"My mom's family owned a
small bakery, but it was her dream to open a restaurant." Anna stopped
suddenly and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I got carried away. It's just
that I'm so proud of my family and all they've achieved."
Tammy patted Anna's hand.
"As you should be," she said as she gave Rona a sharp look. They sat
in silence until Tammy finally stood. "It's getting late. I need to get
the girls to bed." She took the empty glasses and rinsed them as Anna
re-corked the wine.
Rona stood. She didn't want to
be alone with Anna. "I have some things to take care of too. What time
will you be leaving tomorrow morning?"
"I usually leave around
six-thirty," Anna said as she fiddled with the wine bottle.
"I'll be ready."
Rona hurried out of the room. As she climbed the stairs, she realized she still
hadn't learned anything about the woman associated with the box of clothes.
Chapter Seventeen
Rona glanced at the clock. It
was ten minutes until five. The alarm was set to go off at five, because she
didn't like to rush in the morning. She turned it off and sat on the side of
the bed. A fluttering of butterflies tickled her stomach when she thought about
meeting her new co-workers. With Sharon at her desk, there wouldn't be a
computer available for her to use, and she wondered what she would be doing all
day. She hoped she wouldn't have to sit at the front desk while Sharon got to
work in the back. The thought of having to greet people when they came in made
her feel ill. A grin teased her lips as she recalled her grandmother telling
her, "There is no need to be afraid of anything until it happens, and once
it happens it is over with and time to move on." She wasn't sure she
always agreed with her grandmother's motto, but it seemed to fit today. With
one last glance at the clock, she went to shower.
She took her time showering.
When she came back into the
bedroom, she
flipped the light on and noticed the clothes she had purchased the day before
hanging on the back of the door. Tammy must have washed them and then slipped
in and left them during the night. A lump formed in her throat when she saw the
boots and loafers on the floor by the dresser. The boots gleamed with a new
coat of polish. She chose the black slacks, long-sleeved white shirt with black
piping and the boots. She made the bed and quickly straightened the room before
carefully combing her hair. With nothing left to do, she picked up the black
blazer and headed downstairs.
There was a light on in the
kitchen and the smell of coffee filled the air. She walked in expecting to find
Anna but found Tammy instead. She was mixing something in a bowl.
"What are you doing up so
early?" Rona asked as she waited for Tammy to say something about her new
clothes.
"I'm making
breakfast," Tammy said, stating the obvious. "I made you a lunch. I
didn't figure you'd feel comfortable going out with them somewhere. It's in the
refrigerator, so don't forget it."
Rona was again touched by her
thoughtfulness. "Thanks. You didn't have to do that. Thanks for washing
the clothes and cleaning up the shoes. You were right about the boots. They
almost look new." When Tammy didn't immediately respond, Rona went to pour
herself a cup of coffee.
"I didn't do it because I
had to," Tammy replied tersely.
Surprised, Rona stared at her.
"What's got you in such a pissy mood?
Tammy shook her head.
"I'm afraid you're going to do something stupid."
Rona waved her free hand.
"I've told you I wouldn't."
"Then why did you have to
smart off about Anna's family last night."
"I didn't 'smart off.'
When she kept bragging about what all her family has done, I simply stated it
was easier—"
"I know what you
said," Tammy said, interrupting her. "I don't think she was
bragging." She stopped beating whatever was in the bowl and turned her
attention to Rona. "Don't you see that's why Anna is helping us? It's the
way she was raised. My parents were good people, but it never would have
occurred to them to volunteer somewhere. For them, helping others meant you fed
someone's dog while they were on vacation or if one of their students was
struggling they would help him find a tutor." She went back to mixing the
contents of the bowl. "Anna has every right to be proud of her
family."
"Damn, when did you
become a one-person Anna Pagonis cheering squad?"
Tammy slammed the bowl down
onto the counter and glared at Rona. "The minute my girls started smiling and
sleeping in a warm bed."
They both fell silent as Anna
walked into the room.
"Good morning," Anna
said as she went to the coffeepot.
Rona mumbled a greeting and
sat at the table. She stole a glance toward Anna. She must have heard them
arguing.
"Morning," Tammy
replied. "Breakfast will be ready in a few minutes."
Anna walked over and peeked in
the bowl Tammy was holding.
"It's what my mom called
breakfast hash," Tammy explained. "It has a little of this and a
little of that thrown in with some eggs. I used yesterday's chili."
"Can I help?" Anna
asked.
"No, thanks. I've got
it."
Anna brought her coffee to the
table and sat down. "You look especially nice this morning." Before
Rona could respond, Anna rushed on, "I've been thinking that since we
don't have a computer for you to use today, maybe you could help Sharon with
something." She stopped and took a sip of coffee. "I'm hoping if
Sharon calls the rental company this morning, they can have the computer
delivered and set up this afternoon."
Rona nodded. "That sounds
fine," she agreed.
Tammy set a bowl of steaming
eggs before them and a plate with toast.
Rona hadn't been too
enthusiastic about trying the chili and eggs, but the mixture smelled good. She
spooned a small portion on her plate. The rich tasting mixture of the spicy
chili and the buttery eggs surprised her. Her second helping was much larger.
When Rona and Anna left for
work, Anna didn't offer to let her drive. The moderate temperatures of the
previous two days had melted the snow and the interstates were opened to
traffic. As they rode in silence, Rona began to wonder how much of her and
Tammy's conversation Anna had heard. She tried to think of something to say
that would get Anna to talk, but nothing seemed right. Before she could come up
with anything, they were already pulling into the parking lot.
Rona took the plastic bag
holding the lunch Tammy had made her and followed Anna to the third floor.
Neither Sharon nor Neal had arrived yet. Rona put her lunch in the refrigerator
and started a pot of coffee. Anna walked in while it was brewing.
"Thanks for starting the
coffee," she said.
Rona nodded.
Anna started to leave then
hesitated. "Listen, I'm sorry about last night. I can get a little overly
zealous about my family."
Rona remembered what Tammy had
said about the kids. Both of the kids were smiling more, and Karla was slowly
beginning to talk more. Maybe Anna wasn't directly responsible for that, but
she offered a sense of security that contributed to it. Tammy was right.
"No. I shouldn't have said what I did. You and your family have been kind
to us. We're indebted to you."
Anna frowned. "I don't
want you to be indebted."
"Then what do you
want?" Rona's sense of appreciation was fleeing quickly.
"I wanted you to have
another chance. You're a good person."
"How do you know
that?"
"Because you helped me,
even though you knew it would cost you a safe place to spend the night."
"That was Tammy's
idea," Rona said as she folded her arms across her chest and stared at the
coffeepot.
"It may have been Tammy's
suggestion, but I don't think you would have listened to her if it was
something you didn't really want to do."
"So you think you have me
all figured out, do you?"
"I think you've been hurt
by someone you love. Now you keep everyone at arm's length to avoid being hurt
again."
Rona snorted. "And maybe
you don't know your ass from a hole in the ground."
Anna shrugged. "Well,
there are days when I would be the first to agree with you on that." She
took two cups from the cupboard and poured their coffee. "Let's work out a
compromise for the rest of this week. This is strictly between you and me. This
won't affect Tammy or the twins in any way." She turned and handed the cup
to Rona before continuing. "Here's the deal. I won't preach about my
family anymore, and you don't do anything that might cause either of us any
regrets." She held up her cup.
Rona almost dropped the cup.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Anna ignored her as she
continued to hold her cup out. "Do we have an agreement or not?" she
asked.
Rona nodded.
Anna smiled slightly and
clinked her cup against Rona's. "Good. Sharon won't be in until around
eight. You can use her computer until then. I've already booted it up for
you." She turned and left Rona staring after her. Anna seemed to know her
plans. Did she really, or was she guessing? Suddenly it hit her that if Anna
were to kick her out now, she could be back on the streets. Her knees began to
shake. She held onto the counter for support. It was several minutes before she
was able to walk to Sharon's desk and start working. Even then, her
concentration kept drifting and she found herself staring blankly at the stack
of papers.
She was clearing away her
things when a short heavyset woman she assumed was Sharon came in. "Hi.
I'm Rona Kirby," she said.
Rona was relieved to hear Anna
coming down the hallway.
"I leave for a weekend
and you replace me," Sharon called out in a low voice tinted with a slight
Jamaican accent. She pulled her coat off and draped it over a chair.
"Oh, don't you
wish," Anna replied as she gave Sharon a hug. "Rona is going to help
you catch up and do the database."
Sharon smiled and extended her
hand to Rona. "Then I'm very glad to meet you. I'm Sharon Waddell."
"How was your unexpected
long weekend?" Anna asked.
"Girl, we played in the
snow like we were children." She laughed. "My husband, Martin, and I
have two boys. Ky is seventeen and Benny is fourteen," she explained to
Rona. "It's the first time any of us had ever seen snow. Benny took the
wheels off his skateboard and started
snow surfing.
Of course, Martin
had to try it and almost broke his neck."
"And how did you
do?" Anna teased.
Sharon held out her arms as if
she were surfing. "I was a natural."
"Sharon broke her arm
testing Ky's first skateboard," Anna told Rona.
"Those things aren't
easy," Rona replied. "You should try it sometime."
Anna held up her hands.
"No, thank you. I like having
my
feet firmly planted on the
ground."
"That's our Anna."
Rona looked up to see a young
man standing in the doorway wearing a dark suit and overcoat.
Anna and Sharon called out
greetings before Anna introduced her.
"It's nice to meet
you," Neal said as he shook Rona's hand. She saw his eyes take her in
before he asked about everyone's weekend. As the three co-workers discussed
their weekend, Rona picked up the rest of the papers from Sharon's desk and
wished she could sneak away to the conference room.
Neal finally left to go to his
office when Anna began to explain
to
Sharon that they needed to rent a computer for Rona to use. Until it arrived,
Rona could assist Sharon with whatever she needed help on.
"I'll get her started on
putting the packets together," Sharon said. "Come on." She
picked up her coat and motioned for Rona to follow her.
The time flew by for Rona. She
had a third of the packets stuffed with marketing materials ready by the time
Sharon came by to see if she wanted to order lunch.
"We usually order something
and I go pick it up. Then we all eat here in the conference room." They
looked at the table covered in papers. "Or in the break room," Sharon
added.
"I brought a lunch,"
Rona told her.
"Okay, but you're welcome
to join us."
Rona nodded and thanked her.
By the time Anna came by to
tell her lunch had arrived, Rona's back was starting to ache from bending over
the table so long.
They were already seated when
she took her lunch from the refrigerator.
"Anna tells me you worked
some kind of magic with the thermostat Saturday," Sharon said.
"I did a little
adjusting," Rona said coyly as she sat down.
"Whatever you did, I
thank you. I'm always freezing in here and today I'm as warm as toast."
Rona opened the lunch Tammy
made for her and found a ham and cheese sandwich and a bag of chips. In a
separate baggie were some Oreos.