Sometimes It Is Rocket Science (20 page)

“NORA,” Robert asked as he ambled to his bedroom.  “When did Georgiana get up?”

“Logic error,” the computer responded promptly.

He suppressed a sigh and reworded the question.  When he had a free moment, he was going to attack NORA’s programming.  Georgiana and his father hadn’t done a terrible job, but they hadn’t allowed for all the nuances of speech or slang. 

“What time did Georgiana wake up?”

“Records indicate Georgiana Collier’s last sleep cycle ended at 6:20 Central Standard Time.”

Robert glanced at the chrome clock mounted to the wall.  It was only 6:10.  Unease swirled in his stomach.

“That was yesterday.  What about this morning?”

“That is the end of the last recorded sleep cycle for Georgiana Collier.  Would you like me to perform a database integrity test?”

“No.  I know where the problem is.  Now I need to find a workable solution.”

Robert slowly inched away from the ravenous monster seated next to him.  He leaned forward, brushed his nose against Georgiana’s warm cheek and breathed in the citrusy tang of her perfume.  “That’s his third plate of waffles and sausage.”

“I know.” 

“He ate my hash browns when I had my back turned trying to flag down our waitress.”

”Sorry about that.”  She grimaced as her brother shoved a forkful of dripping waffles into his mouth.  At least they’d managed to avoid any media attention.  The last thing she needed was Tab’s syrup-coated face splashed all over the society pages.  She made a mental note to increase their annual donation to the juvenile diabetes charity.  “I wanted to save them but decided it wasn’t worth the risk.  I like my hands.”

“Where does he put it all?”

“That’s a question Dad and I tried to answer for years.  I have several theories.  Most of them involve biological thermodynamics, hormones, and once, after watching him eat two large Hawaiian pizzas, pocket dimensions.” 

“Now that’s a quantum physics theory I wouldn’t mind hearing you explain.”  Robert held his breath when Tab licked the last drop of syrup off his fork.  “Do you think he’s finished?”

“I hope so.  We’re close to breaking his record.  When he was in sixth grade, he played on an intramural soccer team.  They made it all the way to the state finals.  Dad and I went with him to Austin, of course.  Tab’s team lost, but we took everyone out for dinner.  Tab ate five stacks of waffles and a pound of sausage.  He moaned the entire way home.”

“So this is our punishment for the four miles we ran this morning,” Robert concluded, leaning back in his wooden chair.  

Georgiana’s calves ached at the mention of the distance.  Had she realized how far Robert intended to run, she would have reconsidered her offer to join him.  She usually averaged five miles every other day on her treadmill but never all at once.  Three miles at a time was her usual limit.  By the time they’d turned the last corner toward the house, she and Tab had been leaning heavily on each other while Robert sprinted ahead of them.

“Yes.  He and I are horribly out of shape.”

Robert’s eyes burned as they slowly raked her over from scalp to where the table obscured the rest of the view.  “Oh, I don’t know, I rather like your shape.”

Cheeks pink and heart hammering against her chest, she shifted her attention to her brother.  “Fill that hollow leg, little brother?”

Tab leaned back in his chair and shoved the plate away.  He wiped his orange-juice and syrup coated lips with the paper napkin.  “I’m ready to visit Dan.  Do you think it’s too early for Jell-O?”

Georgiana playfully swiped at the back of his head.  It was so good to see him relaxed and to have his appetite returned, she couldn’t help but tease him.  “You keep eating like this, you’re going to need to start running with Bobby on a regular basis.”

“I’m not the one who ate two servings of grits.”

“You more than made up for it with pork fat, syrup, and butter, Tab.”

They continued to banter during the short drive to the hospital.  Georgiana tried to include Robert in the conversation, but he seemed content to just listen to their snippy remarks.  Once they were in the parking lot, she looked up in the rearview mirror to see Tab’s lips clamped shut and his knuckles white around the door handle.  She shoved the container of red beans and rice in Robert’s lap and crawled over the center console into the backseat.

“Hey,” she murmured, “it’s okay.  I know some of the worst days of our lives have been spent in hospitals, but this time it’s okay.  Dan is going to be fine and is going home very soon.”

Tab swallowed, nodded.  Misery radiated from his lanky frame and flooded the car.  Tears sparkled in his eyes.

Georgiana’s hands trembled slightly as she brushed the shaggy hair off his forehead.  She’d forgotten that the last time he’d been in a hospital was after his suicide attempt.  Little wonder he’d never wanted to visit Dan.  She gently stroked his cheek and trailed her fingers down his arm before gripping his hands tightly.

“I will be right beside you the entire time.  Holding your hand.  We’re going to go in together, wave at Mandy in reception.  She’s the one who bakes the chocolate chunk cookies I bring home.   We’ll go to Dan’s room and take him his lunch.  It’s a private room so no one will see you go nuts over his Jell-O.”

“Okay.” 

“Great.”  Still clutching her brother’s hands, she fumbled behind her with her free hand for the door latch.  Before she could make contact, the door opened.  Long, hot fingers wrapped around her shoulder and kept her from tumbling onto the concrete. 

Robert’s chin settled on her shoulder.  Coffee scented breath wafted across her cheek.  She wanted to turn her head to look at him, but his lips were far too close to her own.  They were a distraction she did not need.

“I will be there, as well.”  Robert’s hearty chuckle dispelled the tension in the car.  “Perhaps not holding your hand, but I’ll have your back.”

Georgiana offered Robert a grateful smile.  Her heart started the familiar samba it pounded out whenever he was near. “Thank you.”

“We’re going to be family soon, Gigi.  It’s nothing.”  Robert’s lips brushed across her own, light as feathers but hot as coals. 

True to her word, she kept her fingers linked with Tab’s as they made their way into the hospital.  The pretty, plump nurse at the reception desk held up a basket of sweet-smelling cookies when they entered.  Robert wrapped four cookies in his linen handkerchief and balanced the cookies on top of the Tupperware container of red beans and rice.

Georgiana kept up a steady stream of babble about Tab’s physics project and the corrections he needed to make.  She kept a finger on his pulse, monitored it for any spikes.  She was pleased that he’d only hyperventilated once during the trek to Dan’s private room.

“Théophile!” 

Tab startled at Dan’s booming voice but quickly covered it with a broad, genuine smile.  He released Georgiana’s hand and crossed the room.  He opened his arms to give the older man a hug.  They fell limply to his sides when he spotted the wires and tubes attached to Dan.

“Give me a hug, boy,” Dan instructed gruffly, “I’m not going to break.”

The hug was brief but heartfelt.  Tab settled on one of the chairs between the two beds in the room.  “I wasn’t afraid of hurting you.  I’ve just never hugged a cyborg before.”

Relief flooded Georgiana.  She sank onto the edge of Dan’s bed and rubbed his feet through the plush blanket.  “Hello, Dan.”

“You!”  Dan pointed his finger at her face and waggled it.  “You’re the reason my phone has been ringing off the hook this morning.”

“Me?  I didn’t do anything!”

“You’re marrying my son.”

Georgiana blinked.  She glanced down at the pink rock glittering on her finger.  Was he upset about the engagement?  Had he found out it was a fake?  Did he have reservations about having her as a daughter-in-law?  That shouldn’t have stung because the engagement
was
fake, but it did.

She licked suddenly dry lips and resisted the urge to rub the back of her neck.  “Well, yes.”

“And I have had no less than ten phone calls from every club I belong to offering to host a shower for the two of you.  Two have even not-so-subtly inquired about the reception venue.”  Dan ran a hand through his hair.  “My tailor called and asked when I wanted to come in for my first fitting.”

Laughter swelled in her chest even though her stomach was sinking.  It was going to be a circus.  If Dan was already getting phone calls, it was only a matter of time before the flood of inquiries made it through Yvonne and reached her.  She was going to have to give her assistant a hefty raise if they survived the next few weeks.

“Leave that to me, Dad.  I’ll handle the calls.” 

Robert set the food on the table beside his father and perched next to Georgiana.  His arm curved around her waist so that his warm hand settled on her hip.  Gravity, a powerful force she respected as a scientist but personally abhorred, dragged her head onto his shoulder.

Dan scowled at Robert.  “My only son is getting married.  There will be showers and engagement parties.  There will be champagne and gifts and outrageous catering bills.  There will be merriment.”

“Yes sir,” Robert and Georgiana chimed.

Dan’s face softened.   He sat up and reached out to pat Georgiana’s arm.  “I was just teasing, Georgie dear.  I can’t express how happy it makes me to see the two of you together.”

Her smile felt brittle.  They were going to hurt him.  When she and Robert called off their sham of an engagement, they were going to break Dan’s heart.  She never should have agreed to it.  It was on the tip of her tongue to confess everything before it got worse.

“We’re indescribably happy, as well.”  Robert’s lips grazed her temple.  His fingertips dug into her hip when she stayed silent for a beat too long.

“Yes.  It’s… overwhelming.”

As soon as they got back to the house and away from Tab, she was going to call it off.  She was going to sit Robert down and outline all the reasons that what they were doing was wrong.  He loved his father.  He wouldn’t want to cause Dan unnecessary pain.

“And all four of us in the house plus a cat and a dog,” Dan chuckled.  “I always did want to write that paper on chaos theory.”

The rest of the visit passed in a blur of friendly banter and easy conversation.  She and Tab argued about his physics project with Dan acting as occasional referee.  Robert ventured down to the nurses’ station and sweet-talked one of the nurses into reheating the container of red beans and rice.  Dan eagerly inhaled two bowls and half of Tab’s cookie.

“We’ll have a special dinner when you’re home,” Georgiana said.  “Jambalaya.  I found Andrea’s recipe in the archives.  We can have my mother’s cornbread with it.”

Dan’s eyes glittered with unshed tears.  “Thank you.  Andi would have loved having you as a daughter-in-law.”

Georgiana’s cheeks flushed.  She rose off the bed and kissed Dan’s cheek.  “We have to go.  The dog’s been cooped up too long.  I want to work on a something to solve that problem.”

“Oh?”  Dan’s brows furrowed thoughtfully.  “What about an electronic pad near the door that he could put his paw on to open the door?”

“Or a sensor at the right height.  You wanted to put an actuator on the door in the breakfast nook.  We could teach him to go there when he needed to outside.”  Georgiana could already picture the work that needed to be done. Training the dog would be the hardest part.

“It’s called a doggy flap,” Robert said, lips curved in a broad smile.  He shared a disgusted look with Tab.  “Engineers.”

Tab didn’t need to hold Georgiana’s hand on the way out of the hospital.  He chattered about his project on the drive back to the house.  Once inside, he greeted NORA cheerily and dashed off in search of Quinn.

“He seems like he’s doing better,” Robert observed.

Georgiana was still staring at the space where her brother had stood.  Tab was more open than he’d been at the townhouse.  He was comfortable around Robert.  They were becoming friends.  How much of a setback would he have when Robert was no longer part of their lives?

She slipped the ring off her finger and pressed it into Robert’s hand.  “This was a mistake.  Just about the stupidest thing I’ve ever done. It may make things easier now, but it’s only going to cause a massive amount of heartache later.  It’s not worth it.”

Robert’s eyes darkened.  He clamped long fingers around Georgiana’s wrist.  “We agreed, Georgiana.”

“Yeah, and it was unwise.  What’s going to happen when we break it off?  How are Dan and Tab going to feel?” 
How am I going to feel
?

“Then we don’t.”

She blinked at him, not wanting to believe what she was hearing.  Her heart leapt to her throat and her head spun.  “Don’t what?  Call it off?”

“Exactly.  We’ll get married in December like we’ve discussed and no one has to get hurt.  It’s the perfect solution.”  Robert slid the ring back on her finger and folded his hand over hers to keep her from removing it a second time.

A tremble started at the base of her neck and worked its way down her spine.  Her knees shook and her stomach swirled.  “Except for the part where you don’t –
we
don’t love each other and are only going to make each other miserable!  What kind of solution is that?” 

“Gigi, that’s not true.  Listen, -.”

She didn’t give him a chance to finish.  She tore out of his grip, stared into his stony face for a moment, and raced down the stairs to the labs.  The door closed with a mechanical
hiss
behind her. 

Robert sank onto the carpeted stairs and cradled his head in his hands.  He had to get through to her before she did something idiotically gallant like confess to Dan.  He had to convince her that in his eyes the engagement wasn’t fake.

He had to woo his fiancée.

Chapter Twenty-On
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