* * *
To say that Herbert Jamison was a successful businessperson would be an understatement. To say that he had the morals of a toad would be completely accurate. He had acquired most of his wealth through deals that were not always above the table. He owned the largest automobile dealership in the county and known for giving credit to anyone, no matter how bad his or her credit scores were. He would charge a premium for the interest rate and make a bundle with the credit company.
Herbert was 56 years old, overweight, drinks too much and smoked cigars. His wife, at 46, eats healthy, ran every day and loved playing golf and tennis. Their children were grown and out of the house and now, husband and wife went their own separate ways, including the bedroom for over ten years. They decided that a divorce was out of the question because of their finances and they would continue living this charade as long as it suited both of them. She did not care who he slept with as long as he did not make a spectacle of himself and embarrass her.
Herbert maintained a tight grip on his dealership. It was his pride and joy. Nothing passed by him as far as the daily comings and goings. He treated his employees like his children; taking an interest in each one of them. His assistant manager, Stephen Peters, was as devoted as a son could be. He knew all Herbert's secrets. He paid Stephen well to keep those secrets.
His usual happy group of employees greeted Herbert as he entered the showroom on Tuesday, April 10. After the usual exchanges, he entered his ultra modern all glass office to begin his day. Stephen walked in behind him and closed the door.
"Have you seen this?" Stephen put the folded copy of The Poseidon Daily News on his desk in front of him.
Herbert read the article in silence. Stephen sat down across from and waited for his response.
Stephen had to say something when none came from Herbert. The silence was unbearable. "Is there anything I can do for you at this point?"
"It will be business as usual for now, Stephen. I need time to think this over. Leave me, and when I decide what needs to be done, I'll call you."
"Yes sir."
Herbert had a hard time concentrating on business, but it was not like him to but personal problems before business. As soon as a lull in negotiations with clients, suppliers and accountants was possible, he called Stephen back into his office. Since his mind never stopped, he was able to decide how to handle the situation with Kristy.
"Stephen, you know that Amanda doesn't care about my exploits. Therefore, it doesn't matter if she finds out about Kristy, but that black book has me worried. If my name is associated with, a hooker and it gets back to Amanda she will be furious. She can hurt me bad financially if she wants to. In fact, she could take me for everything based on the agreement we signed. I can't let that happen. I need you to find Kristy and that book. I want that book destroyed and tell her that I am willing to pay her expenses to leave town and relocate. I want you to get in touch with that fellow we used last year when we had the problem with that salesperson who tried to blackmail me. Do you still have contact with him?"
"I think so. I'll make some calls and get back with you."
"Good. Don't waste any time. Time is something we don't have a lot of." Herbert's phone rang and he needed to make money.
Later that afternoon Stephen reported back to Herbert that "The Fixer" as he was called in the business, got the information necessary to complete the job, and would get back to him as soon as there was something to report.
Later in the afternoon, Stephen entered Herbert's office. "You're all set. Our guy made contact and she will be moving within a week."
"Good." He wrote out a check and handed it to Stephen. See that she gets this. What about the book?" Herbert inquired.
"She says she destroyed it."
"Do you believe her?" Herbert asked.
"I don't know. Do you?"
The Statistics of Winning
The first week of Mila's senior year was finally over. Mila Liebovich considered herself one of the lucky ones. Her classes were easy and her teachers were going to be a cakewalk. She planned to skate through this year until graduation. Maybe then, she will decide what she wanted out of life. She hated it when her family nagged her about her future. Whenever the subject came up, she would turn on her heels, walk away and think she was punishing them by not talking to them.
"Mom, I'm going over to Jenna's for the evening." She shouted from her room, as her mother walked through the door from work. She worked as head housekeeper at the Royal Crown Hotel in downtown Middleton.
"Be home by ten dear." Mila's father worked second shift at the bottling factory in Middleton. He arrived home Monday through Friday at exactly 11:30 like clockwork. Mrs. Liebovich liked her daughter home before then especially on a school night.
"Yes, mom." She grabbed her phone shoved it in her backpack and flew out the backdoor before her mother could add another restriction to her evening plans. Ethel Liebovich believed that by keeping strict tabs on her children it would keep them from getting into trouble. Her parents believed in strict parenting. It worked for her oldest daughter, June Marie, so surely it would work with Mila Sue.
Mila's best friend, Jenna, lived six blocks away taking ten minutes to walk it if she didn't stop and chat with other classmates on the way. Sometimes they would meet on the corner of Dewey and Connecticut Streets under the light pole and smoke cigarettes. At least until someone saw them and make them move on to the vacant lot on Main Street behind the old movie house.
Friday nights were the culmination of a long week under scrutiny of adults so this was their time to think up ways to circumvent the establishment.
Jenna's parents were cool. She was an only child and she had pretty much anything she wanted. Jenna and Mila were not part of the in crowd that followed the jocks of the school. They were not gorgeous, nor were they ugly. They did whatever they could to get through each day the best they could without making waves. Tomorrow would take care of itself. Mila was ten pounds overweight, and for her 5' 4" frame, that might as well have been fifty pounds. She wore glasses most of the time. She had not learned how to style her hair so she wore it in a ponytail until she figured it out. Her mother lacked the ability to provide her guidance in this field for she spent her days figuring out how to provide for their daily needs let alone wants.
Jenna' on the other hand, is taller than most of the girls her age and painfully awkward. She did not have a sense of what is in style nor did she care. Here biggest joy was following sports, any kind of sports. She played baseball with the boys in the neighborhood and did it well. To them she was "one of the boys".
Jenna was in the middle of a softball game when Mila arrived at the vacant field next to Jenna's home. Mila sat on the grass of the makeshift field to watch the game.
Her longtime friend Henry watched her arrival and sat down next to her.
"What's up chick?" Henry said.
"Same old same old. Just another night in paradise" Mila's standard overused greeting.
"How about we take a walk. I need to talk."
"Sure, but Jenna and I are suppose to get together this evening. And besides, I promised my mom this is where I'd be.."
"That's okay, we'll be in sight of the game, when they are done, and you can join Jenna."
"Okay, what have you got on your mind?"
"I've got this new job. I'm driving for old man Miller at the hardware store, making deliveries and being a general go'fer. Doesn't exactly pay much, but I can't leave town until my probation is over which won't be for another year. I thought you and I might hook up this weekend for some down time."
"Sure. You work this Saturday afternoon."
"I should be done by three."
"Good, I'll be able to get away by then. Mom has to go in tomorrow and dad will be sitting in front of the TV and won't care if I'm gone."
Henry dropped out of high school and along with two other dropouts were caught
joy riding in a stolen car the year before. When Mila's parents found out they refused to allow her to hang with him, Mila did anyway. She just didn't tell them. Henry quit coming around the house and they would meet in different places so the neighbors wouldn't squeal on her. There was a brother-sister relationship between them. Henry looked out for Mila whenever he could. Both his parents had died. He lived with an older brother who paid the rent. That was where the similarities ended. The brother agreed to give him a place to stay but he had to get a job and help with expenses.
"Mila, I need a huge favor."
"You don't mind if I ask you what it is before I say whether I will do it or not." She had already told him she would do nothing to jeopardize her with the law.
"Sure, it's nothing illegal."
"Good, cause you know how I feel about that."
"No, this is nothing to do with the law, except my probation officer. She's a woman, and she thinks I should have a girlfriend. Like that is going to make everything all right. She has made several suggestions that things would go better for me in her eyes if I had a steady girlfriend."
"That's crazy," Mile scrunched up her nose in mock disgust.
‘Yeah, I know that too, but, I'm going to do whatever I can to get this thing over with as quickly as possible so I can go on with my life. What I am saying is this, Saturday she is coming by the store to see how the job is going, could you make an appearance and act as my girlfriend.
"I don't see any harm in that. How about we make her ‘assume' I'm your girlfriend? That way you won't be lying and neither will I. Besides you know I can be a good actress when I want to."
"No one can argue that. I've seen you in action." Henry was referring to an incident during the summer, when a bunch of friends were all hanging out behind the empty grocery store and Mila talked them all out of being hauled in for vagrancy. She told the cops they were having a meeting and planning a homecoming game party. The cops, one of whom had a boy on the football team believed her and they all walked away without another word.
The group couldn't believe it. They weren't bothering anyone; they were bored. However, the local police did not like it when groups of more than four teenagers were huddled in one spot
"Great, come by at exactly 4:20. I expect Mrs. Fairchild at 4:30 and she is always on time. She a nice enough women, but she is going to drive me crazy over this until I can prove that I have a girlfriend and she is going to make a ‘man' out of me, or so she thinks."
"I'll do it. Hey, the game is over, there's Jenna. See you, Henry."
"Don't forget. I'm counting on you."
"I promise, guy. I won't let you down." Mila walked over to Jenna, breathless and sweating profusely.
"What was that all about?" Jenna didn't like Henry, but she tolerated him for Mila.
"Nothing important." Mila didn't feel like explaining it to her. Jenna did not understand the relationship between her and Henry in spite of their friendship. "I'll tell you about it later."
They walked to Jenna's house in semi-silence. Once they reached the house, Jenna's mother greeted and hugged Mila like her own daughter.
Jenna's parents both liked Mila and approved of the two chumming together. Jenna excused herself and headed for a shower while Mila waited in Jenna's room and turned on the TV. Showered and dressed Jenna sat down on the bed across from Mila.
"Football practice started already." Jenna would play football if anyone would let her, but as of yet no one would. She wasn't as coordinated as she thought she was.
"Yeah. So what?" Mila had no interest in contact sports. She was more into the statistics of the game.
"We could go check it out after school. There are always plenty of people there cheering for the team. We don't have to be one of the ‘in-crowd' to enjoy watching the game. Marie and Sheila are always there scoping out the guys.
"Maybe. They are still in practice. The first game is next week. We'll see." Mila turned the pages of a high fashion magazine that didn't interest her any more than football.
"Would you like me to explain the game so you can understand and appreciate it?" Jenna studied all the rules and knew them by heart.
"Do you think it will make me more popular? Not that I really care." Mila did care and Jenna knew it.
"It wouldn't hurt. Guys like girls they can talk sports to. At least talk to about something they have in common. They will only date the pretty ones, but the smart ones are the ones they bring home. I know, I'm not one to talk, but I'm hoping one day it will pay off." Jenna was a tomboy a heart, but she also wanted to acceptance, though she wouldn't admit it.
They spent the rest of the evening going over the rules of football. Finally, Mila had all she could absorb.
"Now the next time, I want you to go over the stats with me." Though Mila excelled at math she hid it because she believed her peers considered it ‘uncool'.
"I'll share what I know. However, I've heard Henry has made book on the games sometimes. He might be able to tell you more about it than I can"
"I'll do that." Mila agreed.
The Cat's Dowry and Other Short Stories Page 11
