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Oh, yikes. With naked alarm, I watched him get up and walk out of the room. Just leaving me here all alone with his womenfolk. Really, Masters? Criminy.
Then Holly reached out and grabbed my hand. “So, are you, like, Uncle Ethan’s girlfriend now?” There was a worried crease between her dark eyebrows.
“Um, well…well…” I stammered a little. “Thing is, it’s still really new. I don’t want to jinx it by putting labels on it too soon, you know?”
Holly looked disapproving, but Freya nodded with perfect understanding. “I get you,” she said. “Jed and I got together under intense conditions, too. It was really hard to trust my feelings under such extreme pressure. Everything was out of balance.”
I was grateful for her comprehension. “That’s it exactly,” I said. “I just don’t have any ground under my feet right now.”
“Auntie Frey busted Uncle Jed out of jail,” Holly confided.
Freya snorted coffee out of her nose, and dabbed her face with a napkin, giggling. “Um, not exactly,” she said. “But the real story is just as strange, I promise.”
My curiosity was piqued. “Tell me sometime?”
“Love to. The story is better with cocktails, though. Later on, for sure.”
Ethan returned, with his arms piled with books. A stack of colorful paperback novels about an intrepid, code-cracking young hero, and a big book about codes and encryption through the ages. It looked advanced for a kid Holly’s age, but evidently, she had a full measure of the Masters egghead nerdiness, because she dove right into the big book, leafing through the pages eagerly and chattering about Morse code, the Enigma Machine, the Voynich Manuscript, Alberti’s Disk. Damn. I was impressed.
After we wrapped up breakfast, Angela came out, and ruffled Holly’s hair. “Folks, I am so sorry to abandon you all right when everybody finally gets home, and when so many exciting things are happening,” she said. “But my niece Allegra’s C-section was rescheduled for this afternoon, so I need to get back down to the city.”
“Of course,” Ethan said. “Do you want to use the helicopter? Is there urgency?”
“Oh, God, no. I hate those things. So far, no urgency, so I’ll just drive. That way I have my car to use when I’m in town. There’s tons of food you all can heat up and lay out for lunch and dinner. And I put together a platter of chicken wraps for a quick lunch for everyone tomorrow, so you’re covered for a while.”
“Thanks, Angela. We’ll miss you,” Freya said. “Let us know how it goes.”
“Good luck to your niece,” I said.
“Thanks! I’ll get myself organized and get going.” She gave Holly a hug. “Hey, sweetheart. Keep an eye on these miscreants for me, won’t you?”
“Always do,” Holly said promptly. “It’s my job, Angela. You know that.”
“That’s my girl!” Angela bustled out with a wave.
The day that followed was strangely, unexpectedly wonderful. Somehow, those people had put me at my ease, no small feat. I did not feel awkward with them, or out of place, like an alien blurting out a foreign language, as I often did in social situations. Freya vibrated at a frequency that was tuned to me perfectly. Holly, too.
I ended up telling them all about my mission to empower women and girls, my martial arts schools. Then I learned all about Freya’s engineering firm, and the vast array of fascinating products she designed, many of which intensely appealed to me. She’d designed a bag of disguised weaponry for her best friends, and dubbed it “the Badass Bitch Bag,” and after getting me all starry-eyed about its contents, she promised to get me the latest version of it, with all its newest designs. Holly was much put upon that she couldn’t have her own bag, but lethal drugs and hidden weaponry hardly seemed appropriate for a nine-year-old. I was extremely touched when they dubbed me an honorary Badass Bitch. Awww. Tender moment.
I also learned more that day than I ever wanted to know about the history of codes, and codebreaking, Holly’s latest passion. The kid was definitely a future engineer.
Freya took me down to her apartment to show me her space. Holly showed me her room. Later on, it was drinks by the pool, where Holly took a swim, splashing like a dolphin, while Freya told me the outrageous tale of getting together with Jed. She was a good storyteller. Amazing that they lived through it.
And I actually relaxed. For me, anyway. Who knew what normal human stress levels actually felt like. In any case, mine were lower than they had been since I could remember, and it felt very nice. The cocktails helped, too, giving me a mellow buzz.
We cobbled together a delicious rag-bag of a dinner out of Angela’s massive selection of leftovers, partaking liberally of the wine while we set stuff out and heated stuff up. By the time we sat down to eat, I was downright giggly.
After dessert, we sat together to enjoy the sunset, and when that had faded, Freya glanced at the clock on her phone. “It’s bedtime, honey baby,” she said to Holly. “Go get ready. I’ll come tuck you in.”
“Can Kat do it tonight?” Holly asked, giving me a pleading look. “She’s Uncle Ethan’s girlfriend, so, she’s like, my new second mom, right?”
Freya shot me a nervous, questioning glance. I felt pierced by a stab of pure fear.
It was hard enough to manage all the memories of Gabri without supercharging them with a tender bedtime ritual. After Mom died and Raffi had been moved into Tony Petruzzi’s apartment, I’d been the one to cuddle Gabri to sleep every night.
But the glow from that beautiful, mellow day spent with Ethan’s family gave me the courage to face it. “Fine with me,” I heard myself say. “I’d love to.” Who could resist a little girl’s pleading eyes?
My heart clutched in my chest when she took my hand and led me to her bedroom. I managed coherent responses to her cheerful, excited chatter during all the bathroom stuff. Toilet and teeth. Hair brushing and braiding. And then, the ultimate dilemma: stars, galaxies, and nebulae pajamas, or the Disney princess ones?
