“Jane,” she could hear his forceful command before she stepped out and slammed the door, immediately walking around the back of the car and opening Betty’s.
“Jane, get your ass back in the car.” His head popped up from the other side as they stared at each other over the roof.
“I want to see it. It’s gorgeous. You’re already pissed at me, so, whatever.” She promptly held out her hand, which Betty took and used to help pull herself from the vehicle.
“Ok, this is what I want you to do…” Betty gave a tug on Jane’s hand as she pulled her toward the stairs to the front entrance.
“Helloooo…I said NO!” Joe called out as Betty continued to tug and Jane complied willingly as they ascended the staircase.
“Park the car, Scooter. We’ll wait for you inside,” Betty yelled back as she slowly took one step at a time. She was still holding Jane’s hand.
A snort of displeasure could be heard behind them as they basically ignored it and stood before the massive glass doors. The car door slammed behind them and the engine started.
“There’s this night nurse, Eunice? I think she steals money from our purses when we’re sleeping. I want you to meet her and give her the stare down,” Betty stated quietly.
“Really? I don’t know -”
“Come on. This is going to be great,” Betty commented as she grabbed the curved pull on the door.
As she stepped in, Jane’s eyes widened in wonder at the scene before her. A huge lobby complete with marble floors and strategically placed pillars was laid out before her. The hugest crystal chandelier hung above the room, casting prisms of light on the gleaming floors. Seating areas were situated in three of the corners and halls jutted out from with side. It was breathtaking.
“Wow,” she breathed out, her eyes traveling to the chandelier once again. “It’s so beautiful. I think I’m gonna cry -”
“Over a chandelier? Ok, that’s weird. Let’s go before he comes storming in here to drag you out.” Betty gave her arm a tug. The lobby was empty save for one woman seated on a couch reading and two nurses conversing on the opposite side of the room.
“You actually get to live here?” Jane muttered as her eyes scanned over beautiful works of art hanging on the walls, fresh flowers in fancy looking Chinese vases situated here and there. Betty was leading her over to the two nurses.
“Have you guys seen Eunice?” she asked as the pretty blond and brunette turned toward them.
“She’s in your wing, doing her checks. Who’s this?” the taller brunette asked with a friendly smile.
“This? This is my…grandson’s girlfriend, Jane.”
Jane opened her mouth to correct her but shut her lips when the smile on the nurse’s face was replaced by a frown, actually both women look extremely disappointed for some reason.
“Oh,” she stated before her eyes fastened on something beyond Betty and Jane. In fact, both women were staring in open appreciation at something that must have just walked in the front doors. Footsteps sounded on the marble floors and the blond actually reached up and tucked a stray curl behind her ear in a slightly nervous gesture.
“Hi Mr. Peters,” they both practically cooed. They did, they cooed. If Jane really was his girlfriend, she might have been offended by that. As it stood, she was only slightly offended by it.
“Hi,” his voice sounded distracted, distant. Jane didn’t need to turn around to tell that he was oblivious yet again. Of course he was in here for one reason and one reason only and that was to haul her ass out of here…
“Mr. Peters! Oh, what a surprise!” a new female voice rang out from one of the hallways as clicking heels sounded throughout the cavernous room. A woman, maybe in her late forties, early fifties walked up dressed in a smart, well-tailored suit and extended a manicured, delicate looking hand toward him. Here hair was cut in a severe bob and she was very petite. Very pretty actually. This place was run by Barbie dolls. Holy hell…
“Yeah…ahh,” he started but didn’t get to finish before she started jabbering excitedly.
“I want to show you the plans for the new spa. The ladies are so excited about it by the way. It’s so generous of you. We’re going to name it after you -”
“No, don’t do that -”
“You’re being so modest. Come, let me show you the plan. It’s absolutely fantastic. I’m so glad I worked late tonight, I’ve called you and you never answer your phone, you know, and I have a few things that we need to discuss,” she rambled incessantly as she grabbed his arm and gave a tug. He looked over his shoulder and shot a quick glare to Jane in some kind of silent message of warning before being escorted down the hall.
One of the girls sighed. A really loud one too, causing all eyes to fix on the blonde. She quickly coughed into her fist to cover it up.
“All right, then. Come on Jane. Wait until you see my place. If you think this is nice, just wait,” Betty stated as she grabbed Jane’s hand and led her away from the nurses.
“Nice to meet you!” Jane called out. She could swear she heard a displeased “hmmmpf” from one of the women. She didn’t bother to turn around and find out which one.
A large hallway with a series of doors on either side greeted them as they walked on what could only be described as sumptuous carpet. It was cushy and well kept, the swirling pattern in muted neutral colors blended perfectly with the light clay colored walls. Ornate sconces and the occasional pillar with more fresh flowers were precisely placed every five doors or so. If this was a hotel, it would be five-star all the way, Jane thought as she took in the pristine environment.
“This is mine,” Betty stopped at a door with a small sign on it. It was hand painted in swirling script with little birds perched on flower covered branches.
“I made that during art class,” she commented.
“It’s nice,” Jane stated as a door opened down the hall and a nurse stepped out.
“That’s Eunice,” Betty whispered as she dropped her hand from the knob and turned toward the approaching woman.
“Ok, ready?” she whispered as the woman walked up to them. Jane swallowed a gulp and fixed her eyes on the middle aged woman in a white uniform. She had lovely light colored eyes, very little makeup and graying hair. Not pretty, not ugly, just sort of plain, but sweet. Her smile lit up her face but faltered when she glanced down at Betty.
“Is something wrong?” she asked after stopping about a foot away.
“Eunice? This is Jane, Jane? Eunice,” Betty made the introductions quickly before her voice dropped lower.
“Eunice – I have a question. It’s something that’s been bugging me.” Betty looked around as if to ensure no one else could hear the conversation. It was completely unnecessary as they were alone in the huge hallway.
“Some of the ladies have been complaining that there’s money missing from their purses. You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”
Eunice’s face registered mild shock as Jane stared into her eyes.
“No? Wait, are you accusing me of something here?” she all but gasped.
“No! No, I’m just wondering if anyone mentioned anything to you, that’s all.” A small jab to Jane’s waist prompted her to stare even closer, but nothing was happening. No tunnel vision, no tremors of nervousness, no anxiety, just…nothing.
“Ah…no? I mean, no one has said anything. Have you mentioned this to Mrs. Meyers?” she asked, a look of concern crossing her features. It was genuine. Jane could tell. It was obvious that Eunice had no idea what Betty was talking about.
“No. Not yet. I was just wondering,” another jab to Jane’s waist. She elbowed Betty in the arm in response.
“Are you two Ok?” Eunice looked from Jane to Betty and back to Jane.
“Yup. I’m just going to show Jane my apartment real quick.”
“All right. Do you need anything?” she asked quietly. She was kind of nice, actually.
“Nope. We’ll be all right.” The door opened and a
light flicked on, causing Jane’s attention to divert to the room beyond.
“Ok then, you have a nice rest, Betty. Jane? It was nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too,” Jane stated absently as her eyes scanned the room. Betty grabbed her arm and pulled her in before closing the door.
“So? What did you see? You didn’t blurt anything, what does that mean?”
“It means I didn’t see anything. She’s either truly good or truly bad. She didn’t feel guilty or nervous at all. I don’t think she’s the one,” Jane stated as she took a step further into the room.
“Hmm. She’s very nice. I just thought it was an act. Maybe it’s Clarice? She works Monday through Thursday nights. You can come back and we’ll try and zap her,” Betty commented as she walked past Jane into a well-appointed great room. A corner fireplace was situated at the far end; a granite topped island separated the small kitchen from the rest of the room. The furniture probably cost more than her rent for the past 5 years. It was cozy, lovely really. It must cost a fortune to stay here…
“I love it. It’s so beautiful. You’re very fortunate -”
“Am I?” Betty turned toward her after placing her rather large purse on the counter top with a thump.
“Sure. If you saw where I lived -”
“Where do you live, Jane?”
“Detroit.”
“No, you don’t. Everyone says Detroit but they mean the suburbs.”
“No. I really live in Detroit. The Detroit,” Jane emphasized.
“All alone?”
“All alone.” She nodded slowly.
“Wow. Where?” She flicked another switch illuminating the kitchen with pedestal lights hanging above the granite counter.
“Hamtramck.”
“Geez, Jane. Do you get mugged every other day? Why are you…what are you thinking?” She wandered around the island to the refrigerator and opened it.
“It’s cheap. I’m not actually good at holding down a job with this special ability of mine.” She carelessly waved her hand in the air around her head to indicate her whacked mental state. “Anyway, this place is gorgeous. You’re really lucky,” she changed the subject quickly.
“No, I’m not. This place is great, but I want to be with my family. Mark’s too busy with his career, he and his wife are both VPs at GM; they don’t have time for me. John’s a stuffy jackass with more money than sense, I swear. That leaves Karen who can’t even take care of herself and Joe, who comes and goes and I have no idea what that boy is up to half the time. None of them wants me, so Joe pays some astronomical amount of money to keep me here. You couldn’t ask for a nicer place, but it’s not where I want to be.”
“I’m sorry,” Jane offered sincerely.
“Don’t be. Listen, I have something I want you to do for me,” she handed a bottle of water to Jane before uncapping a bottle for herself.
“Sure, what?”
“That reunion I mentioned? I want you to convince -” The door opened and a not very pleased looking Joe walked in, acknowledged Betty with a nod, walked directly up to Jane and hooked his hand around her upper arm.
“Betty? Get some sleep, Jane? We’re leaving.”
“Well -”
“Say goodbye, Jane,” he commanded as he turned her body and led her to the door.
“Bye, Betty.” Jane turned her head back toward her as she walked. The expression on Betty’s face was one of pure sadness. It was so heart-wrenching that it captured Jane’s full attention and refused to let her eyes wander from the older woman’s face until her body smacked into something extremely hard and sharp. Her body bounced off of the object – the door frame, actually, causing an ‘oof’ and a grunt of pain to quickly follow. A small snort emanated from Betty before Jane’s body was tugged through the opening this time and the door closed.
“Owwww.” She shook off Joe’s hand and immediately massaged the shoulder that took the brunt of the hit.
He continued to walk down the hall without regard for her pain or anything else for that matter. Staring after him, she let out a deep breath before her eyes wandered to Betty’s closed door.
“Jane? Walk. Now,” he barked without a backward glance.
The ride back to Karen’s house was certainly going to be pleasant.
*****
She was lying on the bed in one of the spare bedrooms, her hair splayed out everywhere as a cute snuffle escaped her sleeping form. The light from the moon cast a glow to her face as he watched her from the doorway later that night.
Of all the dumbass things…
Who knew that the two most disagreeable people on the face of the planet should bond that quickly, or even at all, for that matter? He certainly didn’t see that as a possibility. But then again, nothing with Jane was a certainty. Well, no actually one thing was…
He believed her.
There was no way that she would have known what she saw tonight. Unless, of course, she was friends with Tony Silvano, or any of the other assholes from his high school. That might be a possibility. Staring down at her, his head slowly shook knowing in his mind that probably wasn’t true. It was a bit discomforting to know that she had this unbelievable ability.
It was damn creepy, that’s what it was…
*****
Someone was opening the front door.
She burrowed deeper under the covers as the creaking sound of footsteps came closer and closer before voices could be heard, speaking in hushed tones. Her body immediately relaxed when the voice of the young nurse from earlier in the evening wafted through the open doorway of the room she was in.
It was dark, the red glowing numbers from the alarm clock next to her showed the time as 12:02 am. More creaking and the front door closed with a gentle click before footsteps could be heard and a dark body passed her door, either heading for Karen’s room or the spare bedroom across the hall.
Joe had practically dumped her off and stated that he would take the couch when they arrived back earlier. In fact, it was the first and only thing he said on the drive from Betty’s place tonight. Any attempt on her part to start a conversation was interrupted with a ‘Shh’, or a glare, or at one point a hand clamped over her mouth as he drove.
So he wasn’t in the mood to talk…
She only wanted to apologize for her little performance at the bar. It had to freak him out. She could tell it freaked him out and for some reason; it didn’t sit too well with her. If they were becoming friends, well…this pretty much ended that. No one wanted to be friends with someone who had the ability to blurt out their most distressing secrets at will.
She sat up and kicked off the covers before turning her body to sit on the edge of the bed. Maybe he was in a better mood now, maybe a little more receptive to a talk. She could try. What was the worst that could happen?
She stood and crept to the door, looking both ways down the hall. Light from a TV in the room across the hall from Karen’s cast a disrupted glow to bounce off the walls as she stepped out and began to make her way toward the living room. A small creak erupted and she quickly stepped again to minimize the sound, but apparently it didn’t matter. The couch was empty save for a pillow and a blanket that was strewn over the back side. Turning into the kitchen, her eyes scanned the darkness, wondering where on earth he could be in this rather small house. Maybe the basement? Is there even a basement? She wondered as she looked around. A light from beyond the kitchen window caught her eye and her feet carried her to the back of the room.
A small detached garage was situated in the backyard and the lights were definitely on. Without a thought, she wandered to the back door and felt for the knob. It gave immediately. A cool rush of autumn air assaulted her through the thin material of her pajama top and in her haste; she certainly thought nothing of wandering across the patio and toward the garage in her stocking-clad feet. She could see him through the small window on the side of the structure. He was seated at some type of work bench, staring at…something sh
iny, dangling from a chain. A strange shape…
He placed it on the wood surface and fingered through some papers strewn across the surface of the bench. His head dropped and both hands cradled the back of his neck as he sat hunched over the mess of documents on the surface.
Maybe now wasn’t a good time, but it was so tempting to stand and observe, perhaps get a bit of insight into this mysterious human being she had been cohabitating with for the past two weeks. Whatever he was looking at caused him no small amount of distress. The tension in his body was so obvious. He quickly sat upright, placing the papers into a neat little pile and slipped them into a large envelope. The chain was grabbed and stuffed into the pocket of his jeans as he stood and reached for a small plastic tote situated on the far side of the bench. The envelope was dropped in before he grabbed the black lid and snapped it in place on top of the bin. He was carrying it toward a bank of shelves near the back side of the rather tidy garage.
Jane stood immobile for a moment as he slipped the bin in the one open slot. He was staring at the neat rows of bins before he abruptly turned and…
He was making his way toward the door.
There truly was no time to do anything but stand there and wait for him, she thought for a frantic moment before resolving herself to the fact that she was caught.
A soft “Hey” was all she managed as he stepped through the door before her throat was grasped and her body was slammed forcefully into the vinyl siding of the garage.
“It’s me,” she managed to squeak out under the crushing constraint on her throat.
Immediately his hand relaxed but didn’t release.
“Jane?”
“Oww…yeah.”
“What are you doing out here?” he whispered sharply.
“I wanted to talk to you.”
“In the middle of the night?’
“I couldn’t sleep.”
“You sleep like you’re in a coma, try again.”
“I’m guessing a new nurse showed up. It woke me up, and I thought you might be more receptive to talking, so I went to the living room, to see if you might be awake, but you weren’t so I walked around trying to figure out where you might be, and then I saw the light on in the garage and I walked out here. That’s all,” she rattled off before taking a breath. His hand was still around her throat she noticed; only now his thumb seemed to be rubbing gently up and down on her pulse point. She wondered if he even knew he was doing it.
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