Sandwich, With a Side of Romance

by Krista Phillips

  She drove to the McDonald’s across the way, then shoved her toothpaste, toothbrush, and hairbrush into her oversized Coach purse. The bag was a knockoff she’d gotten for a steal from a roadside vendor—aka homeless dude—a few years back, but it made her feel cool anyway.

  She grabbed a fruit n’ yogurt parfait, scarfed it down, then went to the bathroom to freshen up.

  After changing into her last clean Reuben-approved outfit and making a note to visit the laundromat that night, she pulled out her toiletry bag.

  After brushing her teeth, she squirted bathroom soap onto some toilet paper, wet it down, and washed her face and armpits.

  At least she’d figured out what to do for her hair. She’d found every salon in the Sandwich area—minus one—and had mapped out a schedule for haircut/washes so she never visited one twice. She could go three days between washes, the third day being a definite hair-up day, which happened to be today.

  Maddie pulled her hairbrush from her bag. A hairstylist she might be, but even she wasn’t sure she could make something presentable out of the mop of hair that hung kinked and knotted at her neck. God, I know I’ve already asked many times, but just in case you were busy before, I—

  The bathroom door swung open wide. A little girl in pigtails skipped into the room and slid to a stop. “Hi.”

  Maddie eyed her as she pulled the brush through a tangle. “Hi.”

  The girl tilted her head to the side, studying Maddie. “It’s the first day of no school, so my mom surprised us with Mickey D’s for breakfast. Why are you here?”

  Maddie glanced at her, then back at the mirror. Cute kid, but she needed to hurry if she was going to make it to the Emporium on time. “Breakfast, same as you.”

  The girl wrinkled her forehead. “Why ya brushin’ your hair then? My mom makes me brush mine before I leave the house. Didn’t your momma teach you that?”

  Maddie’s heart squeezed a little at the thought of her mom. “My mom did teach me that. She was very good at doing hair, kinda like your mom is good at fixing yours up nice and pretty.”

  The girl beamed. “Thanks. I love pigtails. They flop around and help me be not so hot when I play outside. But you still didn’t tell me why you’re brushin’ your hair.”

  Maddie shrugged. Might as well be honest with the little squirt. “I just moved into town and don’t have a place to stay yet. Since I don’t have my own bathroom to do my hair in, I’m borrowing McDonald’s.”

  “Where do you sleep then?”

  Twenty questions was getting old. Maddie decided to do a switcheroo. “I didn’t catch your name.”

  “It’s Sara. What’s your name?”

  “Maddie.”

  “So, where did you sleep, Maddie?”

  Switcheroo fail. “In my car, but it’s just temporary.”

  Sara’s jaw dropped. “You’re homeless?”

  “Well, sorta….”

  The little girl turned around, swung open the door, and ran back into the dining room without using the bathroom.

  Maddie shrugged. Maybe homeless people scared her. She’d seen enough of them in her old neighborhood to last her a lifetime. It humbled her that she now qualified for the title.

  After pulling the brush through her thin brown hair a few more times, she pulled the hair behind her head and tested the length. The front half tumbled out of her hand. Great. Her “little trims” had officially blown her ponytail plan.

  No doubt Reuben-the-style-freak would call her out on bad hygiene. Good thing he couldn’t see her legs which were beginning to look junglelike.

  Maddie glanced at her watch. A quarter to eight. She stuffed her supplies back into her purse and headed out the door. When she stepped out, she ran smack dab into someone. “Oh, sorry, didn’t see you there.”

  The surprised woman took a step back and seemed to take in Maddie’s appearance in a glance.

  Maybe she wasn’t the cleanest and most put together, but Maddie didn’t think she looked that bad. She put a hand to her stomach and discreetly checked to make sure she’d zipped her khakis.

  Check.

  The woman, who Maddie guessed was about thirty, glanced toward the dining room, then back with a concerned smile on her lips. “Hi. I’m Allie Crum.” She held out her hand.

  Maddie accepted the handshake. “Um, it’s nice to meet you. Sorry I ran into you there.”

  “No biggy. Actually, Sara came out and insisted I talk to you. Is everything okay?”

  God, I know I need help. But complete embarrassment isn’t quite how I pictured it. Finding a winning lottery ticket on the floor would work just fine….

  Maddie gasped when Allie pulled her into a hug.

  Humiliation complete. Pushing the overly kind woman away would be rude. But accepting an unsolicited hug gave her the creeps.

  The woman patted her back while Maddie tried to figure out if she should return the hug or just stand there feeling stupid. “Sara told me about your situation.” Mercifully, she released Maddie and held her at arm’s length. “How can I help? I know you don’t know me, but we are a Christian family and believe in helping those in need.”

  Humiliation, thy name is Maddie. “I’m fine. Really. I just moved to town and haven’t found a place to stay yet. My homelessness is temporary.” She hoped. As long as Reuben paid her on time or didn’t decide to fire her, which he’d threatened a few times. She should have been nicer to him. Schmoozed a little. But a brownnoser, she was not.

  “Still, the moment Sara came out and told me about you, I felt God telling me I need to help. My hubby and I have been teaching our kids about helping those in need and how God wants us to serve those less fortunate. I’m so proud of Sara for listening. Please. Let us do something.”

  Tears sprung to Maddie’s eyes. When had she gone out of her way to help someone else like that, especially a stranger? She’d focused on Kyle and working to get guardianship of him for the last two years. Nothing else had mattered.

  “I guess if you know of a cheap apartment I could rent or something, that’d be nice. I’m working at The Sandwich Emporium, so I haven’t had a lot of time to look.”

  Allie’s face lit up brighter than mustard on wheat bread. “The Emporium? Really? Oh my goodness, this is perfect. We were just going to stop in and visit Reuben after this.”

  “You know Reuben?”

  “Of course. He’s my brother.”

  7

  Maddie turned her fifteen-year-old piece of junk into the parking lot behind Allie’s brand spanking new minivan. Poor city trash verses the wealthy suburban mother. An unlikely pair for sure.

  Facing Reuben this morning wasn’t going to be pleasant. The man was so hip on “appearances,” he was sure to explode when he found out his new assistant was taking sponge baths at McDonald’s.

  It could be worse though. She could’ve made herself a lovely sign and parked herself out on the curb.

  Maddie hoped Allie would feel the need to keep the news private. But there’d been no time to discuss the matter as the woman had flurried around, introducing her to the trio of children, Cole, Sara, and little Beth, who sat in the McDonald’s booth.

  By the time Maddie got into her car, she was more than a little flustered.

  She planned to run in ahead of Allie’s crew and corner Reuben with an at-a-glance summary so he’d understand. Even as she formulated her plan of attack, Reuben opened the door to the restaurant, ruining everything. Sara jumped from the van and ran to him, pointing a finger in Maddie’s direction and exaggerating her facial expressions.

  Given Reuben’s scowl, he wasn’t pleased.

  When Allie joined the group and started talking as well, Maddie figured she better get out and defend herself. Or, she could just play the sympathy card and see how far that took her. She’d test the mood first.

  When she joined the group, Reuben stared at her. “We need to talk.”

  Definitely the defense card. She’d also try the naive approach but didn’t p
ut much stock in it working. “Yes, we do. There is that desk issue we’ve never fixed.” She turned to Allie and smiled. “An office assistant needs her own desk and computer, don’t you think?”

  Allie looked from Reuben to Maddie, her brow crunched in confusion. “Wait. She’s your … assistant?”

  Reuben shuffled his feet and hooked his thumbs into his front pockets. “I originally hired her as a waitress, but Maddie here pointed out my desperate need to get organized, and given the growth of the company, I agreed.”

  “You’re right, of course. An assistant is just what you need. Maybe you’ll actually have time for your family once in a while now.” Allie turned toward Maddie. “Now, about a place for you to live. I have a few ideas. I’ll make some calls and let you know what I find. But even if you have to use our spare bedroom, you will not be sleeping in a car again.”

  With that, Allie squeezed her with another hug then corralled her three munchkins back into the minivan.

  Maddie turned to Reuben who stood with his arms across his chest. When had she seen this stance before? Oh, yes, about a hundred times in the last week.

  “Are you going to yell at me? Because if you are, you can save your breath. I’m not listening.”

  His voice ratcheted up a few decibels. “Why would I yell at you? It’s not like you humiliated me or anything. My sister thinks I’m hiring a homeless person as an assistant. I guess in some ways that’s good. She probably views me as good Samaritan of the year, but my reputation’s on the line, too.”

  “Oh. I’m sorry. I wouldn’t want to hurt that ego of yours the size of the Sears Tower. Next time I sleep in my car I’ll think of you first.”

  Maddie didn’t wait for a reply but headed into the empty restaurant and straight to his office. As tempting as it was to slam the door, she refrained. Knowing her luck it would come off its hinges.

  She turned to see Reuben standing behind her, his eyes a little less fiery and his mouth touched with concern rather than fury.

  “Have you really been sleeping in your car?”

  She shrugged. “Haven’t had time to find a place yet.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Oh, yeah, that would be a stellar conversation. ‘Hey, boss, I’m livin’ in my car, wanna help a girl out?’ ”

  He shoved his fingers through his hair, but stopped short, probably at the loss of his long hair. “Do you need money, or time off to find something?”

  “Just let me do my job and pay me on time. That’s all I ask. I’m not a charity case.”

  He pulled a hundred dollar bill out of his wallet. “Think of it as a sign-on bonus. And you will let me help find you a place to stay. Allie won’t let me hear the end of it if I don’t.”

  Maddie’s back stiffened. She hated handouts. But if it was a bonus, she could take that. She plucked the bill from his hand. “Only if you let me show you how to properly style that new haircut of yours.”

  Reuben patted his hair. “It wouldn’t spike like Judy did it, so I just used some hair gel and combed it back. I thought it looked okay.”

  Maddie rolled her eyes. She’d been holding her tongue for over a week. “It does if you want to try out for a part in the musical Grease.” She stepped closer to him and lifted her hands to mess with his hair. The dark blond clumps were glued to his scalp. “Geez, what’d you do, dump the bottle on it?”

  He shrugged. “I used to only need a squirt of hairspray. Styling gel isn’t my thing.”

  “Well, you’re in luck, because it is mine. Now sit.”

  She pushed him by the shoulders into his chair, then walked over to the small fridge in the corner and grabbed a bottle of water. “This will be a temporary fix, but at least I can show you how to do it in the morning.”

  He shrieked when she began to dump the water over his head. “What are you doing?”

  “Trying to wet it down a bit. I can’t do a thing with all this gel.”

  Maddie fished a hairbrush out of her purse and went to work. Five minutes later she stood in front of him, putting the finishing touches on the spike. “And that’s how you do it. It should be rather simple, because the object of this hairstyle is to be a little crazy with it. Messy is in when it comes to spikes.”

  She handed him a compact so he could see for himself.

  He nodded after a quick glance in the mirror. “You’re right. It’s much better, thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.” Maddie turned to put the hairbrush back but froze when Reuben spoke.

  “I’m sorry for getting you fired. You really are good at what you do. If you want, we can go back today, and I’ll tell Judy everything so you can have your job back.”

  This couldn’t be happening now. “So you’re firing me?”

  “No, the assistant job is still yours if you want it.”

  Maddie stared at the brush in her hand. God, what am I supposed to do? This job held promise of a future, but what happened if she screwed it up, or in a month or two when Reuben thought he was organized enough, he decided he didn’t need her anymore?

  Hairstyling was what she was trained for and experienced in. A safe bet.

  Maddie glanced back at Reuben and reached up to adjust another piece of his hair that had gone astray, then opened her mouth to answer.

  The sound of a throat clearing interrupted her response.

  Livy stood at the entrance of the office, hands on her hips, fire spewing from her eyes.

  8

  Reuben stepped away from Maddie and around the desk to where Livy stood. “I was wondering when I’d see you this morning. Everything okay?”

  She squinted her eyes at him. “No, no everything is not okay. I walk in and find you nice and cozy with your new waitress-turned-assistant. What’s going on, Reuben?”

  This was not going well. “Livy, sit down. Let me explain.”

  “What’s there to explain? I won’t let you weasel yourself out of this, Reuben. You’re cheating on me, aren’t you?”

  “No, I’m not.” Reuben raised his voice louder than necessary, but this was getting out of hand. “Now sit down so I can tell you what happened.”

  Livy sat in the chair, but her eyes hurled knives in Maddie’s direction. Reuben nodded at Maddie to sit as well, but she remained standing.

  “If you don’t mind, I’m going to get a little fresh air to clear my head.” Before Reuben could respond, she stepped around them and out of the office, closing the door behind her.

  He turned back to Livy, who sat, arms clenched to her sides. As calmly as he could, he started at the beginning with the fateful haircut and ended with the interrupted apology and offer of restitution. By the end of the tale, Livy had relaxed.

  “I can’t believe you did such a thing. Of course you’ll go and talk to Judy.”

  Reuben grimaced. As much as he wanted to make this whole mess right, the idea of an assistant had grown on him. “I’ll talk to Judy, but the choice is Maddie’s. I still think I need an assistant. Besides, Judy’s a bear to work with.”

  Livy scowled at him. “Reuben, she’s very kind.”

  “Are we talking about the same person your mom has refused to speak to for the last fifteen years and you refuse to let touch your hair?”

  Livy stood up. “Well, I’m sure she’ll pick to go back to her little hairdressing thing, but I agree. You still need an assistant. Would you like me to place an ad?”

  “No. I want to hear from Maddie first, and if she declines, I need to pray about it some more.” Especially since he’d jumped into this whole thing without consulting the Big Guy.

  “Plus, we need to talk.” Reuben walked around the desk and pulled Livy up by her hands, then put his arms on her waist and pulled her close. “I never want you thinking I’d cheat on you.”

  “You have to admit, seeing a woman running her fingers through your hair was a little incriminating.”

  Reuben bent and kissed her soundly. She returned it, desire oozing from her body as she pressed ag
ainst him. He pushed her back. “Patience, Liv.”

  She put a hand to his cheek. “We still need to talk.”

  Wasn’t it the guy who was supposed to be pushing the boundaries? “And we will. Just give me a few more weeks to get some of the red tape behind me, okay?”

  Livy smiled and kissed him again. “I’m holding you to it.”

  When she left the room, Reuben exhaled a breath. Later he’d explore why he was always tense when she was in the room. Right now, he needed to find where his new assistant had run off to.

  Reuben walked to the end of the porch that lined the front of the restaurant and glanced around the side.

  Maddie stood, her back leaned against the cement wall, head bowed.

  He leaned against the railing for a moment, observing her from his perch. Her short brown hair hung lifeless above her shoulders, her full bangs rod-straight instead of the slight curve they usually were. How she managed to look presentable all the other days was beyond him.

  When her head popped up and she saw him, he threw a leg over the rail and jumped to the other side. “How you doing?”

  She shifted her head to the side and pressed a fist against her eyes. He hadn’t thought a tough girl like her would cry, but maybe he’d been wrong. She turned back and smiled at him. “A better question is, how is your girlfriend doing?”

  “She’s fine. I explained, and she lectured me, like I deserved. I meant what I said in there. I’ll go back and tell them my part in the fiasco right now if that’s what you want.”

  Maddie picked at her pink-colored fingernail, then cocked her head to the side to look at him. “Are you a Christian, Reuben?”

  No wonder she didn’t know, given his rotten attitude with her thus far. “Yeah, although not a perfect one, obviously.”

  She smiled. “I’ll say.”

  “I deserved that.”

  “Well, if you’re a Christian and give stock in what God commands, then He says you need to give me a huge raise and sign over the title of your big fancy car to me.” Her goofy smile gave away her sarcasm.