CHARLIE HEART

CHAPTER TEN: SHEILA PERKINS

SHEILA PERKINS

         The next morning I wake up to Frank Sinatra. She is in the kitchen making me breakfast, spinning that record player. I’ve never been with a girl who would make me breakfast.
         I put on some clothes, get out of bed, and creep up to the end of my hallway. I lean against the wall so I can watch her. She is wearing one of my Armani limited edition button downs that falls the her thighs.
         Pancakes, eggs, bacon, tan smooth legs, beautiful.
         I am desperately hoping that Cassie isn’t going to come pounding on my door anytime soon. Even though I got her into one of my houses I’m afraid she is going to be hanging around for some reason.
         She wasn’t here when I came storming in with Ginger wrapped around me last night, at least I don’t think she was. But honestly, Bruce could have been doing a Russian squat dance naked in my apartment and I wouldn’t have noticed.
         “Good morning,” I say.
         This makes her jump and drop a pancake, she smiles. I run my hands through my hair and smile back.
         Then there was a knock on the door, this makes us both jump.
         I look through the spy glass; I have to check it a couple times to make sure I am seeing this right.
         There is no way.
         Sheila Perkins was standing there, with her cane, and a pan full of brownies.
         I swing it open.
         “Good morning, Miss Perkins, How are you?”
         “Wonderful, may a come in?” She has an old smokers throat way of sounding.
         “Sure, yes, please do.”
         “I wanted to give you these.” She hands me the plate.
         “What are these for?” I help her hobble in and I set her down on my voice automated massage chair. She settles in and smiles before she answers.
         “They are to say, sorry.”
         “Sorry for what?”
         “Sorry for avoiding your kindness, Charlie.” At first I am surprised she even remembered my name. I have a hard time coming up with what to say.
         “You, um, didn’t have to make these.”
         “Well, of course I didn’t have to, but now that it’s done, they better get eaten.”
         “Yes ma’am.” I shove one in my mouth.
         Ginger and Sheila's eyes meet, they both look stunned and cold for a second.
         “And who is this young lady?”
         “Hi, I’m Ginger.” They shake hands. “It’s good to meet you,” Ginger looks at me. “I’m going to take a shower now.” She stands on her tippy toes and kisses me on the cheek, looks at Sheila and walks away.
         “Well, I just wanted to stop by...”
         “No, you’re not leaving. Can I get you anything?” I look over to my wine selection, no to early for that. I look at the breakfast table, orange juice is the closest thing to me. “Juice?”
         “No, I am fine, thank you.”
         “I, I,” she coughs. “I wanted to tell you about a nurse that came and visited me.”
         Oh, no.
         “Okay,” I say quietly. I looked over my shoulder to see if Ginger was anywhere in earshot.
         “Well, she said that she knows you and thinks very highly of you.” This old woman talks to me like we are long lost best friends.
         “Really, what else did she say?”
         “She said you are in a lot of pain, Charlie. She said you have a lot of problems.”
         I’m a little taken back by this. I’m a little surprised by the whole encounter. Did Cassie say something?
         I ask, “Problems?”
         “Family problems, But don’t worry, Charlie, I can help you.”
         What was Cassie up to? I can’t tell if she is trying to help me or hurt me with sending her here.
         “Thank you, uh, but I’m fine Miss Perkins. I am honestly very hap...”
         “Denial is the most common form of a natural bandaid for sufferers.” She whispers. “It’s okay Charlie, people used to pay me to listen to their problems.”
         “You were a shrink?”
         “You can...” She coughs a thick smokers cough. “Bless my soul, emphysema is a slow killer.” She smiles. “You can call it that.”
         I hate shrinks. The whole pouring your guts out to a person who is just going to get drunk and tell all their shrink friends how screwed up you are isn’t my favorite way to feel better. I would rather meet a few more of those fellas in the car garage and bleed out my pain. I don’t tell her this though.
         I think for a moment. She asks me about my parents.
         “My parents? Um...I don’t remember much.” She looks me in the eyes. “My dad died when I was young and my mom ran away after that, dropped me off at an orphanage after she collected.
         “Collected?”
         “The life insurance, my fathers life insurance.” I said it loud to make sure she could hear.
         “I am so sorry, boy.”
         “I’m over it.” I smile and look over my shoulder to see if Ginger had popped out yet.
         “That is a terrible thing, terrible.” She makes a spitting noise and shakes her head. I nod my head. She leans forward and squints. “You know, it’s amazing what money will do to people.”
         I raise my eyebrows and nod my head again.
         “Do you know anything else about your mother? Where she is now?”
         “No, not too much, no.”
         I don’t tell her that the orphanage lady who raised me, later told me, that my mother was a con artist; went around falling in love with older men, getting them to put her on their policy as a beneficiary; and that was where I originally got the general idea from.
         “Do you think you would recognize her if you met her today?”
         “No, I probably wouldn't. I don’t really care to either.”
         We look at each other for a while, a long while, waiting for the other one to say something. A part of me wants to try and win her policy over. Of what I read of Cassie’s notes, she was more than a perfect candidate. Another part of me want’s to stop and kick her out, but I can’t.
         “So, do you have any family? I ask.
         “No, just myself.”
         “I’m sorry.”
         “Well Charlie, I guess we have at least that in common.”
         “That must be a hard thing to have no one, especially if you are sick.”
         She looks at me confused for a moment.
         “I’m not really all that sick, just a little concerned?”
         “I see nurses all the time going up to your place, that must cost a fortune.”
         “Well it used to, but not anymore.”
         This shocks me, Cassie made it very clear in her notes that Sheila had no medical support, and a policy worth over two million.
         “Do you have help from the government?”
         “No, a private source, one of my nurses actually.”
         I squint my eyes. “Really?”
         “Oh, yes, she told me that she would pay my expenses in exchange for my life insurance payout. I figured since I didn’t have anyone to give it to anyways, I might as well take her up on the offer.”
         My eyes grow huge.
         “She has already laid twenty thousand on the table for me, she is a wonderful girl. As a matter of fact it’s the same one that told me about you.”
         My mouth drops.
         She continues.
         “She told me you and her used to be lovers, and that you were a sweet gentleman. I promised I would come visit, and now I have.”
         “Who is she taking about, Charlie?” Ginger comes walking out dressed in her last nights outfit.
         I suddenly have a headache. Sheila stands up and leans on her cane.
         “Well, I should get going now. Come by in a week and we can talk about your family some more. Don’t worry, Charlie, we are going to get through this.”
         I don’t say anything as I escort her to the door and open it for her.
         “You know what, Charlie?”
         “What is that, Miss Perkins?”
         “You’re not that bad after all, are yah?”