Damage Control

by M. S. Parker

  She sighed and tucked herself in closer. “What are you going to do about Camry?”

  “I don’t know. I…don’t think I can do anything.” Misery settled inside, and I wanted to pound something, but the anger and hurt were useless. Giving in to them solved nothing. “I’ve given up everything for her, sacrificed most of my life to take care of her. And now this…” I shook my head, unable to put into words the sheer helplessness I felt.

  “We’re going to find a way.”

  Thirty

  Piety

  “I got the job.”

  Carol stood in front of my desk, twisting her fingers, looking stunned.

  “Congratulations.” I came out from behind the desk and hugged her, keeping it light and easy so she could break away. She was doing so much better than when she first came here, but I knew physical touch was hard for her. She nodded nervously, her eyes bouncing all over the place. “I got the job, Ms. Van Allan. They hired me.”

  “I know. Congratulations.”

  Carol pushed her hair back from her face with shaking hands, then tucked them in her lap, staring at them. “I just don’t understand. Why would they hire me? I haven’t worked in years.”

  “Apparently, they saw something in you that they liked. Now it’s time for you to look in the mirror and see the same thing they saw.” I settled in the chair next to hers and took her nervous hands, squeezed gently. “It’s the same thing I see when you play with your daughter or the other kids here. It’s the same thing that gave you the courage to leave. You’re tougher than you think. You’re going to do fine.”

  A few minutes later, I walked into the small break room at the shelter and a wave of clapping broke out.

  I gave a small bow and then laughed as they continued.

  “Stop it. Or go applaud for Carol. She did the hard part.” One of the girls who handled the new intakes opened the microwave, pulling out her typical lunch – a microwave burrito.

  The smell of it hit me hard, even as I wondered how she could eat them.

  She was talking, saying something to Carol – she wouldn’t even talk to people at first.

  I think.

  Maybe.

  But nothing more than the first few words really connected because as that smell grew stronger, my stomach rebelled.

  Oh, shit.

  Lurching toward the bathroom, I almost bowled over the woman coming out, and I rushed in, skidding to my knees in front of the nearest toilet.

  I barely made it, emptying out my stomach with near violence while my heart hammered in my ears.

  “Oh, honey…are you okay?”

  That was when I realized I had an audience.

  Another wave hit me.

  A few more seconds passed before I thought it might be over.

  “Oh for the love of my great aunt Bessie,” a familiar voice boomed. “Somebody might think you’d never seen a woman get sick before. You people, give her some room.”

  I cringed at the sound of that voice. It was Felicia Winke, my boss.

  Her words sent people scurrying, and before long, I was alone in the bathroom with just her. I thought maybe I was done.

  Maybe.

  She stared at me hard. “How long have you been sick?”

  I passed my hand over the back of my mouth. “Just this once.”

  “Unlike some people, I know that throwing up can come from a variety of reasons. Do you think you’re contagious?”

  I was feeling better, so I didn’t think so. I shook my head. “Maybe something I ate just didn’t settle well.”

  She narrowed her eyes and slowly turned away. “Okay. If it gets worse, go home. We don’t need an epidemic. And try toast and ginger ale. We always keep some around.”

  I started to refuse, but a ginger ale actually sounded nice. As I sat at the table a few minutes later sipping one, I took out my phone and read through my emails.

  “Are you feeling better?” Felisha sat down across from me, eyeing me critically.

  “Yeah.” I shrugged. “I feel fine.”

  She looked at her nails, then glanced back up at me. “Are you seeing anybody?” There was a deliberate casualness behind the question that worried me.

  I hadn’t wanted to tell anyone about the marriage and the subsequent annulment, so I had taken to wearing my wedding ring on my right hand when I was at work. Nobody here knew about Kaleb, and since it wasn’t likely they would ever meet anybody in my family, explanations weren’t necessary, or so I thought.

  “Why?” I asked

  “I’m just wondering.” She began to examine her nails again. “What I’m thinking is that it’s kind of funny that those nasty microwave burritos have never bothered you before. But today, you turn green and are puking your guts out, then five minutes later, you’re right as rain.”

  I opened my mouth to say something, but she pointed to my glass and continued. “Ginger ale seems to be settling just fine. You look great. Nobody would believe that you were on your knees just a couple minutes ago, puking for all your worth. And Piety, you’re worth a lot.”

  “What are you trying to say?”

  Felisha looked at me with sympathy dripping from her expression. “Piety, I’ve had this sort of…stomach issue a few times myself. The last time was ten years ago.”

  I stared at her, her meaning beginning to sink in. “Oh, shit!” A cold sweat broke out on the back of my neck.

  “So…it’s possible?” she asked.

  I exhaled a long breath and covered my face with my hands.

  She came and sat next to me, patting my shoulder. “Honey, it’s okay. You just need to find out for sure.”

  I thought about the wine I’d drunk last night. The sip of scotch I’d had the other day. Hell yes, I needed to find out. If I was pregnant… I groaned. Could I be?

  I thought about the dream. “Oh, man.”

  “Well, you’ve gone from oh shit to oh man. I’d say this might not be such a bad thing.”

  I dropped my head down onto the table. I needed to go to the store. I needed to… I didn’t even know what I needed to do.

  “Take a few more minutes.” She got up and headed out of the room. “But on your way home tonight, you might want to think about buying a pregnancy test.”

  I took the extra minutes she’d advised and sent Astra a text. Astra’s response came back a couple minutes later, but those minutes felt like hours.

  What’s going on?

  I just threw up. I responded.

  Her response was an emoji, one with the guy and a giant open mouth. Yeah, that’s about as surprised as I felt.

  Thirty-One

  Piety

  I didn’t have time to go to the store last night. Or rather, I’d been too afraid to. I was still trying to convince myself that I’d just eaten something that hadn’t settled well on my stomach.

  I had to go through with it. I knew that, but maybe it was just a flu. I’d already thrown up two other times, again aggravated by some awful smell coming from the break room.

  Felisha brought in crackers and more ginger ale, so the second and third time, a sleeve of saltines were waiting for me.

  She’d also given me a questioning look, and I’d just given her a weak smile in her return. When she only shook her head, I knew exactly what she was thinking.

  Now, hours later, stressed out and drained, I sat on the couch, curled up against Kaleb as I rubbed the inside of my wedding ring with my thumb.

  “Are you feeling alright?” he asked.

  I was about ready to blurt it all out when a fist pounded on the door. I scowled, wondering who it was. But I already had a bad, bad feeling. There were only so many people it could be.

  “Piety,” my father said through the door. He knocked again, harder. “Open up. I know you’re there. Carlos told me you were here. We need to talk. With you and...Kaleb.”

  The distaste in his voice had me shaking. Furious, I stormed over to the door and threw it open.

  He opened his mo
uth to yell, and I reached up, poking him in the chest. “Yes, Dad. We do need to talk. Who in the hell do you think you are?” I demanded. “You paid him money to leave and never say a word to me? What kind of man does that to his own daughter?”

  He glared at me, but said nothing.”

  I threw up my hands. “And you lied.”

  That got him going. “I didn’t lie,” he insisted through gritted teeth. “I haven’t said a word to you since the reunion.”

  “Fine, you had Stuart lie.” I rolled my eyes. “It amounts to the same thing. He’s your mouthpiece and does all the dirty work for you anyway.”

  “Piety, can we take this inside?” my mother asked, stepping up and placing herself halfway between my father and me.

  I barely resisted the urge to roll my eyes again. That was my mother. Always worried about what people might think.

  “Fine,” I said. Turning on my heel, I stormed back into the loft, leaving the door open behind me so they could trail inside. I went back to the couch but didn’t sit down. I knew better. I was too familiar with my father’s intimidation tactics, and I knew how this would go.

  I looked at Kaleb and held out my hand. He took it and placed himself at my side. He had risen the moment he heard my father’s voice, and he lifted his chin, meeting my father’s gaze squarely.

  “How can you stand there and look me in the eyes?” Dad demanded.

  “It’s not hard. I don’t have any respect for you, so why should I have a hard time looking at you?” Kaleb said.

  “When you take a man’s money, you give him your word, and you want to talk about respect?”

  Kaleb scowled. “I didn’t do you wrong. I did Piety wrong. I gave her my word long before you and I made any sort of agreement. Besides, I didn’t make the agreement with you. I made the agreement with your… mouthpiece.” Kaleb tilted his head. “If it makes you feel better, I can apologize to him.”

  “Stop it,” I said, cutting between Kaleb in my father. “Dad, I can’t believe you did that.”

  “You’re angry with me?” he asked. “This no good con artist took our money, the money we paid to protect you, but you’re mad at me?”

  “I don’t need your protection, and Kaleb isn’t a con artist.”

  Dad scoffed. “He took the money easily enough.”

  “I took it for my sister,” Kaleb said flatly.

  My dad turned his head, staring at Kaleb as if looking at bacteria under a microscope. “Your sister?” he asked, the doubt thick in his voice.

  “Yes.”

  “Let me guess, she’s suffering from some sort of terrible disease, and you need the money because she sitting in the hospital?” Scorned ripped from his words and he shook his head. “Do you even know anything about this man, Piety?”

  I was about ready to scream from frustration, but Kaleb threw a bucket of cold water on the entire thing.

  “As a matter of fact, my sister is a prostitute and a drug addict. I took the money to pay off her dealer. I was hoping to get her into rehab, but that didn’t go over very well. She took what little money I had left and ran off with it.”

  Mom spoke up, her face white as her fingers danced at the base of her throat. “Let me get this right. You’re a stripper, and your sister is a prostitute? And you wonder why we didn’t want you around our daughter?”

  “Mom,” I said. Horrified, I reached out and touched Kaleb’s arm.

  “You’re wrong,” he said. “I know exactly why you didn’t want me around Piety. I’m not good enough for her. But then again, neither are you.”

  Dad’s mouth fell open in shock. Mother’s face went red. Kaleb didn’t back down.

  “You see, she’s got a heart that’s bigger than anyone I’ve ever met. You two are too concerned about appearances and how things might look. She worries about people and how things will affect them. I don’t know how the two of you managed to combine your DNA and create this magical creature.”

  He turned from them and looked directly at me. “Frankly, she’s amazing. You’re right, I’m not good enough for her. But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to work my ass off trying to be.”

  “You are unbelievable,” my mother whispered.

  “Don’t, Mom.”

  She ignored me. “You have no idea who we are. How dare you judge us.”

  “That’s rich.” Kaleb snorted. “You don’t know anything about me either except for the fact that I stripped for money to try to help out my baby sister.”

  “A baby sister who is a drug addicted prostitute,” my father said with a harsh laugh.

  “A baby sister who lost her mother and father when she was eleven. Do you have any idea what that’s like?” I asked, unable to stay out of the conversation any longer. “Kaleb’s been raising her since she was a kid. He wasn’t able to go to college because he’s too busy working his butt off to take care of her.”

  Uncertainty flickered across their faces, but my parents didn’t know how to back down. “Just go,” I said when my dad started to open his mouth. “We’re not doing this. We’re not.”

  “Piety…” Mom began, “we just–”

  “No,” I shouted. “I care about him. You have no right to interfere. This is my life, and I’m going to live it. I’m not living it just to be some sort of paragon that you can put up on a pedestal and show off when it’s election time. It’s my life.”

  I turned away until I heard the door shut. Kaleb came up behind me, his hands squeezing my shoulders. “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be. This has been a long time coming.”

  “Still, I haven’t helped.”

  I smiled up at him. “Actually, you have. This all needed to come out before it completely ate away my soul.” I sighed, the stress I’d been feeling earlier was now magnified tenfold. “You know what? We should just pack and go to Vegas. We need to figure out how to help your sister. I can get the next few days off from work.”

  Thirty-Two

  Kaleb

  She was quiet.

  She had been quiet ever since last night, ever since her parents had left. The fight between them…

  Closing my eyes, I wondered if there was now a rift between them so big it might never be repaired.

  I hoped not.

  They were overbearing – assholes, really.

  But I could tell they loved her, and I know she loved them.

  I felt guilty for my part in all of this, and that part was huge, but at the same time, I was…amazed. Nobody had ever stood up for me like that, had ever fought for me. I was the one who went to bat for people.

  I know my parents would have had my back, if they’d lived. But they’d been gone a long time. It was like a different life.

  For too long, it had just been me and my sister, and I was always the one carrying the weight.

  Now, I had someone who had stood next to me and stood up for me.

  I didn’t know how to handle it.

  Finally, unable to handle all the chaos inside me, I looked over at Piety. She was sipping from a glass of club soda, staring down at the book on her lap.

  She hadn’t turned the page in ten minutes.

  I reached over and took her hand. She started, and the club soda sloshed over the rim.

  “Lost in thought?” I asked, reaching for a napkin to clean up the spill.

  “I guess.” She smiled up at me.

  “I…” Blowing out a breath, I tried to think of the right way to say what I needed to say. “I’m sorry for the problems I’ve caused between you and your parents.”

  “You didn’t. The problems were already there. You just helped bring them to the surface.” She sighed and put her book down, shifting around in the seat to face me. “My parents love me. I know that. But I have no doubt that their love comes with…” She bit her bottom lip and considered her words.

  “Strings?” I offered.

  Her smile was sad. “Yeah. Always conditional. And they don’t understand me. They never have. And they�
�ve never stood up for me the way you have. You think I’ve got a big heart, but they think I’m an alien for just…caring about people.”

  She lifted my hand to her lips, kissed the back of it.

  “You do have a big heart.” I crooked a grin at her. “So big, I sometimes think you might be an alien.”

  “Stop it.” She tipped her head back, laughing.

  Some of the tension in the air dissolved, and I stroked my thumb over the inside of her wrist. “I can’t tell you how many times I wished my parents were still here, still around to deal with this mess with Camry. But then I look back and realize how lucky I was to have had nthem for as long as I did. They always had my back. They supported me. That’s worth…a lot.”

  “More than gold, I think,” Piety said, her voice sad.

  “Yeah. I bet it is.”

  She turned her head back to me, and we stared at each other.

  “I haven’t had anybody stand by my side the way you did since they passed away. It means a lot. Thank you.”

  She squeezed my hand. “Nobody has ever stood by me like you have, other than Astra. So…same goes.”

  We lapsed into silence for a long time, then she laid her head against my shoulder and opened her book. As she read, I thought about how much things had changed since the morning I woke up in her bed.

  “The bed,” I said against her mouth.

  Piety laughed. “Who needs a bed?” She pushed my shirt up and scraped her nails down my sides.

  I gasped and caught her hands. “No.”

  She giggled. “You’re ticklish. I love it.”

  “Bed,” I said again.

  Instead, she twisted out of my grip and curled her arms around my neck, pressing her mouth to my chin. “No. Too far. Way too far.”

  She shot a look at the bed, and I had to agree. She was right. That bed was too far away. The whole other side of the suite. In a different room entirely.

  “Okay, you’re right. Right here.”

  I boosted her up into my arms and carried her the few steps into the dining room, laid her out on the formal table. In my wildest dreams, I never would have imagined a hotel with a formal dining room. In my wildest dreams, I never would have imagined Piety.