by K L Finalley
"I wasn't scared until you said that. But, go ahead. Let's do this. How much is the mortgage?"
"It's about three thousand."
Mallory gasped. "Maybe, we should back up. How much was the penthouse when you first bought it?"
"The mortgage or the total cost?"
Looking uncomfortable, Mallory said, "Both."
"Total cost was a little over a million, but the mortgage was for five hundred thousand."
"Wait, it's a new building. It wasn't an inheritance. How'd the mortgage get down to half?"
Jacqueline sat up. "That's what it was when I got it. It's not what it is now." She returned to pacing, "This is a long story."
"I'm listening."
"Before we go any further, I haven't shared these kinda details of my life with anyone. Not all of this. Not what I make. Not what I pay. Not how I got all the money. Elet knows some of it, but no one knows all of it. If we go any further..."
"I know, you'll have to kill me."
"I'm serious. I don't want anyone to know. This is between us."
"I know, honey. This is our business and no one else's."
Jacqueline liked the sound of that, but she was nervous to share the intimate details with Mallory just the same. However, she had to go on. "There was this woman named Sheryl who dropped out of school in her senior year to join a band and go on the road. Well, a funk group. It was the seventies. Anyhow, she was a backup singer. The band didn't make loads of money or have huge commercial success, but they had a few hits. More importantly, she fell in love with the lead percussionist, Dexter. Well, the two got married, one thing lead to another, and before Sheryl knew it, she was pregnant. She and Dexter had a little girl. They loved their daughter, but they couldn't raise a child on the road. So, they shipped the baby off to live with his mother. Well, his lack of a serious commitment and the absence of the baby caused friction between them. So, as music styles started changing, Sheryl left the band. She wanted him to leave, too. She begged him to go, but he wouldn't. He wanted to make it big. His dream of fame was bigger than the dream of family. So, she left him, picked up her baby from her ex-husband's mother, and returned to Florida. She put herself through school and got a good job. Eventually, she met a man, got married, had some other kids, and gave them all a pretty good life. All the while, Dexter chased his dream. He went from percussionist to songwriter to accompanist to film composer. He and his family kept a relationship with his only child until he passed away about eight years ago."
"Okay, so your father died and left you money?"
"Something like that. My father died and left me a life insurance policy, a house in LA, some stocks, an overseas account, several cars, and royalties from record and film companies. Big Jack had Jack set me up with their financial adviser after the estate was dispersed. I needed to solidify my assets so, I bought the penthouse. I used all of the life insurance money on it."
"You were in your early twenties. Who gave you a half a million-dollar mortgage?"
"Any bank I wanted. I had half a million-dollar check, guaranteed royalties, and assets. I sold all the vehicles. All of them except the vehicle I learned to drive in. I'll never sell it."
"The Laredo," she touched her chest.
"I used the first royalty checks to furnish the penthouse. In the beginning, I was just paying for electricity and the mortgage. Just sliding by. Then, I went from staff writer to head writer to editorials to department lead to Managing Editor. But, my bills didn't really increase, but my pay has."
"Do you still get royalty checks?"
"Yeah, I never touch them. They're just direct deposited.
"How much are they?"
"It varies. They can be a couple of thousand if someone samples the hook of a song or it can be tens of thousands if people play one of the movies. I never cashed in the stocks. They just ride the market. And, I still own his house. Elet and I talked about going out there and hiring some people to renovate it, but I don't know what to do with it."
"Does it have a mortgage?"
"No, it's paid off. It has electricity, water, security system. I pay the taxes, but it just sits in the Santa Monica canyons. Waiting on me. It's beautiful, but you don't need a summer home in California, if you live in Florida. And, you don't need a house in the canyon if you live on water. But, it was my dad's house. I love it. It has so many memories. Anyhow, you see my problem."
"Were you close to him?"
"He didn't want my mom, but he loved me. I flew to be with him all the time. At the house in California or movie sets or on vacation or with his friends."
"Well, it's good you were close. He never had any other kids?"
She laughed and said, "None have turned up."
Mallory reached out for her to stop pacing, "I'm sorry. How'd he die?"
Returning to her, Jacqueline said, "He had a stroke in the middle of the night. He must've been working. They found him with sheet music still in his lap. I kept it. It's back at the house."
"He's the reason you play the violin?" Mallory was almost talking to herself.
"No, actually, it was my grandmother. She thought it was important to play an instrument. She had made him play as a boy. When I was old enough, she made me play an instrument as well."
"I assume she's dead as well?"
"Just months before him," she said quietly.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, honey." Mallory pulled Jacqueline down to the bed. "Do you want to go on? Or, is this enough? I don't want you to feel..."
"No, this is about us. We've gotta do this. Once it's out in the open, then it'll be easier to have all the side conversations."
Mallory was deep in thought. "Okay." With a sigh, she proceeded, "That explains the money. What do you make now? What's your total monthly bills?"
"Jack gave me a raise. Do you remember? I overheard Alex talking about it. I'm sure Mrs. Pennington told Evelyn who told Alex."
"Sure, there was lots of gossip, but no one knows how much or, even, it was true."
"I make half a mil a year."
"Fuck," Mallory looked nauseous.
"Well, don't say that. You'll mess me up. I've gotta say it all in one move or I'm not gonna be able to do it."
"Okay," she looked faint. "I guess you should go on."
"I get a fifty-thousand dollar bonus in profitable years. I put a quarter of my regular check and all of my bonus into my 401K. My bills are about eight thousand a month." Jacqueline was looking up at the ceiling. It was obvious that she'd practiced this speech. "After all of my deductions, I get almost twenty thousand a month. Then, I pay electricity, water, and sewage for both places, cable at the penthouse, cellphone, credit cards, food, food, and more food, gas. Oh, I pay six thousand on the mortgage these days rather than the three thousand that's due. And, I pay my mom's mortgage. When it's all said and done, I put about twelve thousand in my savings each month. "
Mallory didn't speak. She sat on the bed as though she was blowing in the wind. Jacqueline had wondered if she had heard what she said. "Well, that was a lot. I don't know if I got all of that. I think I need a minute." Then, she stood from the bed and began to pace.
"Sorry."
"I never thought...I mean, it's a good kinda problem to have. I just need to wrap my mind around what you've said. There's a lot of money. And, you've been saving most of it."
Jacqueline sighed, "Yeah, I had this plan."
"What plan?"
"There was this plan. I've been saving for years. Once I hit a number, I was gonna sell the penthouse and move."
"To where?"
"Any European market that'd have me," she was embarrassed to tell Mallory this story.
"What?"
"Only Elet knew this. When I had two million saved, between my 401K and my saving account, I was going to sell the penthouse and go to London or Paris and start over." She chuckled. "I know it's stupid. But, I was willing to start over. I'd be a features writer again if I could just work for an overseas conglomerate. Som
ething big." Mallory stopped, turned to her, and smiled. "I know it's stupid."
"Actually, it's pretty amazing. No one would have ever believed this about you."
"Yeah, I know," she rolled on her side to face the wall.
Sitting on the bed, beside her, Mallory asked, "How close are you?"
"About five years to go," she mumbled.
With her hand on her side, "Zoe would be almost twelve by then. What preteen wouldn't want to live in Europe?"
Quickly, Jacqueline faced her, “It's okay. I mean, having you in my life is worth more that this dumb plan."
"Why? There's nothing stopping us." Jacqueline looked confused. Mallory elaborated, “I want to be with you. I want to go where you go. We're a family now. I never imagined I'd be where I am right now, so I'm open to anything." Mallory leaned into her face and said, "Don't be scared of what I might say. You might just be surprised at my response." She kissed her tenderly.
"I don't want you to just decide that my plan works for us. I mean, we should come up with our own five-year plan. If Europe works, fine, but we may need to stay here until Zoe graduates."
"We'll figure it all out together. Nothing's off the table." Mallory got off the bed. Jacqueline leaned from the bed and saw her enter the living room and retrieve her purse. "Okay, let's make a list of things to do in the short term."
Jacqueline smiled and sat up. "Okay. Let's go."
"Why do you pay your mother's mortgage?"
"She had some lean months when she retired, so I helped her out. Then, I just never stopped."
"Can we?"
"We?"
"Yes, we."
"We'd need to talk to her."
"You never talk about her. Do you two have a bad relationship?"
"No, not really. I think I felt like a constant reminder of my father. I think I felt like she'd rather not have to explain me. I don't know. I never really fit in. I mean, I'm an oddball everywhere I go."
"Not with me," Mallory mumbled and wrote meet, J's mom, and talk about mortgage. When she finished writing, she said, "Check. Next item. How much do you owe on the penthouse?"
"Lemme check. I have an email from Vicki."
"She's Vicki, now?"
Jacqueline snickered and scrolled through her phone. "I owe three hundred eighty-eight thousand dollars."
"Wow! You've paid a ton. What's it worth?"
Scrolling through the email, Jacqueline said, "Vicki says the cost of properties in the building have skyrocketed since the building was built. The last sale of a penthouse was five million and it was on the fourth floor. She says she'll list it at ten million when I'm ready to put it on the market." Jacqueline looked up. "I don't know that it'll get ten million."
"What does Vicki think?"
"Realtors never think less."
"What are we willing to take for it?" Jacqueline shrugged her shoulders. Mallory pressed, "Throw out a number."
Hesitantly, Jacqueline said, "Eight."
"I can't believe I was scared to tell you the Mercedes was six hundred a month. And, here we are talking about eight million dollars like it's nothing."
"You said the car was five hundred." Jacqueline teased. "Listen, even at eight, we'd have enough to pay off your car, buy a new place, pay off the miscellaneous credit cards, redecorate the new place, and try to save two million."
Mallory laughed. "Wait, how much do we owe on the penthouse?"
"Three hundred eighty-eight thousand."
Jacqueline watched as she calculated. "If it sold for eight million dollars, we'd still have over seven and a half million. If we put two million away, that's still five and a half million. We aren't spending all of that. A new place doesn't have to cost us an arm and a leg."
"No, I guess not. I don't want too much house. I was thinking of nothing more than a million."
"Then, what's the other four and a half million dollars going towards?"
"I don't know. Your credit cards, your car, and furniture."
Mallory chuckled. "I don't know what you're thinking. I've got like three thousand dollars of credit card debt. Which, I might add, I felt horrible about until about twenty minutes ago. But, shit! And, that car was about forty thousand or so. Which also used to upset me. We aren't hiring a decorator. We're going to regular stores and buying regular stuff. It won't take four million to furnish any place we live in together. Okay?"
"Okay. So, you think we'll have enough?"
"How much is your credit card debt?"
"That Black card doesn't have a limit. And, I think the other one has a ten thousand limit."
Mallory gulped. "What's the balance on them?"
"The Black card has the hotel rooms on it. It'll be paid off on Monday. And, the other card probably has a thousand on it."
Relieved, Mallory said, "Oh, well, that's nothing. Who knew you had a Black card?"
"You do, too. It's on the desk."
Mallory stared at her. "Yeah, I forgot about that. Well, do we want to sell the penthouse?"
"What do you want?"
"I want us to be together, but you seem ready to go."
"I just think it might be time. I think I want something else for us. Do you want to keep it? Rent it? Live in it?"
"I love the penthouse, but I hear your head churning. I want to be with you wherever you'll be happy. We're already well beyond what I'm used to. Have you already looked for us a new place?"
Jacqueline lowered her head. "What's the right answer?"
"Go ahead and tell me."
"I've looked at a few places. In Apollo Beach. I considered you and Zoe in what a new place needed to have. Ample space. Two offices. Swimming pool. Access to a dock or marina. Large kitchen. Place for entertaining. Place for Zoe to play. Space for kids to come over. I told Vicki all about you both. She wants to meet you." Lowering her head, she said, "but, then we had the arch blow up and I've ceased all activity."
"Apollo Beach is further away."
"Kinda, but not really. It's south instead of west, but they have A schools."
Mallory smiled, "You checked the schools?"
"Well, yeah. We've got an eight-year-old. I mean, the schools around the penthouse aren't great and the one she goes to in Clearwater isn't either. So, it seemed like if we were gonna sell, then we should only look in places where the schools are better. But, are we selling?"
"Maybe. We'll see. We'll look at the two houses and some others and see if we find something we love. I love the penthouse, but I would love for us to pick something out that was just for the three of us. Okay, LA house. What do you want to do?"
"I don't know. I can't decide."
"Let's make some time to go out there and look at it. I don't know that I can be much help until I've been there."
"New Years in LA?"
"Oh, that would be nice. Zoe'll be with her dad," Mallory swooned. "Shopping in Beverly Hills." As she danced, she continued to add to her list. "Okay, I got that. I can add the Laredo to my car insurance and I'll add you to my credit cards. You can add me to your cell plan. End the lease at my place?"
"I'd like that," Jacqueline said. Mallory continued with things to do. She was merging their lives together in a methodical, dispassionate way. Jacqueline was feeling distressed.
Noticing her distance, Mallory asked, "Are you okay with all of this?"
"Yeah, it's all technicalities. I guess I want to know if this is what you want."
Leaving the paper and pencil behind, Mallory crawled across the bed to Jacqueline and said, "This is what I've always wanted. I want a life with you. Together. We can merge all the odds and ends together and then, we can go be happy. Day in and day out."
"I love you." Jacqueline said. Worried, she continued to speak before Mallory could respond, "Do you know what I've been talking about? Do you understand?"
Mallory looked confused. "I think I do. You want me forever."
"I do, but I don't like the term girlfriend." She stood up and walked around to the other
side of the bed. She had her right hand in her pocket. Her fingers were wrapped tight around the box that Frank had given her hours earlier at the Port. She stared down into Mallory's sea green eyes. She was ready. Ready to make the biggest move her life.
Then, there was a knock at the door.
Chapter 21
Before Jacqueline opened the door, she could hear Elet and Alex outside. They were giggling. For a second, she thought of not opening it, of pretending to not hear them, but she knew Mallory would never play along. Instead, she became irritated when she opened it to find their giggling faces.
"I'm glad you opened the door. I didn't want to call and tell you this. This is so great I had to come tell you in person," Elet said all at once. Alex walked around him, entered the room, and sat on the couch. Mallory came out of the room and joined her.
"Uh, we were kinda in the middle of something," Jacqueline said.
"I'm sorry, but you're gonna wanna know what I got."
"Can't I hear it in a few minutes?" she tried to plead with him. Her hand was still in her pocket. Her fingers were still wrapped around the box. She was lifting her eyebrows hoping he would get the hint.
"I couldn't be happier with the trip and the arch. I mean, you've been my very best friend forever and I was thinking I'd never be able to repay you for all you've done for me."
"You don't have to. I... We don't expect any repayment."
Alex said, "Oh, so we've made some progress. Are we a we now?"
Mallory mumbled to her, "We've always been a we. I guess I didn't know." The girls snickered on the couch. This would have pleased Jacqueline if she didn't want Alex and Elet to get out.
"Listen, we can talk about that later. We don't have a lot of time."
"I thought we were going to dinner later,” Jacqueline gave up and went and leaned against the desk. She was rubbing her face and hoping that if she just let him finish that they'd go away.
"We aren't going to dinner. We've got tickets to game six of the World Series!! The car'll be here soon to take us to Nats Park! And, it just so happens Silas is gonna meet us there!"
"What? Are you serious? This is the best." Jacqueline sprang from the desk and wrapped her arms around his neck. "You didn't have to try to repay me, but I'm sure glad you wanted to with tickets to the World Series."
