Renting Ginny

Christian’s aunt, Barbara, may have sounded like Anina, and she may have been around the same age, but she didn’t look like her at all. This woman was pretty in a subtle way, where Anina had been pretty in a flashy kind of way. Barbara was tall – even taller than Anina – and very thin. Perhaps a bit too thin. She had hair and eyes so dark they were almost black. Her hair, which had a slight wave to it, was center-parted and about four or five inches below her shoulders. When Barbara looked at me, it was with friendly eyes and a warm smile. I felt immediately drawn to the woman, but I quickly held back and pushed those feelings aside after we exchanged polite “hellos” and handshakes. Her handshake was firm and genuine, and she gave you the impression that she was much stronger than she looked. “Car trouble, huh?” she asked a few minutes later. “Yeah, I’m afraid so,” I said, feeling deceptive. “Oh, that’s too bad. That’s never a fun thing to have to deal with.” Christian and Antonio got to work on the clogged drain in the kitchen sink, all the while I noticed Barbara would cast an occasional glance my way that seemed to hold a mix of curiosity and concern. I figured she noticed at least some of my bruises. “Would you like something to drink?” she asked me. “No, thanks,” I said with a smile. I tried not to watch Barbara when she wasn’t looking but it wasn’t easy. The woman was so good-looking. Again, not the kind of hottie Anina was, but a hottie just the same. At the same time, I was unable to help notice the good-looking woman before me; I was also preoccupied with concerns about Anina and my family and whether or not I would be safe alone at home or back at the escort service. I didn’t see why Anina, as crazy as she was, would hurt anyone in my family, so I supposed there was no real reason to hide out anywhere. Besides, I didn’t have any money with me or any place to hide out in, to begin with. After about five more minutes, Barbara said to me, “Well, it looks like the boys are going to be working for a while. Would you like to come sit outside with me?” “Sure,” I said, hoping it would be in the backyard since it seemed to me that we hadn’t gone far enough from Anina’s place. Then again, would any distance really be far enough? I got my wish, so I saw as she led me to a semi-small, but beautiful backyard. It was private and well-kept. “What a lovely yard,” I said. “Thank you. Have a seat,” she said, gesturing to a lawn chair. Sitting next to me, she said, “So what did you say your name was, Jenny?” “Ginny.” We studied each other and smiled. “Ginny’s a lovely name.” “I don’t know about that, but thank you,” I said, turning to gaze at her flower garden and then some birds fluttering about a birdhouse toward the back of the yard. She chuckled, and then her face dropped into a frown of concern. “What happened to your leg, sweetie?” Damn! “Oh, it’s nothing,” I said, but I knew Barbara didn’t believe me. After a moment or two of awkward silence, I thought it was a good time to change the subject without appearing too obvious. “So how long have you been in the country?” “A few years. My sister is Christian’s mother. She’s been in the country a lot longer.” “What brought you over?” “I’m a German teacher and part of an exchange program.” “Oh, yeah?” Barbara nodded. “In some cases, the students go to Germany. In other cases, the teachers come to the U.S.” “Wow,” I said, “that’s pretty neat. You must get homesick at times, though.” “I do,” she agreed with a nod, “but I usually take two weeks in the summer to visit home and two weeks in the winter as well. As a matter of fact, I just returned from a visit last week.” “This is a good time of year to travel.” “It is. So, what do you do for work, Ginny?” Uh-oh.Did I lie? Or did I just tell it like it was? I thought about it a moment and decided there was no reason the truth could hurt me. “I used to work for an escort service.” “Oh,” she said, appearing a bit surprised but also interested. “But now I’m in the market for a new career. I’m just not sure what yet.” “Do you speak any other languages?” “No, unfortunately, English is all I know. What’s funny, though, is that just the other day I wished I knew German.” “Oh,” she said with a smile, “and why is that?” I had already come this far, so why not go all the way? “Because the woman who did this to me,” I said, pointing to my ankle, “was also from Germany and she also spoke German.” Barbara seemed at a loss for words. Finally, she asked, “Ginny, how old are you?” “I’ll be thirty next month.” Christian suddenly stepped out on the patio. “All done.” “Oh, sehr gut,” said Barbara, rising from her chair. I stood up as well, and we all went back into the cool, air-conditioned house. After some tidying up was done and some small talk was exchanged, I found myself increasingly attracted to Barbara, though I wished I weren’t. Christian’s phone buzzed again. “It’s Dad again,” he said a moment later with a roll of his eyes. Barbara laughed. “That old man of mine is gonna run me ragged. Now he wants me to hurry home and mow the grass before it gets dark.” “Uh… I still need a ride, though,” I said. “No problem,” said Barbara. “If you’d like, we can let the boys be on their way, and I can drive you home.” “I’d appreciate that, thank you.” The guys looked at me, still with a hint of wariness in their eyes, but not nearly as much as when we first arrived at the house. I think it was finally sinking in that I wasn’t going to rat on them for the B and E thing or the theft. Right or wrong, they had saved my life. They could be mass murderers for all I cared. We all left the house at the same time. “Thanks for saving me,” I told the guys in a hushed tone. “Yeah, no problem,” said Antonio. Alone with Barbara in her comfortable compact car, she asked me where I lived. I told her the address, and she said, “Wow, you’re a good twenty minutes away.” Was I? “I’m so sorry,” I said, feeling like I was putting her out. “I’d give you some gas money, but I don’t have any cash on me.” “Don’t be silly,” Barbara said with a laugh. On the bright side, I realized, the semi-long drive would allow us time to chat some more. Or so I thought. Barbara instead remained fairly quiet during most of the drive, presumably put off by my former career. I tried not to stare at her profile along the way, but she caught me a few times and smiled at me. I smiled back. “This it?” she asked me. “Yes, that blue house right over there,” I said, pointing. She pulled up to the curb because there were two vehicles in the driveway: Dad’s van and Mom’s car. “Wait,” she told me, putting the car in park. I watched as she reached into her purse for a pen and a small notepad. She scribbled something on it and handed it to me. “That’s my home number. Call me if you’re ever interested in becoming bilingual or if you just want to chat.” I smiled, hoping I didn’t appear nearly as delighted as I felt. I also hoped I could convince myself not to bother calling her, even if she might not even be interested in me in that way in the first place. “Thank you, Barbara.” I stepped out of the car and watched her pull away. Then I noticed the mail that was partially sticking out of the mailbox by the road. It was a quiet day in the burbs where I lived. I couldn’t hear much more than birds chirping and a dog barking off in the distance. I was pulling the mail out of the box when I saw a black car, too far away to get a read on its make, turn the corner about a block and a half up ahead. It sent chills throughout my body despite the warmth of the late afternoon sun that was beating down on me. I quickly headed up the driveway when the front door suddenly flung open. “Ginny!” my mother cried. “Oh, my God, Ginny! Where have you been? We’ve been worried sick about you.” “I know, Mom, I know. I’m fine now, though.” “My God, what happened? Where were you? We called the escort service. They wouldn’t give out any personal information. Then you didn’t call or send any email messages, and we just didn’t know what to think.” “I’m sorry, Mom,” I said as I made my way up the steps and into the house. My father then came down from upstairs. “Ginny! We were frantic with worry!” “I know, Dad. So was I.” “What in the world happened?” Mom asked. “She nearly killed me,” I said. But before I could explain anymore, I felt my knees give out under me. I would’ve collapsed to the floor if my father hadn’t caught me when he did.