Chapter 8

 

Me-Me was contemplating whether or not she could cook a pork chop on the little grill that she’d swiped from someone’s backyard a couple of nights ago. So far, all she’d used it for was boiling water, which she wasn’t good at either. Putting it back, she moved to the ground hamburger. She was sure that she could manage cooking that by herself.

Having been on her own as long as she had, Me-Me decided that she hated her own company. She knew that there were people out there that loved the quiet and the peace, but not her. She needed action and sounds. Music if she could manage it, but something other than her own breath coming out of her sour tasting mouth. She made her way to the toothpaste and brush part of the littlest grocery store she’d ever been in. They didn’t even have an olive bar, nor a place to buy fresh bread.

After pocketing a travel size toothbrush and paste, she moved to the instant food section. This was about all she could manage. There were good instructions, and she could actually follow them. Me-Me couldn’t believe how difficult it was just to make a sandwich.

There was bread and meat. Lettuce and tomato had to be cut up and cleaned. And she wasn’t going to go there about mustard or mayo. There were so many varieties of them, she had to just take three or four of them just to figure out what brand she liked. No, cooking and all the stuff that went with it could just stay in the kitchen where it belonged.

Me-Me had decided not to kill her sister. Micky could go on being whatever she wanted to be so long as she paid her once a month. Figuring out how much she wanted was difficult. Since Me-Me had never cared about the price of things that she bought nor how they were paid for once she put them on the card, she wasn’t sure what to demand.

Pocketing a few more items that she wanted, she made her way around the store. There were so many things that she wanted from here. A nice wine would have been wonderful, but they only sold bottles that were shiny and bright. Again, not knowing the cost of things, she still thought the prices were too low for her to enjoy them.

After getting as much as she could carry back to the house she was staying in, Me-Me made her way to the front to leave. These people were so stupid, and it was small wonder they were constantly having sales in the place. She’d been coming here for the last three days and had never been caught.

Grabbing one more item, Me-Me took the bottles of water and stuck them in her bag. She was going to have to get herself something larger if she was going to have to do this for much longer. Perhaps she’d buy herself a nice huge bag when Micky paid her some of her money. Whatever she had, it couldn’t be very much, but Me-Me was going to demand at least half of it. That was the least she could do for her eldest sister.

Walking out into the sunlight blinded her for a moment. She’d been in the store for a long time, and the place didn’t have a single window in it. How was a person supposed to know the weather before they got up to the front? Me-Me would have designed it much differently.

A man grabbed her arm and she came around swinging. Of course, her arm got tangled up in her bag, so she wasn’t able to hit him all that hard. Me-Me suddenly found herself on the ground with her arms pulled painfully up behind her back.

“What is the meaning of this? Unhand me right this minute!”

But he didn’t, and she heard her shoulder pop. Christ, it hurt, and she started screaming about suing them and making them pay for hurting her so badly. When she was helped to stand up, she looked at the police officers that were in front of her. Whatever was going on, she was in deep shit. They were armed in vests, guns out, and a big fucking dark van with SWAT on the side of it.

“What do you think you’re doing?” The cop in front of her took her purse off her shoulder. “That is private property. Hand that back to me this second. I can’t believe that you’re accosting someone coming out of the store. There isn’t that much in there anyway.”

Her bag was dumped on the concrete in front of her. It was all there, all the evidence that they needed to arrest her. And when she was asked if she had a receipt, she refused to answer the man. But she did ask to talk to her sister.

“When you’re booked, we’ll let you make your phone call. Until then, I’m going to read you your rights.” And he did that, asking her at the end if she understood what was being said to her.

“No, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I paid for everything in that bag. You have no way of proving anything anyway.” He was handed a small reader like thing and turned it toward her. There she was, putting things in her bag and the pockets of her clothing. Before she could ask if they could prove it was her, she looked right up at the camera as if saying hello to someone. Christ, she was as stupid as they came. “I want a lawyer.”

He just laughed but told her that she had a right to one. Then they shoved her, quite literally, into the back of a large van and she was buckled into the seat. There was no one else in there with her. She thought they must have had fun arresting someone for simply trying to have a meal. She wondered what Bethany would say when she called her for help.

Bethany had been released from jail three days ago. She was both surprised by it and pissed off. Why hadn’t she at least tried to get in touch with her? Or better yet, let her know so that she could bunk up with her for a few days. None of this would have happened if she’d just done that one simple thing.

As soon as they were at the jail, she was taken inside and booked. Up until now she’d thought that it only meant getting your picture taken and someone making you take a shower naked, so they could throw some kind of powder on you. Me-Me didn’t actually think that they threw powder on you in a jail, but this was unknown to her. She wished she’d have asked her sister about it.

The booking, or whatever it was that they did to her, only took about an hour. But for some reason, she thought they were just dragging it out to be mean. Why did they need her fingerprints? A side view of her face? And why did she have to put on this orange thing when she wasn’t going to be there that long?

“I’d like to call my sister.” The man told her that she’d have to wait. “No, I know my rights. I need to call her, so she can come down here and bail me out. She’ll do it too, because we’re sisters.”

No one cooperated with her on the call. She was taken down the long brightly lit hallway and put in a cell. It took her several minutes to figure out that the person in the cell across from her was her mother. Calling out for her got her shouted at, but her mom stood up and came to the bars that separated them.

“What happened to you? And where the hell have you been? I was looking for you, Mother.” She told her that she’d been falsely arrested on drug charges. “They caught me shoplifting. Or so they’re trying to pin on me. I need to find Bethany. I heard that she was released a few days ago. I don’t suppose you have her number, do you?”

“No. When she was tossed out on her ass, I didn’t get the chance to see if she was able to get herself a phone. Ex-husbands take that away from you too when they throw you to the curb. What about your husband? Can you call Neil?” She told her what he’d done to her. “Christ, that’s not right. Just to get you when you’re down. I’m beginning to think that all men are shitheads, and there isn’t one out there worth shit.”

Me-Me thought of Micky’s husband. For whatever reason, she didn’t think he’d do anything to hurt Micky. He looked at her like she was as fragile as glass and as beautiful as a newly blossomed rose. She had read that somewhere and thought that it was absolutely perfect for the way the two of them looked at each other.

“Did you know that Micky was living with some guy?” Me-Me told her mom that Micky was married to him. “You don’t say. Well, I can bet that won’t last very long. She’s an idiot. And a thief. To think that she wouldn’t share the money that she got from old Cain. And by the way, they’re blaming me for his death. They told me that Bethany told them where to find the stuff that I used to knock the old buzzard off. Christ, I hated that man. Forever in our business. And he adored Micky. The fucking bastard.”

Me-Me thought of her involvement in the death of Micky’s first fiancé. She’d murdered him in much the same way as she had an ex-husband of hers several years ago. She had waited until he was asleep, then gone in and put a rope around his neck. The problem that she’d run into with Richard was that he was much younger than her ex, and a good deal stronger. Me-Me had strained her back and her arms when she’d finally gotten him tied up and hung him from the beam in the room. Christ, she wished that she’d have asked him to pretend to hang himself before she killed him. It would have been much lighter work for her.

When someone came to the cells with a tray for both of them, Me-Me wanted to scream at the woman who had it that she wasn’t a criminal and she would not be treated as one. Her mother, however, moved to the back of her cell and received her tray of food.

“Either do it my way, Ms. Patterson, or you can starve tonight. Breakfast isn’t until eight in the morning, and that’s a good fourteen hours from now.” She moved back but she didn’t like it. She’d missed lunch as well as breakfast today because she hadn’t hidden away her food good enough and some animals got into it. “Good girl. Now, you keep behaving yourself and we won’t have to hold your meals or any calls that you might have. By the way, your sister has heard that you’ve been arrested and she’s coming to see you.”

“Will she have bail money too? Did you ask her?” The woman cop told her that she’d not. It wouldn’t have mattered anyway—there hadn’t been one set yet, and she’d have to wait on that. “Who do I have to blow to get this thing rushed? I don’t want to be in here anymore than my mother.”

The officer just walked out, laughing the entire way. Me-Me wanted to toss her food at the woman, but it smelled so good that she decided that she’d do it next time. Sitting down on the only piece of furniture in the room, Me-Me pulled the cover off her meal and stared at it. Christ, this was how they fed a person in jail? If so, she might want to stay here forever.

There was thinly sliced roasted turkey over a slice of white bread. Mashed potatoes that were still steaming, and the gravy was as creamy looking as the potatoes. There was a serving of green beans in a good-sized bowl, carrots swimming in butter and brown sugar. Under the other cover was a large slice of lemon meringue pie, with the meringue so tall on the filling she thought that she could gladly make a meal of it.

There were warm biscuits with butter on the side, cups of both tea and milk, as well as a cup of hot coffee. Me-Me asked her mom if she had eaten like this since she’d been there.

“Yes. This morning for breakfast, I had three scrambled eggs. Real eggs, not those ones from a carton. There was English muffins, bacon and ham, as well as some gravy—sausage gravy that I poured all over the biscuits that had come with it.” Her mom laughed. “I missed my lunch, I had to go and talk to my attorney. I can’t afford one, so they’re paying for that too. I could do worse, I guess. They’re trying to get me on killing off Cain, in addition to drug charges. What are you in for again?”

“Shoplifting. I tried to get out of that, but they have me on video. I tell you, Mom, there just aren’t enough trusting people around anymore. I mean, years ago, when we were all living together, you didn’t have to worry about cameras and such.” Her mom agreed with her.

She ate the rest of her meal in silence. The meal was as good as if not better than it smelled, and she made a pig of herself by eating every last bit of it, even running the last part of her biscuit in the gravy so as not to miss a single bite.

When they came to get their trays, she did as she was told this time. Me-Me wasn’t going to miss a single meal. She didn’t know the next time she’d have one. As soon as Bethany was able to bail her out, she’d be bunking with her for a bit. And Bethany couldn’t cook any better than she could.

There was a click-click noise coming down the hall about an hour later. Me-Me had been dozing when she heard it and got up to see who it was. She was hoping it was Bethany—she needed someone to tell her things were going to be just fine.

“Hello Mother, Mariam the Second. How do you like jail life? I’m sure that you’re going to be spending a good long time here. Which is good. I want both of you to rot in hell for what you’ve done to me.”

“I don’t want you here. Where is Bethany? She’s been avoiding me. Tell her to come down here with some money so she can get me out of here.” Micky told her no. “You will do it, Micky, or so help me, when I do get out of here, you’re going to regret it.”

“Beth died two days ago. She had been diagnosed with cancer while in jail. By then it was too late—it had spread throughout her body.” Me-Me told her she was lying. “No. I’d never lie to you about this. She was buried this morning. I’ve only come here to let you know.”

“You bitch. You killed her, didn’t you? I’ll get you for this. Just as soon as you pay my bond. You’re going to pay, Micky.” Me-Me was afraid that she wasn’t lying. Bethany was dead? It was something that she’d have to check on.

As she walked away, Me-Me shouted to her to come back, to tell the truth. But it did her little to no good. Micky walked out. And she was sure that would be the last time she saw her sister.

~*~

Lucas didn’t know what to think when Micky came out of the cell area and went straight outside. He’d come with her, but she wanted to do this all on her own. Following her out, he was careful not to ask any questions. She’d tell him when she was ready.

When he started the truck up, he made his way to the dealership. They were going to pick out a car for Micky. While he did have a few other vehicles, she couldn’t drive a stick shift. Pulling into the big parking lot, she finally looked at him.

“I know that you and I can’t have a baby of our own. I understand why. But I’d like a child with you. To raise to be someone we can be proud of.” He told her that they could do that at any time. “All right. We can do that. I know that it’s a little difficult when they’re checking you out, but I’m sure that we’ll be able to handle it. I told them that Beth had passed away and what had happened.” Lucas waited. “They didn’t ask where she was buried or if she had a nice funeral. Neither of them asked if she’d been in a great deal of pain. All Mariam the Second could do was shout at me about paying her bond. And get this—she wanted me to pay it so that she could get out and harm me.”

“I’m sorry, love. I really am. They sound like very selfish people.” She told him that they were. “Would you like to go home? We can do this some other time.”

“No. I want to buy a car today. I want to pretend that everything is normal, for a little while, anyway.” She looked at him then. “You’re the best husband a woman could ask for. You’re kind, loving, and you’re great in bed. But mostly, you love me.”

“I do. Forever.” They got out of his truck and started looking at cars. Micky knew what she wanted, and they were still hunting for it when the salesperson came up to them. Lucas told him, “I think we’re doing all right. We’re looking.”

“Why don’t we go and see what you qualify for, and that’ll narrow down your search for you.” He’d started to ask Lucas, the man, what he wanted when Micky took over.

“Are you saying that it doesn’t look like we can afford a certain price range? Or are you trying your best to see if we not only qualify for one, but you can add on some extras to pad your commission?” He sputtered and turned red. And Lucas knew that was just what the man was going to do. “When we’re ready to talk to someone about what we want, we’ll come to them. My husband told you that we were looking. Now go away.”

The man practically ran away from them. Lucas was laughing as he pulled Micky into his arms. She was crying, just a little, so he held her until she was ready to talk to him. It had been a hard day on all of them.

“I was so rude to that man.” Lucas told her that she’d been right, he did want to up his commission. “But I had no reason to treat him that way. I guess I’m a little more stressed than I thought.”

“You did what needed to be done. I don’t like to be shadowed when I know what I want either. Maybe you can tell me what it is you’re looking for and we can get it.” She smiled at him. “I’m thinking you want something fast and red.”

“I did at one time, but not anymore. If you were serious about us having a child, I’m going to need something practical. It might have to be red, but I want four doors and a little bit more space in the back for presents.” When she wiggled her brows at him, he laughed. And it made her laugh. As they searched the lot, the salesman came to them again.

“I’m so sorry, Lord Manning. I just wanted to tell you that. I am very sorry, and I thank your wife for putting me in my place. I was pushy, and I need to not be.” He started to go away again when Micky called him back. “I’m sorry to you as well, my lady.”

“I was rude as well. And I am profoundly sorry for taking my horrible day out on you. If you’d be so kind—what is your name?” He told her. “Hello, Dan. I’m looking for something that can hold at least four, but I’d prefer that six people could sit in it comfortably. I haven’t driven in the snow here, but I’m to understand that it can be brutal.”

“Oh yes. And as soon as it does snow, I’d suggest that Lord Manning take you to a large parking area and practice in it. I’d not want anything to happen to either of you.” Lucas could tell that the man was trying very hard not to over sell them, or to insult them again. “I do have something that you might want. It’s just come in. The only thing, it’s red. I don’t know if you’re aware of this or not, but red cars seem to get pulled over more than any other.”

“Let’s go see it. And for the record, I wanted a red car anyway.”

They walked among the cars that all had tags on them and entered the showroom. But they didn’t stop there. Dan took them to the big open garage where employees were unloading cars. And Lucas saw the car before Micky did.

Micky squealed with delight at the SUV. It had three row seating, just like she wanted. Four-wheel drive, another thing on her list. And it was about as red as you could get. And she loved it.

Dan stood by him as Micky got in and out of the car, going to the backseat then to the front again. She was trying out all the gadgets—Dan had given her the keys to it—and Micky was happy with them as well. Lucas looked over at Dan and saw that he was enjoying Micky’s antics as well.

“As I’m sure you know, we’ll take it.” Dan nodded, not taking his eyes off Micky. “I’d like the same car, only in black. Do you have one of those in that color?”

“We have a dark blue one. It hasn’t been unloaded— She certainly is a delight, is she not? I don’t think I’ve ever seen a person happier with a purchase than she is. Lady Manning should go about town, introduce herself around. Some are saying that you married a prude.” Dan looked at him. “Oh my God, I cannot believe that I said that to you. Please forgive me, sir. It wasn’t my intention of saying anything like that to you.”

“It’s all right. And you’re absolutely right. We both need to get out more and see the people. Micky has gone through a great deal since we were married. One of her sisters recently passed away, and her mother and other sister they’re going to prison.” Dan said he was sorry for her loss. “Thank you. I’ll tell her for you. And if you’ll figure out what we owe you, we’ll be out of your hair.”

“I’ve enjoyed it, sir. I was upset at first, her telling me those things. But then I realized that she was right. That was exactly what I was thinking and what I wanted to do. I think I’ll sell more cars, believe it or not, if I just let people to come to me after checking on them.” Lucas told him that was a great strategy. “Yes, I do believe you might be right on that. I have been too pushy for some time, I think. It could be the reason my sales have been down. I’m going to take her advice and run with it.”

Lucas contacted Tristan who said that he was downtown, working on getting supplies for his new classroom. He said he’d be happy to drive his truck to his house so long as he brought him back. After paying for the cars via the bank, Micky drove off the lot minutes before he did. It was fun watching her be so happy with something.

After both of them pulling into the garage, they made their way to the house. Tristan showed up about ten minutes later. He was as happy as Micky had been about her car.

“You have to come see it, Tristan. It’s beautiful, and it’s so nice. Red too. I so wanted a red car.” She let him start it up to play as she had done. “You will need one soon as well. Driving back and forth to the high school, it’ll be easier than having to haul everything in your truck. But you have to use Dan as the salesperson you work with. He’s turning over a new leaf, and I want him to succeed.”

“Is he giving you part of his commission for helping him out?” They all three laughed and Tristan joined them for lunch. Lucas had hoped that he could persuade Micky into a little more fun, but having his brother there, and happy, was well worth having to put it off. “I’m buying supplies that they told me that I would need. Also, they gave me a list of supplies that the kids would need. Not just for my class, but for all of them. What do you think they’d say if I donated all the things on each of the lists, so that families can be less stressed about buying supplies?”

“I think they’d be very happy with such a great influx of supplies. But you have to be careful, I think. Once you start buying things for them, the board might expect you to buy other items that they need.” Tristan asked Micky why she thought that. “Because everyone is greedy. Well, not everyone, but enough to take advantage of your good nature. And your kindness. That’s why I never told anyone how much money I have, or about the property. I had people come up to me after Great Grandda died and say that he’d promised this or that. I knew better, so I just got me a job and let people think what they wanted. They were anyway, so this helped me too.”

“I can see that happening. All right, my dear. I will hold off buying anything unless I’m sure that it is needed, and that it will be used for the children and not the people who run things for them.” Tristan grinned at him. “You, my dear brother, have a very intelligent wife. I can only hope that mine is just like her.”

“She’ll come along and nab you when you least expect it.” Micky laughed as Lucas did because of the look on Tristan’s face. “I hope she’s a ball buster too. That way she can keep you on your toes all the time. I know that you need that.”

Lucas took his brother back to the parking lot of the school where he’d left his own truck. He didn’t get out right away, so he waited on him. Tristan had always been a quiet thinker, and when he spoke, like they did with Cooper, people listened.

“I’ve had my house redone. Walls painted. Even putting some of the things that I’ve had forever in it as well. It’s large enough for me to need a staff, so I hired some.” Lucas wasn’t sure where this was going but said that was a good idea. “Do you think she’ll be a ball buster, Lucas? I’m not the kind of man that those sort of women like. I’m too...I guess you’d call it timid. I avoid conflict as much as I possibly can. I don’t need a woman that is going to put me in my place.”

“I think I thought the same thing. And Micky is timid as well. But when she needs to be, she can be just as scary as we are as our dragons. And I love that about her.” Tristan nodded, and they both watched as teachers went in and out of the building in anticipation of the new school year. “She’ll fit you, Tristan. Whoever or whatever she is, you will blend together and be as solid in your life as I feel mine is.”

Tristan got out of the car then but stood at the open window. When Tristan smiled at him, he had a feeling that he’d figured out something. And he was as positive as he was of his love for Micky that it was going to backfire on him.

When he walked away, Lucas sat there for a few moments and turned home when he thought of what he was going to do to Micky. He was hard too, just thinking about her. Lucas hoped there weren’t any more visits to their home today. He had a plan.