“He is just so -” I shook my head. I didn’t know how to put it without worrying poor Dee too much.
“So?”
“Angry all the time. He is hot and cold. One moment he almost seems concerned and then the next, he’s treating me like Typhoid Mary.”
“Ah.” She nodded. “He’s attracted to you, but doesn’t like it.” She cocked her head to the side. “You can always use that to your advantage.”
I snorted at that one. “Yeah, I don't think that’s it, Dee. No, the disgust on his face when he looks at me is clear enough. And even if that was the case, I’d never use anyone like that and you know it. I’m not Opal.”
She sighed. “That man clearly would…” She pointed at the credit card I’d put on the table to show we were ready to pay and then to the cashmere coat folded neatly on the seat beside me. “That man clearly is. But take what you can, baby. You deserve all that and more. And if you feel guilty, don’t. Dean hasn’t gotten where he is by being kind. He also threatened you and wanted to buy your child.”
I nodded. “Yes, you’re right.” Dee knew me well; she knew I wore my heart on my sleeve and would never try to use anyone.
“You deserve the best in the world, baby, and so does this little boy.” She sighed, looking at her watch. “Ah no matter how much I want to stay, I need to go.”
I looked at mine too and almost jerked up. “Oh, yeah please go. I’ve got to be at Beaumont Enterprise in thirty minutes, anyway.”
She cuddled Timmy as I paid. After putting on my coat, we exited the warm restaurant, stepping out into the cold and already darkening streets.
“Don’t be a stranger, okay? Call me whenever and if it ever gets too much with the man, we’ll figure something out.”
She pulled me into one of her motherly hugs and I let it consume me, her kindness, her warmth, her love. I would not have made it without Dee.
“I love you, Dee.”
She pushed me back gently and detailed my face once more with concern. She brought her hand up and used her thumbpad to dry the tear that had escaped the corner of my eye.
“I love you too, sweet girl. Remember how good you are and never compromise.” She smiled and kissed my forehead. “Having you as a daughter would have been the most precious gift.”
I let out a tearless sob. That was probably the best compliment she could have ever given me.
I walked back toward the building, lost in my thoughts. I was excited to redecorate Timmy’s room. I was just thinking about the color scheme I picked when my path was blocked by a twitchy lanky man. His eyes darted all around him.
I sucked in a breath and took a step back, holding the stroller tighter in my hands. I didn’t need to know this man to know what he was. I’d met too many of them in my time living with Opal. He was a druggie.
“You Eddie’s chick?” he asked, taking a step toward me, his bloodshot eyes detailing my stupid, expensive clothes.
I looked around for help. “Take what you want. Please don’t hurt him.”
He looked down at the stroller and raised his upper lip in disgust, revealing his rotten teeth.
“I ain’t want your shit.” He shook his head.” I saw you with his brother. You go round uh?” He chuckled.
I remained frozen, my muscles tensed, ready to flee.
“You Opal?”
I nodded once. Why on earth did I do that?
“Here, take this.” He extended a small brown bag toward me.
“What is it?”
He nudged the back toward me again. “Don’t fucking play dumb with me. Take the fucking bag.”
He was getting restless and I didn't need this unstable man any closer to Timmy than necessary.
I took the bag reluctantly.
“You don’t say to no one Ricky don’t pay his debt,” he stated before leaving the way he’d come.
I took a couple of deep breaths, trying to calm myself, before opening the bag with shaky hands. There were at least three or four doses of heroin in. I sighed, looking around. I couldn’t just throw them away in the garbage for anyone to find.
Retracing my steps, I found the sewer opening on the pavement and threw the bag where it belonged.
By the time I made it to the building, my heart had quieted down and I was normal again. The driver was already waiting in front of the car. He was helping me with the stroller when Dean came out, walking proud and tall, his dark hair still perfectly in shape and the perpetual dark scowl still on his face.
“You’re on time, good.” He gestured towards the car. “Did you find everything you wanted?”
I nodded. “Yes, some were on backorder, but I’ll get everything next week.”
“Very well. At least this trip was productive. Anything else?”
I was taken aback by his question. He’d been anything but inquisitive these past couple of weeks.
I shook my head. “No, nothing else.”
He looked at me silently for a few seconds before looking away and making a call.
I looked out of my office window, making sure Opal was out in the garden for her morning walk with the child.
I glared at her back as she walked slowly, holding the child against her chest.
Sighing, I shook my head. She seemed to be caring for the child, genuinely. All the cameras I’d hidden in the house showed nothing less. But even if she believed it now, the love of drugs would one day be stronger.
I felt guilty for a fleeting moment, but I’d learned this the hard way with Edward. No matter how much you loved someone or something, nothing would really trump the love for heroin. I didn’t intend to risk the well-being of the heir of our fortune by betting on an unreliable mother.
Like yours? A teasing, acerbic voice whispered in my head.
Turning from the window, I headed towards her bedroom. The dealer had confirmed he’d given her the doses and yet, both her surprise and her planned urine tests had come back negative.
And that made no sense. I knew the nurse couldn’t be bribed because I paid her enough to ensure that and she was probably the meanest person I’d ever met.
I just needed to find the drugs in her room. That would probably be enough to scare her into leaving me the child.
I entered her room. It smelled floral just like her. Before I’d even realized it, I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply.
I sighed. I needed to remember that everything about her was carefully crafted to entice.
I looked at the book on her nightstand. Me before you by Jojo Moyes it was just a beat-up and overused copy. I opened the first page - it was addressed to a Mary, definitely a secondhand copy.
Putting the book back, I looked around the room once more. Everything was in perfect order, clothes folded neatly in the nearby chair, some baby toys in a box by the connecting door. Again, not really the type of environment I’d expected from her. Was she faking it? Was she just this good?
I stopped for a minute trying to remember where my brother used to hide his stash. I had twenty, thirty minutes tops to find what I needed to.
Opal had a routine. Take the child for a walk. Give his medication. Then head back upstairs to take care of him.
I started at the obvious places under the bed, under the mattress, behind the dresser, in the toilet water tank. Nothing.