Chapter 6
6
M aeve
It’s been four days since the fire. Three days since I was released from the hospital and snuck out of there without leaving my contact information. Also, it’s been three days since I’ve been living back on my friend’s couch.
“She has to fuckin’ go,” my friend’s boyfriend implores—just quiet enough he thinks I can’t overhear—in another room.
“She has nowhere to go,” Lulu tries fighting back on my behalf.
“It’s me or her. She’s been walking around with her bare ass here, trying to seduce me. If I cheat on you, it will be because of her!” the asshole keeps quietly yelling at my friend.
Ew. I need to instantly vomit. I don’t have many clothes left, only the ones that were still stashed here in my beat-up suitcase. And I own nothing that would show a naked ass. All my underwear is that of a grandma, and I always wear oversized clothing when I’m here. The idea of me showing him my ass is ridiculous. Besides that, he’s gross.
My soon-to-be-not-friend Lulu comes out of the only bedroom in the apartment with a stern look on her face with arms crossed over her chest.
“It’s time for you to go, Maeve.”
“I got it.” I rise to my feet with a sigh. “But I haven’t been seducing your boyfriend. Just so you know.”
She looks to the side. “Just go, Maeve.”
Nodding, I grab my suitcase with a broken wheel and walk out of the apartment.
I have no money. No place to stay. A local rich boy is out for my blood. The cops will probably be looking for me soon if he presses charges. I don’t even have the money to buy any food for tonight.
Which brings me to not having any choice and doing what I said I never would: call my parents.
“Yes?” my mom replies with a slight surprise when I call her private phone from an unknown number.
“Mom?” My voice breaks hearing her.
“Maeve!” she squeaks.
“That’s me,” I chuckle like a dumbass. “Hi.”
“Are you coming home?”
“Yes,” I say, not sounding as enthusiastic as I should when I’m about to ask for help.
“Are you ready to embrace your family?” Mom asks with very present glee.
“Not exactly,” I reply vaguely.
A silence on the other side of the line tells me she’s not happy to hear that.
“Okay. We can discuss it when you come to us. We’re in Maupiti, at our favorite spot.”
Aha, the favorite spot I can’t afford to come to .
“Mom, can you—” I clear my throat. And again. “Can you please buy me a ticket?”
“Yes, Maeve. Of course,” she says, sounding rather happy. “I’ll send you a confirmation soon.”
“Thank you, Mom.”
“Sure, Maeve.” She pauses while I hear her walking somewhere . “But honey, please think about what we talked about. It’s a part of who we are. It’s what we do. Your father won’t agree to help you if you don’t agree to help him.”
“Okay, Mom,” I agree easily because I don’t see a fault in promising ‘to think.’ “I will.”
“Good. That’s very good. See you soon, honey.”
“See you, Mom.”
When we hang up, I lean back on the wall of the bus stop next to Lulu’s place. I don’t have anywhere to go. The coffee shop burned down. But I’m desperate, so naturally I was thinking about going there and just camping, but they replaced the locks the next morning. I checked. My warm jacket got burned, and I’m left with only the thin cardigan I’m wearing now. It used to have a hole on one elbow, so I cut two pieces of material from my old jeans and strategically placed them on both elbows in an attempt at making the whole thing look stylish. It turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself, but it’s not exactly warm.
Shivering from the October cold, I wipe my running nose.
“Well, you look miserable.” Comes Jeffrey’s voice. Another person down on his luck.
“And you look stunning, Jeff.”
Chuckling, he limps his way toward me. A big, black plastic bag is stashed in his shopping cart he’s pushing in front of him. The saxophone case is hidden inside—I recognize the shape.
“What are you doing here, kid? ”
I look at the dark sky and notice low clouds hovering over the city. It’s probably going to rain. That’d just top my cake.
“I got kicked out.”
He clicks his tongue as he sits next to me on the bench. “The douchebag said that you’re trying to get into his pants again?”
“Yep.” I bang the back of my head on the wall behind me. “Again. Why is this happening?”
“It just happens, kid.” He shrugs his shoulders. “Some people get bad luck. Some people get everything. Life’s a bitch.”
“Yeah,” I agree sadly.
“Are you hungry?”
I glance at the sandwich he’s opening on his lap and swallow. “No, thank you though.”
I haven’t eaten since… morning? Or when did I eat?
He carefully divides the sandwich in two and offers one half wrapped in paper to me.
“No, Jeff. I can’t take your food,” I say, trying not to look at his sandwich like a starved animal.
He pushes the half to me. “Take it. You’ve given me plenty before. It’s my turn to share.”
I look at the sandwich in his hands and say in a weak voice, “But you won’t have enough for yourself.”
“You didn’t have enough for yourself the last time you bought me this jacket.” He pats his chest. “But you did it anyway.” He waves his hand in the air. “Just take the damn thing, kid.”
I accept it with a laugh. “Thank you.” After the first bite, I moan. “Damn, Jeff. That’s the best sandwich on the whole planet.”
“That,” he lifts his index finger in the air, “is the taste of freedom when you have nothing else to lose and can enjoy a simple thing like a warm meal. Not everyone can experience that.”
“I think you’re onto something there, Jeff,” I say, taking a hefty bite and savoring it this time.
I’ve known Jeff for a while now. Something like two years. He helped me when I was about to get mugged or worse. He stood up for me, scaring the guy away, and since then we’ve become sort of friends. He lives around the corner—literally. He said he’s been on the streets for many years now, but he used to be a jazz singer at a popular New Orleans club I actually visited when I was a kid.
Sometimes I bring Jeff food or clothes, and he brings his company. When I moved to New York from Rhode Island, it felt like it was a city of possibilities. No one warned me that the city comes with a side of total loneliness in a crowd. So I enjoy my time with Jeff when he decides to gift me with his presence.
“What are you going to do now?”
“Going back to my parents with my tail between my legs,” I explain, finishing my food. I shouldn’t have been rushing and should have savored it longer.
“It can’t be that bad.”
“Oh, it can. Years ago, I left in the middle of the night like a thief. It took me a whole year to call them for the first time. So yeah, I don’t think the forgiving will be simple.”
He winces. “Probably not. But what’s the worst thing that can happen? They’ll just brood a bit and get over it.”
I chuckle sadly. “I’m afraid it’s not that simple.”
“Why?”
“The condition for me getting any money from them is marrying a man of their choice.”
He rears back and starts laughing. “That’s like some ancient stuff from a different century.”
“Yep,” I sigh. “So is my family. ”
My phone pings with a message.
Couldn’t send you a picture of the booking. Something’s wrong with your phone. Your flight leaves at 8:20 p.m. from JFK. You have a 5 hour layover in Cali and then you need to take a boat from Bora Bora. Don’t be late. Father has an announcement to make. See you.
Boat from Bora Bora. Not paid upfront. A boat.
“Jeff?” I turn to him. “Where can I get some cash?”
“Sell your feet online,” he replies with a shrug.
“Good idea. I should have thought about that before,” I mumble to myself. “But what if I need it tonight? Where can I get it?”
“I can give it to you.”
I blink. “You can?”
“Yeah.”
He digs under his jacket, then under his other jacket. And finally, under his shirt and produces a plastic bag with cash. Then he finds a one-hundred-dollar bill and gives it to me. I hesitate to accept it, so he shakes the money in the air.
“Take it, kid. Some rich dude gave it to me a few days ago, and I didn’t know what to do with that. He’s been rushing past me every single day, and then he just suddenly decided to pause and enjoy life. Who knows with these rich folks.” He shrugs, pushing the money toward me again. “If it’s not faith, I don’t know what that is.”
I carefully take the money, feeling my voice breaking. “Thank you. I will return it to you.”
“Yeah.” He waves me off. “Go get your life back. ”
I check the time—it’s thirty past four. It might take me forever to get to the airport from here, hopping from bus to bus.
Jumping to my feet, I give Jeff a quick hug. “Thank you, Jeff.” My voice breaks. “Thank you. Please don’t leave the area so I can find you when I’m back.”
He chuckles and pats me on my back. “Go get ’em, kid.”