"Touch your nose," I told him immediately.
"No," he said. He sat and grinned at me. "I'm free."
"Yes," Arianna said. "But you must not tell the others. I don't want them to know."
"They'll figure it out eventually," I said.
"Yes, but they won't know why I released him. I don't want anyone faking remorse. Corbin, if you ever are forced to answer, just tell people your sentence was over."
He nodded. "Arianna, you'll continue to find the houses for me?"
"Yes. We'll line them up; you fix them up. We'll advise you as you ask, and we'll sell them when we're done. Do you want to take all this paperwork with you, or should we keep it."
"Can you keep it for me?"
"Moira will handle it. She'll get you set up at the bank on Monday with access to your account. She'll explain about credit cards, checking accounts, and help you set up a company." She turned to me. "You'll make sure he's okay with all those things, and keep an eye on him."
"Yes, Arianna."
"Good. Corbin, if you haven't any other questions, you can return to the party."
"Arianna, I have one question. May I ask Beck out?"
She smiled. "She gets one night off a week. How she spends that time is up to her. But she has access to no money yet."
"Yet?" I asked.
"I'll answer your questions later," she said.
We all stood up. Corbin hugged me, then went around the desk and pulled Arianna into a crushing hug. He held her for a long time, and when he turned around, there were tears in his eyes. "Thank you," he said to her again.
Then he left. I heard him use the bathroom before he left the house. Later, when I saw him, he and Beck were deep in conversation, and they disappeared into the woods on our property for a while. I didn't see them again that night, but his truck was still parked in the same place in the morning when I got up.
"Sit," Arianna told me. "Questions?"
"You really let him go?"
"Yes."
"You're never letting me go."
"Twenty years is five years away," she said.
"Only five more," I said. "It's been fifteen, hasn't it?"
She looked down. "Yes."
"I haven't aged a day. Neither have you."
"A few days," she said. "Only a few days."
"Do you have an account like that for me?"
"No, but I have one for everyone else. You have your own accounts already."
"Why am I different?"
"Because you are. I never intended any of them to be permanent. There was a chance Corbin would have asked to stay. He almost did, but I pushed him to take this offer instead. Dean is probably permanent. Stephanie is going to put in twenty years; she has a horrible attitude. Her departing orders will be much harsher than Corbin's were. Lydia, I don't know. She might end up putting in twenty years as well, but I don't believe so."
"The rest?"
"Dale and Abe have ten year sentences, or five if I decided to let them go early. Sienna, Terry and Beck are here of their own free will. They may leave any time they want."
"What?"
She smiled. "You heard me."
"Why would they have agreed to stay?"
"Because I have accounts for them, too, and I am teaching them how to be good agents. I told them this was the deal, if they wanted to work for me. I told them the benefits and the price of those benefits."
"Sienna told me she wanted to start dating."
"Clearly not enough to ask me to release her," Arianna said.
"Why didn't you tell me, Arianna?" I asked. "Why did we live the last five years like this?"
"I guess because we're both stubborn," she said.
"You must hate me," I told her.
"Is that what you believe?" she asked. She set her left hand pointedly on the desk. She was still wearing the wedding ring, the pair to the one I hadn't worn for five years.
"Have you had other partners?" I asked.
"No."
We stared at each other. "I'm sorry, Moira," she said. "You will never understand how much you scared me when you got arrested. You could have gotten killed instead. The punishments in the past, I didn't want to do any of them, but we were both so stubborn. I kept hoping you would decide you'd had enough and relent, but you didn't. But then you did something truly dangerous, and I had to make sure you never did it again. And then you made another serious attempt to kill yourself. You scared me so badly, Moira."
I looked away. "The drunk driving was over the line," I said. "I was horribly wrong for all the reasons you said. I won't apologize for the suicide attempt."
"Moira," she said. "Please look at me."
I did, and she had tears in her eyes. "Please don't leave me," she said. "Please come back to my bed. Please be my wife. I miss you. I can't begin to tell you how much I miss you."
"Is this why you let Corbin go?" I asked her after a moment.
"No," she said. "You can check the history." She slid Corbin's papers across to me. "Tax returns and bank statements. They are all there, and you will find they agree with what you can look up on the computer. I have been paying him from the beginning. Why would I do that if I weren't going to let him go?"
I didn't even bother looking at it.
"I have a lot to think about, Arianna."
She took a breath. "I understand."
"I won't fight you anymore," I said. "But I want to go for a walk. May I?"
"Yes. Am I invited?"
I thought about it. "Yes."
We stepped outside. We stopped by the party. Everyone was having fun. Lydia and Sienna had a computer and were learning about Hawaii. "Do we get spending money?" Lydia asked.
"Yes," I said. "Air, hotel, meals, and an allowance. It's all in the envelope."
"For two," Arianna said. "So double everything. You may have separate rooms if Moira can arrange them, or share a room if that would be more fun."
The two looked at each other. "Share," they said together.
I made sure everything was okay, then I turned to the paths. Arianna stepped to my side, and we stepped together into the trees. I reached over and took her hand, and her voice caught in her throat.
We walked quietly, not talking. It grew dark. "Do you have any spells to see in the dark?"
She laughed. "Yes." And then she turned on a flashlight. I hadn't even seen her bring it.
We walked slowly, coming to a small open field. "Turn off the light," I told her. She flipped it off, and after our eyes adjusted, we watched the fireflies.
"Early this year," I said.
"It's been warm," she agreed. She laughed.
"What?"
"I am reminded of a Calvin and Hobbs cartoon."
"A what?"
"A cartoon in the paper. I guess the artist retired not long after you were born. Calvin was a 7-year-old boy, and he had a stuffed tiger named Hobbs. To everyone else, Hobbs was just a stuffed tiger, but to Calvin, Hobbs was alive. He could talk."
"That sounds like a great cartoon," I said.
"The one I am thinking of, they saw some fireflies, and then the next two panels show Calvin staring at his butt with his face all scrunched up. And in the last panel, he said: I don't even know what muscle to squeeze."
"Oh, to make his butt glow?"
"Yes."
"Oh," I said. "That's cute. Thank you for telling me about it."
We watched the fireflies for a while longer. "We should get back," I said. "There are dishes waiting for me."
"You don't have to do them."
"I told Lydia I wouldn't make her do them alone."
We turned around. Our eyes had adjusted to the dark, so we walked without artificial light. When we got back to the picnic, everyone was helping out. Arianna walked straight up and said, "Give me the worst job."
"Dishes!" Lydia yelled immediately. "They are all waiting inside."
"All right. Moira, are you going to stay out here or come in and keep me company?"
/> "Is that a euphemism for drying?"
She laughed. "No."
"I'll keep you company, then."
She took my hand, and we walked into the house together.
* * * *
I wasn't in a talkative mood. Arianna washed the dishes and chatted about the 1920s. It was fascinating to hear from someone who had lived through them.
Arianna washed and dried all the dishes, leaving them on the counter for Lydia to put away in the morning. When she was done, she turned to me.
I knew she was hoping for an answer.
I turned away.
I heard Arianna as she let out her breath, and she stepped past me, not saying a word, her entire posture subdued. "Maybe someday," she said, stepping to her bedroom. She closed the door.
I turned out most of the lights and headed to my own room. I stepped out of my clothes and took a shower, then dressed in a black teddy and undies and pulled a robe on. I descended the stairs to Arianna's room and knocked.
"May I come in?" I thought at her.
"Yes," she said.
I stepped in, and she was sitting in the bed. Her eyes were red.
I crossed to her dresser and opened her jewelry box. I began pawing through it.
"What are you looking for?"
"My answer."
I didn't find it.
"Is this it?" she asked. She was holding something in her hand. I walked over to see, and it was my wedding ring.
I stared at the ring in her hand.
Then I held my hand out, my fingers splayed. She looked at me hopefully, then when I nodded, slipped the ring over my finger.
I threw myself at her, and she caught me.
Part 3
Freedom
Beck was the first to ask for her freedom, a short six months later. She came to the house in the evening, knocking at the door. Arianna and I had been curled up on the sofa watching a movie. I got up and answered it, letting her in.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but I thought this should be done in the evening," she said, standing on the doorstep. I let her in.
She then apologized to Arianna, who waved it away. We asked if we could move to a table, and then she said, "Arianna, I want to ask for my freedom."
"All right," she said. "Are you willing to tell me why?"
"Corbin and I have been dating," she said. "And I want to move in with him. If I do that, I need to have my own money and be my own boss, at least away from work."
Arianna looked away, not answering.
"Arianna," Beck said. "You promised us we could leave whenever we asked."
"Yes," she said. "And I will free you. But I want to think about this first."
We sat quietly for a few minutes. Finally Arianna said, "Have you told Corbin about this?"
"No, of course not. We are forbidden."
"Are you sure he wants you to move in?"
"He asked me."
"When?"
"A month ago. I've been thinking about it since. You told me the only way I could work for you was if you bound me, and I don't want to stop working for you. It's been a difficult decision."
"I appreciate you saying that," she said. She sighed. "I am too territorial. It makes me extremely uncomfortable to have people around me who aren't bound to me."
"I know," she said. "I understand. I thought about asking for permission to move in with Corbin, but I think the bonds would begin to chafe."
"As much as I would like to give permission for that, I don't think I would agree," Arianna said. "It sets a bad precedent for everyone else."
Beck nodded.
Arianna turned to me. "What is the status of her current clients?"
"She has four," I said, looking at Beck. She nodded. "One has a closing in two weeks. One is a listing that hasn't sold, and they are waiting for an offer before they get serious about looking for a new house."
"I've taken them out," Beck explained, "but I haven't spent that much time with them yet."
"The other two are first time buyers, young couples. You referred one, and she found the other on her own."
Arianna said, "You understand, the legal agreements with your clients are through the agency and not to you directly."
"I understand."
"All right. I will free you tonight, but it will take me a few minutes to prepare. Officially you will remain with the firm until the closing in two weeks. Unofficially I do not want you at the offices unless it's required for your client."
"I understand. Thank you, Arianna."
"You may take the client you found with you. You will transfer the other two to someone else."
"Thank you, Arianna," she said.
Arianna rose from the table. "I need to prepare. I'll call you when I am ready." To me she thought, "You will stay out here."
She disappeared into her office. Beck and I chatted. She was nervous and excited. "Will it hurt?"
"No," I said.
"She's done so much for me," Beck said. "God, I hope I am making the right decision."
"Corbin is a good guy," I said.
"Yeah," she said dreamily.
Fifteen minutes later, Arianna thought to me, "Please send her in, Moira."
"She's asking for you, Beck," I told her.
I moved back to the sofa and waited patiently. I felt when Arianna drew magic from me, and a few minutes later, the two of them emerged from Arianna's office. Beck's eyes were red. She hugged me briefly, thanked Arianna once more, and then she fled.
"What happened?"
"As soon as I cast the spell, she began crying."
"But she accepted it."
"Yes. Moira, I need you."
I immediately pulled her into my arms and held her. "What is wrong?"
"She isn't ready. She's only found three clients on her own. Five years, three clients. I make all of them do all the things you do to line up clients. The others are finding a client every several months, which isn't very good, but she's only found three this entire time. She isn't ready. She'll never be ready. She's a good agent with a client, but she just can't make the sale to get one to agree to use her."
"I wasn't, either," I said.
"No. Your strengths are in the office. You're an amazing operations manager."
"Do you suppose she'll start helping Corbin with the flipping business, finding him houses and then listing them later?"
"No. I forbid it. That is our business. She was surprised I brought it up; she just assumed it would remain our business."
"You could have let her have it," I told Arianna.
"I would, but she won't find the houses the way I do. Corbin's business would suffer. You would be forced to work much harder to control costs so he could make a profit, and quality would suffer."
"Did you want to watch the rest of the movie?" I asked her.
"Would you go to bed with me?"
* * * *
We recruited more agents, the same way we had the last, and presumably under the same agreement. Beck moved out, and Clarissa and Mary moved in. A year later, we added two more. And then every year after that, we added one or two more. Some agents asked to leave after a few weeks, but Arianna refused to let them go. "You agreed to a one year minimum," she told them. With the first, after six months, I asked Arianna to release her.
"She's worthless," I said. "She's a lousy agent, and I don't want to deal with her anymore. Fire her. Please."
"Call her in," Arianna said. "Meet me in my office."
I called the girl on her cell phone, Chrissie. "What?" she said. "I'm off duty."
"Come immediately to the house." I hung up before she could argue with me, and like everyone else, she was bound to obey my orders.
She arrived three minutes later. I let her in and escorted her to Arianna's office.
"What's this about?" Chrissie asked.
"Do you want to leave?" Arianna asked.
"Yes. I told you that months ago. This deal is bullshit."
"And yet, Sienna and Terry
are still here and very happy," Arianna said. "I will release you right now."
"It's about time."
"But here are your choices. You may leave tonight, but you leave with nothing but your personal possessions."
"I sold three houses!"
"To clients I gave you," Arianna said. "Moira had to run your comps for you and do every lick of your paperwork. If you leave tonight, you leave with nothing. If you stay the year you agreed to, and put on a better attitude for the next six months, you leave with what you will have earned."
"Including the commissions on the houses I sold."
"Yes."
She thought about it. "It's not worth it. I am leaving tonight."
"Good," Arianna said. She slipped Chrissie the new rules. "These are the new rules you will follow. None of this is negotiable. You will agree to this, or you will be bound as a menial servant for a ten-year stretch. You will report directly to the other agents and clean houses for them."
"What?"
"That's the choice. Leave tonight under these rules, or you get ten years cleaning houses."
She read the rules. "What?" she said. "I'm not agreeing to this!"
They were a little harsh, but not that bad. She was immediately evicted from Wisconsin and could not talk about anything from the last six months to anyone. The rest were the standard terms about not hurting Arianna or me.
"What do you find so objectionable?" Arianna asked.
"I live here," she said. "I've lived here since college."
"Six years," I said. "Your family is in Pennsylvania. Go home."
"No!" she screamed. "No! Don't make me go there!"
"Why not?"
She looked away. "Please don't make me go home. I don't care for my mother's husband."
I thought to Arianna, "Pay her half the commissions she earned and get her the hell out of here."
"She earned nothing."
"She needs a place to live, and I think her stepfather abused her. We can afford to be gracious."
Arianna pursed her lips. "I'll give you two thousand dollars cash and an airplane ticket out of Wisconsin," she said. "Moira will drive you to the airport as soon as we're done." She smiled sweetly. "Or twenty years cleaning houses."
"I'll take the money," she said.
She whined all the way to the airport. "I earned more than two thousand," was the main complaint.
Familiar Page 20
