Stay with Me

by Sheryl Wright

  It was hard not to turn around and go out to the woman’s car. She wanted to just ask her if she was okay and what she could do but Megan was probably right. The vulnerable had a way of shying from help. How could they not? Anyone desperate enough to live in her car might be feeling some measure of fear not to mention shame. People were proud. Besides, this was the evening Megan said she wouldn’t return, if she returned, until late.

  She was trying to decide if she should walk back over later on when she noticed all the lights in her place were on. For a moment she happily imagined that her sister Leslie had stopped by with something for her supper. She did so once or twice a month but she usually called first, teasing that she wouldn’t risk popping into Lori’s bachelorette pad unannounced. Smelling the sweet scent of a hardwood fire and spotting the corresponding smoke chugging from her chimney, she groaned, knowing for a fact that Leslie would never light a fire in the fireplace. That meant Peachy was here and had probably gone to some great effort to create the ultimate romantic evening. Sweet baby Jesus…give me strength.

  Lori had made the ultimate mistake with this one, letting a casual hookup get too close. Oh sure, Sue Ellen Peach was a great gal and certainly fun to be with but Lori knew deep down she wasn’t long-term relationship material, even if she was sexy as all get-out and had the sweetest ass! It wasn’t that long ago she had given up on relationships, but seeing Georgie and Tyler Marsh together had renewed her white picket fence dream. She was finally in the place where she could care for a family and have the time for a loving and intimate relationship. Too bad old Peachy wasn’t the one.

  It had been a banner year at work. The upset her brother had failed to orchestrate actually initiated some amazing changes. She was now leading her own company and with Georgie’s help and Marnie’s encouragement, she had revamped the entire line and rolled out their biggest and best yacht to date. They had debuted the DynaCraft Super 69 at the Miami International Boat Show after taking her for a three-week shakedown cruise. It had been amazing. The Super 69 was big, fast, and fun to sail. Not only did they take the top award for Best New Design, she had personally taken a dozen new orders. She was now in the enviable position of having more work than the boatyard could handle. In this economy it was more than fortunate, it was downright miraculous.

  Hanging her coat in the mudroom, she kicked off her work boots and braced herself. It wasn’t Peachy’s fault she hadn’t been clear about her intentions. She had been out with her only a few times before inviting her to come along on the shakedown cruise. To be perfectly honest, she had only asked because Peachy wasn’t working and could afford the time away. Besides, the last thing she wanted to do was play third wheel to Georgie and Tyler’s lovey-dovey adventure. Setting out from Baltimore in January had been a bit intimidating but seeing that old spark of challenge in Georgie’s eyes was all the motivation she needed.

  The first four days aboard had been hard on Tyler and Peachy. They had been forewarned that around the clock either she or Georgie would need to be at the helm. Both had offered to serve as watch but the reality of freezing temps, heaving swells, a pitching deck, and having to constantly break ice off the running lines and sheets had been shocking. She did give them credit; cold and miserable, they both stuck it out. By the time they reached the Bahamas, they were thawed and ready to have fun and Peachy had been all that and more. Still, as much fun as they had together, Lori knew there was no emotional connection between them.

  “Hey Peachy, I wasn’t expecting you.”

  “Oh, you’re home,” she said with what almost passed as surprise. “I was just dropping this off,” she added, pointing to the casserole dish she was just putting in the oven. “I was in the mood to cook today. I guess I got carried away. When I couldn’t find room for it in my fridge, I thought of you and brought it over. I hope you don’t mind me letting myself in.”

  “I see you set a fire too. Feeling cold?” she asked without rancor or encouragement. She was aiming for neutral as she slid into a kitchen chair.

  “You’re mad?”

  “No. It’s very thoughtful, but…”

  “But, I didn’t call and I let myself in which would have been totally embarrassing if you had brought someone home, right?”

  Lori tried to smile. “Thanks for remembering that little fact and I do appreciate the food and all but…Peachy, we talked about this.”

  Smiling and clearly not too bothered by Lori’s reaction, Peachy swooped across the kitchen, quickly straddling Lori and wrapping her slender arms around her broad shoulders. “Hey, no worries, okay? I know the dealio! We’re just casual, nothing more, and I know better than to just show up here but I just wanted to have a little fun tonight. You can’t blame a girl for that, can you?”

  Groaning, Lori couldn’t help but grab her ass. Peachy was a vivacious redhead, and absolutely crazy in the sack, but she had to be sure. “It’s just fun right?”

  “I’m just here for a good time,” she declared, clamping her lips on Lori’s mouth and grinding her ass into her cradling palms. When she came up for air, she added with her lopsided grin, “The casserole will take forty minutes, any idea how we can pass the time?”

  Lori knew exactly how they would spend the next forty minutes, and the forty after that, and the forty after that…

  * * *

  There were really only two ways out of the Cattaraugus Creek community. You could head out the west side on Hanford, or take Allegany. Megan was betting the mystery woman would be headed to Buffalo, and would take Allegany up to Main. Staking her bet, she was parked at the Sunset Bay Restaurant when she spotted the blue Ford. Right on time.

  For once she was glad she and her dad had spent the evening working on her car. They had finally replaced the starter with one they were sure wouldn’t burn out in a week. Since taking up the job as the boatyard’s one and only security guard, she had surprised the Marsh clan with her dedication. Back when her boss Lori, Marnie, and her sister’s girlfriend Georgie had been hiding out in her family room planning their strategy to fight cousin Lou’s takeover attempt, with her sisters and mom lending a hand, she and her dad had spent their time cooking and yapping about stuff. It went a long way to repairing the damage her emotional spat had been causing.

  Back then they were arguing about college. She had withdrawn from UB without their knowledge and there had been hell to pay when they figured it out. At the time she couldn’t explain it to them. How could she make them understand? College was okay if you knew what you wanted to do. Only thing was, she didn’t have a clue at the time. Then she’d overheard Lori complaining that she would probably have to hire some security company to cover the boatyard now that their nephew Ethan was leaving for the Marine Corps. That caught her attention. Not being a security guard but the idea of community policing.

  Both Lori and Georgie had been against bringing in some outside security company. The boatyard was the center of a small and thriving community. Everyone knew to call the boatyard security cottage for help and often did because Ethan Phipps had been more than a site security guard; he was family and a welcome face when things were strained. Lori had seen to Ethan’s training, sending him off to the Buffalo Police Academy for several courses. The academy commander had been one of the people to write a great recommendation for Ethan that got him into the marines for officer training. At the moment Ethan was in Pensacola learning to fly. How great was that? And Ethan was doing something else. Once he learned Tyler’s sis would be taking his old job, he had connected with her on Facebook, offering insights and experience to smooth the way. Now, a year later, they were buddies and had hashed out all the things she was interested in learning and doing.

  Following the mystery woman up Route Five, it was easy to see this was the work she wanted. Not following trespassers but making a difference in the community. Her dad was like that in his own way too. Fixing cars and helping your friends and neighbors was cool and all, but policing lit her fire. For the first six months on
the job she was just happy to be employed but it wasn’t until starting her part-time training at the police academy that she knew she truly belonged in uniform.

  Back then she sat with her folks, trying to sort out her feelings and make them understand this boatyard thing wasn’t just a sabbatical from university. Megan had assumed they would be concerned because she wasn’t interested in some high up degrees and professions like her sisters. It was cool that Kira was a lawyer and Tyler was a…whatever it was she did, but that wasn’t who Megan was. She wanted to be a cop. And not just any cop. She wanted to join the New York State Police. She wanted to chase bad guys down the highway and help lost kids get home and…and figure out what would cause a woman to live in her car?

  Her parents’ first concern had surprised her. They were worried that working for a statewide employer might take her away from them. Her dad got it, but Debbie Marsh had been scared for her little girl. Policing, especially at the community level, was rewarding and dangerous, but what if they wanted her to move way downstate? She had shown them everything on the New York State Police recruiting site, and all the research she had completed by herself. The NYSP would give her a choice of postings and even if she ended up a little farther away than she wanted, she would work her way back to the Greater Buffalo Area soon enough.

  They had just hit the Seneca roundabout when mystery woman turned for Route 20. That surprised her but she followed along making sure to leave a car between her Chevy and the blue Ford. Her fourteen-year-old Cavalier was a very common vehicle for the region but she and Carl had invested a lot of time over the last year turning the old convertible into something special. Carl had picked it up at auction thinking it would make a great project for the car club. The front end was completely smashed in but Carl was the best at what he did and could tell the difference between salvage and garbage. While they worked on the frame and body, Georgie had offered a boat engine. It was a strange choice but the Dynamic Straight Six, the only operating prototype built, produced more than 340 horsepower on the Dyno. Even though she ran on diesel, she purred like a kitten and as a bonus, Megan hadn’t spent a cent on gas. The boatyard had been turning out their own biodiesel for years. The old fryer grease from three of the local restaurants had been providing all the resource material needed to perk up their own fuel. Nothing was wasted at her work. She liked that, liked the attitude, and the people.

  She hadn’t really liked Georgie DiNamico when her sister first brought her home. She seemed weird and slow. She would come out with all these big convoluted questions then only utter a few words when you asked her something. It had been her mom, as usual, who had hauled her into the kitchen to give her grief. No one had told her Georgie’s head was fucked up from getting shot up over there. Still, it was weird, but Georgie did try and it was obvious that she had it bad for Tyler. Megan hadn’t thought much of that. Her only worry had been for how it would look if they got together. But she had been wrong about Georgie. She was good people and so was her family.

  Proof positive was Lori’s job offer. It had come when Georgie’s family had been camped out with her mom and sisters, trying to figure out some business shit. Lori had slipped outside for a smoke and caught Megan sneaking a butt too. That’s when she found out from Lori about the security job at the boatyard. It wasn’t glamorous but it did come with some police training and a lot of responsibility. Lori said her nephew had done it for a year after graduating from the University of Buffalo while he applied to the marines.

  She had spent half the night on Facebook with her academy friends and some state cops asking what they thought. Most considered working as a security guard beneath them and even detrimental to her future application to the state police, right up until someone asked which guard company she was considering. Opinions reversed immediately, when she explained it would be for the DiNamicos. Everyone who knew Buffalo knew the DiNamico family and how they treated their security people. They got their training at the police academy, they had great uniforms and all the best equipment, but better than that, she had learned that a recommendation from them was like a golden invitation to the police force. She’d have to work to earn that recommendation but she was up for the challenge and said as much to her parents when she told them the job required their joint endorsement. Without it, neither Georgie nor Lori would give her a chance. Respect, it turned out was the first rule if she wanted to work at the boatyard or for DME. Respect for family, respect for community, but most of all respect for her own efforts.

  All of this was probably why she was following the blue Ford as they made their way along the Buffalo Skyway. It looked like they were headed downtown. That didn’t mean anything except she was wondering why the woman had taken the route she had. I-90 would have been faster, so why…The I-90’s a toll road. That cost money. Sure enough, she followed the blue Ford off the skyway at Church, staying a few cars behind. It was still early, even by downtown standards at just 7:05 as the mystery woman turned cautiously onto Pearl Street.

  Megan was considering the irony of having someone camp way out at the boatyard only to spend an hour driving to within a block of their head office…on the same block as the head office. Then the blue Ford pulled into the parking lot for the DiNamico Building. Megan, a little more than confused, stopped her Z24 on Pearl Street and studied the young woman carefully. Sure enough, she parked her car, grabbed a knapsack, and headed for the side entrance with her covered head held low, eyes down, never looking around.

  Huh? Mystery Woman works here?

  Then why didn’t Lori know her? She knew everyone, prided herself on knowing everyone who worked for the DiNamico and Phipps families. Maybe it was just a coincidence. Some of the offices were rented out and she could work at one of them? Still, why would she seek out shelter at the boatyard if she didn’t work here? And if she did work here, work for the family, why hadn’t someone stepped up to help her out? Megan had worked here for over a year and knew for a fact that the DiNamico/Phipps clan took care of its own and that included employees.

  She now had a right to pursue the case, if for no other reason, she convinced herself, she needed to identify the woman in peril to her employers. Trying to decide her next move she jumped when someone knocked at her passenger window. Powering it down, she warned with a growl, “Geez Sanjit! What the hell…you trying to kill me?”

  He grinned up a storm, leaning his lithe frame into the open window. “Hey Megan. I didn’t mean to startle you. I just wanted you to know you can park in the lot. There’s lots of room today. Are you here to see Marnie? Oh, don’t tell me you got accepted to the academy before me? Does Lori know? Wait, maybe I should transfer out to the boatyard? What’s it like out there in the winter? Hey, open the door, I’ll ride into the lot with you and point out an open visitor spot. So, what’s the deal, do you have paperwork to do?”

  Megan popped the door locks and waited for a gap in his inquisition. “Sanjit! Come up for air, man. I swear, you ask more questions than my sisters put together.”

  “Kira and Tyler aren’t here yet. You didn’t come here to see them did you because I don’t think Tyler will be here until eight and Kira doesn’t come in until the day care opens at eight thirty. Of course you know all that, sorry,” he apologized, pointing out the correct parking spot for her. “I was just so excited to see you. Please tell me you got in? That’s why you’re here, right?” he asked hopefully.

  The truth was, they were both applying to the police academy and had hopes of being accepted in the same class. They had started their jobs on the same day, attending training together, and both looking forward to a career in law enforcement. Starting as a security guard at DME, or whatever they were now calling the family of companies operated by the DiNamico/Phipps family, was a good move for good reasons.

  Way back during the Depression, old Luigi, the company founder, had needed some security to keep tabs on his building lot and the construction materials he’d been accumulating. Looking for a way to help une
mployed veterans, he started hiring them, in time expanding his recruiting to include off-duty cops. Doing so fused a connection between the company and professional law enforcement that lasted to present day. Pretty much everyone working security for the DiNamico companies was a retired cop, an off-duty cop, or a soon-to-be cop. Still, both would-be police officers Sanjit and Megan would have to wait until a new academy class was called. You had to be a hired employee to attend the police academy and that wouldn’t happen until the next state funding round or a lot more retirements took place. While they worked here at DME, they were both studying the fundamentals and talking about being cops. It was their thing.

  “Dude, take a breath. I’m not here to see anybody. Well at least I didn’t plan on it.”

  “A mystery!” His eyes were big and bright. “Tell me everything.”

  “Okay, but you can’t say anything. Not till I tell Ms. Phipps what I found, okay?” She pinned him with a stern look, waiting for him to nod his acceptance. It was the only time he ever shut up. “That woman that pulled in, in the blue Ford, does she work here?”

  He had to think for a minute, looking around the lot. Pointing to the car in question, he asked for confirmation before pulling his smartphone from his jacket and tabbed to the security app he used for parking access and visitor notifications. “Here we go…” The file didn’t provide much information but he shared what was there. “Her name is Aydan Ferdowsi; she’s an intern in engineering. Let’s see who she works for…” He tabbed through another page before saying in confusion, “It says here she works for Tyler Marsh? Did you know, oh no, what’s this about? Not Georgie, please tell me it’s not like that?”

  “It’s not like that. Geez, will you chill already!” At least she hoped it wasn’t like that. Shit, if Tyler broke up with Georgie…no, that couldn’t be it. She waited for his incessant questioning to peter out. The minute he settled down, she told him the whole story of the mystery woman.