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“So,” Kem asked as John navigated his Jeep into a narrow parking spot and she unbuckled herself from the passenger seat, “are you going to tell me what the surprise is now?”
John just gave her the same sly look he’d been giving her all morning, since she woke up alone in bed and found him in the kitchen at the end of a surreptitious phone call. She’d be sick of it if he wasn’t so cute. “Soon,” he promised as he exited the car.
Kem rolled her eyes and followed suit, burying herself under John’s arm as soon as the Chicago winter chill hit her. She might’ve been a little annoyed by his crypticness, but there was really no better way to warm herself, at least in Kem’s opinion. John laughed and pulled her closer, even when she slipped on the ice and almost took the both of them down.
Their wonky three-legged race lead them to a rather kitschy looking chain cafe called “The Latte Factory”. Kem eyed it skeptically.
It was possible that she’d become spoiled during her short time in Chicago, but this definitely wasn’t what she was expecting. So far, John’s surprises tended to be a bit more opulent: dinners at Michelin star restaurants (delicious), a trip to the ballet (Kem told him once that she wanted to be a ballerina when she was a little girl). All came with a certain self deprecating can you believe we’re really doing this attitude that was meant to offset the discomfort of the knowledge of the cost. It never quite worked.
So this wasn’t like that at all, both in terms of John’s general demeanor and the tax bracket of the neighborhood they were in. That made it prickle at Kem’s curiosity all the more.
“Let me guess. This place has the best coffee in Chicago?” Kem ventured.
John hummed noncommittedly. "Not especially.”
Kem chewed her lip in thought. “Does this specific location have some kind of… personal significance?”
“Never been here before!” John replied brightly. He held open the door for her, prep school manners in action, and a little bell jingled. Quaint. The interior was exactly as she expected, small and overly crowded with tables, most of which were unoccupied. It offended every Parisian instinct in her body.
There was no line, so they had direct access to the bored looking barista behind the counter. John ordered two hot chocolates - one of the worst fights they’d ever had was when Kem, fueled by pregnancy hormones, had demanded he give up caffeine out of solidarity and John refused, citing the fact that working twelve hour shifts on minimal sleep and no caffeine would be borderline torturous. They’d compromised by agreeing that John wouldn’t drink anything with caffeine in front of her - and they made themselves comfortable at a four-seater with surprisingly lush chairs.
John attempted to surreptitiously check his watch and failed, meeting her unimpressed look with a sheepish one of his own. Kem asked, “Almost time?”
“Almost. Any last guesses?”
“Hmm. You’ve realized that you don’t love me anymore and that you want to break up, so you’ve taken me somewhere completely out of the way so that you can do it without me making a scene in front of all your friends.”
“You know, you’re close. You’re really close.” Kem smacked him.
They made small talk for the next few minutes, sipping their perfectly average hot chocolates. John was in the middle of telling her a story about a patient he’d had the day before (and the kitchen utensils he’d inserted into his rectum) when the door bell jingled again and a warm voice called out, “Carter!”
Kem’s back was to the door, so she couldn’t see the new arrival, but John smiled brightly and rose to meet them. Kem turned.
The new arrival was a woman, very pretty and probably only a few years older than Kem. She was clearly very happy to see John and she pulled him into a hug as soon as she arrived at their table. When she got closer, Kem could see that she had very dark eyes, but something in them suggested a warmth that matched her voice.
It was a little known fact, but when Kem was younger she wanted to grow up to be a detective (after the ballerina phase). She’d devoured every Nancy Drew book she could get her hands on, and when she ran out, she moved onto Sherlock Holmes. Obviously, her career ended up following a much different path, but she still liked to think her childhood obsession had sharpened her powers of observation and deduction.
She attempted to use them now and made three notable observations: the first was that it was likely that John knew this woman from County - they were the only people she knew that called him Carter. The second was that John hadn’t been shocked to see her at all, so this woman was somehow either part of the surprise or the surprise itself. The third wasn’t especially relevant, but it was something Kem couldn’t help but make note of and be pleased by. It was a very sisterly hug, so it seemed very unlikely that these two were ever in a romantic relationship. Kem didn’t think of herself as a jealous person, but that wasn’t always a guarantee with some of his coworkers.
“Thanks for meeting me,” John said, confirming observation two. He turned back to her. “Kem, this is Jeanie Boulet. We used to work together at County. Jeanie, Makemba Likasu.”
Jeanie pulled off one of her gloves before extending her hand to Kem. “It’s so great to meet you! Carter’s told me so much about you.”
Kem was unsurprised to find Jeanie’s handshake as pleasant as the rest of her. “I wish I could say the same! I’m afraid he’s kept everything under wraps. He’s done everything short of blindfolding me on the drive here.”
“Well he’s always liked his grand gestures.” John looked at his feet, but his smirk was far from shy. It was easy to picture him younger and impossibly eager. Kem could only imagine the kind of stunts he pulled. “He said you might be interested in my work. I run two HIV clinics here in Chicago, one just down the block from here and one on the South side. I thought maybe I could give you a tour, answer any questions you have about treatment in America. I’m HIV positive myself, so I’m familiar with the process on both sides.
“I- that’s- I would love to! Only if I’m not putting you out!” Kem exclaimed.
“No, not at all! Honestly, I’d love the chance to ask you about your work. I mean, if you’re having success with generic drugs then it might be an option to pursue with patients who can’t afford name brand medication.”
“Absolutely!”
Jeanie beamed. “Just let me just grab a coffee and then we can get into it.”
Kem watched Jeanie walk to the counter, mind racing with all of the things she wanted to ask her. John pointedly cleared his throat, which is how she remembered that he was there at all. He was looking very pleased with himself, practically preening behind his mug. He’d earned it, just a bit, so she decided to give his praise kink a scratch. “Alright, alright. It was a good surprise. Thank you for setting it up.”
“Well, it was the least I could do. I know that taking a break from your work to come to Chicago hasn’t always been easy and I know how hard it is for you to sit around and do nothing. And I figured since you were banned from County-”
“I wasn’t banned!”
“Since you were banned from County, setting you up with Jeanie was the least I could do. I probably should’ve thought of it sooner.” He shrugged easily.
She considered him for a moment. This was far from the grandest romantic gesture ever performed on her behalf. It wasn’t even the most romantic thing John had done for her, the American millionaire who’d swooped in and changed her life, like something out of an old movie. But she was touched, unspeakably touched.
So she didn’t say anything. Kem just kissed him so hard she thought the shape of his smile would be imprinted on her face. She pulled back, arms still flung around him, so that she could look at him, his soft eyes and strong nose and his ridiculous beard. This was the father of her child and the man ahead wanted to spend the rest of her life with, and if he kept making her even a fraction of how happy she was now, then it was going to be a very good life indeed.
“Have I told you that I loved you recently?”
He scrunched up his face in mock thought. “Yeah. But tell me again.”
She kissed him briefly one more time before shoving him away. “Later. I’m working.”