Sweet Bits (6 page)

Tess buzzed him. “They want you upstairs.”

Ben knew what upstairs meant. It was Jones. He wanted to see him. Tess gave him a wide-eyed fearful look as he walked past her desk buttoning his jacket on his way to the elevator. He could only imagine what Jones would want since he had turned down his offer of Germany.

“Harper,” said Jones putting his hand on Ben’s back and leading him into the enormous executive office. “I’ve got another offer for you.”

Ben sat and listened earnestly.

“I’m going to ask you once again to head up a program for us. This isn’t a whole new division; it’s a program we’re starting in the city here. It’s a…well…a…” He searched for the words. “It’s an inner city housing scandal that’s going on and we’re taking it pro bono. I need someone to head it up and win the case and you’re the best we’ve got.”

Ben’s ears perked up even more.
Inner city housing scandal?
This was a huge departure from the fat-cat clients he usually represented.

Jones continued. ”It’s over in the Lincoln Square area.” He picked up a sheet and read from it. “Some slumlord woman is running tenant housing with deplorable conditions”, he said. He put the sheet down and looked at Ben. “You’ve gotta get a conviction on this. This woman’s already got a bunch of misdemeanors and keeps evading the courts.”

“It sounds like a slam-dunk,” said Ben. “Are the tenants complaining?”

“And how,” said Jones. “You can read all about it. Here’s the file to get you started.” He handed a thick manila folder to Ben. “I’ll have the rest of the files brought over to you.” He looked at Ben. This is a priority right now. We’ve got a PR problem if this goes badly so we’re counting on you.”

Ben felt immediate pressure. He’d never worried about winning a case before, but suddenly he felt like this meant something more than just contract negotiations and million-dollar contract struggles. This was important to the firm and even more important to people who lived in the housing.

Three hours later Ben found himself sitting amongst boxes of files and immersed in reading about some of the worst housing conditions he could imagine. Bed bugs, falling ceilings, no water…they were just the tip of the iceberg. He sat back and wondered how this woman could elude justice running such a place. He felt a newfound sense of the law and he wanted to nail her once and for all.

“It’s been days, dude. Where you been?” asked Dirk. Ben cradled the phone on his shoulder and kept typing.

“Working, man. Just working my tail off.”

“Are you still at work?” asked Dirk. “It’s past 8:30.”

“Yeah, I got a new case and its priority number one.”

“Wow, must be some case. I’ve haven’t known you to work past 6:00 lately.”

Ben grabbed the phone in time to keep it from falling into his lap. “Well, this case is different,” he said. He gave the basic details of the case to Dirk.

“Yeah, I saw something about that in the news,” said Dirk.

“What? Really?”

“Yeah, it’s all over the news, man. Where have you been?”

Ben clicked onto an internet search engine and typed in the slumlord’s name. Suddenly story after story appeared before his eyes. He blinked. He hadn’t been paying much attention to the news the last few weeks with Ali and San Francisco and his regular workload. This was a big news event and apparently everyone was intent on seeing this woman behind bars.

Ben scanned the screen. “Wow, I had no idea…”

Dirk laughed. “Yeah, you’ve got yourself a big one,” he said. “Might even get some TV time on this one.”

Ben’s stomach lurched. He had no idea this was such a big case and so many people were watching. He suddenly wondered why Jones had given it to him. Was it really because he was such a great attorney? Or was it some sort of payback for turning down his Munich deal?

Ben couldn’t worry about that now. Whatever the reason, he had a case to win and everything else would have to take a backseat.

Ali hadn’t heard from Ben in three days. It was odd that he hadn’t called, but then again neither had she. Her life was a blur of baking cakes, researching schools and doing basic accounting to figure out how much she really had to live on. It was becoming an endeavor that pointed more and more to staying home.

“Chicago’s great,” said Josie. “Why would you want to leave anyway?”

Ali poured a glass of wine for herself and sat on the coach curling her legs under her. She sighed. “I know,” she said. “I love Chicago, but I was really hoping to go to California and live there and maybe even work there. They are truly a foodie capital.”

Josie sipped her wine. “Well, I’d hate to see you go. I’d be totally fine with you staying here, cooking up a storm and I’d be your number one taste tester!”

Ali laughed. What was she thinking anyway? Her friends were here. Her dad was here. Ben was here. Maybe good old Chi-Town was where she was meant to be.

“Besides, we’ve got some great food and restaurants here. You could do pretty well, I’m sure.” She picked off the plate of goat cheese crostini Ali had set out for them.

“Besides, I’m sure Ben would hate to see you go,” she said crunching into piece of the toasted bread.

Ben. Ali hadn’t thought much about it. He had seemed upset a bit at first, but then he was all for it…
wasn’t he
? She suddenly wondered why she hadn’t heard from him. She realized she’d been so wrapped up in herself and her problems the last few days that she hadn’t even thought about him. She suddenly longed to talk to him. To see him.

Josie left after polishing off most of the crostini and two glasses of wine. Ali picked up the phone and switched on the TV. As she was dialing his number she was amazed to see his face in front of her on the TV. It was Ben outside his offices downtown.

“…so we are dedicated to bringing her to justice and finally helping the tenants at Bel Aire Towers.” He said as he tried to walk through the throng of reporter to his office building’s front doors.

Ali just stood and stared. That’s why she hadn’t heard from Ben. He was on a hot case. But the Bel Aire Towers? She had heard of those before and they were in a pretty rough part of the city. It must be a different Bel Aire Towers, she thought. Ben only dealt with high-end clients and multi-million dollar deals.

“Wrong,” said Ben when she repeated her thoughts to him a few moments later on the phone. “It’s the same Bel Aire Towers.” He ran through the case with her and covered his basic strategy.

She hadn’t heard him talking this way about work before. He was excited, lit up. He couldn’t stop talking.

“Sounds like you’re really enjoying it,” she said. It was good to hear him so fired up and intense. She realized she must have sounded like this when she was so excited about San Francisco and he was uninspired by work. They had switched places.

“Yeah, you know? I am. I’m finally doing some work I feel has some meaning, I guess. Not to sound so cliché, but it’s true. My winning this case will actually make a difference for people.”

Ali smiled. “I’m really glad for you,” she said.

“Hey, how ‘bout you?” he asked. In the flurry of this new case and the last few days he hadn’t spent much time thinking about Ali and her predicament. “Making any headway on your decision?”

“Hmmm, yes and no,” she said. “I want to go; I want to stay. I don’t know…I think the right choice to stay here, go to school and then get a great job and be the next superstar Chicago chef,” she joked.

Ben laughed. The whole thing sounded good to him, especially her staying here. “I like it,” he said. “Sounds like the perfect career plan.”

Ali chuckled. She had felt a heavy feeling with the thought of staying home and going to school, but the more she talked about it out loud, the more it seemed like the perfect plan.

They hung up and Ali realized she was still disappointed about not going to California but she also knew that the idea of leaving suddenly seemed scary and slightly unappealing. The more she thought about staying home, the more she knew it was the right thing to do.

“You’re looking at the latest enrollee in Le Cordon Bleu Chicago,” announced Ali as she sat down in the bistro chair where she was meeting Ben for lunch.

Ben smiled at her. “Congratulations!” He was thrilled she had made her decision and it was to stay home. “How are you? Are you completely good with it?”

Ali nodded. “Yeah, you know? I am. At first it took me a few days to get past the disappointment of not going to California, but this is going to work. After all, it’s about me getting a good culinary education and I probably wouldn’t have time to really enjoy San Francisco anyway.” She pulled a white napkin over her lap.

Ben picked up a glass of water to toast. “To your new career path,” he said.

She picked up hers and clinked his glass. “Isn’t it bad luck to toast with water?”

“Nah, that’s an old wives tale,” he said. “I’d get some wine, but I’ve only got about 40 minutes for lunch and wine would make my head foggy.”

“No, don’t worry about it. We’ll go out and celebrate properly when you’ve won your case. When is the court trial?”

“In three weeks, so I’m working overtime trying to catch up, gather depositions and evidence.” His voice lowered slightly. “You should see this place, Ali. It makes those dreary spots we saw in San Fran look like million-dollar mansions. It’s awful. I feel terrible for the people who live there.”

Ali frowned. “I can’t believe it. I saw the news story on TV and they showed some of it. It’s a sad story, but now they have you on their side, right?”

“Yeah,” he said looking over the menu. “I hope I can get this woman once and for all.”

Ali reached across the table and took his hand. “You will. I have faith in you,” she said giving it a little squeeze.

He had tried to put Ali on the back burner in his mind lately, but that small gesture brought back all the feelings he’d been sorting through about her. He knew he loved her, but it was just something he’d have to get over. She obviously didn’t feel the same way and wanted to just be friends.

He smiled at her. “Thanks for the vote of confidence. Now let’s eat. I’m starving.”

Ali pulled the bread out of the oven. She had followed the recipe exactly, but the bread was obviously over-baked. It was dark brown and smelled slightly burnt.

“Darn!” She threw the hot pads on the counter and slumped into a chair. She’d been baking for as long as she could remember, but this recipe was making her crazy. It was for gluten-free bread. She hadn’t done a lot of gluten free baking but had a request from a client whose son had been diagnosed with Celiac disease and couldn’t eat wheat or gluten. She was determined to make it right.

As she stood to start another loaf, her phone rang.

“Hey, honey, just wanted to call and tell you your Dad’s not doing so well,” Toni’s said.

Ali sat back down. Her Dad. She hadn’t called him in a couple of weeks. “What’s wrong?”

“His legs, honey. They’re just giving out and he can’t get around very well.”

The accident had almost crushed his legs beyond use and after several surgeries and therapy he’d been recovering. Now it sounded like things were reversing.

“Oh, no, Toni. I’ll call him now.”

“Honey, you better get out to see him as soon as you can. I’m on my way there now.”

A pang stung Ali’s heart. This was more serious than she thought.

Toni paused and her voice cracked. Ali realized she’d been crying. “It’s not just his legs, honey. It’s his heart. He’s had some tests done and didn’t want me to tell you, but his heart is giving out, too. He’s in bad shape.”

Tears came to Ali’s eyes. Her Dad was one of the sweetest people she’d ever known. After her mom died, he had worked two jobs to raise her and give her all she needed. Toni was his sister and had tried to fill in for her mother. They were all the family she had in the world.

***

“There’s my girl,” said her Dad as she walked into the room. The shades had been partly pulled down and the sun was filtering across the bedroom. Ali sat on the side of the bed and took his hand.

“Looks like my heart doesn’t want to play nice,” he said trying to be light-hearted. Ali had gotten her sunny disposition from him.

“What’s going on? Why didn’t you call me?”

“You’ve got your own life and I didn’t want to bother you.”

“Bother me? Dad! Stop it. What do the doctors say?”

“Phew,” he blew air out. “They don’t say much good, I’ll tell you that,” he said. “They say I’ve got severe heart valve disease,” he said. “I need a new one, or so they say.”

Ali’s heart sank. “A new heart?”

“No, a new valve. A replacement, I guess.”

“Oh, well, can’t they do that now? I mean, just put in a new valve?” She brightened a little. Surely a new valve was nothing like getting a whole new heart.

Her dad chuckled. “Yeah, they want me to do it right away. The only thing is, Toni checked with my insurance and they only cover a small portion of it. Something about pre-existing conditions or something. It’s going to cost more than I afford right now.”

Her dad had been on a fixed income since his accident and unable to work. She sighed. “How much is it?”

Toni chimed in from across the room. “It’s about 30 grand all said and done.”

“She wanted to give me the money to cover it, but I won’t have it. She waited a long time to get that settlement and she deserves every penny,” said her Dad.

Ali calculated. Her tuition for school was nearly $25,000. Toni had given her a certificate for $30,000 and the extra was for incidentals. Ali knew Toni’s settlement was only $50,000 total. She had $20,000 to pay for her dad’s surgery. Ali would scrape together the rest. It would be OK.

“That’s the first surgery. Then there’s my hip. That needs replacing, too. Sounds like I’m falling apart,” he laughed softly.

“Your hip? I thought it was your leg.”

“Nah, those are OK. Well as good as they can be considering,” he said. He looked down. “I fell about a month ago and hurt my hip. Guess it’s worse than we thought. I fractured it pretty bad and now I can’t get around at all.”

“Dad! Why didn’t you call me?” Ali was flaming angry with her father and even angrier with herself. She had been so self-absorbed lately. She hadn’t kept in touch with him like she should have.

“It’s just old people stuff, Ali. If I called you with every crack and ailment I had, I’d be on the phone all the time!”

“Dad, this isn’t just “old people” stuff. This is serious.” She got up and walked across the room and pulled up a shade to look out the window. The sun was starting to set and the backyard had a golden glow.

“How much is the hip surgery?”

“Another $15. At least,” he said. “My insurance is giving me a hard time with that one, too, but I think they’ll cover some of it.”

“Some of it?”

“A few thousand,” he said quietly. “They want to be sure it has nothing to do with my accident, which, of course, it doesn’t, but they’re sending me for tests just to be sure.” He hadn’t wanted to tell Ali any of this. He knew she’d been saving for school and living expenses and didn’t want to be a burden.

Ali looked over at her Dad lying in the bed. He looked small and frail, his grey hair uncombed and falling over his forehead. She’d always seen him as a giant, her hero. She fought back tears. She surely didn’t want him to see her cry.

“Well, Dad, sounds like you have some hospital reservations to make,” she said trying to be strong.

“Ali, honey, I’m so sorry.” He looks so defeated, she thought. He’s been there for me my whole life and now I can be there for him. She went to him and hugged him. “Don’t worry about a thing. I love you, Dad.”

“I love you, too, honey.”

She tried to brighten for his sake. “Now let’s get you better!” She switched on the TV and snuggled in next to him to watch a movie, but she couldn’t keep her mind on it. She was furious. What was the point of insurance if they weren’t going to help you when you needed it the most? What about school? What about her Dad? Would he be OK? The thoughts raced in her mind, but she kept a pleasant smile on her face for him.

***

“So you’re going to help him out?” asked Ben as he stuffed a ham and Swiss sandwich in his mouth. The only time he and Ali had lately had been short lunch breaks. His case was nearing trial and he was working around the clock.

“Of course, what else could I do? It’s my Dad.”

He watched her and knew that this new financial burden was going to be rough. “Is it going to keep you from school?”

“Maybe…yeah, probably,” she frowned and shrugged. “Like I said, what else could I do? Toni is going to spend what she can but you know her, she’s already blown most of it that she didn’t set aside for me. My cousin told me she bought a suede sofa and a fur coat.”

Ben nodded. Ali’s aunt Toni was a sweet and nutty. Just like a candy bar.

“So that’s it then. I’ll save and go next year. No big deal,” said Ali picking at her salad. She had no appetite these days and that was rare.

“I could loan you some,” he offered.

“No! I won’t borrow from you when the money is there. It just needs to be…reallocated is all.”

“Well, if you need it, it’s here for you. I don’t mind. I really don’t.” He’d love nothing better than to loan her the money and fix all her problems, but he knew her stubborn independent streak would not allow it.

“I already dropped out of school and they refunded my tuition…all except for $100 that was for administrative costs. At least that’s what they call it.”

“Well, at least you got your money back.” Ben struggled for something positive to say.

Ali shook her shoulders as if to shake off the whole topic. “So, enough about me…how’s your case?”

Ben nodded with a full mouth. Once he swallowed and took a drink of water, he said “I think we’re in really good shape. This woman, the one that owns the building, has dodged courts for a couple of years but we’ve got so much against her, we’re pretty much golden.”

“No more continuances?” Ali asked