Dakota was surprised to get a call from Ellen not too long after the new year had begun.
“If you have time this week, can we meet for coffee?” Ellen asked. “I wanted to talk to you about what will happen to Zinny after I pass.”
Despite the animosity she still felt toward the woman, a smidgen of worry arose.
“Are you…?”
“No, no,” Ellen said. “I’m fit as a fiddle. I’m just planning for the eventuality of my death and I need to discuss things with you.”
“All right. I can meet for coffee. I’m free tomorrow right after drop-off.”
The next morning the two of them sat across from one another at one of the three Starbucks near Zinny’s school. Some old-timey music piped through the speakers and many of the tables were occupied with people on their electronic devices.
“I’ll have a tall coffee, please,” Ellen said. “Dakota? It’s on me.”
Dakota decided to splurge. “I’ll have a mocha.”
“Whipped cream on that?” the barista asked.
“Yes. And a chocolate croissant.”
Dakota glanced at Ellen, expecting some kind of admonishment from her about how she should probably watch her calories because her jeans were looking a little tight, but nothing was forthcoming. Ellen just paid the bill.
“Thank you for meeting me,” Ellen said after they’d sat down with their drinks.
Dakota nodded and took a sip of her mocha. Unable to resist, she said, “I just love their mochas and their croissants are to die for.” She glanced at Ellen, who looked thoughtful, not disapproving.
“Did you say that on my account?” Ellen asked with no particular sharpness.
It was a well-known fact that Ellen preferred good old-fashioned coffee to any of the other silly drinks Starbucks offered.
“Maybe a little,” Dakota admitted. “I’m actually surprised you didn’t say anything when I ordered.”
“I’ve turned over a new leaf,” Ellen said. “I’m trying to…not to give as much advice as I used to.”
That was a nice way of putting it, but Dakota allowed her that.
“Really? What made you decide to do that?”
“I…” She cleared her throat. “I got kicked out of the book club.”
“What?”
“Yes. I was too pushy about the books we were choosing. And I was…critical about the refreshments. I can tell by your expression that you’re not surprised.”
“No, I’m not. Being around you is, not exactly like walking on eggshells, but it’s stressful. I felt like I had to have my shields up all the time.”
Eyes downcast, Ellen absorbed that. She didn’t say anything for the longest time and Dakota wondered what was going on inside the woman’s head. She was about to ask her what she wanted to talk about when she finally said, “I’m going to therapy now.”
Dakota gaped at her. “You are?”
This was shocking. Ellen wanting to change so much she was asking for help?
This was when Dakota finally realized what was different about Ellen’s appearance. Her hair was loose. And her lipstick was…pink. A light shade of pink that did a lot to soften her face and make her mouth not look like it was a pouch with the drawstring pulled too tight.
“Good for you,” she said with all sincerity. “Is it helping?”
“I don’t know. I hope so. It’s hard to change, but I…don’t want to die alone.”
Despite all the shit Dakota dealt with when she lived with Ellen and despite the Social Services plot, Dakota felt sympathy for her.
“What kinds of things are you doing?” Dakota asked.
Ellen lifted a shoulder. “Basically I’m trying to loosen up. Not, you know, ‘sweat the small things.’ My therapist wants me to focus on one thing at a time, and it just so happens that the thing I’m focusing on this week is not commenting on people’s food choices.”
“Mission accomplished then,” Dakota said.
“It’s not really…my place to tell people how to live their lives, so I guess it’s just the Golden Rule.”
“Yes it is,” Dakota said. She took a bite of her croissant and smiled. “I’m happy for you, Ellen. This is a positive thing.”
“On that note, let’s get to it,” Ellen said. “First, I’d like to…apologize for what I did. While I don’t condone your behavior—that job was not a good one, if for no other reason than safety—I made a poor choice.”
“That’s an understatement.”
“If I’d thought it through more, I’d have realized how disruptive it would all be for Zinny and I’m sorry for putting you both through that.”
Ellen was apologizing? Dakota wanted to look around to see if there were any pigs flying.
“That’s really big of you,” Dakota said, “and I mean that.”
Ellen’s smile was small.
“So, I have a proposition for you. I’d like you and Zinny to move back in with me. I know she’s happy at her school, so I’m looking to buy a house that will allow her to continue going there. A house with bigger bedrooms.
“I promise to keep trying very hard to not be as much of a despot. I think if I keep reminding myself that I can’t alienate Zinny like I did Thomas, my changes could work and she won’t grow up to hate me. For instance, I’ve decided she can take longer baths if she wants to. And she has the right to choose her own clothing, as long as it’s appropriate for her age. Discuss, don’t demand. That’s what my therapist suggests.”
“Look, Ellen, I’m not—”
“You still haven’t heard everything,” Ellen said. “I realize this isn’t necessarily the greatest offer. A bigger bedroom and a less uptight roommate. So I wanted to let you know that I want to make sure that you and Zinny, especially Zinny, will be provided for after my death.
“As you may or may not know, I have quite a sizable estate. My financial advisor informs me it’s about three million dollars. Most of that I inherited from my father.” She pulled a sheaf of papers out of her purse and pushed them across the table.
Dakota’s eyes widened as she flipped through them. She’d had no idea Ellen had that much money. She was so unbelievably frugal. Her house was modest. Her car was eleven years old. But here it was in black and white.
“I’d like to make you and Zinny my sole heirs,” Ellen said.
Dakota’s jaw dropped. “You what? I—I don’t understand. We’re not even family, really.”
“Zinny is my only family,” Ellen declared. “And because of my past mistakes I realized that, in order for you to come around, I needed to take bold action. So this is my current last will and testament, dated last week. This copy is yours to keep. Zinny gets everything, but as you’ll see on page six, I’ve bequeathed an amount to you. This gift is dependent upon you and Zinny living with me until her eighteenth birthday.”
Just when she thought this couldn’t get any weirder, it did.
Just out of sheer curiosity, because she wasn’t about to accept the offer, she looked at the amount. Five hundred thousand dollars. Half a million dollars. That was a lot of money.
“I needed to make the amount enticing enough for you to leave the employ of your hockey player.”
Ellen went on to say that when Zinny came of age, twelve years from now, Dakota would have to support herself, and Ellen wanted to give her a pathway for that to happen. She would therefore also pay for half of her college, should she decide to finish her degree.
“Ellen, this is…this is truly a generous offer and I respect and appreciate the thought that went into it, but I’m engaged to Cam. Cam asked me to marry him and I said yes.” Dakota glanced down at the engagement ring, which as usual, was flashing brilliantly.
Ellen’s eyes widened and she bit her lower lip. A sad little laugh escaped her and she said, “Congratulations.”
“Thank you.”
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Ellen said.
Dakota frowned. “You know, Ellen, you really sounded like a different person before, and you almost had me convinced you were sincerely trying to change, but that comment…”
“It’s nothing personal,” Ellen said. “I really don’t know him, but I want to point out one thing, then I won’t say anything more. Athletes, celebrities, they’re not to be trusted. They’re callous. They are so full of themselves that they think the women of the world are lucky to sleep with them and they don’t take anything seriously. Everything’s a joke. If they make a mistake, they throw money at it. Whatever you might think, I do care about you, Dakota, and I don’t want to see you or Zinny hurt by this man.”
Call her crazy, but there had been something flashing in Ellen’s eyes just now that made Dakota curious. And now she looked fidgety.
“Ellen,” she said carefully, “you sound almost as if you had—”
“Personal experience?”
Dakota nodded.
“That’s because I do.”
“You, ah, hooked up with an athlete?”
“Not so loud,” Ellen admonished. “Yes. He was a baseball player, played for the Giants. His name is Beau Regal. He was handsome and charming and he made me believe he cared for me, called me his honey bunny.” Ellen shivered. “It makes me sick to even say that all these years later. I was so gullible. I honestly believed he wanted to marry me until I decided to surprise him at an away game in Los Angeles. That’s where I overheard him call another girl his honey bunny.” She closed her eyes. “You have no idea how much I hate that this still hurts. All these years later. If I saw him today? If he walked in here right now, I’d slap his face again, the bastard.”
“Did you confront him about it?”
“Of course I did.”
Dakota believed it. Ellen had balls.
“He laughed at me. He said he had a ‘honey bunny’ in every city he played in. ‘Sure, one of these days I’ll settle down,’ he said. He said he might even pick one of his girls to be his wife and that if I wanted to stay in the running, I should just go back to San Francisco and wait for him to call.”
“What an asshole.”
“I don’t usually like language like that, but Beau Regal was an asshole.”
“You said ‘again’ before. You’d slap his face again. Does that mean you…?”
“I sure as heck did,” Ellen said, fire in her eyes. “I slapped him as hard as I could. I think my hand stung for a week. But it was worth it.” Ellen took a deep breath and looked around. No one seemed to be paying attention. “Anyway, I told you that whole sordid story so you would realize how cruel and entitled these athletes can be. I’m glad that Cam stepped up enough to propose, but that doesn’t mean the marriage will last. As soon as it gets hard, don’t be surprised if he decides to find greener pastures.”
Dakota smiled, a genuine smile. “Cam’s not like that. He’s not like your baseball player, I promise you. He’s the real deal. When he promises something, he follows through and what’s marriage but the ultimate promise?”
“Well, just in case, I won’t take you out of the will for another two weeks. You have until then to change your mind.”
Later, Dakota told Cam about her meeting with Ellen.
“That’s surprising,” Cam said. “The old bitch actually apologized?”
“Hey, don’t call her that.”
“Are you saying she’s not a bitch?”
“No. It’s just…she was different. Softer, less rigid. She didn’t even criticize me once. Seems she’s going to therapy now and learning how to not be so controlling.”
Cam looked unimpressed, and she knew he was still pissed that Ellen had called Social Services on her with a false allegation and truthfully, it was reassuring to have him take that protective role.
“So that’s not even the craziest part.” She gave him a sidelong glance. “She rewrote her will to include me on the condition that Zinny and I move back in with her.”
“You’re shitting me.”
Dakota relayed the details and Cam was flabbergasted.
“That’s unbelievable,” he said. “She’s trying to bribe you to move in with her? I hope you told her we’re getting married.”
“I did, of course I did, but she said the offer is on the table for another two weeks.”
“That woman is lucky you’re giving her a second chance with her granddaughter. I’m sure you’re going to invite her to the wedding, but I’ll tell you one thing. She’d better watch herself. If she badmouths you in my presence, I’m going to—hey. What’s this? What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing,” she said, shaking off the sudden melancholy. “I just look at her and pray that I never end up like her, so lonely that I’m reduced to paying people to spend time with me.”
Cam took her by the shoulders. “Look at me. Look into my eyes, Koko. That’s never going to happen. I’m going to be there for you forever. That’s what this whole marriage deal is about, you know. Pledging our lives to each other. Not only that, but we’ve got Zin Bin and however many children you’ll let me give you.”
She sniffled. “I do want to have kids. Maybe two or three.”
He pulled her into his arms and she melted into his warm, comforting embrace. “See? So we’ll have Zinny and our kids and a whole passel of grandkids and by the time we’re through, you’ll probably end up wishing you were alone.”