Finding Isadora(109)

Yes, my lover, like my father, had his rough edges. “What’s the fun in perfection? There’d be no challenge.”

“True. So don’t go trying to polish up all his facets.”

Jimmy Lee, shorter by two or three inches than Gabriel, was getting in his face. Gabriel dragged his fingers through his hair and shook his head vigorously.

“No risk of that,” I said, wondering what on earth the men were saying. “Gabriel would never let me tame him too much. It’s his fears and blind spots I’m working on. Like his relationship with Richard.”

“Brave woman. Good for you.”

“And you’re right. We’ll make it work out with Richard. This time, Gabriel won’t give up. Nor will I.”

Jimmy Lee and Gabriel shook hands firmly, and I let out a sigh of relief.

“You’re good for each other,” Grace said. “I could never really see you and Richard as a couple, but you and Gabriel—yes, that’s a good match.”

Gabriel turned in our direction and sent me a smile that was all heat and intensity, and made me burn for him.

“And then there’s that spark,” Grace said dryly. “Can’t believe I was so dense that I didn’t pick up on it before. It’s always been there between you two, hasn’t it?”

“And always will be,” I said confidently. Then, because I was still a little scared, my eyes sought hers, for reassurance.

She nodded. “I think you’re right. Because it’s a spark that’s based not just on pheromones. That kind burns out quickly. It seems to me you two have a lot more than that going for you.”

She was still holding my hand, and I squeezed it. “I love you, Grace.”

She squeezed back, so hard it was painful. “I love you too, Isadora. My little girl’s all grown up and I’m proud, but sad as well.”

Tears glistened in her eyes, and suddenly they were in mine, too. I hugged her again. “I’m not so grown up I don’t still need you.”

We gazed at each other through moist, loving eyes.

“You’ve turned out just the way Jimmy Lee and I wanted when we chose the name Isadora,” she told me.

“I have? But Grace, she was such a free spirit. And I’m so conventional.”

My mother chuckled. “Yeah, like getting involved with Gabriel DeLuca is the conventional choice.” She pulled back, studied me carefully, then nodded. “What we hoped was that you’d be your own woman and follow what your heart told you was right. And that’s just what you’re doing.”

“Thank you,” I said softly.

* * *

Later, when we’d all been assigned our tasks and Constance had promised to e-mail minutes, I waited impatiently as people milled around, chatting, in no hurry to go home. Finally the exodus began, until only half a dozen of us were left.

Gabriel was talking to Henry and me when a man and woman approached. If I recalled correctly, he was a sociology professor from Simon Fraser University. He caught Gabriel’s arm. “Sorry to butt in, but there’s something I need to talk to you about. Something confidential.”

“It’s okay,” Henry said. “I’m going to make a trip down the hallway and find the bathroom before I go.”

“Need any help?” Gabriel asked casually.

Henry shook his head. “Thanks, I’m okay.”

“I’ll, uh, go talk to my parents,” I said.

Gabriel shook his head and said to the other two, “You can talk in front of Isadora.”

My heart warmed and my curiosity was piqued.

The prof started to tell Gabriel about a political refugee from Iran, a man who had been arrested and tortured in his own country. At great risk to their own lives, friends had managed to break him out of the facility where he was imprisoned.

“Through a network of connections, he and his supporters made it to Canada. Arrived on a fishing boat last night,” the prof said. “We have them hidden away, but the situation’s dangerous. He’s got enemies in this country as well as back home. We need to keep them under wraps until we figure out what to do.”

Gabriel listened intently, nodding, and I could see he was already formulating ideas.

As the two men talked, the woman murmured to me, “It’s terrible, the torture he’s undergone. The people who risked their lives to break him out of prison were so brave.”

“Surely they’ll be granted refugee status in Canada, won’t they?”

“Perhaps. If they’re not killed first.”

I shivered. “I’m sure Gabriel will find a way of helping.”

She nodded. “We’re hoping he’ll meet with them tonight.”

Tonight?

My first reaction was hurt, and fear. Already, it was beginning. It was going to be a repeat of his relationship with Diane. But then I stopped myself. Did my desire for a romantic evening with my lover take precedence over these people’s lives? How selfish could I be?

Put the shoe on the other foot. What if there was an emergency at the clinic? I’d go, wouldn’t I? It was a matter of finding the right balance among all the priorities.

And supporting each other. Richard and I had always tried to do that, and I was sure Gabriel and I could, too.

I tuned back into the two men’s conversation as the prof said, “So you’ll come meet with them tonight?”