High C

24. Pinch of Salt

Rodney had been unable to take the week off between Christmas and New Year so that it could coincide with Loy Rewards' annual holiday closure. This meant the days were long for Natasha. Her phone wasn't exactly ringing off the hook. She managed to convince DeeDee to go to the movies one afternoon, but talk of any serious nature was side-stepped with great effort. Natasha was positive her mother was avoiding her as well, texting but never answering her phone. She said she was busy returning Boxing Day mistakes, leaving Natasha reluctant to question why they had not gone shopping together.

Rodney was as supportive as he could be, but she could tell he disapproved of the entire situation. This made Natasha feel worse than she already did, dreadfully doubtful even, until Rodney's phone rang with her mother inviting him to a New Year's Day brunch as a surprise for Natasha.

"Well, you fiend," he said in congratulations. "It worked."

Natasha had never been so relieved in her life.

*****

Rodney questioned why they would drive up together when it was supposed to be a surprise.

"If you were my ex, knowing that I was engaged to someone else, why wouldn't you call me to make sure I was okay with it?"

"I suppose," he said.

"I'll make sure to give her the old, 'what are you up to?' and tell her Bob was really upset about it. In fact maybe we had a fight about it. Maybe the dam is cracking and you're my emergency lifeboat. God, I can't believe it worked!"

"You can't?"

"Of course I can! I'm a genius!"

"I never doubted it."

"Ha! Admit it, you thought I was nuts. Wait, you don't have to. You told me to my face."

"You're a villain and I worship you."

"Don't you though? Don't you just love me?" Natasha laughed.

"Yes. If you weren't driving I'd kiss your feet. And to think, what's most impressive is that you were able to pull the whole thing off without anyone getting hurt. Bob got everything he wanted for the low, low price of humiliation, and met the potential girl of his dreams, even though he can never see her again."

"Hey!"

"Your sister gets to have even less faith in relationships now and as a consolation prize doesn't recognize you, her most constant comfort, anymore."

"That's not nice," Natasha said. "I did this for us."

"I know you did. Just teasing. I don't want to seem ungrateful, especially when the best part is that eventually, every time your father looks at me, he's going to think I cheated my way into the family. Your dad, for whom a hard work ethic is everything, will get to see me as someone who cut in line, who fooled him, for as long as we both shall live. It's going to be great."

Natasha's felt heat from her body rise to the top of her head, leaving cold hands to grip the steering wheel.

"My sister used to tell me this story at bedtime when we were little. A king had three daughters and said whoever brings me the best present loves me the most. Two daughters bring him something fancy but the last one gives him a dish of salt. He thinks it's worthless and tosses her out. Years later she's worked her way up from a scullery maid to the best cook in the kingdom. The King orders this cook to prepare a fancy dinner for him and a bunch of guests. He doesn't know it's her. She seasons everyone's meal with salt except the King's and he blows a gasket and demands her brought before him to answer for it. When he realizes it's his daughter he bawls for being so stupid and not seeing the value in what she offered him in first place. I think this will all end up like that."