Chapter 9 #3
“Our next item is a first edition copy of Grimm’s Fairy Tales, Volume One in excellent condition. Bidding will start at five hundred.” I saw a small grimace, quickly masked by a broader smile. Did he know what his family did and regretted it?
“Twenty-five thousand,” I called out, my eyes widening, unable to believe what I just said.
The book wasn’t typically worth that much, and most of the time, people thought they were a first edition even if they weren’t.
Still, old copies could catch a fair price, but nothing like what I blurted out.
I had the money, it wasn’t even a drop in the bucket of my secret bank account, yet I couldn’t believe I’d bid on something, which had fed the fires of pain for my family, was nothing more than a reminder of what his family had done to mine.
Maybe that was why. I needed a reminder of my purpose.
“We have twenty-five thousand. Anyone else?”
Others bid, but I refused to be outbid. In the end, I paid thirty thousand for a book probably not worth more than three or four thousand at best.
“Lorde,” my aunt gasped as soon as Max announced I had won. “Can you?—”
“Aunt Pat, I have a very profitable job and travel all over the world for my expertise. Mother doesn’t know everything,” I told her in a low tone, believing I could trust her with my secret.
“Good for you!” she exclaimed and wrapped her arms around my neck, squeezing tightly.
“Our final auction item tonight is…are you ready for it?” Maxed asked, and people leaned forward, anticipating his words, holding their breath. “Me,” he smirked. The crowd roared.
Had I heard him correctly? Him? He was auctioning himself off? Why was I jealous again? This simply proved to me that he was not someone I should fixate on for anything except my mother’s agenda.
“Max has done this for the past three years, and it raises a lot of money for the charity,” his mother told me for some odd reason.
“Are you saying he pimps himself out to the highest bidder like some kind of street whore?” My words were cruel, but I wanted to lash out and wound.
“Lorde, stop it,” Aunt Pat hissed in my ear. After I’d won the book, they both shifted so my aunt sat on my left and his mother appeared on my right.
“I apologize,” I said, without meaning it.
The smile on his mother’s face and the twinkle in her eye terrified me.
She patted my arm. “No, but it does raise a lot of money. The date is always public, where the cameras can follow, always includes reading at a local library, and ends before it gets dark out. Usually, women with daughters or sons will bid. When they win, they send their kid on the date with the hope Max will fall madly in love with them. Last year, the winner won the date for her grandson.” She began laughing and listing to the side.
I caught her, afraid she would fall off her chair.
“Are you all right?” I questioned. Was there something in the air? Max had issues earlier.
People were throwing out bids left and right, there was no stop to them, and they weren’t slowing down.
“She’s fine,” Max’s father, Christoph, said, smiling at his wife. “Last year, the winner won the date for her grandson, thinking he and Max would be perfect for each other, but there was a fly in the ointment.”
“Pardon?”
“The grandson isn’t gay. Okay, there were actually three issues. The grandson isn’t gay, Max wasn’t interested in him, and the kid was sixteen.” Christoph’s explanation made his wife howl even harder, and my jaw dropped open.
“Sixteen? Bloody hell.” I sat there in shock, which was the only way I could explain what happened next.
“Eighty thousand,” someone yelled. The bidding was climbing higher and higher.
“One hundred and fifty thousand,” I placed my bid, and there was a sea of whispers coming through to crowd toward me. They were all stunned.
Max’s mother, Willow, squeaked, “Oh my gosh! That’s higher than last year’s winner by about sixty thousand.” Her hands were covering her mouth as she bounced in her seat.
“Lorde, maybe you should—” My aunt’s heart was in the right place, but I knew what I was doing.
“I’m fine. Don’t worry,” I whispered in her ear. I would win and use this to get closer to him. It certainly wasn’t because I was jealous or because I didn’t want to think about him going out with anyone else. He didn’t belong to me yet.
Pat stared at me questions in her eyes, and she was chewing on her lip, a sure sign she was concerned. “Lorde, what are you doing?”
“What I need to do,” I stated with confidence. The sooner I could finish my job, the sooner I could return home, and the sooner the spell Max cast over me would vanish.
Oddly enough, no one else bid on Max. I won. “How do I pay?” I asked Christoph.
“You can do an electronic transfer.” He was grinning from ear to ear. If only he knew what was about to happen to his family.
“Thank you.” I shifted my gaze to my aunt. “Are you ready to go? You look a bit tired.”
“I am, yes.” Her voice sounded strained.
“Will you give our apologies to Max? It appears he is otherwise occupied.” I assisted my aunt to her feet, and together, we left the planetarium and Max behind.