Steve nodded somberly as he heard the bad news. "I don't know what to do with her" Charlie admitted. It was killing him to ask this guy for help, but sadly, he knew Charlie's wife better than Charlie did. "Have you got any ideas?"
Steve shrugged "You could put her up in one of those residential motels. We have one down the street - she might agree to that one." The one where it looked like people did drugs in the parking lot? Charlie choked. "She can't stay with me, clearly. What about you?" Charlie shook his head sadly, full of regret. He cursed himself under his breath, said goodbye, and headed back to the wholesale warehouse, where they'd actually held his merchandise.
Jenny cried for a bit, furious. It wasn't all men who vexed her, she decided, just certain men named Williams! They came into her life, wrecked it, and then wanted to save her! Well, no thanks! She could... she sighed.
She couldn't fix this on her own. She got herself a Diet Dr Pepper and prayed about it for half an hour. Mr Jones kept coming to mind.
As in "Right On!" used car dealer Mr Jones. Maybe he could help her find something. She called him, explaining her situation. "All I need is a bed and a toilet.." she continued. She could always join a gym. She held the phone away from her ear as Mr Jones cackled in her ear "You gonna use the hose, girl?" She smiled and started to explain the gym idea as he hushed her.
"Don't worry. I've got this. You've done a lot for me over the years." He teared up, thinking of the tiny Christmas tree she'd brought for his bedside the first year after his accident. He brought it out every year. The constant stream of delicious, manic-baked goods and frozen dinners, her tender care of his dying yard - transforming it into an oasis of easy-care. Taking him, on paratransit, to the animal shelter, where he'd found Orange, his fat orange tabby. He hung up, and called the lot.
Jenny tried to sleep as best she could, tossing and turning. She considered the by-the-week motel, then rejected it. It looked like people did drugs in the parking lot, and the expense would burn through her savings quickly. Mom would be happy to have her, but she hovered.
God, she prayed, please fix this.
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