I Am Not Your Master; I'm Your Partner Book Three

The Sixth Sense

Diana fit right in. She delighted in the washing and the chopping and in the discussion of food in general. It was a safe and easy topic – yet she found herself stumbling a bit not having prepared more than toast and tea for herself in the last seven years.

"I take my meals with the children," she explained as she plucked fuzzy green tops from the tops of a particularly ripe tomato. "I haven't cooked a thing in years. I do miss the labor of love, and it really is a labor of love, isn't it? I used to know my way around the kitchen." She smiled wistfully and reached for another tomato.

"Why, I can't imagine not cooking," Kate said. "I don't know what I'd do with myself." She giggled, indicating that there was no judgment, only sympathy.

"It's true," Michael supplied. "Kate is always making something or other. She's an excellent cook Ms. Cartwright."

"I'm sure of that," Diana smiled. "And please, do call me Diana?"

"A beautiful name," Kate followed. "Is it a family name?"

"Thank you. Yes, it is. I am named for my grandmother, Diana Marie." She turned to Dan, who was rinsing lettuces and stealing glances at this husband. "Dan, your great grandmother was from Ireland. Have you ever been?"

Dan looked up. "No, not yet. But I imagine Phil's work will take us there one day. He's in public speaking you know." He said it proudly. He wanted to mention that there would be no speaking engagements in the fall on account of the baby's birth, but that could wait.

"Yes, I've been following his work for years." Diana turned to Phil, who was helping young Noah shake the water from the grapes in a colander. His hand faltered a bit under the weight of it. "I think you're brilliant, just brilliant. I don't know that anyone has done more for Nekos than you have."

Phil blushed, but it was true, and everyone knew it. He had dedicated his adult life to advocating for Nekos through public education by way of the internet and public speaking. He was proud of his work, and it felt wonderful to be recognized for it.

"Thank you," he smiled with genuine delight. "It's my life's purpose, my greatest aspiration. Well, aside from my family." He winked at Dan, who returned it and grinned. Their love was palpable by all; it filled the room, open and spacious as it was.

"Goodness," Diana thought to herself. It was so refreshing to be among such loving energy. She promised herself that she would take it all in.

"Diana, Dan tells me that you've done a lot for the Neko boys. Surely you deserve accolades for that. I hear the children are getting an education. Is it true that you're a teacher?" Kate lay her knife on the tanned olive wood cutting board and tipped her head with genuine interest. She always wanted to be a teacher herself, though her capable hands led her to needlework instead.

"I was, yes. I presume you could say that I still am, but it hardly feels like the same kind of work." Diana offered a small smile. Kate wondered if the woman was comfortable discussing her past. "I was a secondary school teacher for many years. But that was a lifetime ago, really." She let her eyes fall upon Dan, who was feeding Noah a quartered grape. "My work here has been so much more...fulfilling."

"A life of service." Kate smiled. Diana shivered, but no one seemed to notice. She was no saint, she thought to herself. She felt herself start to slip down that familiar sinkhole of self-loathing but caught herself when she heard her son laugh with his son. She recovered quickly, smiled graciously, and nodded.

"I suppose so, yes."

* * *

Caroline thought about Noah a lot these days.