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“You’re strong,” he said. “I don’t think you need to worry about anyone.”
They were skirting the issue and they both knew it. She was afraid of falling for him, too.
Then on Sunday, the real Saint family experience was to be had. Begging off church attendance by lying and saying she was going with her parents to their Lutheran church, she agreed to meet them at their favorite after-church restaurant for brunch, Wild Pancakes. It was a zoo. The entire family showed up except for Tony, who was working, but Bridget and their two kids came along.
“Does everyone fit?” Geri asked.
“They have to give us one dining room,” Jake explained. “They put two long tables together. If Charlie comes with his wife and their twin girls, then it really gets crazy. That’ll make seven little kids.”
“Charlie has little kids? He’s ready for grandchildren, isn’t he?”
“Ha! Yeah, you’d think so. He has two sons with his first wife, and then he married a younger woman. Lila’s about fifteen years younger.”
“That explains it. I saw pictures of older boys on his desk. I saw pictures of little kids, but I thought they were his grandchildren.”
It took twenty minutes to get everyone’s order, another twenty to get it served. Geri tried to listen with one ear to Jake and the other open to the conversation swirling around her. She realized she was a curiosity among the long-haired, feminine, Roberta Saint followers.
“I’m not that different than you are.”
“Pardon?”
She was sitting next to Bridget, who was trying to coax her reluctant daughter, Isabella, into tasting a blueberry pancake.
“I’m not that different than you are,” Geri repeated. “You’re a paramedic. You went to college to achieve that. I imagine you have some kind of exercise routine you use to keep fit. The only difference from me is that your hair is long.”
“I don’t get it.”
Geri felt her voice shake, a dead giveaway that she was hurt. This was probably not the right place to confront Bridget, a coworker and Jake’s family. Taking a deep breath, she was going to do it. Hopefully, she wouldn’t get shrill.
“Why’d you speculate about my sexuality? It’s hurtful. Even if there’s nothing wrong with it, when you do that, it makes the person you’re questioning wonder what they’re doing to promote that kind of reaction among people.”
With her voice sounding like she was underwater, Geri stopped, hands shaking so badly she slid them off the table and held them in her lap. She looked at Bridget, who fussed with her daughter for a moment and then turned back to her. Bridget was tough. But the confrontation was a lot for her.
“Geri, I’m so sorry. I meant it when I asked you to forgive me at the station. If someone said I shared your comments with them, well, it’s just not true. I felt awful about that awkward moment and mentioned it to Tony. He said you would probably let it slip off your back.”
“I did at work. But then I found out it was dinnertime conversation at the Saint house. You know, just forget it. I shouldn’t have said anything to you at breakfast, but I didn’t want to bring it up at work.”
“Is everything okay between us? Because I think my brother-in-law really likes you, and I don’t want there to be trouble.”
She took another deep breath and looked at Bridget, who seemed sincere. “Everything’s okay between us.”
Then, out of character and not with a huge gesture that might get everyone’s attention, Bridget slipped her arm around Geri’s shoulders and hugged her. “I’m sorry again.”
“Thank you, Bridget. Apology accepted.”
She saw Bridget pick up the napkin and dab the corner of her eye. No one noticed in the chaos of the meal. Maybe next week she could be busy during brunch.
“Will we be okay at work?” Bridget asked.
“Of course. I was okay before. I just wanted to clear the air, and now it’s cleared. I hope I didn’t start a problem with you, because I’d feel horrible.”
“There’s no problem at all.”
Finally able to eat, the French toast she ordered was cold and rubbery. How long had they sat there? It had only been two minutes.
“Is anyone else’s food stone cold?” Roberta asked. “Because mine is inedible.”
Several people complained, including Bridget. Geri kept her mouth shut. The last thing she’d do is eat food that had been returned to the kitchen.
