Sometimes It Is Rocket Science (17 page)

Robert reached out and ruffled Tab’s sleep-mussed hair.   Tab batted his hands away, a broad grin stretched across his gaunt face.  Robert felt his ties to the Collier family strengthening.

“I like the way you think, kid.”

Still dressed in her coveralls, Georgiana stumbled into the kitchen as the early morning sun reflected off the chrome appliances and filled the room with light.  Her back and neck ached after several hours spent sleeping on the cold workshop floor.  She automatically opened her mouth to instruct ERIC to start a cup of Pep blend, but snapped it shut when she remembered she wasn’t at home. 

“NORA,” she moaned, glaring at Dan’s complicated coffee machine.  For years she’d had a love-hate relationship with the device.   It was intricate enough to make her mechanic’s heart flutter, but she didn’t like having to work for her early morning fix.  “I have to get you hooked up like ERIC.  This is just unacceptable.”

  Once the coffee was brewing, Georgiana hopped on the counter beside the machine in hopes that the coffee fumes would help clear away the traces of sleepiness fogging her brain.  “Turn on the main monitor, please.  Split screen.  I want to check on Tab, and I need you to pull up the recipe labeled ‘Mailloux Red Beans and Rice.’  Check pantry inventory against ingredient list and highlight anything missing.  Thank you.”

The eighteen-inch screen imbedded in a modified cabinet door came to life. The camera in Tab’s bedroom showed him sprawled facedown on the bed.  She didn’t need the audio to know he was likely snoring loud enough to wake the dead.  She tapped the screen twice to minimize the video feed.  “How long has he been sleeping, NORA?”

“Tab Collier has been asleep for approximately four hours and twenty-seven minutes.”

It was the longest he’d gone without having a nightmare in six months.  She didn’t know what had changed, but she was grateful.  Tab deserved a decent night of sleep.

She was on her knees with her head stuck in the recess of a cabinet when a throat cleared behind her.  She jumped, jerked, and smacked the back of her skull on the top of the cabinet.  Stunned, she didn’t protest when warm hands settled on her shoulders and dragged her away from the cabinet. 

“Are you all right?”  Robert brushed his fingers along the bump forming beneath her hair.  He exhaled softly in relief when he didn’t come across any blood.  “I didn’t realize you were so jumpy,” he teased.

She willed her flushed cheeks back to normal.  She grabbed the heavy stockpot she’d been searching for and accepted his help up.  Once on her feet, she was reluctant to let go of his hand.  Even sleep-rumpled and barefoot, he set her heart rate into overdrive.

“I thought you’d still be asleep.  You and Tab were up pretty late last night.”   She forced herself away from Robert’s side and set the pot in the sink.  “Tab doesn’t have a bedtime, but on school nights you’re going to have to cut your sleepovers a little short.”

“Has he had any nightmares?”

“No.”  Georgiana flashed a weak smile and started filling the pot with water.  “This is the longest he’s gone without one.  I’m just waiting for the inevitable.”

'I wouldn't hold my breath.”  Robert retrieved two white mugs from the cabinet by the sink.  He hovered by the coffee machine waiting for it to stop brewing.  “When he started yawning, I talked him in to another game.  He could hardly walk up the stairs by the time we were through.”

“You kept him up so he’d go to sleep too tired to think,” she said, smile blossoming into a rueful grin.  “I can’t believe I never tried that.  Some sister I am.”

"Don't kick yourself too hard, doll.  You've never had experience with nightmares.  It takes a lot of trial and error to figure out what works.  I took a chance with Tab and got lucky."

At the hint of long-buried grief in his tone, Georgiana bumped the faucet with the back of her hand to turn it off.  She sucked in a deep breath to steel herself against his intoxicating scent and threaded their fingers together.  "After your mother?"

Robert nodded abruptly and squeezed her hand.  He tugged her closer, pressed his lips to her forehead.  He never discussed his mother with his girlfriends.  He had no stomach for false sympathy or morbid fascination.  Bringing her up with Georgiana seemed natural, possibly because she’d known his mother.  He could trust her not to go blabbing to the tabloids or press him for every gory detail. 

"Tab’s a good kid," Robert said, releasing Georgiana and reaching for the coffee mugs.  He set one mug of steaming, black coffee by the stove and cradled the other between his hands.  "He reminds me a lot of you."

"Which is just ridiculous because he's been trying to copy you for ages.  I swear he could beat out Dan for president of your fan club.  He even cut his hair like yours two years ago.  You're both computer geeks, you both have an insane fanaticism for video games, and you were raised by your fathers. "

"But Tab had you."  Robert winked at her over the rim of his mug.  "Don't discount your influence over him, doll."

"Joy," she groaned, lugging the pot to the stove and setting it on a burner.  "He'll be a workaholic with no social life and a house full of robots.  I know nothing about raising a teenager and it shows."

"You were right about the pet.  Tab seems lonely, but he also seems uncomfortable when faced with too much attention.  A pet would provide companionship and give him a sense of responsibility.  It might help break him out of the rut he's been in."

"And by pet you mean a real, living, breathing animal and not something I created in my lab."

"Well, yes," he chuckled, "that is usually what one means when one talks about getting a pet.  I thought we could go to the ASPCA today."

"Today?"  Georgiana dumped the dried beans in the pot.  "But... we should do research first.  I don't know if Tab’s a dog person or a cat person.  It's a big decision.  You can't rush it."

"You can make decisions without examining every possible outcome, Gigi.  Live a little."

Her eyes narrowed at the challenging tone.  "I live plenty."

"Prove it."

Lips compressed tightly and fists balled, she whirled on Robert.  His smirking face was just begging for a fat lip. A flash of color in the doorway caught her attention.  "Fine, I'll prove it."

Robert spread his arms, flicked his tongue across his top lip.  "I'm waiting."

"Tab, darling," she cooed, shooting a grin over Robert's shoulder, "how would you like to head down to the ASPCA today and see about getting a pet?"

“Sure.”  Tab sleepily shuffled forward into Georgiana’s ready embrace.  After kissing her cheek, he kept an arm slung around her waist.  He had to slouch so his head could rest comfortably on her shoulder.  “A dog would be cool.”

Georgiana wrinkled her nose at the sour-cream-and-onion chips and stale Oreo breath wafting out of her brother’s open mouth and across her face.  “A dog’s a lot of work.  Maybe we could start with a cat.”

“Cats are boring.”

“They are not.  We’ll get one of those penlight lasers, and you can race it up and down the hallway.”

“Bo-ring.”  As if for emphasis, Tab yawned widely.

“You could get one of each,” Robert interjected, amusement twinkling in his dark eyes.

Georgiana winced, rubbed the back of her neck.  Beside her, Tab’s hand also crept towards his neck.  His mouth was twisted in a replica of her scowl.  Robert swallowed a chuckle.  For as much as she claimed
he
was Tab’s role model, it was obvious the boy took at least some of his cues from his sister.

“Let’s see what they have, okay?  Just remember that you’re going to have to take care of whatever we come home with. “Georgiana tapped the end of her brother’s nose before returning to her beans.

“We’ll go out for breakfast before and then to the pet store afterwards.  We’ll make a day of it.”  Robert refilled his mug and perched on the edge of a barstool.  Tab, a tall glass of orange juice in hand, followed him.

“That sounds great,” Tab enthused.  He poked his tongue out at his sister.  “No offense, Gigi, but breakfast isn’t your forte.”

“You’re just picky.”

“The eggs were like rubber and the toast could have been used as shielding on a space shuttle!  The bacon was practically incinerated.  I asked for crispy, not cremated.”

“Picky,” Georgiana repeated, flicking water at both her grinning brother and Robert.  “Give me thirty minutes to shower and change and we’ll go out.  Tab’s choice.”

“That place with the all-you-can-eat waffles?”  Tab rubbed his rumbling stomach.  He felt like he hadn’t eaten in years.  “I could easily down a stack or three.”

Once her beans were set, Georgiana dashed up the stairs and into her bedroom.  While stripping out of her coveralls, she mentally selected a comfortable but not too casual outfit.  Going out in public ensured there would be at least one camera around somewhere.  The gossips would have a field day with their “family” outing, and she wasn’t going to give them any ammunition against her.  She wasn’t going to let anything ruin Tab’s first outing in months, either.

Alone in the kitchen with Robert, Tab set his empty glass on the counter and traced his finger around the rim.  “She’s been happier lately.  Since you came back, I guess.  She didn’t seem so sad this morning.  It was nice.”

“Tab,” Robert said, bracing a hand on the younger man’s shoulder.

“No, let me…” Tab scratched the side of his nose while he gathered his thoughts.  “I haven’t been… I’m a mess.  I know it.  And I know what it does to Gigi.  She doesn’t sleep, and she worries all the time, and I see all that.  I’ve missed out on a lot of time, but I know what she’s done for me.”

“Your sister loves you.”

The corner of Tab’s mouth curled up in a sad smile.  “I know.  That’s part of what makes it so hard to be around her.  I let her down.  Sometimes I can’t look at her because I’m afraid I’ll see just how disappointed she is or how much she resents me.”

“The accident wasn’t your fault, Tab.  Georgiana knows that and she’s never resented you.”  Even a blind fool could see how devoted Georgiana was to her brother.  Robert didn’t think there was much Tab could do to irreparably damage their relationship.  He envied their closeness.

“So, I’m glad you’re here.  I don’t care how sudden the engagement is; I just care that my sister isn’t sad anymore.”  Tab raised watery, but hopeful, eyes.  “I’d like to think that maybe it’s a step forward for both of us.”

Robert swallowed the lump forming in his throat.  He was no stranger to responsibility, but he’d never had anyone pin such a look of trust and anticipation on him.  The cold, logical part of his brain pointed out that Georgiana wasn’t around so there wasn’t any reason to play the supportive big brother.  The rest of him observed that she hadn’t been around for the five hours he’d played video games, either.  Tab was counting on him, and he couldn’t let the kid down.

If you ever need anything, if you feel you can’t talk to Georgiana about something, or if you just want a Zorkamoid ass-kicking find me.”  Robert squeezed Tab’s shoulder when the younger man glanced away.  “I mean it.  Find me.”

“I will.”

“Good.”  Robert dropped his arm and glanced up at the clock.  “We had better get dressed or your sister will beat us, and we’ll never hear the end of it.”

Tab’s favorite diner was packed.  Georgiana wound up stuffed between Robert and Tab in a tiny booth.  She was certain the position was great for the image Robert was undoubtedly trying to project to the media, but it was bad for her digestion.  What appetite she didn’t lose watching Tab shovel waffles into his mouth like a starving man she lost every time Robert brushed her hand or knee and sent the butterflies in her stomach into a tizzy.

“Eat your hash browns, doll,” Robert murmured, scooping up a forkful and slipping it into her mouth.  The faint
snick
of a camera lens was almost drowned out by the chatter filling the room.  She obediently chewed and swallowed.  Before Robert could try it a second time, she dug her fingernails into the underside of his wrist.

“I promised Yvonne I wouldn’t do anything to ruin her evening,” she said, voice lowered so no one could overhear.  “Keep that up and I’ll storm out of here crying like you broke my heart.  She’ll blame you, and they won’t ever find your body.  She has connections.”

Robert didn’t dare call her bluff.  Her assistant was downright frightening.  His fork fell to the plate with a clatter that brought every set of eyes to their table.  He darted forward for a quick, chaste kiss followed by another.  “Maple syrup.  It’d make a good lip balm flavor, though I do love the orange sherbet.”

“I’m going to throw away every tube I own.”

“Don’t you dare.”  He ran the pad of his thumb across her syrup-sticky lip, glanced over her shoulder at Tab.  “Think we’ve sufficiently traumatized your brother?”

“It’s nothing I’m sure another stack of waffles won’t cure.”  She shifted away from Robert, ignored his penetrating eyes.  He wasn’t wearing his usual aftershave so there were no pheromones to blame it on.  What was it about him that made common sense fly out the window? 

“Had enough or are you ready for another round, Théophile?” she asked.

“I’m stuffed.”  Tab patted his stomach, belched.  “At least until lunch.”

The photographers didn’t follow them to the animal shelter.  At Georgiana’s urging, they started in the cattery.  Tab played with the kittens, but wasn’t overenthusiastic about any of them.  Georgiana’s attention kept slipping back to a tiny Siamese-mix eyeing them from the top of a carpeted perch.  When Georgiana reached for the kitten, it let out a high-pitched
meow
and leapt from its perch to a scratching post several feet away.  The second time she reached for the kitten, she managed to pluck it out of midair before it could reach its next destination.  Its ears were warm and velvety smooth; its rumbling purr reminded Georgiana of a well-tuned sports car at idle.