Mimi's Daddy Ch. 10: Rehab

Sullen, his mother sat in his truck with her pocketbook in her lap. Unsurprisingly, her car had been on empty. As he fastened his seatbelt, she flipped down the sun visor and looked at herself, frowning. "You should have given me time to do my hair, at least." As she pulled her makeup bag out of her purse, she said, "You can drive smoothly, can't you?"

"Where you are going, people will not care how you look." He started the truck.

With precision, she applied her lipstick. "I care. I'm not the looker I once was." She pressed her lips together and examined her lipstick critically. "I never know who I might meet."

"Like that last loser you dated?" One right turn and her neighborhood was behind them.

"He was nice enough. Fun to go out with."

"I didn't like the way he looked at Sarah."

With a shrug, his mother said, "She has a good lock on her door and knows to use it." He winced. Talking Sarah into moving in with him needed to be prioritized.

"I've met some women you dated. You aren't the person to talk about quality."

"Using the word 'dating' for what I do is stretching the definition of that word."

"Just like your father, you bed hop, woman to woman."

"Just like him?" As Adam turned the truck onto the highway, he gripped the wheel with both hands. The drive was going to be brutal. "He told me something interesting the last time I saw him."

"I don't care what that old man thinks," she said, as she lined her eyelid. She was going to blind herself when she pulled out her mascara. The roads got bumpier going north.

"He mentioned a paternity test."

She froze. "He told you about that?" Shaking the comment off, she gestured with her eyeliner. "I think every wealthy man questions the heritage of his children. It's paranoia."

"And the lover he caught you with?"

After a dismissive snort, she said, "I had a friend over for a swim. Your father was always so dramatic." She snapped the lid back on her eyeliner. "And anyway, that's a long time ago. Today, I have agreed to go to rehab. Maybe you should focus on that."

"I'm glad you agreed. Why didn't you tell me what was happening sooner?"

"Why should I? So you could give me a lecture. I was going to get the money back. I just needed one lucky streak."

"You lost your house... again."

She pointed at him with her tube of mascara. "Well, you are going to get my house back for me, aren't you?" With a smirk, she added, "Again."

"I'm working on it. Your bank isn't being very helpful."

"I added you to the account."

"I know. But your house is just a number on a financial sheet to them. They don't care that your family has had that house since your grandma was eight."

"It's just a house."

"Where would you live without it? Where would Sarah go?"

"Sarah is grown, Adam. She is the same age you were when you started working and being helpful. She can do the same."

"No. Sarah is good at science. She needs to go to college."

"Even more reason for her to get a job."

"How about you be the one to get a job, Mom?"

"I've been looking."

"If I can save the house, the title is going to be in my name."

"What? No. That's my house."

"If you don't agree, I will let the bank take everything." He flipped his blinker on and slid into the carpool lane. "I will not be in this position again."

"You wouldn't let them take my house."

"I would."

Flipping up the visor with an angry snap, she only had one eye rimmed with thick spider legs. Her lip curled. "Well, then it looks like I have no choice but to agree to do what you want."

Keeping his focus on the road, he resisted the urge to tell her she wasn't the only one in the car who felt like they didn't have a choice. He trusted Sarah, and maybe his Aunt Ann. His mom was a dumpster fire, but his heart wouldn't let him abandon her.

As his mother looked glumly out the window, he flipped the radio on. It had been years since her tantrums worked on him.

***

On the drive home, his options flashed through his mind to the rhythm of the yellow lines on the dark road. He couldn't get the foreclosure delayed. One month wasn't a lot of time to raise cash. The bank didn't care about the people attached to one property on their list, and they wouldn't budge about needing the full amount to stop the proceeding. The only good part of the day had been when the cupcake had agreed to look in on his sister.

Mimi flashed through his mind, laughing while she tickled her little brother. Would it be so bad? If he had to have a mock marriage, she wouldn't be a terrible choice. If he got his inheritance, buying the land for her would be nothing. He imagined her standing in the high grass, sunlight bringing out the red in her hair, joy lighting her face. I mean, there should be some good that comes out of this nightmare. How to talk to her about it, though? This wasn't a get on your knee with a ring situation.

Well, it could be. That would keep their numbers up on social media. And his father couldn't contest that it wasn't a genuine marriage and fight him if they made things look good. His father disliked giving up control of anything, particularly when it came to money. In the morning, he'd call his lawyer and have him outline the details of the exchange. The paid hours would be wasted if she said no. So, he would just have to convince her. Women liked flowers. He could show up with roses and a prenup.

***

A few hours earlier, before Adam began his drive home...

The Miller's farm...

With the sky before her turning orange and pink, Mimi strode across the back pasture toward her favorite spot. Because the weeds were high enough to brush her hips, she stomped loudly as she crossed the top of the ridge in order to scare away any snakes. The valley spread out before her, beautiful under the watercolor sky. She needed to focus on this, her dream, not Adam.

The idea of this land being hers made her heart beat fast. No matter what, she was going to make this purchase happen, because this farm deserved someone who loved it. The Miller's kids were city folks who didn't want the hard work, or the beautifully rich soil, for themselves.

When her day ended, she liked to come sit on this hill, watch the sunset, and plan. Because the property was pretty close to her parent's place, as a kid, she had often ridden out here on her bike to pet their pony, Sassafras. During her elementary years, every coat she wore had their pony's teeth marks on the wooden buttons. As she'd watched the farm fade and decline, she'd dreamed of it being hers. Well, until she got married.

Mrs. Miller hadn't been able to dig a garden for almost seven years now. Years back, thanks to a blind hunting dog and a retractable leash, the sweet woman'd had a nasty fall. The hip had never healed right. To please her, their oldest son had put in a kitchen garden for her, but when she couldn't stand long enough to pick the peas, everyone knew they would have to move into the city. It would never make sense to Mimi that no one in their family wanted this beautiful place. They were never here.

Through their son, she'd learned his parents were ready to sell. Even though their oldest son didn't care much for the amount she and his folks had agreed on, he was willing to sell the property to her. If she didn't act soon, she wasn't sure that his willingness to go by his father's wishes would hold.

The older folks wanted someone on their land that loved it, instead of a developer who would cut the property into pieces and build ugly identical houses. Even their son knew tearing down the large cozy barn would be a crime, and she couldn't let that happen. Because she'd had her sights set on this view since she was eight, her vision of what it could be was crisp and clear. As a kid, Mimi had snuck under fences and past dairy cows to stand here. She couldn't lose the farm, not this close to achieving her dreams.

Mimi wrapped her arms around herself. Her Mom had called her this morning to tell her that Mr. Miller was in the hospital and that she was going to take him a pound cake. Watching the sky bruise purple, golden light tinted the edges of the clouds, she knew her time might run out. Rubbing her arms, she headed back to her stupid car. The car repair had taken a two hundred and fifty dollar chunk out of her savings.

Swirling around her legs, a barn cat accompanied her, begging for treats. Every few days, she brought out food. There were two barn cats on the property and she'd made sure they both got fixed, much to their displeasure.

Reaching down, she scratched his square head. "There is food out in the barn." His purr was a chainsaw rumble.

Was Adam serious about helping her secure the land in trade for a mock marriage? Since she was already divorced, being divorced again wouldn't make the church's opinion of her any worse. Probably, it was a joke. Who did things like that?

During her first wedding, she had worn a long-sleeved dress that hadn't fit her all that well, but she had felt pretty in white with flowers in her hair. Then, she'd been a romantic, marrying her best friend. She'd still believed the stories she'd read in books. What did she know about marriage, anyway? Maybe people arranged marriages for convenience all the time. All that public smiling could be an artifice. A second fake marriage couldn't be any worse than her first real one.

Stepping down on the loose barbed wire, she eased under the top line. So much could be done with this property and Noah could ride his bike here every day to visit her. She liked that idea. Room for herself was needed, but being far from her family was something she couldn't imagine.

When her phone rang, she tugged it out of her jeans. Adam. "Hey," she said as the sky darkened behind the old farmhouse turning the horizon burnt orange.

"I need a favor." His voice sounded strained.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, but I'm stuck traveling and my little sister, Sarah, is alone at the house. Today has been a long and horrific day for her. Traffic is bad, and it's going to be late before I'm back in town. It's a long story Mimi."

"Okay."

"You are good with kids, right?"

"With my siblings, I am sure."

"Just go over there and sit with her until I get home, maybe order a pizza. I will owe you."

"You don't owe me anything. My only plan for the evening was to watch the sunset at the farm. That's about done. Send me Sarah's address."

"Thank you. I could send one of the guys over, but she is sixteen and that can be a tough age."

"I remember. Don't worry, I'll head over there now."

"Mimi..." The line was quiet for a moment. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, Adam."