Chapter Ten
A/N My apologies. I realized that, other than to give Eliza's cousin a name...I never gave the least bit of a description (I looked to double check). Let's remedy that one.
"Here you go." Eliza set a plate of food on the TV tray she'd pulled out of the garage and washed, putting it next to the recliner Mac was once again seated on. "Hope you don't mind breakfast for lunch."
Mac assured her it was fine. "I won't complain. Remember, I've ate your cooking before. Besides, even if you weren't that good of a cook, anything is better than the hospital food." As he began eating, Eliza went back into the kitchen. After all, she still had her lunch to get. While she was fixing her food, Robert-who was almost ready to leave for work, came out of his bedroom and sat on the couch.
Mac looked at the twenty – seven– year – old gentleman, who couldn't be more than five feet eight inches in height. Mac knew his age because the gray in Robert's hair was something Mr. Parker had been quick to explain was premature while standing in the room Mac had used in the hospital.'In spite of what this implies," Robert pointed to his hair as he talked, "I am only twenty-seven, and younger than Eliza. Don't ask me her age either. I'm not allowed to say-nor is anyone else who happens to know. Don't ask me why; it's not like she's over the hill." Mac had laughed when Eliza had glared at Robert and told him she'd heard the unspoken YET after his sentence. "I thanked Eliza, and I'd like to thank you too. I mean, for allowing me to stay here while I heal."
"Don't think a thing about it." Robert smiled as he stood up, removed his coat from the coat rack that stood in the corner of the room, next to the couch. "It's like Eliza said, can't have you sleeping on a bench or sidewalk." He then excused himself, saying he was going to be late to work if he didn't get going-but not before he'd reminded Eliza if she needed anything to call him.
"You'd think I was a minor and he was my father the way he acts half the time." Eliza, carrying her own plate of food, stepped out of the kitchen. Soon she had her plate on another TV tray and was sitting on the couch.
"I got that feeling." Mac took another bite of food and thought about an incident he'd witnessed immediately leaving the hospital. A young child was lost and crying. Robert had handled the situation like a pro and calmed the child right down. The child's parent's had been found, looking for the child, a short time later. He'd also been than a gentleman from what Mac could see. "As good as he is with children, and polite as he is to others, I'm surprised he's not married with a few children of his own."
Eliza sighed as she shook her head. "It's true, Robert's a pretty patient - ornery as can be when crossed though." She sighed again. "He was married once. Unlike me, his wife did not divorce him. She passed away not three years after they married, complications that arose from childbirth." She shrugged her shoulders. "Even being in a hospital didn't help. Before you ask, the child was three months early and died within hours. He's never showed any interest in remarrying."
"I'm sorry." Mac glanced at the ring on his left hand. "I don't know how long I was married. Only, I feel strongly it's been long enough that I probably should stop wearing this thing." He held up his hand up and tapped the gold band. "Sort of feel at least one person has said as much, too."
"It's not up to others when you take the ring off; it's up to you." Eliza gave him a sympathetic smile. "Personally, even after my divorce, it was a good two years before I took my ring off. Guess I kept hoping the ex would come back. Looking back at it, I don't know why only I did." She held up her left hand. "This simple silver band I wear now? It's a gift from my mother. A lot of men have assumed it's a wedding band and keep their distance. I guess I should put it on my other hand – or at least a different finger. Maybe, I will… someday...when I can find a man who doesn't act as if my dream is outdated." She sighed and added slowly, "I once told you I didn't know why my ex-husband wanted out of our marriage. Maybe, I was wrong. I might know after all."
"Why?" Mac asked, genuinely curious. After all, from what he could see so far, Eliza was kind and compassionate. She was also one very good cook.
"I told him before we married that the whole idea of my becoming a doctor was so that I, eventually, could work in a clinic for low-income families. I admitted up front that, once I married and started having children, I only wanted to work a couple days a week-and no more than a few hours a day. That way I could continue caring for people and still not feel as if I was short-changing my marriage or whatever family we had. It wouldn't matter to me if I had a huge mansion or a small home." Eliza shrugged her shoulder. "A few months after we married, he started pushing the idea of my working full time no matter what. I didn't back down, told him I was going by the book. That is, I knew what I wanted and had been honest with him from the beginning." She drank down some of her orange juice and then added, "Guess what he really wanted was a full-time doctor's income. He eventually left, and I wound up working as an ER doctor. Come to find out, the man I almost married? He had the same notion as my ex."
"There's nothing wrong with your dream. Hold on to it. As far as I'm concerned, both men were pretty stupid to let you go." Mac went back to eating his food.
Eliza, who hadn't heard anyone except a few of her blood relatives say anything close to what Mac had just stated, felt a tad bit uncomfortable. At the same time, she couldn't help but smile. Maybe life had shortchanged her when it came to marriage and a family, only she no longer cared. At least it was giving her friends like Mac, the Reeds, Pete and Judy... and, hopefully, other friends in LA like them.