The Arrangement

The Rules

"One, two, three..."

I held out my fist and he showed two fingers. I smiled because rock beat scissors. Next, I went with paper and put my hand out flat and Daniel presented his two fingers again.

"That's one-one," he said.

Would he do scissors a third time? No, but what would he do? I had a fifty-fifty shot and went with scissors myself and he showed his fist. I lost.

"Looks like we're hanging out on the beach, Hershey." He smiled.

The puppy tilted her head as if contemplating what she had been told. She really was sweet and I was determined to win her affections and steal her away from him.

"Okay, so that's the first decision. Now you need to choose someone to keep an eye on you," my father said.

"An eye on us?" Daniel asked.

Jim replied, "To live here to ensure you are following the rules."

"What are the rules?" Daniel asked.

Jim replied, "You must stay here from midnight to seven am. No, overnight guests."

"What about David? Can David come to visit me?"

"Or me?" Daniel added glaring at me.

The two fathers looked at each other and nodded. My father said, "David, yes, but any other guests must be approved, by your official..."

I cut my father off. "Patricia! I want Patricia."

Patricia was my family's live-in housekeeper and had been for years. She missed my mother almost as much as I did. She would give me an ally for this ordeal.

I nearly fell off my chair when Daniel agreed.

I smiled, as my father frowned. Justice was served. This hair-brained scheme would cause him to give up his housekeeper, just as Jim had to give up his summer retreat.

I didn't know why Daniel agreed to my choice so easily, but I wasn't about to question it.

"What other rules are you imposing?" Daniel asked.

"You are to spend every night here. You are to have no unauthorized guests. You must discuss every new initiative or decision with each other and both agree. Together you will then have to get our approval."

"That's it. We are free to do as we please before midnight?" I could secretly continue to see Nate.

"No," Jim said. "Any public appearances you should be together. So Danny if you want to go to a gallery opening, you'll bring Paige and not the artist. Paige, you'll go with Danny to whatever it is you do."

"Does this include going out to dinner?"

"Yes," my father said.

So now I couldn't date Nate all summer. What were they trying to do? Obviously, force us to like the other. Fat chance!

"Do you both agree?" Jim asked.

We looked at each other and Daniel shrugged. In that instance, I wished he wasn't so damn good looking. He was a wolf in sheep's clothing.

Neither of us had a choice, but to agree. Our fathers look at each other and smiled.

My father said, "Well that's settled. You best go pack up your things. I need to go tell Patricia, she's spending the summer at the beach."

Suddenly I felt a tiny bit guilty. "Dad will you be alright without her?"

"Of course, she can clean up after me while you're working."

"What about your meals?"

"I'll be fine. This is more important."

Why was it so important for her to babysit Daniel and me?

"I suppose she'll be called on to be a witness for the prosecution," I added.

I saw Daniel smile as my father looked confused. Daniel said, "It's a given that one of us is going to kill the other before this game of yours ends on Labor Day."

"I hope not, my money is on you succeeding," my father commented nonchalantly.

Both mine and Daniel's jaws hung open.

"Ray, you weren't supposed to tell them!" Jim exclaimed.

"Dad, you bet against me!" Daniel said looking like it was a blow to his ego.

"Perhaps, but I don't expect either of you will end up dead."

Under my breath, I said, "I wouldn't be so sure."

"Come on Hersh girl, let's go for a walk."

The dog jumped up and ran to him. I'll be taking lots of dog walks if I'm planning to steal his dog.