Ryder was in an unusually good mood when he walked into the kitchen Tuesday afternoon. It was a little after two and Bethany was experimenting with a new green smoothie recipe.

“What are you making?” he asked as she flipped the blender switch on.

“I’m trying a new smoothie recipe. I’ve been making these green drinks for my mother. She’s coming in tonight for music bingo with her friends and I wanted to have this for her. All her friends will be drinking alcohol. But this is much better for her.”

“Can I try a taste?”

“Sure.” She poured the smoothie into two plastic cups and handed one to him. He took a sip and looked surprised.

“This isn’t bad at all. I thought it might be awful.”

Bethany laughed. “I don’t do awful. But it’s missing one key ingredient. I couldn’t find lemongrass anywhere in Quinn Valley.”

“Lemongrass, Hmmm. Let me think about that. It still tastes good without it.”

“It does. But the lemongrass is a known cancer fighter and immune booster.”

“I’ll keep an eye out for some for you.”

“Thank you.”

“So, on another note, I just wanted to share that our receipts were up by over thirty percent this weekend. The coupons were a hit and the chocolate cake gives us a huge profit margin. That was a good call.”

Bethany smiled. “Thanks. I’m glad to hear it.”

“Well, I’m off to the bank and to run some errands. I’ll be back before the dinner rush.”

Bethany watched him go and was glad to see him in such a good mood. He seemed a little more relaxed than usual and she guessed that he’d been carrying around a lot of stress, worrying about the restaurant’s financial situation.

“That’s the first time I’ve seen Ryder smile like that in ages,” Tom said. He was busy prepping pot pies and had overheard their conversation. “It was busier than it’s been in a long time last night. I have to say, I much prefer working with you over Gary any day.”

“Thanks, that’s nice to hear.” She liked Tom. He was young, but he was a talented cook and had some fun suggestions for their menu too.

“Your food is much better than his and you’re a lot nicer too. Gary was never interested in any of my ideas.”

An order came into the kitchen which got his attention and he wandered off to the computer to see what it was. Bethany finished her smoothie and started thinking about the night’s specials.

A little past four, Ryder came back into the kitchen holding a small plastic bag and wearing a smile. He handed the bag to Bethany. She peeked inside and her jaw dropped. It was filled with fresh lemongrass.

“Where did you find this?”

“Carter has an extensive herb garden as well as produce. I totally forgot to mention it to you, but he has everything you could imagine and said he could keep you well stocked with lemongrass if you want it.”

Bethany felt her eyes water, she was overcome with gratitude and emotion. It was such a sweet, thoughtful gesture.

She nodded. “I’d love that. Thank you.”

“Maybe you should try adding that smoothie as a special. People are really into nutrition these days, it might be a decent seller.”

“It might. That’s a great idea. Oh, and Ryder I’m joining my mother and her friends for music bingo when I finish up here. Jill is coming too. Would you like to join us?”

He looked surprised and pleased by the invitation. “I just might. Thanks.”

At a quarter past seven, Bethany hung up her chef coat, fluffed her hair, and carried her mother’s lemongrass kissed smoothie out to her table. They were sitting at a big round table. Bethany sat next to her mother and Jill was on the other side of her. Her mother’s friends Glenda and Janie were also there, and they were all sharing a piece of the chocolate cake. Bethany smiled when she saw it.

“Hi honey,” her mother said as she dug her fork into the cake. Bethany set her smoothie down and waved to Ryder who was looking around the room. When he reached their table, he sat in the empty seat beside her.

“Are you playing with us? We’ll be unstoppable!” her mother exclaimed. She looked excited to be out and happy to see Ryder.

“Ryder found the lemongrass for your smoothie, mom,” Bethany told her.

“Did you? Well, isn’t that impressive? Thank you.” She took a sip and pushed it toward Bethany. “Have you tried it? This is your best yet.”

“I had some earlier. I’ll take a bite of that cake though.” She had a mouthful of chocolate cake when Ivy came over to get her drink order.

“I’ll have that new draft IPA and I’m guessing Bethany wants a chardonnay?” Ryder said.

Bethany nodded, her mouth still full of cake. A moment later she thanked him.

They spent the next few hours laughing and trying to win at music bingo. It wasn’t as easy as it seemed. Too often they all knew the song but none of them could remember the name of it. But somehow they managed to come in second. Her mother was just as thrilled as if they’d won first place.

Bethany suspected she was just happy to be out with her friends and glad to be feeling better. Her blonde hair was like peach fuzz, just starting to grow back. She left her head bare around the house, but when they went out, she usually wore a pretty scarf or a hat, or sometimes both. Tonight she had on a pink baseball cap and it made her look younger than her fifty-five years.

“That was so fun,” she said as they paid their bill and got ready to leave. Glenda, Janie and Jill said their goodbyes and left. Bethany’s mom wanted to use the ladies room first, so they waited for her to return and then Ryder walked them out. When they reached her mother’s car, she suddenly slumped against it and grabbed Bethany’s arm in a panic.

“Honey, I feel really funny all of a sudden.” She went limp as Bethany grabbed hold of her to prevent her from falling.

“Did she faint?” Ryder asked.

“Yes, I’m not sure what’s going on.”

“Hold tight. I’ll drive my car over and we can bring her to the ER.”

Her mother was already starting to stir when Ryder pulled up. He jumped out and helped Bethany to get her into the back seat. They laid her down, so she wouldn’t fall over if she fainted again.

Bethany got into the passenger seat and Ryder drove off toward the Riston hospital. It was on the outskirts of town, near the Quinn Valley line and there was no traffic so it took them less than twenty minutes to get there.

“Has she ever done this before?” Ryder asked as he pulled up to the front door and helped Bethany to get her mother out and into a wheelchair. There were a row of them, waiting outside for those who were too weak to walk.

“Yes, once, right after she started chemo. It knocked her socks off and she ended up in the ER. Her red blood cell count was low as a side effect of the treatment.”

Bethany told the triage nurse about her mother’s history and that she’d fainted before. They brought her right in and started running tests. Bethany and Ryder stayed with her in her area that had curtains for walls. Her mother was awake now, but weak and sleepy. She drifted off to sleep while they waited for the doctor to come.

When he walked over, both Bethany and Ryder recognized him. They’d graduated high school with Kevin Murphy. He’d been the class valedictorian and Bethany relaxed a little, knowing that her mother was in good hands.

“Hey, I know you two!” Kevin smiled and tried to put them both at ease. “Sorry to be running into you under this kind of circumstance though. What brings you all in?”

Since her mother was asleep, Bethany explained what had happened and her mother’s history. “She’s all done with treatments, both radiation and chemotherapy and we’re hopeful that it’s worked. But, this doesn’t seem like a good sign, does it?” Bethany bit her lip. She’d been worried sick the whole way there.

“Not necessarily. I see this often. It could just be a delayed reaction to the chemo. Your mom might be a little anemic again. We will get to the bottom of it though. We’re going to run a bunch of tests and then figure out our next step. Sound good?”

“Thank you.” Bethany stretched and glanced at her mother who was still sound asleep. Ryder reached out and massaged the back of her neck, kneading the tight muscles. It felt absolutely wonderful. She knew she’d been carrying a lot of tension there.

“Don’t worry. Your mother’s going to be fine. I know it.”

Bethany forced a smile. “I feel better now that we’re here. And she has Kevin for a doctor! Did you know he was a doctor?”

“I think I heard that years ago. It makes sense. He was always the smartest guy I knew.”

“He was.” She yawned and looked at the clock. It was already nine-thirty. “You don’t have to wait with us, Ryder. We can get a cab home. It’s probably going to be awhile.”

“I’m not going anywhere. Except down to the cafeteria to get a coffee. Do you want one?”

“I’d love a hot chocolate, actually.”

“You got it.”

While he was gone, nurses and other medical people were in and out of the room, checking her mother’s vital signs, drawing blood, and putting an IV in. Her mother woke up again briefly and fell fast asleep again once they were done poking and prodding her. By the time Ryder returned with her hot chocolate, the room was quiet again.

“Do you remember that time I broke my leg?” he asked as he settled back into his chair.

“Of course I remember.” He broke it playing football during his senior year.

“You stayed with me the entire time in the hospital. I never forgot that.” He looked around the room. “It’s scary being here when something happens. Your mom could use the extra support.”

“Thank you.” Bethany took the top off her hot chocolate and blew on it to cool it a little. She took a tentative sip. It was still too hot to drink. She thought back to that day when she’d come to this hospital with Ryder. It had been terrifying for both of them. It had happened so fast, a normal play that had dangerous consequences.

He’d been rushed to the hospital and no one knew how bad it was at first as he’d passed out too, knocked unconscious. Bethany’s mind had imagined the worst, brain damage, paralysis. When the doctor told them the verdict, a broken leg, they were all so relieved. His mother had cried happy tears. And Ryder had been so cranky. All he knew was that he was in a lot of pain and his football year was over.

It had brought them closer together though as they spent even more time together once he wasn’t going to football practice or games every week. She’d helped him to carry his books and they spent every afternoon together. It was nice to feel needed and useful. And loved. It was soon after the accident when Ryder first told her that he loved her and couldn’t imagine not having her in his life.

He’d gotten so serious quickly after that and wanted to get engaged as soon as they both graduated from high school. Her mother was hesitant but supportive if that’s what Bethany wanted to do. She knew then that she loved Ryder more than she’d imagined she could love anyone, but she also knew just as strongly that at nineteen she was too young to get married.

She’d told him then that she might be open to getting engaged but that it would be years before she’d be ready to get married. He was heading off to college and she still had culinary school to go to, and she knew she needed to work her way up in good restaurants where she’d have opportunities to learn from the best in the business. Waiting to get married seemed perfectly sensible to her.

But Ryder had felt very differently. He thought she was being selfish and that she obviously just didn’t love him enough. She tried to explain over and over again but it fell on deaf ears. They were both upset and heartbroken at the time, but she knew now that he just wasn’t mature enough to understand why she had to go and that it had nothing to do with not loving him.

“What are you thinking about?” Ryder asked softly.

She smiled. “Just remembering our senior year, your accident. It was awful but I think it brought us together more too.”

“It did. You helped me get through a hard time. That’s when I knew I was falling in love with you. And it’s why it was so hard when you left,” he added.

“I know. It was really hard leaving you too. You bounced back quickly enough though,” she said.

His eyes narrowed. “What do you mean by that?”

“Well, I heard you started dating Natalie a week after I left for school.”

He sighed. “We didn’t date long. Natalie is a great girl, but she wasn’t you. After I took her out a few times, I didn’t date anyone for months.”

“I saw her chatting with you at the bar last week. And I heard she’s divorced now. You could have your second chance,” she teased.

He stared at her intently for a moment and then shook his head. “I’m still not interested in Natalie.”

Bethany wasn’t sure what to say to that so she just sipped her hot chocolate.

“What about you? Is there anyone waiting for you in Manhattan?” Ryder asked casually.

The question made her laugh. “No. Hardly. I’ve had a few relationships over the years, but never anything long-term or serious. It’s hard in our business, with the hours we work. I mostly dated other chefs or bartenders.”

Kevin walked back over to them, carrying his clipboard and test results.

“So, we’ve run our tests and as I suspected, it looks like your mother is a little anemic. We’re going to give her a blood transfusion which takes a few hours and then you’ll be able to take her home soon after that. There’s a waiting room if you want to relax and watch some TV while we give her the treatment.

Bethany watched as they wheeled her mother to the treatment room and then followed Ryder to the waiting room. There was a comedy playing, and they settled on the sofa to watch and wait. They chatted for a bit then got lost in the movie. Bethany felt her eyes grow heavy about half-way through and woke up a while later feeling disoriented. She was leaning against Ryder and his arm was around her. She sat up and looked at the time. Several hours had passed. Ryder was asleep too and stirred when she moved. She settled back against him and closed her eyes.

An hour or so later, Ryder was gently shaking her awake. “Bethany, your mother is all done. It’s time to take her home.”

Her mother was more awake than both of them when they returned to her area of the ER. Kevin was there going over her discharge orders.

“You should feel a lot better after this and have more energy. All of your other data was very good.” He looked at Bethany. “Her white blood cell counts were actually improved by a lot. Whatever you’re doing, keep it up.”

An aide brought the wheelchair for her mother and she sniffed at it. “I don’t need that thing. I’m perfectly capable of walking.”

Kevin smiled at her. “Of course you are. But consider it part of the service. Save your strength for getting well.”

“All right then.” She eased herself into the wheelchair and Ryder wheeled her out to his car. They got her settled in the backseat and headed home. When they reached the house, Bethany and Ryder walked her mother inside.

“Ryder, thank you so much,” her mother said and then surprised him with a hug. “I always did like you.” She wandered off to her bedroom with Simon trailing behind her. Ryder looked exhausted. Bethany walked him to the door.

“Thanks a million. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Ryder smiled and his dimples stood out. “Good night, Bethany.”