“Claire, I’ve got to have you this weekend, you know that I’ve no one else on this short notice, and these people are VIPs and use our service for a lot of different functions. If I’m forced to cancel I’ll lose their future business.”

“Pam, I don’t know what to say, I can’t get out of it. I have to travel to Columbia in the morning and will be there through Sunday.”

“Columbia, hmmm," muttered Pam, "That’s only an hour from Florence, which is closer to the party than you are now. Claire, do you think you could get away for awhile on Saturday evening and do the party and then return to Columbia?”

A small flicker of hope sprang to life within her. “Pam, I don’t know."

"I’ll double your rate if you can, Claire, I’m desperate.”

“Let me ask Jason if he’ll need me in the evening, and I’ll let you know.” After bribes and pleading from Pam, Claire closed the phone and headed back towards her office. Claire returned to her desk and tried to work up the nerve to ask Jason about Saturday Night. The switch board showed that he was on the telephone. Ok chicken, go ahead and email him instead of asking him in person. Claire opened her email program and wrote Jason a short line inquiring about Saturday Night and just stopped herself from signing it 'love', or 'lust', Claire. A few moments later the door to Jason’s office opened, and he stepped out with his briefcase.

“Claire did you get the directions I sent you?”

“Yes, I have them.”

As Jason was leaving he said, “About Saturday night, if you’d like some time off, that’s fine as I’ll also be going out to dinner with Harold and some other friends.”

“Oh that’s great; I’ve some family close to the area that I would really like to visit.” Liar, Liar, pants on fire.

“See you tomorrow Claire,” Jason replied as he shut the door.

Holy Moly, Suzy was right; that man did have a smoking hot set of buns, whew! Breathing a sigh of relief, Claire started clearing off her desk and shutting her computer down. Bringing out her cell phone, she sent a text to Pam letting her know that she would be available to do the party on Saturday evening as planned. Claire gave her watch a quick glance and hurriedly gathered her purse. Her mother and Louise would be waiting on her for dinner.

Chapter Three

Claire’s mother had been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes almost five years ago and despite their best efforts, each year seemed to take a further toll on her health. To add to the problem, her mother was also in the early stages of Alzheimer’s. Louise had been her mother and father’s housekeeper for as long as she could remember. Her father was a corporate lawyer and prided himself on leading a certain lifestyle. Being waited on and able to brag about having a maid was part of that lifestyle. When Claire’s father and sister were killed in a tragic auto accident three years ago, Louise had moved in with her mother for some much-needed companionship.

Her mother had never really recovered and blamed herself for the accident. Her father was always very particular about their meals and when her mother hadn’t purchased what he wanted for dinner, he had insisted on going back to the supermarket to get the correct items, since no one else was intelligent enough to make sure it was handled correctly. Her father had also discovered that day that her sister had been seeing a boy that he deemed unacceptable, so he had made her go along so he could spend the travel time lecturing her. In a sense, her father and sister died for gratin potatoes versus plain mashed potatoes.

Since the fast decline of her mother’s health, Louise had become an absolute necessity. Claire didn’t know what she would do without her. With her mother having a steadily increasing problem with her memory, Louise saw that her blood sugar was checked regularly and that her medication was given at the correct times. Claire had worked out an agreement with Louise to provide her a room and a small salary. Even though Louise’s salary was modest, it was still a struggle to meet most months with the price of her mother’s medication and the upkeep on the house.

Claire walked to the elevator and took a deep breath to avoid the suffocating feeling of the confined space as she waited for the doors to open. It was past six on a Friday evening which meant most of the office had already left for the day. Claire waited on the elevator door to open to the parking garage which was another source of discomfort for her. Would she ever get over this claustrophobia that she’d been cursed with her whole life?

She opened the door to her Toyota compact and slid onto the thread-bare seats. A new car at any point in the future seemed very out of reach. Luckily, Daisy, as she called her car, seemed to be dependable and loyal but was in no stretch of the imagination a man magnet unless it was a repairman.

Claire turned onto the street towards her mother’s home. Claire’s mother lived a few miles from the beach in a small town called Murrells Inlet. Although close enough to Myrtle Beach to be very busy during the summer tourist season, Murrells Inlet still had a certain small-town charm. As she turned in the driveway of the two-story home, Claire stopped to appreciate the exterior. For those looking for the fairytale of a house with a white picket fence, this was it. It was only when you took a closer look that the house was starting to resemble something from a Freddie Kruger Movie. The last few years of neglect were starting to show. Life had been nothing like a fairytale though for the people who had lived in the house.

Her father was an overbearing, manipulative man who verbally abused them the entire time he was alive. Nothing was ever good enough to please him. If Chrissie or herself didn’t make all A’s in school, they were stupid and lazy; but if they did, it was because they took easy courses that anyone could pass. Everyone walked on eggshells around him, terrified of what would set him off for that day.

Claire had planned to move out when she started college, desperate to escape. Chrissie had begged her to stay at least until she graduated, terrified of being left to face their father’s wrath alone. Claire tried to shield Chrissie as much as she could, which left her an easy target for her father. He had never physically struck them nor did Claire think he had her mother. Words were his weapon of choice, and he used them like knives.

For not the first time, Claire thought about how much easier it would be if her mother lived in a condominium that included maintenance and upkeep because the price of maintaining her home as well as her medication was staggering. She would also love to never have to see this house again. After the death of her father, her mother lived comfortably on his life insurance payment for a few years but in the last year that money had dwindled and now Claire was forced to pick up the medical bills that her Medicare didn’t cover; which seemed to be numerous as well as the maintenance of the home. With a sigh, Claire made her way up to the front walk and was met at the front door by Louise. No matter how bad her day, Louise always made her smile. Standing at just five feet tall, Claire’s taller 5’7 frame seemed to tower over her. Louise still insisted on getting a curly perm in her hair every few months and also claimed that as long as they made hair color, she would never be grey. She might not be grey but Claire had seen various other colors over the years when the hair color went wrong. At the present, it was more of a dark brown and what could possibly be a burgundy highlight. She gave Louise a hug and entered the foyer of the house. The original hardwood floors caught the light and gleamed. The staircase was straight in front of the door with the dining room to the right and living room to the left.

“How is mom doing today Louise? Did she take all her medications without too much of a fight?”

“She’s been having an off day, but seems better now.” Her mother seemed to be having many off days lately. “Her blood sugar was low this morning,” continued Louise “and that really takes her awhile to recover from.”

At that moment, her mother walked in from the kitchen at the back of the house and her eyes just seemed to light up. Her mother rushed forward and grabbed her in a hug excitedly saying, “Chrissie; I knew you’d come by today, I’ve been waiting for you!”

Claire looked over at Louise and saw the tears in the corners of her eyes. Louise stepped forward and put her arm around Claire’s mother and said, “now Evelyn, you know this isn’t Chrissie; this is Claire, remember?”

Her mother looked at Claire in confusion and then Claire could see the agitation beginning. “I think I know who my own daughter is,” said her mother indignantly.

Saddened, Claire looked at Louise and said, “It doesn’t matter Louise.”

The confusion and the agitation that followed was the reason Claire was forced to have a separate residence when it would be much easier financially for them to live together. For some reason, her mother never seemed to forget Louise, but she often confused her with Chrissie or didn’t recognize her at all. Even though she forgot that Chrissie was dead at times, she never asked after her husband. It was as if she could accept his death but couldn’t process Chrissie's.

“I’ve the dinner ready Claire,” replied Louise, and she gently turned her mother around and they all headed towards the kitchen. With just her mother, Louise and herself, the formal dining room had long ago stopped being used in favor of the smaller breakfast nook in the kitchen. Louise made a simple dinner of tomato bisque soup and ham and cheese sandwiches. Louise settled her mother in a chair, and Claire took a seat on the other side of the table careful to keep from startling her mother in her present state of mind.

Her mother suddenly looked at her and said in an excited voice, “Oh Claire; you made it for dinner! When did you come in honey?”

“I got here a few moments ago mom.” Louise looked over at Claire as she was sitting down with a sad expression on her face.

“How was your day honey?” continued Claire’s mother.

“It was fine mom, just busy as usual. I’m going to Columbia on business this weekend, so I won’t see you guys again until Sunday evening.”

“Oh Claire, you work so hard, doesn’t she Louise?”

Louise winked at Claire, “You know these young people today Evelyn, work, work, work.” the rest of the meal was spent in relaxing conversation.

After dinner was finished Louise led her mother into the living room and settled her in front of the TV to watch her favorite soap opera on DVR. When she returned to the kitchen she looked at Claire and said, “The roof is leaking again in the master bedroom upstairs.”

Looking at her in dismay, Claire said, “I just had that fixed last winter, how in the world is it leaking again?!”

“Honey, it was two years ago and that’s about how long the roofer said it would hold.” Claire sat down in a kitchen chair and wearily closed her eyes for a moment. “The lord never gives us more than we can handle, things will turn around soon, just have faith,” soothed Louise.

“Faith has been in real short supply lately, and I’m not sure of how much longer I can handle the upkeep on this house Louise. I know it would just kill mom to have to move.”

“Honey, we will do what we need to do, your mother would be confused, but I think she would adjust in time,” said Louise. “Let me call my nephew Brent; he’s a good handyman and might be cheaper than a roofing company.”

“Thanks Louise, I don’t know what I would do without you,” said Claire as she stood up and walked across the kitchen to hug her. “I’ll call you this weekend while I’m in Columbia but if anything at all comes up, call me Louise, and I’ll come straight back home,” said Claire.

“You don’t worry about us; we will be just fine,” assured Louise.

Claire walked into the living room and said, “Mom; I’m leaving now,” as she leaned down to give a kiss on the cheek.

Her mother absently patted her cheek and said, “Ok Chrissie; I’ll see you tomorrow,” and went back to her soap opera. Not bothering to correct her, Claire called out one last goodbye to Louise and made her way out the door to where Daisy was patiently waiting. She backed out of the driveway and headed back to Myrtle Beach and her small one-bedroom apartment on the south side.

Chapter Four

Myrtle Beach was a busy tourist town, and rent was not cheap. Claire had been fortunate to find a reasonably priced apartment in a quieter area of town that was a little further away from the ocean than most of the tourist crowd liked. She spotted her neighbor William ‘but call me Billy’ in the parking lot and desperately looked for another parking spot. If she couldn't park on the other side of the complex she would sleep in her car if she had to until he went inside his apartment. The lot was completely full except for her space in front of her apartment so it was either flee or suck it up and park. She could see Billy’s eyes zero in on her immediately as she pulled into her spot.

Billy was on the short side for a man with a pudgy build and hair that looked as if he poured oil straight on it each day to slick it down. He also had a very disturbing habit of ‘adjusting himself’ constantly. Claire could only hope this was a bad habit and not an indication of how much she excited him. She shuddered at the last thought as he strolled towards her in his ‘trying to be sexy way.’ Claire hurriedly stepped from her car and attempted to walk towards her apartment door.