Love for Scale (24 page)

The salmon had been cooked and wrapped in the fridge to be served cold anyway, and the soup just needed a heat up in the microwave, so in only a few minutes, Rachel served the meal that Pearl had prepared. They ate at the kitchen table, painfully aware of the five unused place settings set in the dining room.

“So what’s this about you moving out?” Aaron asked, his spoon dipping into the soup.

Finn looked over at Rachel, a question in his eyes.

“My dad spilled the beans in the hospital room,” she told him, and then turned to Aaron. “I’m getting my own place. I’m twenty-seven, maybe it’s time to cut the cord.”

“Hmm. I can’t believe you’ve stayed this long.”

Rachel shrugged. “The food’s good.” What else could she say?

“It really is,” Finn said. “Your mother’s an awesome cook; you can have me over anytime.”

“Not if it means she’s going to make fish,” Aaron complained. “I don’t care how good it is, fish isn’t a dinner. I come here expecting beef.”

Finn smiled.

Considering the evening’s somber events, Rachel still managed to have a nice time with Finn and her brother. She couldn’t remember the last time she hung out with Aaron on a social basis, but she had to admit that he was fun to be with. Between him and Finn, she was kept laughing for most of the evening as they told funny anecdotes about their respective fathers. Rachel knew most of Aaron’s stories already, but they were good stories worth repeating, and it felt like a nice tribute to her dad.

By the time Finn finally got up to leave, Aaron had already been gone a half hour and it was almost midnight. Rachel walked Finn to the front door, his arms laden with leftover salmon and a container of soup. No one got out of the Stern house without a care package; it was Pearl’s law and far be it from Rachel to break it.

“Thanks so much for everything. You’ve really been great.” She looked down at her slippers.

“No thanks necessary, it was my pleasure. I’m just glad that I was around to help. I think your dad’s going to be fine, though.”

Rachel swallowed.

“Hey, listen,” Finn said in a much brighter tone, causing Rachel to look up at him. “I’ve got an appointment with your hairstylist tomorrow. Why don’t you come with me?”

Tomorrow. Saturday. She and Sheri were scheduled to go to the big Bridal Warehouse: not a glamorous place but certainly tops when it came to selection and price, (not that two big fakes like Sheri and Rachel worried about price, but someday—God willing—their research would come in handy).

But under the circumstances, Rachel didn’t feel like trying on wedding gowns. Her dad was in the hospital, he was her first priority; she needed to go see him, see if he needed anything. And she was sure her mother could use a break. She would have to call Sheri and cancel.

“I think I’m going to have to pass. I’ll have to go to the hospital…”

“My appointment is early; I can take you to the hospital right after.” Finn smiled. Boy he was persistent; had an answer for everything, it seemed.

What else could she say? “Okay, what time?”

“I’ll pick you up at nine.”

Rachel nodded. She wanted to give Finn a hug to thank him again for his support and help over the evening, but he held his care package in his arms and it would be awkward to have him put it down to give her a hug. She remembered back to the hug he gave her in the hospital; it had felt good. He was warm and his arms around her were strong and supportive. She had felt completely safe.

But instead, she stepped past him and opened the door, bidding him a yawning goodbye.

* * *

Thankful she had cleaned up the dishes as Finn and her brother had told stories at the table, Rachel turned out the kitchen light and headed off to bed. As an afterthought, she grabbed her cell and realized she’d had it off since the hospital and had missed several calls.

“Hey Rach, it’s Sheri. Okay, I have a confession: I dropped by tonight to meet the new doctor guy but you guys weren’t there…I’m assuming that you all went out for Chinese food after all. Give me a call when you can.”

That figures
, Rachel thought. Sheri was never one to have any patience, so it was just like her to show up in the middle of what should have been the dinner hour for the chance to meet Finn.

Rachel glanced at the clock. It was late, but she was less worried about interrupting Sheri’s sleep than she was about interrupting her friend’s
other
bedroom activities.

Oh well, can’t be helped.
She picked up the phone.

“Rach! Hey, did your mom break down and take you out for dinner?”

“My dad was in an accident, we were at the hospital.”

“What? Oh my God. Brian, turn the TV down,” she muttered and then, “Is he okay?”

Rachel took a deep breath before continuing. “Yeah, they said he had a mild heart attack and lost control of the car. He hit a tree. No one else was hurt. He looks pretty rough but they say he’ll be fine.” She was getting tired of telling the story.

“Oh my God,” Sheri breathed into the phone.

Closing her eyes, Rachel told Sheri the bad news, knowing her friend would understand. “Yeah, listen, I’m going to have to bail on tomorrow.”

“Of course, of course, you’ve got to be with your dad. Let me know if you need anything.”

Rachel didn’t bother telling Sheri that Finn would be taking her to the hospital. “I will. Anyway, I’m off to bed, I’m just exhausted.”

“Hey, Rach, wait a sec. Have you found a place yet?”

Rachel sighed. “No, we went to all those places, but they were all disgusting dumps,” she shivered, thinking back to her and Finn’s tour of the city’s slums.

“Well here’s an idea for you to sleep on. Hold on. Move it, Sunny,” Rachel heard rustling and grunts from Sheri that sounded like her getting off the couch. “Okay sorry. I just wanted to go into the bedroom,” she said, her voice low. “I’m thinking of going ahead and moving in with Brian. But, like, on a trial basis to start. And I don’t want to lose my place, you know, just in case. So I was thinking, why don’t you sublet my apartment from me?”

“You mean like an extended house-sit?”

“Yeah I guess. I mean I could leave my furniture and stuff for now and if it works out with me and Brian, I’ll take what I want of it later, or sell it to you or something. What do you think?”

Rachel paused to think about the proposition. “I think on paper, it makes sense, but are you going to bail on this trial move-in in a week and make me move back home or scramble to find another place?” It was a valid question with Sheri being a confirmed commitaphobe. And once Rachel made the break from her parents, the last thing she wanted to do was have to go back.

“No, I’ve really been thinking about this. It’ll be nice to have my apartment as a safety net, but knowing you’re living there will make it harder to bail on my relationship and move back for stupid reasons. Obviously, I don’t want to displace you and send you back to your mother.”

Rachel was beginning to like the idea more and more. Not only did she love Sheri’s place, but it was well within her price range. “Will you leave Sunny, too?”

“Nice try.” Sheri’s voice dried up like Rachel’s Bubby’s last attempt at roast beef. “Just sleep on it, okay? Give me a call tomorrow and let me know how your dad’s doing.”

Rachel hung up the phone, erased Sheri’s messages and got ready for bed.

Though it had been a very long and exhausting day, she wasn’t able to sleep. She was too excited about moving out. Now that she had secured a place and her father had broken the ice with her mother, it seemed more real, more imminent and quite a bit more scary.

Chapter 32

As Rachel got into Finn’s car early Saturday morning, the strong aroma of coffee filled her nose, making her long for her forbidden friend: mochaccino. She noticed two lidded cups, one in each of the holders in the console, and hoped desperately one was for her.

Finn looked amused, watching her eye the cup. “The one closest to you is yours. I took the liberty…”

“You’re awesome. Any chance this is a mochaccino?” She buckled her seat belt and reached for the beverage.

Finn put the car in gear, pulling out of the driveway. “Skim milk latte. Two points and it’s one of your milk servings for the day.”

“So practical. You really
do
know all the tricks,” Rachel said, pulling the tab back on the plastic lid. A plume of steam escaped the cup. Thinking better of taking a sip while in a jostling car, she carefully placed the latte back into the cup holder to cool off.

“Have you heard from your mom this morning?”

“Yeah,” Rachel thought back to the phone call that had woken her up at seven a.m. Pearl gave Rachel an update on her father’s condition and wanted to make sure Rachel had eaten the food and cleaned the kitchen (“I’m twenty-seven, mother, not four,” Rachel had said).

“They’re still observing him, will be for a couple of days at least, but she said he slept pretty soundly through the night.”

“That’s good to hear.”

When they arrived at the salon, Andrew was sitting at his own station, spritzing some product into his already perfect hair.

“Hey Andrew,” Rachel said, smiling.

Andrew frowned. “Hey, Rach, you’re not in the book today…” his eyes darted toward Finn.

Please don’t ask me if I’m here for a wax, please please please
. “Nope, I’m here with Finn, I recommended you.” She beamed.

Andrew popped out of his chair as though it was on fire. “Well then, hello, Finn. Nice to meet you, I’m Andrew. I’m guessing you’re my nine-thirty?”

Finn nodded.

“Well, then come with me and we’ll get you washed.” Andrew turned toward the back of the salon where the sinks were. “Grab yourself a seat, Rachel, I’ll deal with you later.”

Smiling, Rachel sat as instructed, grabbing a magazine off the coffee table. Tanya, who was sitting at the front reception desk, caught her eye. “He’s cute,” she whispered, nodding toward the back room.

This was getting old. “He’s just a friend,” Rachel assured her.

The phone rang. Tanya slapped her hand onto the receiver. “Too bad,” she said before picking it up.

For almost an hour, Andrew worked his magic on Finn. There was never any doubt that Andrew was a good stylist but what he did with Finn’s look was exceptional.

Finn got up from the chair and looked at Rachel. “What do you think?”

“Very nice,” she said, nodding her approval.

“I’m liking it, too. Thanks, Andrew. Um, can I use your bathroom before I go?”

Andrew nodded. “It’s back beyond the sinks, second door on the left. I’ll write up your bill.”

Rachel stood up and stretched. “You did a great job with him,” she said.

“He’s a nice guy, Rachel,” Andrew said, clearly moving the topic away from Finn’s hair.

“Yeah, we’re just friends,” Rachel repeated, wondering if she should put a sign around her neck stating ‘we’re just friends.’

“I don’t know
why
, he’s obviously smitten with you.”

Tanya had done a manicure in the time that it took Andrew to cut and style Finn’s hair and was now back at the reception table, ready to offer her own opinion. “See, Rachel? That’s what I thought.”

Rachel rolled her eyes. “We’ve got a lot in common, we’re friends. He doesn’t like me, not
that
way.”

“Tsk,” Andrew’s eyes widened. “The thousand questions he asked me about you when I was washing his hair say otherwise. That man has got it for you. OH!
Shh shh shh
,” he said noisily as Finn came striding up from the back of the salon.

Rachel turned to get her coat, hoping Finn wouldn’t notice her blushing. Did he really like her? All signals pointed to ‘yes’: the way he was so nice to her, how he drove them to the hospital, the flowers, the latte, the interrogation of Andrew. But it was still hard to believe that anyone wanted anything genuine with her. She was the fat girl. No one
really
wanted the
fat girl
. Maybe
they would
pretend
to and then get what they wanted and ignore her at parties, making like they didn’t even know who she was. Rachel had been down that road more than once.

Finn smiled at Andrew as he handed him his Visa card. “I’m really happy with this. You’ll definitely be seeing me again.”

“Pleasure meeting you, Finn. Always good to meet a…er…
friend
of Rachel’s.” Andrew didn’t even try to be subtle when he winked at Rachel.

She glared back, needing to change the subject. “I’m going to come in soon for those highlights.”

“Great, just give me a call. I’ll have you looking so hot, not that you don’t already.” He grinned, handing Finn the Visa slip.

“Okay, let’s go,” she said, grabbing Finn’s elbow: she had to get out of there before Andrew said something
really
embarrassing.

* * *

Being friends with a doctor had more perks than just the obvious. Finn had privileges at the General hospital so he had a doctor’s parking pass. He offered to drop Rachel off at the entrance while he parked the car in the doctor’s lot, but she declined, saying she needed the exercise and the walk would do her good.

Finn waited politely in the hall as Rachel slipped quietly into her father’s hospital room, not wanting to disturb him in case he was sleeping.

He wasn’t. “Hi honey,” he whispered.

Looking at her father, Rachel thought that he looked markedly better. The swelling in his eyes had receded slightly and someone had washed the caked blood off his face and out of his hair. Pearl, more than likely.

Speaking of, Rachel glanced over to the corner of the room where Pearl sat in a chair, her head lolling to the side as she slept. There were two empty bottles of orange juice and several empty wrappers on the bedside table: Oreos, Twizzlers, Doritos. Probably the extent of Pearl’s dinner from the night before. Rachel felt bad for not having brought her mother some food while she, Finn and Aaron ate the meal that she had prepared for the family.

She stepped toward the bed. “Hi Dad, how’re you feeling?”