Author's Note:
I am finally writing again and have an idea how to finish this story.
When I went through the old chapters, I found some error, which I hopefully all caught and also have change a few bits around. So here it is. Republished.
Erdi
"Mooom…look what grandma bought me!" Emma shouts, when I enter the house, and holds up a giant Olaf plush.
"Ohhh noo" I sigh under my breath and look at Emma. "Wow he is really big."
"Cool huh?" She says, before running away again.
"You have no idea what you have just started…again" I tell my mother when I walk into the kitchen. She is just icing the cake for dinner. "I just got her to stop watching that film."
"She saw it, she wanted it…let me spoil her a little. I barely see her." My Mom says in a bit of an accusatory tone.
"But my ears can't take anymore of 'Let it go'" I whine, making my mother smile.
"Steph…when you were young, you watched Mulan every day for 3 months straight. That was torture" she retorts and puts the cake in the fridge. I quickly snatch the icing bowl from the counter, while her back is turned, and start running my finger through it. "Stephanie!"
"Sorry" I reply with a sheepish grin and she only shakes her head.
"At least use the spatula" she orders. I do as I am told and grab one out of the drawer. For the next hour I sit there happily liking out the bow and talking to my mother.
"So what did Mark want?" Grandma Mazur asks. Today she is almost dressed decently. She is wearing pair of very tight jeans and a top, which reveals her sagging cleavage. Her feet are stuffed in loafers and her hair was dyed purple just hours ago.
"Nothing much" I try to evade the question, by shrugging my shoulders and cutting Emma's roast in small pieces.
"If he had nothing to say, why did you had to go to his office?" Grandma pries, obviously not taking the hint of me not wanting to talk about it.
"Ahh well…you know Dickieleftmeahouseandmoney" The words jumble out of my mouth in almost a whisper, hoping no one heard me and will drop the subject.
"Did you just say he left you money and a house?" Grandma questions. Damn her! She must have turned up her hearing aid.
"You have got to be kidding me" Joe exclaims.
"That is great…then you can be closer to us" My mom smiles and my father nods in agreement.
"Steph?" Val looks at me with concern. "What are you going to do?"
"I think I am going to sell it. Our lives aren't here. Emma has friends and I have established a life. I can't just uproot everything, just because he left me my dream house and a huge amount of money. Plus this town hates me. We would constantly be subject to hatred." I inform them, not looking at any of them, because I would see the disappointment. They want us closer.
"You can't just sell it" My mother exclaims. "Use it as a holiday house, for when you come to visit. I can take care of it while you are gone."
"Mom…it is too much work, plus all the property taxes and so on…It would be stupid to keep it." I explain and this time I do look up.
"We will help you out" She announces determined and I instantly shake my head.
"No, Mom…now can we please drop the subject and enjoy dinner?" I ask annoyed. Exactly for that reason I didn't want my family knowing about it just yet. They just have a way of butting in and taking over.
The next day
"Stephanie Orr?" Someone behind me questions, when I get out of Big Blue a little further down the road from Pino's entrance. I just don't have good car parking karma and always end up parking far away from the place I want to be at.
"Yes?" I turn around and see two men standing in front of me. Both are wearing black leather pants, a blue singlet and vests with patches on them. One of the patches reads 'The Breed Motorcycle Club'. Their feet are stuffed into black biker boots and black sunglasses cover their eyes. Both are wearing 'Don't Fuck with me' expressions and have tattoos all over their arms. One even has a teardrop tattoo below his left eye.
"Our condolences" The guy with the teardrop tattoo says. "We heard your husband passed away."
"Thank you" I nod and turn away. My Burg manners tell me I should engage them into a conversation, but these two don't seem like upstanding citizens and I don't want to talk to them anymore than I have to.
"There is an outstanding debt which was never paid." The man calls after me, making me turn around again.
"Excuse me?" I reply with what I hope is a confused expression on my face, but at the same time alarm bells go off in my head. So the rumours are true!
"Your husband owes my boss $150,000. Plus the interest for money lent, the debt comes to $300,000." The other man explains. "And we are here to collect it."
"I don't have any money" I tell them, wishing I hadn't left my gun at Lula's apartment. I am not allowed to carry in New Jersey, neither open nor concealed.
"We have heard differently. Our sources say you just inherited a beautiful house along with a full Swiss Bank account…" Teardrop tattoo man informs me. How the hell did they hear that?
"Well you heard wrong and I would appreciate it if you left me alone" I tell them loud enough for other people to hear, before turning around and walking away.
"We will come to collect. One way or another" The other man warns me loudly, making people look at me.
"Who was that?" My Dad probes when I sit down at the table in Pinos. My father took Emma to work today, before letting her join in on his weekly poker game. He must have seen the whole exchange through the window.
"No one…they were looking for directions" I shrug. If I tell him, he will get worried, then he will call Joe and I really don't want them to get involved. If they show up again, I will figure something out. "So princess, what are we going to eat?" I ask my daughter and put a smile on my face.
One day later
"Mrs Orr" The two men are back!
"Leave me alone" I say irritated.
"My Boss really wants his money back, so we will pursue you until we get it" Teardrop Tattoo man states.
"I don't know what debt you are talking about." I exclaim and slide my hand into my bag. After yesterday's encounter with them, I decided I felt safer with my gun in my hand bag, screw the licensing laws.
"Mom, who are they?" Emma looks up at me, before eyeing the two man suspiciously.
"No one." I assure her.
"Why does he have a tear under his eye?" my daughter probes, but ignore her question and keep an eye on the men in front of us.
"If you don't pay, we will force you to." Teardrop tattoo man says and his eyes linger on Emma. My blood turns to ice and my heart skips multiple beats. "Keep that in mind." He adds and turns around.
"They looked mean" Emma observes, when I pick her up and almost run towards the entrance of the Mall. The gun in my bag may give me a feeling of safety, but with Emma so close by, I can't just whip it out and start shooting. Emma could get hurt or worse end up dead.
"They are very mean, princess" I inform her and can't shake the dread in my stomach. "Just don't mention anything to grandpa or anyone else for that matter."
"Why?" She asks.
"Because they get worried and I don't want them to. This needs be our secret." I tell her.
"Ok…Ohh look ice-cream…can I have one?" She looks at the hole-in-the-wall-store excitingly, disregarding the subject of the two men.
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