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Julie considered that in relation to herself. Her heart had been broken plenty, but maybe those disappointments had been necessary for her to appreciate all that Des was, all the two of them could be. But she could ponder life paths later.
"So sick kid, orphan, it didn't matter." Julie pursed her lips. "He just took it in stride and moved forward? I'm not disagreeing. He seems far more at ease with any trouble in his past than most of my friends. And their biggest therapy issue is usually that daddy didn't hug them enough."
"It's often hard for those of us who have had family support to understand," Betty explained. "But a kid in the system, there isn't another option. You take care of yourself because numbers and time are against you getting a lot of one-on-one attention. But don't mistake taking-in-stride for easy. He had his low moments. He just never really expected anyone to be there to hold his hand through...anything."
Shadows passed through the nurse's eyes as she looked toward Des again, but when she brought her attention back to Julie, her gaze had lightened, heralding a lighter subject. "So you really expect me to buy that falling-in-love crap? Admit it. You're just using him for sex."
Julie laughed. "I admit he's extremely good at that, but no. He makes me laugh and..."
Her gaze shifted to him. He was offering each kid a supervised turn at the giant circular saw, a mother's nightmare. She'd intended to give Betty a flip response, but that wasn't what came from her lips. "I've been looking for a good man for a long time," she admitted. "He is one, and I'm hoping this will turn into a good thing for both of us. Too early to tell, but it sure feels right."
Betty touched her hand, a casual affection. "Your eyes are sparkling, so I'd say you're working a heavy crush on my boy." She cocked her head. "You're not Southern."
"No. Born in Oregon, but most of my life has been theater up in New York, Boston and Philly. I'm down here getting Wonder on its feet."
"Oh the erotic theater. I should have known he'd be involved in that." At Julie's surprised expression, Betty grinned. "I'm not a monk. Some girlfriends were gushing about it. They said I needed to buy tickets,
but I missed my chance."
"Oh." Julie paused, not sure what to say to that. How would Des have felt, knowing a woman who'd served in an obvious maternal capacity to him was watching his part of the show?
"Ah." Betty's shrewd gaze said she'd connected the dots in less than a blink. "He was in it, wasn't he? With his fancy rope stuff? Oh, dear, don't look surprised. I've known about that side of his nature for a while, though we don't talk about it in great detail."
She sobered again. "At one time a whole platoon of nurses, doctors and specialists regularly prodded into Des's every day-to-day decision. Complete privacy wasn't a choice for him. It's routine to him now, but he still has to examine every choice under a microscope. Sex, exercise, job choices; anything that puts stress on his body. Fortunately, he's self-sufficient enough at this point to get by mostly with one medical care consultant. Or as he fondly calls me, 'the pain in his ass constantly interfering with his life.'"
Though Betty was keeping the conversation to generalities, it confirmed Julie's earlier suspicions, that Des's health concerns went beyond basic diabetic care.
"His rope work calms him and reduces his stress level, in one way at least." She gave Julie an unexpectedly impish wink. "I admit, I've been curious about it for a long time. Seeing him on stage, me hidden in the faceless audience, that would have been the least embarrassing option for me to satisfy my curiosity, wouldn't it? I hate I missed it."
"Well, we did tape the last show. I'd be happy to let you borrow it, as long as you promise not to post it on YouTube for millions of viewers." Julie fished out a card for her. "And if ever you want to come to another show at Wonder, we keep a few seats set by for special requests. Just tell me how many friends you'll be bringing and I'll make sure you have good seats."
Betty took the card. "How very kind of you. Oh, look out now, I've been busted. He finally noticed who was sitting with you. The first few times he looked over, all he saw was you." Betty winked at her.
Des was coming their way. Julie noted a faint tightening of his jaw when his gaze shifted between them that suggested Betty's presence wasn't entirely welcome. Did it bug him that she and Betty might be talking about him? Was he worried that one or both of them was saying too much?
Regardless, when he approached, he bent and kissed the older woman on the cheek. She put her arms around his neck, a brief intimacy and eye lock that confirmed their long history. While Julie was sure that journey hadn't always been smooth, the most enduring relationships were like that, weren't they?
"Exchanging stories?" Des said casually.
"Your ears must be burning," Julie said, just as mildly. "She was singing your praises. I'm not believing a word of it."
"Smart girl." Sitting down on the other side of Julie, so he could angle his body toward both women, he cocked his head toward the playground. "They're having a ball. And, miracle of miracles, they're actually helping. Mylo has some good carpentry skills when he's not trying to charm and hustle everyone. You here to enjoy the show?" he asked Betty.
"And to talk to you about these." Betty tapped the folder. Des's hand settled on Julie's thigh, a light grip.
"Let's do that later. I've got a lot to get done here today."
"I'm sure that's true, but we were going to talk about these last weekend. Then during the week. Then Friday."
"No, you thought that."
Betty's expression cooled at Des's edgy tone, but her gaze didn't leave his face. Julie sat still as a stone, not sure where to look. "You want me to do this here, in front of her?" the nurse said.
"No. I think that was my whole point."
"Then you come find me to talk before the end of the day, or I'll find you wherever you are, and I don't care who overhears the conversation."
Des's eyes narrowed. "We've already talked about this."
