Chapter 14
We stayed at Eddie Decker's house for almost two hours, and he and Caroline were gracious, kind hosts. I was comfortable in their home, and we all talked while we ate dinner. It was a simple but delicious plate of food that had been prepared by a chef. Caroline was into painting as a hobby and didn't at all care for cooking. She did it sometimes, but they had a chef who came by several times a week, and she openly admitted that she preferred his food to her own.
Dominic and I didn't have any physical contact in front of them, but he was always around me, talking to me and glancing at me to make sure I was comfortable. I had a great time, so I always gave him a reassuring smile.
We headed out at the same time as EJ and Thad. Those two went out of the driveway first, and Dominic and I were left alone. It was cold out. He had started our cars moments before we walked outside, and he told me to get into his for a minute before we took off. I made a noise reflecting how chilled I was as I sat in the passenger's seat.
"Whew, I'm still not used to Chicago w-winters." I actively shook, putting my hands in front of the vents. Dominic took my hand and pulled me into his arms. There was a console between us, but I leaned over it. He was a big guy, so he leaned toward me as well. I felt his arm come around me, and he rubbed my shoulder, warming me up. It was bliss. I could have stayed there forever.
"I'm going back to Milwaukee tomorrow," he said.
"I know," I said. My head was tilted toward him, leaning on his shoulder where I wasn't looking directly at him. "I'll probably be at work when you go back."
"Did you hear me tell my dad I'm going to hire you to work at ETC?"
"Yes, I did hear you say that."
"You're welcome to, for real."
I wanted to take him up on any offer he ever made me, but I knew that would complicate things. "Thank you," I said simply. "It's an amazing place. You and EJ should be so proud of what you've built."
"Thank you," he said. "And I can tell you're not going to do it, but you should. And it's not just because I want to have you close. I think you'd be good for business there. I wish you would come to work for us."
"Thank you, Dom. I really will think about it."
"Don't think about it too long…" he said.
I thought he would continue, but he didn't.
"Or what?" I asked.
"Or nothing. Just don’t think about it too long because I want you there."
I laughed at him.
"I hope you're okay with me telling Blake to post that photo of you earlier. You mostly can't see your face."
"It's fine. I don't care what you post. I mean, I do care, ultimately, but I trust you. You make good choices with your social media."
"I just forward photos to Blake. I didn't even see the comments or anything. She takes care of all that."
"I might not look at it either," I said.
"I think it's smart," he said smiling.
"Why, because women get jealous and write mean comments?"
"No, I wasn't thinking that, I was just thinking life was better without worrying about what's on your feed."
I pulled away just far enough to look at him. He was so beautiful that, yet again, it was hard to believe any of it was real. I tried not to get caught up staring at the stubble on his perfect cheek. He was just amazing.
"Thank you, Dominic. Thank you for today." I leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. "I should go. I told Joan I'd be home before nine to take Mitzy on a walk."
"You take her on a walk at night? Be careful doing that," he said.
"We don’t usually go far at night," I said. "A few blocks. Joan just likes her to get a little exercise."
"I'm sorry I ratted you out to my family for having that sweatshirt on," he said with a smile.
I laughed and shook my head at him, bumping into him with my shoulder.
"Thad was mad at me, too. How was I to know you were arch-rivals?"
"You didn't know. That's why it's funny. And you took it well. My dad loves you."
"I love him. I seriously do. And not in a football fan way—in fact, it's just the opposite. He's so down to earth and nice as a regular human. Your mom too. I was smiling so much my face hurts."
And the next thing I knew he was kissing me. He put his hand to my cheek and guided my face to meet his, and… his kiss was warm and silky, and I had these urges to get closer to him—as close as possible.
I was in a dazed state a minute or two later when he pulled back.
"I know you have to go, Marley, but I'll miss you. I want to see you again soon, okay?"
"Yes."
"Call me later tonight?"
"Yes," I said again. "I'm going. I think I have everything."
I sat up to reach for the door handle, and he smiled and then leaned in and kissed me again.
"I'll talk to you tonight," I said.
"Yes."
I got out of Dominic's truck without another word.
It was eight minutes after nine by the time I got back to Joan's, and she was sitting in the dining room at the table with Deb, looking tense.
"Hey Mitzy," I said, stooping to pick up the dog and trying to keep things light.
She noticed the scarf, and she started sniffing at it. I still hadn't told Joan about it. I would wait to see what was going on with Deb and why she looked so upset.
"I'll take Mitzy if she hasn't been yet," I said, thinking Deb or Joan might've walked her.
"No, she hasn't been, Marley. That's part of why you live here and get such a good deal on this bedroom, isn't it? Mom's been expecting you to be home this evening… she said you didn't have work today, and I-I've been here since six o'clock, waiting!"
She was frustrated and Joan tried to intervene "Okay, okay, she's here now. Let's just talk about the car, and you can go home."
Deb sighed as if this whole thing was a huge inconvenience to her. "My mother is not able to throw money around, Marley. If you haven't noticed, she's doing all she can to keep her store open. We're looking at options with that. But anyway, she came to me, talking about how you're having car troubles and worrying about you! She's wanting to forgive two hundred dollars of your rent for next month, and if I'm being honest, I don't like it. You need help getting your car fixed, what's next? My mom can't afford to be helping you all the time. I had to look you in the face and make sure you know that before she tells you about this two-hundred. We're all very aware of Mom's accounts. If she starts spending more money with you living here than she did before you got here, then something's really wrong with that!"
"She doesn’t cost me anything to live here," Joan interrupted. "If I've spent more, it's because I've bought more things for myself. Marley doesn't ask me for anything."
"I don't even need anything for my car," I said, putting my hands up.
"Good. She doesn’t need it. It's too much from Mom's side when you don't do your part around here."
"She does a lot around here," Joan defended.
"Mom was thinking you'd be home to walk Mitzy by now. I have things to do, and I'm sitting here, waiting all night because she told me you would be back to walk the dog. She's ready to get settled in this time of night, Marley. She thought you'd be here earlier."
"W-well, I'm sorry. I didn't see you called until I was on my way back just now, and usually Joan leaves a message if she needs—"
"It's fine. Everything's fine," Joan said "Deb was just worried about me offering to take some off your rent this month. I told her it was only two hundred and it was a one-time deal, but she wanted to talk to you about it."
"My mother did her child-raising already," Deb said looking straight at me. "She has grandkids to think about now. I know you're close with her and everything, and you guys talk. But I need you to understand that this is a roommate-landlord relationship. This stuff where she feels compelled to start paying your way isn't going to cut it. You're not part of this family, you're a roommate."
She continued to stare straight at me with disgust. I could tell she thought she was better than me. I felt humiliated and angry.
"I got it," I said to her, trying to remain calm. "Like I said, I don't need her to pitch in on the car."
"Are you sure, sweetheart?" Joan asked, staring at me. "Because I had already decided to help you before all this. I want to."
"She said she doesn't need it," Deb said.
"Oh, you got really close on that one," Joan said in a tone that told me her comment was unrelated.
She was staring at my chest, and I realized she was seeing the scarf for the first time. She stood and came closer to me so she could look at it.
"Whoa, Marley, this one looks so much like your old one."
"Yes, ma'am," I said, looking down and trying to smile.
I wanted to tell Joan it was my real scarf, but I wasn't going to stand there and explain that in front of Deb who was so awkward and mean.
"So, I'll go ahead and take Mitzy," I said.
But I didn't wait for their approval. I was already heading to the door with Mitzy. I did my best to not ask anything from Joan, and it was irritating to be blamed for something that I tried to specifically avoid. I had turned with the dog in my hands before Deb could see any sort of emotion. I talked to the dog in a light cooing tone, trying to sound like myself so that Deb didn’t think she had gotten to me. It was hurtful that she was this protective of her mother's money when I wasn't after it. She had looked at me like a beggar. I tightened my scarf and put on some gloves and a hat before attaching Mitzy's collar and taking off with her.
The steps had not been shoveled, and there was a little snow on them, so I set her down once I was on the sidewalk. It felt good to walk. It was cold out, and I needed the physical exertion as an outlet for the anger and embarrassment I felt. Deb had looked at me like I was the scum of the earth. I liked Joan and I got along fine with her, but I wondered how she let her daughter act like that to me.
I started having thoughts about new living situations. I always got scared when I thought of moving out of Joan's. I thought Chicago would be difficult with a new place to rent, and I didn't want to think of moving back to Texas. I felt sad and helpless at first, but I only let myself feel that way for a moment or two. I concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other and feeling grateful for the things I had. I told myself to remember how perfect my day had been up until Deb.
I took a long, brisk walk.
By the time I was getting close to the house, I felt better. I could depend on myself and God. If it didn't work out for me to live at Joan's, then I would think of something else. I was a grown woman who didn't need connections to make it in a city. I prayed and thought while I walked the dog for thirty minutes or so, and by the time I got back, I felt so much better.
Joan was in the living room, but Deb had already gone home. "Thank you, honey, for texting me from your walk. I didn't mind for you to take your time. I'm sorry about Deb."
I smiled at Joan. "It's okay," I said. "Thanks for the offer about the rent."
"The offer still stands. And again, I'm sorry about my daughter. She was in a mood, and she didn't take it well when I had mentioned getting less rent from you this month. I think it was my fault with how I brought it up."
"It's fine. I can pay the regular amount. The car was less than I thought."
"Like, it needed fewer things done to it?" she asked, looking concerned.
"No, it… I had a friend who helped me out." I was going to lie and say that it was covered by the warranty, but I thought she would ask too many questions, and lying was more trouble than it was worth, anyway.
"What's that mean?"
"I have a friend who helped me—it's the same person who found my scarf. It's my real scarf, by the way…"
"What? You're kidding me!"
"It is."
I went over to her as I took the scarf off of my neck. I handed it to her, and she began to inspect it.
She turned and held it under a nearby lamp, letting out a gasp. "Where did you get this? It smells good. Where's it been? How'd you get it?"
"A friend. That's what I was saying. He saw me lose it, but he didn't know my last name back then, or how to get it back to me, so he kept it, and then I…" I trailed off, trying to decide whether or not I wanted to say the whole thing about seeing the football in the dentist's office. "I got in touch with him the other day because I saw a post on his… Joan… hang on… I'm just remembering to tell you about my scarf. You're going to love this… Mitzy knew! Mitzy went crazy on Dominic Decker that day in your store, and it was because of the scarf. She knew it! She smelled it. He had it hanging on his coat at his apartment!"
"What?" Joan asked, looking completely lost. "Dominic Decker had my scarf the whole time! Eddie Decker's son. He had it hanging on the same hanger as his coat, and then when he came into the store, Mitzy smelled me."
She was still wearing an unreadable expression.
"Do you get it?" I asked.
"Yeah, I think so. This Dominic is the person who had your scarf?"
"Yes ma'am. He had it that whole time, and I just got it back today. And he helped me out with the car too. He's my friend."
"Well, for goodness sake," she said, looking at me with wide eyes like it must be love.
I just smiled and gave her a little vague shrug because, honestly, it felt like it was.
I hoped it was.