Someone Else's Fairytale

Twenty-Seven: Lori

Jen showed up towards the end of my Saturday afternoon shift at work. One minute I was ringing up an order, the next I was face to face with her. “Hi,” she said.

“Hey.”

“You get off soon?”

I nodded. “Ten minutes.”

“Okay... can we get coffee or something, then?”

“Sure.”

Jen went to find a seat and page through a magazine. I finished off my work, signed out, poured two cups of coffee and went to join her. “So how are you?” I said as I put her cup of coffee down in front of her.

“Oh, I was going to go order. I didn't mean for you to-”

I waved that away. “You want something other than coffee?”

“No, no. This is great.” She took a sip – I noticed she drank it black. “Okay,” she said, “I gotta ask, you taking Kyra to New York, is that a serious offer?”

“Sure. Though I'll need a way to get one of you out there or send her back if things go wrong. I might be in over my head.”

“Of course, yeah, of course. Are you sure, though? I mean, that's not exactly a romantic summer away, having her around.”

“Well, what would she need?”

Jen fidgeted with her coffee cup, exactly like Jason did when he was on edge. I wished I'd gotten her something other than coffee, or cut it with decaf or something. “I've got an old classmate in New York who knows the people who are doing the catering for Jason's movie. I could probably get Kyra a job.”

“I'm sure Jason could-”

“I never ask Jason for favors like that. I know he'd help, but-” She shrugged. “Seems dumb that I deserve anything for being his sister. My friend in New York, now I helped her through culinary school. She owes me one. Think Kyra would do catering?”

“I barely know her.”

“Right, me too. Kyle and I are also hiring her an SAT prep coach who'll help her with her college applications.”

“Sounds nice.”

Jen gave me an odd look. “Really? Doesn't sound neurotic and over the top?”

“I wish I'd had one of those.”

“Make sure you tell her that. Basically, we'd just need somewhere for her to live. She and Jason aren't a good mix. I mean, I think they get along now, but only up to a point, and we need someone to just make sure she's... spending the night in her bed. Alone. That sounds awful.”

“If I had a daughter her age, I might have her chained to the floor.”

“The thought has crossed my mind, but I think that's illegal. I'm being unfair, though. Her problem isn't guys, plural, right now. It's one guy. This one guy we can't seem to keep her away from.”

“And you want her to go to college and get a life.”

“Exactly. But I've gotta ask, are you seriously offering-”

“Yeah, it's a serious offer. I don't think I can fix your problems here, but I can be her roommate and keep tabs on her. And this resolves my little discussion with Jason about apartment rental. He can rent the apartment and I'm not just his girlfriend, whom he has out there.”

“I get what you're saying, but it's not like that. Here's the other thing, though, and it may be the deal breaker. When you spend the night with Jason, I need you to be discreet about it.”