Above Rubies (Rockland Ranch) (12 page)

             
                                          ****

             
Rossen had been working steadily beside her all morning, then somehow he was gone and Kit hadn’t even heard him leave.  Granted she had been a little preoccupied with the baby this morning, but he’d never just walked out without saying anything before.  It wasn’t like him.

             
She saved her work and wandered into the kitchen.  Naomi and Rob were there with lunch prepared and Kit asked, “Did Rossen come this way?”

             
Naomi shook her head.  “I thought he was in his office with you.  Have you lost him?”

             
Kit smiled.  “I have.  One minute he was there working and the next he was gone without a word.”

             
Naomi looked puzzled.  “Really?  That’s weird.  That doesn’t sound like Rossen.”  She placed chicken pot pies on the table, and Rob walked back into the hall and up and down the stairwell calling for him.  Finally, Naomi called his cell phone but there was no answer.  She came back in and sat next to Kit as Rob asked a blessing on the food.

             
His empty place at the table worried Kit through the whole meal.  Had she somehow offended him this morning while they worked?

             
Nobody saw Rossen for the rest of the day.  Kit didn’t think he’d even shown up to help feed that afternoon and she went to bed with a troubled heart.

             
Late in the night she was awakened and it took her a few minutes to realize that what she was hearing was the sound of the printer in Rossen’s office printing page after page.  This was stranger than ever.  She’d never known him to work at night.  She got up and slipped a robe over her night gown and went in, wondering what was wrong.

             
                                          ****

             
She was standing quietly at the door when he noticed her.  She was wearing a white nightgown with a matching robe over it, belted neatly over her tummy in front.  Small brown feet peeped out below.  She somehow seemed taller in the floor length gown.  She was still obviously sleepy and her dark hair was tousled around her wide blue eyes as she watched him in silence.

             
Neither of them spoke for a few seconds after he saw her.  Their eyes locked and held momentarily.  When he broke the gaze to look back at his papers, she asked him in a soft voice, “Are you okay?”

             
He was slow to reply and his voice almost sounded sad when he answered, “Yeah, I’m okay.  I just have to get this whole thing finished and postmarked by tomorrow.  I’m sorry I woke you.”

             
She didn’t move, just continued to watch him from the doorway.  At length she asked, “Did I make a mistake on something yesterday?”

             
He looked up at her questioning, “No, of course not.  Your work has been perfect.  Your mind is like a machine.  Why do you ask?”  She just shrugged and continued to watch quietly.

             
Eventually she questioned again.  “Did I do something to offend you, then?”

             
He got up from his desk and came to her at the door, his voice gentle as he spoke, “You didn’t do anything to offend me yesterday.”  He ran a strong, brown hand through his hair with a sigh.  “I just have a lot on my mind.”  He brushed her dark hair back from her shoulder.  “You’re tired.  Take the two of you back to bed and get some rest.  I’ll try to be quieter.  I’m about through printing.”  He squeezed her shoulder and nudged her toward the door as their eyes locked again. 

             
Turning to go, she raised her right hand to gently touch his cheek for an instant.  “Good night.”

             
                                          ****

             
She didn’t go back to bed immediately.  He could hear her in the darkened great room playing her guitar so softly it almost seemed like his imagination.  The music, sweet and mellow, was soothing to his troubled mind.  At last, she switched over to some old James Taylor songs and sang along, the lyrics adding to the web of calm she was weaving in his heart.  When the guitar finally fell silent and he knew she was gone, he was able to return to his task with a clear head, knowing somehow he’d get through this.  He had no idea how it would work out, but her music left him at peace as he worked through the night.

                                                        ****

             
The next morning, Naomi found him asleep on the sofa in the great room, one arm draped over the edge to rest on Kit’s guitar on the floor below.  She gently covered him with a throw and decided they’d eat cold cereal this morning so she didn’t wake him cooking. 

             
When Kit came in a few minutes later, she had great dark circles under her eyes and Naomi encouraged her to go back to bed after she ate.  She gratefully accepted and stopped next to the couch to look down at him sleeping on the way out.  She asked Naomi, “Did you ever find out what’s going on with him?”

             
Naomi shook her head.  “No, I haven’t talked to him.”  But as Kit walked away, Naomi knew it had to have something to do with the tall, dark haired, seventeen year old beauty who returned to bed.  She sighed as she went about her morning.  His obvious inner turmoil hurt her heart.  She wished she knew how to help him get through whatever was up, but she still was unsure of what to do or say.  She decided to see if Rob would take her to the temple when the stock was fed.  Maybe she’d find some answers there. 

             
                                          ****

             
Kit had been working with her clay almost everyday and she'd come to the end of the three bags within less than two weeks.  Her next prenatal appointment was two days away and she had set up an appointment with Mr. Perkins for the same day.  She stood in the craft room looking at the ten or twelve small figurines she'd crafted over the last days, wishing she'd brought four bags instead of just three.  Finally, she decided to rework clay from a few of the pieces she liked the least and went in search of a five gallon bucket.  She found one in an equipment shed and brought it back to the craft room, which she now thought of as her studio, and filled it partially full of water.  She was just starting to put the few pieces down into the water when Isabel walked in. 

             
“Kit.  Your dress just came.”  Isabel looked around the room at the free form sculptures sitting on various countertops.  “Wow!  These are really good!  Did you do all these?” 

She turned
toward Kit and realized she was breaking one of the pieces and dropping the fragments into the bucket of water, and nearly shouted, “Kit!  What are you doing?”  Her voice held a note of almost panic.  “Why are you destroying them?  They’re magnificent!”

             
Rossen and Naomi showed up at the door to see what was going on, as Kit answered, “I’m out of clay and was just going to break a few down to rework the clay.  I’ll make more once it’s rehydrated again. 

             
Rossen and Naomi began to walk around the room in wonder, with Isabel right behind them.  They looked in silence until finally Naomi whispered, “Oh my.”  Kit was almost a bit nervous at their reaction until Naomi turned to her with tears in her eyes and said, “You have an incredible gift.”

             
Rossen went over to look down into the bucket with the three works that had already started to dissolve in the water.  He looked up with something unfathomable in his eyes.

             
Isabel broke in, “Don’t destroy any more.  We’ll get you some more clay.”

             
Kit was openly surprised at their reaction.  “I can’t just keep everything.  I’d soon be buried.  Reworking the clay let’s me stay occupied without ten gazillion pieces piling up.”

             
Isabel looked her in the face and answered, “Kit.  I don’t think you understand.  This is more than a high school art class.  Your work is deeply moving.  These pieces are evocative and profound.  They’re not something that should be recycled for the sake of space or clay.  They need to be finished and placed in a gallery so others can enjoy them and take them home to feel the same deep emotion we’ve felt here this afternoon.  It’s almost a responsibility.  When you have a gift like this, you can’t not share it.  Do you understand what I’m trying to say?”

             
Kit started to nod, but it came across as a noncommittal nod, slash shake.

             
Isabel tried again, “Do you ever do anything larger?  These would be incredible slightly larger.  And how do you complete them?  I can’t wait to see them finished!  I have a dear friend in California who is an art connoisseur.  I can’t wait until he sees your work!  He’s going to love it!”

             
Naomi and Rossen slipped back out the door while they talked.  He still hadn’t said a word and Kit glanced at his back as he disappeared, wondering what he was thinking.  It mattered a great deal to her.  She valued his opinion more than anyone’s.  It was probably foolish, but it was a fact.

Chapter 7

              Two days later Naomi got a phone call in the morning as she and Kit were getting ready to go in to her prenatal appointment.  One of their neighbors was having a minor emergency and wondered if Naomi could help her out for awhile.  Naomi immediately asked Isabel if she could take Kit in, but she had an appointment that morning with the caterer for her wedding. 

             
It was Rossen who ended up taking her in and he decided not to stress about being with her for this one day and was thoroughly enjoying her company.  He could tell she was nervous again as they drove and she fidgeted nonstop.

             
He finally asked her, “Was your last appointment that bad?  You look like you’re heading to the principal’s office.”  He grinned across the truck at her.

             
She smiled back self-consciously.  “No.  It wasn’t bad at all actually, but today she scheduled an ultrasound.  That’s what I’m afraid of.  I wish I knew what it would be like.”  She continued to pick at her cast.  “I have no idea how painful or dangerous it will be.”

             
He pulled the truck off the gravel road onto the paved highway and turned south.  “The only ultrasound I’ve seen was on Slade’s liver last summer, but it didn’t seem too bad to me.  The girl put some gel on his skin and then pushed what looked like a smooth microphone around on it.  I don’t think he felt a thing.”

             
She turned to him. “You mean this isn’t the long needle into my stomach thing?”  She shuddered as she asked.

             
Sheesh.  No wonder she was nervous.
  “No.  I don’t think there are any needles involved.  You don’t need to worry at all.”  He tried to reassure her, but she still seemed uptight all the way to the waiting room.  When they called her name, she almost jumped and he decided he’d go with her if they’d let him.

             
He stood and offered her a hand to help her to her feet and asked, “Can I go back with you?” 

She nodded almost woodenly and said, “Yes, please.”
Her hand was like ice and he kept hold of it, trying to reassure her as they followed the tech. 

             
She showed Kit to a changing room and gave her a hospital gown to change into.  She came back out momentarily and they went into a darkened room where she instructed Kit to lie on her back on the table.  As she placed pillows under Kit’s knees to support her back, Rossen felt compelled to explain.  “I’m not her husband.  Just a friend, but she’s a little nervous.  Can I stay with her?”

             
“Sure.  Why not?  Are you the father?”

             
Rossen could feel himself blush and was grateful for the dim lighting.  “No, just a friend friend.  More like the baby’s uncle, sort of.”

             
The tech smiled as he stammered and said, “In that case, I’ll be careful to be discreet.”  He breathed a sigh of relief.

             
He stood beside Kit’s head and she gripped his hand tightly in hers.  Now he was nervous too.

             
The tech discreetly put a folded blanket under Kit’s gown and over her from the waist down, then pushed the gown up to expose her stomach.  She pushed the blanket down slightly to reveal the smooth round bulge of the baby and Rossen swallowed hard.  She proceeded to squeeze a bottle of gel over Kit’s brown skin.  He felt torn about whether he should look away or watch the procedure.  Telling himself she was covered more than a bathing suit, he watched in fascination. 

             
The tech turned on her computer, put the rounded transmitter into the gel and slid it over and around Kit’s tummy trying to figure out where the baby was and in what position.  Rossen alternated between watching what she was doing to Kit’s belly and watching the monitor.