Marisol hadn't eaten more than a few bites, but she seemed to enjoy herself as she kept them entertained with more stories from Gabe's and Grace's childhood mingled with many from her own.
No one made a move to get up from the table and start cleaning the kitchen, so Paige stayed put, content to keep visiting.
Marisol shifted topics as she looked at Gabe. "Evelyn says the physical therapy office in Pasco isn't the same without you there." Then she turned to Paige. "My good friend Evelyn broke her ankle and has been going to physical therapy for months."
"I'm still there two days a week," Gabe said.
"I know, but Evelyn works on Tuesdays and Thursdays." Marisol took a sip of water. "She says Dr. Stoker is great and all, but even he doesn’t spend the kind of time you do working on your patients.”
"Well, she's welcome to make the drive to Providence," Gabe said in a joking tone. Then he tensed beside Paige and shot her a brief wide-eyed look. Regret filled his face.
Was he worried Evelyn would actually show up in Providence? While Paige was at PT perhaps?
Marisol went on. "Those other guys they've had filling in—Toa and…Gary, I think it was—Evelyn didn't like those guys at all."
Paige leaned forward in her seat about to agree but caught herself. She shouldn't give away that she’d done PT with both men recently in case they hadn’t worked with Gabe a year ago when Paige had supposedly done PT.
"Few people do. Unfortunately, at PT school, they don't teach the people skills necessary to truly be a good physical therapist." Gabe grinned at her. "Paige had to work with Toa once, didn't you?"
She jumped at the opportunity to express her opinion of the obnoxious physical therapist. "Ugh. That man is so stuck on himselfhe can't see beyond the end of his nose. He has no idea what’s best for his patients."
Marisol nodded. "That's exactly what Evelyn said. He's always trying to change her exercises from what Dr. Stoker has set." Marisol tutted and shook her head. "And Gary…well it sounds like that man hardly talks."
Paige bit her tongue, waiting for an opening from Gabe. When he gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head, she said, "PT is torturous enough, having a therapist like that would make it even more so."
"Hey, I resent that." Gabe pressed a hand to his chest in feigned offense.
"Don't you give me that." Paige grinned as she nudged his shoulder with hers. "You admitted to being a tyrant and a ruthless taskmaster on my second day of PT."
Grace gave a soft snort across the table.
Gabe pointed as he returned Paige's grin. "A ruthless yet gentle taskmaster. But only with my favorite patients." He reached out as though to take her hand then paused and pulled back.
A sinking sensation swooped through Paige's chest and abdomen. She shouldn't be so disappointed, but she was. She was also confused. Shortly after they arrived, he kissed her in front of his mom and sister, then as they prepared dinner, he’d gradually withdrawn. Even though he sat less than a foot away, he'd hardly touched her all through dinner.
Was he upset she had exchanged phone numbers with his mom and sister? That's what a real girlfriend would do. Besides, Paige and Grace had hit it off.
Maybe the guilt of lying to his mom was getting to him. Would he break down and tell her the truth soon and end their fake relationship?
That thought depressed her more than it should.
"So, Paige, have you made any special plans for Gabe's birthday yet?" Marisol looked at her expectantly as she took a nibble off her half-eaten empanada.
A sense of panic seized Paige, making her hot and cold at the same time. She had no idea when Gabe's birthday was, so of course she hadn't made plans. She didn't even know how old he was.
Gabe cleared his throat. "I have to work next Friday, so we aren't really planning on celebrating."
She shot him a look of gratitude and forced a smile. "I thought we could do something fun on Saturday to celebrate." She took Gabe's hand. Thankfully, he didn't resist. "What would you like to do?"
"I don't want to make a big fuss. A quiet dinner at a restaurant would be nice."
"Oh, we're going to make a fuss alright," Grace said. "You only turn thirty-one once. Besides, this might be the last one you get to celebrate with Mo—" Her works choked off as tears flooded her eyes. She ducked her head.
Tears sprang to Paige's eyes as a somber mood settled over the table. Gabe squeezed her hand with an almost bruising force. She did her best to return the pressure, trying to comfort him.
Thanks to Grace, she now knew how old Gabe was, but her only thought was that he was too young to lose his mom.
"Come now. None of that." Marisol clasped Grace's hand. "We're going to be grateful for the time I have left and make the most of it, remember?" She turned her attention to Gabe. "So yes, we are going to make a big deal of your birthday. Either you can decide what you'd like to do, or we can surprise you."
