Altered Ch. 06

I wasn't sure how to approach her since I didn't speak Italian, so I kind of held up the hat with an inquisitive look. She started speaking to me in Italian and I was surprised because I understood everything she said, and I thought to myself when did I learn Italian?

"That will be 8-euro sir," she said with a sultry smile.

"My pleasure... signora?" I looked and saw no wedding ring.

She blushed and said with a little embarrassment, "Signorina."

I handed her the money and asked, "Boyfriend?"

She looked at me with a strange and coy look like she was trying to figure me out.

"No, and I am not looking for one either..." she said, kind of sadly.

I looked around her shop and she had stacks of boxes all around filled with new inventory, but no sign of anyone to help.

"I know we don't know each other, after all I am new in town... I was robbed on the way into town and only have a little cash I hid in my sock. You look like you could use some help around here... maybe I could help you?"

"Oh, I wish I could hire you, but you see I just opened this shop. My lazy good for nothing son was supposed to help me stock the shelves but he took off to live with his father. I barely make enough money to get by as it is, I have no money to pay you."

"Ahh, I see, how about I help you and you make me dinner?"

"As I said, I am not looking for a boyfriend!" she said, kind of perturbed.

"And I respect that, really I do. I am hungry, you see, and I will trade my labor for some food... only food..." I asked with a pleading almost begging voice.

She looked at me, and my stomach started to growl and suddenly her looked turned from skepticism to concern. Italian women love to cook for people and she apparently was no exception.

"I get it, if you don't trust me - I don't know if I would - but maybe you could refer me to someone else? I don't want to beg for food, I insist on working for it..."

"No, it's ok - you can work for me today," she said as I brightened up and rushed over to the boxes.

I started stocking the shelves and she walked over to show me what to do and looked over at what I was doing and seemed impressed and instead of giving me a speech she let me get to work. She looked at me inquisitively.

"One of my many jobs I had while putting myself through college was a retail position. I learned how to do every position in the store at one point from cashiering to stocking the shelves..."

I didn't mention that I eventually became a manager and took over logistics.

"Ohhh, you were in college? What did you study?"

"I studied computer science," I said proudly. "I got my BS and MS in Computer Science."

"Ahh, so you fix computers?"

"Haha, no, that would be IT. I write software programs... although I did learn how to fix computers on the side if you ever needed help with that."

"YES, my computer has been giving me troubles for a while now. It's gotten so it won't even start up and I have been doing everything manually lately."

"Well after I finish this, maybe I could take a look?"

"Would you? That would be wonderful."

"My name is Mike," I said holding out my hand.

"Caterina," she said shaking my hand.

I worked through most of the inventory and had all of the shelves stocked in less than 6 hours. Caterina folded and stocked the clothing racks and displays while she wasn't helping her customers. We chit-chatted about this and that while we worked, she seemed like an outgoing and loving woman, I couldn't see why anyone would leave her. All I could come up with, was that maybe she left her ex because he cheated or was abusive, but I didn't think she would want to discuss affairs of the heart with a stranger.

"So, just the one boy?" I asked trying to get to know her better.

"Oh no, I have a little girl too. As a matter of fact, she will be out of school soon."

"Don't you need to go see her?"

"I wish I could but I need to stay here for the customers. I will call her grandmother, she will get her. I will pick her up after the shop closes."

"If you want me to watch the shop for you - I won't mind. I get that you don't trust me but you can take your money with you or lock it up in a safe... I'm not a thief, I won't steal from you."

"Normally I would close my shop to get her but with you here..."

"Trust me, please, I won't let you down."

She looked into my imploring eyes and gave in, "OK, but please, this store is all I have..."

"Go, it'll be ok, you'll see."

The changes in my personality were really weird to me. I used to be very withdrawn and an introvert. I wasn't quite anti-social but I didn't have any friends outside of work and even then those friends didn't hang-out with me after work - I kept to myself. Now I was talking up a storm and could carry on a conversation as easily writing code. If I had these skills to begin with maybe I wouldn't have been sought out as a slave in the first place.

Not long after Caterina left, a crowd of women (tourists) passed in front of the store. Normally, I would let them pass, being anti-social, but something compelled me to pull them into a store. It felt natural to me, I had all the confidence and charm of a movie star.

"Ladies, ladies - please, come in. Have we got great deals for you," I waved to them, beckoning them into the store.

They looked at me with a bit of confusion and one of them was looking into a book trying to figure out something when I realized I was still speaking in Italian, so I switched to English.

"Ladies, come, come into my shop, we have the perfect outfits for you!"

They brightened up and their reluctance vanished with smiles of joy, they finally found a place they could shop without having to struggle translating. I gave them the grand tour and for some reason I just had to show each one of them outfits that I thought would look great on each. I don't know where this was all coming from, but it's not something I had ever had an interest in before.

Before long the girls were laughing and enjoying themselves as I pointed out the great outfits that were the latest fashions and would attract the most attention to male suitors in town. They were overjoyed at their finds and each one bought at least one outfit. I even showed one girl how to use Google translate, after which the girls became excited and one even kissed me on the cheek! A couple of the girls discreetly left me their numbers, that blew my mind, never in my life did I have a girl give me her number without asking. I had to at least do some sort of tap-dance, puff out my chest, or shake my tail feathers to even be considered. Too bad I had no phone.

As the girls were leaving, in came a viscous and surly lady in an electric wheelchair. She looked to once have been a beautiful lady; her hair was still lustrous and raven black, her face was thin and behind her permanent scowl you could see a beautiful face, her body was bent and stiff and wasting away. I knew her malady right away, my adopted brother died of complications of it years ago despite my best efforts to keep him alive - Parkinson's.

She wasn't as bad as my brother was before he took his life; she still had her anger and her pride. She was like a living Buzzkillington, the girl's moods soured as soon as they passed her. She reminded me of Mr. Potter from "It's a Wonderful Life."

"Where is Catarina?" she blared.

"I'm sorry," I started, giving her a look to remind her she could be more diplomatic. "Caterina went to pick up her daughter from school. Can I help you with something?"

"I don't think so... who are YOU?" she asked indignantly.

"I work here, my name's Mike."

"Work here? How can YOU work here when she is late on her rent? She can't afford to pay an employee!"

"Maybe so," I said, thinking quickly about a possible explanation that wouldn't make her look bad.

Then I remembered the plaque on the wall and the story I garnered from Catarina about her father serving as a peace keeper for the U.N. He died protecting a convoy in Kosovo.

"She doesn't pay me money..." I started.

"OH! I see!" she said with a surprised voice and one of disgust.

"No, it's not like that," I said, then softened my tone. "Come on! You know her better than that, don't you?"

"Yes, I suppose you are right. Why then?"

"I owe her a debt and I am trying to work it off... Well, it's not my debt per se, Signora, it's my father's debt," I lied, I saw her interest pique. "My father was saved by her father in Kosovo, before he died he made me promise that if Caterina ever needed anything I would help her, so here I am."

I could see a bit of admiration flash in her eyes before she turned bitter once more.

"Tell her that her rent is due, will you please?" she asked almost pleasantly before backing out of the store.

Not long after she left, Caterina arrived back. As she came in the door her worried face turned to surprise and relief knowing that I didn't take off with her store. Her daughter, not much more than 6 or 7 years old came running in excitedly and looked around astonished.

"Mama! All the boxes are gone! You are amazing!"

"No, no, Chiara, it was Mike," she said pointing to me behind her cash register.

She whispered in false confidence, looking up at me with a pleasant smile.

She handed me a basket, "Here you go," she said leaning in and whispering, "you can go in the back and eat it."

"OH great!" I exclaimed, my hunger all of the sudden overwhelmed me.

I took the basket and made my way into the back room, forgetting to tell her about the lady in the wheelchair.

The backroom consisted of shelves and shelves of haphazardly organized boxes. There was barely any room to move back there, not to mention a table or chair. I gathered together a few boxes and covered them with an impromptu plastic lining, (used to protect clothes during shipping), as a tablecloth.

I looked into the basket and was surprised by the sheer amount of food, it could only be properly described as a feast. There were little containers full of various items like a picnic basket. It had a wine glass and a small bottle of wine, some bruschetta wrapped in wax paper, there was a bowl of marinara spaghetti lidded with a cloth with an elastic band, a plate of lemon chicken with vegetables off to the side covered in tin foil, a small bowl of salad with what looked like an olive oil-vinegar based dressing, and to top it off she included a small cup with what looked like tiramisu. Wow.

I tried to imitate Bob from "What About Bob?", "UMMMMMM UMM"

I heard Chiara giggle so Catalina must have heard me. A few minutes later after I had poured a glass of wine and was about to take my first bite of pasta, Catalina came into the door with a concerned look on her face, to which I answered with a questioning look.

"Where did all of the money come from?" she asked.

"Oh that! I sold 20 of your outfits to a group of tourists," I said proudly.

"But there is over 2000 euro in there!" she exclaimed.

"I sold them for what they were marked, was I supposed to talk them up?"

She looked at me amazed, "Err, no, no but we normally negotiate a lower price, the tags are marked high for negotiation purposes..."

"I see, well they thought they were getting a good deal and based on what they would pay back home for these clothes, I agree."

With that, she smiled and turned to leave, "Oh by the way, some lady in a wheelchair came by and wanted me to remind you that your rent is due."

She looked back at me, her happy grin suddenly turned dour, "What did you say to her?"

"I lied to her. I told her I am working off a debt that my father owed to your father... I'm sorry if I disrespected his memory but it seemed that she wouldn't like it if I told her I was a homeless waif working for food."

"Ohhh, I see... good thinking... thank you!" she said before she finally started grinning again and went back to work.

I was halfway through my 'meal' when I heard a couple of male voices in the store. I got up from the floor and walked over to the partially closed doorway and listened in.

"...and we were wondering if you've seen this man?" they asked.

I didn't dare peek at them since the door was so far ajar they'd surely see movement; instead I hid behind the door frame out of site.

"I can't say that I have, sir. Is he dangerous? Should I be worried about him?"

"I wouldn't know about that, he is just wanted for questioning regarding an internal incident at our company. We are trying to keep the police out of it but I am not aware of him being 'dangerous.'"

"I see, well I hope you find him and get this all sorted out."

"Here is our card, if you do see him we are offering a reward for any assistance in the resolution of this matter."

I heard them leave, and I slunk back to my meal, feigning ignorance and sure enough, a minute later, Catalina popped her head in the doorway.

"So, what is this about?" she asked, showing me a flier.

"I don't know if you could believe the truth... but I won't lie to you."

She looked kind of flustered and confused then she seemed to make her mind up about something, "I believe you, so tell me the truth even if it is unbelievable."

From everything I could tell about Caterina, she was possibly the nicest, kindest person I ever met and I trusted her. So, I told her the unvarnished truth, everything that was said to me and I even shared with her my misgivings on my personality changes, I left nothing out.

"That's all I know..." I said, "You see what I mean by it being 'unbelievable'? I doubt I would believe it if it hadn't happened to me."

"How do you know what Emelia said to you was true?"

"I don't. But, she was very convincing and all of the things that could be verified are true: I do look different, I am stronger, faster and I can even see perfectly now; I used to wear glasses.

"But whether or not my ejaculate heals people or not... How would I verify that exactly? First, I would have to have sex, and who wants to have sex with a poor man?"

"Oh, I don't know, I don't think you'd have any problems getting women, you're pretty HOT!" she gushed, blushing when she realized she said it out loud.

"Um - thanks," I returned. "I would also have to have sex with someone I knew was sick so I could verify that I healed them, besides if what she says is true, there is a high probability that I'd get the woman pregnant... Anyways, today is still the first day of my escape so give me a couple of days to work on a game plan at least."

"OK," she grinned, "I will help you; you will help me; we will help each other... OK?"

Suddenly I felt a great burden lift off my shoulder. I didn't know how she could help me other than what she was already doing but her offer to help made me feel like I was no longer alone.

"Yes," I confirmed, my eyes welled up a little bit and I fought it off.

"Good, you can sleep here tonight, OK?"

"OK!" I started, "You know they were wrong about one thing."

"Oh?"

"They thought I was an orphan, but it's not true, my mother is alive!"

"This is good... Why wouldn't they think she was alive?"

"I was taken away from her when I was 13. I was in foster care for most of my teens. The courts sealed the documents on my case and I wasn't allowed to contact her."

"Why?"

"She molested me when I was thirteen, a neighbor came to visit and he found out and reported her. She went to jail and I was sent to foster care. My father wouldn't have anything to do with me when he found out what we did... He died four years later in an auto accident."

"Oh, I'm so sorry..." she gushed.

"No, it's ok, it was a long time ago. I joined the Marines straight out of high school and went straight to college after that. Once I got some money saved I hired a detective to find my mom. He didn't have any luck for over 2 years, finally he sent me an email while I was hiking on my trip to Glasgow saying he found her. She apparently is a junkie hooker being pimped out by a huge Ukrainian dude somewhere in New York. I was going to fly back to get her before I got kidnapped. Now, who knows if she is still there? It's been four years..."

"Why do you want to see her after what she did to you?"

"I don't know... I still love my mother even after what she did... she went to jail... I don't think she deserves the hell she is in now. She never hurt me - I mean physically - and she paid for what she did ten times over by now."

Catalina looked at me with concern, then she smiled as if shaking off some bad thoughts about me.

"I have to take Chiara home in a little while and go pay my rent. I will leave you the keys so you can lock up... I trust you, don't lose my store..." she implored. "I will come back in a few hours to check up on you."

"Don't worry about a thing, your store is safe with me... By the way what is the password to your computer. I would like to take a look at it for you tonight."

She gave me the password and showed me how to lock up the store in case I needed to leave.

"Mike, I left you some clothes... I can't pay you in money but you will need to dress better if you are to work here."

"WOW! That is very kind of you. You didn't have to do that."

"Nonsense!" she exclaimed.

She kissed me on the cheek then quickly left before I could protest more.

I started tinkering with her computer and ended up dissecting it on the register's counter. Luckily for me she didn't throw anything away, she even kept her old computer. I was able to scavenge a few parts off of her old computer, including her old hard-drive. I made a backup of all of her old files, then went about the long arduous process of fixing her machine.

Her computer was slow and so was her internet connection, so it took hours to diagnose her system and narrow down the culprit. This was a store and there was no shower just a small room with a toilet and sink. I found a clean rag and was able to sponge bathe myself while keeping the toilet door open a crack in case customers came in.

The clothes that she left me were in a large box with a note on top thanking me for my hard work. These clothes were my 'commission' for the sales I made earlier that day.

I looked in the box and found a gray linen coat, a white oxford shirt, some sand colored chinos, dark coal Italian loafers and a nice belt to complete the ensemble. Everything fit me perfectly, I have no idea how she did that, she must have an eye for sizing people up.

She came back just before closing and gave me an appraising look and grin.

"You like?"

"Yes, very much!" she said, provocatively. "I have a perfect test subject!" she proclaimed, as she handed me a stack of blankets and a pillow. "You remember the lady in the wheelchair? My landlord? We were childhood friends growing up, I told her that you found her very attractive... I think with a little persuasion..." she said grinning.

"As tempting as that sounds, I wouldn't know the first thing about how to seduce her. She seems really bitter and proud. From what I hear sex can often be painful with Parkinson's. Besides, I'm not sure I feel comfortable having sex with someone I don't at least care for; one-night stands have never been my thing."

She looked at me for a minute and shrugged, "OK, see you in the morning, Mike."

After troubleshooting the Computer, I found that her hard-drive had a bad sector and needed to be reformatted so I made a clone on the old hard-drive, then started the reformat process, which would take 4 to 5 hours. So, I decided to let it run and go to bed.

I made an impromptu bed out of some broken down cardboard boxes, it wasn't any more comfortable than the concrete floor but it did insulate me from the heat sapping effect of the concrete. I always had a hard time sleeping on uncomfortable surfaces, even most hotel rooms left me with insomnia. So, it was a wonder when I fell asleep right away.