Love for Scale

by Michaela Greene

  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. M
aybe 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?”

  “Like I’ve been hit by a tree, which as it turns out, is exactly what happened.” He attempted a smile, which ended up being more of a wince.

  “I’m serious, Dad.” Rachel scolded softly, her eyes darting to where Pearl sat dozing.

  “I’m fine, honey. Come here.” He held out his hand. Rachel entwined her fingers into her father’s, mindful of the IV tube. “I’m glad you’re here. Talk some sense into your mother. Take her home, get her to eat.”

  “Don’t you want me to stay?” Rachel was a bit hurt; she had planned on spending time at her father’s bedside.

  “What? To watch me sleep? God, they’ve given me enough drugs to take down an elephant. No,” he shook his head slightly as it rested on the pillow. “Go. Get out and take your mother with you.”

  Because of the swelling and discoloration, Rachel almost didn’t notice the wink.

  She smiled. “Okay Dad, have it your way, but I’m coming back tonight, I don’t care what you say.”

  Harry gave her hand a squeeze. “Oy, you’re your mother’s daughter, I don’t think I could stop you if I tried. I’m sorry I ruined your dinner last night.”

  Rachel nodded, “I know dad, you told me last night. And there’s no need to apologize.”

  Harry frowned. “Oh, sorry I was a bit out of it.”

  No kidding, Rachel thought. You spilled the beans about me moving out. Well, it didn’t matter. She was going to do it anyway. She had his blessing and no matter that it was drug induced; she didn’t think he would have said it if he didn’t really mean it.

  “It’s okay, Dad. I’ve got Finn here out in the hall. I’m going to wake Mom up but we’ll be back later.” She squeezed his hand and placed it gently down on the bed at his side.

  Rachel walked around the bed and put a gentle hand on her mother’s shoulder. “Ma? Wake up, Ma.”

  Pearl’s eyes opened and took a second to focus onto Rachel’s face. “Oh, hi dear. I didn’t hear you come in. Is something wrong?” her eyes widened as she hopped up out of the chair.

  “No, Ma, I just came to say hi to Dad and take you home. You need to shower and get something to eat.”

  “Go, Pearl. The girl’s right. I’ll be fine, you can come back later,” Harry said, his voice suddenly heavy with fatigue.

  After staring at Harry for several long moments, sizing him up, Pearl finally nodded and grabbed her purse. She leaned over the bed and brushed Harry’s unlacerated right cheek with her lips. “I’ll be back soon, Harry. I love you.”

  “I love you too,” Harry said giving his wife a weak smile.

  Rachel turned away; her parents had always been close, but it seemed the accident had rekindled something. It was a good thing, but too intimate for her eyes.

  After a few moments, she turned back, took her mother’s elbow and led her out of the room.

  Once they were in the hallway, Finn pushed himself away from the wall he had been leaning on. “Hi, Mrs. Stern.”

  “Oh, Finna…Finne…Finn.” Struggling with his full name, Pearl settled for the short form. “Did you bring Rachel here?”

  Rachel interrupted. “Yeah, Ma. He took Aaron and I home last night and then picked me up this morning.”

  “You’re a nice boy.” She smiled at him before turning to Rachel. “You gave him some food, I hope.”

  “Of course,” Rachel said, rolling her eyes.

  “And it was delicious, Mrs. Stern. Why don’t I go get the car for you, ladies?”

  Rachel would have preferred the walk, but her mother looked exhausted. “Okay, we’ll wait here, thanks.”

  “He’s very respectful. I like that boy,” Pearl said as Finn disappeared out the door of the hospital.

  Rachel smiled. So do I, she thought.

  “So tell me,” Pearl said suddenly. “What’s this about you moving out?”

  Rachel’s heart sank. “Well, uh…I’m twenty-seven now…”

  Pearl interrupted. “Spare me the speech, Rachel.”

  “I just think maybe it’s time.”

  “Your father and I had a talk about this last night.” She bobbed her head. “Well, he was knocked out from the drugs, so I’m lying, but I’ve decided that you can move out under one condition.”

  Oh God, what now? “What’s that, Ma?”

  “You have to let me help you decorate.” Pearl grinned but was dead serious.

  Rachel thought about the atrocious baroque decor in her parent’s house: the black shag carpet and the puce flocked wallpaper in strong contrast to the light maple furniture. The décor often raised eyebrows, and certainly wasn’t something Rachel had ever envisioned in a place of her own. She looked at her mother’s hopeful face.

  Thankfully she had a good reason to respectfully decline.

  “Well, for now, I’m just going to be subletting Sheri’s place because she’s having a trial move-in with her new boyfriend, but as soon as I get something permanent, I’d be happy to have you help.” Maybe her mother would forget by that time…

  Pearl took her daughter’s hand and squeezed it just as Finn pulled up to the curb.

  “And I need to know more about this as well,” Pearl nodded toward Finn’s car. “Where is this going? A spring wedding? Should I book the shul? Rabbi Rosen will be disappointed that he will only be officiating at your wedding, but nu, a doctor?” She waved her hand dismissively. “The rabbi will get over it.”

  “Ma, shush and get in the car! And keep your mouth shut, I don’t want you being rude to Finn,” Rachel hissed, shaking her head.

  Pearl winked and reached for the door handle.

  “Oy, Jewish mothers!” Rachel lamented aloud.

  Chapter 33

  The rest of the weekend was a blur of trips to and from the hospital. Rachel was held responsible for picking up her grandmother from her apartment and taking her to see Harry. That in itself was a stressful nightmare, as Harry’s injuries looked so much worse than they actually w
ere, totally upsetting his mother. Rachel had ended up spending most of Sunday afternoon at her grandmother’s place, trying to calm the woman down enough to get her to stop sobbing.

  By the time Monday rolled around, Rachel was eager to get back to work, even though it was the week before Christmas and the kids were off school. Monday was the first day of her special holiday project at the library and she was excited to be working on the new program that she had planned from scratch.

  Her excitement wore off when it quickly became a day from hell, full of screaming, crying, foot-stamping, defiance, belligerence, and mess. Rachel knew she had gotten herself in deep when at only four minutes after nine, finger-paint was spilled all over the floor in the project room. Before she even had a chance to grab the paper towels to clean it up, three of the children were down on the floor, tracing their hands in the bright red glob. Two of them even transferred the imprints of their little red palms onto the walls, despite Rachel’s desperate shrieks.

  Come quitting time, she was ready for some relaxation. Grabbing an energy bar to tide her over, she headed to the gym early so she could have a few minutes to herself in the hot tub before Aquafit.

  Shoulder-deep in the hot water, allowing the bubbles to take away the knots and stress, Rachel felt good for the first time in a while. She closed her eyes and thought about nothing, unwinding in the simple pleasure of the soothing water around her, enveloping her body in warm comfort.

  “Hey there,” Finn said from outside the other side of the tub, startling her.

  Her eyes bolted open. “Hi.” She smiled, glad to see him.

  “I’d join you in there, but it’s almost time for class. You coming?” Finn jerked his thumb toward the pool. Most of the seniors were already arranged in the shallow end.

  “I’d rather stay in here.” Rachel frowned. “Shitty day.”

  Finn smiled. “You’ll feel better after jumping around in the pool. C’mon.”

  After the class, Rachel did feel better, but the energy bar she had eaten had worn off, leaving her with an insistently grumbling belly.

  “Got any plans?” she asked Finn as they met up in the lobby.