Chapter 17

In the days that followed, Brent felt he was in a trance. His beloved Jeanette had been scheduled for brain surgery a mere four days from their meeting with Dr. Chen and as he sat by her side in the hospital, he struggled to grasp the meaning of what had happened to their family in the past month.

The incident at the Wagon Wheel was almost forgotten now with the knowledge of Jeanette's affliction. He was frightened, he admitted to himself, and he couldn't conceive of a life without her. They had tried to talk about the "what ifs" after their meeting with the neurosurgeon, but only Jeanette seemed to be able to handle the concept.

Henry had reinstated Brent to full active status and had assigned him a product development role for the paper group. He would operate mostly from home, but there were enough legitimate projects for him to work on that he could convince himself that it was a valid job. He was reporting directly to Henry, but he would make sure that Lloyd knew what he was doing, if for no other reason than courtesy.

At first Brent was doubtful that he would be able to concentrate on this new job, but he found instead that it was the escape he needed from the reality of his and Jeanette's uncertain future. If he did nothing, he would dwell on her problems and fret over the unknown for himself and their children. He began to think of himself as selfish, thinking more of the effect that his wife's disease had on him than on her. He wasn't very happy with himself, but he refused to surrender to hopelessness. Andrea and Scott needed him to be strong, and strong he would be.

As he watched the unconscious form of Jeanette lying next to him, her head swathed in bandages, he wondered how he had ever managed to capture a woman so beautiful. The first time he met her, at a University mixer, he immediately categorized her as out of his class. She was not just pretty, she was gorgeous. Her clothes suited her posture and her demeanor. She smiled and laughed easily. Her auburn hair fell just below her ears and looked like she never had to care for it. Her lovely blue eyes and bright smile were everywhere he looked that night. She had a tendency to hide her teeth, either with her hand or upper lip and discovered that she was trying to mask their slightly imperfect alignment. "A-hah!" he thought. "Perhaps she isn't perfect after all."

He had been leaning against the wall, listening to a conversation between two seniors about their future in the business world when he felt a presence beside him. He turned, and there she was, looking up at him with that smile.

"Hi," was about the only thing that came to mind quickly.

"Hi, I'm Jeanette O'Leary," she said brightly, holding out her hand.

Brent took it gingerly and replied, "I'm Brent Gordon. Nice to meet you Jeanette."

"Are you a senior, Brent?"

"No, I'm in third year Business Admin."

"I'm in second year Arts," she said, still with that smile and unwavering eye contact.

They talked for some time before realizing it was late and time to move on. Brent awkwardly asked for her phone number and was given the number of her dorm payphone with the assurance that someone would let her know he had called. He gave her his apartment phone number, telling her that he shared it with two other students, so just leave a number or a message. Somehow, he'd get it.

Brent phoned her the next day and Jeanette agreed to a date that coming Saturday night and thus began their courtship. By the end of the semester, Brent was smitten and had pretty much made up his mind that this was the woman he would marry and with whom he would spend his life. Jeanette was a bit more cautious, and although they had become intimate, she wanted to be certain of her feelings before making such an important commitment.

By the following year, Jeanette was confident of Brent, and when he asked her to marry him after she had graduated, she happily said yes. It would be a two year engagement, but they were sure of each other and the only remaining step was for Brent to ask permission of her parents and then inform his. It was an old-fashioned principle that Brent knew of, but wondered if anyone actually subscribed to. He had met Mr. and Mrs. O'Leary on several occasions and they seemed to be quite pleasant and accepting.

He had purchased a ring with some money his Grandmother had given him when he told her of his plans. She was delighted as she had met and immediately embraced Jeanette. She thought it was a perfect match for her grandson and the money was a pre-wedding gift so that the expenses wouldn't cripple Brent's limited finances. There was still a year of University to complete.

Brent was visibly nervous as he sat in the living room of the O'Leary home. He hemmed and hawed and generally beat around the bush before coming out with it.

"Mr. and Mrs. O'Leary, I'm ... uh ... here to ask for your permission to marry your daughter," he finally managed.

"Which one?" Kevin O'Leary asked with a sly grin.

Brent was caught completely off-guard. It wasn't the response he was expecting.

"Why, Jeanette, of course," he stumbled.

"What took you so long?" her father quickly returned, still with the funny smile.

"Uh ... well ... we wanted to wait until ... uh ... she was finished university," he answered nervously.