Alisha

A lot has happened since that day with Mrs. Delaware; I ended up taking the place after all. I know you may be thinking I’m a moron right about now but honestly, I really didn’t have much choice. I guess I could have at least checked out the other place but if you even seen Mrs. Delaware you wouldn’t want to argue either.

Anyway it’s not all bad. I mean, I got the place cleaned up as much as it will be. It’s been a month since that day; I am now 3 months into my pregnancy. I am so terrified because I don’t have a doctor here, and I am due for an ultrasound, it’s so stressful. I have a job interview today though; it’s for a light duties job. Meaning I will be filing or entering data in a computer or opening mail, really whatever they need me for. The pay is good but the hours are shit, because I’m just a “spare” so to speak so they don’t need me on any set hours.

I really don’t know what I am going to do; I find that I’m stressed out more and more each day with every passing hour. The more I think of what I need for my little one the more I want to just crawl in a hole and die! Things are really tight for money; I went and squandered most of it on stupid stuff like fast food and a new computer, things like that.

I decided it would be best for me to take a walk so I put on my new jacket, another purchase made, and left. It was a cool afternoon, not cold but cool the breeze was really nice though. I ran down the stairs and started to turn the corner when I smashed into a guy and made his brown paper bag fly. At first he looked so pissed but then when he looked at me I guess he must have seen something because his eyes flickered and he smiled. I smiled back of course because I’m naturally polite.

“Hi there, my name is Arlen” he said as he held out a hand. I looked at his hand leery at first but then I figured, what’s the worst that could happen?

“Hi, my name is Alish---err…Hilary” I smiled wincing at my mistake. Damnit! I knew better then to leak out my true identity. Memo to self, kick your ass later, I thought amusingly to myself. He seemed pretty amused himself.

“Well then miss…” he paused, “Hilary, when was the last time you ate?” he asked and gave me a smile. I was extremely nervous; I didn’t know what to say. It had been a day or so since I had eaten but I also didn’t want to turn into a bagger either.

“A couple hours ago” I lied. Just the thought of food made my stomach rumble, I guess it rumbled too loud because he could hear it loud and clear. I was so embarrassed.

“Apparently you didn’t eat near enough” he said as he motioned to the rumbling in my stomach. I blushed, I’m sure my face was the color of beets.

He took me to an Italian restaurant just down the street. It was nothing fancy but definitely beat fast food or stale bread, which was about all I had that I could afford at the moment. I fiddled with my fingers as I sat across from him. I started to wonder what we were going to talk about. I had a habit of meeting guys and letting them court me when I don’t even know their last name. I frowned at that thought. But Arlen must have read my thoughts because he proceeded to initiate small talk.

“Sorry to bump into you earlier, I don’t normally ask strangers out I just felt so bad” he explained. I shook my head rapidly, “Oh no really it was all me I wasn’t watching where I was going!” I argued. He just laughed.

“Well now that we got that out of the way, where were you off to in such a hurry?” he inquired, when I didn’t respond he accepted my silence as, “it’s none of your business.”

“Alright. Well I was just off to work, I run my own business you see its actually growing rapidly, I’m accumulating more and more clients” he went on to explain.

“You own your own business?” I interrupted, immediately covering my mouth. Gosh what has gotten into me lately? It’s not like me to be so rude. Once again he laughed.

“Yes, it’s a marketing type business. I have all my girls go out and bring in new clients, all my girls work in the field and all their supplies are paid for. They get paid $650 a day and I have about ten girls at the moment, so all in all shelling out $6500 a day and still bringing in enough to thrive, I’d say my business is going well, wouldn’t you?” He asked. I nodded my head as I gulped down some of my Sprite. He looked at me curiously. I just smiled.

“Definitely sounds like it.” I answered. He seemed satisfied with that because he nodded his head.

“So where do you work?” He asked continuing the small chat.

“Umm…actually I don’t really have a job. I mean I do but not really.” He raised his eyebrow not really following what I meant, “I’m pretty sure I will get this job, but its not really enough money to make my bills and start saving for when my baby comes.” I rubbed my stomach and he leaned over to look obviously oblivious to my state when he first met me. But he smiled.

Just then our dinner was brought to us which ended the small talk…for now.

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It was a really chilly night, I tried to close the window to my apartment but it was jammed. Finally giving in to the forces of nature I decided to run and grab a sweater and a blanket, shivering and rubbing my arms to warm them a little.

Tonight with Arlen was great, after dinner we went for a walk and we talked about all sorts of things like dogs and the city and politics. He’s really smart. It sounds like he really knows what he’s doing with his business. He said in the future he’s hoping to expand but for now he has to keep in to his area due to all the competition. We never did actually discuss the nitty gritty of the jobs that his girls do, but I bet they do good to get paid that much. I’m going to see him again tomorrow. It’s nice to have another friend in the city. I hadn’t spoken to Trista in well over a month. The first time I called her was so awkward. She was so furious at me for not letting her know where I was going but after she had her fit with me she calmed down enough for me to explain why I did it and where I was at and what I was doing, she relaxed a lot. It sure was nice to hear a familiar voice. I guess my parents had every cop in the town looking for me, they even went as far as interrogating poor Devon which unfortunately he spilled a little too much information. I guess one less thing to worry about, my father now knows I am pregnant. Hey the plus side to it is I didn’t have to be there to endure his wrath.

My train of thought was broken when I heard a scratching noise at my door. Quickly I rushed to my bedroom to grab my baseball bat and I slowly, ever so slowly walked towards my door. Not like the door would stop any intruder who actually wanted to break in. There was no peep hole, no bolt lock, just a standard bathroom door lock, and really all it would take was a pen and they had full access to my house. I would have got Mrs. Delaware to replace it but she ignores my calls.

I turned on a light and looked down, there was a tiny envelope on the floor, when I picked it up I realized it was really thick. I cautiously looked at the door and slowly backed away, still on guard and went to the kitchen to open this mysterious envelope.
Inside the envelope was … “Oh my God” I thought out loud. It was cold hard cash, and lots of it, I counted…five thousand dollars! I almost fainted. Who in their right mind would slip me an envelope of five thousand dollars? The only person that came to mind was Arlen. I shook my head. I felt so ill. How could he possibly afford to do this and why would he do this? I wondered. No, I can’t accept this. I couldn’t! No matter how desperately I needed it I didn’t even know Arlen, for all I know this money could be stolen! Then the worst thought yet came to mind, what if he’s a Serial Killer? I gasped and threw the money on the table and ran to my bedroom. I guess old habits die hard.


I’m sure we all look back on our life and have regrets, things we could have done, things we should have done. For instance, I should have just given that money back right then and there. But something told me to keep it. Maybe it was foolish but I really didn’t have much choice. My baby would be arriving in just a few short months and I still didn’t have a crib or anything. It was every man for himself, or in this case, every woman. But what I didn’t realize was the biggest regret of all: Arlen.