“I couldn’t agree with you more, Astrid.” Lucia speaks up. “Where in the world are Grace and those little munchkins ofhers?”
With a lot of irritation and hand flapping, Astrid (if I ever had to pick a name for someone with a face as pinched as hers, Astrid would be it) explains that her daughter and their family are in Washington DC for theweekend.
Some of my irritation dissipates. Obviously her questions were really meant for her own daughter. I was just the luckyrecipient.
I jump a little when my knee is squeezed under the table. I look to the hand, then up to the person it’s attachedto.
Lauren offers a small, lopsidedsmile.
“I’m OK,” I say quietly. In a normal voice, I ask her about work. I don't want to talk about my absentee mother or the fielding of insensitivequestions.
We spend the next ten minutes talking about three difficult children in her class, until a dessert tower is placed on our table. Claire's eye's gleam, making Laurenlaugh.
“Just like Isaac,” she says,grinning.
I nod and chuckle. Isaac's excitement over sweets is cute. The way his mouth forms a small ‘o’ and then he says, “Ohhhh”. Chocolate is his favorite, so I guess the stereotype is wrong. Men can love chocolatetoo.
Lauren grabs a cupcake from the bottom tier and extends it across me to Claire. “Did I guess correctly?” She asksher.
Claire nods vigorously, reaching out. She licks some frosting off thetop.
“Mmmm,” she smacks herlips.
I peel the wrapper off for her and help her eat it one-handed. Lucia sneaks her another when she thinks I'm not looking and they giggle together. When Lucia catches my gaze, she winks and laughs. I return the smile, but my insides feel like jelly. Claire has a loving, doting grandmother, a fun aunt, and a mother who loves her with ferocity. She’s beyond lucky, and she doesn't even knowit.
After a closing speech from someone else on the committee, including a very obvious call-to-action, the brunch isover.
And me? I am so donetoo.
I want to gohome.
The thought doesn’t put me at ease, though, because when I think about home, I realize I’ve pictured Isaac’s place. Not my dad’shouse.
And I’ve put Isaac right in the middle of thepicture.
Four months ago,if somebody had told me this would be happening to me, I would have laughed in hisface.
Daughter?I don’t have anykids.
Girlfriend?Her name isJenna.
Job?It just so happens I’m being considered for something inBoston.
Fast forward to now. Completely differentanswers.
I wouldn’t say Aubrey and I are dating. She’s too skittish for that. When our hours are up, we leave each other alone. Every day since the night I took her out almost two weeks ago, we’ve spent an hour together. It’s the reason for hernickname.
“Hey, Sixty,” I say when she walks into thekitchen.
She smirks and sits at the table with her coffee. “Hello, DoctorCowboy.”
I think she really liked discovering my soft spot for country twang. She hasn’t let me forget itsince.
“Good morning, Claire Bear. Are you excited for today?” Aubrey tickles Claire’sside.
“Yes,” Claire says through hergiggles.
I come from the kitchen with Claire’s scrambled eggs. “Today is a big day.” I wink at her and set the plate in front of her. She digs in. It’s going to be different to see her with two working arms. I’ve only seen her arm once, when I was performing surgery on it. At the time I didn’t know she was mine. If I’d known, would I have stared at her arm a little harder, knowing that it would be a few months before I could see it again? Would I have been able to do the surgery atall?
