Chapter 13: Introductions

The two households began to settle into a routine. Andrew moved in with the twins, of course. To save time and hassles, plus generate some income, he decided to rent out his house.

He was pleased when Danny applied, a single father of two young girls. He qualified with good references and sufficient income so Andrew accepted him immediately. The following weekend, he asked to visit and arranged to bring a plain cheese pizza for the girls and a large pepperoni for the adults: both fathers, and the girls’ nanny who Danny asked to join them for dinner.

The girls, ages 5 and 7, just floored him. Both reminded Andrew so much of his daughter Marina at those ages. When it was their bedtime, he took Danny aside.

“Your daughters are incredible. You must be so proud. I guess there’s no mother in their picture. Not my business. One of the reasons I picked your family as renters is that here on my own (mostly) I raised a daughter. She’s grown now and getting married; I’m so proud of her.

“Listen, I know you’re secure, and Imelda seems like an excellent nanny. But, and you have my number, you should contact me FIRST if there’s any kind of issue or problem you need help with. I’m not living on your rent, if you take my meaning. And I know a really good lawyer. Please call me if there’s anything you need. And not just things like a leaky faucet. Don’t hesitate.”

Vera

One afternoon, the doorbell at the Vidal-Johnson home rang. Donna saw a middle-aged woman on the stoop. She looked vaguely familiar, so she opened the door.

“Can I help you?”

“Ah, I’m Vera Potts. I live across the street in the yellow house, um, the one that’s on your left as you look across. I’m looking for Faye, I haven’t seen her car here for a while.”

“I’m sorry, my aunt’s Chevy was on I-70 west of us when the tornado hit. It destroyed that car with her inside it, so she was killed, I’m afraid. Would you like to come in?”

“Maybe just for a minute, I don’t want to be a bother. I’m sorry for your loss. You must be Donna, and Steve still lives here too, because I see his truck here in the evenings.”

“We don’t have much to drink, but I can offer you some ice water with a lemon slice, how about that?”

“Well, sure, thanks. It’s sad news. I used to see a lot of Faye, up until a few years ago. But, who has the blue car in your driveway? Is it yours?”

“No, that would be Marina’s car. She lives here too. Marina has been my best friend for years, and Steve is her fiancé. Oh, here she is. Marina Vidal, meet Vera Potts, she lives across the street.”

“Hi. In 3413, the yellow one?”

“Pleased to meet you, and yes, 3413. Faye and I used to be friendly, that’s how I knew about Donna and Steve. Oh, I’m sorry, I should have skipped having this water. May I use your restroom?”

“Of course, if you remember, it’s straight down that way.”

“She seems nice,” said Donna, “although it’s hard to remember Faye as ever being friendly. Vera must struggle on hot days though, being so heavy.”

Vera was tall and appeared to weigh 220 pounds (100 kg) or more. She returned and thanked them.

“Don’t mention it. So you and Faye were friends?”

“Yeah, we were a couple of divorced women with time on our hands. We would talk shit about our exes. Sharing war stories was kind of a bonding experience. She would stop in for coffee before going to work, since you two could manage getting to school on your own.”

“Wow, Faye never ever talked about her ex with us, Vera. All we had was a name.”

“Since Faye is gone, I won’t worry about being revealing of what she wanted to stay private. I didn’t have that much to say against T. K., my ex. Oh, wait. You guys are young, and I can imagine you won’t be bothered if I, well, tell you some shocking things. That is, some sex things. OK?”

“Please, Vera. ‘Inquiring minds want to know.’ We can handle whatever you want to tell us.”

“Well, T. K. wasn’t a bad guy, but he had a drinking problem. And too often, that meant he slept, snoring, when I wanted sex. And the alcoholism impaired his performance. Unfortunately, even sober and excited, this was his size.”