Page 34 of Below the Far Horizon
They talked a bit more, and then the men helped them clear off the table and do the dishes before they sat back down at the table and played a few games.
Grace marveled at how much fun she had with Trevor and his dad. She wouldn’t have guessed that they would get along so well, but it had been a long time since she had had that much fun, and she was truly sad when Don and Trevor reluctantly rose and said it was time to go home.
She wasn’t able to get a private message to Trevor, but there would be plenty of time for them to talk later. All in all, she thought the evening had been a smashing success.
Sixteen
Gita tiptoed into her bedroom, forgetting about her hip for just a moment, and softly closed the door behind her.
She was pretty sure that Grace was sound asleep. She had retired to her room more than an hour ago, claiming that she had a good time, but she was exhausted.
Gita didn’t doubt it, but something was off, and she couldn’t wait to talk to Don to try to figure out what it was.
Pulling her phone out from her pocket where she stashed it, she listened quietly for a moment before she sank down in the chair beside her bed and dialed Don’s number. She had been sleeping in the chair up until the last few days, when the physical therapist had cleared her to get in and out of bed if she wanted to.
She pulled up his contact info, hit the call button, and waited impatiently for him to answer, tapping her finger on the chair and trying not to give in to the inclination to get up and pace the room.
Don answered on the fourth ring in a small, quiet voice. “Hello?”
“Is he asleep?” Gita asked immediately.
“I think so. That’s why I told you it was okay.”
“I think Grace is asleep too, but I’m going to keep my voice down just in case.”
“Yeah. It seems like that’s wise.”
“Did you feel like something was off when they started talking about how they were going to have a relationship and they wanted us to chaperone them?”
“It sounded very much like what we had said.”
“Do you think they were mimicking us? Did they figure us out?”
“I’m not sure. But why else would they have suggested that we take a kayak trip on the lake? And I think it was Trevor who suggested we sit back down at the table and play games. So, it’s not really tracking.”
“I agree. Something just feels off. It was very much like what we did, but different, but… They’re not…genuine.” She wasn’t sure if that was the exact word she meant. They did seem to really like each other. She wanted to talk to Don about that before this happened. That she thought that their plan was going well.
“I thought everything was going really great until tonight,” Don said, sounding a little disgusted. Still talking softly.
“I agree. I was really thrilled with how things are going. In fact, I almost wanted to talk to you about a victory lap. Because they seemed like they were really getting together.”
“But now they’re saying they’re together, and we don’t believe it. Maybe we’re the ones who are being weird.”
Gita thought about that for a moment. He could be right. Maybe she had gotten so into her role of fake relationship and pretending to have something going on with Don that when they were successful in what they were trying to achieve, she didn’t like it, and it didn’t feel right.
“I suppose that could have happened. I’ll think about that a little bit. I felt like there was something off, but I didn’t consider that it might be me.”
“Yeah. Same. I didn’t think about it until we’re sitting here and trying to figure out what it was. Obviously I’m not used to my son and your daughter talking to each other. I never thought they would get back together.”
“Me either. So I guess it’s kind of shocking that they are, and it’s only natural that I would think that there’s something weird about that.”
“Exactly. That’s what I was thinking too.”
They were quiet for a moment, and then Gita said, “You really think that’s it?”
“I’m not sure. It felt…a little contrived, but maybe it’s because I was feeling guilty too. I do feel somewhat guilty.”
“Because we’re not being honest?”
