Curveball

Maggie immediately became serious, "Look, I don't know anything about this girl, or what is up with you two, but here is what I know. One, she probably has chlamydia. I have given her the antibiotics, she must take them for 14 days, and make sure she does. Two, there is evidence of past....trauma...if you understand what I mean."

"I completely understand. How far in the past?"

"Long enough for it to heal, but there is some bruising in the area now. I suspect someone failed to go through with something recently. She's broken inside, you know. Be kind to her, she needs it."

"Thanks Maggie. Send me the bill, and I never heard from you today. HIPAA and all. I will have to get you a bonus for this one." They said their mutual goodbyes and hung up. Mike decided that Jill was one of the strongest people he had ever known as he headed home, not wanting her to be alone.

When he came in, he was met with a surprise. She walked up to him and slapped him. Hard. "What the hell! What did I do now?" he said rubbing his face.

"You didn't tell me what kind of appointment that was! Damn it, I needed to know that! Do you know that I have NEVER had that done to me? You can't do that to me!" She stormed off to her room, shut the door and locked it. Mike sat on the couch, nonplussed, and gave her a few minutes.

He opened a couple of beers and went and knocked on her door lightly. "Go away," she said, but quietly this time.

"I brought you an apology beer. Can we talk?"

He heard footsteps. The door opened slightly, and she peeked out. "No more surprises!" she said. "I'm not good with things like that."

He opened the door and invited her out to the deck, holding her hand. "Look, you have to understand some things too. You haven't told me anything about yourself, so I don't know when I'm going to step on my dick. You have to let me in, or I can't help you."

Abruptly, she asked, "Do you have any tequila? I can't do this sober. I can't tell you everything, but I will give you some. I will tell you about the last two weeks, it should give you a clue." Mike went inside and brought out a bottle, two shot glasses, some limes and salt. She smiled wryly and said, "Prepared, aren't you?"

They both did a shot, and she leaned back in her chair. "Pour me another one. I'm going to need it soon." She then took a deep breath and mumbled "here goes nothin'".

"Two weeks ago today, when I woke up in a crack house with Mom, and I found her dead. The needle was still in her arm. Her "friend" was in the same condition. I had no idea what to do, or where to go. I knew where mom kept her "cash stash", found $200ish, and left. I had been searching the internet for Dad and stumbled across you, so I decided that this was the best place to go." Mike leaned forward and started to speak, but she cut him off. "Stop! I have to get this out all at once, or I never will." Mike leaned back, and she drank her second shot. Wordlessly, Mike poured her another. "I bought a bus ticket that got me to Las Vegas, it was as much as I could afford with some food money. I knew I had about 200 more miles to go, but it was the best I could do. The bus trip took three and a half days. It was unpleasant, but it could have been worse. I had bought snacks, and at that point I still had a small suitcase with some clothes. I changed into my last clean set of clothes and found the right highway, stuck my thumb out, and hoped...I hoped like never before...I hoped you would come. You didn't, of course, but a truck stopped and asked where I was going. He was going about halfway, so I got in. He was actually a decent human being, but when he stopped, I had to find another ride. I slept in a bus stop that night, and then I looked for another ride." She stopped and took another shot. Tears were running down her face, but Mike could do nothing except pour her another shot. "The next guy who stopped was actually coming to this town. I felt almost optimistic. We drove for maybe an hour, and I kind of drifted off. Next thing I know, he had one hand down my pants and was trying to pull them off. Said I had to pay for the ride somehow. This guy was big, and he was strong, but I have learned a few things in my time. I told him I wanted to blow him first. Once I got it in my mouth, I bit, squeezed, and pulled as hard as I could. He screamed, oh how he screamed. I took off as fast as I could away from the truck, I left everything but my bag there, I just had to get away...." She stopped again and took another shot, waving Mike off from pouring another. "I walked the last 100 miles here. It took me six days, because I wouldn't stay too close to the highway. I walked all the way to your house. I was lucky I was wearing my pouch, because you would never have believed me otherwise. I spent my last $10 on food the day before I found you. I didn't know what to expect, but you were my only hope left. My. Only. Hope. And you've outstripped everything I dreamed. You're a good man, Mike. I'm very lucky. You probably aren't, because you have to deal with my sorry ass." She stopped, tears running down her face. Mike searched for something to say and couldn't find anything. He got up, picked her up out of her chair, and just held her.

After a few minutes, she calmed down and backed away. She looked at him and asked, "Should I leave now?"

He laughed, breaking the tension, and said, "You never have to leave unless you want to. Never." She was feeling the shots by then, and he knew it. He carried her in and laid her on the bed. "Goodnight, I am in my room if you need anything." Her eyes closed as he walked out.

At about 3am, his phone pinged, waking him up. His motion detector found her up, moving in the house. She got some water and stood outside his door for several minutes. Finally, he heard a light knock. "Come in". She came in an looked at him...silently. "Can I get you something?"

"You don't hate me, do you." More a statement than a question.

"No. Why would I?"

"Because. No one ever has cared before. Why you? We don't even know each other."

"Honestly, I don't know. I felt something when I first saw you, and I decided to go with it. I have no regrets either."

She almost smiled and said "OK. Goodnight. I just wanted to make sure you still want me to stay."

If I wanted you to go, you would know. I want to have breakfast with you, but I need some sleep first. Wake me when the sun comes up." With a shy smile, she murmured "OK", closed his door and went back to bed. Mike stayed up, his mind churning with questions he couldn't ask, trying to find answers that eluded him.

At 6am Mike gave up and got out of bed. He started a pot of coffee, texted work that he was taking some time off and sat back. He went to his bathroom, took two Tylenol for the headache and picked up more for Jill. He was just stirring his coffee when she came out. He silently offered the Tylenol and a cup of coffee. She took them both, and then said, "Go sit. I will make breakfast. That's an order, not a request. I have to start earning my keep around here."

Mike went and sat, still silent. He just watched her cook, making some good old-fashioned cinnamon toast and scrambled eggs. "I'm not much of a cook, but it is the best I can do," she said.

"Looks good to me!" Mike said and began eating. She looked at him and asked him what time he had to be at work. "I'm the boss. I go when I want. I think I might take today off." He caught her slight smile when he said that. "I have a few things I can do on my laptop, and the rest of the day is ours. What would you like to do?" he asked.

"I would like to relax around the pool for a while, and I have some cleaning around here to do. You have to show me where the vacuum is kept. I am doing the dishes too, so step away."

Mike got his laptop and started working, not paying attention to the passing time until Jill brought in the vacuum and wordlessly started cleaning. He realized he had been working for several hours and started to move so she could finish in the living room, and they could go out to the pool. Just before he shut off his laptop, he received an email from Maria, short, sweet, to the point. "Preliminary results show that YOU ARE the BROTHER" ala Jerry Springer. He shut down the laptop and put it away. She was almost done with housekeeping, so he just watched as she finished. When it was done, he put the vacuum away as asked, "What's for dinner, sis?"

She stopped and looked at him as If he had grown a second head. "What?" she quietly asked. He repeated the question. She looked at him, and said "Do you know something I don't?"

"Well, the preliminary results are in. It looks like you have a brother."

She stared at him, mouth open, for 30 seconds. Then she collapsed on the couch, laughing and crying at the same time. He walked over and looked down at her. "I can't tell if you're happy or sad."

She looked up at him and punched him in the leg. "My brother is stupid!" she said. "You can't even tell if I'm happy! What kind of brother are you!"

He began laughing, "Come here and let me give my sister a hug!" She stood up and they squeezed together. He felt tears on his chest, and he felt a rising down below as well. He backed off a bit and began thinking of how much his life had changed in the last three days. He also wondered how he could deal with this beautiful sister of his, because his body was betraying him.

She looked at him and said, "We need to celebrate a little. Where and how is the only question. You figure that out, I'm going to get a shower." He sat back and thought about things, deciding to take a shower himself while he figured this out. Scrubbing in the shower, he resisted the urge to touch himself and decided exactly where to celebrate. It had to be in public so he wouldn't do anything stupid, so he knew where he needed to go.

When she came out, clean and sparkling, he was ready to go as well. He pulled out the truck, an almost brand-new Ram four-door, and told her to get in. Down the road they went for a few miles, then stopping at a dingy looking saloon. "Really?" she asked.

"Trust me" he said. Inside, he was greeted by the only person working

"Hey Mike, got another one huh? I told you I was gonna start warning them!" Looking at Jill, he said "Your two weeks have started. Enjoy the ride but know when to get off young lady!"

Jill just stared for a second, then got an evil smile. "I got this one broken!" she said, "He's never leaving me!" Mike looked at her, and she whispered, "Just roll with it". Mike ordered two breakfasts and two shots of tequila with an evil smile at her. She said, "Paybacks are a bitch, someone once told me." Mike found that hilarious.

After breakfast, he said "You wanted to get in the pool, does that still stand?"

"Sure, but we can't drink too much. I'm just happy for the first time in...well...forever!" They took a slow ride home, just enjoying the day. Mike was starting to get some ideas, but he found he definitely needed to check in at work as well. He asked if she wanted to come with, and she said, "Why not?".

Once in the door she said, "Nice place. What do you do here?" Mike said, "Just watch". He waved hello to a few workers and went to the main office. His secretary Linda was there, very pregnant, and said "Hi boss!".

Jill stopped and looked at him. "Boss? You run this place?"

"Nope. Just own it. It runs itself!" He went into the office with her, and almost immediately his phone buzzed.

"We need to talk, boss" Linda said.

"Come on in" he said and set to checking some emails.

Linda came in, saw Jill, and said "Can we speak alone? This one is personal."

Jill got up before he could say anything and said, "I will wait outside, no worries."

"OK Linda, this is only the second time you have ever wanted to speak to me privately in six years, and the first one was to tell me you were pregnant. What now, twins?" he laughed. Linda said, "I know you said I could have two months off after the birth...but...I have some bad news for you. My husband just got a great promotion...but we have to move to Portland Oregon. This is my two week's notice, boss."

Mike looked at and said "No. You are working for me through the birth and two months after. If you don't come back, well, no one knows you told me. In the meantime, who do you suggest take your place. I have a name in mind, but I want your opinion on this."

Linda said "Seriously, you are going to pay me for two months knowing I'm not coming back? You're crazy. As to my replacement, you only have one choice. Irene."

Mike said "Yes, you're getting paid. You were my first employee, and that counts for something. Also, we agree on Irene. She will start working with you immediately so the transition will be smooth. Please page her to the office. I won't tell her you are leaving yet. No one needs to know yet."

Linda got up, awkwardly hugged her boss, told him "I wish I could stay, you're the best boss ever" and left. Jill came back in, and he motioned her to the corner.

"One more piece of business to transact, and we can leave" he said.

Irene knocked and came in, saw Jill and was startled. "Do I have another mission, Mike?" she said.

"No, something else this time. Linda will be taking baby leave soon, so I need you to drop everything on the other two girls and start working with her immediately. If they have any questions, send them to me. Linda and I both agreed you were the obvious choice. You will also receive a pay bump while you are doing her job."

"Thanks Mike, I will do the best I can. I thought you were going to fire me for something!" she laughed.

"We can work out the details later, I have some things to do today. I will be in tomorrow, that's when I'll fire you!" he said.

She looked over at Jill, concerned. "How are you doing honey? I hope things are getting better for you!"

Jill replied "Things are getting better every day. Thank you for your patience with me, I know I was a handful."

"No problem...hey, us secretaries were going out Friday after work, would you like to come out with us? You look like you could use a little girl-time."

Jill glanced over at Mike, and he gave her a small nod. "Sure, just tell Mike when where and I will be there. Sounds like fun!"

"See you then girlfriend. The boss will fire me if I don't get to work, so I have to go!" Irene said.

Mike and Jill went back to his house, and both got into their swimsuits. Mike pulled out some rum and coke, asking if that was good for her. She readily agreed but insisted on making them. "I don't want to get too drunk today. This morning was awful." They both sat in the pool with a drink, making small talk for a while. Mike found out she was a country music fan, which confused him as she was a Boston girl. She said it was her Mother's influence. Mike remembered listening to music with his mother, and they started talking of their memories of her. Mike's memories were vague, as most children's are. Jills memories of early childhood were vague, but happy. When Mike mentioned that his memories stopped at age nine, Jill just looked wistfully at him and said "I wish mine did..." Mike caught on quickly, and as this was supposed to be a happy day, he changed the subject quickly.

"So, you're going out Friday. What do you want to wear?" She thought for a moment, realizing she didn't have much, but Mike cut her thoughts short with another idea. "I'm having Irene take you out shopping on Thursday. I will give her the card, you just make your selections. You need a girl with you, not some old man."

"You aren't old yet, but I will still go with her. She's nice. You like her, don't you?" she said with a slight grin.

"I told you, I don't dip my wick in the company ink. If she wasn't so good at her job I would have fired her years ago though...." He said as he stared off a bit. Looking back at Jill, he realized that her smile had faded, replaced by a different look. Was it jealousy? He didn't know for sure. Maybe she was as conflicted as he was. "Maybe you will find a boyfriend on Friday. You deserve to have some fun you know!" he said.

She laughed, snorting rum and coke out of her nose, then screaming in pain. "Don't do that! It hurts! And nobody is going to date me, hell, no one has yet. Why start now?" she said.

"You seriously have never had a boyfriend? I can't believe that." He said.

"I wouldn't lie to you about something like that. Never. Not once. Nobody wants to date the weird homeless girl." She said. Realizing what had come out, she put her head down and began to cry.

"Damn it!" he thought. "Look, I didn't know any of that. We won't talk about that today either. Also, let me solve one of your problems. Saturday, young lady, would you do the honor of going to dinner with this old, broken-down gentleman?"

"What? Are you asking your sister on a date?" she said, with a look of surprise on her face.

"Absolutely. My sister has to know how a gentleman should treat her when he takes her out. And if he doesn't, let me know and I will fix his problems!" he said.

She looked at him, shyly smiling, and said "Then I accept. I have my first date on Saturday!" He retrieved his phone, checked his work, and sent a quick text to Irene. Then he thought of something else.

"You don't have a phone, do you?" he said.

"No, never have. Mom had one a few years ago, but I never have used one." She said.

"Get dressed. We need to go shopping. If you're going out, you have to have a phone. I'll put you on my plan." He said. They drove the truck out and stopped at the T-Mobile company store. "Do you know what kind you want?" he asked.

"I have no clue. Get me something similar to yours so that when I have questions you can answer them." she said. They went into the store and picked out an iPhone for her. Rose gold with a pink cover. He plugged in his number and made sure he had hers as well. He showed her how to make a call, and then they headed home. They ordered some Chinese delivered and sat down on the couch, waiting.

She looked at him and said "I have one more favor to ask. How do I get a job? I can't live off of you forever. I just can't."

"Way ahead of you. But you're going to have to wait, I need to iron out some details. I'll let you know soon."

She smiled with a bit of relief, then looked at him with some concern. "I don't have a high school diploma. I dropped out at 15, and never went back. I know that can be an issue, and I want to be up front with you."

"I think I can still help you. Please just be patient for a bit." He replied.

She let out a sigh, but graced him with a smile. "I don't deserve you" she said.

"It is I who doesn't deserve you" he replied. Once dinner was over, they cleaned up and sat back down. "I have to go to work the rest of the week. Irene is taking you out Thursday, but the rest of the week you'll be alone all day. I wish I could be here more, but I have to do what I have to do. I will leave a set of car keys so you can get out" he said.

She looked at him, and with a weak smile said "I can handle it. I'm already stronger after just a weekend here. Please don't worry, but there is no reason to leave the keys. I don't have a valid license anyway."

He looked surprised, but said "We will rectify that situation as soon as we can. You need to be mobile."

"Oh, I CAN drive, just not legally!" she said. They watched a movie and went to bed, each with their own thoughts.

In the morning, he got up, made a quick and quiet breakfast, and left. He left the keys to the Subaru on the table, with a note that said "Just in case. Love, Bro". He got to work, handled a few issues, and then called Irene into his office. "Sit down, we need to negotiate!" he said.

She looked at him, slightly surprised, and said "No biggie, it will only be but a couple of months. I know you will pay me fairly."