The Loverboy (14 page)

she marked off another day from the calendar at the end of each
day. Once she turned eighteen things would change and Jake and
she would be together. Once she stopped working they could have
a normal relationship again. She sometimes had some doubts but
then she forced those away. She needed to be sure everything was
going to work out to keep going.
The customers were still creeps and she despised them.
Overall things went pretty smooth. Every now and then a John
would try something or give her a hard time about paying but a
swift dose of mace and the empty threat to call the police
usually resolved everything fast. By December she had had to get
new mace canisters twice. Travis had been very good at his part
of the bargain and she had avoided every single police sting. It
had gotten cold and she worked less. Jake had complained about
the low earnings at one point and she nearly bit his head off.
His charm was fading and he knew it. He needed to watch his
step and she was not putting up with anything. At times she
would inquire about how much they had saved with Jake but this
usually resulted in him claiming not to have checked the balance
on the account he had deposited the money into. „Bad luck‟ he
had called it. She had thought of that as an odd response but it
also put Jake in an irritated mood and she wanted to avoid that.
He could have a nasty temper and she did not like being on the
receiving end of that. He hadn‟t gotten physical with her but
was not convinced that if pushed he wouldn‟t and was not
planning on finding out.
Their relationship seemed to have changed. Was it still
love or more need that she felt? After all he was all she had
left. That made things hard to put into perspective and she
figured it would all change in a few months when she would turn
eighteen. Surely they had saved quite a bit by then. Would it be
enough to buy a nice little house out in the country away from
the city and this life?
Chapter 15:
Two long short months to go she thought. As time got closer
she got in a better mood. Jake was still busy and she only saw
him a few days a week at the most. Often he seemed more
concerned about picking up the money she had made than about
her. Soon it would all be over. Once we get out of here things
will be better but as time went on she wondered. Lately she
found more support with Anisha than with Jake. They hung out
together a lot both at work and outside of work. They also kept
an eye out for each other, especially on Halsted that could
never hurt. If one of them would stay away too long after they
would get picked up the other would go check at the normal spot
behind the abandoned building. It hadn‟t been necessary but it
was a comforting thought that someone was looking out for her.
Every day she would announce to Anisha how many more days
until she was done. The weather was cold but mild for the time
of year and business had been decent. She was enjoying the lull
of the winter but longed for the nice weather. She could not
wait to be done.
“Let‟s spend Christmas together” she had asked Jake.
He reluctantly agreed. Over Christmas he actually warmed up
and for a bit she saw why she loved him. Just two more months
she told him. He smiled awkwardly. She thought he just wanted
her to be done. No more strange men just him and her.
Then he turned to her “Let‟s go and look for houses” he
said, “We can find a place to live.”
She agreed happily and remembered why she was doing it
again. After Christmas he had to leave again but a big snowstorm
prevented that. She didn‟t go to work and they stayed in
together. After the snowstorm died down she dragged him to a
store to get a paper. She opened the paper and found the house
listings. They looked through them together and circled as few
of the cheaper homes. They avoided the ones too close to the
city or ones in bad neighborhoods. The remaining ones were
starter homes. They started at about one hundred and fifty
thousand. We don‟t have enough he had said, not nearly enough.
They would need a mortgage for which they needed a steady
income. Then she turned the paper to the help wanted section and
started circling things there. If we get jobs we can get a loan
for the rest she said. They spent the day applying for jobs for
him. He was reluctant, he would rather apply face to face he
said. She looked at him and told him that had not done much good
for them so far. He solemnly agreed as she insisted on helping
him. She wanted things ready when she turned eighteen and not a
day later. They went to some viewings of homes for sale during
the day and she worked a few hours each night. Rejections from
job applications started coming in and he got de-motivated but
she was not going to let anything else get in the way of their
dream, so she kept pushing him.
Time passed and they were a week away from her birthday.
Jake had been around a lot more and things were returning to
normal.
She worked less and that night as she got ready for work he
hugged her and said “Why don‟t you stop. What‟s another week
going to matter” she turned around and kissed him.
He picked her up and carried her into the bedroom.
“I thought I was done” she joked.
The next morning he had made breakfast in bed for her and
announced that they were going to look at another house. After
breakfast they showered and got dressed, then they left for the
house. The house was an hour drive from the city in a small
village. It was a tiny white house with a tree in the front
yard. It looked wonderful covered in snow. The real estate agent
was waiting for them and let them in. It was a small eight
hundred square foot house with two bedrooms upstairs and an
unfinished basement. It wasn‟t much for size but it made up for
that in character. The place was older but in good shape and the
whole house had beautiful hardwood floors. For a moment she
paused and allowed herself to think that her new life had
finally begun. She loved the house.
“Let‟s get it” she whispered to Jake out of earshot of the
real estate agent.
“We can‟t afford it” he said.
She gave him a disappointed look.
“I‟ll negotiate a little” he said, “Maybe we can make it
work.”
The whole drive home she was dreaming of the cute little
white house. It would be perfect. Somehow they would have to
make it work. When they got home there was a letter in the mail
from one of the companies that they had sent an application to.
“Another rejection” Jake guessed.
She picked it up and opened it.
“They want you to come over for an interview” she screamed.
He was expected for an interview for a warehouse position
next week on her birthday. This had to be a sign. Her face lit
up. Things were finally starting to look up. Finally everything
could come together. On her birthday she got up early and made
him breakfast. He protested when she brought it to him in bed.
“It‟s your birthday, shouldn‟t I be getting you breakfast
in bed?” he asked.
She smiled.
“Eat up” she said, “You have an interview in two hours”.
They ate breakfast and he took a shower. She laid out some
clothes for the interview and kissed him goodbye. Then she paced
around the living room impatiently. At noon she put her coat on
and sat outside on the steps. Anisha joined her a few minutes
later.
“Happy birthday girl” she said cheerfully.
She told Anisha that Jake was on an interview and if he
would get the job they would finally be done with this all.
Anisha smiled as she pulled out a pocket book. She opened it up
and showed the calendar part to Kim. All past days were crossed
out and November fifteenth was clearly marked with a pink
highlighter. That was Anisha‟s birthday.
“Wow, you are really looking forward to your birthday” Kim
said.
Anisha nodded with a smile.
“This is my planned retirement date from here” she said, “I
thought if Kim can do it then so can I.”
Kim smiled and hugged her friend.
“Good for you” she said to Anisha.
They sat outside for a little over an hour until they were
both too cold to stand it anymore. They went inside and Kim
watched some TV but was too impatient to hear from Jake to
really get into anything. A little later the excitement started
to shift to worry. It had been five hours since he had left.
Another hour later and she was crawling out of her skin. Finally
she heard a car door slam and she looked out the window. He was
home. She opened the door before he could and looked at him with
great anticipation. He got the job he announced. It wouldn‟t
start for two months though. The company was starting a new
warehouse close to where they looked at the house and it would
open in two months. She threw her arms around his neck and they
almost lost their balance.
“There is more” he said.
She looked at him in anticipation.
“Sit down” he said.
She sat down and he sat next to her.
“They gave me a confirmation of employment” he said, “I
took it to the banks and they agreed to a loan.”
Kim looked puzzled.
“A loan for what?” she asked.
“I made an offer on the house and it was accepted. We can
move the weekend before I start the new job.”
Kim let out another squeal. It really was all coming
together and she couldn‟t believe it.
“With the loan we have enough to last until my job starts
and to furnish the house” he continued.
“There is even enough for a vacation and I booked us a two
week all expense trip to Mexico” he said.
She looked at him in amazement.
“When we get back we can move into the new house and I
start my new job. Then finally we have enough to start planning
a party when we get back.”
“A party? What kind of party?” she asked.
He dropped to his knee and pulled out a ring.
”Will you marry me?” he asked.
She shivered in surprise.
“Yes” she heard come out of her mouth before she had given
her brain permission to say it.
They kissed and she couldn‟t believe it. This had been the
best birthday ever. The nightmare was finally over.
“I don‟t have a passport” she said.
“We need your birth certificate and then we can get a
passport. If we expedite it we should have it in time” he said.
“My mom has that” she said softly.
She couldn‟t just ask for it. She wasn‟t ready to face her
mom. It had been almost two years and she did not want to have
to explain the last two years; after she got all settled in
maybe. Then she would get back in touch with her mom. They would
work things out and she would try to explain things.
“Do you still have the key to your old place?” he asked.
She nodded.
“We‟ll go over tomorrow when your mom is at work and your
sister is at school” he said.
“I know where she keeps her paperwork” Kim said.
The next morning they got up early and headed for
Milwaukee. They got to the apartment around ten. They stopped in
the same spot Jake had always stopped when he dropped her off
when they met. He moved to get out of the car but she stopped
him.
“I need to do this alone” she said.
“Are you sure?” he asked.
She nodded and got out of the car. She walked to the
apartment and opened the door and carefully looked inside. The
hallway was clear. She walked in and went to the door of her old
apartment. Her heart was pounding. What if they don‟t live here
anymore? What if her mom or Ally would be home? She hesitated
for a moment then inserted the key in the lock and opened the
door. To her relief the apartment was empty and it looked
exactly the same. A wave of homesickness washed over her and she
hadn‟t realized how much she had missed this place, how much she
had missed them. Then she snapped out of it and went into her
mom‟s room and opened the bottom drawer of her mom‟s dresser and
found the folder that her mom had kept all important papers in.
In it she found her birth certificate and took it. Then she
put everything back. She was about to leave when she felt the
urge to check out her old bedroom. She opened the door and to
her shock it was almost identical to when she had left it. Her
side was at least. Ally‟s side had changed a little. Different
posters and things like that. Stuff you expect to change with a
teenager. It was almost eerie how her side was just the same.
Almost like it was ready for her to come back at any moment.
Ally‟s stuff seemed to respect the split in the room and nothing
that belonged to Ally crossed over on to her side. She looked
around Ally‟s room and saw a picture dated three months ago. It
was Ally and her mom.
She felt tears run down her cheeks as she saw it. Then she
grabbed in and stuck it in her pocket. She left the bedroom and
grabbed a piece of paper and started to write a note.
“Hi mom and Ally,
I had to stop by and get something. Sorry I have put you through
all this but a lot has happened and I am finally getting back on
my feet. I will contact you soon when I get settled. Don’t worry
about me, I am doing well. Remember I love you very much and I
miss you both. You will hear from me soon. Lots of love, Kim”
A tear fell on the paper as she finished writing the note.
She tried to wipe it off but it just left a smudge. She left the
note on the kitchen table and left the apartment, quickly left
the building and got back into the car. They sped off for the
post office to request the passport.
Chapter 16:
The next three weeks were great and she was getting excited
for her trip. Jake was still gone a lot. Tying things up and
whatever he usually did, so he was only home two days a week.
She had often wondered what he was up to all day but he always
avoided talking about it and switched the subject. Before he had
claimed to be looking for work but she had her doubts about
that. No matter she thought. Soon he‟s in a steady job and that
will all end.
She was no longer working and more and more started feeling
alien about her former work. However had she managed to do it?
She knew but with time away from it repulsion toward it was
growing. But she was done. No more strange perverts would be
touching her anymore. They had all been perverts. Sure some had
looked the part, those had been particularly disgusting but as