Ch77 Make My Dreams Come True

“I’ll take it!” Wendy said excitedly.

“Don’t you think you ought to ask your sister first?” Donny said following her from the dirty back room to the even messier front half. “It is for her, after all.”

“Please! If I left it to May, it’ll never get done. I’ll just get it for her.”

“Wendy, there’s more to it than that,” he said. “There is the lease to be signed and she’s the one who has to do that, not you.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s for her business. If you sign it, you would be responsible for it whether or not you got her to move here.”

“No worries there. She’ll come when I tell her I have the perfect spot and then we can switch it to her name.”

“Not that easy, Wendy. The person who is going to be renting the space has to sign the lease. That’s how it works. And it doesn’t matter that she’s your sister. You’re going to have to get her to come up and see it for herself, and if she likes it she can take it.”

“But I doubt she can drop everything and come just like that,“ she said snapping her fingers. “We’ll lose it if we wait too long...unless.... Can you like, kind of put it on layaway for me?” she suggested, only half kidding.

Donny laughed and shook his head. “I’m sorry, Wendy. Real estate isn’t like K-Mart. It would be unethical for me to do that. I’m supposed to act on behalf of  the owner’s best interests. He listed this with me, after all, and that means I have to show him any and all offers made.”

“And this only just came on the market?” Wendy asked looking around at the water bottles,  newspapers, juice containers, empty food containers and soda cans strewn all over the floor.

“You’re the first one to see it thus far,” he said. “I wanted to clean it up some before showing it. Sells better when it’s clean.”

“Can you leave it messy?” she said, excitedly.

“Whatever for?” he said, then he smiled finally catching on. “You are sneaky, aren’t you?”

“A bit,” she slyly replied.

“Tell you what,” he said, chuckling and putting his arm around her waist as he led her out of the door. “I’ll not show it to anyone for a week…or two …because I have to get someone in here to clean up this horrible mess. It is a dreadful state they left it in requiring, oh, say two-three days of very hard work, don’t you think?”

“At least! Possibly four if you get a particularly lazy person,” she said eagerly.

“Well then, we have a plan,” Donny said, locking up the store and turning to smirk at her. “How’s that?”

She giggled and hugged him. “Thank you! Thank you! You’re the best real estate guy I’ve ever known.”

He held her tightly and inhaled her sweet scent--something between sunshine and peonies. She pushed away, however, before he was through enjoying it, but then she smiled at him. That in itself was a wonderful gift.

“Now I have a few houses I can show you for your sister,” he said, hoping he could keep her around a bit longer or forever.

“You do? Okay, but what time is it?” Wendy said grabbing his wrist and looking at the time for herself. “Oh, boy, it’s late. Donny, thank you so much for spending all this time with me, but I promised Stevie I’d go to his game and I still have to get Cindy. I told her I’d take her with me. Hey, do you think I need permission from her dad to snatch her away from school?”

He grinned. “No, I don’t think you do, not in middle school.”

“Great!” she said. “You better take me home. I’m sure you’re thoroughly annoyed with me by now and glad to be finally rid of me.”

“Absolutely…” he said holding the car door open for her. Then he added, “Not! This has been the best day I’ve had in the longest time. Thank you, Wendy. This day was exactly what I needed.” 

He went around to his door, jumped in and they went zooming away.

Across the street and unknown to either of them, Jeffery stood in stunned horror with the sandwich he had just bought at the deli in one shaking hand and a cup of coffee in the other. The hot liquid was now spilling all over his clenched fist and onto his feet, but he barely noticed it. He had squeezed the sandwich into a mushy mess as well. Seeing the woman you adore, your beloved wife, hugging a man you once considered a friend would make you do that.

“Wendy, no, please no,” he muttered watching the fancy car turn the corner at the end of the street and vanish from sight. Only then did he notice the mess in his hands. He blinked stupidly at it for several minutes then tossed both into the nearest trash can and slowly walked back to his jewelry shop. He wasn’t sure he’d ever feel hungry again.

*******

Cindy spotted Wendy before Wendy saw her. She waved frantically and told her without words not to enter the disaster which was the crowded parking lot at the end of the school day with buses waiting to depart full of super noisy pre-teens, barely teens and those teens who thought they are too cool to be called teens at all.

Cindy ran to Wendy’s minivan and jumped in. “Hi, Ms. Meadows! I was hoping you didn’t forget about me.”

“How could I? You’re my bleacher buddy today,” Wendy replied, as she made a quick U-turn and left before the buses had a chance to pull out—a small miracle but one she thoroughly thanked God for.

“Did Steve text you? He said he would to remind you,” Cindy said.

“He did indeed, but he didn’t have to. Your dad was already taking me home and…”

“My dad? Where were you?” she asked.

“Oh, we kinda played hooky today, although he did have to work a little. He sold a house and he showed me a building which would be perfect for my sister. Oh, remind me to call her before the game starts. I have to get her up here as soon as possible or she’ll miss her chance to get it.”

Cindy stopped listening after played hooky. Her dad went out with Wendy, spent the entire day with her? She couldn’t have been more surprised or thrilled! But just as quickly she realized Steve would be pissed as hell….if he found out about it. Her lips were sealed.

“So, um…what do adults do when they play hooky?” Cindy said, trying her best to sound unconcerned.

“Oh, nothing exciting like we used to do as kids, but still nice,” Wendy said and then she told her avid listener everything….except the kiss. She kept that to herself.

“I can’t believe you helped my dad sell a house. He’s been trying to get rid of that thing for three years I think. How’d you do it?”

Wendy laughed. “You’ll have to ask your dad. I still don’t think he believes it himself.”

“I can’t believe you got him to go for a walk in a garden and on a ferry and out to lunch on a work day. Only my mom could get him to do that. I wish you were my mom,” Cindy blurted before she could stop herself.

Wendy’s heart stopped, or so it seemed. “So, how…how was your day? Anything good happen at school? Learn anything interesting?” she said in quick succession.

“Uh…well…” Cindy said debating what to reveal. It had been a very interesting day. “If I tell you something, will you promise not to tell my dad?”

“Oh, Cindy, that’s going into dangerous territory. I can’t promise not to tell him something that might hurt you,” Wendy said casting an anxious glance at her companion. “What happened? Maybe I can help.” 

“It’s nothing bad, but…my dad, he’ll think it’s bad and he’ll get mad.”

“I’m sure he won’t if you explain it properly. I can help you, if you like. I have a way of telling people what they don’t want to hear without them freaking out.”

“Really?” Cindy said.

“I think you can trust me. My girls do with almost all their troubles,” she said smiling sweetly.

Cindy stared at Wendy’s profile as she drove down a winding country road. 

“How I wish Wendy was my mother,” she thought to herself. “Maybe I can pretend she is and maybe...maybe Dad will make my dreams come true.”