The girls and I had formed a non-profit organization named Ladies First. We’d elected Naomi to be the president, me as the vice president, Sasha for secretary, and Emily was the treasurer. Carly, Julia, and Jessica were all three members but had opted out of board positions because of their jobs and busy lives.
I donated my settlement money from the accident, and Julia donated some of her dead ex-husband’s dough, enabling the organization to purchase the Sacred Peace Women’s Shelter and send Ms. Helen off with a fat check to go live her best life. She’d done amazing work, and we wanted her to enjoy a worthy retirement. We renamed the shelter “the Castle,” to remind all our tenants that they were queens and needed to act accordingly, lest we kick them in their royal derrieres. Ladies First also officially hired me and Stocks as the live-in managers, giving us each a small salary funded through the other donations we’d all been working hard to obtain.
When we took it over, the shelter had been housing six girls, ranging from age eighteen to twenty-four. Mindy and Rita went to jail, and we’d added one more, so now we had five. And I was constantly surprised by how much food five young adult girls could consume.
I’d been visiting Rita in jail twice a week, and—as far as I knew—I was the only person who ever showed up to see her. She was scheduled to be released on probation in two weeks, and I’d kept my word and saved her room for her. It might have been foolish to give her another shot, but Ms. Helen and Lily both called Mindy the ringleader, and Rita had shown remorse. I was willing to take the chance that she could still be redeemed. And I’d made it clear that the first time she brought drugs or trouble into our house, she’d be out on her ass before she could so much as mutter the words, “Meth is for dummies.”
“Hey, Mon. I’m done vacuuming. What else do you need done?” Lily asked, joining me in the kitchen. She was wearing her grandmother’s necklace. We’d recovered it—along with the rest of her belongings—from Mindy and Rita’s room. Now that it was safe around Lily’s neck, the girl never took it off.
Finished stirring, I set the bowl down and pointed to a pile of ingredients beside the biggest cutting board I could find. “Will you please get started on the salad?”
“Sure. Which bowl do you want me to use?”
“Red one. Second cupboard on the left above the sink.”
She grabbed the bowl. At my nod, she plopped it down on the counter and started chopping away. Cari, Tiona, Jade, and Mila joined us and I set them to work as well. By the time my parents finally arrived, dinner was ready, and the house was as close to spotless as an old castle could be.
We said our hellos and I gave my parents a quick tour around the building before we all sat down to eat.
Mom took a bite of lasagna, and then chuckled.
“What?” I asked. My cooking wasn’t the best, but it usually didn’t incite laughter. “Is everything okay?”
“Dinner is great. I was just thinking… when I sent you off to Seattle, I never imagined this would be the result. You just love to surprise us all, don’t you?”
Mom made a good point. Before the accident, I was a free spirit who spent as much time in the air as I could. Now, I was as grounded as they came, in a committed relationship and so tied down to a house full of girls it was difficult to find the time to squeeze in a date with my man.
Although, we’d choose Netflix and chilling over dinner and a movie out any day.
“I’m happy to see you so happy, baby,” Mom continued, beaming me a smile. “I’m just surprised that this is what you chose to do.”
“I don’t know what we’d do without her,” Lily said from across the table. “You should have seen this place when she and Stocks got here. They cleaned this place up, and Ladies First is helping us learn skills and apply for jobs. Mila is getting her GED, and Cari has a job interview tomorrow. That’s all because Monica decided to get involved. Thank you for raising her to be a queen who isn’t afraid to take on challenges like this one.”
Lily and I had gotten close over the past few months, but hearing her say all that still made my chest tighten. I felt like I was finally getting through to her and she was beginning to realize her value.
Mom looked impressed as hell. “That’s very nice of you to say, Lily.”
Lily grinned. “Queens shine each other’s crowns.”
Mom leaned back in her chair, enjoying every minute of this. “They sure do.”
***
Stocks
Monica’s dad was a big man who stood about my height but had at least fifty pounds on me. Monica said he used to be a heavyweight boxer, and after meeting the man close up, that didn’t surprise me at all. He was quiet during most of dinner, and after we ate, I took him outside to see the garage and the rest of the property.
His eyes widened when he saw my bike. “You take my daughter out on this death trap?” he asked.
I wasn’t going to lie to him, so I nodded. “Yessir.”
He eyed me. “She almost died in a car accident.”
This wasn’t at all how I’d imagined my first conversation with him going. “I don’t tell Monica what she can or can’t do. She rides on the back of my bike whenever she wants, and I’m a lucky man to have her there.”
He didn’t quite smile, but he didn’t kill me, either. “This old truck yours?” he asked, admiring my rusty old Chevy. With the help of the guys at the shop, it ran. Most of the time.
“Yessir. I bought it to help out around here. Couldn’t haul much gravel or lumber on my bike or in Monica’s car. I needed a truck to fix up the place, but didn’t want to spend a bunch of money on one.”
