Someone Else's Lady

Angela pulled out of the parking lot and headed to her place, a place I thought would be a condo or a house that she lived in by herself. I didn’t say a word the whole ride, ignoring her attempts at friendly conversation. Then, when she parked her SUV ten minutes later, I asked, “Why are we stopping at a marina?” “Because this is where I live, and where you live now, too,” she said with a smile. “You’re not the seasick type, I hope.” I shook my head. “Once upon a time, when I had a life and many reasons to live for, I fantasized about living on a houseboat. Sometimes our dreams come true in a twisted way, huh?” She looked at me hesitantly and said, “It may seem that way now, but I have confidence in you.” “You do, do you?” I asked sarcastically. “You’re tough enough to get through this, Jamie.” “I am?” Not answering, she got out of the car and helped me out. I could see that Miss Serious didn’t have the patience to deal with me for very long, but I didn’t care. I just needed enough strength and privacy to kill myself. That wouldn’t be much longer. “Since you’re not exactly used to walking on crutches and you’re still a bit unsteady either way, how about I carry you?” “How about you don’t? Gotta get used to these crutches sooner or later, don’t I?” The truth was that the quicker I built up my strength, the sooner I could kill myself. A woman appearing to be in her sixties approached the dock from one of the boats, walked to the edge of it, and waved to us. “Who’s that?” I asked. “That’s my mother. I told you about her, but I don’t think you remember.” I didn’t. She handed me my crutches, making sure to stay close to me in case I fell. It seemed to take forever to cross a small section of the parking lot and walk down the dock, past three other boats, and maneuver myself onto her boat. I definitely needed help with that. Angela was on one side of me, while her mother was on the other. Once on the boat, I studied her mother. She had the same tall, slender frame as her daughter and vivid blue eyes. Only her hair was dyed dark red, and she was a few inches shorter. She was an attractive woman for her age. She smiled at me, showing that she had nice teeth as well. Angela then made formal introductions. “Mama, dies ist Jamie. Jamie, dies ist meine Mutter, Kamala.” “Sprechen Sie Deutsch?” “No, she doesn’t speak any English. Germany made learning English mandatory right after she graduated from school.” I looked back at Kamala again and received another smile. I then began to look around the boat. I guessed the total space came to a little over a thousand square feet. I barely heard Angela speaking as she explained that it had two bedrooms and two bathrooms, and that once a week, the septic was dumped along with other things as part of its weekly maintenance routine. “It’s actually cheaper than living on land in the end because you don’t have a yard to maintain,” I vaguely remembered her saying. “It’s also a little safer from any potential troublemakers when I’m away and Mom’s alone.” “Did you find them?” “What’s that?” “Did you find the murdered boy and girl and their Armenian father?” Angela took on a sad expression. “Yeah, we did, hon. Well, we located the children, but we haven’t found the father yet.” “Am I still psychic?” “I don’t know, sweetie. I would think so. You hungry?” I shook my head. “Since it would be easier for you not to have to deal with stairs, Mom’s living quarters will remain down below, and you and I will have the upper level all to ourselves,” she said with a smile and an almost conspiring tone, as if we were going to sneak into forbidden areas. “Are we still in San Francisco?” She looked at me again. This time her expression was even sadder.