A Wild Ride (Jessica Brodie Diaries #3)(36)

“Bottom line, Gladis, you don’t owe me anything.”

“Nonsense. My accountant says I owe you this—“ I was handed a check for $20,200.

“Does he? That’s all he thinks my services are worth, huh? Some pimp he turned out to be.”

“It is your returned rent, plus interest, and a few investment returns.”

“You know quite well I will not accept this.”

“Yes dear, I do. That’s why I love you. It is also why I put it into a set of non-refundable gift cards.”

I stared at a duck dipping into the pond in the distance. That duck probably noticed me and thought someone was planning to assassinate him.

“You talked to William.”

“Guilty, I’m afraid. That was his advice.”

“What if I took this check?”

“You would have twice the amount.”

“Damn it! I am so sick of people with money trying to push me around!”

“Yes, dear.”

“Don’t yes dear me!”

“Yes, dear.”

I ignored her for a while. When she didn’t go away, I huffed and shook my head. “So what, I am going to—wait, did you say you talked to William about this?”

“Yes, dear.”

“Now you are just trying to piss me off.” I looked up at her and saw her smirk.

“And succeeding,” she affirmed.

Was it bad taste to punch an old lady in the nose?

“So he is okay with me completely redoing his whole house?” I asked in a sour voice.

“He only had it done in the first place to appease Denise.”

“I am getting a sickening suspicion that he likes me because I resemble his mother. ”

“The finer qualities that hold him to a high standard, yes. But you also resemble his father, with hardworking, deep hearted qualities. You are a perfect match for our Willie. Perfect. Did I ever tell you? I knew right away to whom you were referring when you described your first encounter with him?” To my disbelief she smiled and nodded. “Right away. But the Willie I knew wouldn’t spend any time on a strange woman at the grocery mart. He would make sure she was taken care of, by someone else, and move on. He wouldn’t pay her no mind. That he saw you to the end raised my eyebrows.”

“It was probably my breath. He was probably wondering if I was undergoing chemo with the radiation on my breath.”

“Yes, dear.”

“So I am supposed to buy a whole new house of furniture?”

“Did Betz tell you that that’s what she is doing?”

“No.”

“Ask her about it. She isn’t a talker; she doesn’t voice her feelings like you do—in fact, I don’t think she really makes up her mind until someone suggests it to her…but she is taking up the redecoration of Adam’s house, and spending a lot of her own money to do it. It’s smart. She feels at home there, and if push comes to shove, she has leverage. It’s what gave me the idea.”

“You two are the same person, only different ages.”

“The same age where it counts.”

“Then being wise must not count.”

Gladis laughed. Even Lady snickered.

“Lady,” I said, “What do you think?”

By rule, Lady never said much. She spoke when asked, or spoke up when it had to do with Gladis’s wellbeing, but otherwise she hung out and waited until she was needed. If you dragged an opinion out of her, though, it would prove insightful and necessary.

“Jessica, he is an attractive, well-bred young man. If he makes you happy, he is worth a sacrifice. But only you can determine how much of a sacrifice that is.”

I take it back. She was a Gandhi impersonate.

“I don’t know. But I am moving in today, so my time for figuring this out is running out.”

“Two outs don’t make a right.”

“Gladis, your sense of humor isn’t great.”

“My sense is, but maybe the delivery is lacking.”

My stuff was in. It was in bags in William’s room; it mostly being clothes and accessories. I was standing in the doorway in a house I knew like the back of my hand…but was uncomfortable. William came in, followed by Adam and Lump, and gave me a kiss on the cheek. It was all brought in. My whole life was moved in a day.

I gave a forced, fake smile I hoped William didn’t notice and went into the bedroom with Lump, noticing Adam watching me closely.

“If he’s stopped trying to protect me, why is he freaking staring at me, trying to catch a chink in the armor?” I asked Lump as we hung up my clothes.

“I told you—you hit that vulnerable place. He’s always aware of you--probably half worried you'll randomly cry. But always remember, Willie is number one with him. I bet he sees that something is wrong, and now is trying to protect Willie. Seriously, he is always trying to throw a blanket over someone’s head. Glad it’s usually you two and not me!”

“It's never you, it's always me.”

“No, not always.”

“What do you mean?”

Lump scoffed. “I was being aggressively hit on by someone at the school the other day. It wasn’t my day to teach, and students don’t know I am the owner, so I was just a nobody as far as he was concerned. Anyway, the guy hit on me and was doing a suggestive lean when I rebuffed him.”