The Misadventures of the Laundry Hag 00 - Skeletons in the Closet

I’m coming over.”
    “Sylvie, wait!”
    But she’d severed the connection.
    I smacked my forehead with the heel of my hand. Stupid! I couldn’t fathom a way out of Maggie’s a pathetic loser, round two, but I should have made an excuse.
    “Neil!” I shouted.
    He jogged down the hall from the bedrooms. “What’s up?”
    “You wanna make out?”
    He gave me his boyish, lopsided grin. “Is that a trick question?”
    “Take off your shirt.”
    “What’s the rush?”
    “I want to have a good reason not to answer the door.”
    The doorbell rang.
    “Shit!”
    “Now, honey, I know I’m irresistible, but there’s a time and a place—”
    “December 31, 2009, will be the next time. Mark it on your calendar, smart ass.”
    Still laughing, Neil opened the door. Sylvia brushed past him with barely a hello, and I waved at Eric over the top of her head. An unzipped sweatshirt covered Sylvia’s yoga top, and she’d braided her hair on each side of her head so she looked like Heidi. I had the urge to get some gel and a red marker and see if I could turn her into Pippi.
    “Francesca Carmichael was in my 6:30 class. She told me to give this to you.”
    It took me a second to erase the vision of Francesca, who made a much better imaginary Pippi, from my muddled brain. I looked at the white envelope Sylvia held but didn’t reach for it.
    “If you don’t open it, I will.” Sylvia made as if she was going to unseal the envelope.
    I snatched it from her hand and opened it, feeling both reluctance and anticipation. My hand shook as I removed the plain, cream-colored stationary.
    “What does it say?” Sylvia practically shrieked at me.
    I read aloud. “Dear Mrs. Phillips. First, allow me to apologize for that horrid display last night. My sister and I have our differences, but we never meant to involve you in our family tiff. That being said, please consider the job offer I made you last night as genuine. I have enclosed a check for five hundred dollars….”
    I stopped reading.
    “No way! You’re making that up!” Sylvia yelped and grabbed the letter back.
    I looked in the envelope, and low and behold, there was a check inside. A five hundred dollar check sighed by Alessandra Kline.
    “Why would she have Frannie give this to me? Why not mail it?” Sylvia stood over my shoulder and stared at the check.
    “Probably because it’s made out to cash,” Neil said from his position behind me.
    Even Eric had crowded in to look at the check. The four of us stood there staring at it. We were all adults, living in the twenty-first century, so the sight of five hundred dollars shouldn’t have floored us. But the whole situation was so bizarre.
    Neil took the letter and continued where I had stopped. “I have enclosed a check for five hundred dollars to cover your initial expenses and as a gesture of good faith. I hope to see you Thursday at nine. Sincerely yours, Alessandra Kline.”
    We stood for a moment in contemplative silence.
    “That should go a long way to soothing your ruffled feathers, Uncle Scrooge,” Neil said.
    “You’re going to take the job now, right, Maggie?” She waved the check in front of my face. “This proves that they aren’t horrible people out to insult you. She even apologized! You have to do it!”
    “It would only be temporary,” Neil reminded me.
    “Until something better comes along,” Eric added.
    They all stared at me, waiting.
    “They call me Cash,” I said.

Chapter Three
    P art of the job description for a Navy SEAL is demolitions expert. After basic underwater demolition or BUD/s training, Neil excelled in blowing things up. Creating explosions may seem simple, but Neil has told me a little of what’s involved for safely containing and controlling what goes boom. He told me it was only natural for him to go to work in the dynamic electronics industry. Neil believes in playing to his strengths.
    Instead of your typical nine-to-five, which Neil has never done since he joined the navy straight out of high school, on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday he works twelve hour shifts, with four hours on Wednesday. I asked him when he was first offered the job if he could deal with the stress of the electronics field. He gave me a look that said, well at least no one is trying to kill me and I don’t have to worry about blowing myself up. Neil has his priorities straight.
    Sunday is family day in our house, when we take the boys out, sometimes to play football in the park.