Page 59 of Inherited Light
“You should have,” I answered. “It put both Foster and me in a weird place.”
“I thought you might talk to him more willingly than me about your relationship with Cat,” she said, letting go and sitting on the toolbox where her husband had sat only minutes before.
“I’m tired, Cinn. Can we talk another day?”
She shook her head no. “Normally I would say yes, but not on this particular day.”
“What makes this day any different?” I asked, giving Brutus some attention.
“I had lunch with Catalina and she told me what happened last week.”
“You should probably narrow it down for me,” I said sarcastically.
“The night you told her you love her.”
“Ahhh. Yup, I did,” I answered noncommittally.
“And she didn’t react well.”
I shrugged. “Not as I had hoped, but hey, if it’s how she feels.”
“It’s not how she feels and you damn well know it. I don’t need to tell you how anyone feels and it’s a ridiculous notion to think I do.”
“Why are you here then? Let me guess, you’re as concerned about the wheelchair as everyone else?”
She let out a sound I couldn’t describe if I tried. “Foster told me you said the same thing to him. Why do you think we care about the wheelchair?”
“Because I can’t figure out why else anyone would have a problem with me getting involved with her. Older or not, she’s a successful woman who is highly respected in the community.”
“You have to consider it from the angle of the people who are worried about it,” she said, “but for the record I’m not worried about it. Dad, he’s worried about it, because he’s raised a woman with an illness which has affected every single aspect of her life.Mamá, she’s worried because she wants you to have a normal life away from the way you were raised. Your childhood revolved around one person, and she wants you to experience life before you set your sights on something you can’t predict. Foster, he’s not at all concerned about the wheelchair. In fact, he has no concerns whatsoever since he’s been in your shoes. You might want to keep him on your side, he’s already defended you more times than necessary in the last few weeks.”
I tipped my head in acknowledgement of her words. “Only you and Tabby are left,” I said. “How do you feel?”
“You already know how I feel.”
I shook my head. “I wish I could say I did, but your own health has confused your aura to the point it just feels like static to me.”
“Your gift is still working then. I feel like my life is static right now,” she answered.
I leaned forward onto my thighs. “Because you’re not moving anywhere?”
“Exactly,” she agreed. “Foster and I can’t move on with our life until I’ve healed, again. It’s frustrating.”
“And you’re trying to prevent me from feeling the same frustration?” She nodded and I sighed. “Cinn, I will never feel the same frustration you do because I’m not the one with the health condition. Even though I don’t experience it firsthand, I can feel how frustrated Cat gets, even when she denies it.”
“She told me she asked you to move in. What did you decide?” she asked, petting Brutus.
I shrugged. “I haven’t. I’m trying to decide if it’s a test to see if I truly love her or not.”
“Because if you don’t agree to move in then you’re not committed to the relationship?” she asked.
“The thought crossed my mind.”
She twisted her hands around on her lap. “Have you been, ah, intimate?” she asked rather choppy.
I ran my hand over my face. “Cinn, I’m not the kind of guy who talks about my sex life like it’s a conquest.”
“I know you aren’t, and I’m not asking for details. I’m asking because as a woman with a chronic health condition, I know how it feels to wonder if everything hinges on one experience.”
