by Terri Marie
"This is why I love you, Emma."
"Yeah, yeah." She smiled and walked across the hall to her office. As she sat down, there was a knock on the door, which she forgot to close behind her. It was Jacob.
"Emma, I wanted to offer my assistance with the barbeque. I'm assuming Tyler told you about it?" Jacob's cheeks glowed red as Emma got up from her chair with a smile, and slammed the door in his face. That felt good, she thought, as she looked up the number for Sugar and Spice Catering. Hopefully they wouldn't already be booked for this weekend.
Chapter 6
Renee Preston hurried out of the bedroom, half dressed, so she could answer the phone. She glared at her husband as she passed by him. Robert sat in the recliner; beer in one hand, chips in the other, the sports channel blaring. This is what she looked at every single day of her life. He had a business, but she did all the work and had to give him all the money. She watched her life slowly passing her by. At thirty, she thought she'd be further ahead in life. Robert had promised the business would take care of itself as soon as he got the big accounts. She was stupid enough at twenty-one to believe him.
"Renee, get the damn phone!" yelled Robert as he crammed another handful of chips in his mouth.
She took a slow deep breath so she wouldn't sound angry when she answered. "Sugar and Spice Catering, Renee speaking, may I help you?"
Emma was surprised to hear the roar of race cars blaring loudly in the background. She raised her voice a little to be heard over the commotion. "I wanted to see if your catering company was available for a barbeque this Saturday? It's a Montclair event at the park across the street from us, the same place as last Labor Day. We'd like to keep the menu simple and we're looking at approximately two hundred?" Emma didn't know how many people would attend, but whatever was left, the folks could take at the end. She gave the caterer a rundown of the menu.
"Let me take a look." Renee already knew they were available, since Robert had done nothing to book them any jobs. Every time she offered to advertise he stopped her. Nine years of marriage. Nine years of regret.
"It looks like we're open for this Saturday. One second and I'll give you a total for the head count you mentioned." Robert had blown all of their savings on gambling and drinking. She'd need every dime of the money from this barbeque so they wouldn't lose their apartment. After agreeing on the price, she hung up and turned to Robert, who sat there like a bump on a log, staring at her.
"Don't just stand there, Renee. What job did ya get? How much money?"
"Robert, this is a Montclair cookout. I'll need some help to cook for two-hundred people. Can I call Carol?"
"You best not be paying her more than minimum wage, got it? And after everyone's served, you can handle the cleanup so we get most of the money. I'll drive by and check on you. Carol better not be around." He turned his attention back to the television.
"You can help, how about that? It would be great if you got off the recliner for one second and pitched in. This is your business, not mine. You haven't even written my name on anything like you promised me. So here you are, doing absolutely nothing for the past six years, while I'm trying to keep food on our table and a roof over our heads."
"Shut it," threatened Robert as he pointed a finger at her.
Renee knew he meant it. Even though Robert had never hit her, he would release his anger by throwing things and damaging their apartment. She had already replaced her cheap set of dishes a few times, had the bathroom door replaced, and plenty of other things, but the worst were family heirlooms. Those were gone forever. It was best to just shut up and leave him to his race.
It's not like she had family to turn to. Renee was adopted, but was denied information on her birth parents. When she became an adult, she took measures to find out the details of her birth; her adoptive parents disowned her at that point.
Renee wished she could walk out that door for good. She'd have to save up enough money to move out of state, because if she remained anywhere in Michigan, he'd find her.
Robert wasn't an ugly man when she'd first met him. He'd hired her as a cook for Sugar and Spice, and he treated her like a lady. Renee now knew that his behavior was just to lure her into the mess she was currently in. He wanted a slave. He was six-foot-three and one hundred and eighty pounds when they met. Now he was unkempt and over three hundred. The bigger he got, the meaner he got. If he was nice, she wouldn't care what he looked like, but his size made her feel even more intimidated.
Renee jogged for three miles, several days a week. She was slim, had tanned athletic legs, and her long, dark brown pony tail could be spotted swinging side to side at six each morning. If she wasn't running, she'd be out for a long walk. She certainly wasn't exercising to keep her girlish figure. Renee ran for sanity. It was raining heavily at six this morning, so she cancelled her run, but after a telemarketer called and woke Robert up, he yelled at her, so she took off out the door. She headed toward the road and ran harder and faster than normal, while the rain pelted her face. She wished every step was permanently removing her from the tyrant she'd married.
When Renee got home, she saw Robert was passed out on the recliner again. She snuck in the bedroom and called Carol Perkins, her best friend since high school. Renee hated to ask for her help at the event, because she was embarrassed that Robert would only allow her to pay minimum wage. It wasn't up to her friend to fix the mess Renee's husband had made of her life and the catering company. Even though she couldn't offer more wages, the Montclairs always tipped her nicely, and she'd make sure to give a big chunk of it to Carol.
After they got caught up, since talking to each other last night, Renee asked if she could help with the cook out.
"For that jackass, no. For you, definitely." Carol hated Robert with a passion. She'd offered Renee to come and stay with her for free and get out of that hell hole, but Renee refused. Carol knew she was right. Robert would come after her there. Most of the cops were Robert's buddies; his brother was a private investigator. Getting help from the authorities would be a fruitless effort. Carol agreed to meet Renee at Montclair Park so they could test the facilities and make a list of what they'd need.
Renee stopped by Montclair Pharmaceuticals and picked up the key from Emma. She walked across the street and found Carol sitting on a bench.
"Okay come with me, Beautiful, and let's check the building out," Renee said smiling.
Once the building was unlocked, the girls stepped inside and turned on the lights. There was an industrial-sized refrigerator, ovens, and a very large sink with warm and cold running water. Renee opened the drawers and found all sorts of cooking utensils and towels.
"Everything is still the same," began Renee, "which is great. We won't have to haul anything here besides the food."
"If we use your pickup and my trunk, we can get everything over here, and I can always make extra trips." Carol looked over at Renee's small, old Ford pickup. She wondered how much longer that thing was going to last.
"The event starts at noon, so we'll have to be here that morning. It's supposed to rain Saturday, but not until the evening. Let's walk over to the grills and see if they're okay."
After Renee made sure the old coals had been emptied, she took the grill brush and cleaned the grates. She and Carol would be working their butts off from now through Saturday, at least it was better than being at home and waiting on Robert hand and foot.
They stopped by Emma's office and picked up the deposit for the cookout. This money would allow Renee to buy all of the food on the menu, because the catering company had exactly sixty dollars in the bank. If Robert knew that money was there, he'd take it. Renee kept the key and went back home to make the lists of what she'd need to pick up. She'd also have to draw up a time table so everything would run smoothly.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
Emma left her office with a large stack of flyers. She walked into Jacob's office without knocking and plopped the stack on his desk.
"Put these up a
ll over town. In your email is the advertisement for WJAM radio station, and Channels 2, 4, and 7 news stations. Do it this morning." Emma lifted her chin and turned on her heels.
Jacob was dumbfounded. "Sure…anything you need. Emma, do you mind if we sit and ta—"
Emma slammed the door and walked back to her office. She phoned Tyler.
"Okay, the caterer is on it, the flyers are printed, and the news stations will be advertising." Emma was proud of her accomplishments so far.
"Did you get someone to help you?" Tyler wanted Emma in charge, but didn't expect her to pull it off alone.
"Yes, I sure did. Jacob is helping."
Tyler laughed a little. "So you're back on speaking terms."
"No bloody way in hell." Emma smiled widely.
"Alrighty then." Tyler could feel Jacob's pain. He refused to interfere, because his brother had this, and a lot more, coming to him. He had to learn things the hard way, especially after ignoring all warnings and reasoning from his brothers in the beginning. Just like I did, thought Tyler
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
Renee walked into the small kitchen in their studio apartment to make herself a quick sandwich. She hadn't eaten all day, and there was nothing to cook. Robert ate nonstop while he was awake. She opened the fridge to get out some lunchmeat and found the empty package sitting on the shelf. She threw it out. She opened the cupboard and got the empty jar of peanut butter and threw it out too. The freezer held an ice tray, which had one cube left in it. Dragging out the toaster, Renee reached for the loaf of bread. At least toast was something to fill her. The bread bag was left open on top of the fridge; the slices were hard as bricks.
She hastily grabbed her purse and keys which woke Robert up.
"Hey did you get the deposit?!"
She walked right past him and opened the door.
"I'm talking to you!!!"
As soon as Renee shut the door, she heard something smash against it. Hopefully he broke his remote, she thought.
When she showed up at Carol's apartment, her frustration over Robert was obvious.
"What'd the bastard do this time?"
"There's nothing to eat. Mind if I grab something?" Renee would normally feel embarrassed about asking, but she was getting light-headed and nauseous.
"Oh honey, I made the world's best pasta last night and saved a bunch for you. I'm glad you're hungry. You have to try it!" Carol tried to make light of the situation as she pulled the pasta from the fridge. She could clearly see her friend was looking kind of pale. She'd like to choke the hell out of Renee's jerk husband. Confronting Robert or causing any waves, would just make things worse for Renee. If he ever laid a hand on her, Carol would come at him like a wrecking ball.
"Oh my God, this is delicious!" said Renee with a full mouth. She was shoving food in her face like a half-starved animal.
"Don't you want me to heat it up?" Carol laughed. It wasn't hard not to notice that Renee could stand to gain a few pounds.
"No, this is amazing," she mumbled.
Renee finished off her large plate of pasta with a roll, and drank a tall glass of lemonade from the fridge. When she finally looked up at Carol's face, the embarrassment hit her.
"I'm really sorry. I ate almost all your leftovers."
"Renee, I made enough for the neighborhood. I wasn't going to eat anymore pasta. I'm glad you liked it. Now I don't have to throw it away." Carol walked over and took her plate and carried it to the sink.
Renee reached into her bag and pulled out the paperwork for the event. While she was opening it, she felt her friend wrap her hands around hers.
"Honey, you need to leave him," pleaded Carol in a soft voice.
"I know I do, but I have no place to go. Don't even suggest that I come and stay with you. He’ll destroy your car, or anything else he can, including causing problems at your job, just to get me to surrender to him. When the time's right and I have enough money, I'll leave the state. It's the only way."
"Why don't you let me give you some money?"
"Carol, you're a waitress at a diner. You don't make that much money. I'll be okay. I've put up with him for years and have made it this far."
"He's getting worse, Renee. We both know it."
Renee nodded in agreement, but was eager to change the subject. She opened the folder and began to make up the timeline. It was going to be a very tedious next few days. Getting the cookout up and running was the easy part. Dealing with Robert, however, would be excruciating.
By the time Renee made it back home, it was after midnight. She hoped her husband would be asleep again, but he was wide awake staring at game recaps on the television. She tried to quietly sneak past him.
"Where've you been?" he asked with an accusing tone to his voice.
"I was with Carol going over the plans for the Montclair cookout." Renee rolled her eyes when her back was turned. She was exhausted and not in the mood for him and his mouth.
"Why are you involving Carol? I'm not paying her, do you understand me?" His voice began to rise.
"She's not getting paid until she helps with the food, okay?"
"Best not be."
Renee was used to Robert's snide remarks when she walked away from him. He always had to have the last word. I can't believe I'm still married to him, she thought. She'd always been afraid to bring up the topic of divorce. The only safe way she could find was to leave the state, then have an attorney contact him. In reality, it wouldn't matter. Robert would continue to cause problems for her, not to mention Carol.
She undressed, put on her favorite pink summer pj's and crawled under the covers. Renee hadn't slept with her husband in months, and hadn't had sex with him in three years. Robert hardly showered, wore the same clothes for days at a time, and the mere thought of him touching her was enough to make her skin crawl. She didn't like nor love the guy anymore. How could she? Renee couldn't even remember what it was like to fall asleep without the television blaring, or him screaming at the screen.
A couple of hours ticked by and Renee was still staring out the window from her bed. Her finances were preoccupying her mind. Normally she worried about how she'd pay the bills. She usually gave Robert the money and prayed he'd write the checks out for the rent, food, and utilities. The only things he was concerned about were cable, junk food, poker, and betting on games. But now, she thought about having a better life.
She had no idea how she could possibly come up with her own money to leave him. Getting a second job was out of the question. Not only would Robert get her fired, but he'd take that money too. Had Renee of known her husband would turn out this way, just after their second wedding anniversary, she would have started saving money a long time ago.
How do I get out of this?
Chapter 7
Tyler couldn't sleep. He sighed repeatedly, clenched his fists, and flopped around until all the blankets were on the floor. He wished Saturday would hurry and get here so he could hopefully regain some of his sanity. If he could spot the kid, his life would stop its rapid, downward spiral into hell. One of his biggest concerns was that the boy would take off running again as soon as someone tried talking to him. Then what? If he did run or go back into hiding, there'd be no way in hell of getting him to resurface.
The cookout was in just a few days, and even though they didn't really have enough time to advertise, Tyler hoped there'd be a good turnout. He felt guilty making this event mostly about him, but if he went to prison---He quickly distracted himself from thoughts of losing his freedom, by getting up and putting a pot of coffee on. When he opened the cupboard, right there on the middle shelf, was Denise's favorite coffee mug. Tyler smiled. He reached up and removed the purple mug, her favorite color, and then slipped his shoes on. He opened the front door and walked down to the end of the block near the woods. With all his might, he pitched it over his shoulder and watched it fly underneath the moonlight. He didn't leave until he heard the soft sounds of it smashing into pieces. It must have hit
a rock. Good. As he walked back home, he noticed the car Vinnie had stationed outside his house. He thought it was a bit much, but then again, nothing that people could do to turn his life upside down, surprised him.
Tyler grabbed a raisin bagel, something Emma must have picked up, and devoured it with his coffee. After a quick shower, he jumped in his car and headed for town. Hoping to spot the boy, Tyler drove slowly as his eyes swept the area. It wasn't quite daybreak, but he also knew that there was plenty of activity at this hour for the homeless. During the day, they were harassed. He circled back and drove a different route. There were some bordering neighborhoods he could go through, but they weren't very safe. Vinnie was most likely having those areas monitored anyways. After an hour of driving around, Tyler headed for the office.
Security had definitely been amped up. Tyler was happy about that, but if Denise wasn't such a crazy person, he'd send all these guards out to search for his evasive witness. Vinnie would kill him if he did. Tyler couldn't seem to shake the panicked feeling which frequently rose in his gut. He constantly felt like he should be doing something more to find this teen, and it was eating at his insides.
Tyler finally reached his office and was grateful to be in a quiet environment. His floor was shared only by a few. Emma wasn't even due in for another hour, the rest of the staff, a half-hour later. Tyler picked up some papers and started to leaf through them. Nothing. His brain didn't comprehend a dang word he read. He got up and walked over to the window and scanned the streets once again. I should just put a chair here.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
Emma came waltzing down the hall and noticed the light underneath her boss's door. She hoped Tyler hadn't spent all night here. She tapped softly on the door.
