Chapter 14
I leaned against my car as I waited for Janiyah to get out of hers.
The cool air helped me relax from the stressful day I had at work.
It gave me time to think about what was next for me.
My career had been demanding, and now seeing the toll it took on my marriage had me second-guessing it.
I would always be a doctor in some capacity, but I wasn’t too sure if trauma was still the way to go.
“Hey, what are we doing here?” Janiyah asked as she walked up to me.
I reached out to her and pulled her into my arms. For a minute, I basked in her scent and the feel of her body against mine. I kissed the top of her head, then released her. With her hand in mine, I led her to the door of the building.
“We are here because I thought we could have a night out.”
She looked up at me, and her smile brightened the darkness in the sky.
“Well, aren’t you full of surprises?” she said as I held the door open for her.
I had the idea of taking her on a date earlier in the day, but instead of picking her up, I told her to meet me there. It was like when we first started dating, and we would meet at different locations. I just thought it was something different than what we had been doing all these years.
“I do a little something.” I stepped in behind her.
Janiyah looked around for a second until we were greeted by a girl who looked like she was still a teenager.
“Hello, and welcome. The class should get started in a few minutes. There’s a coatrack to the left, and the supplies and everything you may need to the right. You can pick any open spot. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and have fun.”
“Thank you,” I said, then led Janiyah over to the coatrack. I helped her out of her jacket, then put mine on top of hers on the rack.
I stepped back a little to admire her outfit for the night.
When I texted her, I told her to dress comfortably, so she wore jeans that hugged her curves and a hoodie that read Best Selling Author on the front.
I noticed a couple of the women looked at her with familiarity, but nobody approached her.
Janiyah wasn’t famous, but she had a good following on social media to be recognizable in certain places.
After our coats were put away, we walked over to the other side to get the supplies we needed, then found an open table.
“What made you pick this?” Janiyah asked as she sat down.
“We hadn’t done it before, and I heard it’s relaxing.”
Janiyah looked at me with her eyes squinted. “Heard from who?”
I chuckled and kissed the side of her face. “Calm down. Talese told us that she and her husband came here before, and she thought it was something we should try.”
Talese was one of the nurses who worked in the emergency room with me. She and her husband liked to try different places around town, and she would suggest places for Janiyah and me to try.
“It had better been her.”
I smirked at the hint of a smile that played on Janiyah’s face.
“Are you jealous?”
Janiyah sucked her teeth. “I have no reason to be jealous of anyone.”
“You sure don’t.”
A few seconds later, a lady who looked like the girl at the front came out, and she introduced herself as Lex, and she informed us that the girl at the front was her daughter.
Lex’s pottery studio was in the downtown area of Sunrise Valley.
It was fairly new to the area, which is why I hadn’t heard about it until Talese mentioned it.
Lex told us a little bit about herself and what made her get into pottery.
I thought it was interesting that she was able to make a career out of it.
She informed us that her husband hosted a men-only night once a week.
The purpose was to provide a safe and relaxing environment for men.
I made a mental note to check it out. At times, I wanted to hang with other guys, but I didn’t want to do that in a bar.
It would be nice to have a safe place to chill and not have to worry about women pushing up on you.
I’d come across women who didn’t care that I was a happily married man.
“Today we are going to keep it simple with soap dishes,” Lex mentioned as she walked around the room. “I’m going to show you all how to do it, then once you are ready, feel free to start.” She walked back to the front of the room and sat on a stool facing us.
Janiyah leaned toward me and whispered, “I’m excited,” then clapped her hands.
“Good.”
We watched Lex for a minute, then we tried it ourselves. For the first five minutes or so, Janiyah and I were quiet as we focused on the project. Every few minutes, I would peek over to see her progress, and she had done well.
“Looks better than mine.”
“I’m an artist in every way, baby,” she joked. “I thought you were supposed to be good with your hands.”
I leaned over and lowered my voice. “You know just how well my hands are.” I kissed the spot under her ear, and she shivered. I laughed as I moved back to my spot.
“Anyway, how was your day?”
I told her about the terrible day I had.
A member of the local motorcycle club had been stabbed multiple times, and no one seemed to know who did it.
My theory was that someone knew, but they weren’t going to tell for multiple reasons.
It was the code of the streets, and they might have been afraid that if they told, they would be next.
It was sad when I had to tell his sister and the members of the motorcycle club that filled the waiting room that he’d succumbed to his wounds.
It was crazy because they were well-known and respected in town.
They often gave back to the community, so it was baffling that someone killed that man like that.
“Aww, I’m sorry. That’s sad.”
“Yeah. Days like that made me wonder if this was something I should continue. Death starts to fuck with you sometimes, especially when it’s someone close in age.”
“What would you do, though?” Janiyah asked.
That was the same question I’d been asking myself. Trauma gave me an adrenaline rush. I could be a regular ER doctor, but some of those patients come in there for the simplest shit.
“I really don’t know. All I know is, the shit made me fumble you, and I’m not trying to do that shit again. I can’t imagine what would have happened if you had divorced me and moved on.” My jaw tightened just thinking about Janiyah with someone else. There was no way I would allow that to happen.
“I told you I wasn’t going to leave you for good. I just wanted you to understand where I was coming from and that I could leave if I had to. I don’t want to. Ever.”
“I wouldn’t allow you to. I’m a surgeon, baby. I know how to make shit look like an accident.”
She laughed, but I was dead ass serious. I wasn’t letting another man get close enough to my wife to even smell her perfume. If she thought she could move on, she had another thing coming.
“That’s not something we have to think about. We are stuck like glue, and we have a little girl to worry about now.”
I thought about Mikayla and how she probably had the time of her life with my parents. They spoiled that little girl so much. I often thanked God for her, because she was the reason why Janiyah and I were back together sooner than I expected.
“Exactly. I wanted this night to show you that no matter what is going on in our lives, I will make the time to prioritize you and our marriage. I’m sorry I didn’t see this for us sooner, but we are here now. We have more things planned for the night.”
“We do?”
“Yes. I wanted to make the most of our time together. I still owe you a day to yourself. You’ll get it soon.”
I had a day off coming, and like I told Janiyah, I would keep Mikayla so she could get out of the house and do whatever she needed or wanted.
“Where are we going after this?”
“To get some mozzarella sticks.”
She turned her head to face me. “Oh, at Applebee’s?”
I nodded, and she did a little shoulder shimmy.
Ever since college, Janiyah loved their mozzarella sticks. It didn’t matter how many fancy restaurants we dined at; she would always get excited about eating at Applebee’s. We both had money to go anywhere we wanted, but most of the time, we kept it simple.
“I can’t believe you still like them.”
“Because they are good.”
“Okay.” I chuckled.
The pottery class lasted for about two to three hours. Lex informed us that we had to wait a few weeks to pick up the finalized item, but I think we both did a good job. It was something that I would do again.
A couple of women approached Janiyah when the class was over, so I asked Lex about the men’s classes.
We grabbed our coats, then headed out to our cars.
“Now I wish you had picked me up,” Janiyah said as I opened her car door.
“Do you want me to pick up the food, and we could meet at home?”
Janiyah got in the car and yawned. It wasn’t that late, but I knew it had been a long day for her just as it had been for me.
“That’s a good idea.”
“Bet. Anything else you want besides the sticks?”
I pulled out my phone so I could order it ahead. The day had caught up to me, and I felt sleepy, but I wasn’t going to bed until I knew my wife was good.
Janiyah told me what she wanted, so I ordered it and put my phone back in my pocket. They were usually pretty fast, so I probably would get home a little after she did. The restaurant wasn’t far from where we were.
“Don’t go to sleep, either,” I told her when she yawned again. I leaned down into her car to get close to her face. “As a matter of fact, take a catnap if you can because I have plans for you.” I kissed her lips, then backed away.
“Well let me hurry then.”
I leaned down and kissed her again. “I’ll see you soon, baby.” I closed her door, then tapped the top of her car.
I waited until she drove off, then got in my car and headed to my destination. I took my time getting to the restaurant because I really did want Janiyah to take a quick nap, since I planned on being inside of her for the rest of the night.
Being with my wife was the perfect way to end a hectic day.