Page 34 of Thick and Thin

Smiling, I said, “Thank you. It’s good to be here.”

The way Edna looked at Sinclair made me wonder…did she already know that he and I had crossed the line a while back? Considering what I knew of Edna—and how well she knew Sinclair—I wouldn’t have been completely surprised.

Maybe he’d even confessed to her when I’d been gone.

And that reminded me…I too had a confession of sorts to make. I hadn’t told him about his mother’s final journal when he’d been in Winchester—mainly because there had been so much else to deal with. But it was one of the things I’d packed in my suitcase earlier that morning. Instead of returning it to the east wing, I needed to deliver it to Sinclair. More than that, I needed to tell him exactly what his mother had said. Even if his father had been too bullheaded to see the truth, Sinclair needed to know.

But here and now didn’t seem right. As much as I loved and trusted Edna, that information was for Sinclair alone…so I’d have to tell him later when she wasn’t around. If he wanted to share the news with her, that would be his choice.

We’d barely begun eating when Sinclair asked, “How was your father doing when you left this morning?”

“It’s unbelievable how much better he is. Even though it’s early, I’m inclined to say that infusion was successful.”

“What’s different?”

“Mostly, it’s his energy and motivation. He was ready to tackle the world when I left.”

Sinclair stabbed a grape tomato with his fork. “I hope he continues feeling better.”

Even though we’d just seen each other just two days before, things felt different. Was it because we were back here but we knew it was now a temporary arrangement?

I had to find a way to push through somehow. Even if we could never be together, we had a solid foundation now…or, at least, it felt that way to me. So, after what seemed like hours of interminable silence punctuated with the occasional sound of a fork touching a plate, I asked a question of him I’d never asked before. “How has work been going?”

He tilted his head as if amused by my question—but the grin that barely showed on his face told me he appreciated it. “Fairly well, actually. I finally have a full staff again. After I fired Danny, I let other staff apply for his job—and then I had to fill that position. I suppose that’s something else I should thank you for.”

My voice sounded even more shocked to my ears than I’d expected. “What?”

“I don’t know when I would have let Danny go if he hadn’t forced himself on you. So I guess thanking you for that is inappropriate…but I guess what I’m trying to say is your misfortune brought his behavior to light in a way that I couldn’t ignore it. And now that he’s gone, the office has a different feel. And people are more productive, so much so that I can’t pass it off.”

“Don’t feel guilty about that, Sinclair. As I told you before, he didn’t hurt me. If he had, that would be another story.”

“Yes, but we’ve also established you wouldn’t have been in that position had I not put you there—and I will never forgive myself for that.” Before I could contradict him, he said, “We’ve just started working on a project today that I think will make you happy.”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

“What is it?”

Sinclair grinned, setting his fork on his now-empty plate. “You’ll just have to wait and see.”

Although I didn’t like having to wait for a surprise, I loved how he was being playful—as if he were dropping all pretense, any affectation he might have ever had.

He knew he could be his real, authentic self with me.

And it nearly made me cry through my smile.

Fortunately, Edna appeared with her cart again. When she removed Sinclair’s salad plate, I said, “I’m done too.”

There were still a few leaves left, but I didn’t want Sinclair to have to wait for me to finish. Edna asked, “Are you sure, dear?”

“Yes. Thanks.” I knew my smile would tell her I was sincere.

Soon, she had set on the table two lovely plates—chicken breasts with some sort of white sauce, creamy mashed potatoes with chives, and steamed asparagus. It looked and smelled divine, and it was so lovely to not have to cook for a day. As much as I loved my father and didn’t hate cooking, it wasn’t my favorite thing—but Edna was so good at it.

And, breaking decorum, I told her so. “This looks delicious, Edna.”

“Oh, thank you. I hope you enjoy it.”

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