Chapter 7
Thousands of tiny twinkling lights lit up the ceiling like stars glittering in the night sky. The glow of the candle at the center of their table warmly lit up the features of her face as the lights above reflected in her eyes giving them a sparkle that captured Gibbs’ breath as he watched her take in the restaurant’s unusual décor.
Emerald was in absolute awe of the romantic ‘under the starry sky’ theme of the restaurant. “Jethro, this is just amazing. I had no idea this place existed in the city. How did you know about it?”
Not wanting to admit to anyone, even Em, that he actually did hear what Tony was saying when he rambled on about his dates and the ‘perfect’ places to take a woman if you really wanted to romance them, he simply replied, “A friend mentioned it. I’m just glad you like it.”
Their server came over, introduced himself, announced the night’s specials, and asked if they’d like to order any drinks to get started. Wanting to make it a special night, Gibbs opted to order a moderately expensive bottle of wine, only offering the corner of his mouth turned up in a smile and a quick wink in response to Em’s raised eyebrow at his unusual choice. It would certainly be an odd evening without their typical fare of beer or bourbon.
Once the server left the tableside, the couple turned their attention to their menus. Gibbs pulled his reading glasses out of his chest pocket and donned them before they each went to browsing through the selections silently.
Music softly played throughout the room, at first nothing particularly of interest, but for some reason, the gentle guitar and subdued lyrics of the next song captivated Gibbs. He found himself lost in thought as he listened intently and let the meaning of the words wash over him, emotions welling up in him at what he heard.
“Saw the world turning in my sheets and once again I cannot sleep.
Walk out the door and up the street; look at the stars beneath my feet.
Remember rights that I did wrong, so here I go.
Hello, hello. There is no place I cannot go.
My mind is muddy but my heart is heavy. Does it show?
I lose the track that loses me, so here I go.”
It’s really no wonder you barely sleep, Jethro. So many things you’ve done wrong in your life, things you can’t make right. And boy is your heart heavy, weighed down with all this baggage you just keep dragging around. When are you ever gonna let it go? He stole a glance up from his menu to Em and back down. Can you let go of it for her?
“And so I sent some men to fight, and one came back at dead of night.
Said he'd seen my enemy. Said he looked just like me,
So I set out to cut myself and here I go.”
Boy, if that isn’t you, your own worst enemy, Jethro. Always cutting yourself apart. Always reopening old wounds. Never letting yourself heal. What do you really have to offer her? A broken man?
“I'm not calling for a second chance,
I'm screaming at the top of my voice.
Give me reason but don't give me choice.
'Cause I'll just make the same mistake again.”
That’s you, Jethro. Screaming for a second chance. Only, this isn’t your second chance. Do you even know how many chances you’ve had and screwed up? What makes you think you deserve this?
“And maybe someday we will meet, and maybe talk and not just speak.
Don't buy the promises 'cause, there are no promises I keep.
And my reflection troubles me, so here I go.”
To talk and not just speak. Yeah, that’s your problem. Do you even know how to communicate with a woman? And talk about not keeping promises. How’s three ex-wives for proof of that?
“I'm not calling for a second chance,
I'm screaming at the top of my voice.
Give me reason but don't give me choice.
'Cause I'll just make the same mistake,”
You can’t risk screwing up this chance. There is no choice here. You know there’s not. Everything you feel for Em gives you all the reason you need not to let her become another mistake.
“I'm not calling for a second chance,
I'm screaming at the top of my voice.
Give me reason but don't give me choice.
'Cause I'll just make the same mistake again.”
No, this time can be different. She’s not like the others. You know she’s not. It’s not just about being lonely with her, there’s so much more. So much more.
“Saw the world turning in my sheets and once again I cannot sleep.
Walk out the door and up the street; look at the stars.
Look at the stars fall down.
And wonder where did I go wrong.”
Yeah, you don’t need to wonder. You know damn well where you’ve gone wrong, and it’s about damn time you start doing something right for a change.
The song ended and with it its spell over Gibbs. He returned to actually reading his menu, feeling a bit anxious now. He would have been fidgety if it were in his nature to fidget. Reaching into his jacket pocket, he felt for the velvety feel of the small box from the jeweler to reassure himself it was, indeed, still there. Just checking. Not the right moment quite yet. We should probably at least eat first. He pulled his hand back out of the pocket, empty.
“Have you decided what to order yet, Em?” he asked, trying not to sound as nervous as he felt.
Her big glittering green eyes rose from the menu and met his gaze with a smile. “It all looks so good, Jethro. Very tough decision, but I think I’m going to go with the cedar planked salmon. How about you?”
Not having spent nearly as much time pouring over the menu as he had spent lost in his own thoughts he looked down, spotting something that struck his interest almost immediately, and chose that. “Not to shock you, but I’m going with the twelve ounce ribeye steak.” He grinned as she rolled her eyes at him and added, “I will be good and have a salad with it.”
Finally returning with their bottle of chilled wine, their server apologized for the wait, poured a glass of the deep red beverage for each of them, took their orders, collected their menus, and left them to their privacy.
Picking up the delicate wine goblet and raising it toward Emerald as she did likewise, he gave her one of his most entrancing blue-eyed stares as he proclaimed softly, “To a night out alone with the most beautiful woman in the world. It means everything to me to be here with you.”
She smiled coyly in return, riveted to those intense eyes gazing into hers, stealing her breath. Their glasses clinked together lightly in a toast before each taking a sip of the wine. Finding her breath and voice again after swallowing, she quietly commented, hoping not to embarrass him. “You know, Jethro, I had no idea you had such a romantic side to you. I mean, this is like a dream.”
Jethro, who she had gotten so used to seeing either in his typical work attire or his much more casual t-shirt and jeans or shorts, was fully decked out in a handsome and stylish navy blue, three-button suit, pale blue shirt, and coordinating blue tie. All three brought out the tremendous hue of his eyes making them all the more magnetically appealing.
“You don’t think I’ve been married four times for my money, do you?” he joked, knowing he had never been like this with Ginger, Diane, or Stephanie. Even with Shannon, although the desire was there, the finances for fancy nights out weren’t. Caring for a small family on the single income of an enlisted Marine was never an easy task, and sacrifices had to be made. He pushed the invading thoughts from his mind and refocused on the incredible creature he called his own tonight.
Several other couples headed to the small dance floor in the center of the room as the first few beats of a new song came on. Being decidedly brave on such a special night, Gibbs rose from his chair, extended his hand, making her an offer she couldn’t possibly refuse. “May I have this dance?”
She took his hand and let him lead her the short distance, where he spun her around gracefully into his arms, their bodies swaying smoothly, feet stepping with surprising agility, as ‘Old Blue Eyes’ could be heard crooning away.
“Oh, I love this song, Jethro. I think it’s my favorite one Sinatra does,” she declared quietly in his ear as he held her close, one hand wrapped around her narrow waist, sliding slightly along the silken fabric of her dress. His other was enclosed around one of her small hands, leaving her free arm wrapped around his shoulders, fingers playing at the short hairs at the back of his head out of habit.
She relaxed into his embrace and listened to the song as they danced together for the first time. It wasn’t a terribly slow song, and soon he had her smiling and laughing as he spun her around the dance floor in blissful grace.
He couldn’t help but notice the lyrics were just right for the night with Em and smiled back at her as they danced.
“Fly me to the moon. Let me play among the stars.
Let me see what spring is like on a-Jupiter and Mars.
In other words, hold my hand. In other words, baby, kiss me.
Fill my heart with song and let me sing forever more.
You are all I long for, all I worship and adore.
In other words, please be true. In other words, I love you.
Fill my heart with song. Let me sing forever more.
You are all I long for, all I worship and adore.
In other words, please be true. In other words, in other words, I love you.”
Soon the music of the song was over and so she believed was the dancing of the evening. “I had no idea you could dance like that!” she exclaimed, nearly breathless, a huge grin on her face.
Unable to resist the urge, he leaned in for a kiss before replying, “Unfortunately, you have to thank my being married four times for that. Four wedding receptions is a lot of dancing. You pick up a few things.”
The music had changed to a ballad, and Jethro wasn’t quite ready to let her out of his arms yet. Pulling her closer to him and slowing their movements in gentle time to the rhythm of the new tune, she soon had her head laid on his shoulder, nose snuggled into his neck, breathing in her favorite scent of Old Spice and sawdust that lingered on him regardless of how many showers he took.
Gibbs once again felt the words of the song calling out to him, stirring emotions in him he was finding more and more difficult to control. He relaxed into the soothing feel of her so near, the scent of her lavender shampoo filling his senses with each intake of air as she nestled her head in the crook of his neck, her hair tickling his ear.
“Someday when I'm awfully low, when the world is cold
I will feel a glow just thinking of you, and the way you look tonight.
Oh, but you're lovely with your smile so warm, and your cheek so soft,
There is nothing for me but to love you, just the way you look tonight.
With each word your tenderness grows, tearing my fear apart.
And that laugh that wrinkles your nose, touches my foolish heart.
Lovely, never ever change. Keep that breathless charm.
Won't you please arrange it? 'Cause I, I love you
Just the way you look tonight...Just the way you look tonight.”
It seemed like the whole world was trying to tell him something tonight. Every song he heard, every thought spinning in his head, every beat of his heart was trying to tell him just to do it, just to go for it. Not quite yet. After dinner. When the moment’s right.
The song was over, and they returned to their table relaxed and happy, ready to partake in more wine and enjoy the salads they found waiting for them.
Soon the wine goblets were empty, as were the salad plates, and Jethro refilled their glasses just as hot platters of delicious smelling dinner were brought out and placed before them.
Conversation was light and comfortable, no mention of caseloads, Paloma Reynosa, or former spouses. They turned to more lighthearted topics they often enjoyed spending their time on when they needed to feel less stress; Gibbs’ woodworking projects, which fascinated her, Emerald’s piano playing, which mesmerized him. They discussed a sailing trip they planned to take on the sloop that once belonged to her father when things finally settled down and intentions to spend a long fall weekend at the family hunting cabin in the Catskills she had inherited from her grandfather.
With plates cleared, Jethro extended a hand across the small table for two, palm up, reaching out for her with a smile. It only took her a moment to place her hand in his and meet his eyes. He seemed to be building the courage to say something so she sat quietly and waited patiently, knowing how he liked to take his own time to say the things on his mind.
Running his thumb over the back of the slender hand resting in his calloused palm, he felt his heartbeat steadily quickening as the moments passed. Now. You’ve been waiting for the right time. That time is now. You can do this. He reached his free hand into the jacket pocket containing the small box from a family owned jeweler not far from his home.
“I have a gift for you,” he said. His voice was low and almost timid as he withdrew the box and laid it on the table in front of her, his heart pounding in his chest, threatening to escape its confines.
She eyed the box with an unreadable expression on her face, her mouth slightly agape, her breath caught in her throat somewhere along with her voice.
“Go ahead, open it,” he encouraged as he opened the hand holding hers.
With great trepidation, she removed her hand from his, picked up the box, and carefully lifted the lid with her other hand, gasping at the sight of its contents. “Jethro! It’s beautiful! Wherever did you find this?”
“I actually had it custom made for you. It’s not exactly something easy to find. I’m glad you like it.” He breathed a sigh of relief, but the hammering of his heart didn’t slow, there was still more to it. More to say.
Emerald’s eyes examined the delicate gold box chain from which dangled a small pendent in the shape of a flip-flop with tiny diamonds studding the straps. “I absolutely love it, but I don’t understand why. Am I missing something?”
This was the part that was making Jethro nervous. “For one, I never replaced the one I broke in the supermarket, so I thought I’d buy you one that would last longer. Secondly, today marks one month since we first met, and I wanted you to know that I remembered and cared about the little things like that. But mostly it would make more sense probably if you looked on the back,” he said, hoping maybe she would figure it out, but knowing the words had to be said.
She took the pendent in her fingers, turning it over, and read the tiny inscription on the back. “Jethro, I think they got the words backwards. Did you check this before you left the store?”
“Yep. They got it right.”
“But it says…”
“I know what it says. I told them what to put on it.”
Emerald just looked at him slightly confused by the meaning, and he knew more needed to be said.
Thankful her neck was bare tonight, Jethro made his move. “May I put it on you? Please?”
That brought a smile to her face. “Of course.”
She removed the delicate necklace from its box as he stood up and came around to stand behind her, taking the strand of gold into his own hands and waiting for her to pull her long red hair up out of the way so he could place it on her slender neck. Once the clasp was firmly in place, he gently took her hands in his, letting her hair flow softly down her back again, and leaned over, bringing his lips to her ear. He kissed it before whispering, “I am truly yours for as long as you’ll have me.”
Kissing her ear once more, he returned to his seat, extended his hand to take hers once again, looking into her eyes, watching and waiting for some response. He wasn’t sure how long it would take her to process that.
“And what if I want to keep you forever?” she questioned him in a hushed voice, as if afraid to ask him such a thing, her thoughts still lingering on the inscription he chose so eloquently, ‘Truly yours, LJG’. It was so simple, so Jethro.
His lips widened into a broad smile that lit his piercing blue eyes. “Please do.” Tell her, Jethro. Say the words. Now is the right time. And without further hesitation, Leroy Jethro Gibbs said the words he never imagined saying to another woman in his life and actually truly meaning with all his heart and soul. “I love you, Emerald.”
“I love you too, Jethro,” came Emerald’s voice across the table, making his heart beat double time and the smile broaden further across his face.
They got the check as quickly as possible and left the restaurant to head to Emerald’s house. Jack was safely at Jethro’s with agents guarding him and wasn’t expecting his son home tonight anyway. He had had a feeling the night would end with the two of them at Emerald’s, fully enjoying the lack of a chaperone for once.
Little did Gibbs know the entirety of events at the restaurant had been seen from across the room, although nothing that had been said could be heard from the distance, a lot could be read, or misinterpreted, through body language.
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