Contract for Love, page 5
Ms. Fielding grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the elevator. “Let’s eat something first and then we’ll see.”
“No!” Sherry stopped and broke free from Ms. Fielding’s grip. “I really have to get Jake’s things.”
“As the nurse said, security has been informed so there’s no need for you to rush.” Under her breath, she added, “Not for you at least.”
As if being an actress on a stage who had just been given her cue, Nurse Tayler left Jake’s room. “I will inform the nurse on duty to look after Jake while you’re gone.”
“Thank you,” Sherry said.
Nurse Tayler gave them a polite smile and disappeared around a corner.
Sherry banged her fist against the wall in frustration. “No, I really don’t have time. The car I came here in was borrowed.”
“And?”
“I have to give it back. And the last bus into town will leave close to ten.” With any luck, Andy was asleep by now. She couldn’t bear the thought of having another confrontation with him tonight.
“Hey, you all right?” Ms. Fielding asked.
“Yeah, sure. I just have to—”
“Take the car back. Got it. Listen, I will follow you in my car and bring you back to the hospital. This way you have some minutes to spare to have a bite and think about my offer.”
To be followed by this woman was not at all what she wanted, but she had to be realistic. It would be almost impossible to catch the last bus into town even if she broke the speed limit.
“Come on.” Ms. Fielding pushed her toward the elevator. “We’ll grab a bite and—”
“I can eat at home.”
“Ah, why not eat in one of the fast food places around?”
Sherry stepped away from her.
“Jeez, let’s go. Your boy is waiting. And he will wait much longer if you get into an accident because you forgot to eat.”
Forgot? She would have laughed at the absurdity of it all. Yet she had to face the truth; Ms. Fielding was right. She didn’t feel good, so eating something before driving home was the right thing to do. Sherry’s two credit cards were maxed out. That left the contents of her wallet. She got it out and peeked in. Three dollars. That would have to do the trick. There had to be a vending machine nearby. “Okay, just give me a minute, and I—”
“Don’t even think about getting a chocolate bar or something like that. You need real food in your stomach. Now stop making this complicated. The food’s on me.”
They were staring at each other while the time ticked.
Thinking was hard, so despite hating it, Sherry gave in. “Let’s go.”
Chapter 5
Whenever traffic allowed, Madison looked over to Sherry, who was sitting in the passenger seat staring down at her knees, some strands of hair flying in the cool late-summer air. What if she collapsed again, as she had in the hospital?
Not that Madison would ever admit it, but she had been shocked to learn that Sherry hadn’t eaten all day. And she had two jobs? That couldn’t be true. Because if it were, surely Sherry would have jumped at the chance to earn such easy money, wouldn’t she?
Madison turned into the drive-in of the fast food place. She extended her elbow over the driver’s door, waited for the greeting from the loudspeaker, and placed their order.
“Oh, no,” Sherry interrupted her as soon as she had ordered. “That’s too mu—”
Madison stopped her by raising her hand. As thin as this waitress was, she could use every ounce of food.
Sherry folded her arms in front of her chest and pressed her lips together.
What the hell was her problem? Hopefully, she wouldn’t be this bitchy all the time. After paying and finally collecting the food, Madison drove to a parking spot where she shut off the engine.
She fished out Sherry’s burger and fries, and when Sherry hesitantly accepted it, Madison got out her salad and plastic fork. The cheap meal sitting on her lap stole what was left of her appetite. She hadn’t been very hungry to begin with.
Sherry, on the other hand, should have been starving, but she just eyed her food as if thinking about how to eat it.
Maybe she would start eating if Madison did. Against her better judgment, Madison opened her plastic-encased salad and speared one piece of fried chicken. It felt like rubber in her mouth. She swallowed after barely chewing it. “You need the calories.”
Sherry still didn’t move.
What the hell was her problem? “Eat.” Madison switched on the dome light and pointed toward the Coke between them. “And drink.” When Sherry still didn’t move, she added, “It’s impolite not to eat when someone else invites you.”
“I didn’t ask you to.” But despite her words, Sherry took the burger out of its wrapping. “Thanks.” She stared at the burger as if it were a fruit from the Garden of Eden.
“What are you waiting for?”
Sherry looked at her with a guarded expression. “Why are you doing this?”
Madison put the plastic fork down. Even though she couldn’t eat more of this, she said, “I’m hungry, and I thought you were too.”
“No, um, I mean, yeah.” Sherry sighed as if frustrated with herself. “I was talking about your offer.” When Madison took a moment to answer, she studied the burger and finally took a bite. Then a second.
About time. Madison leaned back in her seat. “Why I make this offer doesn’t concern you. It’s on the table.” She faced Sherry, who had already finished half the burger. “If you want to keep stumbling through life like this, go ahead. But if you don’t want to worry about money anymore and want to be sure that your kid is taken care of, you’d better accept my offer.”
Instead of answering, Sherry looked at her over the straw of the Coke she was sucking on.
Madison’s mouth went dry. Sherry might be a little too much on the skinny side for her taste, but she was still an attractive woman, and the vision of her mouth caressing the straw of her drink was doing unmentionable things to Madison’s stomach.
The straw popped out of her mouth. “What exactly would I have to do?”
“Convince people that you, I, and the boy are a happy family. You move into my apartment and—”
“Wait!” Sherry rubbed a hand over her face. “Jake and I would have to move in with you?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“As soon as possible.” The sooner the show started, the sooner her grandmother could see it.
Sherry took another sip. “And…and what would I do there? I mean, other than living at your place.”
“For starters, I’d like you to come with me to events and pretend to be in love with me.”
“You mean like holding hands?”
“Sure, and kissing, of course.” Thinking about kissing Sherry made Madison feel giddy.
Sherry swallowed hard. “K-kissing?”
“Hey, I don’t have a contagious disease.” She inspected her fingernails. “A lot of women would give their right hand to kiss me.”
A noise between a cough and a snort escaped Sherry’s lips.
“Do you think that’s funny?” Madison spoke louder than intended. Nobody made fun of her, and certainly not this little waitress.
Sherry pressed her lips together and shook her head.
Maybe it hadn’t been the best idea to choose this woman, but now that she had placed a bet with Janice, she couldn’t back off. Maybe Sherry would give in if she pressed further. “Will you do it or not?”
“How exactly would I get my money? And you said Jake would be taken care of medically.”
At least she had listened. “You and your son will have everything you need. And when the job is done successfully, you’ll get a bonus. Let’s say ten grand.”
Sherry had been about to take another bite, but she stopped in her tracks. “How long would I have to play the role of your partner?”
It seemed there was no way but to tell Sherry the truth. “My grandmother intents to cut me out of her will. She thinks I’m irresponsible and…other things.” Madison let her hand slide over the leather-bound wheel. “She’s a very wealthy woman. Cutting me off… That’s not an option.” Madison looked at Sherry. “But she’s old. She’ll bite the dust…um, I mean she won’t live that much longer. However, for now she needs to be convinced that I’ve changed and that I’m the grandchild she wants me to be. So we have to pretend to be a couple at least until she thinks I’ve changed.”
Sherry hesitated but then continued to eat. After a few seconds, she asked in an almost casual tone, “Your grandmother would be happy to have a lesbian grandkid?”
Madison snorted. “Absolutely not. But she knows that I’m a lesbian. If I show up at her door with a guy, she would never buy it.” The leather seat under her squeaked when she shifted toward Sherry. “So, do we have a deal?”
Sherry finished the burger and took some fries. “Would we have a contract?”
“A contract?” Janice probably could scribble something down. “Sure. I’ve got a lawyer who will take care of it. But of course it’s all confidential. Nobody would be allowed to know about it. Deal?”
Sherry just stared at her.
This evening seemed to last forever, and all Madison wanted to do was to meet Phil and the guys for a few drinks in their favorite club. Oh, shit! She had totally forgotten about them. Phil was probably wondering where she was.
Madison opened the door. “Think about it. I’ll be right back.” She took the remains of her disgusting plastic salad, left the car, and closed the door behind her. After throwing the food in a trash can, she got her cell out and called Phil.
When the call was finally accepted, bass pounded through the speaker. “Phil?” she almost shouted.
“Mad?”
“Yeah, sorry, I’m late.”
“Late? You’re not here? Where’re you?”
Great. Nobody had even noticed her absence. She walked back to the car. “Long story. You won’t believe it.”
Sherry was still eating her fries while surveying her food as if she wasn’t listening in on Madison’s call.
As if.
“Aha.” Phil mumbled something to someone in the background, then said more loudly, “You can let me know when you get here. Or shall we meet at your place instead? We thought we could do the usual and have a party at your place.”
A party? Normally, she wouldn’t have hesitated to agree, but if she wanted to follow her plan, she would have to stop holding her legendary parties.
At least for a while. Until the old witch burns in hell. “Sorry, pal. I can’t. I’ll explain later.”
“What? Sorry, it’s so loud here. We’ll be there at about one, I guess.”
“No! Dammit, Phil. I can’t do that.”
“You can’t do what?”
“I can’t party with you.”
Phil laughed. “You’re kidding, right?”
“No. Sorry.” She’d had enough of Phil and this conversation.
“Um, okay.”
“See ya. I’ll try to make it to the club.”
Phil ended the call without answering.
What an asshole. Madison pushed the phone back into her pants pocket and got back into the car.
Sherry flinched when Ms. Fielding yanked open the door, sank into the driver’s seat, and pulled the door violently closed. “And? Have you made up your mind?”
What kind of mother would she be if she didn’t accept the offer? Offer? This is blackmail. But Andy would still want “payment” for borrowing his car, and it seemed that he had lost the last bit of modesty toward her. What if he expected more than just the rent from her now? And then there was Hank. He was a good guy, but he wouldn’t keep allowing her to go home early or not show up at all when Jake was sick again. Not to mention the grocery store. She was on notice there already, and it was only a matter of time until she lost the job if things continued that way.
“As soon as you’ve signed the contract, I will settle the hospital bill for the boy,” Ms. Fielding said.
“How many hours a week would I have to be…um, available for you?”
Madison blinked. “Hours? The whole time of course. Why?”
The whole time? “You want me to give up my jobs?”
“So what?”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Sherry took a deep breath, hoping it would help her calm down. It didn’t. “This won’t work. When this thing ends, I would be out of a job and—”
“Cut out the crap. What I pay you plus your bonus at the end should be more than enough to last you until you find something new. Besides, how hard can it be to find a job as a waitress or as a cashier in a grocery store?” Ms. Fielding shifted impatiently in her seat. “Yes or no? I want your decision now.”
Decision? There was no decision to make but to do what Ms. Fielding demanded. Jake needed the surgery now, not in a few months or a year. A chance like this happened once in a lifetime. If at all. “I…” Sherry’s heart was beating wildly as if trying to burst out of her chest. “I’ll do it.”
For a few seconds, Ms. Fielding stared at her as if she wasn’t sure she had heard her correctly. Then a broad grin spread across her face. “See, that wasn’t so hard.” She patted Sherry on the shoulder.
Sherry flinched at the touch.
“You’re doing the right thing.”
Sherry wasn’t so sure about that.
Ms. Fielding took the empty food container from her, opened the door, and threw it in a trash bin beside the vehicle. “Let’s get your car and take it back.” She closed the door.
Sherry bit her lip. Hopefully, Andy had passed out by now.
Ms. Fielding started the car and drove off the parking lot. Looking fleetingly toward Sherry, she said, “Something on your mind I should know about?”
She has to know that Andy might be waiting for me. “I’m worried about what I’m expected to pay for borrowing the car.”
“Whatever it is, it goes on my tab.”
“You don’t understand. Andy, my landlord, it’s his car. And he…he doesn’t want money for the car. At least that isn’t all he wants.”
“So what does he want?” Ms. Fielding waved her hand as if to get rid of an annoying fly. “You know what? I don’t care what he wants. We give this Randy—”
“Andy.”
“Whatever. We put a hundred-dollar bill in his car and that’s it.”
She wasn’t sure what made her angrier: to be treated like a child or that Ms. Fielding was about to spend so much money on her behalf. There’s nothing I can do about it.
For the remainder of the drive back to the hospital parking lot, they didn’t speak.
When Ms. Fielding turned off the engine in front of the hospital, the silence was deafening.
Sherry opened the door. “So, you’re going to follow me, right, Ms. Fielding?”
“Mad. Everybody calls me Mad.”
Should she laugh or cry? The irony of that nickname didn’t escape her. A short while ago, she’d thought of Madison as a mad woman. “Um, Mad?”
“My nickname. All my friends call me that.”
“Your grandma too?” And what about her parents? Should she ask? Better not. There had to be a reason for her not mentioning them.
“What?”
“Your grandma is the reason why you’re entering into this charade, right?”
“Right. Yeah, well, she calls me Madison. But don’t call her Grandma. She insists on being called Grandmother.”
“In that case, do you really think it’s a good idea that I call you Mad? Wouldn’t it be better if I called you Madison as well?” It would certainly ease Sherry’s mind not to call this woman Mad all the time.
Ms. Fielding sighed. “Guess you’re right. Fine, you can call me Madison. And I will call you Sherry, or shall I call you Ms. Miller until we’ve had our first kiss?”
Sherry’s gaze landed on her lips. Try as she might, she couldn’t imagine kissing this woman—Madison. On the other hand, it couldn’t be any worse than kissing Andy. That thought caused a gag impulse she managed to suppress. Barely.
“Just kidding. You have to kiss me when the role asks for it, but that’s it. As long as we’re convincing. If you think you can do it without practice, it’s all good.”
Sherry got out of the car. “I guess I know how to kiss.”
Chapter 6
Madison’s fingertips drummed on the wheel with the rhythm of the music. Pink blared out of the speakers, and Madison joined in with the singing.
Why was Sherry, who was in front of her, driving like a turtle? Nobody gave a shit about the speed limit when the police weren’t close by.
Sherry slowed down even more and turned into a street with more potholes than Madison could count. Between various high spruces emerged tiny trailer houses, wooden and mostly with concrete foundations. There were no street lights, and the farther they drove into this trailer park, the more run-down the place appeared in the dark.
Trash lay around most of the ramshackle huts. The buildings, if you could call them that, had seen better days with peeled-off paint, street art, and at least one broken window. How could anybody live like this?
Sherry turned into another street, which actually wasn’t more than a dirt road. Old, mostly run-down trailers formed a huge U. No cars were parked in front of them.
Between two trailers, Sherry stopped the car and stepped out.
This was where she lived?
Only one trailer had lights on. Madison swallowed against the lump in her throat. She didn’t even have a taser.
Not really able to see anything in the darkness, she hesitated before leaving her car. On shaky legs, she closed her door and marched toward Sherry, who glared at her while closing the car door very carefully, as if afraid to make any noise.
