Page 7 of Waiting for Gilbert

She leans in and lowers her voice. “He has that effect on people, and I’m not convinced it’s the cello. His father was the same way. He’s single again. Not his father.” She laughs at her own joke. “Diana tells me you’ve just had another breakup. You poor dear, but all for the best I’m sure. Now, hon. Eat.” She holds the plate to me.

“Oh, okay.” I swallow, not sure if I’m allowed to speak. “Actually, I’m…” I motion to my hoodie where the mess has seeped through to the outside.

“Ope.” The midwest slang slips without thought from her lips. “I see, yes. Did Jack get you? I never hold the kid. I gave up on him months ago. Fool me once—You’re a 34B? 32?”

My hand is no longer mine. She tugs me down the hallway and away from the noise of the party. I follow like a trained dog on a leash held by a toddler. She has the soft, almost translucent skin of someone who’s spent more time on this earth than I can comprehend. I could pull away, but she’s just so darn cute—and expectant—I follow by choice.

Once we’re in an old-fashioned bedroom with wooden furniture from the Victorian era, she releases my hand and sets the plate on the dresser. She pulls me into a side hug. “I’m Jewel Conner and I’m so glad you’re here. You’re going to call me Aunt Jewels. I’m told you’re Cordelia Thompson and I don’t know you yet, but you’re in my home and that means you are my guest. I like you. What’s your middle name?”

“Um, Jane. I go by CJ.” It sounds foreign on my tongue, but I’m sticking with it.

“I don’t think so, dear.” She moves around the room in a calm dance while humming “Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee.” My arms are soon filled with a soft pair of gray leggings, a ribbed undershirt, and a thick purple sweatshirt with a sugar plum fairy and plastic emblems of candies sewn into it. Aunt Jewels vanishes into the master bathroom and the sound of running water overtakes her song.

“Now, hon, you help yourself.” Her head appears in the doorway. “What are you doing over there? Sticky feet? You’re a sight. How long was your drive today?”

“Only about three hours. I packed and cleaned my place first. My room, at least. I shared the apartment with three other girls.”

“Diana tells me you’re moving to town for a while. That’s wonderful news. The perfect cottage has been waiting for you. We’ll talk about that when you’re done.” She guides me into the bathroom. A deep soaking tub is already half filled. “Look along the side there. I have salts, bath oils, bubbles. The last covered dish is packed with dried rose petals. Take your pick.”

I find my voice. “This is too much. If you’ll hand me a wash rag or a paper towel?—”

“Poppycock. I didn’t pay a small fortune to remodel my bathroom to keep it all to myself. When’s the last time you soaked in a tub?”

“Um…” I dip my eyebrows.

“Thought so. You stay in until the water cools. Don’t worry about a thing, Cordelia Jane. When you get out, take a nap on the bed if you’ve a mind.”

I try to say thank you, but when I open my mouth I realize how close to falling apart I really am. Who is this woman? She behaves as if we’re intimately connected, but it doesn’t feel like an intrusion.

Aunt Jewels pauses on her way out and takes in my face. She clicks her tongue and wraps me in a hug. “Oh, sweet thing. It’s going to be all right.”

“I’m sorry,” I whisper. “I don’t know why I’m so sad.” Where did that come from? I don’t know this woman. Yet I lean into her embrace in a way I haven’t done with anyone in years. How can she, who I met less than five minutes ago, have this kind of power over me?

“You don’t have to know why.” Her arms strengthen around me. “Sometimes when the soul is at work the body can’t keep up. You’ve moved away from the familiar, things are changing, you’re at a party with strangers.” She holds my face between her soft hands. “You expected safety and comfort, and instead you’re surrounded by people who don’t know you and then a baby ruins your adorable outfit. Besides, you’ve recently escaped a serious relationship?”

I choke a laugh atescaped.

“Does that cover it?”

I glance at her with a smile. She might officially be the most wonderful woman ever. Where’s the hidden camera? How did she put into words even things I wasn’t aware of? She only left out the fall in the kitchen.

She raises her hand in farewell. “I’m going to find Gilbert and tell him about the pretty girl who’s just arrived. He’s single, you know.”

My eyes have to be bugging out of my head. “Gilbert? There’s a Gilbert here?” The rest of her statement sinks in. “Oh, don’t tell him that. Don’t tell him anything. Of course, that’s so sweet of you to say, but I don’t want to make it weird for him.”

There’s a Gilbert at this party. I’ve been waiting for Gilbert—I know it’s only symbolic. I’ve been waiting for ametaphoricalGilbert.Come on, CJ, you don’t need a literal man named Gilbert. A rose is a rose and by any other name would smell as sweet, or—but, if the slipper fits. Don’t ask, don’t ask,don’t ask.

“Is he cute?” Yes, I asked.

“Oh, hon. He’s a dream, but you already know this. We’ve been talking about him all evening. Gilbert is my nephew. The one on the cello.”

Sweet smiles, soul wrenching music, flying M&M’s. I was talking to Gilbert the whole time? Flames erupt from my chest and burst along my neck and face. I cover my cheeks with my hands that are now slick with clammy sweat. “We met in the kitchen. I was rude to him.”Wait. “Your actual nephew?” If everyone is supposed to call her Aunt Jewels, how is this not confusing?

She laughs, hand on the bathroom door handle.

“He’s a teddy bear. I doubt he remembers it the way you do. Clean up and reset yourself.” She points. “Leave the soiled clothes in the hamper there. The sugar plum sweatshirt is thick enough you won’t need a bra with those tiny boobs. Nobody will notice. I don’t want to see you for at least an hour.” She pushes up her sleeve and checks the time on a watch face wider than her wrist. “The young families will be gone by then. We’ll have the games and cards out for the rest of us. I’ll tell Diana I’ve got you.”

“I can run to my car and grab a change of clothes.” I’m flattered but also uncomfortable. Where will people think I’ve disappeared to? I’ve never bathed mid-party before.

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