Cynda and the City Doctor - Theodora Taylor Page 0,63
longer planning to sell. After a lot of back and forth, I’d agreed to let Rhys pay for the twins’ housing in Pittsburgh so that we could not only hang on to the house but eventually raise a family there.
And as it turned out the twins and Reina got along amazingly, especially after E discovered Reina not only knew how to play guitar but could also sing.
We’ve gotten used to after dinner serenades of show tunes from the 70s and 80s era musicals E and Reina like to watch together. Sometimes I play the piano inside the back house, while E and Reina create sweet harmonies outside. I don’t feel the itch to give my whole life over to music as Reina once did. But I love having the piano back in my life on a regular basis.
Also, Reina’s more than happy to cook and clean and take care of whatever else the twins need. And if that’s not enough, she’s a yoga teacher! She makes extra money teaching a morning class for the neighborhood on our front lawn.
A few months ago, I doubted anyone would have responded to the flyers she posted around town. But during these COVID times, her biggest problem is having to turn clients away when more than ten people show up, on a lawn that can only handle eleven socially distanced mats. Everybody living in Guadalajara isn’t down with the science of masks in the first place. And they can get pretty salty when they show up with the required face covering they don’t want to wear only to be told the class is all filled up.
Luckily Lydia Brandt, August Brandt’s mother is one of Reina’s students. One word from her and the upset party walks away for fear of her or their spouse’s job. But even with Lydia’s help, it’s obvious that Reina’s going to have to expand soon. So Rhys and I are currently emailing back and forth with the Guadalajara mayor about getting her set up in the town square. And A has abandoned his video games for a while to work on a homemade microphone Reina can wear while teaching a much bigger class.
No, Reina’s not the mom I lost. And yes, she made a lot of mistakes. She’s apologized several times for that. But at the end of the day, I couldn’t have asked for better parents than the ones she left me with, and now my biological mother and I get a second chance. Reina feels like an unexpected bonus to my happy ending with Rhys.
The twins’ first day of in-school learning is still up in the air, but Rhys and I have already discussed asking Reina to stay on in the back house after they leave.
We enjoy having a singing, happy, yoga teacher around. Plus, we might be needing her help for someone other than the twins…eventually. We know we want to get married soon, but with both of us front lining, we’ve agreed to wait on making babies until after there’s a vaccine.
“I think we can get a lot of naughty done in just a few minutes,” Rhys insists, pulling a condom out of the nightstand drawer.
Flipping me over in bed, he goes from kissing on my neck to other places.
I want to give in to him. I really do. But…I feel confused.
I’m glad Billie has found someone who makes her giggle, and I’m happy for me, too. But…
“What’s wrong,” Rhys asks, sensing my mood.
The old instinct to hold back rears its head. Communication is hard. Especially after a long day of work. But over the last few months, I’ve learned that doing the hard things is worth it when it comes to my brave girl relationship with Rhys.
Instead of waving him off, I tell him the truth. “Gina’s still missing. And it feels…I don’t know…wrong to be so happy right now. I just want her to be all right.”
Rhys sits back up, all his “let’s get it on” replaced by an empathetic look. “I love that you care so much about your friend. I tell you what. How about if I hire an investigator too. With that last name, I imagine Billie’s friend is very connected. But I have a few connections too. And if I’m going to use them, we should take advantage of them now before my family finds out, along with the rest of Drossel that we’re planning to get married and there’s nothing they can do about it.”
I laugh. I love how