Chapter 2

Yvonne has the Narrative

We waited for the girls to clean up and change clothes before leaving them for the night. I was sure that they would be alright in the room by themselves. Ilene had been excited to discover that the small restroom had hot water. They weren’t interested in taking a shower at this time, however.

On leaving their room, we crossed the hall to another door. Before opening it, Yuryi said something and traced a symbol in the air. The door opened by itself, and we entered. I was sure that he had used his Magic to remove a ward or something.

The lights had come on as the door opened, and they revealed a very plush looking office. There were hardwood floors covered in some locations with thick rugs. This was different from the halls and my daughters’ room which all had tile on their concrete floors. There was a large Mahogany desk on one side of the room with a chair behind it. There were also several other chairs, a small sofa, and a filing cabinet all in dark wood, but I wasn’t sure if it was all Mahogany.

The wall across from the desk was covered by a large custom-built cabinet system. There were shelves and cabinets on each side of a larger and deeper center section. It all appeared to be constructed of Mahogany with a lot of fancy trim. I wasn’t sure what the center section contained, but it appeared to have two large doors that would open to reveal what was inside. I was wondering if it contained an entertainment system with a large video monitor and a sound system.

“How do you like it?” Yuryi asked after I had been looking around for a short time.

“It’s a very impressive office. Where are the sleeping arrangements though? Is the bedroom through the door in the end wall?” I asked pointing.

“That’s actually the bath,” he told me with a smile, as he pushed the desk back some and walked over to the center section of the cabinet. Reaching up, he pulled the center section down revealing a large king size bed that extended to nearly where the desk had been. I was shocked by this revelation.

“There is a bed right here in the office?” I asked on recovering.

“Yes, it’s very handy,” he replied.

“Handy for what?” I demanded in an upset voice.

“Handy for when I need to spend the night here for business reasons. I have a large house, but it is some miles from here out in the country. I often need to deal with business matters at all times of the day or night. So, having a bed here is very convenient and saves me time and the need to travel,” he told me and paused.

“No, I haven’t had any women up here for sex. My wife died some time ago, and I haven’t been interested in another relationship or casual sex either,” he added on seeing my displeasure.

“Yes,” I said with a sigh. “I can understand that,” I continued before beginning my story.

“I married a man named Zachary Waterford when I was twenty-two. He was a handsome, dashing racecar enthusiast. He loved car racing and was a partner in a racecar team. They had a car and raced it on Saturday nights and sometimes on Sundays at the racetracks around the mid-west. He was usually the driver but did other work on the team also.

“We had been married for nearly five years when he was involved in an accident on a Saturday night. He had been involved in minor accidents before, but this was no minor accident. There had been an accident involving two cars, and he had slowed down on nearing them when another car slammed into him just before reaching the accident. This drove all four cars together. One of the car’s fuel tanks had ruptured and all four cars erupted in flames. Two of the drivers died. Zach was one of them. He couldn’t get out of the car after the fourth car slammed into him.

“As you can imagine, insurance companies are not anxious to insure racecar drivers. I needed to go back to work. I dropped my married name and resumed using my maiden name for work purposes. Fortunately, jobs in my field pay rather well, especially when you can predict trends in the market. I’ve made out fairly well,” I finished with a sob.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” he told me very sincerely.

“It was something that was bound to happen sooner or later. Zach loved racing, more than he loved me. He spent a lot of time working on that car with the others. I could see that we would have broken up over that at some point,” I told him in a bit better voice.

While we had been talking, well I had been talking, a very nice thick woolen nightgown and one of those huge Korean blankets had appeared on the bed. This blanket was even larger than the others I had seen. I turned and looked at Yuryi when it appeared.

“It’s a king size blanket because the bed is king size,” he told me but continued.

“In the morning, I’ll get you and the girls new under things. I’ll need your sizes, color preferences, and what kind of under things you prefer,” he told me before changing his mind.

“Oh hell, I’ll just take you to the store and you can pick out what you like. It will just be simpler,” he finished.

“I won’t wear stolen clothing and neither will my daughters,” I told him in an upset voice. How dare he suggest that we do that like common thieves. He only smiled at my reaction.

“It won’t be stealing,” he told me, and this really angered me.

“And just how have you rationalized that?” I demanded still in an angry voice.

“It’s not stealing if you already own it,” he told me.

“And how have you justified that?” I asked, unsure of what he meant.

“I own this building. I had it built with my money. Not some banker’s money or some investors’ money, but my money. I own or am a senior partner in a number of the stores and the concessions in this building. I’ll take you to one of the stores that I own, and you can select some clothing and under things from the selection there. It’s not a problem. I’ll just write it off,” he told me. And I started to see where other things that he had said began to fit together.

“And the homeless people?” I asked.

“Again, they are an expense of doing business. There are strict rules for them to stay here. No drugs or alcohol. No stealing and no personal problems. If some of them want to stay together, that’s fine with me, but there can’t be any compulsion. There are some of them who work as security guards at night. They check the doors and other areas to be sure no one has snuck in to rob any of the stores.

“Most of the others go out during the day to panhandle or collect stuff to recycle. They all keep their ears to the ground for any indication of someone wanting to break into the building or the individual stores. Others remain here to look for pickpockets and other thieves. If any of them spot something or hear something, they have a special whistle, like a dog whistle, that will set off an alarm here in the office so I, or one of my people, can take action. It’s a lot cheaper than hiring security guards who may not do a good job, and I can write it all off under security,” he told me.

I had already decided that he was one smart cookie. It was obvious that those dependent on him would be careful not to do anything that would get them removed from their position.

“That’s a very savvy working relationship that you have. It takes a shrewd person to develop something like that,” I told him. He just smiled.

“I’ve been in what they call business for a long time now,” he said but went no further.

“Would you like to get some rest? You look a little tired,” he said instead.

“Are you trying to get me into bed with you?” I asked.

“There is only the one bed, though it is a large one,” he said, not answering my question.

“It has been a rather long and tiring day,” I admitted.

“You can change and clean up in the bath,” he said indicating the door at the end of the room. Picking up the night gown, I headed for the door. You can imagine my surprise on opening it to discover a large well-equipped and laid out facility. There was a shower large enough for several people to use it at the same time. It had multiple shower heads. Additionally, there was a large bathtub, dual sinks with storage under them and drawers between them, plus a high toilet designed for older people with plenty of space around it. Finally, there was a large closet that contained towels, soap, and other items used in this area.

I removed a new toothbrush and a cake of my favorite soap from the closet. There was tooth paste and a container of floss on the counter already, and a number of fresh towels hung on the walls. Following a refreshing shower, I dried off quickly and donned the woolen night gown before doing my teeth. A pair of slippers had appeared while I was showering. I had to admit that Yuryi was a very considerate host.

On returning to the office, I found that the bed had been made up with the large blanket spread over it and two pillows had been placed at the head of the bed.

“I got out one of your toothbrushes and a cake of soap,” I told him as I neared the bed.

“That’s alright. I buy them and other things in bulk. Those staying here are required to take care of their teeth and to wash up daily. It’s a part of the agreement to stay here,” he told me.

“What do you do if they have physical problems like bad teeth, or colds, or infections?” I asked.

“I have an agreement with a local dentist and a physician to treat those working for me, both the homeless and my regular employees. Because of the number of people that includes, I get a discount. I also have an agreement with a drug store chain,” he informed me. Again, it was apparent that Yuryi was a very smart businessman and appeared to take good care of his people. However, it was time to get serious with Mr. Yuryi.

“I am NOT going to sleep with you,” I told him straight out. “I will sleep on the right side of the bed, and you will sleep on the left side. Is that clear?” I demanded in a firm voice.

“Certainly,” he acknowledged with a smile. “Remember what I said about sleeping in the cold,” he reminded me before going toward the bath with a pair of pajamas, red checkered pajamas. While he was busy, I got in the bed on my chosen side and got comfortable. We would see what happened, but I was determined not to sleep with him. We hardly knew each other after all.

After a time, Yuryi emerged, turned out the room lights and got into bed on his side. There was a small nightlight burning on the far wall.