Death of a Coupon Clipper (3 page)

Randy picked Hayley up at the office promptly at five o’clock in his blue Prius and
they drove straight to the grocery store to stock up on cookie dough, chocolate chips,
coffee, and, most important, a bottle of Baileys Irish Cream before swinging by Hayley’s
neighbor to pick up Leroy, whose simple playdate had morphed into doggie day care.

When they finally arrived at Randy’s large oceanfront house, Hayley made a beeline
for the kitchen to prepare their feast of freshly baked cookies and warm drinks, while
Randy lugged in an armful of chopped wood from outside and stacked them in the fireplace.

Leroy chose to curl up on the couch and fall into a deep sleep.

By the time Hayley carried in two steaming mugs of Irish coffee, Randy was stoking
the roaring fire with an iron poker. He had already tossed some pillows on the floor,
and they both sat down and toasted to a hopefully short winter before taking their
sips.

“So, have you thought about what you’re going to do?” Randy asked delicately.

Hayley shook her head. “The kids will be home soon. I’m going to have to figure something
out quick.”

“You can always go for the nuclear option,” Randy said, smiling.

“No way! Absolutely not!”

The nuclear option was calling their mother in Florida and asking her for a loan.
Sheila had some cash socked away for a rainy day, but the ordeal of asking was as
painful to Hayley as the time she underwent dental implants. There had to be another
way.

“You can at least try,” Randy said, reaching for the cordless phone on the coffee
table. “I know she’s home. We chatted earlier.”

“Randy, I’ve gone down this road before and she always makes me feel guilty for asking.
I just don’t want to go through that again. I’m not that desperate.”

“Yes, you are, sis.”

He had a point.

Hayley grabbed the phone out of Randy’s hand and started punching numbers. “I have
a very strong feeling I’m going to regret this.”

Hayley shook her head and sighed as it rang. In her gut she just knew this was a huge
mistake. But what choice did she have?

“Yes. Hello. Who is this?”

“Mom, I know you checked the caller ID before you answered. It’s me. Your only daughter.”

“Oh, hello, Hayley. You can’t trust caller ID. The government has a lot of tricks
up its sleeve. They can tamper with anything. In fact, this may not even be you. I’m
sure with all the techno gizmos they’ve got, they can play with voice patterns and
re-create the exact sound of your voice.”

“Mom, I’m calling for a loan.”

“Well, you’ve convinced me. It really
is
you.”

Randy gave Hayley an encouraging thumbs-up.

Hayley took another sip of her Irish coffee to muster a little more courage. “I’ll
pay you back this time. I promise.”

“Is that deadbeat ex-husband of yours late with the child support again?” Sheila cried
out. She was never a fan of Hayley’s ex, even when they were married.

“No, but I’ve had a couple of unexpected setbacks and I’m just not going to make it
through the winter unless I get a little help.”

“How much are we talking about?” Sheila said evenly and businesslike.

“Well, I’m not sure. I need a new furnace and a new roof on my garage, and my car
is totaled, and . . .” Hayley was stalling.

The last thing she wanted was to give her mother an actual figure.

“How
much
?”

“Ten grand.”

Dead silence on the other end of the phone.

Hayley’s nerves suddenly took over and she began chatting incessantly. “I know it’s
a lot, and I normally wouldn’t ask. Well, I mean, I would ask, because I’ve asked
before. . . .”

“Multiple times,” Sheila added.

“But I just don’t know what I’m going to do. I never planned on any of those things
happening, and—”

“Don’t you have insurance to cover the cost of repairing your car?” Sheila asked,
a cold tone to her voice.

“Well, yes, um, I mean, no. It’s kind of funny. I sort of forgot to mail the check
for the premium and they canceled my policy, and I didn’t even know it. . . .”

More silence on the other end of the phone.

As Hayley predicted, this was one mother of a huge mistake.

“Hayley, I begged you to get yourself a financial planner, since you are so bad with
money,” Sheila said.

“I would, if I could afford one,” Hayley said. She wanted to argue, but she couldn’t.
Her mother was right. And she always hated it when her mother was right.

“Hayley, I want to help you. Really, I do. And you know I came through for you the
last four times you made this exact same call.”

“Yes, but this time is different, because none of this was my fault. Well, except
maybe the forgetting to mail the insurance check part, but it’s been such a horrible
winter, and I never expected—”

“I just don’t have it, Hayley. You know I renovated my kitchen in the fall, and I
got laser surgery on my eyes last month. You wouldn’t believe how easy it is for me
to read menus now in restaurants. Stan says I have X-ray vision like Wonder Woman.”

“Wonder Woman doesn’t have X-ray vision, Ma.”

As if arguing over a comic-book character’s superpowers was the best strategy to pursue
at this moment.

“Well, you know what I mean!”

Hayley glared at Randy, whose smile slowly faded as he turned his thumbs-up into a
thumbs-down.

Hayley nodded.

They both gulped down the rest of their Irish coffees.

“Look, I understand, Ma. Things are tight. No worries.”

“By the way, Stan and I are taking a Mediterranean cruise. You know it’s been my lifelong
dream to see the Greek isles. Well, I’m not sure we’ll actually go ashore, but I’m
sure they will look lovely from the deck.”

“That’s so nice. Is Stan treating you?”

“Oh, please. Like he has two cents to his name. No, this one’s on me. I always say,
spend it while you’ve got it.”

Hayley bit her tongue.

“I’d e-mail you the itinerary, but I don’t want Homeland Security all up in my business,”
Sheila said. “They monitor our computers, you know, so you better make sure Dustin
isn’t going to any porn sites when you’re not home.”

“I will, Ma. I promise.”

There was a
click
and Hayley noticed another call coming through.

It was Lex Bansfield, Hayley’s boyfriend.

Or something.

She hadn’t really defined it yet.

“Ma, I better go. Lex is calling.”

“You should ask
him
for money,” Sheila offered helpfully. “All those billions from that frozen seafood.
I can’t go into the supermarket without seeing that laughing lobster on all those
boxes taking up most of the space in the freezer section. I just want a pint of frozen
yogurt, for heaven’s sake!”

“Ma, Lex is the caretaker on the Hollingsworth estate. It’s not like he gets a cut
from the sales. He just mows the lawn. Or this time of year, he plows the driveway.”

“Well, he’s closer to a giant fortune than most people.”

“Bye, Ma.”

Hayley pressed the flash button on the handset to switch over to the other line. “Lex,
how did you know I was here?”

“Your boss, Sal, called and asked me to bring my plow over to his place and dig his
car out of a snowbank, and he told me you had to move out of your house because your
furnace is busted. I figured you’d end up bunking with your brother.”

“You wouldn’t believe the last couple of days I’ve had—”

“Listen, Hayley, I’m sorry to interrupt. I’m calling about our dinner tonight. . .
.”

Dinner? Omigod. Hayley suddenly realized she was supposed to have dinner with Lex
at Jack Russell’s, a steak house just outside of town. She was so caught up in her
personal drama she had completely forgotten.

“I’m going to have to cancel,” Lex said, his voice shaky.

Hayley knew something was wrong. “Lex, what’s going on?”

“It’s Mr. Hollingsworth,” Lex said.

Edgar Hollingsworth was Lex’s boss and the billionaire owner of Hollingsworth frozen
seafood. He was a kind man and treated Lex like a son, especially since his own son
had died tragically in a car accident years ago. Lex thought the world of him. In
the past few months, Edgar Hollingsworth had suffered from pneumonia and was resting
at home under the care of a private nurse.

“He’s taken a turn for the worse,” Lex said solemnly.

“How bad is it?” Hayley asked.

Randy put down his empty coffee mug and scooted closer to Hayley, mouthing, “What?”

“He slipped into a coma this afternoon. We called the ambulance and they took him
to the hospital. It doesn’t look good,” Lex said, his voice cracking.

Lex was a strong man, not prone to showing much emotion. Hayley knew he really had
to be hurting.

All she wanted to do at that moment was reach through the phone and give him a big
hug.

After hanging up with Lex, Hayley put her winter boots on, wrapped a white wool scarf
around her neck, buttoned up her still soggy winter jacket, and bolted out the door
before Randy could stop her. She was headed to the hospital to be with Lex, who was
holding vigil at his boss’s bedside. Hayley worried about her relationship with Lex
and where it was going. They hadn’t talked about what they wanted out of it or if
they were working toward something more serious in the future. Still, Hayley couldn’t
deny the feelings that she had developed in recent months for this strapping, soft-spoken
man. When she sensed the anguish in his voice, she knew she just had to be with him.

It was a treacherous fifteen-minute walk to the local hospital, which was situated
one block behind her office at the
Island Times.
When she stomped the excess snow off her boots and walked through the sliding glass
doors into the hospital lobby, she quickly noticed how quiet it was. Behind the reception
desk was Evelyn Tate, a short, stout woman who had a cherubic face and an infectious
laugh. Hayley had known Evelyn since they shared a cubbyhole in kindergarten.

Evelyn looked up from her paperwork to see Hayley unzipping her jacket and wiping
some wet flakes off her face with her scarf.

Usually, Evelyn would break into a wide smile and leap to her feet and grab Hayley
in a hug and ask about her kids. Tonight, though, Evelyn wasn’t smiling. She knew
why Hayley was here.

“He’s in room 216, Hayley. Lex is up there with him now,” Evelyn said gravely.

“Thanks, Evelyn.”

Hayley noticed Evelyn’s eyes were brimming with tears. “Are you okay?”

“It’s just that Mr. Hollingsworth is such a sweet and kind man. When I was eight years
old, my father lost his construction job due to an injury and Mr. Hollingsworth paid
the mortgage on our house until Daddy got back on his feet. Not many rich folks would
do something like that.”

Hayley took Evelyn’s hand and squeezed it. “We both know Edgar Hollingsworth is a
strong SOB. He’s weathered a lot of storms. He’ll beat this.”

“I heard the doctors talking. They’re saying this coma might be irreversible,” Evelyn
said, snatching a tissue out of the colorful flowery box on her desk and blowing her
nose. “But I’m not supposed to say anything.”

Hayley’s heart sank.

She patted Evelyn’s hand and hurried around the corner to the bank of elevators that
would take her to the second floor.

As she counted down the numbers to room 216, her wet boots squeaked on the tile floor.
Her arrival was much louder than she wanted it to be. Several RNs and orderlies at
the nurses’ station looked up from their work to see who was making so much noise.
Hayley wanted to ditch the boots, but she was in too much of a hurry.

She spotted Lex standing outside room 216. He was still tall and handsome in his plaid
work shirt, worn over a white undershirt, and khaki pants and black work boots. But
his face was pale and gaunt. The sudden change in his boss’s condition was clearly
worrying him.

Hayley walked up to Lex, surprising him. He was in his own world, lost in his thoughts.
He hadn’t noticed her approaching, despite her squeaky boots. He grabbed and hugged
her, holding her tightly, not wanting to let go.

Hayley rested her head on his broad chest and rubbed his back with her hand. “Have
you spoken to the doctor?”

“Prognosis isn’t good, I’m afraid. It’s gotten worse since I called you. They got
him hooked up to all sorts of machines now.”

“Is there any way he might come out of this?”

“Depends on if you believe in miracles, I guess,” Lex said, shrugging.

Hayley noticed a candy bar wrapper sticking out of Lex’s pants pocket. She frowned.
“I see you’re taking care of yourself eating junk food. When was the last time you
had a proper meal?”

“I haven’t had time to think about eating,” Lex said.

“Exactly. Which is why I’m here. Mr. Hollingsworth has a whole hospital full of doctors
and nurses taking care of him. You need someone looking after you. Now sit tight.
I’m going to go to the cafeteria and get you something decent to eat.”

Hayley caught a quick glance inside room 216. Edgar Hollingsworth was lying in bed,
a breathing tube sticking out of his mouth, a stack of monitors displaying all kinds
of numbers and readings. His bone thin arms were at his sides; his wrinkled, gaunt
face appeared lifeless; wisps of fine white hair flew off in all different directions
on top of his head. Although he was in his eighties, Edgar Hollingsworth had always
seemed so indestructible to Hayley. Ever since she was a little girl, he had appeared
so strong and vital and wealthy and powerful. She hated seeing him like this.

As she pulled away from Lex, he clutched her hand and kissed her palm. “I’m glad you
came over here to be with me, Hayley.”

“Just try and keep me away,” Hayley said, smiling. And then she squeaked down the
hall in her annoying winter boots in the direction of the cafeteria.

 

 

The cafeteria was empty except for a high-school girl seated behind the cash register.
The teen was busy texting her friends as two nurses, at a corner table on their break,
were having a quick dinner.

One of the nurses was Candace Culpepper.

Candace was a couple of years older than Hayley. When they both attended Mount Desert
Island High School, they had played on the same soccer team. Hayley remembered Candace
being super-competitive. Whenever they were on opposing scrimmage teams during practice,
Hayley would go out of her way to avoid Candace because Candace had no qualms about
kicking shins, bodychecking, or giving her opponent a dirt facial in order to regain
control of that black-and-white–checkered ball. It was because of Candace’s fierce
determination that the team wound up making it to the state championships. Unfortunately,
during the final seconds in the fourth quarter, with the score tied three to three,
Mona, who was also on the team, attempted a wide shot, which bounced off the goalpost,
landing right in front of the other team’s star player, who effortlessly kicked the
ball back down the field to where the MDI goalie was wide open and exposed. Needless
to say, the desperate goalie had little chance of stopping the ball. As the horn blared
after the last few seconds ticked away, Candace’s hopes of a trophy were dashed and
she never forgave Mona. So, by extension, she blamed Hayley as well for the simple
fact that Hayley and Mona were close friends.

Many years had passed since that fateful day; and Hayley waited patiently for the
day Candace would finally decide to be at least civil to her, but she was still waiting.
Things, it seemed, were not about to change on this cold Maine winter night in February.

Candace looked up from her soup and salad and saw Hayley scooping some chili into
a plastic container for Lex. She just stared blankly at Hayley as if she didn’t even
recognize her. The other nurse, Tilly McVety, who spent a lot of time with Hayley
at the PTA meetings at school, smiled and waved. When Tilly caught Candace glaring
at her as if she were some kind of traitor, she quickly stopped.

Hayley acknowledged them both with a smile and then moved on to the bread section
to grab a couple of rolls for Lex to have with his chili. She snapped the container
shut and moved to the bored young girl behind the register, who rang her up and took
her money.

Just as she was about to go, Hayley heard a gasp. She spun around in time to see Candace
Culpepper spitting out her soup into a coffee mug.

Tilly got caught in the cross fire and some of the broth splashed across her white
nurse’s uniform. She jumped to her feet in shock. “My God, Candace, what is it?”

Candace spoke in a low growl as she wiped her face with a paper napkin. “There are
beans in this soup. I hate beans.”

She grabbed the paper bowl with the soup in it and dramatically marched over and dumped
it in the trash, glaring at Hayley and the girl behind the register as if the entire
bean drama had been their fault. “Ida told me she was going to stop putting beans
in her chicken chili stew. She said she’d use lentils instead.”

“I know,” Tilly said softly, “but people complained. They missed the old recipe, so
she went back to the original. I’m sure she told you.”

“No, she did not,” Candace said, grabbing a glass of water and chugging it down in
an attempt to erase any aftertaste of the offensive beans. “She knows I hate beans.
Everyone knows I hate beans.”

“I didn’t,” Hayley said, surprised the words spilled out of her mouth at that exact
moment. She really needed to work on thinking before she spoke.

Candace slowly turned her head back to Hayley like some predatory cat who just noticed
a mouse cowering in the corner. “Well, I do. I hate beans.”

Hayley waited for her to continue with saying, “And I hate
you
!”

But Candace stopped short of that.

Tilly was desperate to change the subject. She didn’t want Candace causing a scene.
“So, did you apply online for the game show, Candace?”

“Yes, this morning,” Candace said, throwing Hayley one last grimace before returning
her attention to her quivering dinner companion and sitting back down at the table.

“It’s so exciting. I watch that extreme coupon-clipping show all the time!” Tilly
gushed. “I can’t believe they’re actually coming to do a show here in Bar Harbor.”

Hayley’s ears suddenly perked up.

A coupon-clipping game show?

Here in Bar Harbor?

Candace’s eyes flared up and she put a finger to her lips. Tilly got the message immediately
and obediently returned to scarfing down her own chicken chili stew. With beans. She
was stuffing spoonfuls into her mouth to keep herself from talking anymore and making
her fellow RN angrier than she already was.

But the cat was out of the bag.

And so was a possible solution to Hayley’s problems.

If this was true—if there really was a coupon-clipping game show actually coming to
the local market to tape an episode, and Bar Harbor residents were allowed to apply
as contestants—then she was a shoo-in. Because nobody,
repeat nobody,
was as good at clipping coupons and cutting down her monthly grocery bill at the
Shop ’n Save than Hayley Powell. People marveled at her cost-savings skills. She was
a master. And if she somehow managed to get on the show and win, well, then the cash
prize just might be enough to pay all her repair costs.

An answer to her prayers.

Maybe there was such a thing as miracles.