The Summer of Me: A Novel

by Angela Benson

  Opening her portfolio, Destiny said, “I have them right here.” She handed the papers to him.

  “Thanks,” he said. “I’ll give this a quick review. If you have any questions about the job as described there, please ask.”

  Destiny read the paper and found the details to be pretty much as Bertice had explained. HR Solutions would offer her services as a consumer consultant to a variety of companies, small and large, who would pay her directly for services rendered. Services would typically be the review of a product or website or a comparison shopping task conducted online or in-store. The companies would pay her by direct deposit. She’d keep 10 percent of the deposited amount and transfer the remaining 90 percent to an HR Solutions account. Each job would net her from $500 to $750 and she was guaranteed a minimum of four jobs per month. It was pretty straightforward. When she looked up, she found Mr. Harris watching her.

  “Do you have any questions?” he asked.

  She shook her head. “Not really. This document is pretty clear. The work doesn’t appear to be too difficult or too time consuming and the pay is very good. It’s perfect for what I want to do this summer.”

  “It is a great opportunity for the right people,” the man said. “Marketing is very important to our clients and they’re willing to spend money to learn what consumers think about their products and services.”

  “It makes sense to me,” she said.

  “I didn’t realize how big the market was until we here at HR Solutions got involved in it.” He grinned at her. “Companies pay celebrities like the Kardashians thirty to fifty thousand dollars for a single tweet. Pro athletes make more money from their endorsements than they do for playing their sports. Here at HR Solutions we’ve found a way to capture a small chunk of those marketing dollars by providing companies contact with actual consumers.”

  “I guess it makes a lot of sense,” she said. “You explained it very well. When Bertice first told me about this opportunity, I thought it sounded a little bit too good to be true.”

  Mr. Harris chuckled. “I’ll bet Denzel thought that, too, the first time he made twenty million dollars for a movie role. In marketing, it’s not about how much they pay you, it’s about how much they’re going to make because of you. Don’t ever doubt your worth, Ms. Madison. We here at HR Solutions don’t.”

  “That’s good to know,” she said.

  “And you should also know that there are not a lot of openings for these jobs. We don’t advertise broadly for them. We work primarily with referrals from people who are already working with us.”

  “The way Bertice referred me.”

  He nodded. “Exactly. We have to have a trust relationship with the folks on our team. We have that with Bertice and now we have it with you because of Bertice. If you have someone you’d like to bring on, I suggest that you talk to me before you talk to them because there’s no use getting their hopes up when there are no openings.”

  “Okay,” she said, clearly understanding the line that would start forming at their door if everybody knew the kind of money being paid.

  “Well,” he said. “If you don’t have any questions, I’d like to unofficially welcome you aboard. Your application seems to be complete, but in order for us to process it, we’ll need to do a background check. We can typically get that done in a couple of days and you’ll get your first job within about a week. Your contact will be via an e-mail account that we set up for you. As you read in the document I gave you, you are responsible for checking that e-mail at least every twenty-four hours, including weekends. If you’re going to be away from e-mail for longer than twenty-four hours, you have to forward your mail to the designated address.”

  Destiny nodded. The more she talked to Mr. Harris, the more comfortable she became with the job. Her plans for the summer were officially back on track.

  Chapter 11

  THE MORE THINGS CHANGED, THE MORE THEY STAYED the same, Mary Margaret thought. Here she was in a beautiful beach house in Los Angeles and she still didn’t know where her husband was. While she was glad that Kenneth had found a twelve-step meeting nearby that he liked, she needed him to be more considerate about his time. Why did he continue to stay out late like this when he knew it drove her crazy? He did it back at home and now he was doing it out here. She sometimes thought he did it on purpose.

  “Mary Margaret.”

  She looked up from where she sat on the bed reading a company report to see KJ standing in her bedroom doorway. “What’s up, KJ?” she asked, glancing at the clock. “Why aren’t you in bed?”

  “I was waiting for Dad,” he said. “When is he coming home?”

  Mary Margaret wished she knew. She put the report she was reading aside and patted a space on the bed next to her. “Come,” she said, “sit with me.” After he was seated on the edge of the bed, she asked, “What do you need?”

  “I wanted to talk to Dad about the video camera. It’s not working right. He said he was going to help me learn to use it. We leave for the Grand Canyon on Saturday and I need to know how to use it by then.”

  Mary Margaret smiled. “What kind of problem are you having?”

  The boy’s eyes brightened. “I’ll show you,” he said. “Let me go get the camera.”

  Mary Margaret’s smile grew wider. So far, the trip to L.A. had been all she expected and more when it came to KJ and Kenae. She could feel the bond between them growing, which made her happy and did a little to make up for her disappointment with Kenneth. She couldn’t deny that having the kids around all the time had rekindled her desire to have a baby of her own. She hoped the trip was doing the same for Kenneth. She’d have to broach the subject with him soon. She loved seeing him in his kids and wondered which of his features a baby they created together would share. They’d been married four years now, so it was time to find out.

  “Here it is,” KJ said, running back into the bedroom with the camera and what she guessed was the instruction manual in his hands. He sat next to her on the bed and began to explain where he was having trouble. As he talked, she rubbed her hand across his head.

  “Have you tried this?” she asked, twisting one of the knobs on the back of the camera to change a setting.

  “Hey, it worked,” he said, smiling brightly. “Thanks, Mary Margaret.”

  “No problem, buddy,” she said, rubbing his head one more time. “I’m glad I was able to help.”

  “What’s going on in here?”

  Mary Margaret and KJ both looked toward the doorway. KJ hopped up from the bed, camera in hand, and ran to his dad. “Mary Margaret was helping me with the video camera. I’m good to go now.”

  With his hand resting on KJ’s shoulder, Kenneth looked over at Mary Margaret. “Thanks, sweetie.”

  Mary Margaret steeled herself against his endearment. Kenneth wasn’t going to get off that easy. “It’s late,” she said. “KJ should be in bed.”

  “But, Dad—” KJ began.

  Kenneth shook his head. “No buts, young man. Off to bed. I’ll be there in a minute to say good night. Is Kenae still up?”

  KJ nodded. “She had those headphones on all night, Dad. You told her not to wear them so much but she still does.”

  Kenneth smacked his son lightly on the backside. “Mind your business, KJ. I’ll take care of Kenae and her headphones. Don’t you worry about them. Now get to your room.”

  “Night, Mary Margaret,” the young boy said.

  “Sleep well, KJ.”

  After the boy left the room, Kenneth closed the door. “Thanks again for helping KJ with the camera.”

  Mary Margaret picked up her report and pretended to begin reading. “He was expecting you to help him.”

  Kenneth kicked off his shoes and began to undress. “I was going to,” he said. “I still will. We have plenty of time. We don’t leave for the Grand Canyon until day after tomorrow.”

  “You know KJ,” she said. “He’s so excited about the trip. He wants everything to be perfect.”
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br />   In only his boxers, KJ sat next to Mary Margaret on the bed. He planted a soft kiss on her lips. “Now that was perfect. How was your day?”

  Mary Margaret could feel her displeasure with Kenneth slipping away. He was such a charmer that it was hard to stay angry with him. “Nothing special,” she said. “It was a normal workday.”

  Kenneth pulled back and looked at her. “Still upset with me?”

  Mary Margaret kept her eyes on her report. “I’m not upset.”

  He pulled the papers out of her hand. “Yes you are.”

  She folded her arms across her chest. “What do I have to be upset about?”

  He leaned in and brushed his lips across hers again. “From where I sit, nothing. You have a perfect husband so you have nothing to be angry about.”

  She fought the smile that was bubbling up in her. “Not quite perfect.”

  Kenneth pulled back, eyes wide, as if he couldn’t believe what she was saying. “Which husband are you talking about?”

  The laughter she was holding in erupted.

  “That’s my girl,” Kenneth said. “Life’s a lot better when you’re happy. You are happy, aren’t you, Mary Margaret?”

  Mary Margaret leaned into Kenneth and he pulled her closer. “For the most part.”

  “You aren’t still mad at me about the miscommunication with Destiny about the child support, are you?”

  She was more upset because he’d stayed out so late after his meeting ended, but it was easier to complain about his lie to Destiny. She much preferred being the righteously indignant stepmother to the insecure wife. “It wasn’t a miscommunication, Kenneth. We agreed that you would talk to her about stopping the child-support payments for the summer and you didn’t. You even told me you had spoken to her about it. I don’t understand why you lied.”

  Kenneth sighed. “You know how unpredictable Destiny can be. She may not have let the kids come if I’d told her before we left.”

  “Maybe, maybe not,” Mary Margaret said. “It’s just that when miscommunications like that happen, I become the bad guy. Destiny thought I was behind the deception, which couldn’t be further from the truth.”

  “She doesn’t blame you.”

  Mary Margaret challenged him with her eyes. “Then why did you take her off speakerphone?” She knew the reason, so she didn’t wait for him to answer. “I don’t want to go back to those drama-filled days of the first couple of years of our marriage.”

  “Neither do I,” he said.

  Then don’t start drama of your own, she thought. After a few moments of strained silence, she asked, “Have you thought any more about inviting Destiny out to visit the kids? You know they would enjoy seeing her.”

  Kenneth shrugged. “It’s not like this is the first time they’ve been apart from her.”

  “I know,” she said. “But it’s the first time they’ve been this far away and the first time they’ve been away so long. They may get homesick if they don’t see her and I’d hate to have to cut their trip short.”

  “Well, she may not be able to afford it. You know money’s tight for her.”

  Mary Margaret had already considered Destiny’s finances. “Maybe, maybe not. We don’t really know the state of her finances, we can only guess. It doesn’t matter anyway. We still need to let her know she’s welcome to come. Besides, you could give her the full child support one month and that would cover the trip. It would be worth it and she’d appreciate the gesture.”

  He pressed another kiss on her lips. “I’ll think about it, babe.” He got up from the bed. “Let me go say good night to the kids. Otherwise, they’ll be up all night.”

  Mary Margaret nodded. She knew Kenneth didn’t want Destiny to come visit. Sometimes she thought he wanted full custody of his kids. Since he had convinced Destiny to enroll the kids in a school in their district because it has a stronger school system, he’d been angling for them to spend their weekdays at their house and weekends at Destiny’s. If he had his way, she was pretty sure he’d go for full custody. She wasn’t ready to support that position. From what she could see, Destiny had grown as a parent over the years. She didn’t see a need to take her kids; she just wanted to maintain the cordial relationship they had developed over the last couple of years. When she and Kenneth did have a baby, she wanted the environment to be drama free. She’d have to watch her husband and make sure he didn’t do anything to undermine the progress they’d made in creating a functional extended family with Destiny and the kids.

  Chapter 12

  DID YOU MAKE AN APPOINTMENT TO MEET WITH A counselor at the university?” Bertice asked from the passenger seat of Destiny’s Ford Fusion.

  Destiny glanced briefly at her friend dressed in her THINK PINK tank top and matching leggings before turning her eyes back to the interstate. The downtown exit was coming up so she navigated the car into the far-right lane. “I made one. After I get off work on Monday.”

  “In the evening?”

  “Surprised me, too,” Destiny said. “Things sure have changed since I was last a student. According to the website, they want to accommodate the working student.”

  “And that’s you.”

  Destiny nodded. “I guess it is.”

  “Have you told your mom yet?”

  Destiny shook her head. “Not yet. I have to prepare myself for her gloating.”

  Bertice laughed. Then she sobered. “What a difference a few days make, huh?”

  “You’re right about that,” Destiny said. “And I have to thank you again for the hookup at HR Solutions. It’s a better job than the one that was rescinded. I wouldn’t be able to go back to school if I was doing the other job, so I guess it all worked out.”

  “I’m glad,” Bertice said. “Now that you’ve got your professional and financial life in order, you can focus on the personal. You haven’t told me much about this Daniel character that Natalie wanted you to meet. How did it go? What do you think of him?”

  “He’s a nice man,” Destiny said. “Natalie did good with this one.”

  “Well, I need to meet him.”

  Destiny glanced over at her. “You will. He’ll be at the walk today. He’s coming with Gavin and Natalie,” she said as she turned her car into the Omni parking deck.

  “I can’t wait,” Bertice said. “These parking prices are too high. We should have taken the train,” she added.

  “Too late now,” Destiny said, taking the parking ticket. When the gate opened, she navigated the car to a parking space on the third level. After she and Bertice got out of the car, they took the stairs down to the main level. When they exited, Destiny turned at the sound of her name.

  “Perfect timing,” Natalie, flanked by Gavin and Daniel, said. “I was just about to call you two.”

  “You three look like triplets,” Gavin said, a big grin on his face.

  “Hello, Destiny,” Daniel said with a simple smile.

  Destiny smiled back. “Hi, Daniel,” she said. “I’m glad you made it.”

  “No place else I’d rather be,” he said.

  “Stop flirting, Daniel,” Gavin said. Then he gave Destiny a peck on the forehead. “I’m glad you two hit it off,” he whispered.

  Destiny wanted to tell him that he was getting ahead of himself, but he pulled away from her and turned his attention to Bertice.

  “It’s been too long since I’ve seen you, Bertice,” he said, pulling the woman into a big hug. “Where have you been hiding? I’ve missed you at service.”

  “I’ve been around,” Bertice said.

  Destiny cast a quick glance at Natalie. Both women knew Gavin made Bertice uncomfortable. She couldn’t get past the fact that her best friend had married a pastor. In fact, her church attendance had dropped steadily since Natalie and Gavin’s marriage.

  “You haven’t been around me,” Gavin said. “I was about to start thinking you didn’t like me.”

  Bertice began shaking her head. “It’s not that. I’ve just been busy. You kno
w I moved and everything.”

  “Yes, I heard, Ms. Homeowner,” he said. “Congratulations. I’m still waiting on the invitation to see your new place. But I guess it’s not so new now.”

  “Your wife has been there,” Bertice offered.

  “That counts for something, I guess,” he said. “We still miss you at service. When you don’t have time for church,” he continued, “you’re too busy.” He tugged her hand and pulled her toward Daniel. “You’ve been so busy that you haven’t met my good friend Daniel.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, Bertice,” Daniel said, extending his hand to her. “What a lovely name.”

  “Thank you,” Bertice said, taking his hand. “And it’s nice to meet you, too. Welcome to Atlanta. Natalie’s told us a lot about you.”

  “Hey, guys,” Natalie said, “let’s move as we talk. The walk starts in ten minutes and we are a couple of blocks from the starting point. I knew we would be late when we missed the church van.”

  Destiny released a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding, very thankful Natalie had interrupted before Bertice said something that would embarrass all of them. Her friend had a knack for doing that.

  “Yeah,” Daniel said, “what’s up with that? I can’t believe they left the pastor behind.”

  Natalie smirked. “I can. He was late. They were right to leave him.”

  Gavin grinned. “They were right to leave us. I wasn’t late by myself or because of myself.”

  As they walked, Daniel fell in step next to Destiny, while Natalie and Gavin flanked Bertice.

  “It’s good to see you again. I would have called,” he said, smiling down at her, “but I realized I didn’t ask for your number.”