Anna squirmed in her seat
before saying, "I guess everyone is uncomfortable with things they don't
know or understand."
Rona chuckled and ran a hand
over the dashboard. "I don't know. I've never driven a car this nice, but
I don't feel the least bit uncomfortable."
"You know that's not what
I meant," Anna replied, giving her a sharp look. "I'm sorry. I don't
remember anyone's names?"
"I'm Rona." She was
surprised when Tammy introduced herself and the girls.
"Take a left out of
here," Anna instructed.
The car fishtailed slightly as
she made the turn out of the parking lot. Rona eased her foot off the
accelerator.
Anna reached over and raised
the fan speed on the defroster. "The interstates are probably closed by
now, so we'll have to take the long way home." She gave Rona further
directions.
"So what happens if it
really snows tonight?" Rona asked.
"The city will shut down,
basically."
Rona chuckled.
"I take it you're not
from here?" Anna asked.
"No. I was born and
raised in Port Austin, Michigan. That's located on the tip of the thumb,"
she replied.
"My
great-great-grandparents were from Norway."
She gave Anna a mocking smile and was certain she saw her blush before she
turned away.
"Sorry, I guess I got a
little carried away with the genealogy," Anna said. "What did you
mean by the tip of die thumb?"
"Michigan is shaped like
a mitten." Rona held up her hand to demonstrate. "Port Austin is
right about here." She wiggled her thumb.
"That's interesting. I'd
never noticed that before," Anna admitted.
They rode in silence while
Rona struggled to think of something to talk about. She didn't want to give
Anna time to dwell on the kids.
Anna spoke first. "I
really appreciate you driving me home. I could have called one of my brothers,
but they would have read me the riot act for working so late. They mean well,
but sometimes they can get overly protective. When we get to the house, I'll
call a cab and have it take you home."
Rona couldn't stop the look of
disgust she sent Anna's way. This time there was a definite blush.
"Or a shelter," Anna
hastened to add.
Rona shook her head and
answered without thinking. "Oh no. I'm not spending the night in one of
those places."
Anna glanced at her.
"It's supposed to drop well below freezing tonight."
Despite the warmth of the car,
Rona couldn't stop the shiver that ran up her spine. "There are worse
things than freezing to death. I tried staying in one of the shelters in Austin
one night, and the men seemed to think all the women were there for their
pleasure."
"All the shelters aren't
that way, are they?" Anna asked.
"I don't know and I don't
intend to find out." Rona said.
"The sleet is getting
worse. No one should be out in this tonight." Anna was quiet for several
seconds. "You pulled me out of a bad spot back there." She seemed on
the verge of saying more when a small sneeze erupted in the backseat.
"Is she sick?" Anna
asked.
"No," Tammy replied
quickly. "She just sneezed."
Anna continued to look over
her shoulder for several seconds. "Are they twins?" she asked.
"I'm Katie and that's
Karla."
In the rearview mirror, Rona
saw Tammy pull the girls closer to her.
"How old are you?"
Anna directed her question to Katie.
Apparently, Tammy had
communicated some silent signal to Katie to be quiet. "They're four,"
Tammy replied reluctantly.
"My youngest brother has
twins. They just turned five." She turned around and stared through the
windshield.
They rode in silence except
for the few times Anna gave directions. The sleet was still falling steadily,
but Rona felt completely at ease in driving. It felt good to do something so
normal. When she got her life straightened out again, and found a job that
offered vacations, her first vacation was going to be a long road trip, all
alone on the road, no blaring music, none of those books on tape crap, just the
sweet sound of tires on pavement.
"Turn left at the next
light."
Rona turned and drove beneath
a large stone archway holding a wooden sign for Stone Brook Estates. The bottom
of the arch was hidden by a thick stand of shrubs.
Streetlights resembling the
old carriage lights lined both sides of the street. The neatly kept homes were
tucked away behind expertly trimmed hedges and large oak trees. In this area
there were no cars parked on the streets. Reflective signs, tastefully
displayed, warned anyone with ill intentions that a neighborhood watch program
was in place.
"Take a left and then a
quick right at the next block," Anna said.
Rona followed her directions.
"It's the third house on
the right." As soon as the car pulled into the driveway, Anna reached up
and pressed the remote that was hooked over the sun visor. The garage door
began to rise.
Rather than pulling in, Rona
sat staring at the house. "How many people live here?" she asked.
"Just me."
Rona looked at her and
frowned. "You live in this huge place all alone?"
Anna glanced at the enormous
two-story red brick house. "I bought it as an investment. I'm a financial
planner," she explained. "This area was undergoing revitalization. In
a few years the property should double in value."
Rona remained silent and
continued staring at the house.
"I don't intend to stay
here forever."
"It's none of my business
where you live," Rona said as she drove the car into the garage, killed
the engine and reluctantly handed the keys to Anna. There was an awkward moment
as they all sat listening to the ticking of the cooling engine. Rona's head jerked
up when the garage door began to slide down. "We should be going,"
she said to Tammy as the door hissed closed. She reached over and pushed the
button to reopen the garage door before they started getting out of the car.
"Wait a minute,"
Anna said over the top of the car. "Let me pay you for your trouble."
Rona shook her head. "We
didn't do it for the money." Then an idea came to her. She picked up Karla
and bundled her beneath the ratty blanket.
"Where will you go?"
Anna asked as she walked to the back of the car. The freezing wind blew through
the open door. Anna pulled her coat more snugly around her and folded her arms.
"Do you have someplace to go?"
Tammy was busy bundling Katie
beneath her blanket.
"We'll be fine,"
Rona assured her as she deliberately turned Karla's innocent face toward Anna.
"It's freezing out there.
If you have somewhere to go, at least let me call a cab."
Rona shook her head.
"We're fine."
"Maybe you are, but what
about those children?"
Rona heard an edge to Anna's
voice that hadn't been there before. She wondered if she had misjudged this
woman. They all jumped when the door began to close automatically.
"Come on inside,"
Anna insisted, "before we catch pneumonia." Without waiting for
anyone to respond, she turned and walked to the door that led into the house.
Rona looked at Tammy, who was
shaking her head no. She stepped closer. "It's late," she reminded
her, "and we're a long way from downtown. I don't know this area. Do
you?" She felt certain that Anna's guilt offered them an advantage.
Tammy shook her head again.
"Tammy, maybe we need to
think about the kids."
"I always think about my
kids," she snapped.
Rona apologized. "I know
you do. I'm sorry. All I'm saying is that for now, just this once, maybe we
should trust someone. She seems decent enough."
"Mama, I'm cold,"
Karla whispered.
Rona hugged the child to help
ward off the cold but also for her unwitting help.
Tammy blinked rapidly and
swallowed before nodding.
When they stepped inside, Rona
heard Tammy's breath catch as
she gazed
around the spotless kitchen of gleaming stainless steel appliances and black
granite countertops. Everything seemed to sparkle beneath the overhead light.
"I guess you like to
cook," Rona said as she continued to take in the kitchen.
"When I have time,"
Anna admitted. "Come on in." She led them through the dining room and
living room. "I spend most of my time in the den," she said as they
entered a medium-sized room that held a slightly battered recliner, a pair of
end tables and a couch. Across the room from the couch was an overly ornate
fireplace, and across from the recliner was a wide-screen television. The
flooring was distressed pine boards that shone warmly in the light. Anna pulled
her coat off and draped it over the back of the recliner. "Have a
seat," she said and waved her hand toward the couch.
Everything looked too clean to
sit on. Rona finally perched on the edge of the couch and held Karla on her
lap. Tammy followed her lead and held Katie.
Anna sat in the recliner and
leaned forward to talk to them. "Look, I don't know what your situations
are and it's none of my business. I feel as though I've somehow made them
worse. I don't know you and you don't know me, but I don't think you mean me
any harm or you wouldn't have helped me tonight. If you'd like to spend the
night here, there are three spare bedrooms upstairs. My room is down here. In
fact, I rarely even go upstairs."
Rona practically shouted in
glee, but she carried out her act perfectly. She stood so suddenly that Karla
must have thought she was falling because she grabbed on to her and gave a
small squeal. "We don't need charity," Rona protested.
Anna frowned at her. "I
wasn't offering any. I was trying to return a favor." Without waiting for
a response, she stood. "Besides, my mother would disown me if I sent
company away without a meal." She smiled down at the twins. "Is
anyone other than me hungry?"
Rona's feet itched to dance.
She held her breath, terrified Tammy would insist on leaving. Her gut twisted
sharply as the girls looked to their mother for some guidance on whether they
should accept the food or not. When Tammy turned to her, Rona gave what she
hoped sounded like a sigh of resignation.
Anna nodded and turned to
leave. "The rooms are at the top of the stairway. If you would like to see
them, the food won't be ready for at least twenty minutes. I think you'll find
everything you need. If not, there's a supply cabinet at the end of the hallway
just outside this door." She pointed toward the den's entryway. As she
walked out of the room, she stopped a moment. "Rona, could you help me
with something, please."
Rona's heart flew to her
throat. Had Anna seen through her? She set Karla down and followed her out into
the hallway.
Anna started to speak and as
she did, she held her hand up. "Before you yell, it's not charity. I just
wanted to let you know that in the big closet at the end of the upstairs
hallway, there's a box that has the word ..." She hesitated and took a
deep breath before continuing, "It has the word
bitch
written on
the side. In it, you'll find some clothes. If there's anything you or Tammy can
use, you're welcome to it." She took off before Rona could reply.
Chapter Four
Rona and Tammy stood at the
open bedroom door and stared at the vast, sterile space. The walls and ceiling
were white, as were the headboard and dresser. The carpet was a darker ivory
shade. There were no knickknacks or photos to soften the harsh decor. The room
was almost as big as the one-room efficiency Rona had shared with Mary in
Austin. She closed her eyes and let her memory take her back to those four
short years—the laughter, the love and the music—always the music, Mary's
powerful voice accompanied by Lenny's soul-wrenching lead guitar and punctuated
by Eric's pounding rhythm and Zac's thumping bass. Rona could almost feel the
smooth yellow pencil in her hand scribbling desperately to record the lyrics
that had poured so effortlessly from deep within her during those few golden
months. The band had been on its way. If only . ..
Her eyes flew open as her body
began to topple. Tammy grabbed her and eased her to the floor.
"When was the last time
you ate?" Tammy asked.
Rona lowered her head to the
floor and waited for the room to stop spinning. "Yesterday morning."
Tammy kept her hand on Rona's
shoulder. "Just breathe deep; you'll be okay in a few minutes."
Rona closed her eyes and
waited for the dizziness to pass. Normally, she could find enough change,
dropped by people in a hurry, to buy a breakfast taco and on good days a cup of
coffee. Once she had been able to buy a taco every morning for over a week
after finding a ten-dollar bill caught in the debris clinging to a security
fence around a construction site. The past week had been rough. No one seemed
to be losing money. She and Malcolm, a seven-foot giant of a man who claimed he
was from Kenya and had come to this country to play professional basketball,
had finally gotten desperate enough to pick a few pockets.