Then followed hesitantly by “He doesn’t like the way I dress when I am not working.”

I began to concentrate on breathing normally and keeping my voice level.

“What else?”

“He keeps hinting that he should move in over here so he can look out for me.”

I have flashes of red behind my eyes.

“He asks a lot of questions about you too.”

“Such as?”

“Just the usual. Where are you from? What do you do for a living? Things like that.”

This will have to be dealt with.

“So what did you tell him?” Please, please, please not too much.

“Only that you are from down south somewhere and you work for someone as a receptionist and that you are going to school for something.” (Breathing easier now.) “I don’t know why he is interested in you. Maybe he is trying to set you up with his cousin. We kind of had an argument about it the other night.”

“What happened?”

I could see she was feeling uncomfortable and probably wished she hadn’t brought it up. Too late for that.

“He doesn’t like that we hang around together so much. The other night I caught him going thru my phone looking at my old texts. Not just yours, but everybody’s. He said he was sorry, it was just that he was worried about me and wanted to protect me to make sure I was alright.”

It is becoming harder to sound rational and sane now.

“What is he protecting you from?”

“Not sure. Maybe myself. He says I need to make better choices in life and hang around with a better class of people.”

I think I feel a drop of blood from biting my tongue.

“People like Rico, Phil, Cindy and me?” I cannot explode now, Ann needs me and I have to be very careful how I handle this. “I know they fired Bobby from bar tending at the Oasis in Ocean View. Something about stealing tips from the waitresses. How is he earning a living now?”

“He is looking for something on this side of the water to be close to me.”

“When you went out last Sunday for dinner and a few drinks, who paid?”

“He was a little short so I lent him something to tide him over till he gets back up on his feet. I would do the same for you.” She is starting to get a little indignant.

Careful, I need to ease up now.

I turned around to face her, looking directly into her eyes and speaking from the heart.

“Yes you would. You have always been there for me and I love you like a sister. I am always here for you, and always will be.” As I am saying this I know I am getting what others called ‘misty eyed’ (must be from the onions), but I was speaking from the heart. “One of my biggest fears is that you will move or something and we lose touch with each other. I have lost too many people in my life. I can’t lose anymore.”

She stared at me for a moment and swallowed hard. “You won’t. I promise you that.”

“Good.” Turning back around. “So what are we going to wear when we go out on Saturday?”

After this our conversation turned casual, but somewhere deep within me a fire started to burn.

When I arrived at Beverly’s office on Monday morning she handed me a stack of papers to fill out and sign. It was what I needed to be legally employed in Virginia. (Hooray for me.) I have never enjoyed filling out paper work more in my life.

Beverly still does not plan on paying me for the ‘volunteer’ work I do in her office. However when she sends me to ‘help a friend’ she cuts me a check on a job by job basis. Maybe that wouldn’t be a good deal to some people but it is just what I need. Mentally I still think of Beverly as ‘Pimping me out’.

That morning after filling out my own paperwork, I had to bring a stack of papers to Bill’s for him to notarize. I love seeing that old man, he is as sweet as can be. Whenever my personal business takes me to Surry County I make sure to stop by the Dixie Diner to get him a Peanut Pie Supreme. Of course I get one for Ann and me from the diner as well.

I grew up eating Pecan Pies in Savannah, but these Peanut Pies have them beat hands down.