, he just let the tears flow while standing there in the hallway. There was no comforting him as staff tried to get him to calm down. How had this happened and why on the happiest day of his life?

His eyes were red & puffy but he was composed enough to hear the doctor’s explanation. He said Gabby had a heart attack caused by the thickening of the walls of his heart. The doctor said this condition was known as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy which is a genetic occurrence. Everything the doctor said was factual but Jim blamed himself. He cursed himself for not being more present. Maybe he would’ve seen the signs and she would still be with him. Maybe he could’ve paid more attention. Maybe he could’ve…. Jim thought of a thousand ‘Maybes’ as the reality of Gabby’s death became more apparent.

Her words that afternoon echoed in his memory, "We have all the time in the world.”

 Alas, that was not so.

END