Rent-A-Bride (7 page)

“Steve, you remember Amelia, don’t you?” He hoped and prayed his friend would read the desperation in his eyes.

Steve simply stared at him. Then blinked once, twice…“Oh yes, Amelia. Good to see you again.”

Ed sunk back down in his chair in relief.

Amelia flashed Steve her bright smile. “Steve, good to see you again.”

She glanced at Stanley who was watching the interaction with rapt attention. Feeling the need to do something more she stood and gave Steve a hug.

She felt his body tense briefly before he relaxed into the hug and wrapped his arm around her waist.

Ed was suddenly on his feet again. “Okay, you two.” He chuckled. “It hasn’t been that long.”

As they pulled apart Steve gave Ed a questioning look and Ed tried to send the message that all would be explained later if he’d just play along for now.

It worked because Steve said nothing that would’ve let anyone know he had never laid eyes on Amelia before that moment. He carried out his exam of Stanley declaring once again that he seem to be making an incredible recovery.

For a while everything went smoothly. While Steve did his examination of Stanley they watched Judge Judy on T.V. And after completing his exam instead of leaving Steve leaned against the foot of the bed and joined in their discussion of the last plaintiff and the settlement he was given.

Then out of nowhere Stanley dropped the “F” bomb.

“Steve, did you know that Ed’s fiancée went to my old alma mater. What are the chances of that?”

Steve, much to his credit barely skipped a beat. Other than the slight widening of his eyes there was no noticeable indication that he found the news that his best friend had acquired a fiancée in the past twenty-four hours in any way shocking.

“Really?” he said. His eyes searching their faces again. “You never told me that, Ed.” He chuckled and looked back at Stanley over his shoulder. “But I guess there are
a lot
of things he never told me.”

Sensing trouble Ed stretched. “Well, Pop, it’s getting late. I’m going to take Amelia home.”

Stanley nodded his head slowly. “Alright. But you’ll come back and see me again tomorrow? Won’t you, Amelia?”

Amelia looked to Ed but he said nothing. Just stood waiting for her to answer the question.

“Of course.” She said wondering just exactly what she was committing herself to. This was supposed to be a one day thing.

“Good. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Stanley settled back on his pillows and was asleep before the trio was out the door.

A
s soon as the door closed behind them Amelia felt a strong arm wrap around her midsection and pull her into a tight embrace.

“Thank you.” Ed whispered into her neck. “You have no idea what you’ve done here today. No idea. I can’t thank you enough.”

So caught off guard by the sudden squeeze she realized her arms were just dangling in the wind like some kind of cloth doll. Not knowing what else to do with them she reached up and draped them across his wide shoulders and the light touch seem to inspire him to tighten the hug.

She hadn’t expected this. She wasn’t sure what she expected but it definitely wasn’t this. Even a blind man could’ve sensed the close relationship between the two and the fact that Ed had gone this far said a whole lot. But still, the intensity of his emotions caught her completely off guard.

“This is why you hire a pro.” She said cheerfully in an effort to lighten the moment.

He slowly released her. Took a step back. Looked directly into her eyes and the butterflies in her stomach took flight
. So much for lightening the mood
.

“No seriously. Thank you. I know you were somewhat…hesitant about all this. But you really came through. I’ll never forget the look on his face when he saw you standing there in the doorway.”

She smiled. “He seems like a very special man.”

“He’s the reason I’m alive.” Despite the implications of that statement his somber expression revealed nothing.

Amelia watched as a hand came up and tapped Ed’s shoulder. “We need to talk.”

Ed turned slightly revealing Steve standing behind him. The man’s facial expression was murderous.

Ed smiled at him. “Yeah, I thought you might have a question or two.” He glanced at her again. “Amelia, there is a lounge at the end of the hall, if you could wait for me there. This will only take a moment.”

Amelia nodded and started to walk away but even from a distance she could clearly hear the beginning of a conversation being conducted in stage whispers but she just kept walking toward the end of the hall wondering what exactly had she gotten herself into this time.

• • •

“What do you think you’re doing?” Steve’s voice was low but Ed could clearly hear the anger there.

“Fulfilling a dying man’s wish.”

“With lies?!”

“If that’s what it takes!”

“How long do you expect to keep up this pretense?”

“As long as needed for him to leave this world in peace.” Ed sighed heavily. “Steve, I don’t expect you to understand but don’t you expect to change my mind either.” He turned to walk away but Steve grabbed his arm.

“Ed, wait! As misguided as all this is I get where you’re coming from. I do! But this is ridiculous! Is this really how you want to end things with him?”

Ed’s eyes narrowed. “Steve, for the sake of our friendship mind you own damn business.” He jerked free of Steve’s hold and started down the hall taking long strides.

“Who is she anyway?!” Steve called after him.

The best damn actress in the world
. He left Steve’s unanswered question hanging in the air between them.

When Ed reached the lounge the first thing he saw was her perfect profile as she stood staring out the window. Hearing him enter the room she turned her head and smiled at him. If that was how Helen smiled at Paris upon their first meeting then the Trojan War was perfectly understandable Ed thought.

“Where did you learn to act so convincingly?”

Her smiled turned shy. “Hey, it’s a complete dedication to the craft or nothing at all.” She folded her arms across her chest. “Everything okay with the doctor?”

He glanced over his shoulder. “Oh that. Yeah, everything’s fine. It’s just this
particular
doctor also happens to be one of my closest friends so sometimes he thinks he has the right to express opinions he should keep to himself.”

“What now?”

“That’s up to you. Are you willing to stick around for a while?”

She had just told a terminally sick man that she would see him tomorrow. What kind of monster did he think she was to miss that appointment. “I’ll be here.”

He smiled and for the briefest moment she caught a glimpse of what he would look like without the burdens he currently carried. “Great! Let’s just go collect your bag and I’ll drop you off wherever you’re going.”

As she followed him down the hall to the storage closet where they left her suitcase she was trying to find a way to gracefully decline his offer of a ride. But all that went out of her head when he swung open the door to an empty closet.

“My bag!” She rushed into the closet as if disbelieving her eyes. “Where’s my bag?” She turned to him and his eyes were as wide as hers.

“I don’t know. I thought it would be fine here.”

“Well obviously you were wrong!”

“Who would steal that little ugly ass thing?” He didn’t seem to be asking a question, more like stating a fact. “Did you have anything valuable in it?”

“Everything I own is valuable to me!” On some level Amelia realized she was overreacting but on the other hand she felt justified. After the last few days she was beginning to believe someone had put a hex on her.

“All I can do is replace what I can. How much was your stuff worth?” He reached into his back pocket.

Amelia’s fury faded to dust when he opened a wallet containing more green bills than she’d seen in a very, very,
very
long time. And so many different variations too. Some fives, and some twenty’s, even a hand full of hundreds.

And much to her later shame greed took hold. “Well…everything in there was practically irreplaceable.

His eyes narrowed on her face. “Have you forgotten I saw almost everything you had.”

Damn!
“You don’t know the history behind those precious items.”

She felt her feminine center heating as his dark eyes turned sultry and then he uttered his next words. “No doubt.” He snickered. “I can believe at least
one
of those
items
had a
very interesting history.”

She frowned.
What the hell was he talking about?

Then it hit her and her fury was back in full blaze. “I want a thousand dollars!” She held out her hand.

For a couple of camisoles and a vibrator?!”

She just continued to glare up at him her hand extended palm up between their bodies.

He stared at the outstretched hand for several seconds before he let out a loud huff. “Fine!”

And to Amelia’s amazement he counted it out. Five hundred's, fifteen twenty’s, and twenty tens.
Sweet mercy! I can eat again!

“Where can I drop you?”

Her eyebrows went up. There was something about the way he said
drop
that made her nervous.

“No thanks.”

He frowned. “I can’t just leave you here. Where are you staying?”

“With family.”

His eyes widened. “You really are from here?”

She nodded. “And I really graduated from Denby.”

He chuckled. “I knew nobody was that good an actor.”

She smiled in return. “He really is a sweet man. I can understand why you care so much for him.”

“More than you know.” He took a deep breath. “Do you want me to take you to your family?”

“No thanks.” She shook her head. “Although there is something…”

His attention became razor sharp on her face. “Yes?”

“Where’s the nearest Steak House?”

T
here was no car in the drive way but she refused to let that change her mind. She had no idea if her mother even had a car anymore. After almost ten years of little or no contact there was so much she didn’t know. She knocked on the door and waited but after several minutes she was beginning to think no one was home. Then the door cracked slightly and her mother’s head peeked around it.

Amelia had no idea what her facial expression looked like but she could only imagine it was a reflection of the surprise she saw on her mother’s face. In Amelia’s childhood memories her mother had remained the way she last saw her, girlishly young and vibrant. But the years had taken their toll. Marina’s dark hair was now lined with strains of silver. The deeply grooved wrinkles around her mouth and eyes testified to the fact that this was no longer a young woman in the prime of life. And what Amelia found most shocking was that at some point she had grown several inches taller than her mother. Which shouldn’t have been shocking at all considering she left home at thirteen but the mind was not always rational.

Amelia licked her lips and swallowed. “Hello, Mama.”

“Amelia?” Marina’s thin brows crinkled in confusion as if she were still unable to believe the evidence of her eyes.

Fighting back the nervous trembling she could feel coming on Amelia simple nodded. “Can I come in?”

Marina glanced back over her shoulder nervously before stepping out onto the porch and pulling the door closed behind her. “What are you doing here?”

The nervous trembling suddenly turned into a rock and sunk to the bottom of her stomach. “I’m back in Michigan now and I just wanted to see you.”

“
Back
in Michigan?”

Amelia swallowed again now only wanting to end this as quickly as possible. “Yes. I lived in L.A. for a while—didn’t Byron tell you?”

Marina shrugged indifferently.

Amelia’s eyes narrowed to slits. “How’s Byron?”

“I don’t really talk to Byron anymore. He moved out over a year ago.”

“Moved where? He’s only eighteen!”

Marina crossed her arms over her chest defensively. “Why are you here, Amelia?”

Amelia felt a totally inappropriate bubble of laughter welling up in her chest. “Hell if I know.” She shook her head sadly. “Can you at least tell me where to find my brother?”

“Last I heard he was—”

“Last you heard?! What has happened to you, Mama? You weren’t like this before Daddy died.”

“How the hell would you know what I was like?! You were just a child—
Daddy’s precious little angel
!”

In that moment an alarm went off in Amelia’s brain. There was more than a touch of venom in that statement. Something she would consider later but right now all she cared about was tracking down her brother.

“Never mind. Go on.”

“
Like I was saying
, last I heard he was staying in the Armstead apartments over in the New Center.”

“Thanks.” Amelia turned and headed back down the stairs silently fuming.

“Amelia!”

She stopped on the bottom step and turned to look back up at her mother. As she looked into the eyes of the woman who bore her into the world she realized there was nothing there. No maternal love whatsoever. She could’ve been discussing the weather with a stranger at a bus stop for all the emotion projected.

Amelia sighed heavily realizing it was time to give up any hope of ever repairing their relationship. “Yes?”

“Whether you find him or not, don’t come back here.”

Amelia had already decided that this would be her final visit. She had extended the olive branch and it had been thrown aside. But still hearing her own mother say those words hurt none the less.

She turned and walked away secretly fearing that after years of almost no contact her reunion with her brother would go much the same way. And then…what would she have left?

• • •

“Get your ass in here girl!” The tall, broad shouldered man in the doorway reached out and pulled Amelia into a bear hug she would’ve been helpless against if she’d had any intention of fighting it. “When did you get back?!”