Free To Love

29

My mother looked away from me and looked at the cross.

She looked back at me and smiled.

"That's what I thought. There's nothing God can't fix. Just don't let your father know. Not yet anyway".

As much as what she said bothered me I understood that that wasn't what mattered at that point. I needed to make sure she understood what was going on. I didn't want to raise tensions when tensions were already high because of my father's sickness.

"Mom that's the problem. You remember the girl who used to do your nails? Bethany?".

"I'm not sure".

It bothered me a bit that even she didn't know who she'd fired. To me, it further justified the idea that she felt like an undervalued and unseen rock who came in and out of our home.

"She's really skinny, country accent, blonde".

"Oh Bethany. Yeah she was so slow. And she used to hurt my nails occasionally. What did she do?".

"The point is, she said she used to work for you and you fired her. So, she wants money from me. There's a video of me kissing a man and she wants to send it to dad".

"What? Blackmail?".

"Yeah. I just wanted you to find a way to talk to her so this can be resolved. Maybe if you can hire her again. She said she wanted 50 million dollars if not she would send the video".

She shook her head.

"Look what your obscenity is doing. A job isn't going to satisfy her will it. She wants money and she now very much could have it. Who on earth were you kissing? Do I know him?".

I stayed silent and she looked at me quizzically?

"Vinay?".

"What? The man your father made you work with? But I heard he was with a woman before".

"That doesn't matter now, what matters is dad doesn't find out about it because if he does the stress could really hurt him".

"Of course", my mother said before standing up. I remained seated and watched her as she looked down at me with a smile which I could tell she used to mitigate her anger. She always said smiling was a good way to suppress anger and keep God pleased.

"That's why you should let Vinay pay her. He has much more money than we do. You both caused this mess and so he'll have to fix it", she said.

"But what if she keeps asking for more money? Maybe you could delete it off his phone when she sends it so dad doesn't see it. She's letting Dad know
tomorrow".

My mother rapidly and immediately responded with a shaky voice as she maintained her smile.

"I do not know your father's passwords so that wouldn't work. This problem is very much your problem to solve. Don't you dare let this kill your father. Don't let it destroy this family".

She walked briskly out of the prayer room and I watched her go.
My breathing quickened and tears tingled my eyes.

I left the hospital and stopped at Vinay's house that evening. There was no time to waste. I had to make sure my father did not find out about Vinay and I. And Vinay seemed to be the only person that was close to a perfect solution.

I stood at his door and he opened it.

"Hello. Come in", he said before standing aside to let me in.

"You look nice", I said as I walked in.

"Thank you. I just bought this suit. Glad you like it", he responded.

"Did you do what you needed to do? Is everything okay?", he asked.

"Yeah, that's what I needed to tell you".

"Please, I'm all ears. Come with me".

We walked to the couch and sat down next to each other.
He faced me with attentive eyes, ears and a visage that communicated his concern.

"I'm being blackmailed".

"What? By who? Why?".

"This girl who used to work with my mother, she has a video of the both of us kissing. And she'll send it to my dad if I don't get her 50 million dollars. If not my dad's gonna know about it pretty soon. He's so sick, he's in the hospital and he's supposed to be stress free or he could die. And my mother doesn't know his password and she can't just delete it. I don't know what to do".

"You want me to give her the money don't you?", Vinay said.

"I don't know what else to do".

Vinay hugged me and I hugged him back harder.
We pulled back from the hug and he held my hands.

"I'll speak to her tomorrow".

"Yeah. She sent me her number. She told me where she lives. We'll meet her there".

We told her we were coming and she warned us by text that if the police knocked on her door she would immediately send the video.

That evening we stopped at her home in Vinay's car.

It was a two-story apartment building in Hyde Park.

She let us in and invited us to sit with her at her dining table. She sat at the other side of the table in front of us and we sat next to each other. She had her phone in her hand. She was ready to send what she needed to send in case the police arrived.

"Okay. So, is it gonna be cash app or what?", she asked before smiling and folding her arms.

He put the check on the table and wrote on it. He wrote 60 million instead of 50.

"Vinay she said 50 million".

"Don't worry about it", Vinay responded.

"Yeah handsome, don't worry about it", she said before picking up the check from Vinay's hand.

Bethany took the check and smiled.

"I've decided to be kind to you because I know what it's like to not have anything. Being all alone in the streets. But if you ask for anything further, your digital operations and your lack of jail time which you certainly deserve will be confiscated. You're not the one with power in this situation I promise".

I noticed Bethany's smile fade away and she genuinely looked concerned. I was also quite concerned about Vinay's tone. It was deeper and dark.

I didn't doubt a word Vinay said. He had the connections and the power to handle her.