Of Ogres and Doojobbies
Delaney
In the quiet lobby, Beer Guy – or Walt Garvey, as he'd finally introduced himself – was frowning down at the documents. "You shouldn't even have this."
I stiffened. "It's not like I stole them. She's my sister. I'm visiting while she's out."
He looked up. "How can you visit if she's not here?"
"She will be here," I said, praying it was true.
His eyes narrowed. "When?"
"Um…soon?"
With a snort, he glanced down at the paperwork. "You do realize, the eviction is a month old, right?"
"Yeah, but the receipt for the payment is a lot newer." I pointed at the second page – the one he was now studying. "That one's dated just a few days ago."
"I know. And that's the one you shouldn't have." And then, to my astonishment, he yanked the second page loose from the staple, crumpled it with one hand, and tossed it into the nearby trash can, where it disappeared through the swinging flap.
My jaw dropped. "What'd you do that for?"
"Because you weren't supposed to have it."
"Oh, yeah? Well, my sister was supposed to have it."
"Nope. That's confidential."
This made no sense. "You mean…proof it got paid? You can't be serious."
He straightened. "The heck I can't. I'm not getting canned a month before retirement."
I gave him a desperate look. "Can you at least tell me this? That Ryder Vaughn person…was he her boyfriend or something?"
"How would I know? You're the sister…even if you don't look alike."
As if I needed the reminder. "Great. Now you sound like our mother."
His brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"
As if he didn't know. "Well…obviously, Tessa's the pretty one."
He frowned. "And what are you? The family ogre?"
I was, actually. And Tessa was the golden girl. Or at least, that's what Mom always called her when reminding me of all the ways I fell short. "Gee, thanks."
He was still frowning. "Don't thank me. I think you're nuts."
I blinked. "Excuse me?"
"You're just as pretty…only in a different way, that's all."
It was sweet of him to say, but I knew better. "Honestly, you don't have to spare my feelings."
"Who said anything about feelings? I've got eyes, don't I? Maybe you should look in a mirror sometime."
Now, I had no idea what to say.
And Walt wasn't even done. "Hey, you know what?"
Bracing myself, I asked, "What?"
"I've got a grandson about your age. You want his number? He lives in Toledo."
"I, um…" Well, this was unexpected. "You mean…in Ohio?"
"What, you know another Toledo?" His voice picked up steam. "And just so you know, he don't mind driving."
When I only stared, he added, "His car gets great mileage. It's one of those doojobbies you plug in."
Against all odds, my lips twitched into a smile. "Thanks for the offer. Seriously. But I'm not sure how long I'll be sticking around."
He shrugged. "Well, let me know if you change your mind. You'd like him. And I know he'd like you."
My thoughts drifted to Maddox. We'd gone out exactly one time, but my thoughts were so full of him, there wasn't much room for anyone else. Or at least, not anyone new.
I smiled. "That's really nice of you. But I think I'd better pass." My face warmed in the quiet lobby. "There's someone else I'm sort of seeing, not seriously or anything, but…well, I wouldn’t want your grandson to drive here for nothing."
"It wouldn’t be all for nothing," he said. "He's got me here, remember? Well…for the next month, anyway."
"Right." I cleared my throat. "Anyway…back to the eviction notice, is there anything you can tell me? I'm just a little worried, that's all."
He hesitated as if weighing how much he should say.
Hoping to sway him, I added, "I'm just wondering why someone else would pay her rent." I glanced toward the trash can. "And why is it such a big secret?"
He glanced around. "Alright, just between you and me?"
I nodded.
He lowered his voice. "The thing is…your sister, she wasn't supposed to know."
I stared. "Seriously?"
"Yeah, that's why I had to throw it out."
I was still reeling from that when he added, "And you're not the first person to ask about it either."
Whoa. "I'm not?"
"Nope. There was this other lady – she reminded me a lot of Mrs. Stelter – she was sniffing around maybe a week ago. She looked as happy as hell when I told her the rent had been paid."
Oh, my God. He couldn’t mean her. Could he? "Wait…was she blonde and stylish? About fifty years old?"
He grimaced. "Yup, that was her, alright."
"Huh. That had to be my mom."
He snorted. "Lucky you."
My mom got that reaction a lot, especially with people she considered beneath her. But I wasn't diving down that rabbit hole. I gave Walt a perplexed look. "But wait a minute…I thought it was supposed to be confidential."
"Not that it was paid," he clarified. "But who paid it – that was the big secret." He glanced toward the wastebasket. "The name of the payer was supposed to be blocked out."
Ryder Vaughn.
Again.
I was still processing it when Walt added, "Do me a favor, alright? If you decide to tell your sister, wait 'til June."
"Why June?"
He grinned. "Because by then, I'll be long gone, and they can't do squat."