The Money Is Green

by Mr Owen Sullivan

  “Yeah, those are good choices. They’re tough academically to get into also, but I understand you’ve gotten good grades, so that shouldn’t be a problem. Have you ever thought about an out-of-state school?” Janine asked.

  “No, why?”

  “No reason. I graduated from Arizona State and it was a wonderful experience at a wonderful school. If you get a chance, you ought to visit it.”

  Crystal studied her in silence for a minute. “How long have you dated my dad?”

  Janine rose up and stirred the sauce. She pulled a wine bottle from the refrigerator and refilled her glass. I wonder where this is going, she thought. At least she’s talking. “I think it’s been about thirteen months, maybe a little less. We met at a Christmas function at the Galleria. We’ve been seeing each other ever since.”

  “Are you sure it’s only been thirteen months?” Crystal asked, her eyes boring into Janine’s. “It seems a lot longer to me.”

  “No, it’s been twelve or thirteen months. I remember very distinctly the first time I met your dad. Is the date important to you for some reason?”

  “No,” she answered. “I was just wondering. Is the pasta ready yet? I’m starving.”

  Janine turned back to the stove. She poured the pasta into a colander and set it in the sink to drain. “Let me get all the water out of the pasta and I’ll serve you right up. There’s some parmesan cheese in the fridge if you want to get it. I love it on my pasta.”

  Crystal pulled out the green canister of grated cheese and set it on the table. Soon she was stuffing a forkful of sauce-laden pasta in her mouth. They both ate in silence for a few minutes.

  Finally Janine asked, “Well, what do you think? Should I keep the recipe?”

  Crystal, her mouth full, nodded.

  “Good, I’m enjoying it myself.” She put another mouthful on her fork and then paused. “We haven’t checked out those houses you and your dad had picked out to buy. Do you want to go see some of them tomorrow? Your dad will be home in a couple of days and maybe you could narrow down the choice of houses for him to look at.”

  Crystal set her fork down and her eyes narrowed. “Are you going to move in with us?” Her voice was hostile. “My mom says you’re just waiting to make your move so you can get your hands on my dad’s money.”

  The tone of her voice startled Janine and she was caught off guard. “I have no intention of moving in with your dad, Crystal. I’ve got my own place,” she said. “I’ve got a good job and have my own money. I don’t need or want your dad’s money.”

  “Oh yes you do. My mom says you just won’t admit it.”

  Janine felt her anger mounting. “Let me set something straight for you, Crystal. Contrary to what garbage your mother is feeding into your head, I met your dad long after they were split up and divorced. I have no interest in his money or any other material thing he has. I’m interested in Jason the person. You’re a smart young lady. Why don’t you do a little research and figure out when exactly your father and I met? I can give you the date and the function we attended. I know it might not fit the fantasy your mother is spinning, but it will be the truth!”

  Tears gathered in Crystal eyes, and she got up and headed for her room. “I’m sorry,” she said over her shoulder. “I’ve got homework to finish. Thanks for dinner.” She shut her door and the apartment went silent.

  Janine sat for a moment. Well, she thought, at least that’s out in the open. I’ve tried to be reasonable, but if Crystal is going to continue treating me like this, it may be time for me to move on.

  ♦

  The soft knock on the door brought Janine to her feet, and before she could get to it, Jason had opened it and stepped into the apartment. He slid his rolling suitcase to the corner and came up to Janine, kissing her on the lips.

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. “Welcome home. How was your trip?”

  “It was good, except I didn’t have as much time as I needed to get the changes I wanted implemented done. The plant we run in Shanghai has so many things that need to be fixed, I’m going to have to go back there in a week.”

  “Really?” she said as she let her arms fall from his neck. “That soon? I hope you’re not going to ask me to take care of Crystal again.”

  He turned and looked at her, an expression of concern on his face. “I assume things didn’t go well with Crystal? You didn’t say anything to me on the phone.”

  Janine blinked back tears and moved to the couch in the living room, where she took a seat, her legs curled up under her. “It’s not going to work, Jason,” she said. “I can’t fight them both. It’s not fair and I don’t have a chance.”

  “Fight both who?” he asked. He moved across the room, taking a seat next to her, reaching out to hold her hand. “Tell me what happened.”

  “I can’t fight Crystal and her mother. They’re not going to let me have a relationship with you. They’ll sabotage everything I try to do. Nothing I can say or do will ever convince Crystal that I had nothing to do with your breakup or that I am anything other than some cheap tramp who only wants your money. It just isn’t fair.” She started crying and tried to wipe away her tears with the back of her hand. She reached down to the coffee table in front of her and pulled out a Kleenex from the box sitting there.

  “I’m so sorry, Janine,” he said, his voice strained. “You’re right, it isn’t fair. I don’t know everything Debbie’s told her, but I can imagine none of it is going to put you in a positive light. I was hoping that Crystal would come around, but I see that it’s going to be impossible with her mother in her ear.” He squeezed her hand. “I’m so sorry I placed you in this mess. I hoped that it would work out, but I don’t want you hurting. I care about you too much.”

  She dabbed her eyes softly. “I think I need to stay away from you for a while, Jason.” She sniffled back a tear. “I love you so much, but as long as your daughter feels this way, there will no chance for us. As much as I want to will this relationship to work, I don’t see it happening.”

  Jason pleaded with her, “Please don’t give up on us, Janine. I can do more to help diffuse the situation. I’ve felt so guilty about our divorce, I’ve let Crystal run amok with her feelings. I’ve told her what really happened and all it’s done is make matters worse. She thinks I’m lying to her.”

  “I’m not asking you to alter your relationship with Crystal because of me, Jason,” she said, her eyes red from crying. “That would make me sadder than anything if I caused a rift between you two. She’s your daughter and she needs your love. I don’t want to have any part in changing that.”

  Jason took a deep breath and let out a sigh. “I promise you that won’t happen. I’ll be home for the week and I’ll have a chat with Crystal. I’ve already told her the circumstances of our divorce, but I guess I’m going to have to be more forceful and actually show her how you weren’t involved. I won’t jump her case or raise hell with her if that’s what you’re thinking, but this incivility has to stop.”

  “Please don’t drag me into this, Jason,” she said. “Crystal already can’t stand me and I don’t want you to try to stuff me down her throat. It won’t work and she’ll resent me even more.”

  “I will not stuff you down her throat. I know her better than that and I know that won’t work.” He turned and stared out the window. “I know what to say and how to handle her. Things are going to change, just wait and see.”

  ♦

  Crystal sprinted left, her cleats digging into the turf as she cut off the wayward ball her teammate had passed. Deftly, she stopped the ball with the side of her foot and stopped next to it. Laughing, she shouted at her teammate, who was twenty yards across from her, “Nice pass! I hope you don’t do that in the game.”

  The teammate, looking sheepish, laughed back, “I put it there on purpose. You need to run a little harder.”

  Crystal was about to retort when she spotted her dad leaning against his car, his hand shielding his
eyes from the sun. Even though he wore dark glasses, the glare was intense. Crystal yelled at her coach, who was across the field showing a couple of girls a new move, “I’m gonna take five!” She sprinted across the field and came up to her dad, giving him a big hug. “Daddy! I’m so glad you’re home. I’ve missed you!”

  Jason leaned down and kissed her on her forehead, holding her tightly. “I missed you too, pumpkin. Go ahead and finish your practice. I’ll wait for you.”

  The next twenty-five minutes flew by as Crystal went through the motions. The coach blew a whistle and brought all the girls to a circle around him in the center of the field. After a brief pep talk, he dismissed the team. Crystal grabbed her backpack from the sideline and walked to where her dad was parked.

  After she threw her backpack in the back, she settled in her seat next to her dad.

  “Hey, do you want to get a yogurt? That Honey Bear shop you like is right up the street,” he asked.

  Crystal gave him a smile. “Yeah, that would be great. I haven’t had one of those in weeks.” She leaned down and untied the laces to her cleats. “So, how was the China trip? It seems like you were gone a long time.”

  “Everything went well in China. There are lots of things going on there. We’re buried trying to ramp our production up to service the Copper Mountain job.”

  “That’s a good thing right?” she asked as she switched from her cleats to tennis shoes.

  “Oh yes, it’s a very good thing,” her dad answered. “It’s just a challenge for me to herd all these cats at once.” He pulled the car into a strip mall down from the soccer field and parked in front of a shop with colorful rabbits eating yogurt cones painted on the windows.

  After ordering, they took a table with an umbrella outside the shop and sat down. Crystal eagerly spooned out the contents of her chocolate peanut butter special. “I forgot how good this stuff is,” she remarked between spoons of yogurt. “We should do this more often.”

  “We should,” he said, nodding. He wiped his hands with a paper napkin and pushed his cup away. “I’m glad to be home and it’s great to see you again, Crystal. But there’s something I want to talk to you about.”

  Crystal finished scooping out the last remnants of the yogurt. Uh oh. Here comes the lecture. I wonder what Janine told him. Every time he leaves me with her I get into trouble.

  Jason cleared his throat. “I kept a lot of things from you regarding what happened between me and your mother because I thought it best to keep you out of the sordid details.” He locked his eyes on hers. “But I think it’s time you know the whole truth. Back in 2007, we all were living well. My business was booming; we had lots of money and took lots of trips.”

  “I remember,” she said, looking confused.

  “Well, our world got turned upside-down in 2008. The recession hit, money dried up, my business almost stopped cold, and the income drastically declined. I had to lay off my entire staff and tried my best to keep the doors open, but it was in vain. We ran out of money, and the bank took our boat and eventually the house.”

  He tapped a finger on the table nervously. “I would have felt worse if I were the only one going through this, but anyone who was in the construction industry like I was went through the same thing.”

  “I was with you, Dad, remember? What are you trying to tell me?”

  “What I’m trying to tell you is not having money and moving into an apartment was hard for your mother. She was used to our other lifestyle and blamed everything on me. When she met her current boyfriend, she was in a vulnerable, emotional state, and it seemed he could give her what I couldn’t, so she moved out and left with him.”

  He paused for a moment as a woman with two infants in a double stroller passed them by. “I’m not the one who had an affair, Crystal. I’m not the one who wanted the divorce. I did everything I could to keep our marriage intact, but she wanted out and filed for divorce.” He paused for a second. “I want you to get that. You mother moved out and filed for divorce.”

  Crystal stuck out her chin defiantly. “You’re lying!” she yelled. “You kicked mom out so you could have sex with Janine. Don’t try to rewrite history, Dad!”

  “Stop yelling,” her dad hissed. “I am not lying and Janine had nothing to do with our divorce. Here’s a question I want you to ponder: When did we move into the apartment? I’ll answer that for you. It was when you were finishing the sixth grade almost four years ago.” He stopped and took a sip of water. “Do you remember that?”

  “Yes, I remember,” she answered firmly. “I had to transfer schools in the middle of the year. That sucked.”

  “I’m sure it did,” he said. “But do you also remember that summer when you were getting ready to go into the eighth grade? Your mom told you that she was going to take a trip back east to get her head right.”

  “Yeah, I remember.”

  “Well, your mother’s head-clearing trip was to go live in North Dakota with another man. That man was Dave, her current boyfriend. Three months after she left, she served me with divorce papers, and our divorce was finalized by the time you were out of school for the summer.”

  Crystal stared at him, clenching her teeth.

  He continued. “I met Janine at a charity party the following May. It’s not even close. You have to quit letting you mother convince you she’s a victim. She’s made her own bed and she needs to sleep in it.”

  Crystal’s cheeks grew flushed. “Okay, if Mom really is the cause of all this, then why won’t you buy me an airline ticket and let me go stay with her? It’s because you’re too cheap, that’s why. You’re probably saving money for your honeymoon in Hawaii.”

  Her dad threw his hands in the air in exasperation. “Crystal, what the hell are you talking about? The reason I didn’t send you to North Dakota is because Dave doesn’t want to deal with children, and in his mind, you’re a child. Your mother told me not to send you there because he didn’t want you to come and stay with them.”

  “I am not a child!” she said, her voice rising in anger. “Mom told me she wanted me to come, that she misses being with me. You keep telling me that Mom doesn’t want me flying to North Dakota. Why would she not want me to visit her?”

  Her dad shook his head. “Why would I lie to you, Crystal? I have no plans on getting married or going on a honeymoon. I don’t have time for a vacation in Hawaii. I have more than enough money to send you to North Dakota if your mom wanted you to come.”

  Crystal sat at the table and seethed. “I still don’t believe you, Dad,” she said, not taking her eyes off him. “Mom has told me what happened, and she has told me I’m free to visit her anytime. She wouldn’t lie to me.” She stood up abruptly. “I need to get home. I’ve got an English paper I need to finish. It’s due in the morning.”

  As they drove home in silence, Crystal pulled out her phone and texted Steve. How is it going with your new license?

  A few seconds later he replied. Sweet!

  She typed back, Next Fri is last day of school. You ready for our trip?

  I’m more than ready, came the reply. Tell me what time and we’ll meet and blow this town.

  Crystal sat back in her seat and smiled. She looked over at her dad, who was squeezing the steering wheel with an intense look on his face. I’ll show you, Dad. When I surprise Mom next week by showing up on her doorstep, I’ll prove you’re wrong. I know she wants to see me, but if you’re telling the truth, I’ll soon find out. She turned and stared out the window, watching the traffic pass by their car. This is going to be a trip that I will never forget!

  TWENTY-NINE

  The inside of the van was covered wall to wall with television monitors, each one focused on different sections of the airport hangar a hundred yards away. Three men in dark clothing sat silently watching the monitors, once in a while pointing something out to each other. Their main focus was a Boeing 747 cargo aircraft parked in front of the hangar, its large nose tilted up to expose the main body of the aircraft.
The airplane was so huge it almost dwarfed the hangar, and troop trucks could easily drive in or out of it.

  A Chinese flag was painted on its tail, and two soldiers with Chinese military insignia on their uniforms stood guard on each side of the entrance to the aircraft. Three forklifts drove from the plane to the hangar and back again, each time carrying a pallet of solar panels packed in open wooden boxes to be stored in the hangar.

  The tallest of the three men pointed to the monitor in the center of the van. “That should be the last of the solar panels,” he said in a monotone voice. “They should start packing the guns in the panel crates and reload fairly soon.”

  “How long do you think it will take to load the cargo up?” the man to his left asked.

  “About the same as the last load, about six or seven hours,” the first man answered. “It’s almost ten o’clock. They’ll want to be finished before daylight. Keep an eye on things. I’m going to get some rest for a few hours. Wake me up if anything changes.”

  “You got it.”

  ♦

  The cellphone sitting on the kitchen counter rang incessantly. The first time, Jason let it go to voicemail. The second time, he rose up from the chair in the living room, lowering the volume on the TV. Who’s calling me at 10:30 on a Tuesday night? He hit the green button. “Hello?”

  “Mr. Ballard?” the male voice asked.

  “Yes, this is Jason Ballard. Who’s this?”

  “Mr. Ballard, this is Benny Teller. I apologize for calling you so late but I wasn’t sure what to do or who to call. I’m the foreman at the Reno hangar where we’re storing the Soltech solar panels for the Copper Mountain job. I got to my shift and there are some people here emptying the panels out of their shipping crates and then storing some other stuff in it.” He waited for a second.

  “I’m listening, Benny, keep going,” Jason said, his eyebrows furrowed. What is going on over there? They shouldn’t be uncrating those solar panels.