What were they doing here?
“You should be so proud of her,” her stepmother, Amelia, said. “She’s done a great job adjusting to her life, and the speech was very inspirational.”
“I was too emotional, watching her give the talk. I still tear up whenever I think about all she lost,” her mother replied from the other stall.
“Oh, but she’s adjusting so well, and that charity she’s working with is doing a lot of good for children with disabilities. I think Carol should be a motivational speaker,” Amelia said. “Her father and I are so proud of her.”
“And so are we,” her mother replied. “Do you think she’ll be surprised to see us here?”
“Of course, she will,” her stepmother said. “I wonder where she disappeared to so fast. It seems her friends went to go look for her.”
“I’m sure she’ll be fine.”
The sounds of toilets flushing were followed by several stall doors opening. Water flowed and another toilet flushed, and then other women entered the bathroom.
Carol sat very still, watching the bag fill with urine. She still had to measure it and note down the amount, and now was not a good time to let her mother and stepmother know she’d overheard their conversation.
“Say, did you see that handsome fellow she was with?” Amelia said. “Who is he? Did Carol tell you she was dating anyone?”
“Nothing,” her mother replied. They must have moved to the sink, because someone turned on the water. “I was shocked when Ken told me that he was someone who used to work with him at Bad Boys for Hire.”
“Bad Boys for Hire?” Amelia sounded scandalized. “Is that an escort service? You don’t think she hired a date, do you? Do you think it’s more than a date?”
“When Ken worked for it, he told me there were strict rules about not sleeping with clients.” Her mother’s voice was clipped. “So you needn’t worry about it.”
Carol held her breath and her stomach clenched. Why hadn’t her family told her they were coming to see her speak? Where had they been sitting? In the back, probably, with Ken and Jolie. Carol should have suspected the reason those two had decided not to sit with the rest of the Bumblebees. Now that they were here, they immediately got busy judging her and her life.
She finished up with her catheter and cleaned herself, then dumped the contents into the toilet as quietly as she could. Knowing them, and the way they got along after so many years of divorce, they weren’t done with their analysis.
“Oh, I wasn’t implying anything of the sort,” Amelia continued. “Of course, we know our Carol is not that type of woman. Besides, who knows if she’s even able to … given she can’t feel anything below her waist.”
The paper towel dispenser clunked, and Carol waited with bated breath to see if her mother would defend her.
“Amelia,” her mother said. “Carol is an adult and I trust her judgment. If she’s selected that young man, I’m sure she knows what she’s doing.”
Carol was just about to take a breath of relief when another voice, a shrill, nasal one cleared her throat.
“Actually, the man she’s with is a whore,” the other woman said. “You should also know he might have exposed your daughter to sexually transmitted diseases.”
“Who are you?” Carol’s mother said at the same time Amelia said, “How do you know?”
“I don’t need to give my source,” the nasally woman said. It was probably Brianna, the nasty lawyer Nick mentioned was blackmailing him. “I have a friend who saw Nick Wolff, that’s his name, at a clinic getting tested for HIV. Word on the street is, he’s a very highly paid escort, and if you don’t believe me, look at the reviews at Bad Boys for Hire. You’ll have to register as a client to get access to the reviews, but it’s easy to do and you don’t have to give a real name or your credit card number.”
Carol quickly put her things away and felt her chest tighten. Pinpoints of sweat prickled her forehead, and her pulse swished violently behind her eardrums.
“Oh my lord,” Carol’s mother exclaimed. “This is very disheartening. Where is Carol? I need to speak to her.”
“Did you notice her leaving the banquet hall with that sleazebag? I bet they headed somewhere to make out, or worse,” Brianna the bitch said in a sing-song voice.
Carol scrambled to pull her panties up and her dress down. She needed to somehow escape before they caught her. Fortunately, they were on their way out, because someone activated the air dryer and the door swung open with a whoosh of air.
Then, her cell phone rang, and it was her hip-hop ringtone, the one her family knew to distinguish her phone from the others.
“Hey, I hear her cell phone ringing,” Amelia said, her footsteps coming to a halt. “Carol? Are you in there?”
Carol scrambled to find her phone and silence it, but she dropped it on the floor.
“Good luck finding your daughter.” Brianna made her parting shot, followed by footsteps leaving the bathroom. Meanwhile, the woman in the stall next to her farted and turds splatted into the toilet water.
What if they thought she was busy doing number two?
Face hot, Carol bent to pick up her phone and met her mother’s eyes as she peeked under the stall.
“Sheesh, Mother. Do you always go looking under stalls?” Carol grumbled. “And didn’t you teach me not to talk to strangers?”
“Carol, we’re so worried about you,” her mother said, echoed by her stepmother. “We feel so bad leaving you here all alone.”
Carol opened the stall door and glared at the two of them. Ordinarily, she would have been ecstatic that they had come to hear her speak, but now, with the way they’d swallowed all of Brianna’s lies and questioned her judgment …
But then, Nick had told her he’d gotten tested recently, and he’d always insisted on condoms. Except … Carol’s heart froze. She wasn’t sure if Nick had worn one when he found her in the shower. It wasn’t as if she could feel the difference.
“What’s wrong, Carol? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Amelia placed a hand on her shoulder. “Are you in danger of HIV?”
“Oh, shush,” her mother said. “That woman sounded like a spurned woman. She probably made all of it up because she’s jealous Nick’s with Carol.”
“Oh, right. Of course.” Amelia finally remembered she was part of the family. “Let’s pay her no attention at all. Who is she?”
“Did she have a medium length bob of blond hair? Pointy nose? Squinty eyes, kind of ratty looking?” Carol tried to sound innocent.
“Oh yes, that describes her to a ‘T,’” Mother said.
“That’s Brianna,” Carol explained. “She has a loose screw somewhere. You shouldn’t pay her any attention.”
“The HIV thing could be serious,” Amelia noted.
“Wonder if she was the woman who went to the clinic and got tested,” her mother observed. “The old ‘friend’ trick.”
“Totally pathetic,” Amelia said. “The fact that she knew all about the website and reviews means she’s the one hiring escorts.”
“Oh, let’s forget about her,” Carol’s mother said. She ran her hand over Carol’s white trimmed vest. “And Carol, you look so pretty dressed as Santa’s elf,” her mother turned on the baby talk. “Are you happy to see us?”
“Yes, Mother, Amelia,” Carol replied. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
She hugged them and they patted and preened her outfit and hair. And even though they appeared to have dismissed Brianna’s lies, Carol was sure it wasn’t over. Not by a long shot.
They would worry about Nick and whether he had a disease or not, and so would Carol. Even worse, they would not approve of her dating a man who had supposedly sold his body for money, and they would investigate the website and bug Ken about it to no end.
Wait a minute. Should she approve of it herself?
She’d been so caught up in Nick’s confession of love and how good he made her feel. He’d been the perfect boyfriend and ev
en though no one paid him to charm her, he was a natural at twisting women’s hearts around his little finger and more like it, his large dick.
Would she have accepted a man with such a sleazy past if she wasn’t in a wheelchair? If the playing field were level, would she, Carol Cassidy, want to be the woman who took a guy everyone else had paid to play?
Thirty-Nine
Nick tried not to look for Carol as he hefted a large sack from table to table, passing out the marked gifts. He did his ho, ho, ho’s and jiggled his fake belly and took pictures with everyone who asked.
Carol must have been too embarrassed after getting caught by her Bumblebee friends and was probably hiding in the bathroom. Too bad. It would have been fun to work the room with her by his side. It was sweet of her to put herself out there to do the Santa Girl act.
“Here, Jason, your gift,” Nick said, approaching the table where Brianna and her three firefighters sat. The Bumblebees had had backup gifts prepared for walk in guests, and he was able to pass one out to each guy. Meanwhile Brianna was flashing her cleavage and going from lap to lap, taking selfies and posting them right from her phone.
Nick placed Jason’s gift on his lap. “Merry Christmas, bud.”
“Same to you, Nick,” he winked. “If you ever need to talk about anything, I’m a willing ear.”
Marisa hovered near him and agreed. “Yeah, we’re your friends, if you ever need one.”
“Thanks. That means a lot to me.” Nick bent down and kissed Marisa on the cheek, even though her and Jason’s declaration of friendship felt strange or false. What was their game? It wasn’t long ago that Jason was fixated on Carol, and Marisa was determined to match them up together.
“A selfie with us?” She giggled when his yak hair beard brushed her skin.
Nick obliged them, and then Brianna reached across the table. “Santa, baby, you have to take a selfie with me, too.”
While she set up her self-timer, Nick noticed the three firefighters getting up to leave. Guess they weren’t impressed with the sharky lawyer who only cared about showing off her conquests on social media.
At the last second, Brianna turned and laid a kiss over his lips, probably getting a mouthful of yak’s hair. Nick felt like spitting and he grimaced, turning his face.
Carol entered the room, flanked by two middle-aged women. The three of them froze, eyes wide before hurriedly turning away from him and Brianna.
“Another one?” Brianna said, motioning to another woman at their table. “Could you take a picture of us? My arm isn’t long enough, and I’m not sure if that one came out okay.”
“Of course, honey,” the other woman, who Nick didn’t recognize, took the phone from Brianna. “Now, say cheese and smile.”
Nick was glad he had a beard hiding his face, but he couldn’t help glaring at the hated phone, giving his meanest look.
Brianna wrapped her arms around Nick possessively and leaned her cheek against his beard. The pictures went off in rapid succession, and before Brianna could check the quality of the shots, Nick handed presents to the rest of the table and said, “Ho, ho, ho, now I have to go to the Bumblebee table. Merry Christmas.”
Unfortunately, Carol and the two women did not return to the Bumblebee table. Nick handed presents to Sherelle, Nikki, and Leanna.
“It says not to open until Christmas.” Leanna shook her present. “Any idea what’s in here?”
“Weren’t you in charge of buying them?” Nikki asked Nick.
“Actually, Marisa said Carol bought all of ours,” Sherelle answered for him. “If I were you, I wouldn’t open until Christmas. It might be a gag gift.”
“Carol’s too nice to gag anyone,” Nikki declared. “Hey, Nick, did you know Carol bought us all evening gowns?”
“Yes, she’s the best.” Leanna fluttered the large purple ruffles running down the front of her dress. “I’m opening mine.”
“Here’s Carol’s present for when she gets back.” Nick placed a wrapped present on the table. “By the way, do you guys know where she went?”
“She’s with her family,” Nikki said. “I saw her come out of the restroom with her mother and stepmother. They surprised her.”
This was not good. Not good at all. They’d all looked shocked and upset when they spied Brianna kissing him, and even though he was in costume, the expression on Carol’s face showed him she’d been hurt.
“Ahhhh!” Leanna screamed, holding up a giant flesh-colored dildo. “This is so realistic. I must have been a real nice girl this year.”
The men around the table coughed and choked back laughs. Nick recognized the dildo as one he’d bought with Carol at the sex toy store.
“Guys, take my advice,” he said. “Don’t open your gifts until Christmas, or at least in private.”
He placed his own gift on the table. It was probably the embarrassing pocket pussy. “Ho, ho, ho, and I know you all will have a very Merry Christmas.”
He made the rounds of the other tables while coffee and cake were being served. Christmas music played in the background, and the hum of conversation and laughter was festive and joyful. Only, Nick couldn’t find Carol. He spotted Jolie sitting at a table in the back with Terri and her husband. Ken was absent, and half the chairs were empty. Nick greeted everyone and placed presents on the empty seats, noting the place cards for Mr. and Mrs. Cassidy, Carol’s father and stepmother, and Mr. and Mrs. Monroe, most likely Marisa’s father and Carol’s mother.
After wishing the remaining occupants of the table a Merry Christmas, Nick was finished for the evening. He couldn’t wait to change into casual clothes and find Carol. There was no reason for her to be upset about Brianna foisting a kiss on him while he was in character. After all, some of the Wheelympics children had also kissed him and had taken pictures with him.
He changed in record time and exited the bathroom wearing jeans and a plaid Western shirt.
Pow. A fist connected with his jaw and snapped his head back. He raised his hand and ducked the next swing.
“You leave my sister alone, you hear that?” Ken cocked his fist, his blue eyes blazing. “How dare you take advantage of her? Just because she’s paralyzed doesn’t mean she has no standards.”
“What are you talking about?” Nick rubbed his jaw and glared at Ken. The laid-back surfer type guy had always been friendly before, even though he only knew him on a casual basis. “I respect your sister highly. I put her on a pedestal. Believe me, I value her.”
“Yeah, but who are you compared to her?” Ken’s eyes narrowed. “She has a doctorate in computer science. She’s worked hard all her life and has stayed on the straight and narrow. She had many men friends and never lacked for a date. She made one mistake and ended up in a wheelchair, and now she’s lowered herself to going out with a guy who slept with clients for pay.”
“Where did you hear that?” Nick’s stomach slumped to the floor, even as he challenged Ken. It didn’t matter where he’d heard, only that Carol’s family knew and felt sorry for her. “Where’s Carol? I need to talk to her.”
“She went back to my place with her parents. I’ll grant that you need to speak to her, but kindly remember what you bring to the table. You’re unemployed. You prostituted yourself at your last job, and you’re being tested for sexually transmitted diseases. If I’m not mistaken, you’re also about to be homeless. Perhaps you’re only after my sister because she has an apartment and a high paying job.”
“You underestimate Carol.” Nick lowered his voice to a rough growl. “Why don’t you let her make her own decisions? She’s fully capable, and news flash—being paralyzed doesn’t mean her brain isn’t functioning. She’s also a very desirable woman. The only reason she wasn’t dating before was because she was too busy proving her independence and trying to show everyone she didn’t need anyone.”
“She definitely doesn’t need the likes of you,” Ken said. “You ought to be ashamed of yourself, standing here acting like she either wants or needs yo
u—you Sinful Santa Slut.”
Nick got out of the taxicab in front of Ken and Jolie’s house. It was in a more upscale area of Redwood City just north of Atherton and close to Jolie’s beauty salon.
Cars were piled up on the driveway of the one-story ranch style house, and the porch light was on. Nick wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans and buzzed the doorbell.
Whatever had happened, Carol’s family had circled the wagons. Word had gotten out about his past, and as much as he was ashamed to show his face here with both sets of parents and stepparents in these circumstances, he really needed to speak to Carol, because truly, all that mattered was what she thought. He could clean up his act, and he could find a meaningful job, but he couldn’t change his past. She would either have to accept his mistakes, or she didn’t care enough about him.
He had to know either way.
The door opened with a whoosh of air, and an older man with a square jaw and pale blue eyes squinted at him. “Who are you?”
“Nick Wolff.” He offered his hand to shake, but the other man stared at him like he was a rattlesnake and balled up his fist.
“Stay away from my daughter. Leave now before I call the police. You’ve done enough damage.”
“I need to talk to her. Five minutes,” Nick said. He didn’t come so far to be turned away. “If she refuses to speak to me, then I’ll leave. But I want to hear from her. She deserves to tell me off if that’s the case.”
A vein throbbed on Carol’s father’s temple and behind him, another man stood, muscles tensed and ready for action.
“Send him away.” A woman shooed at Nick like he was a pesky horsefly. “We’re decent people in this house.”
She was stocky, and had dark brown hair and deep brown eyes.
“You heard her,” Carol’s stepfather said. “Now, scram.”
The sound of wheels turning on the wooden floor approached.
“I’ll speak with him. Five minutes,” Carol said in a voice that drew icicles down Nick’s spine. “Out on the porch.”
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