"Told you," I said. I took my arm from around her shoulders and stretched. It was harder to stay cuddled without Gene’s dancing feet. "I’d better get you home."
"Yeah," she agreed sadly. We got up and trudged to my car.
"Ed?" she said right after I started driving. "Thanks. For everything. I haven’t had this much fun in ages."
"You’re welcome," I said. "I had fun, too."
We headed into town. "You can drop me off at the bowling alley."
"You live at the bowling alley?"
She giggled. "No, but I just live right around the corner."
"Where do you live?"
"Just a little ways up Gorham street."
"I can take you."
She sighed. And then said, very softly, "Ed, I don’t want you to see where I live."
"Look, you’ve told me enough about your mother that I didn’t guess that you lived in the mansion on the hill. And none of this is your fault. I won’t hold where you live against you. And the way I was brought up, a gentleman always escorts a lady to her door."
"OK," she sighed.
We got to her apartment building-dingy and run-down, as I suspected-and I insisted on walking to her door. She let me. She grabbed her key and started fumbling with the lock, when we heard, "NATALIE! Issat you? Finally fucking come home?"
Nat opened the door, and there stood this drunken woman. "WHERE THE FUCK YOU BEEN?"
"Out," Natalie said. "We went to the game, and then out to eat, and then Ed took me to his house to watch a movie."
"Movie?" the mother slurred. "Yeah, right. So," she said right at me, "didja fuck ‘er?"
"Excuse me?"
"Didja fuck ‘er?" Then, to Natalie. "Is he rich? Bag yourself a sugar daddy? Or did he just pay you for tonight?" I was recoiling in horror. This was one of the most disgusting things I’d seen in a long time.
"We watched a movie!" Natalie maintained. "Ed likes old movies, too."
CRASH! That was this crazy woman’s glass! It had crashed against the wall-and had missed Natalie’s head by three inches! "DONCHOO FUCKIN’ LIE TO ME!" she was screaming. "And you!" to me, "Fuckin’ nobody fucks my daughter for free, you unnerstand? You better be paying!"
The next thing I know, Natalie was shoving me back through the door. She followed me out, while her nutcase mother ranted and raved back in the apartment. "Ed, you need to leave," she said firmly.
"Leave? How can I leave? She just threw a glass at you!"
"Usually it’s plates," she said matter-of-factly. I was just stunned. "Look, if you leave, I can get to my bedroom. I have a lock, she can’t come in there. Please. I don’t want you to see any more of this. Please." The last one was a beg.
"Natalie, I’m really worried about you," I told her.
She actually smiled. "It’s nice to have someone worrying about me for a change. I never have anyone worried about me. But I’ll be fine."
"What’s going on?" I asked her.
She knew what I meant. "Meet me in the parking lot an hour before school tomorrow and I’ll tell you the whole thing, OK? But now you have to go."
"OK," I said. "I’m going. Be careful."
"I will." She smiled, and then re-entered the apartment.
Damn. This girl’s in trouble. Her life’s a mess. And, when she lets down her guard, I find her delightful. I liked her.
As Yogi Berra once said, "It’s deja vu all over again."
What I didn’t know was how bad. I’d find out tomorrow, hopefully. If it was Annie Redux, I didn’t know if I’d cope.
I didn’t sleep all that well that night.
PART THREE WEDNESDAY
I managed to get by my mother right after Ed left-locked myself in my room. She eventually passed out.
I had a lot to think about.
I was still thinking the next morning, as I got ready for school. She was still passed out, thank goodness, so I had some peace and quiet. I got dressed, took my shower, made some eggs. And thought.
Ed was the first person I’d ever let in this apartment. Yeah, he was insistent, with all that chivalry bullshit, but I could’ve put my foot down. I didn’t. I let him in here. And he saw good ol’ Sharon Weinberg at her disgusting best. I must really trust him.
Now there’s a thought to send a shiver down my spine.
I also thought back to what happened while watching the movie. He actually put his arm around me. I think I’ve already established that I don’t like to be touched. I didn’t mind his arm around me at all. I actually felt safe. Feeling safe is not something I’m accustomed to. It was very nice.
And, yeah, OK, he was right. That’s one hell of a movie. I wonder what other good ones he has that I’ve never seen?
All this was swimming through my head as I prepared to walk to school. And, damn, it was raining. Not a lot, but enough to get me wet. I grabbed my umbrella and trudged off to school, an hour early.
Ed was there. He saw me coming, jumped out of his car, and started singing. Well, it was raining, what do you think he was singing? He even danced a little as I walked towards him. He’s no Gene Kelly, but it was funny and sweet all the same.
"You’re a nut, you know that?" I giggled.
"That’s my job," he smirked. "Get in the car, we can talk there, out of the rain." I did, still giggling. I stopped giggling quickly.
"Are you OK? I was worried about you all last night," he said.
"This is strange. I am not used to people worrying about me. But I’m fine. I got away from her right after you left."
"Good."
"Ed, you’ve been so sweet. The past two days, you’ve done so much to try to help me. You’ve offered friendship. You even offered your friends’ friendship. I’m kind of stunned. Nobody’s ever done that for me."
"Natalie, you’re a good person," he said.
"I try to be. I don’t know how good I am. Sometimes I think I’m beyond help. But if you want to know the whole story, I think I need to unburden myself. And somehow, after only two days, I trust you."
"I’m glad," he said. "You tell me whatever you need to get off your chest."
I took a breath. "I’ve told nobody all this. Like I said, somehow I trust you." He nodded. "OK, I need to get this out all at once if I’m going to get it out at all. So don’t interrupt me, please, OK?" He nodded again.
"My mother had me when she was seventeen. Why she didn’t give me up puzzles me to this day. I have no idea who my father is. He took off. Ever since then, my mother’s been trying to replace him."
"She works at Doc’s. You know what that is?" Ed nodded. "It’s a sleazy dive. She picks up men there. She’s still trying to score ‘the’ guy, the one that’ll get her out of the miserable existence she’s confined herself to. If you’re looking for a sugar daddy, Doc’s sure ain’t the place to get it. But maybe she picks up pocket change. I don’t know for sure she’s a whore, but I suspect it."
"You saw last night what she does on her nights off. She drinks herself into a stupor."
"She doesn’t cook, she doesn’t clean. I do all that. I even do the grocery shopping. I have been since I was ten or so. If I didn’t, we wouldn’t have any groceries. At least she gives me money for that. I don’t get much money for much else. I’ve worked every summer. Plus, my grandparents left me a trust fund. Not much, but enough for clothes and stuff. They hated my mother for getting knocked up at seventeen, but, luckily, they didn’t take it out on me. When they were alive, I had a bit of an oasis to go to. They’re gone now. But they did leave me some money. And they made sure I could get into the trust fund at a young age, and made sure my mother couldn’t get at it-their banker is my co-trustee. I use that to buy clothes, toiletries, stuff like that. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have any."