Garrett had met Cora in the kitchen and helped her load the baskets for Dr. Foley and Ms. Patty into his car without asking any questions. Neither one lived far from the house and it only took them a few minutes to arrive at Ms. Patty's home. It was a small apartment on the ground floor of an ancient apartment building. Ms. Patty had lived there for over fifty years, since she had moved in as a newlywed. She had never had any children and she always insisted that Cora was like a daughter to her. Something that she repeated regularly to Garrett while they had been visiting.

Ms. Patty was from Mississippi and had a deep southern accent which was something that most people found charming, especially when one considered her small and delicate stature. She took Garrett over to the sofa and left Cora to unpack the limited supply of groceries that she took to her every week.

Both, Ms. Patty and Dr. Foley, existed on limited incomes and the supplies that she took them helped them get by. They also had difficulty keeping house so she did odd jobs for them when she visited. Last week she had helped Ms. Patty, who always required more be done than Dr. Foley.

Ms. Patty charmed Garrett over a cup of coffee and kept referring to him as Cora's nice young man. Garrett had appeared to be bowled over by the little woman and Cora wouldn't have been surprised if he would have spent the better part of the afternoon in her company as she regaled him with tales of her days growing up in the South. She had been very involved in the Civil Rights movement and she had even met Martin Luther King Jr. once.

Cora had had to pull them away from each other with a promise that she would bring him to see her again soon, but they couldn't leave before Cora had promised to give her regards to Dr. Foley as usual.

The trip to Dr. Foley's was a quiet one. Garrett had seemed to be thinking hard about something and didn't appear to be in the mood for conversation so, other than giving him directions, Cora had remained silent.

Garrett and Dr. Foley, a small and portly man, had hit it off immediately. It turned out that they both had a deep love of history and it proved to be a topic of unlimited possibilities as they jumped from decade to decade. When Garrett had mentioned his conversation with Ms. Patty about Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. Foley had been fascinated.

Cora had listened to their conversation as she cleaned the kitchen and did a few other light chores around the house. Usually she would have been much more thorough but she was hurting and couldn't do as much as she normally would. They stayed longer with Dr. Foley than they had with Ms. Patty, but when they had had to leave Garrett promised to visit him again soon so that they could continue their conversation.

Upon their return to the house Garrett had suggested that she rest for the rest of the afternoon and she promised that she would as soon as she had finished with Aunt Mable's lunch. He hadn't argued and she was glad. The last thing she wanted was for Aunt Mable to know about her and Garrett's truce.

She had had a refreshing nap and now she was dressing in one of the few nice dresses that she owned. It was at least two years old but it was in a classic wrap style that would never really fall out of fashion and the peacock blue color was a striking foil for her hair. She loved bright colors but had had to tame down her wardrobe on Aunt Mable's behalf, and she was glad to return to the bright color, even if it was only for one evening.

She looked at her reflection one last time, she had been unable to do anything with her hair because of her inability to lift her arms comfortably, so she had brushed it as best she could and it fell in a curly mass past her shoulders. Her high heels had added a few inches to her miniscule height.

A knock on the door pulled her away from her self-study and she moved to open the door and found Margie looking over her shoulder at Aunt Mable's door.

"Mr. Garrett has asked that you join him and his friend in the living room when you're ready."

"What's she like?" Cora asked softy as she closed the door behind her.

"She's tall dark and curvy in all of the right places." Margie shrugged as she started towards the stairs.

"But is she nice?"

Margie shrugged again and Cora was forced to curb any additional questions she had since they were approaching the main hall. Margie turned and went through the door to the kitchen, leaving Cora to enter the living room on her own.

Margie was right. Theodora was an Amazon, she was close to six feet tall and had curves in all of the right places, she made Cora feel small and skinny in comparison. Surprisingly, despite her size, Garrett still towered over the woman. Her hair was thick and dark and fell in full waves to her shoulders and Cora had to push away the image of Garrett braiding it as he had hers.

Theodora rose from the sofa on which she had been sitting and held out her hand with a warm smile. She had brown eyes that almost twinkled as she looked over Cora.

"You're simply lovely," she said as Cora took her hand. "I love your hair, I bet very few people forget you."

Cora blushed at her compliment and looked over at Garrett, hoping he would save her.

"What would you like to drink?" he asked, nodding towards the drinks cart that Margie had wheeled into the room.

"I'm not sure..."

"The wine is lovely." Theodora suggested as she pulled her over to the sofa and sat her down next to her. "I'm Theodora Styles by the way, but all of my friends call me Teddy."

"Garrett calls you Theodora."

"Yes, and it's very annoying," the beautiful woman drawled with a husky laugh. She had a presence that drew a person in and made them feel special.

"It's a habit that I can't seem to break." Garrett gave Teddy a tender smile and Cora felt her heart beat a little quicker at the sight of it. She couldn't help but wonder what that smile directed at her would feel like.

"Now, tell me all about yourself. Garrett says that you're an artist. I love artists, I'm an interior decorator and I'm always on the lookout for a new perspective, something to inspire me. What do you draw?" She placed her hand on Cora's and squeezed, encouraging her to share.

"I'm an illustrator for children's books," Cora answered her softly, overwhelmed by the woman's friendliness. It wasn't what she had expected. She had expected her too be territorial and a bit cold. Instead she filled the room with energy and happiness.

Cora felt that she had found a new friend, a new ally.

The conversation moved freely from one topic to the next, and she was enjoying herself as much as Garrett had seemed to enjoy himself with Ms. Patty and Dr. Foley that morning. Garrett didn't join in on the conversation as he relaxed in his armchair, staring into the fire and listening to their chatter.

Dinner was also a success, and Margie was complimented and thanked so nicely that Teddy had won an instant friend in her as well. Eventually, it was time for Cora to move upstairs and prepare for bed as she awaited Aunt Mable's final call of the evening.

Teddy gave her a warm hug and a kiss on the cheek as she said goodnight and Garrett only nodded at her and told her he would see her in the morning.

*******

"So that's your fairytale princess," Teddy said as she settled back into her chair across from Garrett's, kicking off her shoes and pulling her feet up under her. "I like her."

Garrett grinned over at Teddy. "I could tell, you didn't have to try quite so hard to steal her away Theodora."

"Would it be stealing her away? Have you made up your mind then?"

"What do you think?"

"I think she's lovely."

"So you said, but do you think she would make a good wife?"

Theodora was quiet as she mulled it over for a bit and the two sat in a contented silence watching the fire.

"I do think she'll make you a good wife, and I think you're both a little in love with each other already so that helps." Garrett choked on his sip of whiskey but Teddy ignored him. "But you'll have a hard time convincing her to say yes. She is a fairytale princess and she wants her prince charming, I've little doubt of that."

"Not a princess charming?"

Teddy smiled. "No unfortunately, or I'd steal her away in an instant."

"Don't worry, I think I have the perfect argument for getting her to agree to a mutual marriage of convenience."

"You mean something other than your obvious charm, looks, and money?"

"Yes, this house."

Teddy looked around her at the grand living room that was stuck in time. "It is a show place, isn't it? It would need very little done to it to make it current and it would be ideal for entertaining your clients."

"It would need a lot done to it, you only see the cosmetic side but it needs close to a million invested to make it current." Garrett grimaced as he thought about all the work that needed to be done, bathrooms, central air and heat, updated electrical, a new kitchen, the list was endless.

"A million is a drop in the bucket for you. I could help Cora with the work."

"I bet you could." Garrett shook his head at the thought of his best friend and Cora working together. He had a feeling that he would come out on the losing end of the deal. "You'll tell her all of my secrets."

"Probably, but I promise not to tell her that you're already a little bit in love with her."

Garrett leaned his head back looking at Theodora, she knew him well but was she right? Was he possibly falling in love with Cora or did he only feel the urge to help the damsel in distress?

"I have to go, I have an early meeting in the morning." Teddy stuck her feet back in her shoes and rose giving Garrett a peck on the cheek as he helped her with her coat and showed her to the door. "Let me know how it goes."

Garrett nodded as they parted and he locked the door behind her, deep in thought. Could he convince Cora that a marriage between them would be beneficial, and what about Aunt Mable, how would she react?

The only thing he knew for sure was that he was desperate for her to say yes.