December 24, 2010

8:02pm

"I still can't believe the stories you came up with in there.  The girls were so giddy, I didn't think we'd ever get them to sleep."

"I'm not the one who decided they could eat the rest of Santa's Christmas cookies with hot chocolate.  I'd be surprised if they're actually asleep in there.  I'm glad your sister let us keep them this week.  They've been fun to have around the house."  

I look up and see Cheryl head first into her blackberry for the umpteenth time tonight.  No matter how happy she is or how much fun we've just had, she can't help but work.  I have to get her head out of the clouds and into the moment before she misses out on everything.  I have to admit, she's damn good at what she does and I'm proud to say that after three years, two houses and six pets, we're still going strong.  She just nods her head in response and scurries off into another direction which is probably toward her office.  I just get undressed, ready for a nice hot shower and warm bed.  

"Babe, why'd you get into the shower, I wanted to get in there first.  I have to head over to the restaurant for a bit before I turn in tonight."

I'm not even in the shower yet and I'm happy about that because I storm out of the bathroom so I can confront her.

"Cheryl, you can't do this.  When you left the restaurant today, you said you weren't going back in until tomorrow.  It's bad enough you guys are even open tomorrow, why make it worse by spending even more time there?  You'll say you're only going in for five minutes but next thing you know, it's 2am and I'm in bed alone again. It's almost Christmas for heaven's sake.  Can't you just tell Dean to handle whatever it is you were going to do and stay here, in a warm bed with me?"

"Josh, you know I'd love to do this and if we didn't have to get ready for the food critic that's coming in from the James Beard Foundation I would.  But you know how important this is for my team and myself.  I have to make sure that everything goes off without a hitch.  Baby, I shouldn't be there long.  Just try not to fall asleep on me, I'll be back soon."

She grabs her bag off of our recliner in the corner of the room, gives me a quick peck and caress of the cheek and flies out the door, on that darn blackberry again.  If there's one thing I loathe more than her blackberry, is those pathetic quick pecks she passes out.  It always feels rushed; like she's doing it more out of obligation than love.  I know she loves me, it's just that with my studio time and her restaurant taking up a good 80% of our time, it's hard to fill the other 20% with activities between the two of us.

Cheryl and her sister Kristen started their restaurant company nine years ago here in their hometown of Mesa, Arizona and have opened three successful restaurants so far.  Cheryl's an amazing chef and her passion for her work has only fueled their success.  And to put it plainly, the girl can cook.  With her skills in the kitchen and Kristen handling the business side of things, it's no wonder they've been rated one of the top business people in the state.  

As for me, well I travel between here, L.A and New York for work but my schedule is much more relaxed than hers so that's helped our relationship grow to what it is now.  I love this woman.  I love this woman so much that I've come to a decision about us.

Tomorrow night, I will ask for her hand in marriage.

Now, I know what you're thinking: weren't you just complaining about time consumption just a few minutes ago?  Yes, yes I was but in the grand scheme of things, there's way more good than bad and the bad's not that bad.  She's the kind of woman your mother loves and your boys wish they had.  She can flip from professional to casual in an instant and she's amazing with her little nieces.  She's everything I want and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with her.  

11:26pm

Josh is going to slaughter me!  I was only supposed to be at the restaurant for an hour then the next thing I know, it's 10:30 and I'm laughing and talking with a couple of the regulars sitting at the bar.  One of my favorite couples (Natalie and Sean) say that they need to call their families in Chicago to wish them a Merry Christmas and that's when I noticed the time.  I looked at my watch, sighed loudly, told everyone to have a good night and let my managers know not to call me and hightailed it out of there.  I made it home ten minutes faster than usual and made a beeline for our bedroom.  I open the door to find Josh in bed, reading yet another story to my gang of goobers.  The fun in this house never ends.

"What are you girls still doing up?  Couldn't sleep?"  I walk over to my side of the bed and snuggle up against Cara (the youngest sister) while Carlee (the oldest) sat closest to Josh and Camilla and Caitlin sat sandwiched in between us.  

"We never went to sleep.  We kept thinking about the story Uncle Josh told us and we wanted another one."  Camilla said.

"And I being the wonderful uncle I am was more than happy to oblige.  What's better than a one of my famous stories and more of your amazing hot chocolate?"  He places his glasses back on his face and continues on with the story.  It takes a while but before we know it, all of the girls have fallen into a peaceful slumber.  Josh and I allow them to stay where they are and he leads me into the basement which we converted into an apartment  for our out of town guests.  The television is turned on silent as we climb into bed together.  We immediately go into our routine of flipping through channels until we find something we both can agree on and snuggle up close.  Settling on The Locator, we wrap our arms around each other and watch as this mother tells the host about wanting to find her oldest son.  

She explains that she got pregnant when she was 19 and her and the father were never in a relationship and she couldn't afford to care for her baby the way he deserved to be cared for.  As the episode progresses, we find that the son has been placed in an incredible family who gave him the kind of love she'd always hoped for him.  They meet and it's probably one of the best episodes we've seen so far.  Every time we watch this show, we think or talk about Josh's situation, but something about this story touches so close to home, Josh is in silent tears at the end.  He picks up his phone, grabs me tighter and sends an 'I love you so much' text message to his parents.  

"I know we haven't talked about this in a while but, how's the search for your mom going?"

"It's going.  They told me they were close to a strong lead but didn't want to get my hopes up just yet.  I just pray something turns up before the end of this year."

"I have a feeling things are going to work out this time."  He turns to me and lifts both eyebrows in question.

"What makes you so sure?" 

"Nothing in specific.  I just have a feeling that all of your hard work is going to pay off."

"You know, even if nothing comes of this search, I've resolved that I've already got everything I need right here with you.  Finding her at this point is just icing."  He places his hands on my cheek and gently caresses, which just makes me even more sleepy.  

"Babe, that is so sweet!  I have everything I need too but I really want this for you. You've been looking since you were 16 and I just think this is your time.  It has to be."  I stretch underneath his weight because now he's partially lying on top of me, giving me so much intimacy without even realizing it.  He's always been awesome at that.  He's really good at taking care of me.  Running my bath after a long day, massaging my feet, arms, back, or any other random body part that aches.  He makes sure to check my schedule so I'm not overloading myself with work (because I tend to do that) and whatever else I may need.  He's an amazing man and I couldn't see my life functioning without him.  

Josh removes my Chef's coat from my person and throws it haphazardly over the chair sitting in the corner and works his way south.  His hands are such a welcome comfort right now that I just sit and watch. He pulls the draw string to my pants and they all but slip off of me as well.  

"Cheryl, have you been eating like you're supposed to?"

"Of course sweetheart."  I reply weakly.  To tell you the truth, I can't remember eating today.

"I don't believe you.  Didn't we already have the discussion about you feeding everyone else but not yourself?"

"Yes JC, I know but really, I'm not even hungry."

"I just don't want you wasting away on me.  You have got to start putting in more time for yourself.  Do I need to demand yet another vacation?"

"Maybe.  But really Josh, I'm fine.  I promise to eat more if you promise to keep putting up with me."  He looks up from his current position (which is at my feet) and lifts those brows again.

"Baby, there's nothing to 'put up' with.  I love every single inch of you which is why I try so hard to make sure you're taking care of yourself."  He stops massaging my feet and makes his way back up to me.  We adjust ourselves so that I'm lying against his chest and he wraps his arms around me.  

"Duly noted.  Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to get some sleep before the rugrats come bounding in here at 6am.  How they muster up all that energy so early in the morning is beyond me."

"Alright love, lets get some rest.  Goodnight babe."

"Goodnight."