In Law

The next morning after her shift J walked over to Diana's house. A couple of days ago J and Diana had a snack together at the hospital's cafeteria. Whenever they had the time and they were not too busy in the hospital, Diana always took the initiative to invite J to have a snack together. Seizing the opportunity to catch up with her.

Diana knew J doesn't have a friend in the hospital and being a social butterfly Diana always makes a way to make J come out of its shelf once in a while. But she always failed in inviting her into some social gatherings.

J rejects any invitation from her co-nurses to go to a club or even eat out somewhere or in the cafeteria. But whenever Diana invites her, she would always oblige. She liked the company of Diana. She talks a lot and she always listens. She is always full of energy while J tends to be dull at times. But surprisingly they get along very well.

Diana told her that she just received her annual 15-day vacation which she has been waiting for. She told J her plans of going to Mt. Celandine where she grew up, and she wanted to take Timothy there. J felt her excitement. She knew that it had been a long time since she had a visit to her hometown.

Today Diana and Timothy will leave to have their vacation at Mt. Celandine. So, she just dropped by to send them off that morning before she went home.

When she reached her apartment, she was welcomed by Beauty and Beast. Apart from them, the whole place was empty. Jacob must've gone to the hospital while she was in Diana's house.

"Good morning Beast. You've been a good boy huh? How about you Beauty? Are the pups ok?" She talked to the golden retrievers like they were humans.

She headed to her bedroom but she noticed the food on the table. It's been a couple of days since she started her night shift and every time, she got home in the morning Jacob had already prepared her breakfast.

This whole experience is new to her. She can't remember when was the last time someone cooked her breakfast. Her apartment feels more like home in the presence of someone except her. Plus, the addition of the two golden retrievers.

She ate her breakfast then took a shower before she went to sleep. The two golden retrievers stand guard in the living room.

....

At the Evergreen Villa, Madam Kelly arrived to check out on the house. She was received by Jacob's caretaker.

"How's the villa Lulu?" she asked the old lady.

"Everything's fine Madam Kelly," Lulu replied.

"Mmm... I see." Madam Kelly nodded as she scanned the whole living room. She thought something was strange. Something's missing. She thought for a while then her eyes widened as she remembered something.

"Where are Jacob's dogs? I haven't heard them. Usually, every time I came to visit, I would see one or two of them playing around." Madam Kelly went to the kitchen then to the poolside where the golden retrievers usually stayed.

"Dr. Jacob took them with him, Madam." Lulu casually said.

Madam Kelly shot the old lady with a confused look then asked, "Took them with him? Where?"

"Ah... a couple of days ago I noticed that Beauty is acting odd. So, I called Dr. Jacob thinking that she might be pregnant. Dr. Jacob came and took both of them to the vet and found out that Beauty is pregnant. He called me and said that he will be taking both of them to his new place so he could take care of them." Lulu said while preparing a tea for Madam Kelly.

Madam Kelly, who was seated in a chair at the kitchen counter suddenly stood up and asked, "Jacob has a new place?"

"Y-you didn't know Madam?" Lulu asked confusedly.

"Will I be asking you this if I knew? Where did he say his new place is? How come I didn't know about this?" Madam Kelly asked Lulu indignantly.

"I-I have no idea, Madam. I don't have the habit of asking him about his personal business." Lulu was petrified.

Madam Kelly understands Lulu so instead of asking her she got her phone and dialed Jacob's number.

She tried a couple of times but Jacob was not answering his phone. She was pacing back and forth then she decided to call James.

After a couple of rings, James finally answered.

"Where is Jacob's new place? Why did he suddenly leave his villa? Where is he? He is not answering his phone." Madam Kelly asks him angrily.

James was speechless. "M-madam... I think you should just ask him yourself."

"I've been calling him but he is not answering my calls!" Madam Kelly is getting pissed off.

"Ah.... he has an ongoing surgery so he cannot answer your call right now Madam Kelly." James knows that he is done right now if he can't avoid Madam Kelly's questioning.

"I know you knew something so speak now or I'll cut you off from your position!" Madam Kelly is now losing her temper.

James was left with no choice. His position is immensely important to him. He can't get to the bad side of Madam Kelly. It is where Jacob got his bad temper.

"M-madam... he moved into an apartment across Camilla Lopez Parker Hospital. I-it's the Jade apartment, 5th-floor unit 8." After James said that Madam Kelly hung up the phone.

James rushed over to the Department of Surgery. He is done.

Meanwhile, Madam Kelly called her husband and told him to meet her up in Jade's apartment. Her mother's instinct tells her that Jacob is not living in that apartment alone.

James hurriedly rushed to the Department of Surgery. He saw Jacob in the nurse's station chatting and laughing. You can still laugh all you can now but later you're dead. James thought to himself.

He approached him and muttered some words in his ear. He saw his smile turn into worry and his face turned pale. When Jacob heard what James said he hurriedly rushed out of the hospital.

....

"Why did you want me to meet me here?" Chairman John Parker asked his wife when he reached the lobby of Jade Apartment.

"Earlier I found out that your son moved in here. And I am sure he didn't move alone. Last time he was with someone in Lantana Province. That kid, he is married, and yet here he is playing around!" Madam Kelly was fuming in anger.

Chairman John Parker sighed and said, "Come now. Don't jump to conclusions until we've talked to Jacob."

"I can't wait. Let's wait for him in his apartment." Madam Kelly said that while walking towards the elevator.

Chairman John Parker scratched his head while following his wife.

J was still in a deep slumber when she heard the continuous ringing of the doorbell. At first, she ignored it but then Beauty and Beast kept on barking so she pulled herself out of the bed to see who dared to disturb her sleep.

She looked at the peephole and saw a man and woman in their fifties. She opened the door and asked, "How can I help you, sir, ma'am?" in a sleepy tone.

"W-who are you? What are you doing in my son's apartment?" Madam Kelly asked J while looking at her from head to toe.

J looked at them with bewilderment. "Excuse me, Ma'am. But this is my apartment."

While still standing in the doorway Beauty and Beast came beside J wagging their tails at the visitor. J seemed to notice that the two golden retrievers knew these people.

"That's Beauty and Beast, my son's pets. Are you still going to insist that this is your apartment and not my son's?" Madam Kelly looked at J with slight disgust.

J let out a big sigh. So, it turns out that these people are Jacob's parents. Due to lack of sleep and the current situation, she felt like having a headache. She composed herself, widened the door, and said, "Please come in."

The couple sits on the sofa while J sits on the accent chair.

"Let's wait for Jacob first." Chairman John Parker speaks first.

J who was sitting on the accent chair looked at the wall clock. It is almost eleven in the morning. She arrived home at nine-thirty so she had probably just been asleep for like an hour only. She groaned internally, how can people be so cruel.

She looked at the two people sitting on the sofa. So, this is Jacob's parents. She looked at the Chairman. She knows him already. She has seen him in the hospital when he was still the chairman. He is more of a doer than a speaker. He is an ambiguous person. You'll never know what he is thinking.

While the lady, on the other hand, is a sophisticated one. She had already heard her chastise Jacob on the phone. And the way Jacob talks about his mother looks like she is the opposite of his father. She might be the talker.

On the sofa, Madam Kelly looked at J. By the way she looks at her it is obvious what she is thinking. This woman is a beauty, whatever her background is, her conduct is not appropriate. How could she live with a married man? And look at her, doesn't she have anything to do? It's almost midday and she is still wearing pajamas and looks like she was still in bed when they came.

The three of them stayed quiet while looking at each other when finally, the door opened and Jacob came.

Jacob saw his parents sitting on the sofa while J is in the accent chair looking at him with darkness in her eyes.

Jacob sighed, "Mom, Dad..." But before he could say something Madam Kelly came up to him and beat his arm.

"You punk! How could a married man play around like this!" Madam Kelly nags at him angrily.

"Kelly, let's hear him first." It was the former Chairman.

Madam Kelly calmed down then sat back on the sofa. It is very rare for the Chairman to call her in her name so he must be in his serious tone.

Jacob looked at his mother accusingly, "Mom did you wake her up?"

"Why, shouldn't I? It is almost noon and she's still lying in bed. What kind of woman is that?" Madam Kelly said, glaring at J who looked like she didn't understand what was happening.

"Mom! Watch your mouth, please. She is a nurse. She came from the night shift so it's normal for her to sleep in the day, am I right?" Jacob is now becoming ill-tempered. Madam Kelly was speechless and felt a little embarrassed.

Jacob turns to J, "What time did you come?"

J looked at Jacob confused and surprised because of the way he protected her from his parents. "Huh? Nine-thirty?" J said without explaining herself. She usually comes home at around seven-thirty but since she had to visit and send off Diana and her son to their vacation she came home late.

Jacob sighed, "Come, go back to bed. You need to sleep." Jacob gently helps her stand up and assists her back to bed.

As much as she wanted to talk to his parents and clarify this whole marriage thing, she can't. Because she can't think properly. She felt like her brain was floating. She will deal with them later. She has to sleep first.

As soon as Jacob saw J fall asleep easily, he returned to the living room.

Madam Kelly who was still speechless was astonished at how Jacob treated the woman.

"She is Jenny Do. My wife." Jacob said as soon as he was seated in the accent chair. He saw the surprised look on his mother while his father didn't move an inch as if he already predicted it.

"Y-you found her?" Madam Kelly was flabbergasted.

"Yes. A couple of weeks ago. James and I have searched for her around the country but didn't find her. Until one day in the Department of Surgery, I heard someone say her name is Jenny Do. I've known her since I came back. She is a nurse in the surgical department but I just knew her as Nurse J. That's what everyone calls her. It was just later I found out that her name is Jenny Do."

"She seemed to be very mysterious, we didn't find her name in any government or private documents. So, I decided to investigate but didn't find any. I just found out from her and her biodata that she is from Lantana Province. At the age of ten, her parents died in a car accident. After that she was taken care of by her grandfather, years later she was sent overseas to study and work. When she came back, she found out that her grandfather had prostate cancer so she stayed to nurse him but died after a year. Before he died, he told Jenny about the marriage but Jenny didn't believe him until I showed her the marriage contract."

"At first, she was furious, she even prepared a divorce paper but I rejected it. That made her even more furious. Last week I went to Lantana to see if I can find anything about her. I didn't find any instead I bumped into her driving a sports car. That's when you, mom called me. I was with her. That's also the day I decided to move in here. Since she doesn't want to live in my villa. Actually, I insisted on moving in even though it was against her will. I wanted to try out this marriage. And at the same time, I wanted to know her more and why did our grandfathers marry us off." Jacob told his parents everything that happened between her and Jenny ever since they met.

He wanted them to know that he is seriously considering this marriage.

"So please, Mom. Treat her nice. After all, she is your daughter-in-law." Finally, Jacob pleads to his mother.

"I don't know about you, Hon. But this woman's background is uncertain." Madam Kelly said after she regained her composure due to the shocking news that Jacob had said them.

Chairman John Parker was silent for a couple of minutes then said, "Father chose her. He probably had a reason."

"Treat her well. And see if you can find anything." After he said that, Chairman John Parker and Madam Kelly left Jacob in the apartment.

Jacob felt exhausted. He went to see J in the bedroom. After looking at her in a deep slumber, he realized that he never had a good sleep for almost a week since J went on a night shift. He missed her.

He had been sleeping in J's bed alone for a couple of days.

After his confrontation with his parents, he doesn't have the energy to go back to the hospital. He changed his clothes then went to bed with J.

Jacob lies in the bed for a couple of minutes looking at J who is sound asleep. He wonders how it would feel like sleeping with her in his arms.

At that thought, he slowly slides his arms under J's neck making her head rest on his arms. After he successfully did that. He didn't move for a couple of minutes making sure that he didn't wake her up.

Then he slowly pulled her close to him. He put his other arm around J's waist. He felt the warmth of J's body, her breath in his chest. He had touched and held a woman's body before but he never felt this way. It's no lust, more like the feeling of contentment.

He stayed in that position, the next thing he knows he is now kissing J's forehead. He inhaled the scent of J's hair. He didn't know how but he fell asleep.