Robbie returned with his documents. Becky put on a pair of reading glasses and perused the test results and the recommended treatments. Her brows knitted in consternation as she considered what this probably meant to her.Just because they’re not married anymore…Well, Robbie was still Thelma’s son, too. She knew she would probably outlive him now, but did he have to suffer so soon?
The sandwiches arrived while Becky read through the documents. Thelma folded her arms on the picnic table and gazed up into the sky as Robbie fetched them. “I’m not entirely sure hedoesbelieve I’m his mother,” she said, garnering Becky’s attention from behind the papers. “To be fair, there are days I don’t feel like anybody’s mother anymore. I have to talk about my children in the past tense. I’ve had to make peace with a life without them. And it feels strangely… fine.”
Becky lowered the papers to the table. “I don’t know the first thing about traveling through time, but it seems to me that you have to make the most of what God has given you here.”
“That’s what I keep thinking. Nobody at my church knows the truth about where I’m from, but they say the same thing.Make the most of your time on Earth.I keep trying. I don’twantto be reliant on any man. I’d rather be reliant on another woman!”
“That’s possible now.”
“Can I tell you a secret? Between us girls?”
Despite the severity of what was on the papers, Becky slammed them down and gave Thelma her undivided attention. “Spill! I won’t tell him a thing!”
“I’m sort of dating someone already. He doesn’t know, though. Neither does Megan. The only ones who know are from my time travel group, and they’re dubious about it.” Pauline had declared Gretchen adorable, but shared the same worries that it might be too soon.
“Really? Anyone I know? Probably not, huh.”
Thelma’s fingers tapped against the table. “Actually, it’s the neighbor. Close proximity does wonders for forging new love.”
“The neighbor?” Becky squinted at Thelma. “Only one I can think of who is available is… Gretchen?”
If she was waiting for Thelma to be disgusted, Becky did not get her wish.
“Wait. Gretchen? But she’s… oh.Oh.That puts things in perspective.”
“What does?”
“I mean, Robbie used to talk about that author. Sandy Westmore. He really did not like her. And he’s always been weirdly homophobic about our daughter dating girls, despite him being chill about everything else as long as it doesn’t affect him. But if you’re… if youwere…”
“Megan says I’m queer. Or bisexual. Or sapphic. I can’t keep up.”
“Oh, of course, Megan knows!”
“She doesn’t know about Gretchen, though. I’m seeing how it goes right now.”
“And how’s it going with dearest Gretchen? How’s she doing, anyway? I haven’t talked to her much since her parents passed.”
“She’s doing… quite well for herself.”
“Oh, my.”
“What?”
Becky laughed as Robbie came out with—Mulberry, Paprika—plates full of sandwiches and all their fixings. “Look at you! As red as a cherry!”
“What’s going on?” Robbie asked.
“Just some girl talk. Now, about your prostate…”
There was no saving him now. Even if he survived treatment, Robbie would never outlive the embarrassment of this moment.
Chapter nineteen
Brighter Than the Stars
“My, this place sure has… grown.” Thelma gazed out of the back window of a stranger’s car as she, Megan, and Emma traveled from the Las Vegas airport to the Strip, a place she had been twice before… albeit in the ‘50s, right at the turn of mafia-owned gambling desert oasis to the premier nightclub spot for discerning adults—who may or may notloveOld Blue Eyes.I was always more of a Dean Martin girl myself.“I remember when there were only four casinos.”
The driver, a man with an accent Thelma hadn’t recognized, glared at her incredulously in his rear-view mirror. She remembered that she was around people who didn’t know about her being from the ‘50s and kept her mouth shut… although she was shocked at not only the bright lights and the patrols of tourists on the sidewalk, but how there were more marijuana dispensaries than she saw in LA.And there are… many… in LA.Maybe the ones here were just more ostentatious to attract tourists.
