Life Is Fleeting, But Diamonds Are Forever

A Date With Gwen

As luck would have it, Gwen was waiting at Blake's place when he pulled in with Kitty. Gwen's dark eyes grew wide with surprise, watching as Kitty gingerly climbed out of Blake's truck, retrieving her bag. Blake quickly moved to hug Gwen. That gave him a moment to collect himself. "Gwen, I want you to meet Kitty Miller," he said, indicating Kitty. "Kitty, this is Gwen Stefani."

"Hello," Kitty called. Fortunately, she didn't argue. Blake just did not feel capable of explaining things right now.

"Hi!" Gwen did a quick assessment, taking in the oversized sweat suit, the sandals, and the bag. Her eyes widened when they focused on the bloodstained blouse inside the clear plastic patient belongings bag.

Fortunately, Kitty noticed. "It's nothing," she said. "I was in a car crash, got a shallow cut, and someone at the hospital loaned me something to wear home. Blake's letting me stay with him for a bit. Er, separate rooms, of course!"

"Oh!" Gwen's face broke into a bright, welcoming smile. But it faded when the diamond ring on Kitty's hand flashed in the light and got her attention. She stared at the ring for a long moment. Then her eyes moved back to Kitty's face. "What did you say your name was again?"

"Kitty Miller."

"And how, exactly, do you know Blake?"

The green eyes moved to Blake, suddenly frantic.

Blake stepped forward. "Gwen?" he began. "Kitty is the lady who mugged me and stole my ring. But things happened after that. She got hurt in a car accident after all of that went down. She's got no memory of any of it. Really, she's an entirely different person than the one who mugged me. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get her inside and settled in. Then we'll talk. Alright?"

Gwen looked for a moment as if she wanted to argue. But then she nodded stiffly, forced a smile back to her face, and moved forward to herd Kitty into the house.

Blake followed.

Inside, Gwen was making a fuss over Kitty, getting her settled into a recliner in Blake's living room. Then she puttered over Kitty like a mother hen, getting her a blanket and handing her a glass of something to drink. Gwen tended to do that. The blonde was a natural born mother if Blake had ever seen one. But he couldn't figure out what she was doing at his house in the first place.

Kitty, meanwhile, looked acutely uncomfortable. She held her glass in her hand and sipped at it, but her eyes watched Gwen's every move. For her part, Gwen's eyes constantly traveled to the diamond. Blake couldn't imagine what she was thinking. But whatever was going through the blonde's head never passed her lips.

Finally, Gwen was satisfied that Kitty was settled in. "Alright, I'm going to ask you to excuse us, Kitty," she said. She moved to Blake and took his arm. "Blake and I have a date, after all."

Blake grimaced. "That's right, we do! Dammit, Gwen, I'm sorry. When Kitty woke up, things just got so crazy that I..."

Gwen waved a hand dismissively. "It's alright. Kitty needed you more than I did. But now she's settled in, I'm sure she could use a bit of rest. Kitty, it was lovely to meet you."

"Er... Nice to meet you, too," Kitty called. Her voice sounded strange. For some reason, her eyes were locked on Blake's arm where Gwen held on to him. But her face had no expression.

"Kitty, you know my number," Blake instructed. "There's a phone next to you there. If you need anything, call, alright? We won't be far."