"Can we?" Katie
whispered.
Tammy quickly brushed her
hands over her face to wipe away the tears as she nodded.
"Wonderful. I'll go back
to the house and get those coats. Annie Bella, come and help me get my skis
back on, please." He waved again before they stepped out into the garage
and closed the door behind them.
"Are you okay?" Rona
asked as the girls ran to the window to wait for Julian to reappear.
Tammy nodded. "We should
get out of here. These people scare me."
Surprised, Rona stared at her.
"Why? They seem like nice people."
"They are," Tammy
hissed. "That's the problem."
"How's that a
problem?"
Tammy looked at her daughters.
"It's harder to leave nice people, and"—she stared at Rona—"I
know you're planning something. I don't want you to do anything to hurt
them."
Shocked, Rona stared at her.
"I would never hurt anyone."
"You don't have to hit
someone to hurt them," Tammy said.
Rona was saved from replying
by Katie's shout.
"There he goes."
Rona and Tammy went to the
window to watch the young man. As he skied out of the driveway bundled in his
expensive ski suit, Rona couldn't help but wonder about how much his outfit
must have cost. She was going to have to be more careful around Tammy; she was
starting to know her too well. They were still at the living room window
watching Julian disappear down the street when Anna returned. She was holding
her briefcase.
"Well, since the entire
city is shut down and the mayor is asking all non-essential personnel to stay
off the streets, I guess I have no choice but to declare a holiday and keep the
office closed." She nodded to them. "Make yourself at home. There's a
television in the den. I'll only be a few minutes; I just need to reschedule a
few appointments."
As soon as she was gone, Tammy
turned to Rona. "When are we leaving?"
Rona gazed out at the snow as
a sense of dread began to squeeze her stomach. They had a good thing here. Why
couldn't Tammy see that?
"Rona." Tammy took
her arm. "I think we should leave before she comes back."
"And go where?" she
asked in harsh whisper. "If we leave here, we'll have to go to a shelter.
Are you willing to do that?" She leaned closer to Tammy. "How long do
you think those babies will survive in this weather?" She scrubbed the
heels of her hands against her eyes. "Let's just go with the flow for
now."
Tammy gazed at her closely.
"I'm not going to do
anything," she snapped.
"You better not,"
she warned.
Taken aback by Tammy's sudden
protectiveness toward Anna, Rona motioned toward the den. "Let's go see
what they're saying about the weather on television. Maybe something will come
to me.
The four of them sat on the
couch as Rona turned on the television and found a local channel. As she
suspected, the weather was the big news. The news crews had filmed endless
shots of laughing kids and adults sledding down slopes on everything from an
occasional real sled to large pieces of cardboard. Then the anchor-woman's
voice turned serious as she began to explain the film footage of lines of
homeless people waiting to get into shelters. When she announced that two
people had already died because of
the
freezing temperatures, Tammy reached over and clutched her arm. They were still
glued to the news when Anna came in wearing neatly pressed jeans and a gray and
white sweater pulled over a long-sleeved gray turtleneck. A pair of sturdy
hiking boots encased her feet. She perched on the edge of the recliner.
"I need to talk to you
both," she said.
Tammy glanced nervously from
Anna to the girls.
Rona tried to read Anna's
expression but couldn't. Was she about to ask them to leave? Maybe her
brother's invitation to a family event had shaken her up.
Anna walked to a bookcase
beside the television. "Do you girls like"—she glanced at the DVD in
her hand—
"Dora the Explorer?"
The girls looked at each other
and shrugged.
"My niece loves this
show. She'll watch it for hours." She popped the disc in before turning to
Rona and Tammy. "Maybe we could talk in the kitchen while the girls watch
television."
A look of concern crossed
Karla's face and she started to stand. Tammy leaned over and patted her
shoulder. "It's okay. I'll be in the kitchen." She kept her hand on
Karla's back until the child nodded and sat back down. As if by some silent
mutual agreement, the three adults remained in the room until the kids were
engrossed in the cartoon. Karla barely gave them a glance as they slipped out
of the room.
The women sat down at the
kitchen table. Without preamble, Anna began, "I was watching the weather
while I was dressing and it appears this arctic front, as they describe it, is
going to be around for a few days. They're predicting more snow tonight and
below freezing temperatures for the rest of the week."
"Please, don't call
anyone. We'll go to a shelter," Tammy promised.
Anna looked at her for a long
moment. "Maybe so, but you won't be able to get in. Because you have the
kids, someone might be able to pull some strings and get you in somewhere, but
I have another idea. You can stay here."
Rona wanted to jump up and
continue her sham of outrage, but her knees were too weak. It was really going
to happen. She had spent her last night on the street. They were both looking
at her. "I can't take your charity." If the words came out as weak as
they sounded to her, no one seemed to notice.
Anna glared at her.
"Fine. Walk outside and see how long your pride keeps you warm. You know
Tammy won't stay unless you do. Is your silly macho dignity worth one of those
kids getting sick and maybe dying?"
Rona saw Tammy blanch.
"Well, is it?" Anna
demanded.
"Tammy doesn't need me
here. She can stay," Rona said. Anna's righteousness was starting to piss
her off. Without realizing what she was doing, she stood.
Tammy reached out and grabbed
her arm. "No. You can't leave. She's right."
Both Rona and Anna looked at
Tammy in surprise as she squared her shoulders and turned back to Anna.
"We thank you for your offer, but we have to help out where we can. I can
cook and clean." She turned to Rona and asked, "What can you
do?"
Rona's face burned under the
scrutiny of the other women. She hadn't expected this. "I don't know... I
mowed yards one summer. I can shovel snow and help clean." As they
continued to watch her, she wanted to shout that she could shoplift and was a
fair hand at picking pockets.
Anna leaned back in her chair.
"Can you type?" she asked Rona.
"Yeah, some. I learned in
high school and worked in an auto parts warehouse for a while. My job was to
track inventory. I had to input new products into the system."
What the
hell! Was she being interviewed?
"Speed isn't so
important, but accuracy is," Anna explained. "I was planning on
hiring a temp to set up a mailing list and to help with the mail-out of an
advertising campaign. It's only for a couple of weeks at most, but it should
help to keep your pride intact," she said with a touch of sarcasm.
Tammy nudged Rona.
"I guess it would be
okay," Rona replied.
Anna nodded. "Good. Now,
for salaries—"
"Hold it," Rona
cried. "I thought this was an even swap. You let us stay here while we
work for you."
Anna frowned. "I can't
charge you that much for staying here. It's not as though it's going to cost me
anything. I'd heat the entire house whether you're here or not," she said
with a shrug. "The water bill might be a little more."
"It'll cost you more to
feed us," Tammy said.
Anna shook her head.
"You're right, but it won't be that much."
"We should do
something," Rona protested.
"I should contribute
more, since there are three of us," Tammy said.
Anna rubbed her forehead.
"This is getting too complicated. Rona, the temp position is going to pay
six-fifty an hour. You'll be saving me money because the temp agency would cost
more. Tammy, I'm currently paying a cleaning service one hundred dollars to
clean once a week. I'll cancel the service. You take over the housecleaning as
well as most of the cooking during the week. I'll increase the weekly salary to
two hundred dollars and I'll cook on the weekends to give you a break. I'll
take care of the household bills. You two take care of your personal items and
anything extra you want." Anna stood. "Is it a deal?"
Tammy slowly nodded.
Rona wasn't certain how long
she should pretend to protest. She decided to give one last weak protest.
"I don't see what you're gaining here."
Anna gazed at her. "Are
you this stubborn about everything? If it makes you feel better, your salary is
tax-deductible." The phone rang before Rona could respond.
As Anna went to answer the
phone, Rona turned to find Tammy watching her. "What's wrong with
you?"
Tammy shook her head.
"You promised me. I'm going to be watching you."
"I think I'll go see how
the kids are doing," Rona snapped as she stomped out of the kitchen.
Chapter Seven
An hour later, Rona stood by
the bedroom window gazing out at the snow-covered roofs. The overcast sky and
snow reminded her of Michigan. It had been nearly fifteen years since she lived
there. In rare, unguarded moments, she would still be overtaken by a sense of
longing for those cold crisp mornings when she would wake in a warm bed to the
smell of her mother's freshly baked cranberry tarts.
She heard the muffled laughter
of the kids across the hallway. Anna's brother had returned in his SUV with a
large cardboard box marked GOODWILL and some lame story about the kids' coats
being packed away in it. He left the box with Anna so she could take it to the
women's shelter, which was supposedly near her office.
After he left, Rona helped
Tammy carry the box upstairs. The girls opened it and immediately began to pull
out more clothes than they could possibly ever remember. At the bottom of the
box
were a few women's sweatshirts, two
pullover sweaters and three pairs of jeans. The jeans were a little big in the
waist, but they were wearable. While the girls were digging through their new
wardrobes, Rona mentioned to Tammy that Anna must have told Julian the truth
while she was helping him with his skis. The clothes had been given to them in
such a way as to allow them to retain as much of their dignity as possible.
When Rona made a comment about charity, Tammy scolded her and told her to
accept the gesture in the spirit it was given.
The clothes in the box Anna
had given them the night before were a much better fit for Tammy, since she was
a few inches shorter. The pants from the box Julian brought over were still too
short for Rona, but they fit better in the waist since she was heavier than
Tammy. By mixing and matching the clothes from both boxes, the women were able
to put together a wardrobe that certainly wouldn't fool anyone, but at least it
wouldn't be blatantly obvious they were both dressed entirely in hand-me-down
clothing.
As Rona pulled on a
turtleneck, she was again grateful she didn't have big breasts and could go
braless. It was one thing to wear someone else's shirt, but she sure as hell
wasn't going to wear a used bra or underwear. She pulled a gray sweatshirt on
over the blue turtleneck. Looking in the mirror, she tucked her hair back
behind her ears. Except for the dark circles under her eyes, she looked like a
normal person.
She found herself wondering
about Anna. The clothes in the box with the word
bitch
written on the
side might belong to Anna, but she didn't think so. Her rainbow magnets were a
good indicator, but having a rainbow magnet didn't necessarily mean she was
gay. The woman was such a contradiction. At first, she'd pegged her as one of
those do-gooders, but she didn't really seem to fit the mold. And there had
been a couple occasions when Anna's temper had surfaced.
There was a light tapping on
her door. She opened it to find Tammy wearing the bright yellow sweater from
Anna's box over a navy blue shirt and navy blue sweatpants. She could see the
twins sitting on the floor at the foot of the bed talking.
"You look nice,"
Rona said. She needed to get back on Tammy's good side.
Tammy blushed and pushed a
thin lock of hair behind her ear. "What are we supposed to do?"
"Build a snowman,"
Rona whispered, mimicking Karla.
"How long do you think
she'll let us stay?" Tammy persisted. "I mean, is it for the two
weeks that she'll have work for you or what?"
Rona shrugged. "I don't
know. I don't think she would cancel her other cleaning service if she only
intended to let us stay for two weeks. Maybe she wants to see how it goes. I
think she'll let us stay until it starts getting warm."