Page 32 of Breaking the Ice
“Thanks to you.” Then she smiles at me and adds, “And to your friend.”
Ellie feels the need to clarify. “He’s not my friend, he’s our tenant.” Ouch.
I tell Elaine, “I’ll be your friend, Elaine, even if your daughter won’t claim me.”
She smiles through a grimace of pain. “I’ll take it. Now get going so we can find out how much damage I’ve done to myself.”
I follow Ellie as she walks toward the waiting room. She mumbles, “We may not have much, but we have insurance.” Oh yeah, she’s ticked off at my offer to pay.
Once we’re seated, I ask her, “Do you know anything about Troy’s childhood?”
With eyes straight ahead, she answers, “I know he had a great one with a loving family and a load of brothers.”
“He did,” I concur. “But we were also dirt poor.”
She whips her head in my direction with a look of shock etched across her face. “Really?”
I nod. “Really. My parents didn’t have college educations and jobs in our town kind of came and went. My dad worked in a series of factories, and my mom took in other people’s mending so she could stay home with us boys.” Ellie doesn’t respond right away, so I ask, “Does that surprise you?”
“Very much. I mean, you guys have everything now. How did you manage that coming from such a start?”
“My folks made our education their biggest priority. They stayed on top of us to get our homework done and they made sure we had a sport we were good at. They tried to negate all obstacles that might have kept us from getting a higher education.”
Ellie shakes her head. “You’d think that would be something people would know about you.”
“It’s not something we hide,” I tell her.
After a moment of silence, she confesses, “Things have been tight since my dad died five years ago. He didn’t have life insurance and then Covid hit, and nobody came to rent Mom’s cottage anymore. That’s when her arthritis became debilitating. It was just a lot of tough things hitting at once.”
“It’s hard to get ahead once the slide starts,” I tell her. “I’m sorry you’re going through this, but your mom is really lucky to have you.”
“I’m lucky to have her,” she says. “I know success isn’t about how much money you have, but I really wish I had more of it so I could make Mom’s life easier.”
I reach over and take her hand in mine before giving it a small squeeze. “I get that.”
And just like that, Ellie’s body relaxes, and she leans toward me. “I have some really great friends,” she says. “But everyone has their own lives and I never want them to feel sorry for me. I feel alone a lot of the time.”
“Life’s burdens can weigh you down,” I sympathize. “But the good news is that things always have a way of turning around.”
I’m more than a little surprised when she announces, “I’m starting to believe that. Just today, I was offered twenty thousand dollars for a month’s work.”
“Excuse me?” Who made an offer like that and what kind of seedy thing do they expect from Ellie in exchange for that kind of money?
“Yolanda wants me to help drag your name through the mud. At least, I think that’s what she’s planning.” I’m silent for so long, Ellie straightens up and looks at me. “I told her no.”
“Why?”
“Are you kidding? Zach, I’m not the kind of person who would take money to help someone hurt you. It may not seem that I like you very much, but it’s clear after today you’re a decent enough guy.”
“Because I brought your mom to the emergency room?” I’m secretly hoping she decided I was a good guy before that.
Nodding her head, she says, “Among other things.”
“I have a proposition,” I tell her. “I think you should take Yolanda’s money and let her think you’re on her side.”
She looks startled. “But I’d really be a secret agent for you?”
“Yes,” I tell her. “And I’ll match her twenty thou.” Realizing this might be my only chance to help Ellie, I decide, “In fact, I’ll double it.”