The Deception (7 page)

He gave her another long, lingering kiss before they finally said goodnight. He waited until she was safely inside before walking back to his car. When he arrived home, he found Maggie upstairs in bed, watching an old black and white movie on
TV
.

"Hi, honey. Did you have a good time with your buddies?"

"Sure did."

Scott was still aroused and he needed some relief. He sat down on the bed and began kissing Maggie.

"My goodness," she said, when she finally came up for air. "I don't know what's gotten into you, but if spending the day hanging out with your buddies does this to you then by all means, I think you should do it more often."

Undressed, he grabbed the remote and turned off the television before pulling up Maggie's nightgown. She reached for the lamp on the nightstand.

"No, leave the lights on."

Maggie started to giggle. The sound of her laughter irritated him. He dispensed with the foreplay so he could relieve himself as quickly as possible. He climbed on top of her and as he entered her he looked up at the nude photos of Carrie, hanging over the bed. Tending to his needs with Maggie, he kept his eyes on the photos and imagined he was with the nymph with the long, dark hair.

T
he all too familiar feeling of dread filled Carrie once again as she entered the parking lot and pulled into a space. She scooped up the bouquet of flowers, stepped out of her car, and headed toward the front door. The signage over the entrance read, "Sierra Arroyo Long-Term Care," but she knew full well what it really was. It was a house of death. It was a place where worn-out, broken-down people came to die. She muttered Dante to herself as she stepped into the lobby to sign in at the front desk.

"Abandon all hope, all yea who enter here."

"Good morning, Carrie," greeted the receptionist.

"Good morning, Heather."

"Mr. Greene would like to talk to you."

Carrie let out a sigh. "I have a check. Is he in his office?"

"Yes, it's down the hall."

"I know where it is."

She walked down the hallway leading to the administrative offices and tapped on his door. He looked up and smiled, inviting her in and motioning to her to take a seat.

"I know what you're going to ask, and yes, I have a check for you." She opened up her purse and handed it to him. "I know it won't cover everything, but it's the best I can do for you this month. You have to understand. Ever since Doug and I split up, I just don't have the funds I had before. I'm now having to pay rent on an apartment."

"I'm aware of that, Carrie," he replied. "Look, I admire your spirit and your determination to take care of your mother, but you're fighting an uphill battle. The cost of her care is going up faster than you can keep up with it. It's time for you to make her a ward of the state."

"I can't do that."

"I understand if you're worried about the quality of her care, but I can assure you that nothing will change. She'll continue to receive the best care we can possibly give her."

"You don't understand. I don't take handouts. That's the one thing that she taught me never to do. She's my mother. I have a responsibility to her. She took care of me, and now it's my turn."

"I get that," he replied, "but you're taking on a debt that you may never be able to repay. It's like I just told you a minute ago. The cost of her care is going up while your ability to pay is going down. Carrie, I can only do so much. The bean counters at the corporate office don't care about your circumstances. They only see the red ink, and even though you're writing us a check each and every month, you're still falling behind. There'll be a time, probably sooner than you think, when they'll turn her account over to collections. At that point, you won't have much of a choice."

"I'm doing the best I can, Mr. Greene."

"I know you are, but please, just think about it, okay? Whenever you're ready, let me know and I'll help you with the paperwork."

She thanked him before leaving his office and headed to her mother's room.

"Good morning, Carrie," said Hilda as she came in. Hilda had a kind heart. She also looked as old as most of the patients she cared for.

"Good morning, Hilda. How's she doing today?"

"About the same. Take a look for yourself." She turned to her patient. "Linda, you have a visitor. Look who's here?"

"Hi Mama. I brought you some pretty flowers today." Carrie set them down on the small table next to her mother's bed.

Linda Daniels was only in her mid-fifties. Like Louise, her skin was still smooth and she had very little gray in her long brown hair, but that was where the similarities ended. The stroke she'd suffered left her brain damaged and the right half of her body was permanently paralyzed. In the three years since the dreadful night it happened, her condition had remained virtually unchanged.

"Would you like for me to brush your hair for you, Mama?" asked Carrie. "Then when I'm done, I can braid it. A little braid down the side would sure make you look pretty."

Linda's eyes followed Carrie as she found her mother's hairbrush and began brushing her hair. Once she finished, she picked up a lock and started braiding it. As she worked she wondered how much, if anything, her mother could still comprehend.

"So, how's the rest of your life going, Carrie?" asked Hilda. "Did you get moved into that new apartment yet?"

"Sure did. I've been there since December."

"Good. I was worried about you being camped out in your office. It's not in the best part of town, you know."

"I know, but I kept my doors locked and I didn't venture out after dark."

Hilda looked at Carrie more closely.  "Are you all right? You look a little upset about something."

Carrie finished the braid and looked for a rubber band. Hilda found one and handed it to her.

"It's Mr. Greene," she replied. "I just got called into his office, and I felt like a schoolgirl being sent to the principal. I'm doing the best I can, but he feels that it's time to make Mama a ward of the state."

"Well, I certainly can't tell you what to do, but I will say that if you were my daughter I'd want you to be living your life and putting some money away for your own future. You need to think about having a family yourself someday."

"Yeah, like that's going to happen. I'm thirty years old and my boyfriend just dumped me."

"Oh, listen to yourself. You're young, you're beautiful, and there's some man out there who's going to want you. You still have plenty of time to have a family."

Linda started making grunting, babbling noises. Hilda turned to check on her.

"See? You're mother agrees with me. We both know what's best for her, don't we, Linda?"

"I understand what you're saying, Hilda, but the one thing my mother taught me was to never ever to take a handout. Not from anyone. I guess we Daniels women are destined to be working poor. I've already come to terms with the fact that I'll probably never get to live in a fancy house or drive an expensive car, but I can still have a roof over my head, even if I have to camp out in my photography studio, and I'm still able to eat, even if I only get to have peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. At least I won't be starving."

Linda started becoming agitated and Carrie was unable to calm her down. Hilda finally had to have one of the nurses come in and give her a shot. Once she'd finally settled back down, Hilda left to tend to other patients. Carrie took a seat next to her mother's bed.

"It's all right, Mama." She reached over and took her mother's hand. "I'm sure I'll figure out something and it'll all turn out okay in the end. I promise."

She held her mother's hand until she fell asleep. When she finally appeared to be resting comfortably, Carrie got up and quietly left the room.

L
ouise's show at Hanson Sisters Fine Art was a smashing success and the critics raved about her work. Carrie received some benefit as well. A few of the people she met on opening night were Louise's former clients, and in need of a commercial photographer. At long last, her photography business was getting a much-needed boost.

Having more clients meant working longer hours and occasional Saturdays. This particular Saturday would be four weeks to the day that Scott had taken her hiking at Lake Pleasant. They had started emailing one another, and a few times she'd been taken aback by the explicitness in some of his messages. He'd also invited her to dinner a couple times, but on both occasions he canceled at the last minute. It was always the same excuse--an emergency at the office. Carrie was glad she hadn't expected too much from him or the relationship. Scott was either a total workaholic, or perhaps he had another girlfriend. The latter was a possibility she'd not considered before.

She let out a sigh as she went back to work. She needed focus on setting up the lights and getting her subject matter ready. She was photographing auto parts. While hardly a glamour job, she was charging the client a handsome fee, which would go a long way toward paying some of her bills. She'd just finished shooting her photos when she heard her cell phone beeping. It was a text message from Scott.

"Busy today?"

"Yes," she replied.

"How busy?"

"Busy, busy."

Her phone began to ring.

"I hope you're not mad at me," said the voice on the other end.

"No, I'm not. Seriously, Scott, I really am in my studio. Business has picked up lately so now I'm working Saturdays too. You of all people should understand."

"I do, but you have to eat sometime and I still want to take you to dinner. When do you think you'll be done?"

"Let's see." She glanced at her watch. "If all goes well, I should be home by five o'clock."

"Then why don't I pick you up at six? And wear something nice. The place I have in mind this time is a little fancier than a fast-food joint."

"You got it. Six o'clock it is. See you then"

She ended the call and went back to work. By the time she arrived home, she was beat. She debated whether she should bother getting ready. Scott had already disappointed her twice. If he canceled their plans this time, she'd take her cue and move on. She headed off to the shower, and it was only a couple of minutes past six when she heard the knock on the door. She looked through the peephole and smiled. This time he arrived, right on time. He greeted her with a long, passionate kiss.

"I don't know about you, but I'm starving." He gave her another long, passionate kiss.

"Me too."

She grabbed her purse and as they headed out to his car he mentioned the restaurant they were going to was across town.

"Isn't that kind of out of the way?"

"Maybe," he replied, "but we'll make tonight an adventure."

Over dinner Carrie discussed her new projects. While it was apparent that she loved her job and was excited about her work, Scott really wasn't listening that closely to what she had to say. He was much more interested in the low-cut, little black dress she had on. He kept seeing images in his mind of her dropping some of her food down her front and him having to lick it off. Finishing the main course, the waitress asked if they wanted dessert. He ordered a slice of chocolate cake, asking her to bring it in a to-go box.

"Why don't we have dessert at your place? We can take our shoes off, get more comfortable, and maybe listen to some music."

"Sounds like a plan to me," she replied. "It's been a long day. I'm ready kick back and relax for awhile."

They made small talk on the way back to her apartment. Once inside, she set the cake down on the kitchen counter.

"I'll be right back. I want to take my shoes off before we have dessert. Go ahead and make yourself at home."

Carrie headed off to her bedroom. Scott followed right behind her.

"Scott, what are you doing?"

"Making myself at home."

She heard the flirtatious tone in his voice. She laughed as she sat down on the edge of the bed. He sat down next to her.

"Okay, okay," she said with a smile. "Just give me a minute. I can only stand wearing high heels for so long." She reached down to unbuckle the shoes.

"I recognize those. You wore them in the photos, didn't you?"

"Yep." She took off the shoes and tossed them aside.

"You know, they're incredibly sexy shoes, and they really turn me on."

He began kissing her, his tongue probing her mouth. He reached back to unzip her dress. He stroked her breasts as he slowly pulled the top part of her dress down. He began kissing her again, this time reaching back and unhooking her bra. Kissing her breasts, he pulled off her bra and tossed it aside with the shoes. He smiled, and gently eased her down across the bed. He looked into her eyes, stroking the side of her face.

"You know, Carrie, every night, before I go to sleep, I look at those photos of you, wearing nothing but those shoes, and I get hungry for you. You look delicious. So, if you don't mind, I think I'll skip the cake and have you for dessert instead."