Just Her Luck (10 page)

"I get stared at a lot too," I admitted.

"You do?" he asked, blinking up at me, wide eyed.

"Yep.” I nodded, “I have a tendency to do
this
." I crossed my eyes and jerked, making a weird face, my tongue ring peeking out as I froze for a minute, mid-pose, "And then it stops."

Straightening my face, I kept my expression completely serious and shrugged.

He eyed me skeptically, big grey eyes studying me shrewdly.

"You do not," he said slowly, calling me out, eyes narrowing down at me like he was on to me.

"Honest," I said solemnly, "I can't help it."

I did it again, and he grinned, trying hard to smother it.

"See. Can't help it." I gestured helplessly.

He giggled when I did it one more time.

"It just happens!" I cried desperately, keeping my voice low, "Can't control it!"

"You're crazy!" he giggled hysterically.

Probably, but it's making him laugh, isn't it? So who cares?

When his giggle died down, he turned, whispering something to the man beside him, eyes the same pretty grey lighting up when the man smiled over the boy’s head at me and nodded his head.

The boy plopped the hat he was wearing back onto the man's head and turned back towards me.

"I'm Calvin," the little boy introduced himself, sitting up in his chair on his knees, holding his hand out for a shake.

He realized it was his scarred hand and went to quickly pull it back.

I snagged it up before he could move it away, shaking his hand warmly, careful all the same.

"I'm Genevieve. Nice to meet you, Calvin."

"And this is my uncle," he said eagerly, hooking a thumb at the man next to him, eyes bright with excitement as he practically bounced in his seat, "He's Ten."

I laughed at the absurdity of that and looked at the man beside him, giving him a once over.

The man was chuckling at his nephew, ruffling his hair affectionately as I studied him.

"Uh, Calvin. I don't think your uncle is..."

"No! Silly," he rolled his eyes at me, "his
name
is Ten."

"Ooooh, so sorry," I said humbly, going for contrite, amused by how exasperated he sounded with me.

"Now shake his hand," Calvin instructed excitedly.

"Nice to meet you, Uncle Ten," I said dutifully, shaking the man's hand, humoring Calvin.

"Pleasure’s all mine, ma’am," Ten said on a laugh, his voice much softer and quieter than I would have imagined for such a large guy, his hands rough and calloused all over, his handshake firm but gentle.

"Calvin Percy?" the gorilla-man nurse with the chiseled face and little dimple in his chin called from the doorway.

"That's me," Calvin chirped, hopping up, "Come on, Uncle Ten! We gotta scoot!"

I watched as he shot across the room.

He was going as fast as his little cowboy boots could carry him.

It was completely adorable and I was a little sad to see him leave.

He stopped and ran back suddenly, setting a wrapped candy in my lap.

I looked down at the candy, then back up at him, and he waved at me.

"For later!" He smiled sweetly, gesturing to the candy, taking his uncle's hand. "Bye, Genevieve!"

His uncle waved too, grinning at Calvin's exuberance, his smile matching his nephew's.

"Later, Calvin," I called, waving back.

I glared at the male nurse when no one else was looking, giving him the stink eye when he glanced over at me again.

This time when he winked, it was just because he knew it would annoy me, blue eyes laughing at me.

Good god! I wonder if he's related to the Harrisons.

I stared hard at the door he'd just closed.

The man is a cheeky little monkey!

I picked the magazine I'd been pretending to read earlier back up, flipping through the pages restlessly again, continuing my wait.

I pocketed the piece of candy Calvin had given me and smiled.

Looks like I just made a new friend
, I thought fondly, my smile growing wider.

****

True to her word, Ruthie came breezing out a very short time later.

"How did it go?" I tried to keep my voice calm and unaffected, following her out, hounding her step for step.

"The usual," she said airily and flapped some papers at me.

My head bobbed along to her paper flapping as I tried to get a look at what they were, but she pulled them back before I could really see them, shoving them deep down into her purse.

Just for good measure, she moved her purse over to the shoulder opposite me.

Sneaky wench!

Sucks sometimes to have someone who knows you so well.

"So... what's next? I don't know anything about this kind of stuff. What do we need to do now? When's the surgery? Don't these things happen really fast? Should we... could we... how do..."

"Genevieve!" Ruthie barked and stopped in the middle of the hall, right in front of the building's exit.

She turned and put her hands on my shoulders, turning me to face her.

"Vieve, my dear, sweet, Vieve," she said breathlessly, a little exasperated with my mini freak out of a moment ago.

Give me a break, my brain is on overload and I'm worried!
I bit on the inside of my cheek a little, frowning at her.

"
We
, you silly goose, aren't going to do
anything
," she said affectionately.

"But..." I protested.

She cupped her hand, very gently, over my mouth to shut me the hell up.

She smiled at me with a mother’s smile, shaking her head as she laughed softly.

"
I
am going to follow along with the things the doctor said, do the few menial tests he wants done, and then I go from there," she said with all the authority of an old woman who doesn't take lip from anybody.

How the hell do I argue with that?

Can't argue with her, Vieve, it's her body, her surgery, her tests!

But she's my auntie!
I screeched at myself.

Man, I really want to pester her about it, though! Keep it up until she gives in eventually, hopefully,
I thought, fighting with my sense of 'Don't sass your aunt' and 'Do it anyways’.

God, it sucks when you actually have respect for someone,
I grumped at myself.

No respect makes it so much easier to just disregard whatever it is they said and do whatever the hell you thought best in the first place!

"Won't do you any good, you know," she informed me when we'd made it to my car, "I'm standing firm on this, Vieve. I won't be changing my mind."

I hopped in my car and rolled down the windows.

Air! We need air in here!
My body screeched as it came into contact with muggy car air and hot, imitation leather, skin sticking seats.

I got the car started and composed myself for a moment, hands gripping the steering wheel tightly as I willed myself to chill, thinking about her decision on the whole surgery matter.

Ruthie has never excluded me from anything in her life,
ever
, and I'm feeling a tiny bit pinched that she chose
this
, of all things, to leave me out of.

Why?

I stared down at my lap, picking at the teal blue nail polish chipping off of my nails.

Is it me?

"I can wear different clothes to take you to your appointments," I offered, trying to ease her into my cajoling, slowly lifting my head to look at her.

"Vieve... it isn't that, hun," she said with a tiny smile, playing idly with the strap of her purse.

"I won't say a word, swear!" I promised and mimed zipping my lips. "Look,” I reasoned, trying to level with her, “I haven't insulted any of your physicians since that one insinuated you were getting 'up there' in years and I might want to 'put you into a home'!
But...
I mean,
come on,
he was an ass, Aunt Ruthie. He deserved it. Who says shit like that?! You were right there!
You
were his patient. If he'd actually read your chart, he'd have known you weren't friggin' deaf!" I rushed to add.

"Vieve, this is something I need to do on my own. It's not you.” She smiled fondly at the buns I had my hair done up in on each side of my head, right behind my ears, my bangs slightly curled, settled just about my eyebrows as they swept across my forehead haphazardly.

She tugged on the bottom of my black 'mullets rock' tank top and smiled at me affectionately.

"Don't you dare ever change yourself for
me
or
anyone else
, Genevieve Ferguson. I love you just the way you are, dear heart."

I leaned over the middle of the seats and hugged her.

"I still wanna go," I whispered into her hair, trying one last time.

She chuckled and patted my back.

"Nice try, you little booger, but I aint budgin', so
knock it off
. Did you forget your Auntie is just as, if not more, stubborn than you are?"

I harrumphed and sat back down in my seat.

"It was worth a try," I muttered as I put the car into reverse and slowly backed out, slumping a little in my seat.

"Yep," she said proudly, chuckling a little, "You are
most definitely
like me."

I peeked at her through the corner of my eye, brow raised challengingly.

"Does that mean I can crash all of your shit anyways and get away with it?" I sassed, only half kidding.

"Not unless you want to end up on a gurney alongside me,
honey lamb
," she said sweetly.

"Who the hell told you about the 'honey lamb' shit?" I blurted, surprised-
but I really shouldn't be-
that she knew of the goings on at the Harrison household.

She grinned, proud of herself for effectively changing the subject, and silly me, I let her.

I can always work on her about her surgery stuff on the way to her next appointment.

There's still time.

"Who was it, though? Who blabbed?" I prodded, my curiosity piqued.

"I'll never tell," she swore solemnly and folded her hands in her lap.

"It was Ephraim, wasn't it?" I guessed.

She just smiled secretively and gave her head a little shake.

"That boy doesn't usually say more than two words to me," she chuckled, staring out the window.

"Huh. Really? Sometimes I can't get him to shut up. Thatch either..."

Hmmm.
I thought about it for a minute, wracking my brain.

Duh! Why did I think of him first?

"Oh, I know! It's Thatcher! He's worse than a gossipy old bitty."

"No, and stop guessing, 'cause I'm not sayin'."

She turned the radio on after that and ignored any further attempts to guess the tattle tale we had floating around the Harrison house.

Well, shit
, I thought, irritated all the more.
Now I have to worry about a blabber mouth too!

I wonder if Ruthie knows about the rug beater incident?

I eyed her as I contemplated that and immediately dismissed the idea.

Nah, she would have lectured me up a wall if she knew.

It
was
pretty damn funny though.

I grinned a little in remembrance.

"What has you smiling like the cat that just got the cream?" Ruthie asked interestedly.

"Wouldn't you just like to know," I said primly and laughed when she pinched my earlobe.

"You little brat!" she harrumphed.

"Ow! Watch it! I'm trying to drive here, ya crazy ol’ bat! Do you want to crash?"

"That's right, Genevieve Ermentrude Ferguson, you just wipe that silly look off of your face and watch the road."

I gasped and put a hand on my chest.

"What have I ever done to you to deserve that?"

"I'll tell all my boys your middle name... let ‘em know how much it bothers you." She chortled to herself a little, an evil smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

Gah!

"Shutting up." I shoved my hand back on the steering wheel and looked straight ahead, both hands at the correct positions.

"That's what I thought," she said smugly.

"You could be bluffing." I eyed her warily

"I could," she said slowly, "But with the way you and Reeve are digging for dirt on each other, do you really wanna find out? Might be I’m not."