Chapter 8
Natalie
Betty’s Deli was busy at certain times of the day. Breakfast was popular with the early morning coffee drinkers, and it certainly saw a lunch crowd. There was a brief lull in the late morning and then again in the afternoon. The owner was a Russian immigrant who named the place after his wife. He left management entirely up to Holly. She had started out as a waitress and was saving up to buy the place from Ivan, even though the shop was practically hers already.
I arrived after ten, when there were a few customers hunched over laptops, plugging into the Wi-Fi and drinking bottomless cups of coffee. As soon as Holly saw me, her eyes widened.
“Nats! What’re you doing here?” She poured me a cup of coffee and I sat at the counter where she was working.
“Long story,” I said.
I had dressed Ethan for his day school that morning, waiting until I was sure Sam had gone to work before going down. I explained to Ethan that I was going away for a bit, and I saw him blink a few times to process it. Someone would fetch him from school, and I’d be back soon but I didn’t know when. I knew that he’d have questions that he didn’t necessarily know how to ask. I didn’t think I would be back soon, though. I couldn’t tell him that, however. As soon as I’d handed him over to the teacher, I called the agency through which I worked and told them I was ill and needed an emergency replacement.
No questions were asked.
I left for Boston straight away.
I needed to be out of that house as quickly as possible. I sent Sam a text:
Have found a replacement nanny to take my place. With immediate effect.
He took a while to respond.
Why?
There was only one answer to this:
You know why.
Then I switched my phone off.
I couldn’t bear the thought of Sam or any kind of conversation with him. I had to get away from the house and his neighborhood, as soon as possible. I had barely slept at all the previous night. Lying awake, I replayed the scene in the corridor over and over again. I could see no other possibility. I had to leave right away. Even though it meant walking out on Ethan and leaving him in the lurch. I had only worked there for three weeks, but at the rate that Sam had promised me, it was several thousand dollars, certainly enough to get Tucker into a facility, even if it wasn’t enough yet.
I went to the deli straight away. As soon as I saw the shop with its colorful shopfront and the foldout chairs outside, I felt a sense of relief. The place had been a refuge to me over the years. Ever since Holly and I started living together, I had often come here during the day, especially when I didn’t have work to go to. Occasionally, I’d help her if one of the waitresses didn’t come for their shifts. I wasn’t a particularly good waitress, though, I tended to muddle up the orders if it got too busy or someone was rude. But Holly loved working here and had become obsessed with buying the place from Ivan. I watched as Holly served some customers looking for the specialty cheese that Ivan’s sold. There were two old ladies having cheesecake, but the rest of the shop was empty.
“Now, you tell me what’s going on,” Holly said, leaning over the counter.
“I think I need more coffee,” I said, and she refilled my mug right away. I told her everything. My sad tale was interrupted a few times, first by the old ladies who wanted to pay and then by a customer who asked about the pickles. Then Holly interrupted me a few times herself, too.
“What? The guy you were working for is Sam, the guy who dumped you in college?” Holly stared at me. “You didn’t tell me that!”
“There was a reason for that,” I said, looking down guiltily. “I knew you’d tell me not to take the job.”
“Hell, yes! Why did you?”
“He offered me double. You know I need the money.”
“Do you need money that badly?!”
“Holly, before this my last permanent job had been six months ago.”
That shut her up.
“I was doing these odd jobs, but I was barely making the rent. And with Tucker needing the money for rehab, I was sure I could work for Sam for at least a while.”
“That psychopath!” Holly fumed. “I can’t believe he suckered you into this!”
“He’s not a psychopath,” I had to smile. I knew Holly would have my back. But it was also important to be honest.