Monica and Lisa

Dear Readers - Here is a tender story of love and redemption. Perfect for a summer beach read. Enjoy.

*****

I was driving back from the hardware on a Saturday afternoon when I noticed two figures trudging along in the heavy monsoon rain. They didn't have raingear and were soaked through, a small wagon with gear trailing behind. I slowed and lowered my passenger window, "Can I offer you ladies a lift?"

They peered at me, looking totally miserable. The older one said, "Could you take us to a shelter somewhere?"

Our village is too small for a shelter of any kind, but I decided not to make their misery any worse. "Why don't you climb in out of the rain and we'll see what we can work out?"

I got out and tossed the wagon and its contents in the back of the pickup. They didn't look like they could get any wetter than they were.

I turned up the heater and told them, "Use those towels on the seat to dry off. I keep them around for situations like this. The young girl said, "Oh, you pick up women in distress all the time?"

She smiled at me but her mom said, "Lisa, mind your manners, that was not nice." She smiled too.

I said, "My name is Jeff Fredericks and I live here in town. We don't have an active shelter, but if you like, why don't you come home with me and wait for the rain to let up?"

Before her mom could say no, the young one said, "Thank you, I'd really like to dry out some."

The towels weren't helping much. They huddled together in the back seat, arms around each other, shivering.

I pulled into the garage and led them to the laundry room. "I'll go get you something to put on while we throw your stuff in the washer."

I took them upstairs in the borrowed robes to my master bath and said, "You better get in there and warm up. Don't mind how much hot water you use, there is plenty."

The clothes they were wearing hardly amounted to rags, but I washed them anyway. In the kitchen, I found some soup and put it on, along with the tea kettle.

I was stirring the soup when the older woman came down the stairs holding her daughter's hand.

"You are very kind to take us in like this. My name is Monica Smith and this is my daughter, Lisa."

They looked 100% better, but still thin and worn down. "Have some of this soup. Would you like tea, or coffee, or cocoa?"

I made myself tea along with their drinks and we sat around the table.

"Are you headed someplace around here that I can take you to?"

Both heads were down, slurping soup, and both shook no. Lisa looked at me with big, sad eyes. "A bad guy was after us and we used the last of our money to buy the bus ticket that would take us the farthest away from him we could get."

"So, you don't have a regular home, or a car, or any money. What about relatives?"

Another shrug. Monica said, "Not really. My folks are dead, and their relatives don't want anything to do with us. I had Lisa when I was in school, and they all shunned us."

Lisa spoke up, "Mister, we're pretty much just poor white trash. I'm too young to work, and mom got busted for possession when she was at college, so she can't get work with that on her record."

There was silence while they kept spooning soup. I finally said, "Well, I'm not sending you back out into the rain tonight. There's a spare room upstairs for you to use. I'm going out for a few minutes to get some supplies for dinner and you make yourselves comfortable."

As I drove away from the house, I thought to myself that if I was wrong about them, my house was about to be ripped off and they weren't going to be there when I got back.

I carried two grocery sacks into the kitchen and found Lisa where I left her but looking a lot warmer and healthier than when I left. She hopped down and helped me put away things.

"I got fixings for beef stew with vegetables. Does that sound ok?"

Lisa said, "Let me help cut things up, mom is fussing with the rest of our clothes in the laundry."

I got out the cutting board and stacked vegies in front of her. I ran a knife over the sharpener and handed it to her. "You know about sharp knives?"

"Yup, mom gave me one to defend myself with. First thing I did was cut my thumb. Dumb!"

Monica came in with a pile of clothes from the dryer. "I hope it's ok that we did another load?"

"Yes, of course." I looked down at what seemed to be not much more than rags.

"I have an idea. After we put this stew together and set it to simmer, let's take a run down to the mall so the two of you can fix up your wardrobe a bit. These look a little road weary." I pointed to the pile on the table.

"Jeff, you can't do that. You don't know us. We'll be on our way in the morning."

Monica was talking bravely but her eyes were sad, and Lisa's were sadder.

I pulled Monica with me to Lisa's side and hugged both of them. "Hey, I don't have family and I want to help out. You can get practical things. Maybe some new jeans, a summer dress, fresh underwear..."

In fifteen minutes, the stew was in the oven and we were headed out the door. I'd gotten some cash from my office safe and figured I would send them off by themselves so I didn't embarrass them in the lingerie department.

We pulled into the mall and I parked. "I'm not much for women's shopping so I'm going to read my paper while you two get what you need. Here's some money, and I don't want you to come back with any of it. Understand? Do NOT bring any of it back!"

"And don't forget new sneakers and some dress up shoes, we might be going out to dinner some night."

They went off clutching the roll of bills I handed Monica, not daring to count it while I could see.

In an hour, two strangers approached the truck with shopping bags. I couldn't believe the transformation. They had even stopped at the cosmetics counter to get their hair and faces done.

Two smiling faces looked at me. "Do I know you two from somewhere?" I tried to keep a straight face.

Then they were climbing in and climbing on me and getting lipstick on me and laughing and giggling.

"Well, this is more like it. You sure have good taste in clothes. I can't believe the new you."

More kisses. More giggles. I nudged them into their seats and we made our way back to the Saturday night stew.

We sat around the kitchen table, with my guests helping themselves to seconds, and then, even thirds. I wondered how it felt to be that hungry and for a long time.

"Lisa, how old are you?"

Her mom answered, "Twelve, going on twenty. She runs my life, and it's a good thing, because I sure make a lot of mistakes."

Lisa added, "That's ok, mom, you always are looking out for me, so I have to look out for you."

She added, "I'm going to be a teenager next week, can you believe that? Problem is, my hormones haven't kicked in yet, so I'm still a shrimp. But mom says she was my age when everything changed for her, so it should happen to me soon. I'm supposed to keep kleenex handy in case I start bleeding when I'm out somewhere."

Monica broke in, "Lisa! Does Jeff have to know all about that stuff?" She looked defensively at me.

I smiled at them. "Better to be prepared. I had a girlfriend once who forgot her pad and all of a sudden she was getting blood on my car seat. She was so embarrassed she cried on my shoulder. There was a whole box of tissue in the car and we got things fixed up."

I started to clear but the women wanted to do the dishes and I was sent to the living room to watch TV.

Soon there were warm bodies on each side of me, snuggling in. I spread the sofa blanket over us and said, "Feeling better?" Kisses on my cheek and happy sounds. The TV wasn't much and when I looked down there were two sleeping beauties. I turned the set off and scooped up Lisa. When I came back downstairs, Monica was standing up and threw her arms around me. "I really can't thank you enough for taking us in. When we were standing there in the wet, all I could think of was that you were picking us up to attack two women. You read that in the paper all the time. I took a chance and I am so glad I did."

The hug got tighter and her lips brushed mine. I picked her up as I had Lisa and planted her carefully in the other twin bed in the guest room. I whispered in her ear, "If it will make you feel better, go ahead and lock the door to this room."

Chapter 2 - A New Apartment

In the morning, I opened my eyes to an angel standing in front of me with a hot cup of coffee.

"Oh my, what did I do to deserve this?" I leaned over to kiss her cheek and got her lips on mine, quickly.

"You deserve a lot of good things for being so nice to us. Mom's making eggs. Do you like them scrambled, or?"

"Scrambled is great. You better let me get up and cleaned up. I don't wear pajamas to bed."

"Ohhhh, naked in bed. I'm going to tell mom." She danced away down the stairs.

When I came in, carrying my coffee, Monica smiled at me, a grown up smile. Naked, huh? she mouthed at me. I hugged her shoulder and kissed her cheek.

As we were cleaning up after breakfast, I asked Lisa to hold her hand up to mine. Beautiful long fingers that overran my fingers by a quarter of an inch.

I said, "I need to talk to your mom about some things out back but there's something I want to show you that might be fun."

We went into the hall and dragged a big box out of the closet. It was a Yamaha electronic piano/organ that I had bought when I was thinking of learning to play the piano. I discovered I had no talent and it went into the closet. But it worked when I turned it on and had the instruction book and earphones so it could be played without making a beginner racket in the house.

Lisa looked impressed. I said, "Yamaha says anyone can learn to play the piano using their instruction book. Looking at your hands, I thought maybe you should try it out. Don't worry if you don't like it, we can just put it back in the closet." Lisa was already fingering the keys when Monica and I went out onto the back patio.

I looked at her and said, "The dark circles under your eyes are better today. Maybe we should talk about what's next for you and Lisa. I have some ideas, but maybe I should hear yours first."

She looked at me intently, then padded over, climbed into my lap, and broke down crying. I hung on tight and rocked with her. Through the sobs, she said, "Jeff, I'm such a miserable mother to that girl and she is so great, so talented, so tough." More sobbing. I pulled the fresh handkerchief out of my back pocket and gave it to her. She wiped her eyes and said, "Can I just sit with you a little longer?"

I hugged her and waited for things to calm down.

"Monica, this is a small, quiet town with mostly nice, hardworking folks. You could do worse than perch here for a while."

She broke in, "How does that happen, with my record?"

"Well, I'm in the architectural concrete business and I've worked for a lot of people in this town. If I vouch for you, a job might open up."

She leaned up and kissed me on the lips. "How can you vouch for me when you haven't even known me for a day. I could be a junkie, or a sex addict, or a petty thief..." Her eyes were laughing at me.

Lisa came running out on the patio. "I heard that. Mom's not any of those things, but if she was, you would have to tan her hide, like they do on TV."

I reached down where Lisa could see and pinched Monica's bottom.

"Now you stop that, you can't attack me in front of my precious daughter!"

We were all standing up, laughing, and Lisa was leading us back inside.

"I'm already up to lesson three. Here, I'll turn on the loudspeaker." She sat down and started running scales up and down the keyboard. It was astonishing. She had been in here less than half an hour.

"It's fun. It's really fun. Can I keep going?" She was smiling but the look was intense.

Monica leaned over and kissed her and said, "Sure, work on it all you want. Jeff and I have some more talking to do."

Back outside, I sat down and she settled back into my arms. "I've decided this is the right way to talk."

I ran my fingers through her hair and asked, "How old are you?"

"Thirty-one. I had Lisa when I was a sophomore. Only finished the first two years of college. There's something I need to tell you. After that possession charge was dismissed because I was pregnant, they tried to take Lisa away from me. I was really lucky that my aunt in another state rescued me and her lawyer got the CPS people off our back. But she had her own life to lead, and I couldn't seem to get a job around there, so I took Lisa and bus fare and left. We've bummed everywhere. Lisa's never been to school, but she knows about getting on the Internet at libraries and she has a really quick mind. She'd love it if you would let her use your computer. But, what I was going to say was that when things have been really tough, I've sold myself to men to get food money. I'm not proud of it, but I'm not ashamed of it. I'm not the first woman who has done that."

She was crying again and so was I. We rocked quietly back and forth.

"I don't deserve the kindness you're showing us, but I'll do my best to pay you back."

I kissed her hair. "Monica, you are making me all soft inside. That's not supposed to happen to guys. You've had a tough life so far and it's not up to me to make judgments. Let's forget what you told me, and take things one at a time. A fresh start, ok?"

We were standing up when she said, "Yes, a fresh start." and punched me in the arm.

"Hey, what was that for?"

"I was just blowing off stream because you've made me so happy. Can I punch you again?"

"Might as well. Is this the new tough as nails Monica?"

The punch arrived in my gut along with an explosive, "Yes."

Lisa came out on the patio. "Hey, why are you fighting?"

"Your mom says she is happy and just blowing off steam."

"Mom! We can't use Jeff as a punching bag. Why don't we go for a run?"

I perked up. "Do you two run?"

Lisa laughed, "Yes, but we don't have anything to run in except our underwear!"

I got into my gear, got the women into the truck and we went off to the running shop in town. They used the changing room and we headed out to the lake beyond my house.

I've always enjoyed running for the time it gives me to think. A thought was going through my head about how to find a place for Monica and Lisa. After a two mile loop, I begged off and sent the girls around again.

I rang my foreman, Mario, and asked, "Isn't your uncle Manuel a contractor?"

"Yes, senor, although he says things are slow right now."

"Do you think he could do a quick job for me this week, no permits, just work?"

"Senor Jeff, are you going to get us in trouble? We like our license, no?"

"Mario, you are the best foreman ever. Can you and Manuel meet me at my house tomorrow morning early? We will put this together so Manuel doesn't have to worry."

"Yes, senor."

Another quick call. "Anna, tell me business is slow and you'd be happy to do a quick three room remodel for me. No permits, no structural, just drawings."

"Jeff! I thought it was only the other contractors who took chances like that?"

"I'll take that as a yes. Could I talk you into barbeque dinner tonight to meet the clients? You'll like them."

"All right. If six is ok, I'll bring some of my special Sangria."

"Sold."

As I stood up, two sweaty, winded women finished by deliberately running into me and wiping sweat on me.

"Lazy good for nothing. Making us go around again when we are all out of shape. Meanie."

The sweaty kisses were nice. The too thin bodies needed more food and more exercise just like today.

As we climbed into the truck, I said, "I have great news. There is a solution to your housing crisis. At least a temporary solution."

"OUR housing crisis?"

I mussed their hair and poked an elbow into some ribs.

Monica looked daggers at me, "You see that, Lisa, he needs a good punch to keep him in his place. Watch those elbows."

Lisa grabbed my ears from the back seat and said, "I'll steer from back here, mom, and you can work on his front.

I put the seat all the way back and said, "Get your sweaty butt up here in front of me and I'll let you steer."

She learned real fast not to try to force the wheel. She smiled at me, "Jeff, I never realized the car almost steers itself."

She even got us into the driveway. One smart kid.

"Let's get cleaned up. I want to show you something, and then we can have sandwiches for lunch."

I trooped the three of us around to the back of the garage and up to an inconspicuous door at the upper level. The inside was hot and musty. Bare wood was everywhere.

"When the house was built, this space above the garage was left unfinished. I've been meaning to do something about it for a long time and now seems about right. A woman architect friend is going to do the drawings and she is coming to dinner tonight to talk to us about where to put the walls and stuff. Tomorrow morning, a contractor friend is coming by to get started.

Monica said, "Us?"

"Yes, this is going to be your new temporary apartment, and you get to tell Anne what kind of design you would like. It's not a very big project, but it should be fun."

Lisa was jumping up and down, Monica was saying "You can't!" and there was general pandemonium.

Over lunch, I said, "I have some quadrille paper, and you can do some sketches before dinner about how walls and rooms could be laid out. But Anne is a professional and will tell you lots about good design and how to stick to the building code and things like that."

"You have to decide what kind of small kitchen you want and where to put it, where to put the bathroom, a bedroom, and how much open space you want. Here's a tape measure and you can go around in the main house and see how things are laid out."

Monica was rolling her eyes, mouthing, "I'm going to get you for this," as Lisa dragged her away with pad and tape measure.

Another call to my cousin Rachel, the music teacher, who lives on the other side of town about twenty minutes away.

"Hey, I have a young friend of the family staying with me who shows a lot of talent and I think needs piano lessons. I turned her loose on the Yamaha and after three hours, she's already up to lesson four. Should I bring her over or would you like to join us for dinner in the next day or so?"

"Jeff, I haven't seen you in an age, and I hate to cook. What about tomorrow night at your place."

"It's a deal, I'll see you sixish."

I went to find the girls, who were in the main bathroom, looking not very happy.

"Jeff, this isn't a very good layout, is it?"

"No, I've never liked it. Too cramped and the fixtures are in the wrong place and I hate tub showers."

Lisa chirped, "Oh goody, now I don't feel so dumb. I figured if I didn't like it, there had to be something wrong with me."

I poked her in the ribs and said, "Nice work, Lisa. Guess what, my cousin Rachel the music teacher is coming tomorrow for dinner and talk about music lessons. Do you think you could do some more of the lessons out of the book before she comes?"

"Oh yes, yes, yes. That will be fun!"

Monica gave me an exasperated look, told Lisa we would be back in a few minutes and to keep working on the bathroom and kitchen, and marched me up to my bedroom. She shoved me right over to the bed and down on my back. Then she sat on my legs, looked fierce, and said, "Jeffrey Fredericks, this has to stop. You're killing us with kindness. We haven't done ANYthing to deserve the clothes, the food, the new space, and now music lessons!"

She was getting teary again. I pulled her down and kissed her on the mouth gently. "I thought we agreed on the new Monica, the fresh start, the feisty woman?"

I grabbed a tissue from the night table, rolled her down beside me and wiped her nose for her.