Riches

I was pissed because my car was in the shop and that meant I had to take the bus. Oh well it was only for a few days but still I had to walk about two blocks because that was the closest stop to my house. I guess I should say a little about myself, my name is Daniel Hill, I'm 38 and work for a water bottling company; we bottle water for office water coolers. I'd been married once but that went to hell after my wife miscarried and then decided to cheat on me.

Suffice it to say the divorce was very nasty and she pretty much cleaned me out. I know she cheated on me, but you'll be amazed at what a good divorce lawyer can do for you. In this case they argued that I didn't provide enough emotional support after she lost the baby so she was inclined to look elsewhere. They even had a shrink and all. Oddly enough she didn't ask for alimony payments even though she had the chance to clean me out. I swore never to get married again and moved to another part of the town, and shut everyone out.

My friends after a while stopped calling because I didn't return their calls and that's where I met Betty; she was my next door neighbor and took it upon herself to bring me back to the real world. At first I tried to resist offering polite excuses but she is one very persistent woman. I think she is about my age or slightly older, quite frankly I never asked and she never told. She's about 5'6 blond hair and soft brown eyes with a beautiful face to match. She would take me out for coffee and dinner and wouldn't accept if I offered to pay.

The interesting thing about all this was we rarely spoke which from the outside seemed very odd but for us it was natural. By nature I'm the quiet type and after the first couple of outings I realized she wasn't bothered by it. We would chit chat but for us it was more about keeping each other company. We would take walks at the local park and hold hands as we walked. Then slowly I started opening up to her and told her about my personal ordeal and it surprised me how relieved I felt after talking that. In turn she opened up to me and I learnt that she was also married once but she left after he got too physical.

She owned a local temp agency which mainly helped women with little or no skills get back on their feet after coming out of abusive relationships. As time went by we would talk about anything and even though we never expressed it the level of trust had finally been established. We exchanged house keys even though we weren't dating and the closest intimate gesture we ever shared was a soft kiss on the lips after she took me out for my 38th birthday. I offered to return the favor but she told me she didn't celebrate her birthday anymore and that was the end if that.

Now as I was walking towards the bus stop, I was thinking how I'd have to change my schedule because I'd have to catch the seven fifteen bus if I was to get to work by quarter to eight. I was a floor supervisor which meant I had to be there before everyone else. When I got to the stop, there was only one other person, a woman who looked pregnant and was crying. Usually one tends to stay away from other peoples domestic or personal problems, especially in my case, but for some reason I had to ask. I guess hanging around Betty had rubbed off on me.

'Are you okay ma'am?' I asked. She looked up at me and she had the most clear blue eyes I'd ever seen almost transparent. She wiped her nose with the back of her hand and nodded her head. I handed her a handkerchief and she blew her nose. She looked unkempt; her hair looked like it hadn't seen a comb for a while and her dress looked like it had seen better days.

'I'm sorry it's just that I've nowhere to go,' she replied amid tears.

'Listen there's a women's shelter about two blocks from here, they can help you I'll take you there if you want,' I offered.

'Please you don't have to, thanks for the offer.'

'Where's your husband or boyfriend, I'm sure someone is looking for you.'

'I have no one …' then she broke down again and this time cried for quite a while. I didn't know what to do, so I just hugged her and tried to console her which even surprised me.

'Listen this place isn't very safe especially for someone in your condition, when was the last time you ate?' What was I saying, here's a woman I'd just met and I'm offering to buy her food.

'Last night,' she answered breaking my train of thought.

'That's not good you're supposed to be eating for two, come with me,' I told her as I took her hand and offered to carry her small bag and headed to the nearest restaurant. Looks like I was going to be eating out tonight. 'What's your name?' I asked.

'Annie,' she replied shyly.

'I'm Daniel nice to meet you.' We walked in silence, and when we stopped at a traffic light I got the chance to really study her. She was about 5'5, shoulder length dark hair although I wasn't sure that was her real color and despite her tired look a very pretty face. She caught me staring and blushed; 'do I look that bad?' she asked and for the first time saw her try to smile.

'No it's just that you remind me of someone I met a long time ago, she had eyes like yours but I'm sure people tell you that all the time.'

'Actually they do but you get used to it after a while.' At the restaurant she ate like she'd never eaten before and even some of the patrons were staring at us. She really was hungry and she even offered to finish my meal for me which I was glad to let her do.

'Wow you really were hungry,' I said trying to liven up the mood. One thing that we still had not discussed was where she would spend the night. After paying the check, I offered to take her to the shelter but she still resisted. Then she made a very strange request. She asked if she could crush at my place. Now I've never had anyone crush at my place and was a bit hesitant. She saw this and offered to work for her stay; you know clean the place, cook and general upkeep. But there was still a lot I didn't know about her and I was hesitant because we'd just met.

'Why don't you want me to take you to the shelter? They would take care of you better than I would,' I pitched in.

'I don't want my family to find me,' she said after a long pause.

'But isn't that what the shelter does? Protect you from harm and in your case your family.'

'You don't understand, they kicked me out and told me to get out of town,' she said then broke down again. Something wasn't right here but I wasn't going to push it. After a while I don't know why but I took pity on her and agreed she could spend the night at my place, she looked sincere. When we got home she asked to use the bathroom and practically ran in. My house was a modest two bedroom house or shack depending on how you looked at it. The spare room still contained unopened boxes three years after my divorce which meant one of us had to sleep on the couch. I decided I would sleep on the couch and told her so when she got out. She offered to sleep on the couch since she didn't want to be an imposition. I wouldn't hear any of it and after a bit of back and forth she reluctantly accepted.

So far it had been an interesting day and I was sure tomorrow would be even more so because she had a few questions to answer and this time I wasn't going to let her off easy. I didn't even know how far along she was, but all in good time. I was tired and so was she, so I grabbed a few beddings, showed her where the towels were and left her to clean up. I tried to watch some TV but couldn't because something about her still nagged me.

They say the eyes are the windows to the soul; there was something about her eyes I couldn't quite put my finger into because I knew I had seen them before. This brought back memories of when I had been invited to the Locke mansion. They were the power brokers in this city. I guess being rich does afford one certain rights and privileges and in their case they exploited every one of them. They treated everyone like shit especially the help. The only exceptions were the old lady Rose and the granddaughter Samantha.

I had met them during the party which I believe was Rose's fiftieth birthday and the girl Samantha must have been no older than fourteen. She was shy and it didn't help that she had braces and tried to avoid smiling whenever she could. The party was coming along good until the son Robert, Samantha's dad, started arguing with one of the guests and literally tossed him out. I later learnt that the matriarch Rose couldn't control him because her husband had left Robert in charge of everything.

Robert had a reputation of being mean and would black ball anyone who dared cross him. No wonder his kids turned out like him, because hardly a month passed without something in the local news about one of the boys' little adventures. The only exception was the girl Samantha. I remember one of the few times she was featured in the new was when she saved an old man's life by giving him CPR and resuscitating him. But for some reason they made him change the story and say he had tried to get 'fresh' with her.

Poor man, he was sued for inappropriate behavior with a minor and even spent time in jail when he refused to change his story. Talk about getting screwed. After that the girl disappeared and nobody had heard of her since. For some reason Annie reminded me of her because they have the same eyes which her grandma Rose also has. But who was I kidding Samantha wouldn't be out on the street alone. My thoughts were interrupted when I heard sobbing from the bedroom; I hadn't realized that she had finished showering.

I contemplated going in and comforting her but what if she wasn't dressed or she just wanted to be alone. After about ten minutes I couldn't take it anymore so I knocked softly on the door and when she didn't answer, I entered. She was sobbing into the pillow and to make it even awkward for me; she only had her bra and panties on. I approached the bed slowly and sat down.

She must have felt the bed move because she looked up at me, her eyes were puffy and red and I could see the sadness in them. Then she did something unexpected, she moved closer and rested her head on my lap and continued crying. This was getting really awkward, and after my initial shock did what any caring human being would do; I started caressing her head which was still dump from the shower.

'It's okay, everything is going to be okay,' I cooed. This brought back painful memories of when my ex-wife lost the baby and for the first time since I met Annie I thought of getting up and leaving. But something stopped me; she just wanted a shoulder to cry on so I let her cry. 'Let it all out, don't hold anything back,' I tried to encourage her.

As I caressed her, I got the opportunity to study her a bit more, I know it's not right, and that's when I saw it. She had a scar on her right shoulder shaped like a crescent and that's when it hit me, it was Samantha. You see a few weeks after Rose's party Samantha tore some ligaments on her right shoulder while playing tennis with her grandma and had to under go surgery. And I remembered a picture of her in the papers wearing a tank top with her scar was exposed.

My head was spinning because first off she wasn't supposed to be here and secondly if her family found her here I would be in a lot of shit. Considering what they had done to the old man, I didn't want trouble from this family. By now she had stopped crying so I motioned for her to sit up which she did.

'What are you doing here? And please don't tell me this is some kind of social experiment,' I asked a bit harshly.

'I don't understand, did I do something wrong?'

'I know who you are, I saw the scar, so no more games,' I replied and then I saw the panic in her eyes.

'Please don't kick me out …' then she started crying again. 'My family kicked me out because I wouldn't tell them who the father was,' she added amid sobs.

'When was this?'

'Four months ago. Dad cut me off, closed my bank account, canceled my credit cards and threatened my friends if they tried to help me.'

'How have you been supporting yourself?'

'I had some cash but it ran I'm almost out and I didn't know what to do. I only have enough for bus fare to the next town then …' she trailed off.

'Why didn't you just tell them who the father is?'

'Because I don't know, I was at a graduation party and I had a bit too much to drink, I'd never had tequila before and I think one of the guys took advantage of that. They wanted me to get rid of it,' then she really started crying. Sadly this didn't surprise me because knowing her dad, this wasn't beyond him.

'What about you grandma, I remember you two were very close surely she's not that vindictive?' I asked.

'They wouldn't let me contact her, her house help has been warned about letting me contact her with dire consequences.' Poor kid now I really felt sorry for her.

'Listen about your offer to take care of the house in exchange for room and board; I guess you can stay while I figure out what to do, but can you cook?'

'Yes, and do laundry and wash dishes. I've learnt to do all of that lately until the doctor told me to slow down.'

'Can you afford regular visits to a doctor?'

'No, I've been going to the free clinic.'

'Wait a minute, wasn't that clinic set up by your family because I remember them making a huge deal out of it. Aren't you afraid the doctor might inform on you?'

'Not really, he's new.'

'Can I ask you something and feel free not to answer; what happened between you and the old man you saved?' she looked down and after a while took a deep breath and looked at me.

'I regret everyday for not coming out and saying something. Since I was a minor I wasn't required to testify so they took him to the cleaners he didn't do anything wrong. I don't know why my dad did it, personally I think he gets off on seeing others suffer, but I was able to get in touch with him and tell him what went down. Surprisingly he had no hard feelings toward me and understood that it was all my dads doing. Then I was shipped to Europe.'

'What about your mum? I don't hear much about her?'

'She's what's called a dutiful wife, you know she bears the kids and is set aside as the others run the show. I'm surprised dad hasn't divorced her yet because he cheats on her constantly and all she does is take it just like a good wife. I'm worried about her though because she drinks a lot now and nobody seems to care,' she said with sadness.

'How far along are you?'

'About five months, want to feel it?' that took me by surprise and she saw my hesitation. 'It's okay I won't break.' So I felt her swollen tummy and surprisingly her skin was soft but I'm sure that would change as she grew bigger.

'You skin is soft, I thought you would be a bit tight by now.'

'I apply lotion every few days which will minimize stretch marks down the road and does wonders for my skin. Actually I was going to do that in the morning but if you don't mind could you do it for me now because its getting hard as time goes by.' She handed me a bottle and lay back. Her bra barely contained her boobs which I guessed to be 36C and her little panties barely hang on. I slowly massaged the lotion on her skin which seemed to relax her and every now and then would let out a contented sigh.

I did this for a good half hour then when I got up to leave she stopped me. 'Please stay with me; I would like to feel someone's hands around me it's been so long.' I didn't know what to say and since now I felt I knew her a bit, I figures I could do it then when she fell asleep I would slip out. So I pulled back the sheets and we both slipped under them. She snuggled up to me and I wrapped my arm around her and we settled down to sleep.

Her body was soft and warm and her butt was seated on my groin which didn't help me because between my thin boxers and her tiny panties our combined body heat was killing me. I was starting to get an erection and I'm sure she felt it because she would rub herself on me and sigh. I couldn't sleep like this because, first of all I hadn't been with a woman since my divorce three years ago and it didn't help that Annie or Samantha was almost half my age and really pretty.

After trying unsuccessfully to sleep, I decided to go and grab something to drink because this was going to be a long night. I tried to be as quiet as possible but every time I tried to disengage my hand she would tighten her grip on it. After a few tries I gave up and settled in, I had to be up early for work. I woke up around four in the morning and saw that she had let go of my hand and had rolled over and was facing me.

From the little light there was, I was able to study her peaceful sleeping face and wondered why the hell anyone would want to kick her out. So she made a mistake and unlike the rest of her family, took responsibility for it. I must have dozed off because when I woke up it was almost six thirty. I slowly slipped out of bed and went to the bathroom. I cleaned up quick because I didn't want to miss the bus, left a note with instructions for Samantha and some cash, and headed out.

Around eight I called Betty and asked her to check in on Annie I didn't give her any details because I knew she would call back. And lo and behold she did call back and let's just say she was going off at warp speed. Who was she, was I the father, where did I pick her up and so on. I tried to calm her down but she wouldn't. I asked her to drop by that evening for dinner and asked to help Annie buy some groceries and some clothes which she didn't mind. Knowing Betty she would try and squeeze as much info out of her as possible.

The day seemed to drag on and I couldn't wait to get home. When I did get home, I heard giggling and laughter coming from the kitchen. When I walked in Betty was chopping up some onions while Samantha was cutting up some lettuce. I froze, Samantha looked beautiful her hair had been done in French braids and she had on a short maternity dress which showed off her sexy legs.

'What's the matter, don't we get a kiss?' Betty asked and they both giggled. So I gave them each a soft kiss on the lips. 'There was that so hard?' she added followed by another round of giggling. I had to get out of there. After cleaning up I retreated to the living room and Betty joined me. 'Okay who is she, and please don't tell me she's just a friend.'

'What do you mean, I only met her yesterday.'

'Don't mess with me, we have no secrets remember besides I like her.'

'Now you are the one who's playing games, I can tell you are slightly jealous. Listen what's wrong with helping someone?' I asked coyly.

'Come now there's more to it than that, besides the way she talks about you it's like you've met before, had you?' This was the moment of truth I had to tell her.

'Okay her real name is Samantha Locke,' I said and held my breath. At first it didn't sink in then a light seemed to go on in her head.

'Wait a minute Samantha isn't she supposed to be in Europe or Asia or some such place? It can't be what was she doing here and pregnant? Is she hiding from the baby's dad?'

'She doesn't know who the father is and when she refused to get an abortion they kicked her out.'

'Poor thing, so what are you going to do about it?'

'What do you mean?'

'She's pregnant and if I'm not mistaken she will want a stable home for the baby. This isn't just some woman you are dating I would caution you to handle this very carefully because if you aren't ready to take responsibility, you might as well tell her to leave. I would never tell you how to run your life and considering your past experiences, you better be certain you want her to stick around and not kick her out if things get to uncomfortable for you.' She had a point and I had not thought it through completely what it would mean taking in a pregnant woman.