Ugly(118)
“We are, but we’ll be down in a few minutes.”
“Yes, Sir.”
The elevator doors open, and I’m taken back by the crisp and clean lines of the elevator. I look around in total disbelief. “I’ve never seen anything like this before. It’s just so…” I lose the word I want to say. I shake my head, trying to understand it all. “Overwhelming.”
The elevator travels to the top, and it opens up to a sunken family room, the size of Shayne and Liam’s house. There are floor to ceiling windows completely overlooking the city. As if I’ve been hit by a tractor beam, I float over to the window. “Oh my God,” I say, as I look over the entire city. “Why did your mom and dad never work out?”
“What’s that?” Max yells from…somewhere inside this palace.
“Why did your mom and dad never work out?”
“I used to wonder the same thing,” he says as he comes to stand beside me, looking out over the city. “It took me a long time, a long time to work out that some people just aren’t meant to be together. Mom and Dad were so different. But it wasn’t until just before Dad died, he told me the truth, he never knew I existed, until the courts located him and told him he had a son.”
“What?” I turn and slump my shoulders in disbelief.
“He never wanted me to know Mom had kept me from him. They had a short fling, lasted a couple of months.”
“Wow,” I whisper, as I turn back to watch the glittering lights, and the soft snowfall. “Just wow.”
“You ready to go?” He places a hand on my shoulder.
“This is the apartment building you were talking about, wasn’t it?”
“Guilty,” he sheepishly answers. “Come on, so we can get back to Shayne and Liam’s.”
We go down the elevator, and are back in the car heading toward town. “Do you know where you’re going?”
“I researched it a while back, in case you disappeared and I needed to find you.”
“You know, there’s no way they’d let you in there? It’s a safe haven for women and their kids. And just having a man in there, might cause damage and would definitely shatter any trust the women may have in the administrators of the home.”
“Yes, I’m aware. I’ll wait down the road. I’ll park, and watch you go in. I’ll be pacing around down the street, waiting patiently for you.”
“How do you patiently pace?”
“Hmmm, good point. I’ll just wait.”
“Max, this is the apartment building you were talking about, right?” He nods his head. “There’s no way I’d be able to afford the rent on a car spot, let alone the rent on an apartment.”
“Hmmm, I do see your dilemma.” He pauses for a moment, and I can see a cheeky smile start to form. “But, lucky for you, I know the owner. I’m sure I can get you a good price.”
“Max.”
“No, hear me out. You’ll have the same rental contract as the rest of the tenants, but I’ll make yours so I can’t interfere at all. It just means I know you’re safe. And if you happen to need a cup of sugar, you already know one of the tenants.”
“You mean the owner.”
“That, too. Please Lily? This is for my peace of mind to know you’re safe.”
I exhale loudly, as if to say ‘I don’t like this’. “I’ll think about it.”
“That’s all I can ask for.”
We get to the shelter, and Max parks, watching me walk toward it.
I knock, and I’m screened to make sure I’m not a threat. I talk to the lady through the door and tell her I’m here to offer a donation, and it’s a large sum of money. There are my two thousand dollars, and an envelope Max gave me. The envelope from him is bigger than the one with my two thousand, but he could’ve put twenty or fifty dollar bills in there.
The lady allows me into her office and we chat for a few moments. “I have two thousand here, and a friend of mine has sent a donation, too.”
She opens the envelopes and quickly glances in mine, then glances in Max’s. “No, I think there’s a mistake.” She hands me Max’s envelope back. I look inside, and I find the thickness is all hundred dollar notes. At the very least, there’s five thousand dollars in here.
“There’s no mistake.” I say.
She hugs me and cries, telling me there are women and children here who’ll really benefit from this money. I know we should’ve followed proper procedures and done it officially, because it could’ve been a tax deduction for both Max and me. But I don’t care about that. I just want to help someone who is where I was two short months ago.