Page 10 of Mating of Convenience
“It’s Raphael,” I said into the door-com when it crackled to life after I’d rung the bell. Before me, the door unlocked with a buzzing sound. Not wanting to spend more time here than I needed to, I jerked the door open and stomped in—only to stop again when I saw that the hallway was guarded by an army of bright pink flamingos. Smaller and bigger figurines that took up almost all of the available space until only a narrow pathway to walk through remained.
This was some fucked up shit.
“How do you like my birds?”
I nearly jumped when my grandma appeared in the hallway before me. I’d been so focused on studying the porcelain figurines that I hadn’t seen her approach. “I’m not really into birds,” I said, trying not to let on that she’d caught me by surprise.
“No? Well, I guess not. I can see that you and I have different aesthetics.” My grandma said this with a barely concealed hint of regret in her voice. Her gaze went to my arm. Of course.
“You don’t like my ink?” I asked, not that I really cared what she thought.
“Did you do that yourself?” she asked.
“I can’t tattoo my own arm. But I created the design, yes.”
The old hag nodded thoughtfully, though I didn’t know why. Then again, I almost never understood why she did what she did. “Follow me, dear,” she said, turning around and starting to walk.
“Don’t call me that.” She didn’t get to give me pet names after never taking an interest in my life before. Only special people got to give me pet names. But I followed her anyway. I gotta admit, I was getting curious what the wicked witch of the west wanted from me.
My grandma led me into a small sitting room. Bright sunlight shone through the large window front and nearly blinded me as I stepped into the room. It was uncomfortably warm and I wondered why my grandma wasn’t turning on the AC. I wondered if she didn’t notice how hot it was, or if she simply enjoyed causing me discomfort. I wouldn’t have put it past a woman who set up an army of flamingos in her entry hall.
“Sit, dear.” My grandma pointed at two brown arm chairs in the middle of the room, opposite each other and separated by a small coffee table made of glass.
“I told you not to call me that,” I said as I lowered myself into one of the chairs.
Grandma made a dismissive gesture with her hand. “A little friendliness isn’t going to hurt you, Rafe.”
Rafe?I made a face. That was even worse. “It’s Raphael to you.”
Ignoring my protest, Grandma sat in the chair opposite mine. “I called you here because there’s some things we need to discuss.”
“Like what?”
“Your inheritance, for one.”
“My what?” Was she on drugs? It would explain the flamingos, at least.
“Please, dear, you must realize that your late grandfather and I have accumulated a considerable amount of money through years of--“
“I know you’re loaded,” I cut her off. “But you’ve never wanted to share any of your riches with us before. Hell, you kicked your own daughter out of the house when she was pregnant with me and left her to fend for herself.”
“I regret that,” my grandma said as matter-of-factly as if she was talking about a spoiled picnic rather than the break between her and her only daughter. “I’ve done many things in my life that I regret,” she continued, “and though I’ve had my reasons for all of them, I’d like to set some of them right. I couldn’t mend my relationship with Catherine, but I can take care of her children.”
I wondered if the disgust I felt at that statement showed on my face, but I did nothing to reel it in. “If you wanted to take care of us, you should have done so when Mom died. Wait, are you dying? Is that why you’re off your rocker?”
“We all have to die eventually,” she said, neither confirming nor denying my suspicions. “Be that as it may, I see that you’ve inherited your mother’s rebellious streak.” Her eyes strayed to my arm again. “I also see, however, that you have a lot of talent.”
Did I now? “I don’t need your praise.”
“Maybe not.” Grandma smiled. “But I hear that you and your family might need some financial help.”
You and your family,as if she wasn’t related to us at all. I narrowed my eyes at her, mainly because I wanted to call her out on it, but at the same time I knew that wasn’t a wise choice. “Let’s just say we have a couple of overdue bills,” I downplayed the situation a little.
Grandma nodded again. “Your darling sister has told me as much. I’m considering paying your father’s bills and giving you access to your inheritance early.”
She was consideringwhat? My inheritance? “I always figured you’d disowned all of us.”
“Don’t be so dramatic, Rafe.”
