Right Place, Right Time

It didn't take long before she found the very small wedding party. Or, more accurately, the renewal party. The treelined path she was on provided her the opportunity to watch from far enough away that she wasn't noticed, but to get close enough to see and hear what was going on.

She'd arrived just before the exchange of vows, or whatever that was called in this case, and as she listened to the husband telling his wife that he'd marry her a thousand times over, she couldn't help but tear up. Neither of them had retained their youthful beauty, and yet that seemed to make no difference to either one of them. They'd loved one another for all those years, and as age took its toll, both of them saw the same, beautiful person they'd fallen in love with so many years ago.

And as she listened, Kristen couldn't help but think that was the one thing she wanted in life more than any other, unless having a baby was separate from that kind of love. Feeling guilty for eavesdropping, she slowly moved away from her hiding place and continued down the path.

She hadn't gone ten steps when she heard a woman cry out in pain. The sound stopped her dead in her tracks, and when she turned toward the source of the sound, she saw a very pregnant woman bent over and Aaron bending down to see what was wrong.

And then, as plain as day, Kristen heard her shriek, "My water broke!"

Concern won out over her guilt, and Kristen ran toward them.

"I'll call 911," she heard the husband, say.

Aaron, who was tending to the pregnant woman, saw Kristen.

"I...I was walking by and I heard her scream. Can I help?"

"Are you a doctor?" the pregnant woman asked, who was now sitting on the ground.

"No, but she was married to one," Aaron quipped before introducing them.

"Kristen...whatever your last name is now...this is my sister, Ginger Corbett. Ginger, this is the woman I was just telling you about."

Ginger, who was otherwise doing okay, looked up at Kristen and said, "My current condition aside, it's a pleasure meeting you. You made quite the impression on my little brother."

Kristen had wanted to laugh at his comment about her having been married to a doctor, but she'd been too afraid for this woman she didn't know. She now knew her name was Ginger, and she felt reasonably confident she was in no immediate, life-threatening danger.

"An ambulance is on the way," the older man said as he looked over and noticed Kristen.

Aaron reintroduced her then introduced his parents to her.

"This good-looking guy is my father, Marvin Corbett, and the beautiful woman next to him is my mother, Sally Corbett."

Aaron paused then said as though it was a scandalous secret, "My dad finally decided to make an honest woman out of my mom and just married her."

His mom laughed then stuck out her hand.

"Pay him no mind. Aaron is always like that," Sally told her.

"That's because he always has his razor soup for breakfast," Marvin added as he shook her hand.

Kristen hadn't heard that one, and it took Aaron to explain.

"Razor soup. That's why I'm so...sharp. You know...witty."

Kristen 'got it' then rolled her eyes and laughed yet again.

"Well, my brother is witty alright. By half," Ginger said, not to be outdone by her family.

Kristen got the 'halfwit' reference immediately and laughed some more.

"I think I've laughed more in the last two minutes than I have in the last year," she told them.

"Hey, wait a gol-durned minute! You laughed several times when we were talking earlier," Aaron said, trying to sound like he was he deeply offended.

That only caused Kristen to laugh some more and admit he was right just before Ginger grabbed her massive stomach and said, "Ooohhh!"

"This baby's coming today," Ginger said as she took a deep breath.

"I'll be right back, okay, sis?" Aaron said. He'd been holding her hand but let go and motioned to Kristen.

They walked a few steps then Aaron quietly asked, "Is she gonna be okay?" as though she really was a doctor.

"I can't say for sure, but I think so. I don't see any bleeding or anything abnormal. With help on the way, I see no reason to worry."

Aaron glanced over at his sister then said, "My family's everything to me. My sister's boyfriend dumped her when he found out she was pregnant, and she and I have been best friends since, well, since I got out of high school. If anything happened to her..."

The guy who ate razor soup every morning for breakfast was clearly more than just a little concerned.

"Hey. Everything's going to be okay," Kristen told him as she gently touched his forearm.

Aaron turned back her way, smiled, then said, "You know, I'm really glad you're here."

He was genuinely serious this time, and Kristen told him just as sincerely, "I'm glad I could be here."

The sound of an approaching siren filled the air, and continued growing louder by the second until everyone saw the ambulance on the paved path Kristen had just used.

Within two minutes, the EMTs had assessed the situation, called ahead, and loaded Ginger into the ambulance.

"We can only take two of you," the head of the EMT crew told them.

"You go ahead," Aaron told his mom and dad. "I'll jump in my car and meet you at the hospital."

"Okay. We'll have to come back for our car later, but that's the least of our worries right now," Marvin said as he helped his wife get in.

"I'm happy to help," Kristen told him. "I could drive it there for you if you like."

"We couldn't ask you to do that," Marvin told her.

"No. I'm happy to. Aaron's driving his car, and I can save you a trip," Kristen insisted.

"And I'll bring her back for her car later on," Aaron offered as he looked to Kristen for her approval.

With no time to debate the issue, when Marvin saw her nod, he handed this stranger his keys then got in, and as the ambulance pulled away, Aaron asked Kristen to come with him.

"Just please don't run," Kristen told him as they headed off.

"I won't," Aaron assured her. "There's nothing more I can do now, anyway."

"I used to work out 4-5 days a week, but I haven't done much of anything the last year, until just recently, and I might need an ambulance myself if you make me run," she told him.

"How can you possibly be so skinny if you don't work out?" Aaron asked before realizing that didn't sound right.

"Sorry. I don't mean 'skinny'. It's just that you're...rather slight of build," he said with a smile.

"Not eating will do that to you," Kristen told him, trying not to sound too pathetic.

"You need to join us for a family dinner. I promise you you'll eat there," Aaron told her, the smile still on his face.

"I'm sure that's true, but the key word there was 'family', and I don't exactly qualify," Kristen told him. "But that sounds very nice."

"Hey, after helping out like this, that's close enough, so it's settled. You're coming to dinner with us this Sunday. Unless Ginger's still in the hospital. And since this is Tuesday, that seems very unlikely, right?"

"No. Right. There's no reason she should be there more than two days unless they have to do a C-section," Kristen replied, ignoring the invitation as mere politeness as they arrived at the parking lot.

"Can you hit the red button on my dad's fob?" Aaron asked. "I wasn't with him when he parked the car.

Kristen hit it and once they heard the chirp, Aaron spotted the vehicle.

"Oh, okay. I see it. They're pretty close to where I parked."

"Anything unusual about your father's car?" she asked once the door was open.

Without missing a beat, Aaron looked at her feet then said, "Nope. Just stick your feet through the holes in the floor and start pedaling...Wilma."

Again, it took her a second to realize what this joke meant, but as she pictured Fred Flintstone 'driving' his car with his feet, she couldn't help but laugh.

"You never stop, do you?" she asked with a happy smile on her face.

"I do," Aaron told her very seriously. "I mean, I fall asleep pretty much every night, so...yeah."

Kristen shook her head then got in when Aaron said, "Oh, wow. I just realized I didn't ask which hospital."

"It has to be Legacy," she told him. "It's the closest one to the park, and...it's also where my ex-husband works."

As if on cue, Aaron stood up straight, stuck his arms out like a robot and said, "Yes. This baby has reached its maximum allowable gestation time in the womb. I shall remove it."

Aaron was so completely different from the always-formal, always-to-the-point ex-husband she'd just divorced, that she found herself genuinely enjoying his company.

"You goof!" she said with another laugh. "Do you know the way or do you want to follow me?"

"I better follow you, because the only way I know is..."

He pretended to be holding a microphone and sang, "The way to San Jose. I'm going back to find some peace of mind in San Jose!" very theatrically. And in tune.

"Okay, okay! Enough!" Kristen said as she tried to stop laughing. "Oh, and not bad on the singing."

"Well thank you. Thank you very much," Aaron replied, as he curled his lip and goofed on Elvis.

Kristen shook her head as she continued laughing then started getting familiar with the console.

"All set?" Aaron asked after a few seconds.

"I think so," she told him as she hit the start button and brought the Cadillac STS to life.

"I'll follow you if that's okay," he told her.

"Yes, because they only way you know is to..."

He struck another pose and Kristen said, "No. Don't you dare!"

Aaron put on a 'hurt puppy dog' look then said, "Fine. Have it your way."

As she watched him walk away to start his car, Kristen realized she'd completely forgotten the reason she'd come to the park. She also realized she felt happy for the first time in over a year, and although she wasn't sure she could sustain the feeling for very long, it was a wonderful change from the sullen, gloomy mood she'd been in the last 12 months.

Less than 15 minutes later, Aaron pulled his car in next to the Caddy then got out and ran over to open the door for Kristen who was just picking up her purse. She didn't see him run over, and when she turned to open the door she let out a small yelp.

"You scared the...heck out of me!" she said as Aaron opened the door.

"Sorry. I left the paper bag in the car," he told her so seriously she didn't get that one at all for several seconds.

When she realized he meant the one to 'cover his head', she made a spurting noise and laughed.

"You are so what the doctor ordered," she told him as they headed inside.

"Yeah, I'm good for what ails ya," Aaron agreed, again deadpanning the delivery.

Kristen only cut her eyes his way and kind of tilted her head and managed not to laugh as they approached the door. When the did, Aaron moved ahead of her and pulled it open.

"M'lady," he said as he bowed when she walked by.

She tried not to even smile but couldn't help it.

"Idiot," she playfully said as he caught up with her.

"That's the nicest thing you've ever called me," he said as though it was a serious compliment.

"I'm not sure if I envy or pity your future wife," she told him as they headed toward the front desk.

"I really do have a serious side," Aaron quietly said. "I just think life's too short to spend it being serious all the time."

Kristen suddenly felt very confused, but as they got within a few feet of the nurses station, she attributed it to being back here, a place she'd been to many times before. She was hoping against hope not to run into anyone she knew, but her hope, and whatever she'd been feeling, disappeared when a heavyset nurse noticed her.

"Kristen! What a pleasant surprise!" the woman said as she came around to hug her.

"Ruth! How are you?" Kristen asked as they hugged.

"Oh, you know me. Fat as always," Ruth said.

Aaron chuckled immediately while Kristen's eyes just opened wide before remembering that 'Ruthie' was a lot like Aaron in that sense.

Before she could ask where her sister was, Ruth looked over at Aaron and said to Kristen, "Who's the new boyfriend?"

Even more surprised than she'd been over the 'fat' comment, Kristen was speechless as the middle-aged nurse said, "He's a cutie-patootie!"

She started to speak when Aaron put his arm around her shoulder and smiled at Ruth as he said, "Did you hear that, honey? She thinks I'm cute!"

Kristen looked at Ruth who was positively beaming at Aaron, then looked at him. He wiggled his eyebrows at her and when he did, Kristen said, "I'm in hell. I'm in Comedy Central hell!"

Ruth stopped smiling and gave Aaron a 'what did that mean' look, and he just shrugged his shoulders before leaning across Kristen and whispering (loudly enough for her to hear), "I think it's that time of the month. You know."

Ruth was starting to nod when Kristen delivered a hard, sharp elbow to Aaron's rib cage.

He gasped, let go of her shoulder, then wheezed, "Yep. It's that time, all right," as he began rubbing his side.

"We're looking for his sister," Kristen finally told Ruth, who was now completely confused.

"Oh. Okay. What's your boyfriend's last name, hon?" she asked as she turned around.

"He's not my..."

"Corbett. And my sister's name is Ginger," Aaron blurted out.

"Unbelievable," Kristen mumbled as Ruth hit a couple of keys on her computer's keyboard.

"Ah. Here we are. Okay. Yes, she was brought it about 12 minutes ago. I still show her in the ER, so you can go check on her there."

She looked at Aaron then reminded Kristen she might not be able to go in because of the 'family only' policy.

"Guess I'm gonna have to marry this little woman," he told the nurse with a goofy smile. As he went to put her arm around her again, Kristen gave him another shot that shut him up.

"Thanks, Ruth!" she said as she grabbed Aaron's arm and drug him away.

"You hit me in the same spot!" he complained as he pulled his arm away to continue rubbing his aching side.

"Marry the little woman? Seriously?" she asked as they followed the signs to the ER.

"Yeah, sorry. I guess that's gonna have to wait until after we have family dinner together, huh?" Aaron said very seriously even as he protected his sore side with his arm the best he could.

As she gave him 'the eye' and tried not to laugh, she realized Ruth was right. Aaron was a 'cutie patootie."

She couldn't be sure, but he looked to be close to six-feet tall and had very dark-brown hair and hazel-colored eyes that were almost...pretty. When he smiled at her she noticed he had very full lips and a great smile, and only when he said, "Are you upset?" did she realize she'd been staring as they walked.

"Oh. No. Not at all. Of course not," she told him as they turned left and she nearly ran into him.

"If my over-the-top humor is too much, just tell me. I can tone it down," he told her, this time being very serious.

"No. Don't do that. Just be yourself, okay?" she replied as they saw the front desk of the ER at the end of the hallway.

Now it was Aaron who was mentally 'sizing her up' as they walked. He hadn't had any real thoughts about her one way or the other since he interrupted her daydreaming at the park beyond her being pleasant to talk to. He was just a very friendly, people-person who saw someone sitting alone and decided to strike up a conversation.

But the more time he spent with her, the more attractive she became to him. She certainly wasn't un-attractive. She just wasn't the kind of woman who turned every head in a room. And even though he was only 27, he'd learned over the years that some of the nicest women he'd ever met weren't the most beautiful. He'd never dated one, but there was someone very different about this older woman that he couldn't explain.

He'd also learned that there were women who had a kind of understated beauty he found extremely attractive, and as he glanced over at Kristen, he found himself seeing her like that for the first time.

"May I help you?" another nurse said as they stepped up to the desk.

Aaron explained who he was then asked about his sister.

Unlike Ruth, this woman was all business. She didn't smile or say another word until she found the name she was looking for.

"She's being transferred upstairs to OB-GYN," the stony-faced woman replied.

"Thank you?" Aaron said as he looked at Kristen who smiled back understandingly.

It was a different kind of smile, and it caused a kind of stirring Aaron hadn't expected. He also realized that he was staring, so to downplay it, he turned around, and once Kristen did, he went into the robot routine, this time mocking the no-nonsense RN.

"The patient's condition is sufficiently stable to permit transferring her to the OB-GYN ward!"

Kristen not only laughed again, but she put her arms out and tried doing it, too.

"I know someone who works up there who would be a perfect match for her!"

Aaron laughed, but mostly out of politeness as Kristen was clearly out of her element. But the fact that she felt comfortable enough to do something he felt sure she would never otherwise do made him like her even more.

He put his arm around her again as he laughed then said, "You're alright. You may not have to wait 'til after the clan gives their approval."

"Oh, really? Gee, lucky me," she replied, trying to play along.

Aaron tried doing a very hick accent as he replied.

"Oh, it is. Yeah, you'd be the first filly to hitch yer wagon to the Corbett Clan without havin' her teeth checked by three of the men folk."

She tried not to laugh again, but couldn't help it. She did pull away from him and look down at his other side, though.

"Whoa! Stop! Please don't do that. I promise I'll be good!" Aaron told her as he moved further away and held his hands up.

"Yeah, right," Kristen pretended to say under her breath before Aaron laughed and moved closer again.

She had no idea why she did it, but she slipped her arm under his and when she did, Aaron immediately took her hand and held it as they walked along in silence until they got to the elevator.

"Sorry," she said when he went to hit the 'up' button forcing her to let go of his hand.

He punched it then smiled at her and said, "Me, too," as seriously as he'd said anything else.

She understood that me meant he was sorry to have to let go of her hand, and that realization caused her to break eye contact and look down at the floor just as the elevator dinged, signaling its arrival.

"Are you concerned about running into your ex?" Aaron asked without any trace of humor.

Without looking at him for fear he'd know what she was thinking, she said, "I was," as the shiny, metal doors opened.

She didn't need to look at him. Aaron knew what she meant, or at least he felt pretty sure that's what she meant just as the elevator dinged again.

She saw him looking around and asked what he was doing.

"Sorry. I was looking to see the make and model."

Her confused look prompted him to say, "I repair elevators."

Kristen realized someone had to maintain and repair them, but until just then that thought had never once even crossed her mind.

"Yeah, I come from a long line of elevator men," he said, doing his best imitation of Don Knotts from the Andy Griffith Show.

Kristen shook her head but couldn't help laughing again just as the bell dinged again.

"We have arrived," she said as the door opened.

On the way down the hall, they passed the newborn area, and Aaron saw Kristen looking.

"You wanna stop?" he asked.

"Oh. No. We need to check on your sister," she said even though she really wanted to check out the precious little bundles of joy all swaddled in blue or pink.

"We have time," Aaron said as he looked right at her. "Come on."

As Kristen 'oohed and aahed' at nearly every baby she saw, he spent his time watching her.