“Where are you from, Megan?” he asked after he finished his latest story.
Why did he have to ask me that?
Thankfully, a woman approached me with her plate out. I asked her what kind of sandwich she wanted. “Roast beef please,” she answered with a friendly smile. I handed her the sandwich, hoping Eddie would forget his question. Of course I wasn’t that lucky.
“Where are you from?” Eddie repeated.
Nate just happened to be walking behind us and heard him. He wrapped an arm around my shoulder, but it was in no way a friendly gesture. “Didn’t she tell you her last name? She’s a Banks,” he informed the guy next to me before continuing down the line, checking to see if we had enough food.
My cheeks heated, embarrassed for myself and for Eddie.
“Oh, you’re a Richie, are you? That’s okay, so is boss man.” He was smiling as he said this. I thought he would feel embarrassed after telling me about his life, but thankfully he didn’t seem to be bothered at all. “So what did you do to Nate?”
I plopped a sandwich on the plate of a man who was wearing a “Birthday Boy” button on his gray dress shirt He was a large man, with hair that looked like it had once been black, but there wasn’t much left, so I couldn’t be sure. “You must be Frank,” I said, grinning at him, remembering Julia on the phone talking about a cake.
He returned the smile and added a wink. “I am and you must be the new girl I heard about.”
“My name is Megan.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Megan,” he said as he was about to walk away. I placed a second sandwich on his plate. He looked up at me, surprised.
“Happy birthday.”
He smiled again, nodded and continued down the aisle.
“Are you going to tell me, or are you going to make me guess?” Eddie prodded, still waiting for my answer.
“I didn’t do anything to him. Why?”
“Because he doesn’t seem to like you and I’ve never seen him that way with anyone before. I’ve been coming here for two years, since I was the getaway driver in a corner store robbery. Like you, I had to do community service here. He was extremely helpful and kind. He really helped me get my life together and even signed me up for a scholarship for college.” He paused when a short bald man approached him, wanting some salad. He placed some on his plate and continued. “I’m just finishing my first year. I’m going to be a lawyer. A public defender actually, I want to help people. Nate has that way about him. He inspires others to do their share. Actually, a lot of people that volunteer here don’t come by choice.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Why was Nate being so rude to me when he was so great to Eddie and the others? They were here for the same reason I was. “I don’t know why he doesn’t like me. We go to the same school, but I hadn’t spoken to him until last night.”
“Last night?” His brow furrowed. “Oh, you’re the chick who burned down that house.”
I dropped the metal tongs I was holding just as I was about to pick up a sandwich for a little girl with midnight-black ringlets. “What are you talking about? I never started the fire.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t judge, given my history.”
I had picked up the tongs, but now I slammed them on the table. The metal smacked against the wooden surface. “I didn’t. Why do you think that?” I yelled, causing some of the other volunteers, especially Mia, to stare in our direction.
His face turned to confusion as he held up both hands in surrender. “Hey, don’t look at me. I heard it from Nate. He said you told him that.”
“I never said anything to him.”
“Then why are you here?”
I sighed, hating that my life was turning into a B movie. “The police think I know who did it and are punishing me because I won’t give them their names.”
“Been there. I wouldn’t squeal back then either. Today I might.”
I saw Nate standing near the door of the game room. “Can you cover for me, Eddie?” I asked, handing him the tongs I was using.
“Sure. Give him hell.”
“Oh, I intend to.” I marched over to Nate and shoved him. He fell back a bit, a look of surprise on his face. “How dare you tell people that I started that fire,” I said in a low growl. I was mad, but I didn’t want to draw any more attention to myself.
His familiar scowl crossed his face. “Get back to the serving line,” he said with a dismissive tone, turning away from me.
I grabbed his arm, making him face me again. “Why do you think I started the fire?” I whispered.
“You told me you did last night.” He placed his arm against the doorjamb and the smug, I’m better than you look he was famous for returned.
Now I remembered Detective Carver telling me that a witness had stated that I admitted to starting the fire. It was Nate. He was the reason I was handcuffed, fingerprinted and spent most of the night in a police station. I wanted to hate him for what he did, but instead, I felt the need defend myself. I didn’t want him or anyone else to think I could do such a thing. “No, I didn’t.”
He rolled his eyes and sighed like he was dealing with a four-year-old having a temper tantrum “When I stopped you from entering the house you said you had to help because this was your fault. Remember?”
I hadn’t remembered saying that until now. I was so afraid for the family that at the time, most of what happened was a blur. “I didn’t mean it literally. I meant that I knew who did it.”
“Then why won’t you tell the police?”
I was silent. I didn’t know how to answer that.
He sneered and a fraction of his left dimple appeared. “That’s why you’re here, right? Because you won’t tell them who did it.” My silence confirmed it. “Well, then, I’m sorry for misinterpreting you, but you should tell the police what they want to know. I bet I could figure it out. You don’t hang out with all that many people. I could probably call them right now and guess that the five friends you eat with every day at school were involved.” The shock on my face brought out a real smile on his. “I thought so. But don’t worry, I won’t say anything. It should come from you. But if I figured it out, don’t you think the police will?” With that, he walked away, leaving me speechless.
“So what happened? He still looked pretty pissed,” Eddie asked, handing me my tongs as I slunk back to my spot beside him.
“Now he doesn’t approve that I won’t tell the police who did it.”
“That doesn’t sound like him. He’s very understanding, even though he’s perfect.”
“Not to me he’s not.” I tried to forget about Nate and focus on why I was here, handing off a sandwich to the last person in line.
Eddie started to clean up his section, picking up lettuce that had fallen onto the table and placing the tongs into the large plastic bowl. “Maybe his problem has nothing to do with the fire.”
I turned to face him. “Well, what is it then?”
He picked up the bowl. “Beats me. Maybe you should ask him.” He walked away, heading for the kitchen.
I cleaned up my section, picked up my tray and followed him.
After the lunch dishes were taken care of, Nate told me I could take a break. I sat down at one of the tables to eat a sandwich and a tossed salad. Julia came into the room and took the empty seat next to me. “How’s it going so far?”
“Good. My feet hurt though. This might surprise you, but I’ve never worked before.”
“No, I’m not surprised.” She laughed. “I wanted to apologize for this morning. Nate told me he was wrong about what happened last night.”
I froze, my fork in midair and turned to her. “Did he tell everyone?” I asked, rolling my eyes.
She smiled. “Probably just Eddie and me, we’re his favorites.” She poured some dressing over her salad and began mixing it into the lettuce with her fork.
“He’s so different here. I’ve never even seen him speak to anyone at school unless he’s tutoring.”
She nodded. “He’s happiest here. He loves helping people.”
“Eddie called him the boss man. What does that mean? He’s younger than Eddie,” I asked, before taking a bite of my salad.
“Just that he’s been here longer. And he has a passion about this place. He worked at the one in Philadelphia before he moved here. He’s been volunteering since he was a kid. The Rileys know him somehow. I’m not sure, they’re not clear on the details, but they put him in charge a lot.” She eyed me while taking a bite of her salad. “After you clean the bathrooms, do you want to help me out? I’m going to be working with some women who have job interviews next week. You’d be good with helping them figure out what to wear. I’ll help them with what to say.”
I’d never really been that into clothes, never one for shopping. Since my mother did nothing else, I never had to. But this sounded like fun to me. “Are there clothes here to pick from?” I looked over at a boy who was playing quietly in the corner, pushing a little dinky car around.
“Some, but not much. And what there is isn’t really appropriate for job interviews. I’ll just get some money out of petty cash.” She picked up her glass of water when I had an idea.
“What about donations?”
She nodded her head as she swallowed. “That’s the stuff I’m talking about.”
“If the women are the right size, I bet my mother has some old business suits that would be great. My dad too, if there are any men that need them. They change their wardrobe more than most people change their underwear.”
Her eyes brightened as she grinned. “That’s a good idea. Just bring them in by Tuesday, that’s the first day of interviews. You can talk to the women and see what they’re looking for.”
Finished with my lunch, I stacked my dishes in front of me and leaned back in my chair. “You know, if there are some girls my age, I have some clothes I would love to get rid of. They still have the tags on. My mom would hate that I gave them away. But it would serve her right for thinking that she can buy me designer clothes out of guilt because she forgot my birthday or parent teacher night or Christmas.” I said all of that absently, forgetting Julia was there. But when I saw the look of pity cross her face, I was embarrassed. “I know, poor little rich girl, right?” I stared down at the table and picked up my discarded fork, absently moving it around my plate.
“No. I wasn’t thinking that. I was thinking that it sounded like you’ve had a very lonely life. I grew up with a big, close family and I wouldn’t trade that for all the money in the world.”
A tear rolled down my cheek. I swiped it quickly before she noticed and laughed to cover. “And I would trade all the money I have for what you have.” She didn’t say anything more; just placed her hand on my knee. Her touch was warm and soothing.
“Anyway, do you think anyone would like my mother’s guilt clothes? They all have the tags on them. Oh and lots of shoes. My mother loves shoes.”
“Sure. They would love it. We have a few teenage girls here and also some women that are about the same size as you.” She ran her finger around the top of her glass.
“How do you do it?” I asked her.
“Do what?”
“Listen to these sad stories. I heard some people talking today during lunch and some of their stories made me want to cry.” I looked around the room. Just a few residents sat at a back table and two volunteers took up a table behind us. Since the coast was clear I lowered my voice to a whisper. “Even Eddie. He told me about his life today and how he grew up. It took everything I had not to take all the money in my wallet and give it to him, but I was afraid to insult him.”
She nodded with a slight smile; her eyes were alight with warmth. “You have it.”
“Have what?”
“The bug. One day here and I was hooked like you. I wanted to adopt all the residents and give them everything I had. But I learned that they didn’t want my charity. They want to learn to earn money for themselves.” She paused as the little boy with the dinky car ran past us. “I can see it on your face. I have a feeling I’ll be seeing you a lot around here.” She stood up, taking her empty plate. “I’m glad to say that I was wrong about you. I’ll see you later. Have fun cleaning the toilets,” she said with a laugh.
I smiled, shook my head and stood with my plate in hand. I turned around, almost bumping into Nate, who stood like a wall behind me. The silverware clinked on my dish.
He was staring at me oddly, his vibrant blue eyes intense. The scowl was gone, replaced by a look of shock and confusion.
“What?” I asked nervously.
“Follow me. I’ll show you where we keep the cleaning supplies.”
An hour later, I was putting the supplies away where Nate had shown me. There were five bathrooms, one on the main level and two on each of the upper levels. It didn’t take long to clean them. After Nate showed me what to do, it was easy. I wouldn’t say I enjoyed the chore. It just wasn’t as bad as I thought. When I made my way back into the kitchen, I could see everyone was busy making dinner.
Nate saw me and stepped over to where I stood in the doorway. “We can handle things here. Julia is waiting for you in the common area. When you’re done with her, come back and you can help serve dinner.”
I smiled, surprised to find myself enjoying the work. I’d never had a purpose before today. I woke up, went to school, practiced cheerleading and hung out with my friends. I never did anything that mattered. Sure, if I wasn’t here to serve the food, no one would notice, but it made me feel good that I had helped. “Sure, see you later.” I turned and went to meet Julia.
The common area was really an oversized living room, complete with a variety of sofas and armchairs, all arranged around an enormous flat-screen TV. When I stepped inside the room, all eyes focused on me. “Okay, ladies, I’d like you to meet Megan Banks. She’s going to help with wardrobe. Let her know what you are interested in wearing and your sizes,” Julia said from where she sat on a lounge chair.
I greeted three teenagers and four women, all mothers and daughters. I couldn’t remember any of their names except one—Mia. She was a little friendlier. The scowl was gone, but there wasn’t a smile either.
I perched on the end of a suede sofa. “Did you tell them about my idea?” I asked. Julia nodded with a smile, letting me know I could discuss it. “Actually, I thought I would just bring in everything I can find tomorrow and then you can pick what you want.” Everyone agreed and after Julia discussed what they should say in the interviews I went back to help serve.
After dinner we sang “Happy Birthday” to Frank and everyone stuffed themselves with cake. Eddie and I paired up again, cleaning up the dining room. Just as I was putting the dessert dishes away, Eddie asked, “Are you going out with Nate tonight?”
Nate was standing near the stove talking to a resident named Albert. When he heard his name, he looked over and stared at Eddie with his eyes wide, subtly shaking his head.
“Why would I go out with Nate?” I stood up on tiptoes, sliding a few small dishes into the cupboard.
Eddie smiled, glancing over at the two men talking. Ignoring Nate’s attempts to silence him, he answered, “Whenever we get a new volunteer, Nate usually takes them out to dinner to thank them.”
I could see why Nate didn’t want that announced out loud. Obviously, he had a problem with me. But I was fine with that. I had enjoyed my time here and intended to come back as much as possible.
“She’s probably too tired to go anywhere,” Nate replied, walking over to us after Albert had moved on. I was tempted to let him off the hook, but I wasn’t in the giving mood.
“No, I’m not tired,” I lied. “But it’s obvious that you don’t like me and I’m not interested in spending time where I’m not wanted.” Finished with the dishes, I picked up my bag and spun around. “See you tomorrow, Eddie.”
He waved with a grin as I walked out to my car.
Just as I was about to drive away, Nate ran out of the
building and leaned into my open window, his sun-streaked bangs falling into his eyes. “If you want, I’d like to take you out. You did a great job today.” The words were forced, as if they were hard to say.
“No thanks.”
I drove out of the lot, looking through my rearview mirror at him.
He was still standing in the same spot I had left him, staring after me.
Chapter Five
Lunch
“So how was it?” Mona asked, stepping out onto the patio. I was in the hot tub trying to soothe my screaming muscles and aching limbs.
“It was awesome. Except that I’m so tired I could sleep for a week.”
She laughed, very hard. Her high-pitched chortle echoed in the night.
“Yeah, I know it’s funny.” I paused, waiting for her to finish. “Okay, enough,” I grumbled when her laughter only increased. I laid my head back against the lip of the tub, looking up at the sky, waiting for her to stop.
She rubbed her eyes. “Sorry, I couldn’t help it.” She sat on the patio chair next to the tub and glanced at our pool. The light glowing from inside the water and the flickering patio lanterns made it pretty and relaxing at night. “I knew you would enjoy it.”
I sat up, turning my head to face her, water sloshing up and over the top of the tub. “How did you know?”
“I watch you ramble around this big old house. Ever since you were a child, you’ve always been missing something in your life. But lately, it’s seems worse, like you’re lost, looking for your place in the world. I can see that you’re not happy.” Her voice was full of compassion as she lifted her hand to brush my face with her finger. “You need to see that there are other people out there, other than spoiled trust fund babies. You need to be around normal people who have to work for a living. Honestly, who would you rather be around: the people you met today, or your so-called friends that you’re covering for?”
I returned my gaze upwards, taking in the dark sky and sparkling lights as I thought about my answer. It was true. I couldn’t have a five-minute conversation with Jenny or Shane without them annoying me. And although I considered Mandy my best friend it sometime seemed that she used me for her benefit. She wanted me with Brandon because he was Chris’s friend. But what about what I wanted?
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