But no matter how I begged the manager, Derrick had no interest in letting me out of my lease early.
“That’ll be two months rent,” was all he said to me. “Plus extra cleaning fees.”
Gloomily, I went back outside. It would wipe out all my savings to do that, but I could just barely manage it.
“They probably are desperate to get people to stay in these crappy apartments,” I said indignantly as I explained the situation.
Abraham’s expression didn’t change, but he exhaled a wreath of smoke in the air.
“Stay here,” he said.
“But—” I began.
“Stay here.”
Oh my god, what kind of voice was that for a man to have? So low and gravelly, rough-edged and rugged.
While I waited, a brand new Porsche painted a bubblegum pink whizzed past me, but it wasn’t until its driver screeched to a halt that I recognized who was behind the wheel.
It was Bridget, my ex’s new wife.
She hopped out, dressed in one of her many smart little golfing outfits, and carrying her usual quadruple-shot espressos.
“Pollllllyyyyy, I almost couldn’t believe that was you! You always look so, so, like a littlemother. No offense. In a good way. So did you, like, lose your pants or something?”
I looked down at myself.
Abraham’s big shirt was swamping me, but the belt made the hemline ride up a bit, so I was practically in a miniskirt.
“Nope. This is just what I wear now.”
“Come here,” she said. “Let me see if I’ve got any loose change in the car for you.”
For a moment I was struck silent with indignation at the sight of her rifling in the car console, change and ratty old dollar bills held out in her open hand.
“A little something to tide you over,” she said. “Have you tried eating more cheaply? Beans taste almost as good as steak, really they do.”
“Honey, as his ex-wife I recommend you don’t give Perry beans. They make him excessively gassy.”
Bridget made a face, as if she didn’t like to be reminded that Perry could emit the rankest gas.
And just as she held out her hand full of random car money, Abraham walked by, and she jerked up in such surprise that the coins fell all over the pavement.
He didn’t even glance over at her.
“Let’s go.”
“They’ll let me out of the lease?” I asked incredulously.
“Not only that, but they’ll pay for a moving company for your things.”
“I can’t believe you did that! You’re amagician!” I cried, clapping in excitement.
The muscles in his forearms flexing, Abraham picked me fully up in the air and plopped me right down on the motorcycle.
Then he swung his leg over so he was right behind me and I was practically riding on hislap.
I saw Bridget’s jaw go slack at the sight of me with this massive muscular man in a cut.