Page 57 of Misfortune and Mr. Right

“Get your bag, sweetheart,” Lynette says. “I need to tell Aunt Olivia something important.”

Lynette’s usual easy smile is replaced by something obviously forced for Cassidy’s sake.

“Grown up things?” Cassidy asks with a bored tone to her voice.

“Yes.”

Cassidy skips toward the kitchen.

“What’s wrong?” I ask.

“I don’t know. It’s not anything wrong. It’s great, actually. But weird.”

I lean in toward Lynette, pausing to look over my shoulder to make sure Cassidy is occupied. She’s unzipping her backpack and carefully placing her butterfly painting inside.

Lynette’s voice is a whisper. “Someone covered my rent for the next three months.”

“What?!” I exclaim far too loudly.

“Whatwhat?” Cassidy asks from the kitchen.

“Um. Could you pack up some cookies for your mom?” I ask.

“Yes! But, Mommy, they aren’t snickerdoodles. They’re just chocolate chip ones.”

“That’s perfect,” Lynette says. “Find a sandwich bag to put them in, okay?”

“Okay!” Cassidy shouts.

The sound of drawers opening and shutting confirms she’s properly occupied.

“What do you mean someone covered it?” I whisper. “Do you think it was Mark?”

“No. It wasn’t Mark. Of course it wasn’t him. Think about it. First of all, he’d be calling me to brag and let me know what strings were attached to his generosity. Besides, you know it will be a cold day on Venus when he steps up to the plate.”

“True. A leopard doesn’t change his spots.”

“Sometimes people change,” Lynette says. “Sometimes people aren’t what we thought they were in the first place. That’s not Mark.”

“Who do you think it was, then?” I ask. “Do you have a secret admirer?”

“A secret admirer sends you flowers. He doesn’t pay three months’ rent. Three months, Olivia.”

The magnitude of this gift hits me in waves.

Is it real?

Who did this?

Was it a mistake?

“Think of how much money that is.” I stare into Lynette’s eyes.

Whoever did this loves my sister with a sacrificial kind of love.

“Was it Mom and Dad?” I stab at the only logical guess I can drum up.

Our parents don’t have the kind of reserves to simply fork out thousands of dollars. But I could see them doing whatever it took to lighten the load Lynette carries as a single mom.

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