Georgie held up her right arm, showing off the fiberglass cast. “Might hurt,” she said, concern in her eyes.
“Don’t worry, Maggie will warn me if you’re having a nightmare. I’ll have plenty of time to wake you up or run for cover.” This last bit she added with a grin.
It was nice to see them like this again, joking and playing together. “Which will be easier, walking her around the bed or do we just help her scoot over?”
“No scooting,” Tyler warned them both. “The doctor specifically said no playing Twister! So, how about we get your air cast back on and walk you around nice and slow?” It didn’t take long to get her up, moved, and settled back in.
“Thank you, Aydan,” Tyler said as Aydan went to the bedroom door. “I can’t tell you what a relief it is to have you here.”
Back in her room, Aydan picked up her phone to plug in the charger, only then realizing she had missed two calls. She wasn’t used to having a phone much less carrying it around everywhere like the rest of the world. Two text messages, one from Zoe and another from Lori, had been sent within minutes of each other. She didn’t think it was too late to call, but didn’t want to be reporting on her boss without Tyler’s permission. She was sure it would be okay with Lori. It seemed she and Tyler, along with Mrs. Pulaski, oops Marnie, all shared information freely but not so much with their niece. It was hard to figure out what that was about, but families were complicated. She of all people could attest to that. She sent a quick response text to both, and headed off to prepare for bed. She stopped suddenly, facing the mirror. She had completely forgotten she had removed her hijab earlier. She ran her fingers through the uneven short hair. It was growing back in nicely and thick. She could feel all the places where the shears had brutally cut through hair and scalp as she struggled to fight off the bastards. “I like that. The Bastards!” she said, smiling at her reflection. The wounds had healed well and were impossible to see in the mass of dark thick locks.
In that instant she decided she would get her hair cut this week. Something perky! Maybe she would spend some of her first precious paycheck on a cheap scarf too, something with some color. Something she could wrap over her head casually, and remove without anyone thinking it was some sort of unveiling or political statement. Tyler’s right, this is my time to get to know me.
Chapter Fourteen
Tyler woke from a fitful sleep. She wasn’t used to sleeping on the other side of the bed. The truth was, other than these last few weeks, she couldn’t remember sleeping with Georgie and not being in her arms. She wanted to cuddle up but her fear of hurting her held her back, that and a teeny tiny sliver of residual anger. She needed to talk and she needed to connect, but that would have to wait. She had been patient before…hadn’t she? Certainly that first night, when she had waited and waited in her room for Georgie only to realize that she needed to go to her.
Yeah right, just who am I kidding? I barely lasted thirty minutes back then and I was ready to break things!
Carefully, she rolled on her side, wanting to watch her sleep.
“Hi,” Georgie said quietly, with a welcoming smile.
“Baby, you’re supposed to be sleeping. Is something wrong?”
Georgie nodded, tapping the fingers of her casted forearm against her chest. “I thought…forgive me, my Tyler?”
Taking her hand in her own, fiberglass cast and all, she soothed, “I forgive you, I do. I don’t quite understand you, this, but I know you’ll tell me everything when you’re ready.”
“Ready,” Georgie said as an errant tear escaped.
Rolling as close as she dared, Tyler stroked the fingers poking from the cast, carefully kissing each one. “God, I wish we could cuddle. We have the best talks like that and I miss you so much.”
“Can,” she reassured, lifting her right arm to wrap it around Tyler’s shoulders.
She had long grown used to sleeping like that every night, with Georgie’s arms around her, engulfing her, protecting her. Nothing else in the world could compare to being held, loved, and adored by this woman. The adored part was especially pleasing. “You’re sure? I don’t want to hurt you, baby.”
“First rule,” Georgie said, prompting her to remember the first time she shared that sentiment.
“Always mean what you say.” She snuggled in, grinning with pleasure, taking care to be sure Georgie’s shoulder had plenty of support. At least with sleeping on this side, there was less chance of accidentally rolling onto her hip or leg, or the still stiff shoulder. It only took a moment to find that warm soft place that brought her so much peace. She was so tempted to just fall asleep and wake up tomorrow pretending none of this had ever happened.
“Okay, here goes,” she said, kissing away another silent tear. “I’m hurt, not because you did this, but because you didn’t talk to me first. I thought we agreed it was my job to translate the world, at least the non-tech world for you?”
“Yes,” she answered, nodding.
“Yet you made a unilateral decision for us, both of us.”
“Yes…wrong.”
“Baby, I’m not asking you to admit fault. We all know you take the fault around here far too freely. I just want to understand what you were thinking.”
Tyler felt light fingers trace along her back. She almost laughed to realize the path they followed was predicated by the limited arc of Georgie’s cast. Still, it would be hard to guess her forearm was wrapped in fiberglass. That was the thing about Georgie; she was a life in contrasts. She was gentle curves under straight-line suits. She made the best use of her brilliant analytical skills, often to the point of overwhelming her diminished verbal abilities. Her personal interactions bordered on deceptive simplicity, but she wasn’t without emotion. On the contrary, her passions ran deep and often unsuspected. She was rigged for silent running and that comprehension offered Tyler the key to learning and understanding more. Tilting her head to see Georgie’s face, she explained, “Everyone thinks you did this out of some misguided belief you were saving me—wait!” she ordered. “I see it in your eyes. I also need you to listen, really listen to me, baby…We are in this together, no matter what. Anything can happen and no, I never for a minute thought we would be looking at health complications this early in our lives but so what, life happens, and the reality is anything can happen to either of us any day. You, of all people, know that.”
When she looked again, Georgie was smiling. Tyler sighed. “You make me crazy, you know?”
She nodded slightly before apologizing, “Sorry.”
“No more apologies, it’s time for a science lesson. I want to hear what you were thinking. It’s important, baby, I need to understand how you process this stuff, so I’ll know how to help.”
“Who helps Tyler?”
She rolled a little higher on her side, gingerly resting her arm on Georgie’s chest, wanting to look in her eyes. “You do, every day. You make me feel loved, you make me feel adored, and you make me feel smart and capable and a million other things. You gave me your trust and you gave me your respect. To tell you the truth, back when the university cut the funding to my program—well, to the whole department—and shut us down, I really thought I would have to leave Buffalo. She may not be the greatest city in the world, but I love it here. It’s my home, but staying looked like a long shot. It’s ironic how it all turned out. I’m exactly where I feel I belong with you and with our work. They are irrevocably intertwined.”
“Comingled?”
Tyler laughed at her version of the situation. “Yes baby, our work, our lives, our future are comingled to the extent that the very act of disentanglement could have catastrophic effects elsewhere.”
“I did not…wrong assumptions.”
“I’m listening, baby,” she offered, snuggling her forehead against Georgie’s cheek. “Why don’t we start from when Doctor Stupidity walked in.”
It took a moment before Georgie began to explain. They often spent long hours talking like this and
always with great success. Here in this quiet room, with just the two of them, Georgie’s deficits were at their lowest. Getting her to talk was as simple as turning out the lights and letting her close her eyes. She wouldn’t speak publicly with her eyes closed, at least not for more than a few seconds at a time. But here, with Tyler, all remaining misgivings vanished.
“The Kevlar…talking about how I got it…trying to explain, he was not patient enough…it made me mad. The Kevlar…hard to imagine but…think aluminum honeycomb core then…Kevlar. Also wires, sensors, heat element…then aluminum outer skin to sandwich. I…no one listened!”
“Okay baby, let’s make sure I understand this. The helicopter rotor is made of a core material, some kind of aluminum honeycomb?” When she felt Georgie’s nod, she pushed on. “The rotor blade you showed me was very thin and only flexed in one direction, so I’m going to assume the core is what gives it strength. I’m guessing the Kevlar is used to encapsulate the core or any features needing to be protected. Would that add to the strength too?” Hearing a positive grunt, she had a better idea where this was going. “So, you believe because of the way the blade is constructed, it would be rare to have wounds from just Kevlar? That means some amount of aluminum, either from the skins or the encapsulated core should be present too?”
“Yes!” Georgie let out a frustrated breath before kissing Tyler’s nose.
“That makes more sense than his theory that the Kevlar had been broken down into threads running wild in your bloodstream. What an idiot!”
“So mad, could not think…Then he showed one removed. I looked…looking…easy to see aero-primer green but no aluminum…Panic, what if…what if there is more? It broke me…the thought...” She was silent but Tyler waited patiently, knowing she was struggling. “I remember every detail…Mom’s funeral…Papa’s and Aunt Glory too. One, two, three,” she said, turning her head to kiss Tyler’s brow. “All in a row…So strange to see…one, two, three…then we go again…Aunt Georgina. I can count…where is Aunt Helen? They promised…she promised, everyone promises, but everyone leaves.
“No, not for my Tyler…no more loss, no more!” she asserted painfully, sucking in a breath. “One tiny piece of Kevlar? Mild MI…what if more? Not right for you…Not right, I thought. I lean so much, need so much…you give, and give…what for…why, my Tyler? I am so broken…now more!”
“Do you really think it changes anything? Oh baby, I wish you could understand all you do for me. Jeez, you read my thesis before you even met me. That was a first. Then you put me to work, real work. It wasn’t just you believing in me; the point was, you just believed. You believe in the same standards I do. We both ascribe to the same work principles and ethics, both in human interaction and technical development. The difference is you gave me a platform, you trusted me to take the lead, and you insisted I take credit for my work. I have never worked with anyone so…egoless. If I wasn’t already in love with you I know I would be now.”
“This work…you were born to…all you. I am lucky.”
She was quiet for so long, Tyler raised her head to see if she had fallen asleep. She was met with those ever-changing green eyes and a wistful look she knew belonged to her and only her. “Right there,” Tyler said, explaining, “the way you look at me says so much and makes me feel beautiful and adored. Only you have ever done that to me. And then there’s the other thing. I know you say it’s what I do to you, but I feel the same thing too.”
“I love you deeply…my Tyler…I made…wrong math. I know now but…are you sure? What if…”
“We already covered this so now I will tell you with kisses. Maybe this way it will sink in to that thick skull of yours. Let me see,” she said, propping herself on her elbow and looking her over carefully. “I haven’t kissed this shoulder in a while. I’ll start here,” she said, nibbling her way across Georgie’s shoulder, collarbone and to the hollow of her neck. “Hmm, another place missing my attention,” she added, before beginning a more languorous exploration. “Starting to get how this works, baby?”
“Working…oh, yes.”
“Oh no you don’t. There is no nooky for you. The doctor said nothing strenuous remember?”
Georgie opened her eyes, smiling. “Promise,” she said, offering a pathetic rendition of the Boy Scout salute with her hand and forearm in a cast. That had Tyler laughing, really laughing, and Georgie’s pleasure was more than clear. She stroked her fingers through Tyler’s dark hair, finally risking moving her painful left shoulder so she could lift both hands to hold Tyler’s face. She took her time, and without a word, traced the contours of her cheeks, the line of her jaw, then up along her brows, finally cupping her cheeks gently. “I understand now…This…” She closed her eyes to frame a reply. “Losing what could be is…more painful than any loss we may face. Are you sure…the risk, you want that?” she asked.
Tyler, half on her side and half-on top of Georgie, had tears in her eyes but she wasn’t upset anymore.
Georgie promised her, “I can’t…won’t live without…my Tyler, my love.” Wiping the tears from her cheeks she offered her solemn vow: “I want to live…I want to marry you…I want to sail with you…our babies, everywhere…together…now, my love…no time to waste.” She pleaded, “Enough lost…time for my Tyler.”
“I don’t know if I should kiss you, try to hug you ever so carefully, or just go scream off the roof! Oh baby, you make me so happy. I knew you would understand if you just waited for the entire dataset before considering a solution. Now kiss me and tell me how brilliant I am.”
Georgie did so without hesitation, wrapping both arms, cast and all, around her. “Aunt Helen…may be godmother?”
“To whom?”
“My Tyler’s babies.”
“My Ty…just how many babies are you planning on and why am I doing all the heavy lifting?” She liked this, no, loved this, lying in bed with Georgie and talking about the most silly and important things, all with the same joy and reverence. “Come on, spit it out. How many babies did your algorithms say we should have?”
She held up two fingers, and then showed her four.
“Let me see, either you want two, or you want four, or I’ve got it all wrong and you want twenty-four kids?”
Georgie snorted at that thought. “Finally, enough to play!”
“Play what, all-out no rules lacrosse, no way! Have you seen these hips? No way is this woman pushing out twenty-four anythings, but if you’ll settle for two I think I can get on board for that.”
“Twins?”
“Is there no end with you? What is this, some new bravado gained from surviving death once again?”
Now Georgie was grinning. “Marry me?”
“I am marrying you, in just three months. Or has your recent adventure robbed your memory of that little detail?”
“Tomorrow.”
“What about tomorrow? I haven’t looked at your sched…”
“Marry me,” Georgie insisted, “tomorrow.”
Tyler, her face just inches away had forgotten to breathe. “You want that?” she finally asked.
“Life is short…I want, hope for many…as your wife, my wife…Never again…not without you.”
Laying her head down and burrowing deep into her neck, Tyler sighed. “This is what I missed, what I was so terrified to lose. Baby, I love you so much. I want every day with you from now on, no matter what.”
“Done,” Georgie said quietly, pulling her closer and holding her tight. “Always, done…my Tyler, my love.”
* * *
Lori looked over the expansion drawings one more time. “Geez kiddo, you did a great job on this. I’m really pleased.”
Zoe practically swooned at the compliment. “What a relief.”
“Was Megan any help?”
“Actually,” Zoe admitted, taking a seat behind her desk, “she was great. She helped me check all the dimensions and clearance requirements. Plus, she is so sweet; she’s always reining in the guys when I
need to visit the assembly bay.” Her smile telegraphed her pleasure at the efforts their lone security officer made for all of them.
Lori groaned, gathering the drawings and signing the approval block on each page. “You do have a way of attracting attention wherever you go. But still, if those jerks ever say or do anything other than drool let me know. I will not put up with any of that boys-being-boys bullshit!”
“I can’t say I blame them. I must look a sight whenever I pull on those ugly safety boots and stroll down there in a skirt.”
Finishing up the approval signatures, Lori smiled, but wanted her to understand the point. For her, it was always unsettling when women bought into the notion that they were somehow responsible for the actions of men or even other women. “Don’t even go there, kiddo. I’ve been very impressed with you. The clothing you wear to work screams professionalism. I know what you’re thinking,” she said, halting any response. “Marnie told me you were top-notch when it came to this whole assistant gig. I’ll admit I had my doubts, but that wasn’t fair. As far as work goes you’re the best thing that’s happened out here. As a matter of fact, I’ve asked Marnie if we can move you over to the management side.” She held up her hand, adding, “She said we need to send you on some courses first, but…”
Zoe squealed with delight. Zipping around the desk with the grace and speed of a rambunctious child, throwing her arms around her aunt, she shrieked, “Thank you, thank you, thank you! I promise I will not let you down!”
Lori returned her enthusiastic hug with care. “Before I forget, I want you to remember something about working here.” Wanting to make sure her niece understood, she explained with care, “I know society, schools and the university, hell everybody, tells young women how to act and how to dress. Worse, they blame women whenever they’re victimized by men. I won’t have that here. The standards Marnie and I set for you are about business and the fact that you’re a Phipps, nothing more. I know people tell you you’re beautiful all the time but it really is an understatement, and I will not have the guys or anyone else acting like it’s okay to ogle you, or whistle at you, or worse. Please remember this: You are only responsible for you.”
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