THIRTY point NINE FIVE by Terry Winder

Copyright 2005

Disclaimer: I don't own them and my life would be so different if I did.

Synopsis: Another Steel and Vixen story. This is a sequel to Pie Squared

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Natasha slammed her textbook closed and flung it against the far wall. It hit the corner with a thud.

A loud thud.

If Grandma heard that, I am so dead. She listened for a moment for any stirring or approaching sounds of her grandmother or Uncle John. She breathed a sigh of relief when she didn't hear anyone coming up the stairs toward her bedroom.

If anyone was going to come up the steps, it would be her grandmother, not her uncle. He was probably in his lab working on his suit. Every time she thought he couldn't improve the armor he wore as Steel, he would add some small refinement that he said made him more effective or the suit lighter.

She glanced at the book on the floor and wished that she had Superman's heat vision or one of Uncle John's laser cannons. She'd give that book the sendoff it needed... the sendoff it deserved.

She sat on the edge of her bed and looking over her shoulder gazed down at her homework. Homework she saw no reason to do.

This is so stupid. I don't understand why I have to do this. When I deposit my first million dollars in the bank, they won't say, 'Sorry, Miss. We can only take your money if you can calculate pi cubed.' Yeah! Right!

She again looked at the textbook on the floor. She was disgusted with the book and with herself. The sciences and mathematics didn't come easy to her, not like it did for Uncle John. No, that 'smart' gene skipped her. She was pretty sure of that. Uncle John kept telling her she could do it, if she just applied herself, did the hard work and stopped always looking for the easy way out.

She sighed, got up, picked up her book and placed it on top of the homework papers on her bed. "After calculating pi to eight positions, use the resultant to solve the following equation..." She stopped and hissed, "Show your work." She hated mathematic theory. Why do I have to do this? This is why they invented calculators.

She was about to fling the book again when the phone rang.

Teddy.

She bounced off the bed and raced down the steps to the only phone in the house, the one in the hallway, calling out, "I got it. It's for me." 

Her grandmother had just come out of the kitchen and was about two feet away from the phone when Natasha leaped over the banister and literally grabbed the phone out of Grandma's hand. She smiled coyly at her grandmother as she said, "It's for me."

"Hmmm," Grandma answered as she turned and headed back to the kitchen. "In my day, a young lady wouldn't answer the phone herself. She wouldn't want to appear anxious. She'd ensure someone called her to the phone so the young gentleman on the other end would have to wait. Nope, a proper lady is called to the phone."

Natasha smiled. "Yes, ma'am." They probably didn't have phones when you were young.

Suddenly, her grandmother turned around and glared at Natasha. Sometimes Natasha wondered if Grandma was clairvoyant. Instead of confirming that they did indeed have telephones when she was a girl, her grandmother said, "Dinner is in fifteen minutes. John's girlfriend better hurry up and get here or we're going to start without her."

"Hold on a moment," Natasha said into the phone. She looked back at her grandmother as she covered the mouthpiece of the phone with her hand. "Grandma!" she said, with a little exasperation in her voice. "Uncle John says she's not his girlfriend and he's going to be real upset if you start dinner without Miss Macabe here. I mean, she's a fashion model for goodness sake. Can't we hold dinner for a few minutes 'til she gets here?"

Grandma cocked her head toward Natasha. Her expression was flat, her voice was sharp.

"Child, pork chops don't hold for anybody. Fifteen minutes. Besides, them uppity skinny fashion models don't eat nothing anyway. Go tell your uncle what I said."

"Yes, ma'am," Natasha answered. There was no need to try to tell Grandma that Miss Macabe was special. She wasn't going to be interested in that at all. Maybe Uncle John could make her see that Miss Macabe was worth waiting for because it's not everyday you get one of the world's top fashion models and super heroines to come to your house for dinner.

Natasha took a deep breath and said, "Hello?" into the phone.

"Hi, Nattie. Brooke here." Natasha frowned as Brooke continued. "Did you see Teddy with Michelle today in the library?"

No, it wasn't Teddy. It wasn't even a guy. Maybe Grandma is right. Maybe I shouldn't have answered the phone. It was her best friend, Brooke Harlan. And yes, she'd seen Teddy with Michelle. Everybody saw Teddy with Michelle. Everybody made a point of telling her that they saw Teddy with Michelle. Now, Brooke had to get her two cents in.

Teddy used to date Michelle, then they split up and Teddy started dating Natasha. Natasha knew Teddy still liked Michelle and that Michelle still liked him. Sometimes, Natasha felt that she was just filling in until Michelle and Teddy could get back together. She was sure he didn't mean to be cruel, but often when Teddy saw Michelle at school, he would literally forget Natasha existed. She really liked Teddy and it broke her heart a little more each time Teddy ignored her.

"Hi Brooke," she answered. "I can't talk now. We're going to have company in a few minutes and I gotta go. I'll call you later tonight." Without waiting for Brooke to say anything, Natasha hung up the phone. She sighed heavily.

Her grandmother yelled from the kitchen, "Natasha, what did I tell you to do?"

"Yes, ma'am. I'm on my way." Dealing with the Teddy 'problem' would have to wait.

Uncle John's lab was in a small building several blocks away from the house. Her uncle had installed a secret entrance in the basement from his home to the lab, which Natasha thought was really very cool. If she walked at a rapid clip, she could be at the lab in a couple of minutes or she could use the phone Uncle John had wired up. The problem was, once Uncle John got busy in the lab, he wouldn't answer the phone.

Natasha was just about to go in the basement when the doorbell rang. Teddy, to apologize, I bet. Well, I'm not accepting. At least not the first apology.

"I'll get it," she called back to the kitchen. Yeah, Teddy. Get ready to squirm.

She pursed her lips and made a tight frowning face. She would show Teddy how angry and hurt she really was.

She opened the door and her jaw dropped. It was Miss Macabe at the door. She is so beautiful. The woman standing at the door wore a simple black dress that was set off by a necklace of double strand of black pearls. Wow! She makes that look good!

Miss Macabe smiled and said, "Hi."

"Hi. You must be Miss Macabe," Natasha answered. Oh brilliant. She knows who she is. Tell her who you are. "I'm Natasha," she finally mumbled.

Miss Macabe's smile got bigger. "Why, hello Natasha. Your Uncle John speaks of you all the time." The woman stood outside for a few moments looking curiously at Natasha and then said, "It's a little cool out here. May I come in?"

Darn Nattie, are you stupid? "Oh, I'm so sorry. Please. Come in. You look just your pictures." She stepped aside and let Miss Macabe enter.

Miss Macabe gave a short laugh. "That's kind of you to say," she said. "But I think most of us look like our pictures." She paused before adding, "Still, that's the nicest thing anyone has said to me in quite a while."

Natasha smiled as she offered Miss Macabe a seat in the living room. When Miss Macabe sat down, Nattie said, "Uncle John is working in his lab. I was just about to go get him. I'll be right back."

Miss Macabe stood. "May I come along? I've never seen his lab."

Nattie frowned then smiled again. "Well, Uncle John doesn't like people in his lab, but I don't think he'll mind if I bring you along." Nattie looked down at Miss Macabe's shoes. "It's a little bit of a walk. It might be tough in heels."

Miss Macabe smirked. "It will be okay. I've been known to get around quite well in heels. And if John does mind, I'll handle it."

Natasha nodded and decided that she liked Miss Macabe. A lot. This might be a fun evening after all. And it would certainly get her mind off Teddy.

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The lab hadn't changed much over the years since Uncle John first created his suit. The place was warm from the roaring fire of his smelting furnace. Uncle John is always working on his suit.

Nattie and Miss Macabe entered the lab and found Uncle John bent over the suit of armor that was laid out on a table in front of him. He had his back to the lab entrance.

"Uncle John," Nattie called out. "Dinner's ready."

He kept his back to her as he answered. "Okay, is Miss Macabe here yet? Give me a shout when she arrives. I'll need to clean up a bit first."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about it," Miss Macabe said. "I'm sure she'll be happy with the way you look right now."

Nattie grinned as Uncle John lowered his head and sighed loudly. He rubbed the back of his neck and slowly turned around to see Nattie and Miss Macabe smiling at him.

"It's not her fault," Miss Macabe said as she walked into the lab. "Natasha didn't want me to come with her, but I overpowered her and after a tough battle won out." She looked at Nattie and winked.

"Grandma said dinner would be ready in fifteen minutes," Nattie said. "But that was ten minutes ago."

Uncle John nodded. "Okay, I'll escort Miss Macabe back to the house. You help your grandmother." He stood next to Miss Macabe and with his hand made a waving motion toward Natasha.

Nattie frowned. "Uncle John, you know Grandma. She doesn't want or need any help. I'll go back with you."

Uncle John's tone changed sharply. He cleared his throat. "Young lady, don't you have some place you should be? Maybe like doing your homework?"

"Homework? Five minutes before dinner?" Nattie paused and then smirked at Uncle John while Miss Macabe watched with an air of amusement on her face. "Oh, I get it now. You want to be alone. Why didn't you say so?"

Before Uncle John could answer, Miss Macabe laughed. "Why don't we all see what your grandmother has fixed for dinner?"

Both Uncle John and Nattie chorused, "Pork chops!"

Miss Macabe smiled. "My favorite."

"No wonder Uncle John likes you," Nattie said as she headed for the door just ahead of Miss Macabe and her uncle. Behind her, she thought she heard her uncle growl.

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Nattie thought Grandma was in rare form tonight. Dinner was good, but Miss Macabe was better. She had Grandma laughing and even Uncle John chuckled which was something he didn't do often enough. When Miss Macabe told Grandma that her pork chops were better than those she'd had in some of the finest European restaurants, Nattie thought Grandma would burst.

Grandma pointed at Miss Macabe and said, "John, she's a keeper." Nattie and Miss Macabe laughed while Uncle John just hung his head, shaking it.

After dinner, Miss Macabe looked at Grandma and said, "May I help you with the dishes?"

"Certainly child," Grandma replied. "You can dry."

"Wait a minute," Uncle John said. "She's a guest. You can't ask her to wash dishes."

Grandma glared at Uncle John. "She's not washing the dishes. You are. She's going to dry. Leave the pots for me to do in the morning. Matlock is on and I don't miss Matlock for anybody. "

Nattie and Miss Macabe laughed. Nattie could see that Uncle John was embarrassed. He turned toward Nattie and asked, "Have you finished your homework yet?"

Natasha lowered her head. Knew that was coming, didn't you, girlfriend. "All except my math theory," she said weakly. Then her face brightened. Miss Macabe.

She looked at Miss Macabe and said, "I bet you don't use math theory, do you? I mean you're rich and everything and I bet you have plenty of people who ..."

Miss Macabe interrupted her. "Yes, I have professional people who manage things for me, but how will I know if they're telling me the truth if I don't know what they know? Just remember, Natasha, without the theory, you're not a mathematician, you're a numerologist."

Nattie's jaw dropped. Uncle John looked at Miss Macabe and smiled as wide as Nattie could ever remember him smiling.

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John shook his head. Leave it to Grandma to set the stage for a romantic evening... a sink full of dirty dishes and a beautiful woman to dry them. He was sure Mari hadn't planned on spending any time in a kitchen when she agreed to come over to his house for dinner. Not the way she's dressed. He'd wanted to spend some time with her and used the excuse of Nattie meeting one of her idols as a reason for her to come over. But he was confident that she had seen through that ruse and came over because she'd wanted to spend time with him. It was nice to know that she was such a warm and down to earth person. Grandma was right. Mari was a 'keeper.'

For no apparent reason, Mari suddenly laughed as she took the last dish from John and started to wipe it dry with a dishtowel.

"I want you to know," she said. "This ranks as one of the best evenings I've had in a long time."

John smirked. "Yeah. When John Irons invites you to dinner, be prepared to do the dishes or floors or whatever else Grandma needs done so she doesn't miss Matlock."

She laughed again. "No, I mean it. I had fun tonight and I haven't had much fun lately."

John lowered his head and leaned back against the sink. "I heard about you and Green Lantern. Sorry."

She said nothing as she put the dried plate in the dish rack. Sore subject. Smart move, Romeo. She turned and leaned back against the sink and smiled weakly. Change the subject -now!

He turned, let the water out of the sink, then turned back to face her. "That was a great thing you said to Nattie earlier this evening. Thanks. I really appreciated it."

Mari's eyes widened. "What? You mean about knowing what others know. You sound like you're surprised that I would say something like that. I'm not stupid you know, although some people treat me as if they think I'm dumb."

Uh oh. That shot, Mister Irons, was intended for Green Lantern. Now ignore it. Drop, roll and cover. John smiled gently and said in a voice so soft it was almost a whisper, "I'm not surprised at all. And for the record, I have never thought of you as stupid or dumb. I'm just pleased because you said what I've been saying to her for years. The difference is she seemed like she listened to you. That was what made it great."

Mari didn't say anything. After a few moments, she looked up at John and smiled. "Thanks." She cleared her throat. "So, what's on the menu now that we've finished the dishes?"

John pointed to the kitchen back door. "Well, if you're up to it, we could take out the garbage. Never let it be said that I don't know how to treat a lady." She laughed again and he thought to himself that the sound of her laughter made him happy. She should laugh more. "We could go and get some dessert?"

She tilted her head to one side and slid a little closer to him. "You know, I have a container of Bob & Terry's chocolate fudge ice cream back at my place that is just begging to be opened. How do you feel about chocolate?"

John's mind raced. So many ways to answer that and all of them will get me slapped. He smiled back. "It's one of my favorite flavors." Aw, hell. Just go for it.

"You know," he said as he turned toward her. "I've been told I'm a pretty good cook. How do you feel about scrambled eggs for breakfast?"

Her eyes widened. Then she lowered her head as her smile faded. Uh oh.

"John," she said softly. "That is so sweet. Thank you, I really mean it." She paused as she looked up into his eyes. "But...but it's just too soon for that. I mean...for me." She slowly shook her head. "I don't want to do to you what I allowed to happen to me."

There was sadness on his face and he knew it showed. He'd been around long enough to know that when a woman started a sentence with "that is so sweet;" well, the word 'yes' was generally not even in the neighborhood.

Her rejection didn't bother him as much as the fact that she was clearly still hurting from her recent breakup. She needed a friend. And at the moment, John decided he could be that friend.

She sighed as she hung her head before adding, "It wouldn't be fair...to either of us."

He gently placed two fingers under her chin and lifted her head so that he looked into her eyes. "You're right. It wouldn't be fair, but I want you to know that I can be fair...if you'll let me." He paused before adding, "You know, I can fix those eggs for dinner one evening if you'd like. They'll taste just as good and I'll even do the dishes."

She chuckled. Good! She's smiling again.

He returned the grin. "Now, a moment ago you'd talked about dessert at your place. Are we still a go for that?"

She nodded, slowly widening her smile, her eyes brightening in amusement. "We're still a go."

As they walked toward the front door, John looked forward to spending time with Mari and hoped that one day, when she was ready; he'd get to serve her those eggs for breakfast.

One day.

When she was ready.

END