Esme and the Money Grab: (A Very Dark Romantic Comedy) by Paloma Meir Page A

savings? Have you always been so secretive with your husband?”
      “It’s not a secret, more self-preservation,” She shook the thought from her head, “And thank you, I do love my work.”
      “I know you’re worried about your family and your husband finding out but if I were you I would consider the strangers that may find you and make pleas for your money. Most of them will be frauds but a few will have stories that will break your heart.” He held open the door for her.
      “I don’t plan on having the money for more than a year as you well know. But thank you, I will keep that in mind.”
      “Why don’t you just donate it all in one swoop if you’re so worried about the effect it will have on the lives of those around you?”
      “I want to make a difference.”
      “You would be making a difference.” They reached the door to the waiting room and stood stiffly in front of each other.
      “I know.”
      “Okay,” He nodded his head as if he understood, “Call Laura to set up a time for Monday and we’ll go to the lottery office together.” He held out his hand signaling their appointment was over.
      She leaned in close as he shook her hand, a last blast of giddiness rushed through her, “You never answered my question, is my hair really a halo of gold?”
      “Yes it is,” His voice was barely above a whisper, “And your body is carved from the same stone as the Greek Goddesses. Can we let this go now?”
      “Yes… but one more question. Do you speak to all the women this way?”
      “Not all of them,” He laughed and turned towards his office, “See you on Monday Ms. Petrov. The lottery office is in the Valley. We’ll turn in the ticket… It takes six weeks for them to process it. You should have your money in the first week of January. My assistant Laura will be joining us.”
      “Faye, please call me Faye.” She left his office with a laugh not much different than his and felt free from the pressures of the ill won money for the first time since hearing the cursed numbers.
     
     
     

Chapter Five
     
       “…And they pulled us off the train.” Adam leaned back into his chair and viciously shook his head as if reliving the moment.
      “And your father screamed out, you’ll never take us alive back to the sirotiste, as if he were the star of one of the American films we watched at the group home.” Adam’s brother, Dario, held up his glass to the table, crowded with the enraptured audience of Faye and Adam’s family and friends.
      “Sirotiste? Group home? It was a prison.” Adam interjected as his eyes met Faye’s.
      “But they did take you alive…” Faye added gently. She had always thought the story of how her husband had come to America was too much for the children to hear, “And we found our way to each other, now we have a beautiful family, and our girls are so grown.” She held up her glass of wine to Dario’s, “And that is what I’m most thankful for this Thanksgiving.”
      “Your husband was right to a certain extent,” Dario clinked his glass with hers, “The Catholic Society had us on a plane the next day to Los Angeles. The family they placed us with wasn’t as promised,” Dario solemnly glanced at Adam, “And your husband didn’t get to live out his dream of being the next Bruce Springsteen but we did avoid the Serbian war, and we have a better life here than ever would have back in Croatia. That is what I’m thankful for.”
      “I’m thankful for my boots.” Faye and Adam’s eldest daughter, Anja, held up her long lean leg to the table to show her thigh-high silver snakeskin boots.
      Faye pushed her daughter’s leg down as a wave of nausea ran through her body. The jokes from her family about her recent generosity, and her false explanation of the windfall of money from a big sale to Bergdorfs made her uncomfortable. She wasn’t used to being dishonest.
      “I’m only going to be grateful if we