“Okay. I have an old one in my drawer at home. Give me a second to go get it.” It took about two seconds, but she popped out and back in with the item.
Kristine held out a black rectangle with one glass side, and on the other side was some kind of purple plastic coating. Plastic was something Mother Nature had never intended man to invent, but it was here now, and people seemed to think they couldn’t live without it.
“Okay this is the On button here.” Kristine pointed to a thin bar at the top. “But it has to be charged in order for it to work. This one is completely out of juice—I mean battery charge. Juice is an expression. Let me just plug it in for a couple of hours.”
Gaia said, “I don’t have that kind of time. You want it charged with electricity?”
“Yes, that’s the idea.”
Gaia grabbed the phone from her and shot a little lightning bolt into the box. Then she handed it back to Kristine.
She took it gingerly and inspected it. She touched the On button and said, “I’ll be darned. How did you know how much… Never mind. That did the trick.”
Kristine showed her where to put her contacts, how to take pictures, and imported a few apps she deemed necessary. She even taught her how to play solitaire if she had to wait for long periods of time. Everyone knew Gaia was not good at waiting.
“Thank you, Kristine. You’re very good at your job. I’m glad I made you a muse.”
“That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
“Yes, I’m trying to be a little nicer these days,” Gaia said softly.
“For what it’s worth, I like the new you.”
Chapter 6
Ruth dragged her suitcase up the walkway of her old home in Brookline. She sighed as she looked up at the top step and the front door.I never thought I’d be moving back here again.Using her key, Ruth let herself in. Since the housekeeper and her father were both on vacation, she’d try to numb her mind in a constructive way by taking over some of the housekeeping duties. If she lived here long enough, of course, childcare duties would come first.
Boy, she wished Kizzy were here. Her sister and best friend would make everything so much more palatable. But Kizzy had moved out when she got married to Noah Fierro. Now she and her husband had relocated to Puerto Rico, and seeing her would be very difficult. Ruth would not be able to travel in her eighth month. Still, she really wanted her sister nearby for the birth in case something went wrong. She had been told she had very narrow hips, and as a maternity nurse, she’d seen more than a few emergency C-sections. The moms and babies usually came through them just fine, but Ruth knew there were always risks.
Kizzy’s witch power could save a life supernaturally. Just one life per day, but if it came down to a choice, Ruth would make it easy for her. The baby’s life should be saved, of course.
Her room was on the second floor, so she dragged her suitcase up the stairs one riser at a time, trying not to strain too much.I can’t believe that asshole Gordon let me do this by myself. Sure, he had surgery this morning. So what? I could have used some help moving out tomorrow, but he wanted me gone before he got home. Coward.
I guess that’s just the kind of thing I would’ve put up with for the rest of my life if we went through with our marriage.In a singsong voice, she spoke aloud to no one in particular. “The heck with what Ruth needs. The heck with what the baby needs. It’s all about what Gordon needs.” She shook her head.
Once she got everything to her room and heaved the suitcase onto her bed, she looked over at her little pink dresser. It was as empty as she felt. Fortunately, her father hadn’t done anything with her childhood room, like turning it into a gym. She burst into tears, falling on her bed. She clutched the pillow and cried hard.
A knock at her bedroom door startled her.
“No one is supposed to be here,” she whispered to herself.
A female voice from the other side called, “I’m a friend of your dad’s. Can I come in?”
“Oh!” Maybe her father had asked a neighbor to look in on her. Yes, of course he did. “Come in!” she called out.
A woman with long white hair entered the room. She wore a classic-looking powder-blue suit and a pillbox hat, like something Jackie Kennedy might have worn.
“Hello, dear. My name is Gaia. As I said, I’m a friend of your father’s, and I know Kizzy too. This is my first time meeting you though.”
Ruth managed to stand and shake the woman’s hand. “Then you probably already know I’m Ruth. Ruth Samuels.” Her lower lip quivered a bit, realizing she’d continue to be Ruth Samuels. Not Dr. and Mrs. Gordon Draper.
“Yes, your father called me. I’m sorry your fiancé is such a doofus.”
At first, Ruth was shocked, and then she burst out laughing. “That’s a good word for it. He’s being a doofus, and I feel duped.”
Gaia wrapped her arms around her and said, “Don’t be sad. You’re not alone. Your father cares about you very much, and you don’t know it yet, but so do I.”
Ruth stepped back and looked at this woman. She had intelligent eyes and soft, unlined skin. It was very difficult to pinpoint her age. Certainly, she was at least in her thirties, but the white hair really surprised her.
