Betsy Eliot - The Brain and The Beauty

“You’re planning to offer me a stipend for invading my life and dissecting it into little pieces?”

“Well, actually, I wouldn’t be able to pay you, but I would be willing to trade services. Your talents in exchange for mine.”

Because she was beginning to intrigue him, he made his expression purposely leering. “That’s an interesting proposition. What exactly are your special talents?”

She gave no indication that she noticed his double meaning. “I’ll clean your house for you.”

“You’ll do what?” he blurted. Her offer was the last thing he expected—or maybe the second to the last. The thought of her cleaning was almost too incredulous to be true. With those delicate features, dainty hands? “Sure you will.”

“That’s what I do. After my husband left, I discovered I didn’t have the schooling to get a job good enough to support us. I was a waitress for a while. You’d be surprised by the kind of money you can make just serving people food.”

Looking at her, Jeremy wasn’t surprised at all. He imagined people would throw money at her to keep her coming back.

“But waitressing caused me to be away from Robbie too long and too late. So now I clean people’s houses. It’s the perfect solution. I can make my own hours and be around for Robbie. I can work anywhere, there’s always somebody who needs help, and I’m good at what I do.”

He could see that she’d given it a lot of thought, but he couldn’t believe she’d chosen a path others would consider subservient. “What about your husband? Didn’t he provide support?”

“I didn’t want the strings he attached. He wanted me to send Robbie to boarding school, said he had the right to make the decisions if he was going to pay. I wasn’t going to send my son away.” She seemed to dare him to disagree. “We’re doing fine on our own. I started out with only a few houses, but the business grew so much that I hired a whole fleet of other women to work with me. One of them is taking care of the company until I get back. If I have to leave Pittsburgh permanently because of Robbie, she wants to buy it from me.”

She was serious. She was offering to do menial labor in exchange for his opening his life to her prying eyes. She had to know that if he had required domestic assistance he would have arranged it, yet she’d made the suggestion anyway, obstinately going after what she wanted in a way he could almost admire. He pictured the way she had examined his house so curiously before and realized her interest might have been more professional than personal, but that didn’t change the facts. Like the rest of the world, she saw him as nothing more than a mutant specimen.

“Why me?” he couldn’t help but ask. “There are a lot of smart people in the world. Most of them are better-adjusted than I am.”

“You worked with kids. I figure you saw what worked, what made them fulfilled and happy.”

“Not always,” he answered, his voice grim as he thought about the past.

“But sometimes? Even if you’ve only discovered what doesn’t work, you’ve already got a head start on everything I have to learn. You’ve been there. I can’t begin to imagine what it’s like.”

“You might not want to know.”

“I have to find out. Robbie’s whole life depends on it. What if I make a mistake? What if I’m responsible for ruining his life because I made the wrong decision?”

The memory of one young face in particular swam across the swirl inside the pot. Leonard had been young when he’d first come to Jeremy’s attention. Not much older than Abby’s son was now. “You’d have to learn to live with it,” he answered finally.

“I’m not willing to take that chance. He’s my son. I have to do the right thing. He deserves that much at least.”

Jeremy felt himself weakening. What she was asking was unthinkable, but if he agreed to be the subject in her little pet project he might actually be able to make a difference in one life. The potential of helping those whose intelligence made them different from others was what had prompted him to open Still Waters in the first place. He’d naively hoped to give those special children a place where they could feel normal, where they could explore their minds without drawing attention to their differences.

Eventually, he knew, her amazingly intelligent child would grow up to be nothing more than an extremely intelligent adult. But whether he survived the journey and thrived was still in question. She was giving Jeremy a chance to help without the risks that he would harm instead.

He reminded himself that was not his problem. But the part of him that had once thought that wisdom brought responsibility made him irate.

“Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve been with a woman?” he asked abruptly.

She swallowed audibly. “No.”

“It has been a very long time. If you’d like I could tell you down to the hours and minutes.” He couldn’t help but wonder if he was trying to talk her out of the bizarre scheme, or himself.

“I don’t think that’s the issue here.”

“Which just goes to show what you know.”

Trying to maintain his eroding common sense, he checked the mixture and found it ready. He strode past her, catching a hint of her scent, something clean and clear. It caused him to slam open the cabinet door where he’d stored a collection of odd-shaped boxes, pots and containers for this project. He lined the selection of items up along the counter, catching her bewildered expression from the corner of his eye.

“Do you understand what you’re asking?” he asked. “You want to invade my life, pick it apart and use it to guide your son to a life completely different from my own?”

“Yes,” she agreed, as if satisfied that he’d grasped the concept. He saw regret and perhaps pain in her gaze, but that didn’t stop her. “I’m not giving up, no matter what you say. This is too important.”

“And what if—when—I decline your offer?”

“Not even then. I’m planning to stick around whether you agree or not. I figure I can find out enough about you by asking around. I don’t know what else to do.”

Jeremy took a deep breath and searched for logic. Whatever she lacked in higher intelligence—if anything—she certainly made up for in stubbornness. Of course, determination alone wouldn’t be enough to sway him. He’d been known to go up against the entire academic community for something he believed in. Something like his students, for instance.

He believed her when she said she’d stick around until she got what she wanted. She’d hound him whether he agreed or not, making a nuisance of herself, reminding him of everything he could never have, and digging up a past that should remain buried.

Or he could chase her away the easiest way possible, by giving her what she wanted—a glimpse into the life of a brilliant misfit. She wouldn’t last long.

If she truly wanted to help her son, she’d take what she saw and dedicate herself to making sure he turned out differently. In a roundabout way, maybe he could help the boy.

Or, at the very least, he wouldn’t be able to hurt him.

“If I agree…”

She actually gave a little jump of joy into the air, causing Jeremy to regret his decision even before he’d finished making it. Who actually leaped for joy? he wondered. There’d be no more leaping if he had anything to say about it.

He narrowed his eyes at her. “If I agree, there will be certain guidelines that have to be adhered to.”

“Absolutely. Whatever you say. You won’t be sorry.”

He was already sorry. She was a beautiful woman under the worst of circumstances, but happiness actually made her glow. He was going to have to make sure that this association didn’t last long. “The first, and most important rule, is that there are no children allowed. I will not work with your son, teach him, talk to him, or see him. Is that understood?”

“Hmm. I think I got the message.”

He refused to be amused. “I hope so.”

She managed to control her smile, a fact for which Jeremy was absurdly grateful. “Secondly, you may ask any questions you wish, but I may choose not to answer. Certain areas are off-limits. If you push, I will refuse any association in the future.”

She nodded eagerly. “That sounds fair.”

For some reason, he didn’t believe her. But she’d find out he was serious soon enough if she tried to cross that line. Whatever problems Abby and her son faced, they weren’t nearly as important to him as protecting his past mistakes from prying eyes.

Jeremy returned to the pan and observed the mixture inside. “It is time for me to continue with the next step of my project. I’m afraid you’ll have to leave now.”

“Sure. No problem.” Now that she’d gotten what she’d come for, she seemed equally eager to depart. She’d headed toward the door, steps away from Jeremy’s returned peace of mind, when she stopped suddenly. “Can I ask you one more thing before I leave?”

Jeremy sighed. “Why not?”

Apparently missing his sarcasm, she pointed to the pan he’d been tending all morning. “What are you making there, anyway?”

He’d been so sure she wouldn’t ask. The fact that he’d miscalculated once again didn’t bode well for their limited future together. “I am making soap,” he admitted finally.

“Really?” She scanned the necessary chemicals, tools and molds, bewilderment and apprehension once again returning to her face. “I know you’re a supergenius and all, but you know you can buy that stuff at the store, right?”

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