Fortunately there weren’t any major crises that arose that evening, other than a squabble over who wanted what on their pizzas. After some of the things that had come up the last few days, John thought that was a refreshing change.

The pizza place was quick on the delivery, as usual, and there was time for Sally to eat before Consuela arrived to pick her up. Since Carlos and Josie had ridden their bikes and it was after dark before they decided it was time to go, John put the bikes in the van and took the kids home. With Sally out working, he thought that the time afterward might be good to have a little further heart-to-heart with Mandy, but she didn’t seem interested in talking. That wasn’t anything new, he remembered.

Teresa was still tiring easily, and Mandy helped her get changed and into bed not long after he’d taken Carlos and Josie home. “She’s getting better,” Mandy reported. “She’s to the point where she can change most of her clothes by herself.”

“Good,” John replied. “I wasn’t looking forward to helping her get ready for bed while Sally is out working. That might get a little, uh, awkward.”

“If it becomes an issue you can probably deal with it by using a little prior planning,” Mandy replied. “Are you planning on staying up till Sally gets home?”

“I probably should, being that this is her first night on the job.”

Somehow there just wasn’t a great deal more to say. Both Mandy and John found a book; John grabbed one of Teresa’s to see just what kind of stuff the kid was reading. He had never been a fan of those kinds of books, but he found himself getting drawn into it.

Sally got back about ten-thirty. “It went pretty good,” she reported. “I’ve had worse jobs, and this was pretty straightforward. Consuela is nice, we worked well together.”

“Well, good deal,” John replied. “That’ll help fill in your time.”

John left for work a little late the next morning, taking Sally along with him. They swung by the insurance agency to work out the details on the rental car, then went out to pick it up near the airport. After that they split up; Sally headed back home, while John went to the police station to sign the complaint about Warren’s wife, and finally got into the Suncoast office about ten-thirty. For once Annamaria didn’t glare at John for arriving late; she knew he had some running to do. “So what crisis has broken out this morning?” he asked.

“Nothing major,” she replied. “The usual sorts of things. Well, normal stuff. Tom is working on a major sale and he needs his hand held again, even though it seems to me that he’s handling it pretty well. Warren must have hit the ground running, he sent in a couple orders this morning. Sid is still trying to make sense out of that service agreement question he had.”

“Well, so am I,” John shook his head. “I couldn’t figure out what he was asking and I thought he couldn’t figure it out either. I suppose that’s all in e-mail, right?”

“Yes, and there are a few other things there too, but it all seems to be routine stuff.”

“After the last week it’s welcome,” he told her. “I suppose I’d better go in and get hot on that revision to the Tomtucknee Regional bid.”

“Don’t bother,” she smiled. “Did you happen to notice that the deadline was yesterday?”

“No,” he replied in surprise. “I thought I had another week or so, but with all the stuff that’s been going down recently I guess I missed it. So we gave that one to Voss, after all.”

“No,” she smiled. “When I saw the deadline, I stripped those two questionable sections out of the memo you put together and sent it off. I can’t guarantee we’re going to win the bid, but we ought to be close if Voss bids about like we’ve seen them do recently.”

“Well, good. That means we’re in the running anyway, and that counts for something. Annamaria, once again you’ve proved just what a jewel you are. This place would fall apart without you. Look, you’re a lot more than a secretary around here. I don’t know how I’m going to do it and I suppose I’m going to have to sit down with a lawyer and work it out, but I want to set it up so you get a piece of the company. Partnership, shareholder, something. We’ll have to work it out.”

“John, no. I’m happy with the way things are. If you try to make an executive out of me I swear I’ll quit.”

“Annamaria? I think you could run this place without me, but there’s no way in hell I could run it without you.”

“You may think so,” she shook her head “but when you stop and think about it I just do what I’m told. At least you give me general direction, and I can usually figure out the details.”

“You do a lot more than that, and both of us know it. This deal on the Tomtucknee Regional bid proves it.”

“No it doesn’t. I just modified the terms in your memo to reflect that directive from Las Vegas. John, do you remember back when you bought out Harry to take over this place?”

“Couldn’t forget it. That was one of the toughest periods of my life.”

“Yes it was,” she said, “and you hung in there and fought it out. I just stayed on the job since I figured you needed some help, but for a long time I figured each paycheck was going to be my last one. You were the one with the vision and the guts to take on the challenge. I couldn’t have and wouldn’t have done it. That’s the difference, John. You’re the leader and you always have been. I’m just your loyal assistant. That’s how it’s been since you took over the place, and that’s how I want to keep it.”

John knew when he was defeated. “All right, Annamaria. If you don’t want it I guess I can’t force you into it. But I’ll see if I can’t figure out some way to get a little more in your paycheck.”

“That would be fine.”

“Just one thing,” he added. “You probably ought to know that if I should drop dead without warning, you’re going to wind up owning the company anyway. At least then I’ll be dead and you can’t argue with me about it.”

“Then I guess that’s going to give me second thoughts about killing you when you do some damn stupid thing like trying to give me a piece of the business.”

They talked for a few more minutes about various things to do with Suncoast. Somewhere in the conversation Annamaria happened to mention that Consuela thought Sally had done real well for her first night on the job, and John reported that Sally seemed satisfied with it.

Finally John went back to his office and got started on the backlog of work that had built up there. A lot of it was in e-mail, of course; some of it was simple to deal with, but a couple things took an hour or more of research, thinking, and occasional swearing. But it was familiar ground after the way things had gone over the previous week.

He was just about to take another swing at Sid’s amorphous question about the service agreement when Annamaria buzzed him. “John,” she said, “there’s a detective here from the police department who wants to talk to you.”

“Send him back,” John told her, figuring this had to be about Warren’s wife and the front door.

A minute or so later Annamaria brought the detective to the office. “Mr. Engler?” he said, handing over a business card, “I’m detective Roger Garrison from the Sarasota Police Department. I understand you’ve had some issues with Greenleaf Towing.”

“That bunch of crooks?” John snorted. “I had several with them last week, but this week has been quiet. I don’t know why. I figured they’d be making more trouble for me.”

“It’s not impossible,” Detective Garrison replied, “but I’m getting the impression that they don’t have a very long attention span. If they can intimidate someone and get away with it, fine for them. If someone faces them down they usually go looking for others to fleece.”

“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me,” John nodded. “In fact, it seems to make a lot of sense. Does that mean that you’re going after them?”

“Trying to,” Garrison replied. “It’s been difficult, since they seem to have paid off a few people here and there, and it’s getting pretty complicated. However, I’m trying to build a case, and I’m wondering if I can get some details out of you. I’d have to ask you to stay quiet about this, since I really don’t want anyone alerted that I’m gunning for them.”

“Sure, I’d be glad to,” John agreed. “I mean, when I was having trouble with them last week I couldn’t help but wonder how they were getting away with the kind of shit they were pulling.”

“They’ve gotten away with it for far too long, but I hope to put an end to it. Now, you said you’d had several incidents with them over the past few days?”

John spent most of the next hour detailing his experiences with the towing company, right up through Saturday night. “What I want to know,” John said at one point, “is how they manage to show up when another towing company has been called.”

“Good question,” Garrison said. “I was thinking for a while that they must have been picking it up off radio calls, but now I’m pretty sure there are some moles working for other towing companies who pass along a tip-off.”

“If you’re right on that, then there’s at least one of those moles at Fred’s Towing,” John pointed out. “Twice the Greenleaf bastards showed up on the scene when I’d called Fred’s directly. There’s a car out back that has to get towed to a body shop in the next few days, once I get some estimates done. It might be fun to have you here when I call Fred’s Towing and see who shows up.”

“You’re right, it might,” Garrison smiled. “I have to think about that one.”

It was after John’s normal lunch time before the detective left. John didn’t mind; he could run out and get a sub for lunch after all. Maybe the Greenleaf business was going to get settled; if so, it wouldn’t break his heart.

John was just eating his sub when Russ Yager called from Bradenton Muni. “John, I hate to have to do this to you again,” he said, “but I need some help over here, bad.”

“Sorry Russ,” John told him. “Under different circumstances I might be able to help out, but I’m still trying to dig my way out from under the backlog that got piled up last week. I’ve got a business to run here too, you know.”

“Well, if you can’t, you can’t,” Russ replied. “But, hey, look, you remember that kid you and Chad hauled over to Cocalatchee last week? My accountant is getting snippy about writing it off.”

John recognized Russ’s statement for what it was: sheer blackmail. He probably had already written it off, but if he could keep stringing John along about it, he’d be able to get a quick fill-in anytime he needed for a while. While John didn’t mind helping out in a pinch, enough was enough. “Things are changing on that a little,” John told him. “You might want to contact her attorney. He’s putting together a list of claims against the trucking company for letting that load shift. If you hurry you might get on it.”

“Yeah, well, I guess,” Russ replied, a disappointed tone to his voice. “You know who the attorney is?”

John gave him Brunswick’s name and phone number, then said, “Sorry I can’t help you out today, but maybe sometime again. You probably ought to start thinking about paying some overtime, and increasing your list of alternates, though. It might even help if you paid your emergency fill-ins.”

“Yeah, but the council has my back to the wall on rates now.”

“Then I guess that’s why they’re paying you that magnificent salary, to be able to make the tough calls,” John smiled. “Maybe someday I can help you out again, Russ, but it’s not going to be the next few days for sure.”

What with everything, John felt pretty good as he and Annamaria locked up the office at quitting time. There was still some catching up to do, but it wasn’t an unreasonable amount; things were getting back under control.

A few minutes later John parked the Suncoast van in front of the garage, then walked into the house through the front door. No one was visible in the kitchen or the living room, but after a brief look he could see that Sally was out on the patio by the pool, and he wouldn’t have been surprised if Teresa were there, too.

His surmise proved correct; when he got out to the patio he found Sally in a lounge chair, reading a book. Teresa was there, too, getting a little of the day’s fading sunshine in a skimpy red bikini. She was lying in a lounge chair, and looked really awkward with the casts on her legs, but she appeared to have a school book open in her lap. Her wheelchair was pulled up next to the lounge chair, and there were papers and worksheets on it. More school stuff, presumably.

“Schoolwork, huh?” he asked curiously.

“Yeah,” Teresa said, looking up from the book. “It doesn’t look too bad, but there’s an awful lot of it.”

“Well, it’ll give you something to do.”

“True,” she agreed. “It’s actually kind of nice to have it to do. The person who came over from the school was really nice. I’m going to have a tutor for a couple hours a day, but you and Mom are going to have to help me with some of this stuff.”

“We probably can,” John smiled, taking a little closer look at her. He’d noticed that young teenage girls often broke out in really tiny bikinis if their parents didn’t stop them, and this one was tinier than most. She looked good in it; once again he took a glimpse into the future and could see that Teresa was going to turn out to be a real stunner. Gonna have to watch yourself about that, he thought. “So where’d you get the swimsuit?”

“It’s something Mom and Mandy got for me when they went shopping over the weekend,” she said. “Mandy thought I might like to lay out in the sun a bit. It would be nice to be able to use the pool, but I know I can’t for a while. John, can I use the pool once I get the casts off my legs?”

“Sure. Even if you and your mom wind up getting a place of your own, you can come over and use it.”

“That’ll be great,” she smiled. “I want to try out the hot tub, too.”

“I’m sure we can work something out. So, besides the school, anything else happen today?”

“Well, yeah,” Sally spoke up. “Mandy left.”

“I knew she was planning on doing it in the next couple days,” John shrugged, “but I thought she would have said something to me about it.”

“I guess she didn’t want to,” Sally replied. “She even loaded up all the stuff in the garage. I helped her repack some of it so it took a little less room. She pitched a few things and gave me some clothes she thought I could use. She did leave you a note, though.” She got up and went into the house, and returned in a few seconds to hand John a note:

John,
I’d sort of planned on staying around for another couple days, but I guess I realized there’s nothing more I can accomplish around here right now. I’m going to head out to Nevada to find a good place to get my divorce. I may be back in a couple months, but I may not be, too. There are some things I need to think over, and maybe Nevada will be a good place to do it. One of them is us getting back together, and right now I’m thinking that it’s probably not as good an idea as I thought before. I think we may have grown too far apart to go back to the way things were. You take care of Sally and Teresa. I think they’re worth it, but be careful and don’t get carried away. I’d hate to see you get hurt again. Best of luck. – Mandy

“Well,” John said after carefully reading the note. “I guess that means she’s really gone.”

“Yeah, she is,” Sally said. “She didn’t seem very happy, although she tried to cover it up. If I had to bet, I’d say we don’t see her in six or eight weeks or whatever it’ll take her to push her divorce through.”

“You’re probably right,” John agreed. “Did you read this note?”

“Of course, she didn’t seal it or anything. I take it that business about being careful was a warning to not be too quick to fall in love with me, or something.”

“Yeah, probably something like that,” John said. “Sally, you know I’ve been burned a lot, and I told her the other night I’m not going to be very quick to go down that road again. To tell you the truth, she had something like that in mind when she showed up here, but I guess I’m pretty reluctant to try it.” He realized that he was starting to talk about things that needed lots more thought first – and some that Teresa really shouldn’t be sitting in on, anyway. So he changed the subject. “We can talk about it later, maybe,” he said. “So what’s for supper?”

“I’m trying a ham and lima bean casserole. Mandy suggested it; she said you used to like it. She even gave me the recipe.”

“Yeah, it’s been a long time since I’ve had that in this house,” John agreed. “How soon is it going to be ready?”

“Should be another half hour or so,” she smiled. “Teresa, you’ve probably had enough sun for one day. Why don’t you go get some clothes on before we eat? I can come and help you if you need it.”

“I ought to be all right, Mom,” she said. “John, do you know anything about algebra?”

“I have to use the basics every now and then but I probably remember something from high school.”

“Look, do you think you can help me with this problem?”

“Well, I can try,” he smiled.

The ham and lima bean casserole wasn’t quite like John remembered Mandy making it, but it tasted good anyway. After dinner John helped Teresa with her homework a little more, but when she had it under control she decided to spend some time on the computer, and on the phone with Josie a little. She was clearly getting better day by day, and in the last few days had proved to be a refreshing change in John’s life.

She still tired easily, although it was nowhere as bad as it had been even a few days before. When she started to fade, Sally helped her get ready for bed and tucked her in with her teddy bear at her side; despite the way she’d looked in that bikini, she was still a kid, after all.

Once she was asleep, John and Sally headed for the hot tub, which they normally did after Teresa went down for the night. John got a good look at Sally; she didn’t seem quite as bony as she had the week before; eating regularly and adequately was starting to show some effects. “I don’t know if that bikini was a little too skimpy for her,” Sally said as she slid into the water. “It didn’t seem that bad when Mandy and I bought it.”

“It probably is all right for grabbing some sun by the pool, but I’d be a little concerned about her wearing it at a public pool with a bunch of friends. On the other hand, she’s still a little young to realize what a bikini that skimpy means.”

“Don’t be so damn sure about that,” she replied. “She’s seen a lot of things she really shouldn’t have in her short life, and sometimes I wonder what she makes of it all. I know she’s seen a lot more of the bad side of things than I had when my folks made me wear that god-awful monstrosity of a swimsuit to Mandy’s pool party.”

“Well, you’re probably right. At least she has a little more knowledge of the pitfalls than you did at that age.”

“That’s probably true.” She let out a sigh. “John, that note from Mandy. She was trying to warn you off me, wasn’t she?”

“To at least a degree,” John said. “Now, I can’t tell you if she wanted to say that to keep her own options open for when she comes back, but on the other hand, it sounded like she didn’t plan on coming back soon, if at all.”

“She probably doesn’t know,” she agreed. “John, she may be right. Don’t get me wrong. You’ve been incredibly good for Teresa and me in the short time we’ve been here, and I don’t see that changing. I’d really like her to see more stability in Teresa’s life, to have a home where we don’t have to move, and to have friends and normal teenage experiences. And face it, John, you seem to be the doorway to that happening. But in spite of everything, Mandy was probably right. I know I’m not the best prospect, and I think you should be pretty careful with me, too.”

“At least you recognize that,” John sighed. “I could see me getting over my head very quickly. Sally, you’re very likeable and competent, and Teresa is a joy. She starts to make me see things I’ve missed in life.”

“I can see that, and I can see you’re getting sucked into it,” she shook her head. “But John, in the long run I really have my doubts that it would work. I know you don’t play the sex game anything like as hard as you did in high school, but you can still get cranked up and enjoy it. I can’t.”

“You can’t what?”

“Get excited about sex,” she sighed. “It probably has something to do with the awful way I was introduced to it. Since then, well, I’ve done it when I had to, sometimes maybe even wanted to a little, but I’ve never really enjoyed it. You deserve to have someone who’s, well, a little more lusty in your life. Maybe somebody like Mandy, although who ultimately would have to be your choice.”

“Believe it or not, I have come to think that there’s more to life than sex,” John told her. “I know you remember when we were in high school that I thought differently. It’s nice to have someone to talk to in the evenings, to have breakfast with in the mornings, to cook a dinner that I don’t have to pick up at a drive-through. And then we get to Teresa. She’s, well, like I said, something I’ve missed a good deal and never realized I missed it. Sex can be fun, but I’ve learned it also can be secondary to some other pleasures.”

“You’re telling me you want us to stay with you?”

“Of course I do. At least until Teresa is back on her feet, and then we may have to stop and re-evaluate. I’m perfectly happy with the way things are right now, with you and her being my family, you being my housekeeper and confidant, and she being my quasi-daughter. I like it now and it wouldn’t surprise me if I come to like it more.”

“All right,” she sighed. “I know we’ve talked about this before, and you turned me down, but I’ll say it again: if you get so horny you can’t stand it, well, come see me. Like I said, I can do it, and I know I can make it good for you. I’d rather have you come to me than go to some hooker somewhere, even if that hooker is sort of a friend.”

“Maybe, maybe not,” he replied. “I’d have to think about it before I go that far. After all, I wouldn’t want sex to louse up what’s becoming a beautiful friendship.”

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