Charmed Life (6 page)

When he opened the door, there stood the most petite woman he had ever seen. Her hair was shoulder length and blond, like Grace’s. She flashed a wide smile; she spoke her greeting in a high toned voice. She drew out her one word, from up to down, with a thick southern accent, seemingly too thick for the area.

“Hi,” she said. “Would you be Fredrick Lincoln?” She lifted a federal express overnight package. On top of it was a plate with plastic wrap over it.

“Oh my God,” Freddy placed his hand on his chest. “How Reese Witherspoon.”

She giggled. “People say that all the time.” She tilted her head with the smile. “Frederick?”

“Freddy.”

She handed him the package, speaking quick. “That plates for you all. Little welcome to the neighborhood from me. Marybeth.” She extended her hand.

“Pleasure. Would you like to come in?”

“Oh, I don’t want to be a bother. I know you’re just getting settled and all.”

“No bother. Come in.” Freddy opened the door wider.

“Thank you.”

“Grace,” Freddy called out. “We have company.”

When Grace appeared, Marybeth greeted her with an extended hand. “Hi. Marybeth. Welcome to the neighborhood.”

“You are so Reese Witherspoon.”

Marybeth waved out her hand with a smile. “I made you some brownies. I hope you all like brownies.”

Grace looked at the plate. “I never had them.”

“You never had brownies?” Marybeth asked. “Ever.”

Freddy replied. “Her mother was neurotic about her weight.”

“Gosh, you’re so thin. I don’t see why.” Marybeth said. “That package was delivered to me this morning because you all hadn’t arrived yet. It’s from the phone company. It think it’s phones.”

“Thank you,” Freddy set down the box. “Can I get you anything?”

“No. Nah, I’m fine.” Marybeth placed her hands in her back pockets and looked around. “Sure did nice with this place. I didn’t even know it had been rented. They cleaned up in here real nice. Shame what happened. Oh, they got new carpet, for ya. Am I bothering you?”

Freddy shook his head. “No, we’re glad to meet you. We were hoping to meet a few people in town.”

“No one really knows you were moving in. There were no moving trucks. Only reason I knew is because I saw, George down the street. He’s so nice. He’s the phone guy. He told me new people were moving in today. I said, how you like that.”

“There were no trucks because … we um, were looking for something furnished,” Grace replied.

“Really?” Marybeth asked. “Did something happen to your own or are you two like those traveling nurses that go from town to town. Sorry. That’s none of my business.”

Freddy replied. “No, we’re not nurses. Actually ….” He sighed. “Grace here just went through a nasty divorce. She needed to get away. My grandmother had lived in Walworth…”

“Wadsworth,” Grace corrected.

“Yes,” Freddy said. “And we focused on this charming little town. And since she lost the house in the divorce, we traveled out here and settled.”

“Wow, how ironic.” Marybeth said. “Sound like my story. I just went through a nasty divorce myself. I’m from Texas. I needed to get away too, only I just threw a dart at a map.” She snickered. “Sounds silly, I know. I looked where it landed, found the nearest small town, said, yep that’s where I want to raise my kids. Called an area nursing home, told them bout my experience, they said, come on up.” She smiled. “Here I am.”

Grace asked. “You have children.”

“Two.” Marybeth held up two fingers. “Boys. Twelve and fifteen. Handful. But good boys. I been here about eight months. I love it.”

Freddy said, “That’s very brave of you raising the children alone.”

“You do what you gotta do, right?” she smiled. “I’m happy.”

Grace nudged Freddy. “See what I mean.”

“Well,” Marybeth clapped her hands together. “I’ll let you all be. I know you just got here and you have to get settled and all. If you need anything, I’m right across the street, two houses down.” She opened the door. “604. Just come a knockin, if I can’t help ya, one of my boys will.”

Grace smiled. “That is really nice of you.”

“Oh, Grace maybe you and I can go get a cup of coffee or something. The café down the street is real nice.” She lowered her voice, as if telling a secret. “The man there can be a bit scary, but he’s harmless and nice. Nice couple.” She paused. “Oh, Fred, I’m sorry I didn’t mean to exclude you. You all come too.”

Freddy chuckled. “I think Grace needs some girl time. She never had a chance to make any female friends.”

Marybeth crinkled her nose. “Oh, I had one of those husbands too. Men can be so …Shoot. Sorry. I can just ramble and sometimes I don’t realize. Didn’t mean to start an insult on you Fred. I don’t even know ya yet.”

“No problem,” Freddy snickered. “You’re divine.”

“Are you are just so sweet.” She did her grin. “You all make a nice couple.”

Freddy waved out his hand in a nonchalant manner. “We’re not a couple. We’re friends.”

“Really?” Marybeth tilted her head in the doorway.

“Yes, I’m gay.”

“Gay as in happy or gay as in you like men?”

“Gay as in ‘I like men’, yes.”

“Oh.” Marybeth stayed happy and upbeat. “Well, that’s different.” She sighed out. “I’ll let you all be. Remember …” She stepped down the stairs. “Stop by if you need anything, and even if you don’t.”

After watching her leave, Freddy closed the door. “She was very nice. I like her.”

“Me, too. And she made us brownies.”

“The whole neighborhood is Donna Reed like.”

“She said ‘different’,” Grace commented.

“Excuse me?”

“She called you being gay ‘different’.”

“Hmm, perhaps she doesn’t comprehend gay.” Freddy’s eyes widened. “Oh. I just had a thought. What if she’s a hit man in a Reese Witherspoon disguise?”

“I didn’t think of that.”

“And we just let her right in,” Freddy said. “We better call George.” He walked across the room to the black phone. “Make sure, then we can be friends with her. I hope she’s not a hit man. I really like her.”

“Me, too. What do you suppose she meant when she said it was a shame what happened here?”

Freddy shrugged. “It’s Lodi, Ohio. It’s probably a shame when someone moves out.”

“True. Call George, I want to eat those brownies.”

“Then eat one.”

“They may be poison if she’s a hit man.”

Freddy gasped. “You’re right. You are so quick on your thinking today.” He picked up the phone. Immediately it rang to the other line. “Oh, look, princess, it’s like the bat phone. Hello George. No, no, no. I wasn’t calling you princess.”

CHAPTER FOUR

It was a bit of a drive, so it as a good thing Grace and Freddy left a little early for their first day at work.

“It’ll take you about fifteen minutes to get there,” George told them after looking at the address. “Allow yourself enough time. Rush hour traffic, you know.”

Grace had experience rush hour traffic once. She vowed to never experience it again.

What to wear was also a problem. They didn’t know where they were working, and reasonable deduction told them they didn’t have to dress up for their jobs.

Out of the clothes provided, there were no dressy outfits and with their location they didn’t see any major business corporations. Plus, neither of them had the office skills.

Part of the witness protection program was for them to give up all connections to their life. When the program was designed, it was designed before the age of digital technology.

Before they left the hotel room, before her father left as well, they ran something by Agent Adams.

A fake email, fake name for both her and her father. Could they conceivably correspond like that?

It was something never brought up to him before and he checked.

Although considered safe, Adams encouraged them not to do so. If they did, Grace was never to give hint of who she was or location.

He wasn’t comfortable with it.

Gregory Benson was.

He set up an email with his father’s first name and Grace’s mother’s maiden name.

Grace however, set up an email name that even if they hacked into his computer, they wouldn’t think twice.

Her brother Linus.

Linus distanced himself from the family many years before. His communication with his father was minimum and usually through a monthly email.

A liberal person Linus stood against everything Gregory Benson stood for.

He denounced his mother’s inheritance. Which didn’t bother Grace much, it then went to her.

 
Linus, yes, it would be perfect.

Any information regarding Al would be conveyed through email conversations about movies.

When they spoke of movies, they were speaking about Alfonzo.

‘Can you believe I watched Gone with the Wind?’ her father wrote. ‘Not for long, though, I went searching for another movie. Damn Ashley and her search for Ret always drove me nuts. You knew she never was going to find him.’

That told Grace Al had stopped by and was looking for her. Her father was confident that he wasn’t going to be successful in his search.

It made Freddy nervous to know she was corresponding with him, so he begged her to only do it once a week. His stomach couldn’t handle it and when he got nervous, he got gassy.

“I started my novel last night,” Grace told Freddy in the car on the way to work.

“I heard you tapping away,” he said excitedly. “How far did you get?”

“Not far. I was outlining.”

“Wow, I am going to living with a literary genius. What’s the book about?”

“Ready?” Grace turned in the seat to face him. “I had a dream and I worked it from that.”

“Go on. I’m excited.”

“It’s on the lines of JFK.”

“A conspiracy novel?” Freddy asked.

“Yes, a conspiracy novel. Only the biggest one of all. The biggest lie ever to be covered up”

“I have chills. Tell, tell, do tell.”

“The book is about Gabriel.”

“I don’t know him,” Freddy said.

“The angel.”

“Oh, yes, him.”

Grace continued, “You know how the Blessed mother dreamt that Gabriel came to her and got her pregnant.”

“Was it a dream though?” Freddy asked. “I thought it was a visit.”

“It was a visit. But she thought it was a dream.”

“OK, go on. I probably would think it was a dream too if Gabriel came to visit me and have sex.”

“Who would believe you,” Grace said.

“Do you suppose he was hot?”

“Gabriel?” Grace said. “I don’t know. I don’t know if Angels could be considered hot.”

“I always envisioned Michael the Archangel as hot.”

“You know what? Me too.”

“Sorry, princess, tell me your book plot.”

Grace sat up. “So the book is about Gabriel the angel and … ready?” she waited for a nod. “How he was exiled from heaven. How he walks the earth forever, immortal, suffering, and he doesn’t work for God anymore.”

“Why would he? He was fired,” Freddy said.

“Exactly. He works for the dark side.”

“Oh, chills again.” Freddy shuddered. “Why was he fired from being an angel?”

“For starting the biggest controversy around.”

“Which was?”

“He went to Mary on his own. God never sent him.”

Freddy inhaled loudly.

Grace nodded. “Thought she was hot or something like that, and then lied to her to get her to have sex with him. But like, an angel rule is if they have sex with a mortal woman, they’ll impregnate her instantly, and Gabriel knew this. So he told her she would be with child and it would be God’s kid.”

“Oh, my God. No pun intended.”

Graced nodded. “Imagine the scene. He comes to Mary, tells her he is directed by God to bed her. And the readers, they don’t have a clue he’s giving her a line.”

“Gabriel, the original pick up guy.”

“Exactly,” Grace said. “And imagine how pissed off God is. Gabriel, one of his best, is supposed to be chaste, has sex with this virgin. Gets her pregnant. Now this little girl, whose done nothing wrong is pregnant and thinking she is super special, she’s carrying God’s child.”

“So now God has to cover.”

“God could let it go,” Grace said. “But he doesn’t. He feels bad. Especially when Jesus gets older. I mean, how fucked up is this kid’s mind? He’s running around saying, ‘I’m the son of God. I’m the son of God.’ His mom has been telling him he was the messiah, asking him to make water into wine. The pressures.”

“But why does God cover?” Freddy asked. “Your readers will want to know that. To feel bad, yes, but to carry it through …”

“It’s God, he would do something like that. Especially when he saw the popularity of Jesus. He was like, ‘hey, we’re on to something’.”

“But he still exiled Gabriel.”

“Um yeah, he broke the angel rules.”

“Wow.” Freddy gripped the wheel. “Wow. This is good. It is very blasphemous.”

“I know.” Grace nodded.

“Who do you see playing God? You have to have a visual. You are writing God into the book, right.”

‘Oh, without a doubt. Yes.”

“Who is it?”

“Charlton Heston. If he were still with us.” A pause and Grace lowered her head humbly. “Good rest his soul.”

“Go d rest his soul,” Freddy repeated then perked up. “But …I thought the same thing. When you were telling me, I thought to myself, what a perfect Charlton Heston part. God rest his soul. Too bad he’s in heaven Oh, princess, do you think he and God chat.”

“Turn left.”

“Huh?” Freddy asked.

“Right here, Pearl Road.”

“The flowing, exciting conversation just made the trip go so fast. Now I’m excited about the job and the book,” Freddy said.

“Will you read it?”

“Every step of the way. I can’t …” Freddy paused. “This can’t be right.”

“There’s no address.”

“But there’s only one other thing on this road. This can’t be right. How are we supposed to know this is 4141 Pearl Road?”

“It has to be.”

“It can’t be,” Freddy said. “It can’t.”

“One way to find out. Park the car.”

Freddy did, staring at the building the whole time.

They walked together to the doors, the whole way, Freddy saying. “This can’t be it. This can’t be.”

Once inside, an older gentlemen approached them with a smile. “Welcome to Bargain-Mart.”

++++

They were two of about ten. Ten brand new employees starting out at the Medina Bargain-Mart store.

After checking in with customer service, they were told where they had to go and wait.

“She was pleasant enough,” Freddy said.

“It’s her job.”

Freddy paused. “We’re working at Bargain-Mart.”

“I’ve never been in a Bargain-Mart, ever,” Grace said.

“I have. Once. On a dare.” Freddy shuddered. “I heard Bruce Willis shops at a Bargain-Mart frequently.”

“He is an earthy guy.”

“This is an earthy people store and …” Freddy stopped when they passed a rack of men’s shirt. “Good, Lord, I have to sell these to men.”

“You really should ask for men’s clothing. You can excel. Imagine.”

“True.”

“I mean ..” Grace continued. “Yes, at first glance the merchandise doesn’t look like much. But I bet, you can find an outfit in those racks that will work. You have a talent for that.”

“I do.”

Grace exhaled. “You realize, this is the first place I worked that I didn’t wonder if people thought I was fat? The pressure is gone. I don’t even need to wear lipstick if I don’t want to.”

“Bite your tongue. A lady always wears lipstick.”

“OK. OK, Slight slip.” Grace nodded. “But, I like this feel … so far. I feel ‘everyday’.”

 
“Well, you can’t get anymore everyday than this, toots,” Freddy said. “You’re working at Bargain-Mart.”

+++

Tall and thin, his hair was cropped short and combed to the side. His glasses were older, a sign of his thriftiness and not becoming of a man of his thirty years.

Charles Naymee held a clipboard and stood before the group of ten individual, seated at tables, all awaiting their orientation.

“Hi,” he said bright and upbeat. “My name is Charles Naymee. I am the manager here at the Medina County Bargain-Mart. People know me by, and you can call me, Chip.”

Freddy looked at Grace. “Chip,” he whispered. “All discount store managers are named Chip.”

“I’ll remember that for my book.”

“Oh, you can have Gabriel work in a Bargain-Mart. You’re living your perfect research material.”

Chip cleared his throat.

“Sorry,” Freddy said. “We’re just discussing the book she’s writing and you’d be a perfect addition character.”