Page 15 of Scrooge

“It’s called a needle,” I explain. “The needle adds extra height and aesthetics.”

I watch her roll her eyes before she goes to say something else, but we get interrupted by a woman’s voice.

“Look, Haylee!” Deloris yells, and the woman next to me stands.Haylee.It was my mother's name, and I rub my chest as a light ache pulses through my heart.

“Your name is Haylee?” I ask her, sitting forward on the bench seat, and she smiles back at me.

“It is. But with a doubleEnot aY.”

I swallow past a sudden lump in my throat.Spelled just like my mother’s.

“What is it, Deloris?” As she walks toward the homeless woman, I stand, not yet trusting the new stranger. Her hair is a matted mess, her skin full of wrinkles, displaying a hard life. She has piles of clothes on, and although it’s cold, I count at least three jackets, making her small frame look wider than it is.

“A bag of dicks!” Deloris coos, lifting a brown paper bag that looks heavy, like it is going to rip any second. I stop short of following.Did I just hear her right?

Haylee laughs as she peeks into the brown paper bag, and I watch them both laugh like old friends.

“A bag of vibrators. Someone obviously had a clean out,” she says through a chuckle, looking back at me.

“A bag of…” I’m wondering if my hearing needs to be checked.

“Dicks!” Deloris yells. “Dicks, dicks, dicks, dicks, dicks!” Grinning at me, she showcases her lack of teeth, the few she has looking to be placed almost haphazardly in her mouth. Haylee flings her head back and laughs once more, and my pulse thuds as I can’t help huffing a small laugh at the ridiculousness of this situation.

“Well, I better get you and the dicks somewhere safe, Deloris,” Haylee says, curling her arm around Deloris, the two of them starting to walk past me and down the path.

“Good night, Alex. Don’t work too hard on Monday in the big building with the spike.” She is teasing me on purpose, and I roll my lips as the feeling of smiling starts to feel more fluid.

“Good night, Haylee… with twoE’s,” I say to her quietly, and her smile widens from where she stands. At the sight, I feel my lips quirk a little more. She nods before she and Deloris leave the park, and I stand watching them until I can’t see her anymore. Then I do something I have never done. I grab my cell and call my security team to follow them from a distance to ensure they safely get where they are going.

8

HAYLEE

After Jillian thrust this stupid bouquet of sunflowers at me and marched me out the door this morning, I now find myself standing at the security desk in the fancy foyer at Jackson Enterprises. The last place I thought I’d ever be.

“I’m sorry, miss, we can’t let you up,” the security man says from behind the desk. Decked out in a professional uniform, a small consistent frown mars his face that makes him unapproachable. He is friendly enough but is obviously bored with me already. I look around and try to think. The foyer of this building is grand. All marble, lots of natural sunlight from the large windows at the front. People are coming and going all around us, the glittering light from the massive chandelier above me throwing beams across the space.

“Fine. Ten bucks,” I say, sliding a ten-dollar bill across the sleek surface of the desk he hides behind. I am not above bribery. I would prefer not to be here at all, but Jillian was adamant that this is how we’ll save the shop. By feeding me to the sharks. Or shark. Just one. The deadliest.

“I’m sorry, but—”

I cut him off before he can reject me totally.

“Okay. Twenty. It’s all I got.” My heart pounds as I slide a second ten-dollar bill across the smooth marble counter. I was saving this money to get my nephew, Charlie, his schoolbooks next year. Hoping the help I can provide my sister is enough to ease her burden. But alas, I now have a shop to save, all due to the very man I am trying to see. The security officer looks down at the two bills that now sit near my hand and sighs as his lips thin.

“I can’t give you a pass,” he says, and my shoulders sag. I knew it was a long shot.

“But…” he continues as his hand grabs the money and he slips it from the counter and into his pocket inconspicuously. “There is a woman on your left in a red coat. Follow her. That is his assistant, Angela,” he says quietly before he turns and starts tapping on his computer and the security doors open for the lady in the red coat. My eyebrows rise, because I thought I would have had to start begging or maybe stand out front like a stalker all day until he came down. If he ever comes down into this lobby. The way the security is here, he probably has a secret side entrance or something.

“Thanks,” I whisper, giving him a wink before I quickly blend in with the crowd of workers, following the lady in the red coat into the elevator. I can’t see her face, but she looks dressed for business. The coat looks warm yet very fashionable and her heels are high and shiny. In fact, everyone around me looks like they spend a lot on their wardrobe. Glancing around the crowded space, I spot only perfect hair and perfect clothes, extremely corporate, and I hide toward the back behind suits and skirts. I am the odd one out. A few people look at me, but almost everyone is too busy staring down at their cell phones. Running my hands over my hair, I attempt to flatten the annoying yet familiar frizz that has built up. I hate the wet days as winter approaches.

The elevator stops at a few floors and people start to disembark, giving me more room to breathe without inhaling the toxicity of the perfume now feeling like it sits on top of me like a heavy storm cloud. I rub my nose, trying to get rid of the heavy scent before I start sneezing and cause people to pay me any attention. As the elevator continues to ascend, I realize it is just Angela and me left, and she looks at me as we rise to the top floors.

“Do you have an appointment?” she asks, just as the doors open on the top floor. My heart picks up pace. I didn’t have a game plan for this part because I didn’t think I would make it this far. I look past her and gulp. This isn’t an ordinary office floor. There is nothing here in this great expanse of a foyer except for a large desk, which I assume is hers. With no other excuse, I give her the truth.

“I’m here to surprise Alex,” I say as I follow her for a few steps before she stops and looks at me. Her eyes canvass me up and down, and I yank on my ear as subtly as I can while I melt under her assessment.

I am not dressed for this occasion. I am just in my jeans and t-shirt, and my Converse need to be cleaned. Thank God I painted my nails and put on a face mask last night, though, so at least my skin is glowing, and I feel somewhat put together.

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