Pure Temptation (14 page)

“Someone got home late last night. How was it?” Emma said as she poured herself a cup of coffee. That was the one thing in the kitchen she made to perfection.

“How was what?” I yawned. I needed a cup of java, strong and black.

“Your date. Judging by how you look this morning, it must have gone well.” She sounded amused and I laughed in response. “I guess you could say that.” I propped my chin in my hand and raised my eye brows. “He’s really a nice guy and well, pretty damn hot too.” I smiled dreamily in remembrance of last night.

“Really? So when am I going to meet this sex god of yours?”

“Just let me know and I’ll bring him over.”

“I have a better idea. Why don’t we all go out Saturday night? I can get a babysitter for Michelle. I could sure use a night out and some man loving.” She laughed. “Actually, there is this guy who has been asking me out. We could go on a double date.”

“That sounds fun. I’ll ask John if he can make it,” I said as I poured a cup of hot coffee, grabbed a doughnut and headed to my bedroom.

I ran through most of the morning as if I was floating on a cloud. Not sure if it was because of the sex endorphins that had been brought to surface last night or if I was just exhausted. I had better snap out of it. I had a busy day ahead of me.

All week I had been trying to call and set up arrangement for my grandma’s treatments. I honestly thought doctors deliberately make you wait so they can seem more important. Once again, I was on hold for twenty minutes before I was connected with the doctor in charge. Finally, some good news. They would be able to start next week, the doctor told me. As part of the advanced treatments for her kidneys, grandma would have to go to the clinic and receive special dialysis treatments three times a week, a hassle for sure but the benefits were tremendous. Right now, she was so weak, she needed an electric wheel chair to get around. The doctor told us that once she received these treatments, she would regain ninety-five percent of her original strength and be able to walk again. This was a new experimental treatment that would be a miracle for her and it sounded amazing. The only reason she wasn’t already on the program, was because of the outrageous cost, three thousand dollars per month. None of that covered by Medicare. And she would need this for the rest of her life. It was a sum of money that was out of reach for most people, my grandma included. But we could afford it now. Thanks to illegal wagers and a briefcase full of money. Who says money can’t buy happiness? Some people are motivated by fear, some by the need for power. My motivation was to see my grandma walk again.

My tasks for the day were not quite done yet. I still had to make a transfer at the bank for the first series of grandma’s treatments. I wanted to rent a safe deposit box at the local bank. That made it easier and after nearly losing my suitcase last week on the bus trip, I couldn’t take any chances. I wasn’t comfortable carrying that much cash around either, so this was the best solution.

My thoughts were interrupted when I heard a familiar sound from my phone telling me that I had received a text. I pick it up and smiled. It was a message from John.

“Had a great time last night. Miss you already.”

I replied back. “So did I. Hope you are free Saturday night. We are two hungry ladies in need of a good time out.”

To my surprise, he didn’t question it. He just replied, “Looking forward to it,” adding a smiley face.

I checked the time on my phone. Already twenty minutes past three. Better get to the bank before they closed.

Living in New York meant I was used to foot transportation, so the half hour walk to the bank was nothing. I had never owned a car, but it was something I definitely wanted to get soon.

The walk went fast and five minutes before closing, I stood in the isolated room of the safety deposit boxes. Looking at all that money still made me feel anxious. It had been a big risk taking the briefcase, and if I had known it was crooked money inside, I wouldn’t have done it. But still, it was worth it, for Grammy. I owed it to her. This, and so much more.

I took out a neatly folded stack of hundred dollar bills. I counted out three thousand dollars for the first month’s treatment, along with an extra five hundred for my day to day expenses. I put the remaining money into the metal box and placed it back in the lockbox. After arranging the wire transfer, I found myself walking down the main street of Summerville again, looking for a decent place to eat. My stomach was making noises and I realized I hadn’t eaten since that donut at breakfast. The nice thing about a vacation town is that there are all kinds of small sandwich shops and it didn’t take long to find one.

Just as I sat down in a chair outside the deli, I heard a familiar high pitched voice that riveted through me.

“Oh My God! Is that you, Dani? What are you doing here?”

Nails on a chalkboard would be like music to me ears, compared to that voice. It belonged to the most annoying woman I had ever met, Nina, my high school lab partner. She was one of those people they called 'a leech'. All through high school, she tried to latch on to me and be my best friend, when all I wanted to do was to be left alone. What the hell was
she
doing here?
 

“Nina. My gosh. You are …here, in Summersville. How lovely.”

Without as much as an invitation, she pulled out a chair and sat down across from me. “Dani, how long has it been? Like, three years?”

“I don’t know. Something like that, I guess.”

She wouldn’t stop babbling and her annoying voice pierced to the core of my eardrums. “Are you here on vacation? Don’t you just love it here?”

I went into defensive mode and tried to tune out the tone of her voice, but it was a losing battle. This was one of the few times I wished I was eighty years old so her high pitched frequency would be out of my hearing range.

She grabbed my arm. “I just had this amazing idea. Are you here in town with somebody?”

“No, I’m alo…I mean…”
Oops, I messed up. She’s gonna want to do something together.

“Perfect. I’m here until Monday so we can hang out the entire time. Oh my God, I’m so excited.” Her face was glowing.

My mind was in turmoil. I couldn’t do this. I would slit my wrists if I had to spend the next three days with Nina, plus she could blow my cover. Then everybody would find out my real name and that I’m not actually from Boston and that I lied to everybody. What would John think of me once he found out I had lied all this time? I had to get rid of her.

“Nina, I really wish I could, but I’m leaving town first thing in the morning. I’m taking the bus to Charleston.”

“No, you can’t leave. Stay a few more days and we can hang out. I’m dying here, stuck with my aunt. All she wants to do every day is boring sightseeing stuff.”

Oh no, her aunt, Mimi? I remembered her clearly. She was, if possible, even worse than Nina.

A pang of pity for Nina struck in my heart. “Listen, I can’t stay because I already booked a hotel in Charleston and I don’t want to lose my deposit, but we can hang out tonight if you’d like.” I sighed. We would just have to go someplace where we were certain not to run into John.

Her eyes lit up. “You’re the best girlfriend ever, Dani. So what do you want to do?”

“I have a couple of things I need to do first, but why don’t you tell me where you’re staying and I’ll come pick you up when it’s time for dinner.”

She hesitated. “Okay, I’m staying at the Hampton Inn. I’ll have to sneak out without Mimi noticing, so don’t ditch me or I’ll have to search every bar and hotel all night, asking for you.”

Oh, she really would.
“Why would you think I would ditch you? I’d never do that to my old lab partner. Go Panthers.” I waved an imaginary pom-pom in the air. “I’ll pick you up at seven. It’ll be a fun night out, just like old times.”

I managed to convince her that I would be there to pick her up and minutes later, I was walking home, contemplating how best to handle this sticky situation. How to avoid Nina and I crashing into John, Emma or anyone else who knew me as Hanna.

* * *

It was unusual chilly that same evening. Normally the warm sea would keep the evenings and nights at a decent temperature, but tonight I was cold. I pulled my cell phone out of my purse to check the time. It was exactly seven p.m. and I was waiting for Nina across from the Hampton Inn. She wanted to meet across from the hotel so her aunt wouldn’t be suspicious. I was grateful for that. An evening out with both of them would have been pure torture.

After a few minutes, Nina showed up huffing and puffing as she crossed the street. She actually looked great. I hadn’t noticed until I saw her from a distance, that she had lost a considerable amount of weight since high school, at least 20 pounds or more. She looked sharp in her black skirt and lace top.

“You look cute. I like that top. Where did you get it?”

She laughed, pulling at her top. “This old thing? I think I got it at Neman Marcus.”

I was impressed. A week ago, I wasn’t able to afford shopping at Target, let alone dream about buying anything at Neman Marcus. Even on sale, a simple top like Nina’s would cost about $150. “For an old thing, it looks pretty damn hot on you.”

“Thanks Dani. That really means a lot to me coming from you. You were always the pretty one.”

I shook my head. She was being silly. I had never considered myself pretty. “Come on. Let’s go eat.”

We went to a small restaurant that was located a little off the main road. No chance of running into anyone who knew me as Hanna there.

I gazed at Nina sitting in front of me. She really looked radiant, so much more confident than I had remembered. “I can’t believe how much weight you’ve lost. You look really good. Honestly. How’d you do it? The soup diet? Or just no carbs?”

“I’ve lost thirty five pounds since high school. I think getting away from my aunt really helped me.” She laughed, trying to make light of the situation.

However, I knew it was no joking matter. As I recalled, her aunt had always had some serious control issues with Nina. Her parents had died in a car crash when she was young and her uncle and aunt adopted her after that. The aunt already had two other children whom she had spoiled rotten. The dysfunctional family setting stole away what little confidence Nina had left, no doubt. I remembered that her aunt had very strict rules about hanging out with friends, so she was never allowed to go out in the evenings. As a result, she was never at any of the parties we had in high school. Sadly, I never paid much attention to her back then. I had enough messed up emotional baggage in my own life and I didn’t have time to deal with anyone else’s.

“That’s amazing. Wow, it sounds like your life is so much better now that you moved out. When did that happen?”

“Well,” she picked at her salad. Maybe this was too personal.

“Go on,” I said reluctantly.

“It was right after graduation. Remember my uncle and aunt got divorced in ninth grade? I nodded but I honestly didn’t know about her uncle. I thought the aunt had always been divorced.