I moved over to hug her. There were tears running down her cheeks and I felt helpless, without a clue as to what the problem was.
“Did someone say or do anything to you?”
She shook her head ‘No’.
“Please talk to me Ann. Please.”
“Dave called and asked me to help him talk you into moving down to Wilmington in a few months. He is a good guy and loves you, we both know that.”
That’s when it hit me. She was scared of losing me. All of my life I have been afraid of losing the people I love. Sometimes I wondered if there was anybody out there afraid of losing me. Now I know there is.
“Sis, we need to talk. First off I love Dave and agree he is a great guy. He definitely has a place in my heart. So do you. You are my sister, confidante and best friend all rolled into one.” I held both her hands in mine. “In short there cannot be a ‘me’ without a ‘you’. I am not going anywhere anytime soon. I love my job. My boss likes the things I do. I have a full scholarship and a chance to be something besides just a gas station clerk.”
She looked at me with tears slowly forming. Irrationally I had the distracting thought that her mascara was making black rivers down her face.
“If Wilmington, or someplace else is in our future then it will happen. However it will be in OUR future. You and me sis, you and me against the world.” We held onto each other for a few minutes. I handed her a Kleenex then told her to eat some pizza before it got cold.
I also coaxed her into helping me with the rest of the assembly.
* * *
Dave and I called or texted each other several times a day until he got back. I know he wants to talk about Wilmington and is waiting for the right time to bring it up.
Beverly’s new receptionist started work today. I am not quite sure how I feel about her. In fairness she does not seem quite sure about me either. She is older than either Beverly or I am and has been doing this type of work for quite a while. The two accountants will start on Monday. I am trying to be open minded and hope everything will work itself out. (Keeping fingers crossed).
Beverly brought in name plates for everyone’s office and mine was included. (Yea!) I know that not having an assigned office is an irrational fear of mine but sometimes the prospect of change scares me. Unless, of course, I am in control of that change.
Maybe I was worried about being demoted in Beverly’s eyes because she also asked me to obtain coffee fixings and ‘various sundries’ to put in our small office refrigerator. She specified that she wanted Maxwell House Special Blend as the standard coffee.
She also told Katie, the new receptionist, that if we needed office supplies she was to talk to me. Strangely Katie didn’t look too happy about that. Now, I wonder why would that bother her?
I was a little bit apprehensive about a proposed meeting in our office on Monday morning. Supposedly for us to get to know each other and receive our assignments. But I wonder if Beverly doesn’t have some other reason for this. When she does things there are usually several reasons behind everything. I am going to ask Ann what to wear. After all, you never have a second chance to make a good first impression.
It was Friday night and my classes were due to start the next Monday after work. The butterflies in my stomach were first cousins to Mothra. Where is Godzilla when you need him?
When Katie left for the day Beverly asked me to stay and sign for a late delivery. She said I would know what to do with it. Crap. I sat in the front of the office to wait and used the time to go over the text books for next quarter. I intend to make straight A’s at St. Leo’s. I want to make Beverly proud of me.
Ann and I have discussed why I always want Beverly’s approval so badly. The only thing that either of us could come up with was that I think of her as a surrogate mom. Which is probably closer to the truth than I am willing to admit.
Meanwhile the delivery truck I was expecting didn’t arrive for several hours. I was getting worried. When the driver arrived a little after five he had only one thing to drop off. A new armored safe. I directed his crew to put it next to the regular file cabinets in the store room. I texted Beverly that it was here. She replied that she would be right over.
When she arrived she was carrying a large box of papers and files. I gave her the packaged instructions that detailed what the ‘default setting’ was for the combination and how to change the combination to suit your preference. I felt proud that she had followed my advice about getting a second safe. I asked if there was anything I could do to help her. She smiled and said for me to enjoy my last free Friday night before school starts. I locked the door behind me when I left.
Ann still had a couple of hours left before she left for work so of course I headed over there to raid her fridge. Why is it always more fun to raid someone else’s fridge then your own? When I first walked in the door I could smell the aroma of freshly baked cookies. While she was getting ready for work I did a quick scan of the kitchen trying to see where she had hidden them.
Nothing. Nada. Not a clue.
She laughed at my attempt to be sneaky and confessed that Rico stopped by earlier to help with her car. Rico was good with cars and enjoyed working on them. Unfortunately he did not have a huge garage or indoor space to do extensive work. But that was his dream. Incidentally Ann gave all of the cookies as a ‘thank you’ to him. (How about me Damn it!)
He was going to be working at a club called Maxx’s in Newport News tonight. Ann was dancing there and Rico was working security at the door. She turned serious for a moment and said that I needed to think about getting myself a new car.
“You’ve got to be kidding me. Mine works fine now that Rico fixed it.”
“I know and he told me that you had never checked it’s oil since you got it.”
“The oil light didn’t come on so I didn’t think it was important.”
“It didn’t come on because the light was broken. But that’s not why you need to get a different car.” She paused. “Whenever she pulls up to the office Beverly looks at it and I’ve noticed it is not a happy look. When you drive somewhere, to your office or a client’s place, the first thing people see, right or wrong is your car. I am not saying you should get a ‘new’ new car, just something different.”
She changed the subject then and started gossiping about one of the women she worked with who was pregnant. Normally that was not a big deal but the girl was gay. Her partner was furious and had broken up with her, in my mind the girlfriend had a right to be furious. But neither of us knew all of the details.
When Ann left for work I went to my place to study. This car thing bothered me. But for a reason other than money or appearance. This was the vehicle that I used to transport Sawyer’s body to Surry for burial. I did use a shower curtain to wrap him up with but what if some kind of DNA evidence remained? (Maybe I should quit watching so many NCIS type crime dramas.) I need to ask someone who knows about cars to go shopping with me.
By 10:00 that night my brain felt soggy. I needed a break from studying and decided to go to Maxx’s and talk to Rico about buying a new car. Pulling into the lot I saw a small line at the door waiting to get in. A few people who had been denied entry were hanging around outside looking dejected. This was not exactly a high class place. I hate that Rico and Ann have to work here, but at least it helps pay the bills. Rico was at the door so I walked right past the line. (I will confess that I love being able to walk past everyone in line to do that.)
Rico smilingly held out a small plate of cookies saying “Ann said you would be here tonight.” My sister knows me so well.
“Ann said I should be thinking about getting a new car.”
“I know, she told me.”
”What do you think?”
“She’s right. She also said there were some more cookies in the back if you want to come see her.”
Damn, am I
that predictable?
“You doing anything tomorrow morning?”
“Just going with you to CarMax. I will be at your place around nine thirty. I hope there will be coffee waiting for me.” Looking at me out of the side of his eyes. “Otherwise I would be sad.” Okay, okay, I get it. I kissed him on the cheek and went inside. (I like doing that in front of other women too.)
Ann was just getting off stage for her break. When she saw me she broke into a genuine smile, not the one she uses for the customers.
“Sarah, what a pleasant surprise.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Where’s the cookies?”
“Right here waiting for you of course. I was going to give them to the other girls if you hadn’t shown up.”
I would have made a comment but my mouth was full.
“Is Rico taking you somewhere tomorrow?” She smiled just a little too sweetly.
“You know he is. You set this whole thing up didn’t you?” By the way, what is in these cookies that makes them so good?”
“They’re made with love. Which means that while I was stirring the batter I kept licking the spoon then went on using it.”
Whatever. I guess we all have our little secrets.
Rico was at the house the next morning as promised and I not only had coffee but sweet rolls waiting for him. After all I definitely owe him for doing this. We cleaned everything out of my car and drove it to CarMax on Jefferson to see what kind of a deal we could make.
Not that good as it turns out. The dent in the side was a real spoiler for a resale.
I had looked CarMax up on line to check out what they had in stock. There were a couple of vehicles that looked interesting. Like a lot of things, when a man and a woman go into a store looking to buy something the sales people always talk to the man. Usually this bothers me but since today it was Rico, and had to do with cars, I was fine with it.
Rico had the list of the ones I was interested in and we began to check them out one by one. He would open the hood and check the inside. I noticed that he always checked on the undersides of things too. Finally we did some test drives, him first then me. When listening to Rico talk about the prices to the dealer I learned that the older the state inspection sticker on the vehicle was indicated how long the car had been on the lot. The longer any car is on a lot, the more eager salesmen are to make deals on them. We narrowed it down to two that were about the same price. I ended up choosing a silver/gray one. I didn’t care one way or the other but since I am buying to project an image I thought it would help. It is also the same color as Beverly’s Lexus.
We went inside the sales office to complete the paper work and “arrange financing”. I surprised both the salesman and Rico by saying I was going to pay the difference in what my old one was worth and the new one cost by writing a check. I always forget that while I may feel older, I actually do look my age. The salesman took the check and excused himself for a minute. I know they were going to call the bank to ensure that the money was there. I would have done the same thing if I was in their place. Naturally the check was good.
Driving back in my ‘new’ car Rico was quiet and sort of looking at me differently. I didn’t like that. Part of the deal was that if he went with me I would buy him lunch at the Olive Garden on Mercury. I wondered what he was thinking. Neither of us spoke until the waitress took our order and left the table. I decided to break the silence first.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing why?”
“Bull. Since I pulled out my check book and paid for the car in cash you have been acting differently towards me.” Why won’t he look at me? “Does the fact that I have that much money bother you? I have been saving and needed a car. I didn’t want to buy another car but if I had to then I didn’t want to pay interest rates either.” Please look at me. “What would you have done?”
“It’s not that exactly.” He was at least looking at me now. “What are you into that I don’t know about? You are the smartest woman I know but there is no way you can have that much cash legally working part time as a receptionist. Not to mention that before you started working there you were a clerk at a gas station. You cannot have saved all that money from what you made at those two jobs. I don’t know what your angle is but when you make that much cash then you are doing something dangerous and I’m worried.”
“That is the longest sentence I have ever heard from you.”
“Don’t change the subject.”
“All right.” Now how am I going to do this without lying to him?
“Rico, I have done some shady things in the past. No guns or drugs or anything like that. I quit all those things a while ago and never want to do anything like that again. I am going to school at St. Leo’s because I have a full scholarship to do so. It was arranged by Beverly. The only string she attached is that she expects high grades from me. That is why I spend all of my time studying like a fiend. She pays me a varying amount each week, depending on what I did for her the preceding week.”
He was paying very close attention so I have to be careful what I say.
Remember when I had that part time gig as an auditor? Or when I was working as a receptionist for a real estate lawyer? That was her way of keeping me employed when work was slow. So I guess you could say that I owe her a lot. I have another income but I don’t want to go into that right now.” I can feel him stiffen up. “It is totally legit but I don’t want others to know. When people think you have money they act differently around you. Like you’re doing now. Ann knows about it and is okay with it. If she is alright with it then I hope that you are too. I guess it all comes down to if you trust me.”
The waitress brought us bread sticks and checked to see if we wanted more drinks.
When she left we looked at each other for a minute then he broke the silence.
“You didn’t grow up rich did you?”
I almost laughed at that then caught myself.
“Hell no. When I was little if you wanted something you had to figure out how to get it yourself. If you cried about it then people hit you. If you didn’t fight back then you got kicked around.”
He sounded really sad when he said “Me too.”
“I guess that’s why we’re like siblings isn’t it? You, me and Ann.”
“Guess so.”
* * *
They finished their meal in peace but afterwards Rico kept thinking. ‘There is so much more to her then meets the eye. It was obvious she didn’t want to lie to me but can’t tell me everything either.’
When he was young he had gotten involved in some bad things and it had almost killed him. He still had the scars from the bullets to remind him of it. ‘I just hope she doesn’t get herself in too deep.’
Chapter Six
The rest of the weekend went well. All I did was study and clean house. Ann was working a lot so I surprised her, and myself, by going across the street and cleaning her place too. Not that it needed much. I also watered her house plants. Lots and lots of plants. When she came home it was a happy surprise for her.
Monday morning finally came. I was nervous about meeting the new staff members. Both men had been accountants for years. I knew that this meeting could set the tone for future working relationships. I didn’t want to screw it up.
Ann approved the outfit I wanted to wear. That means my sense of fashion is improving. I had to look professional and mature, not like a kid in grown up clothes. Ann also counseled me in not showing my feelings if I got angry. (Why does she think I get angry all the time?)
Everyone was supposed to be there at eight. I planned to be there at seven to make coffee. I also brought an assortment of goodies from the Dunkin Donuts at Nickerson Plaza. I wanted to be the first one to arrive, but everyone else had the same idea. They were waiting for me when I showed up. Oh crap.
After I set out the donuts and got my
self a cup of coffee I went to sit down. When I left last night there were five chairs at the conference table, now there were only four. I moved the missing chair from against the wall and sat down. Does this mean that subliminally someone does not want me at the table? If so, then who?
After the introductions were made Beverly got down to business. Most of the terms she used were ones I had heard before but didn’t really understand (yet). Instead I watched everybody’s reactions and mannerisms at the table. I needed to get a good read on each person’s body English. People’s physical reactions to others is instinctual and often unnoticed by them. It also changes from when they are in a one-on-one situation compared to how they react in a group when the boss is around.
It would take a while but I knew I could learn to interpret everyone’s personal mannerisms. That way I could tell when they deviated from their norm, as what that deviation meant. I could also project the mannerisms I chose for myself, and time them to be most effective. Once I learn everybody’s quirks I can make certain of my position here. I want to earn my own place, on my own merits. Not just as Beverly’s hanger on. In short I intend once again to be ‘The Perfect Employee’.
I studied the other employees one by one. Katie was happy as a receptionist. It was her version of being a big fish in a small pond. She is the type to feel smug and indispensable. Granted since she has been doing this type of work for a long time she knows exactly what is expected of her and will do it very well. I feel she has scant regard for me, probably because of my age.
Charles is close to forty with a well-developed bald spot that he tries to cover with what is called a ‘comb over’. Reading him is easy. He could be called a ‘number cruncher’. Steady and reliable, but with little imagination. While Katie might have a slightly condescending attitude towards me, Charles will probably try to ignore me. He is the kind of person that Beverly can put on standard accounts that do not require any special imagination. Not on anything she would keep in her special files.
Opening the Door Page 10