Lead the Way (6 page)

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              “How’s that?” Gabriel asks, fluffing the pillows around Rosa and covering her legs with a blanket.

              “Will you please stop fussing over me!  I’m fine,” Rosa exclaims.  She loves her nephew and she knows that he has good intentions, but he is driving her crazy.

              “I just want you to be comfortable,” Gabriel says, handing his Aunt the remote control for the television.  “Can I get you anything?  Something to drink?”

              ‘Gabriel, I’m fine.  If I need anything, I will surely let you know,” Rosa says, flipping through the stations to find her favorite daytime soap opera.

              Their conversation is interrupted by Gabriel’s cell phone ringing. 
Thank God
, Rosa thinks.  Now Gabriel will be out of her hair for a little while.  He’s been hovering over her and waiting on her hand and foot.  He’s a sweet boy, but she can’t take much more of his undivided attention.  She knows that he feels guilty for her fall, but it was an accident.  She doesn’t hold anything against him.  He could have iced the sidewalk and she would’ve still fallen.  No one can totally prevent accidents from happening.  She’s tried to explain that to Gabriel, but it goes in one ear and out the other.  He was a stubborn child and has grown into a stubborn man.

              “Rosa, you’ll never guess who that was on the phone?”

              “Who? The military?”

              “I wish, but no.  It was Eva?”

              “Oh, really.  What was she calling about?  Is everything alright?”

              “Everything is fine, except that she still needs someone to fill in for you.”

              “Darn it, I knew that she would have trouble finding someone on such short notice.”

              “She said that someone came in and it was a total disaster.  She said that the person broke her grandmother’s vase or something.”

              “Oh, no! I hope it’s not the vase that I think it is.  Eva will be torn up.  Maybe I should call her.  Wait a minute… why is she calling you and telling you all these things?”

              “You’re not going to believe this, but she called to take me up on my offer to fill in for you.”

              “Wow.  I wasn’t expecting that.  Well, I’m glad.  You’re a good boy and I know that you will do a good job and take care of my Eva.”

              “I start tomorrow at nine o’ clock.  Is there anything that I should know before I go there tomorrow?”

              “Probably, just don’t be late and tread lightly around Eva, okay.  She is a sensitive woman and things affect her differently than the average person.”

              “She’s been through more than the average person, that’s for sure.  Don’t worry Rosa, I know how to handle Eva.  Things are going to work out just fine between us.  I will do you proud, don’t worry.”

              “It’s not you, I’m worried about.  It’s Eva.”     

Chapter 5

              It’s eight o’ clock in the morning and Eva’s gotten out of bed early.  She had a hard time sleeping and she’s knows it’s because Gabriel is supposed to show up and work for her.  She’s not sure why she is so anxious.  The anxiousness that she feels is a different kind of anxious.  It’s not the ‘I’m scared to death that someone is going to kill me’ anxious.  It’s more like ‘I want to make a good impression’ anxious.

              She did her hair and put on a cute outfit.  She even sprayed on a touch of her favorite perfume.  She’s not sure why she is so concerned about her appearance and the way she smells.  She’s convinced that it has something to do with how insanely attractive Gabriel is.  It’s been a long time since she’s been around an attractive member of the opposite sex.  She’s not sure how to act. 

              She decides that she is just being completely crazy, as usual.  She decides that she is not going to put on makeup.  “This is not a date, crazy,” she says out loud, putting her makeup bag back in the bathroom drawer.  She marches back to her bedroom and puts on her rattiest pair of sweat pants and a shirt with a huge permanent coffee stain on it.  She pulls down her hair and runs her fingers through it, messing it up. 

              She gets back into bed and pulls the blankets over her head.  She contemplates calling Gabriel and pulling out of the whole thing.  The only thing that holds her back is her packages and Rosa.  If Gabriel wasn’t Rosa’s nephew, she would probably be dialing right now.

              She imagines what Rosa’s face looked like when Gabriel told her that she had called him and asked him to fill in for her.  She knows Rosa was smiling from ear to ear.  Hiring Gabriel has killed two birds with one stone.  Rosa doesn’t have to worry about her or Gabriel now.  Eva is not sure what Gabriel’s story is, but she knows Rosa’s worried face.  When Rosa told her that Gabriel was coming to pick up her key, Rosa definitely had her worry-face on.

              So now, she’s stuck with her decision.  There is no turning back.  She decides to stop stressing about her decision.  It’s done.  She decides that indifference is the way to go.  She’s not happy he’s coming and she’s not mad that he’s coming.  She’ll be right smack in the middle of the feeling scale. 

              She’s not sure when she fell asleep, but the buzzer from downstairs wakes her up.  “Shit,” she says, jumping out of bed and running to the intercom.  She lets Gabriel in.  She wonders how long the security guard has been trying to ring her.  She walks to the kitchen to check the time.  It’s nine-thirty.  He’s been waiting for a half an hour. 
He’s persistent
, she thinks to herself.  She might have given up, if she had shown up and was ringing for a half and hour.

              When he knocks on the door, she braces herself.  “Here we go,” she says out loud, walking quickly to open the door.  “Hello,” she says, as she opens the door to Gabriel’s smiling face. 
Great, a morning person
, she thinks to herself and returns his smile.

He is as handsome as she remembers him.  His hair is perfectly in place and he looks sexy as hell in his jeans.  When he brushes past her to come into the apartment, Eva can smell his cologne.  It’s musky and smells fantastic.

              “Hi, Eva.  Slept in?”

              “Yeah, I had a bit of trouble sleeping last night and I laid back down, which was obviously a big mistake.  Sorry about keeping you waiting.”

              “No problem.  None whatsoever.  I’m just happy that everything is okay.  I was starting to worry there for a second,” he says, placing his bags down at the door and taking off his shoes.

              “Why is that?” she asks, defensively.  She wonders what Rosa has told him.

             
Shit
, he thinks.  He decides to just be truthful with her.  “Rosa told me a little bit about your history.  She told me about you being attacked and everything.  I thought that maybe you might be backing out for some reason surrounding that.”

              She is shocked by his response.  She suspected that Rosa would probably tell him a little bit about her, but she didn’t think that he would be so forthright about it.  People try to avoid talking about the attack with her.  The attack and the aftermath makes people uncomfortable.  Gabriel obviously doesn’t shy away from hard topics.  It confuses and intrigues her. 

“Yeah, I can be a little sketchy sometimes.”

              “Aren’t we all,” he says, changing the topic.  “So, what do you have for me to do today?” 

              “I’m absolutely starving.  Do you think that you could make me some eggs and toast?” she asks.  She decides to start the day exactly like she started it with Gillian.  She wants to see how Gabriel holds up.  If he can’t make a decent egg, she’s going to start to worry.  If he burns her toast, she’ll know to keep him away from anything of value when dusting.

              “Of course.  Coming right up.  Eggs are my specialty,” he says, pulling a pan out of the drawer and placing on the oven. 

She looks at him strangely.  He knew exactly where the pans and the utensils were kept.  It’s as if he’s been in her kitchen before.  She doesn’t say anything about it.  She just makes a mental note of it.  She’s not sure if what happened is a good thing or a bad thing just yet.

She sits down at the kitchen table and waits for her eggs.  Eva feels awkward.  She’s not sure if she should speak or just stay quiet.  She is happy when Gabriel speaks. 

“Well, I guess I should tell you a little bit about myself.”

              “Sure, that would be nice.  I’ve been wondering what your story is,” Eva says, fidgeting.  She fidgets when she is nervous.

              “Well, I’m twenty-seven years old.  Right out of high school, I joined the Navy.  I trained hard and became a Navy Seal.  It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do in my life, but it’s was the most rewarding.”

              “Wow.  I’ve read some things about the Seals.  The Seals are the toughest of the tough.  So, why are you standing in my kitchen making me eggs and not out somewhere protecting our country?”

              “Well, me and some guys were out on a mission in Iraq and our Humvee hit an IED.”

              “What is an IED?” Eva interrupts.

              “An IED stands for an Improvised Explosive Device.  It’s a bomb basically.”

              “Oh, okay.  Continue,” Eva says, listening attentively to Gabriel’s story.

              “Some of my friends died that day.  It was a pretty horrifying experience to say the least.  When we hit the IED, debris from it damaged my eye.  I received some other minor injuries, but my eye took the most damage.  When my eye injury first occurred, the Doctor couldn’t give me a definite answer about whether I would be able to see again.  I had to wait for it to completely heal.”

              “So, I’m going to guess and say that it didn’t heal properly.”

              “You’d guess right.  I’m partially blind now.  When I came and got the key from my Aunt was the day I found out that I could no longer be in the Navy.”

              “I’m sorry to hear that.  It must be hard to have to walk away from something that you’ve done practically your whole life.”

              “It was probably the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do, besides bury my parents and the friends I lost to war.”

              “You’re parents died?”

              “They were killed in a plane crash while on vacation.”

              “Gabriel, I’m so sorry for your loss.  You’ve been through a lot in your short life.”

              “You have too, so I guess that we have something in common,” Gabriel says, placing a plate full of eggs with a couple of pieces of toast to accompany them in front of her.  He hands her a fork.  Eva stares at the eggs.  They are perfectly cooked – nice and fluffy, like she likes them.  The toast is golden brown and glistens from perfectly spread butter.

“Thanks,” Eva says, stabbing some eggs and trying them.  They taste delicious.

              “You’re welcome.  How do they taste?”  Gabriel says, smiling at her and waiting for her reply.

              “Delicious.  Thank you,” Eva replies, continuing to eat.

              Eva happily eats the eggs.  She is glad that they taste good because she is absolutely starving.  Gabriel has passed the first three tests.  He showed up on time, he was presentable, and he can cook eggs.  She can’t knock him for anything yet.

              When she is finished eating, he collects her plate and fork.  She watches him walk to the sink and start doing dishes.  She stares at the muscles in his back as they move while he washes the dishes.  He is definitely strong. 

“You can put those in the dishwasher,” Eva says, trying to save him time.

              “I like to wash dishes.  There is something about it that I find soothing.”

              “Okay well, I’m going to go into my office and work on my book.”

              “You’re an author?” Gabriel says, turning to look at her.

              “Yep.  I’ve been writing books for five years.  It pays the bills.”

              “You must be really good at it to be able to afford this place,” he says, turning back to the dishes.

              “I make alright money writing, but I’m lucky enough to come from money too.”

              “Lucky you.  Well, don’t worry about me.  I’m just going to finish up here and start to clean.  Rosa gave me a schedule of what she does during the day, so I should be fine.”