"Most businessmen are." Her sharp glare cut off my chuckle.
"He wasn’t always like that. He started out as a contractor. He was fantastic at custom work and eventually branched out into flipped foreclosures. It escalated from there, and he started buying up real estate."
"Why did you work summers for him?"
She leaned forward and rested her chin in her hands. "I didn't really have an interest in owning or flipping homes, but it was a good job, and he used to be known for all the community work he did. My best friend Riley and I worked together there. In Mercier's spare time, he would work on low-income housing in the community as a way to give back. I've always had an interest in those kinds of things, and I thought it was an excellent way someone of his talents could help other people. Unfortunately, those projects stopped. The more money and property he gained, the less he did for the community. And then he didn't even help Riley, his top intern."
She shook her head. "I'd wanted to emulate his business practices. Find something I was good at and give back with that talent. I guess that's why it hurt so much to see him get wrapped up in the numbers and forget what's important in life."
"And what is important in life?"
She looked at me in surprise. "Loving people, of course. Making a difference in this world. Mattering to someone."
"I imagine you make a big difference in people's lives. You've already made a big difference in my life." By throwing it into utter chaos. "Just because someone else made that choice doesn't mean you have to. Take the good things you learned from Mercier and do those things. But you don't have to stay angry at him; that's only going to steal from you."
"How do you mean?"
"Imagine how much brain space it's taking to stay mad at him."
"Agree to disagree."
I stood up and moved back to my seat. Picking up my fork, I attacked the spaghetti with alacrity.
We ate a few more minutes in silence before Nola spoke. "I'll think about what you said."
I glanced up at her and nodded. "I've known what it's like to hang onto anger. It did me more harm than the other people."
Nola walked into the kitchen and grabbed the plate of garlic bread, bringing it back to the table.
"What do you think the odds are that I can eat this entire plate?" she asked.
"I don't know—it doesn't sound very digestible."
"Oh, very funny. Your dad humor is on point tonight."
I chuckled. "Speaking of kids..."
Her eyes sparkled. "Well, Maya has already planned out her first date with you, so that's nice. I hope you like carousals."
"Love them. And she was adorable. If she asked me out, I wouldn't be able to resist her."
Nola beamed at me and picked up a piece of bread. "Why don't you come meet them sometime? They're always needing more volunteers. It's wonderful and awful at the same time."
"What do you mean?"
"I just mean that a lot of the kids in foster care are coming from traumatic situations. It's awful because I wish I could make that go away for them." She shook her head slowly. "Why can't I change the world with the snap of my fingers?"
I leaned forward and grabbed a piece of bread for myself. "Sounds like you're doing just that with everything you do."
"You think so?"
"I’m sure you are. But you mentioned your friend..."
She looked at me out of the corner of her eye. "Riley."
"Yes. First boyfriend?" I asked between gritted teeth.
She shook her head. "She was my best friend."
I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. It was hard to compete with first loves. And why was I thinking about competing? There was nothing to compete with. There would be no competing.
Nola set down her fork. "Riley had parents who were...well, being neglectful was their best quality. We became friends in the third grade. We stayed close. She was smart. Crazy smart. Good at reading people. She got a full ride scholarship. We went to college together. It was her chance to make something of herself. I promised her that my family would always be her family...then she disappeared."
I flexed my hand against my leg as I watched her work her jaw. "I know something terrible has happened to her. I'm sure of it. She didn't have anyone who would fight for her."
"I think she did. It sounds like she had the best friend she possibly could."
"Obviously not. She's off doing who knows what to survive, and here I am, perfectly healthy, living in this nice house. I just know something terrible has happened to her. What did she do to deserve to be pulled back into that life?"
I leaned forward and stretched out my elbows on the table. "What makes you think she was pulled into a difficult life?"
Nola smiled bitterly. "Her stepdad showed up at the dorm one day. She didn't tell me what he wanted, but that was two weeks before the end of the term...I figured it was the regular drama. There was always something going on in that family. She was pretty quiet for the next couple weeks. I assumed it was because she was buckling down with the last two weeks of finals.
"When the last Friday of school hit, I got back to our room and found all of her stuff gone. Just a note telling me goodbye. It was the last time I heard from her."
"Is that why you work in the group home?"
She shrugged. "I didn't do enough to help Riley. Maybe I can for other kids. Someone has to fight for them. They deserve a chance just as much as anyone. The only thing they’re lacking is someone steady in their life who loves them unconditionally. And that's what I want to be. I hope that forty years from now, they'll remember a crazy lady who loved them, made horrible birthday cakes, and gave them ridiculous amounts of life advice. Someone who took the time to listen to them when no one else did and give them just an ounce of stability. If I can be that person in their life, I could die a happy woman."
"Nola, you can't put that pressure on yourself to fix everyone's problems. Their futures don't rest solely on your shoulders."
"But what if I can make a difference?"
"If it can be done, you'll be the one to do it," I replied with a smile, because I already knew she was changing my attitude towards her. She wasn’t unreliable like I’d first thought. She was passionate, loving, and upset at the injustices of life. She reminded me that the world didn’t revolve around me. That connection was important.
She reminded me that I could be more.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Homeowners Association Rule #5:
Members of the neighborhood will abide by the pool rules.
After work in the DHS office, I spent the rest of the afternoon at the group home. Maya’s mom had come to visit, and I was the one appointed to supervise. If things kept progressing, Maya would be back with her mom in another eight weeks.
The hope in both their eyes was enough to make me cry. So I did on the way home. I cried for them, and then I cried selfishly for me, because when Maya went home with her mom, that meant I wouldn’t get to spend time with her anymore. She wouldn’t need me anymore.
I would be obsolete. The system was designed with the intention of reuniting families when they were able to care for their children again, but it didn’t lessen the hurt when you got attached to a child.
When I got home, I headed straight to the kitchen, opening the fridge to look for a snack. Bane’s mode of stress eating was already rubbing off on me.
The fridge was practically empty. There was a bottle of kombucha on the bottom shelf— Bane’s. Who drank that kind of stuff? Slamming the fridge, I opened the freezer hoping for a frozen burrito or even a bowl of ice cream. But that didn't sound very good either. I wanted to eat a pile of fruit.
The front door opened, and Bane walked in.
"Did you bring dinner?" I asked, not caring if it was an abrupt greeting.
Bane looked surprised to see me standing there. "Look at us," he said. "We're both home at a decent time."
I looked at the clock, 7:30. "Hey, you're right. We can eat di
nner at a normal hour like normal people."
"Let's not get too carried away." Bane laughed. "I've never classified you as normal."
"Har har. Mr. HOA is full of jokes tonight. There's nothing to eat here. Should I order some takeout?" I suggested.
"If I'm not careful, all this takeout eating will go straight to my waistline." Bane patted his obviously-not-thick stomach.
"Our other option is the grocery store. Want to come with me? We can ride in the cracker-mobile."
Bane looked at me, skeptically. "Maybe I should drive."
"Maybe you should get a sense of adventure."
Fifteen minutes later, I pulled to a stop in the grocery store parking lot.
Bane looked at me in shock.
"What is it?" I asked.
"You're actually a decent driver. I was getting ready to write my last will and testament when you said you wanted to drive."
"Why would you assume I’m a bad driver?"
He opened his mouth, then snapped it shut again.
"What were you going to say?"
He shook his head vehemently and opened the passenger door. "Let’s go grocery shopping!"
I latched onto his arm before he could escape. "Bart. What were you going to say?"
He visibly swallowed before answering me, "Don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re not exactly the most observant person I’ve ever met. I figured you would be a pretty terrible driver as well."
I laughed. "Oh, is that all? Yeah, I knew that. My dad used to tease me about it all the time. I get in the zone and forget to pay attention to the world around me."
I hopped out of the car and locked it then headed to the store with Bane following behind.
We each grabbed a basket, wandering the aisles together. When we made it to the produce section, Bane peered down his nose at me then proceeded to toss several grapefruit into his basket.
"Hilarious."
His stoic face broke into a grin. "I thought I’d grab a few for old times' sake."
I nudged his side with my elbow as I scooted past him to grab a box of strawberries.
"Bartholomew!"
Smiling, I turned around to look for whoever dared call Bane ‘Bartholomew.’ A middle-aged man stood behind a cart, his suit jacket unbuttoned, and an insincere smile on his face.
I didn’t like him.
I didn’t even know him, and I’d only heard him say one word, but I knew I didn’t like him right away.
Bane’s face tightened only for a brief second before it went back to his stoic expression. "Sterling, how are you?"
"Excellent. You haven’t been falling asleep on the job anymore, have you?" Sterling laughed loudly. Obnoxious was the word that came to my mind.
"I have not. Have you been double charging for your realtor’s fees?"
The man’s face fell, and an angry expression filled its place. "Well, it’s clear only one of us has a sharp business sense. Soon I’ll be the only real estate agent in town that people want to work with. As a matter of fact, I’m taking on a Mercier property. I’ll be his go-to agent after I finish this project."
With that, he marched past us, pushing his creaking cart.
"Who was that?" I asked as I studied Bane’s eyes that were still trained on Sterling.
Bane finally looked at me. "He’s another real estate agent in town. And the most self-absorbed, self-righteous...anyway."
"Don’t hold back. Come on. We’re married. You can tell me what you really think. And maybe I can figure out why he seems so familiar to me."
"He's not my favorite person. I hope that someday I won't have to deal with him. But right now, we tend to cross paths when we’re representing clients."
I snapped my fingers. "I figured it out!"
"What?" He asked in surprise.
"Where I’d seen him before! He was there at the house," I told him.
"At the house?" Bane asked.
"Oh, I mean at the old apartment building when they were evacuating the entire building, before they shut off all the power. He was there in the parking lot talking with the demolition crew. Chippy was there too. I wonder if he's helping Sebastian Mercier with the renovation and construction of the luxury apartments. But that doesn't make sense," I said. "Usually Sebastian does his own work."
"He does?" Bane looked surprised.
"Yeah, at least he used to." The dull feeling in my chest was back. "But I guess now he wouldn’t be in a hurry to meet his real estate agent."
Bane quirked an eyebrow. "Would you hurry to meet Sterling?"
With a snort, I answered him, "I’d hurry away from him, that’s for sure."
"I knew you had better judgment than most people."
I straightened my shoulders and nodded. "Thank you. Now, I’ll show off my impressive judgment skills in the frozen pizza aisle."
I looped my arm through his and he finally broke out with a relaxed grin—the one I was coming to love so much.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Homeowners Association Rule #55:
Lawns must be kept at ¾ inch length.
The lawn was getting long. And Carol had canceled the yard crew that had been hired to mow the yard for the homeowners. She had told me that they came one afternoon while Nola and I were at work. Carol just knew that I would prefer to mow the lawn myself, so she told them to take my lawn off their list.
Just great. At least there was a lawnmower in the garage. I didn't want to have to go out and buy one. That was an expense we didn't need.
I was already worried about how much our electrical bill would be this month. With the amount of laundry Nola did, it should be nearly sky high.
I wanted to keep track so that we paid Nola’s friends back for the increase in bills. I really hoped Nola could get a hold of them soon.
I hopefully balanced out all of that with the number of cold showers I was taking. Of course, that only increased our water bill.
Living with Nola was going to be the death of me, but I had to admit it would be a great way to go. I hadn’t looked for another rental for myself in a week now. I wish I could say it was because I was so busy working, but the reality was that I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to her. It was getting harder to not think about her all day. I looked forward to coming home every night and spending time with her. She didn’t have any friends in town. I sometimes wondered if she had had any other friends since her friend Riley had disappeared.
I really hoped she would be able to find some closure someday, but in the meantime, I could be the friend she needed.
I opened the dresser drawer and pulled out a pair of athletic shorts. Was this what people were supposed to wear when they mowed the yard? I wasn't sure. Having never mowed a yard before, I wasn't sure what the expectations were and if I was going about this the right way or not.
There wasn't a manual out there that covered proper lawn mowing attire. Or at least I didn't think so, but I didn’t want to sacrifice any of my suit pants to the task.
Pulling on the shorts, I grabbed my tennis shoes from the shoe rack in the closet and headed down the hall toward the garage. It took me less than three minutes to drag the lawn mower out onto the front lawn.
Now to start it. It couldn’t be that hard.
VRRROOM.
I glanced across the street to see Carol mowing her yard. She pushed the mower so fast that her floppy sun hat nearly fell off with the wind resistance.
In the yard next to me, Fredrick, who was apparently our neighbor, was busy rolling up a garden hose next to his house. His lawn mower sat in the center of his yard.
"You can do this," I whispered to myself as I knelt down next to the lawn mower and read the instructions on the side.
Something about turning a switch and there was a cord involved. I looked around the lawn mower for anything that resembled a cord.
I couldn't find it. Kneeling down, I reached under the mower and felt around for the string.
"You trying to get your hand ripped off?" A
gravelly voice barked.
I jumped back to find Fredrick standing in my yard, glaring at me. Pretty sure his face was frozen that way.
"The mower doesn't seem to want to start," I explained half-heartedly.
Fredrick shook his head and muttered under his breath. "Kids these days. Don't know how to do a darn thing."
I took a small step back as he charged forward and began studying the motor. "What seems to be the trouble? I like to tinker with motors every now and then. I might be able to fix it. For a price, of course."
"Of course," I said in agreement. I'd teased Nola before about not being able to afford me. Well, I knew I wouldn't be able to afford Fredrick. He'd probably demand my firstborn or something along those lines.
"Did you have the choke on all the way?"
The choke? What was the choke? "Now that you mention it, no, I don't think so."
Fredrick huffed as he straightened—as much as he could with a hunched back—and pulled a small orange lever on the lawn mower handle. "Can't start a cold engine without opening up the choke. Remember that."
"I'll tuck that away." I tapped my temple.
Fredrick glared at me again before he reached down and grabbed a handle that sat on top of the motor. He gave it a quick jerk—that was where the string was that I'd had so much trouble locating.
The motor roared to life.
Fredrick reached back and grabbed his back. "My rods are acting up again."
It was his only comment before he stepped behind the mower and grabbed the handle, pulling back the orange lever—the choke—a bit. "Makes a nice sound, doesn't it?"
"Sure does," I agreed quickly as his face took on a serene look.
"Mind if I take it for a quick spin? I'm thinking about upgrading my mower soon—I'd like to see how this Honda runs."
"Be my guest."
Fredrick readjusted the thick glasses on his nose before he pinched the long bar up against the handle.
The mower began propelling itself across the yard, the man trailing behind. I stepped back onto the driveway, narrowly avoiding Fredrick clipping my toes.
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