by Cher Etan
“If Ms. Masters would come and receive the keys,” he said staring at Leila expectantly. She looked toward Mrs. Elkins who nodded at her. Leila sighed inwardly and stood up, walking slowly toward the podium amid the applause. She received the keys in both hands and then curtsied awkwardly with a smile. Jonathon leaned toward her and then kissed first one cheek and then the other. Leila froze in shock but then turned quickly to smile at the audience, holding up the keys for everyone to see. She could do exhibitionist too.
She turned, nodded to Jonathon and then returned to her seat. He finished off his speech with some acknowledgments and then came to sit next to her.
“What was that?” she asked from the side of her mouth.
“What was what?” he asked leaning toward her.
“All that ‘I call on Ms. Masters’ stuff. You were supposed to give the keys to Mrs. Elkins,” she bit out.
“But you’re the project manager,” Jonathon said as if he couldn’t figure out what the problem was. Leila decided to keep her mouth shut and just not waste her energy. Soon after Jonathon’s speech and an encore performance from India Arie, the MC gave the vote of thanks and guests were free to leave at their leisure. The DJ began to play dance music after that however, and Jonathon leaned toward her.
“Will you dance with me?” His two friends had already disappeared somewhere.
“No,” she replied with a glare.
“Why not?” he persisted.
“Because you ran me over the other day and now my leg hurts,” she informed him. He was instantly contrite.
“I’m sorry. You’re right. Would you like me to take you home now?” he asked.
“I’m perfectly capable of getting myself home thank you,” she snapped.
“I’m perfectly aware of that. It's just…I know I’m responsible for your injuries and I want to help. Why won’t you let me help?” Jonathon wheedled.
“Don’t you think you’ve ‘helped’ quite enough?” she asked.
“Okay look, there is something I need to discuss with you. I have an ulterior motive. Is it possible we could go somewhere and talk?” he asked
Leila sighed; she really wasn’t interested in whatever he wanted to say.
“Sure,” she said. “Let me just go visit the ladies first.”
Leila stood up and left. She didn’t visit the ladies, she went to the foyer and had the doorman call her a taxi. By the time Jonathon realized she wasn’t coming back, she was halfway home.
*****
“Honey! I’m home,” Leila exclaimed as she came through the door. There was no response even though the hall light was on. “Huh.”
Leila walked down the hall and peered into her mother’s room. She was passed out on her bed, obviously fast asleep. Sheila lay sprawled on the couch on the other side of the room, also fast asleep. Leila crept away, setting the alarms and switching off lights before getting ready for bed. She took a long shower to wash away the day and relax her tense muscles. It had been a stressful few days but at last, the function was done, it was relatively successful…they would not know how much they had raised until probably Monday morning but still…
And she didn’t have to see Jonathon Leary again. She emerged from the shower, put on her blue flannel robe and went to inspect her bike. It was leaning beside the front door and looking as good as new. Leila grasped the handle bars and walked the bike up and down the hall. Everything seemed great so Leila parked it and went to bed.
Sheila woke her in the late morning on Sunday, wanting to hear all about the function and whether or not Leila had met a guy.
“Actually, I did meet a guy. I told him to stuff it though,” Leila said with a wide smile.
“Why,” Sheila complained.
“Because he’s white meat trouble,” she said.
“How do you know?”
“I looked into his eyes.”
“You are such a choosy, picky, annoyingly biased human being,” Sheila complained.
“Why, thank you girl,” Leila replied going into the bathroom to brush her teeth.
“You’re going to end up old and alone you know,” Sheila said taking advantage of her inability to answer. Leila just cast her a look, rolled her eyes and continued brushing. It was almost eleven and she didn’t know if her mother wanted to attend mass or not. She spit out the toothpaste and turned to Sheila.
“What’s mama saying? Is she strong enough for mass?”
Sheila shrugged, “I don’t know about strong enough but I left her changing.”
Leila gasped and blew past Sheila, going to check on her mother.
“Ma?” she called.
“Yes?” her mother replied weakly from the living room. Leila headed in that direction and found her mother sipping something hot while resting on the couch.
“Are we going to church?” she asked.
“Absolutely,” her mother said. She was dressed in her Sunday best, and her hat was perched on the table, awaiting transfer to her neatly coiffed head.
“I’ll just get changed then,” she said and backtracked to her room where Sheila was still sitting on the bed.
“It's an affirmative on the church attendance,” she told her.
“Cool,” Sheila said and crossed over to her closet. “I’ll have to borrow some clothes. I don’t have anything suitable to wear.”
“Uh huh,” Leila said knowing full well it was just an excuse to borrow her clothes. Sheila liked to do that.
“Hands off the blue Balenciaga, it's rented,” she said.
“So why you still have it?” Sheila wanted to know.
Leila shrugged sheepishly, “I’m still deciding if imma buy it or not.”
“I say buy it,” Sheila suggested.
“Yah thanks. Move bitch, you’re not the only one who needs to get ready,” she said pushing Sheila aside. They got dressed for mass with Raychelle chivying them to hurry up. The church was fortunately not far and they were just in time for service.
The sermon of the day was about recognizing the spirit of the lord in others and they listened with attention as the priest intoned about the possibility of finding God in the most unlikely places.
After mass was over, they debated the merits of going out for lunch versus going home to cook. Hunger won out and they decided to go to a local mom and pop place that served a delicious after mass pot roast. They were joined by Sheila’s mother and brother and after lunch, Sheila went home with her family while Leila and Raychelle made their slow companionable way home. They climbed the stairs to their apartment and were surprised to find Jonathon lounging outside the door. Leila stopped short a few feet before the door.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“Waiting for you,” he replied.
“Well obviously,” her mother said walking forward to open the door. She seemed unperturbed by the continued appearance of Jonathon in their lives. “Well, come in then,” she said.
Jonathon took her up on her invitation and Leila followed, eyes narrowed and shoulders tense.
They all sat down in the living room and Leila stared expectantly at Jonathon who leaned forward and placed a paper on the table. Leila stared at it as if it was a time bomb and might go off, and then she leaned forward to pick it up. It was her mother’s hospital bill, paid in full…
Leila looked at her mother. There was no way she was having this discussion with her present.
“Ma. Jonathon and I need to talk. Would you mind excusing us?” she asked. Raychelle’s eyebrow touched her hairline but all she said was, “I need to rest anyway.” She struggled up from her chair. Jonathon hastened forward to help her and went so far as to escort her to the door of her room. She thanked him politely and walked into her room as he closed her door behind her.
He walked slowly back to the living room where Leila was standing where they left her, the bill clutched in her hand.
She brandished it at him, “Okay then. How much is this going to cost me?”
Ch
apter 5
Jonathon laughed, “I knew you were a quick one the moment I met you.”
Leila just continued to glare.
“Shall we sit?” Jonathon proposed and Leila lowered herself into the chair and crossed her legs. Jonathon couldn’t help it; he had to look. She was wearing a nineteen fifties style A-line dress that ended just below her knees so her gams were on display. His eyes darted quickly to her face, hoping she hadn’t noticed his momentary lapse in manners but no such luck. Judging by the unwavering glare she was directing at him, she had noticed. And now she probably thought this was some tacky sex for money deal.
“My father died on September 11th. He was a fireman,” he blurted. He was gratified to see that he’d surprised her though she said nothing.
“You ever think there must have been other people who died on that day. I mean people who weren’t at the twin towers. Isn’t that a strange thought?”
Leila’s eyebrows went up and her lips pursed but she still didn’t say anything.
“Anyway. He was a fireman and he and my mother were ecstatically, embarrassingly happy. They were the kind of parents who held hands when they came for my varsity games and kissed each other while waiting to go in for parent teacher conferences. I found it mortifying at the time,” Jonathon smiled ruefully. “I’d give anything to give her back her husband now.”
Leila continued to watch him.
“Anyway, my parents, they were just average joes you know? I mean I knew I had an insanely rich grandfather, he sent me some out of this world Christmas and birthday presents after all; but he wasn’t…we weren’t…my father, he looked after us. We were just an average family,” he said.
“Why are you telling me this?” she asked.
Jonathon sighed in relief; he hadn’t been sure she was really listening. “I need to give you some background. You need to know where I’m coming from.”
“Why?” she asked.
“I’ll come to that. Can I tell it my way?”
Leila gave a one shouldered shrug.
“Okay good. Well anyway, there was nothing different that day when we got up. Dad kissed me on the cheek like usual and I wiped away his imprint with the same irritation I’d adopted since I was twelve. I regret that…” Jonathon looked up at her from his contemplation of the patterns on the rug. “I regret that every day. Why did I wipe it away? It was the last touch I would feel from my dad.”
“Better than if he punched you in the face,” Leila said unexpectedly.
Jonathon laughed, “Yeah I guess so. Anyway, the first we knew there was a problem was when my dad called my mother to make sure we were nowhere near downtown. He said there had been some sort of attack and they were on their way to the scene. He told us to stay inside…”
“The baby sitter ran out on us that day. I was actually with my mother when the call came in. Sitting at the back of the station, writing a practice essay. She left me with the station captain while she went to the site. He was frantic, trying to direct all the teams. I felt his urgency, but I didn’t think it was anything out of the ordinary. I just sat there, doing my essay.”
“You’re lucky. We were glued to the news channels, trying to find out what happened. Mama was freaking out. It wasn’t until two men came to our door the next morning that she actually broke down though. After that, it was just her and me. For a while there…I thought it would be just me pretty soon. She was messed up. I called my grandfather and asked for his help.” Jonathon was looking at her as he said this and she couldn’t help the softening in her eyes. Clearly she’d been wrong about his not going through life knowing about problems.
“Well anyway, that’s how James Maitland came to be in our lives full time. I still lived with my mother though, and she clung to me really tight after that. We’re still very close. It's important you understand that.”
“Why?” Leila asked startling Jonathon. Somehow he thought she’d already agreed to his proposal.
“I’ll get to that. Anyway, when James had his first stroke, I was twenty two and something of a wild child. At least that’s what he called me. I prefer the term free spirit myself. That’s when he called me into his room and explained to me the terms of his will. I had until the end of my twenties to get the wild child out of my system. But on my thirtieth birthday, I better have settled down and be a respectably married man if I intended to collect on my inheritance. Failure to which, the entire fortune goes to charity.”
“Wow,” Leila said.
“Yeah,” Jonathon agreed nodding.
“And why are you telling me all this?” she asked.
“Because I’ll be thirty in six months…I’m running out of time,” he said.
Leila stared at him, “And…?”
“I need a wife,” he said.
“I’m going to need you to spell out exactly what you want Jonny,” she said imitating Ken’s tone when she said his name.
Jonathon took a deep breath, “I think that you and me would-“
“No,” Leila said.
Jonathon stared at her and then nodded, “I expected that that would be your first answer,” he said. “That’s why I chose you.”
“You chose me because you knew I would refuse?” she asked confused.
“No, I chose you because you have integrity,” he said.
“And you know that how?” she asked.
“I know because I’ve been studying you, researching you, watching you…”
“And yet you come here with a paid bill as if it’s an obligation you wish to lay on me,” she said. Jonathon smiled.
“The paid bill was an opening gambit. A way to say to you, ‘I’m serious about this’ so ‘let’s talk’. That’s all. It's no obligation; it’s a demonstration.”
“A demonstration of what? Your vast wealth?” the sarcasm was thick in her voice.
“A demonstration of my good faith. There are advantages in this for you. Your mother is ill; she needs more care than her health insurance is willing to provide.”
“You bastard,” she replied.
Jonathon shrugged, “It’s a good deal.”
“What exactly do you want from me? Don’t spare the details,” she bit out.
“A valid marriage certificate. An undertaking to live with me for at least three years. Your signature on a pre-nup and an NDA,” he said.
Leila nodded her understanding, “And what do I get for all this?”
Jonathon shrugged again, “Anything you want.”
Leila looked down at the floor. “Can I think about it?” she asked the rug.
Jonathon stood up. “I’ll be back for your answer on Tuesday,” he said before making his own way out. Leila exhaled and flopped back on the chair, staring up at the ceiling.
“Fuck my life,” she said.
*****
Leila didn’t know if she was authorized to discuss Jonathon’s proposal with anyone. After all, she was supposed to sign a non-disclosure agreement which assumingly included not disclosing stuff to her own family. When Jonathon left, she also exited the apartment and walked, in spite of her bum leg. She thought better when she was on the move anyway…
She thought about her mother’s health, and the care they would need, probably continue to need for a long time. She wondered if there was a fund she could access to take care of the medical bills. They’d probably have to prove her mother’s illness was a direct result of her work at ground zero. Leila didn’t know how long it would take to prove that, and what the prognosis on her mother’s health was. She looked down at the bill she was still holding in her hand.
“And what do I get for all this?”
“Anything you want.”
“Anything I want,” she repeated out loud. “Can you make my mother better?” she asked the piece of paper.
‘I can for damn sure make sure she gets the best care available’
Jonathon’s voice spoke in her head clear as a bell. Was her mother’s health worth bartering three years of her lif
e?
Leila knew the answer to that question. She just didn’t want to face it.
*****
Jaime Leary flew in the following day and Jonathon met her at the airport and they drove to his hotel where he’d already booked her a suite of rooms. As she deposited her belongings in the drawer, he bounced on her bed, updating her on the benefit.
“It was cool. I mean they really do some good work. I was inspired. And she’s the project manager.”
“She as in the mystery woman you think will make the perfect bride?” Jaime asked.
“The mystery woman I know will make a perfect bride,” Jonathon said.
“So you asked her already?” Jaime asked straightening up from her bags.
“Yes and no,” Jonathon hedged.
“What does that mean?” Jaime asked hands on hips.
“It means I made an initial foray into the fray. It's an ongoing process.”
“I’m not James, don’t prevaricate with me boy,” Jaime warned.
Jonathon sighed, “Okay fine, I propositioned her yesterday. She said no. I pushed. She asked for time to think about it. I think she’ll see reason.”
“She refused huh? That is interesting,” Jaime said.
“Yeah,” Jonathon agreed.
“When do I meet this paragon of virtue?”
“I said I’d give her till tomorrow to decide. I thought I’d send in the big guns then,” he said grinning at her.
“Oooh, am I your big gun Jonny? I’m sure there is some Freudian analogy there we probably don’t want to explore too closely.”
“Eww. So you’ll go in for the final push then?” he asked.
“Have I ever said no to you?” Jaime asked.
“Not when it counted,” Jonathon said.
*****
Leila was on her third cup of coffee when Martha walked into her office to tell her she had a guest from the James Maitland foundation.
“Who is it?” she asked straightening her suit and pouring the rest of the coffee in her money plant.
“She didn’t give me a name,” Martha said looking distressed.
“Never mind, send her in,” Leila replied.