“No, thank you. I can wait until dinner.”
“Uh huh. Well, I know I could use a cup of coffee. Do you want something warm or cold to drink?”
“Um…” The look in the deep blue eyes told her that she had better pick one or the other. “Warm, please.”
“Here’s the controller for the bed.” She handed the white plastic device to Rose along with the instruction booklet. “It comes with heat and massage. Just press these buttons if you want to turn them on. These control the foot and the head of the bed.” She watched as the young woman experimented, raising the head up until she was at a forty-five degree angle. “I’ll let you get used to it and I’ll be right back with those socks.”
Ronnie returned a few minutes later with a pair of thick white socks and a purring pile of orange and white fluff. “Look who I found hiding in the mud room,” she said, setting Tabitha down on the bed and smiling when she saw Rose’s arms wrap around her precious kitten.
“Hi Honey…I missed you,” the young woman cooed to her contented cat. “You’ve gained weight.”
“Mrrow?”
“Did you miss me?” She hugged Tabitha again, unmindful of the tears that spilled out of her own eyes. “Thank you,” she whispered to Ronnie. “Thank you so much for taking care of her for me. I can’t tell you how much…” Her voice broke off and she gave up trying to speak.
“I know,” the dark-haired woman said softly. “And you’re welcome.” A week ago she would not have believed that it could mean so much to anyone to have their pet taken care of but now Ronnie understood just how important the four legged feline was to Rose.
“Hey, let’s get these socks on you.” She moved down to the end of the bed, still watching the tearful reunion between Rose and Tabitha. “These were the warmest I could find,” she said as she untucked the blanket. She gathered the cotton material up in her fingers and carefully slid it over the small toes of Rose’s feet, then up over the cast-covered foot and ankle. With the heel in place, the toe portion of the socks flopped over, clearly showing the difference in the sizes of the two women’s feet. “Sorry about that. I’ll get you some socks that fit you tomorrow.”
“You don’t have to do that, Ronnie. These will be fine, if you don’t mind me wearing your socks. Besides, they have to be big or they won’t fit over the cast.” The heat emanating from the bed took more than just the chill out of Rose, it eased the pain in her legs and relaxed her to the point where her eyelids felt very heavy and she was unable to stifle a yawn. “Would you mind if I rested for a little while?”
“Of course not, Rose, when you’re tired, you just tell me.” Ronnie looked over at the computer, groaning inside at the thought of the work that had been piling up all week waiting for her. “Will the keyboard bother you if I do some work?”
“Oh no. Go right ahead. It won’t bother me at all.” Rose did not know if it would or not but she was not about to tell Ronnie that she could not do her work in her own office in her own home. Tabitha seemed quite content to lie down on the heated bed and soon fell asleep.
Sleep did not come as easily for Rose, however. The clackity-clack of the keyboard drew her attention to Ronnie working hard only a few feet away. There were computers at the public library and she knew how to use them to look up the location of books but little else. Even from this distance she could see that Ronnie was looking over some kind of spreadsheet. Though the sculptured face was turned away from her, Rose had no doubt that the head of Cartwright Corporation was frowning. A pencil with the end well chewed found its way into Ronnie’s mouth again and again. When it was not being gnawed at, it was being bounced up and down on the desk, an apparent nervous habit. Every so often an incongruous expletive would spew forth from the cultured woman’s mouth and the screen on the computer would change from one spreadsheet to another.
Ronnie stood up and walked over to the file cabinets, pulling out wads of computer generated reports. “What the hell are you doing, Tommy?” she asked the air before returning to her seat and comparing the information on the paper to what the screen was telling her. Through half-closed eyelids Rose continued to watch her new friend struggle to make sense of what she was looking at. Several times Ronnie leaned back in her leather chair and let out a frustrated sigh. It was those times that Rose could see her face, brow furrowed with thought, lips pursed, jaw clenched. The young woman finally fell asleep wishing that she could do something to ease Ronnie’s problems the way the gentle woman had eased hers.
Ronnie shut the monitor off and turned in her seat to find Rose sleeping, Tabitha by her side. The orange and white feline was busily cleaning her paws and did not even bother to look up when the executive left the room.
“How is the poor dear?” Maria asked when Ronnie entered the kitchen.
“She’s sleeping right now. I’ll wake her up when dinner’s ready.” She reached into the cupboard and retrieved a glass before taking a beer out of the fridge. “I really appreciate you staying late today to do that.”
“Oh, it’s no problem at all, Ronnie, you know that,” the older woman said. “What happened to her?”
“She was hit by a car. She has no family and no one else to take care of her. She’s going to stay here until she’s completely healed and I don’t need my mother and sister knowing about this,” Ronnie warned, wanting to avoid any family discussions.
“I take it she is Tabitha’s mother?”
“Yeah.” She took a sip of beer and sniffed at the oven. “Smells good.”
“Uh huh and it will be good once it’s done. Don’t even think about sneaking in there and taking any.” Maria remembered far too many times when forkfuls of dinner were found missing by the time she removed it from the oven. “You didn’t tell me what she liked so I made a pot roast.”
“Oooh. Sounds good.” Ronnie’s eyes lit up. “Hope you made plenty.” She took another sip of beer and looked around at the rows of cabinets. “Do you know where that tray is that we used when Mom was sick?”
“Of course I do. Unlike you, I know my way around the kitchen.”
“Hey, I know where things are. I found the beer with no problem.” Ronnie grinned.
“Always the smart aleck, aren’t you, Veronica Louise?”
“Only with you, Maria,” the tall woman replied, leaning over and giving her beloved housekeeper a peck on the cheek and ruffling the salt-and-pepper hair. “I’ll take my dinner in the office with Rose. If you need help just give me a yell.”
“Considering that I served your entire family when everyone lived here I think bringing two dinners into the office won’t be a problem.” She opened the oven door and poked at the roast and potatoes with a large fork. “Now you go see to your guest. Dinner will be at least another half hour.”
Once she was alone again in the kitchen, the smile left Maria’s face. She walked over to the sliding glass doors and peered out into the night. The large sodium lamp illuminated the garage…and the battered Porsche sitting inside it. “Oh Veronica…” she whispered. “What have you done?”