“This is all your fault, bitch.I’m in jail, and I want to know what you’re going to be doing aboutit.”She told her nothing; she’d not put her in jail, she’d done that all on her own.“I’m going to get you, Lori.I’m sick of messing with you all the time.I’m going to move in with you, and we’ll see how much you like me harping on you all the time.”
“I’m not going to be living there much longer.As soon as I can sell off all my furniture, I’m going to be moving in with my future husband.”She could hear her cursing, and it made her smile.“You’ll not be living with us either.I’ve had enough of your threats and stress that you put on me.I’m going to live a happy life without you around all the time, even if I have to keep pressing charges against you to keep you out of my life.I’m a grown woman, and I’m going to—”
“You’re still my child, and you’ll do as I say.Damn it to fuck and back, I really hate you right now.I think that I always have.Why did I ever keep you around when I could have sold you off a dozen times when you were little?”She asked her if she’d thought about it.“Of course I did.But you were useful in getting me that welfare money until you had to go out and move to someplace on your own.Why the fuck are you treating me like this?I deserve better than you.”
“Then I guess it sucks to be you.”The hand on her shoulder made her feel better, but then she thought of what her mother had said to her.“Did you really hate me all this time?I deserve to know what sort of mother I had, don’t you think?”
“I hate you more on some days than I do others.But right now, I could easily kill you and be done with you.The only thing you’ve been good for in your life is keeping me in money, and you’re not even doing that right now.”She said she had her own bills to pay.“Like I give two shits about your needs.I should always come first in your life.Even though I hate you right now, you’d better be making arrangements to get me out of jail.And you will too, or I’ll tell that man you think you’re going to marry just want sort of person you really are.”
“And what sort of person is that?It’ll have to be something that you make up since you don’t know me all that well.I guess that has to do with the hatred you have for me.You never wanted me around, did you?”She told her not at all, other than for what she could give her.“I see.Well, like I said, it sucks to be you.And I’m not going to be bailing you out of jail.I sort of like you being in there and out of my hair.I hope you like the cell you’re in because I’m going to make sure you stay there for a very long time.”
After hanging up her phone, she opened it again and broke it in half.It was costly to do something like that, but she didn’t want to hear from her mother again.She looked up at Penrod when he said her name.
“I have you now.”Nodding, she lay her head on his shoulder and started to sob.“Don’t let her get to you, honey.I have you, and we’re going to have a wonderful life together.”
The day felt ruined by her mother, and she wanted to go back to being in the mood before she’d called.Standing in the middle of the living room, her heart broke for all the things that her mom had said to her.She actually did hate her and had for all her life.
They made a list of things they were going to need.Top of the list was the mattress that they needed, and to sell off the things at her place.She didn’t think she’d have any trouble getting rid of the stuff; it wasn’t that good, but someone could always use some extra pieces when they were living in the apartments where she lived.They were low-income places that she’d been living in since she’d turned sixteen.Maybe she’d just give it away and be done with it.That way, she’d not have to worry about pricing things.
After leaving the house, they stopped by her home so that she could show Penrod where the stash was.It was in the linen closet behind a little cubby hole that she stored a glass in with all her money in it.Right now, there was just over three grand in the jar as her rent hadn’t been paid yet.She needed to do that soon, too.
Adding to the list that she had to give her notice at the apartment complex, he wrote it down in his little notebook.Every time they thought of something, he’d write it down.She was keeping notes on her phone so that they’d get things done in an orderly manner, but her mind kept going back to what her mother had said to her.She hated her.
~*~
It took Penrod three hours to get his banking done.All he’d wanted to do was add Lori to his accounts, and that was proving to be difficult.Not to mention credit cards, too.He only carried around two of them, but there must have been a dozen with his name on them that he’d not known about.He took care of that as well while he was on the phone.
Then there was the mortgage on the house that he needed to get her name on, too.It was a nightmare just trying to get someone to talk to him that wasn’t AI.He just wanted to speak to a real person and not a machine that didn’t take into account that he was frustrated about being put on hold all the time.
“I’ve got you on my accounts.I called Axel and had him do it.”He hung up the phone and looked at her.“He said he could take care of it for you if you wanted him to.I didn’t tell him yes or no because I didn’t know what you had planned.”
“I’m going to call him right now.I should have thought of that too.Thank you.”She smiled at him, and he had a feeling that Axel knew that he’d been on the phone for hours just trying to get his banking done.“That would have saved me a lot of aggravation, too.”
After talking to his brother for about an hour, he had everything set up for Lori and his name.He also had the credit cards that were in his name deleted from his accounts, and the house deed had her name on it as well.He was feeling really good about getting things set up.
“I have an idea what I want to do for my mother.Not that she deserves anything, but I’m going to take care of her needs once she’s out of jail.”He asked if she needed his help.“Only in that I need you to support me.I have the money, and even if she lives another fifty or so years, it won’t be much more than a small percentage of what we have.I want to do this, but making her understand is going to be difficult.”
“No doubt.Tell me your plan, and I’ll tell you how brilliant you are, and we’ll get it set up.”She told him everything that she’d been thinking.“I like that she has to maintain a job, but I don’t see her agreeing with any of this.I love that you think you can do it, but she’s going to be giving you grief because you’re not going to give her cash to spend too.”
“She’ll take it or leave it.I’m finished with her.And if I pay her rent and utilities directly instead of giving her cash, then I’ll know that it’s going for her rent and not lottery tickets.She’ll have to maintain a job because she won’t have any food in the house if she doesn’t.I’m not paying for her extras either.If she wants her hair and nails done, then that’s something she’s going to have to pay for.I’ll keep her in a house with power but nothing more.”
“I’d not pay her cell phone bill either.That way, if she doesn’t pay for it, she can’t get in touch with you.”She wrote that down.“Also, this might cost a bit more, but I’d have insurance on her, too.That way, if something happens, you’re not out tons of money to make sure she gets better.”Lori wrote that down as well and put a line under it.She wouldn’t have thought of that and was glad that Penrod had thought of it.
“I’m going to have your brother write up a contract with her so that she knows what’s going on.I don’t want her coming back to me in a couple of years, telling me that she didn’t hear something about what’s going to happen.”He thought that was a great idea.“Also, she’s going to have her own lawyer to read over the contract to help her understand what it’s saying.Again, I don’t want her coming back on me, telling me that she didn’t understand something.”
“You’re brilliant.”She told him that she needed that.“Have you asked my brother yet if he can do it?I’m sure he will.It sounds like she’s getting all the perks, and you’re going to be out some money.Like you said, it’s not like we can’t afford it, but in the long run, she’ll be out of our hair somewhat.”
“She’ll have rules as well.She has to have a job so that she can pay for her extras.As I said, I’m not going to be paying for those, but she also has to make sure that she stays away from us.Even if I have to get a restraining order against her, she’s not going to be bothering us again.I don’t see that happening too well, but I’m going to have it in there as a stipulation that things will vanish for her if she doesn’t do as the contract says.Also, and this is a biggy.I’m not going to have her around our children.We never spoke about kids.Did you want any?”
“As many as you’ll give me.I love kids.”She said she didn’t know what she wanted to do right now, but she knew that kids were something she wanted.“This is really a good idea.Like you said, it’s going to be difficult to make her abide by the rules, but I think you have a good idea about that anyway.She’ll either do what we want, or she’ll be struggling for the rest of her life.”
“That’s my thoughts too.And she will struggle too.This way, I know too that her bills are being paid and that she’s not spending the money on lottery tickets.If she wants to do that, then the job will come in handy for her to be able to have her fun.Or not.I don’t care.”He asked her to come to him.“I don’t want to have sex right now.I do, but I have too much on my mind to enjoy it.I have to settle this thing with my mother, and I’ll be all yours.I promise you I’m going to make it up to you, too.”
“You take your time.I’m here for you when you’re ready.”She thanked him, and he asked her to come to him so that he could hold her.“I know that I could use a good hug right now, and I’m sure that you need one too.”
“I do.I didn’t mean to be so harsh, but I need to get this settled up before my head explodes.The simple fact that she’s hated me all my life is something that I’ll never get over, but at least with this contract, I can feel good about myself in doing something for her.She is my mother after all.”He held her in his arms while she sat on his lap.She talked about the contract and how she was hoping for something simple.Just so there were no big words to mess her mother up.“She’s going to have to realize that everything she said to me has consequences.I knew that she didn’t want me around, but to tell me that she hated me from the start is something that I never knew.I feel like my heart is bleeding from her words.”
He held her until she fell asleep.Holding her in his arms, he knew that even though she was putting on a brave front about all this, she was hurting inside.He knew that he would be as well if something like this were to happen to him.As he was thinking about having her in his life, his cell phone vibrated.It was Axel.
