“I know, Dad. I feel fine. Really. I know we’re going to be perfectly all right.”
Aaron was having a hard time believing what he was hearing. Why wasn’t she reacting as expected for a jilted, eight-months-pregnant woman? “Have you heard from Gordon?”
Ruth shrugged one shoulder. “Not a peep. And that’s fine with me. Would you like something to eat? I have some sandwich makings in the kitchen. I had to restock the shelves for myself, and I only got small amounts, mostly because I wasn’t hungry at the time. But I did get a gigantic amount of comfort food to share. How about some chocolate chip cookies and vanilla ice cream?” She winked and flounced off to the kitchen.
What the heck was going on? She was fine? She didn’t seem to even miss Gordon. She’d thought he was the love of her life. Aaron never cared for the guy. He was one of those surgeons with a God complex, not that he was judging doctors in general. Gordon was a selfish prick. He was still a selfish prick.
He followed Ruth into the kitchen and said, “I’m not really hungry, but I could certainly use a cold drink.”
“Of course.” Ruth opened the fridge and said, “What would you like? We have your usual Heineken, or some Arnold Palmers…you know, the half lemonade, half iced tea drink. There’s no liquor in it. That’s what I’ve been drinking.”
“That sounds delicious. Let’s both have a glass of that.”
He couldn’t very well tell her how to feel. If this was just some kind of temporary upswing, he’d certainly let her have it. Grief and loss could bring on all kinds of mood swings. Perhaps she’d just listened to Gloria Gaynor’s song “I Will Survive”. Who knew?
The two of them sat at the kitchen table with their Arnold Palmers. “So, how are Kizzy and Noah?” Ruth asked.
“Kizzy and the whole extended Fierro family are doing great. You should see Noah’s fantastic building skills. I swear that boy can do anything…and all without breaking a sweat.”
Ruth chuckled. “Yes, she got a good one. And to think you didn’t like him at first.”
Aaron shook his head at himself. “It wasn’t that I disliked him. I’m afraid I just saw things…well…less clearly in the past. I’ll admit to being overly money-driven. And of course, no one was going to be good enough for my girls. But I’ve had my eyes opened in a few significant ways. Especially lately.”
He wasn’t about to say how he had not changed his mind about Gordon though. Instead, he let her steer the conversation.
“Boy, we really dodged a bullet with Gordon backing out,” she said.
“Oh?” At last, she was going to talk about the reason she was here.
“Well, yeah. He didn’t want kids. I have one on the way, and if he’s not into it, he’d probably be a terrible father. And husband.”
Aaron’s eyebrows rose.
“Of course I was devastated. At first,” Ruth said. “But then a visit from your friend and neighbor, Gaia, really helped me.”
Shocked, all Aaron could do was repeat himself. “Oh?”
“Yeah,” Ruth said. “She came over yesterday. Right after I got here in fact, and we had a delicious cup of tea together. I never knew she was our neighbor. She seemed familiar, but I don’t recall meeting her.”
“No, I don’t suppose you have.”
“She’s beautiful but in a truly unique way. I have no idea how old she is… You must admit she’s gorgeous. That long white hair is amazing, but she has a completely unlined face. And the way she dressed!” Ruth chuckled.
Oh no. Did she show up in her toga?“How did she dress?” Aaron asked as innocently as he could.
“She looked like Jackie O. She wore a beautiful powder-blue suit and a pillbox hat, of all things.”
“Oh, right. These days, that’s unique, I guess.”
“So anyway, I was blubbering my head off when she got here, and after one cup of tea, I was fine. I should show you the interesting tea leaves she brought.”
Aaron cleared his throat. “Yes, I’d like to see that.”
Ruth retrieved the satchel and pulled out one of the leaves he had been introduced to in Puerto Rico. Gaia had obviously brought his cure to Ruth. But to experiment on her without any kind of prior clinical trials? Unthinkable! He hadn’t even broken it down to its components yet.Nobody knows what’s in it! How could she?And his daughter being pregnant… He rose suddenly, almost tipping the table. Ruth grasped her drink before it sloshed.
“What’s the matter, Dad?”
Aaron gritted his teeth, then took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. “It’s nothing, baby. I’m just tired. I need to grab a nap.”
