Their Double Blessing

“I’ve had enough of you trying to trick me and treating Ronald like crap,” Mary exploded. Grabbing a dirty cloth she shoved it deep into Patricia’s mouth. “There, now we can have some peace. Sorry if I couldn’t find a better way to shut you up, princess.”

Patricia knew right then the sister she knew was gone. The Mary she grew up with would never act like this. Memories of their childhood flashed through her mind. Nothing could have predicted the woman sitting there today. Instead she was trapped in this vehicle with two monsters. Her best bet was to wait for a chance to overpower one of them and escape.

************

George walked off the plane happier than ever. He left the country hoping to return as soon as possible to his love. Now there were going to be two important people in his life. First he had to set his eyes on Patricia to make it all real. The flight back with Cynthia and his employees was a jubilant one. Everyone was happy for him, knowing how much finding love at last meant to their boss. It was great to have such a close relationship with his people. Those who kept a cold distance from their employees were missing out on so much.

Patricia was pregnant and that was such a mind warp. Of course they’d been together but this was supposed to happen way down the line. After the engagement, marriage and talks about the future. He’d accepted that they might not have children the natural way, not being willing to lose Patricia over something so trivial. But now she was having his child. Whatever she needed to have this infant safely was at her disposal. He had no intention on losing either of them. Her medical scare was a wake up call that they needed to have a talk.

He’d gotten a call from Mary stating that Patricia was extra tired and resting. That it was better to pop by the apartment as a surprise rather than call and promising to have someone with her sister at all times. Dropping hints that his girlfriend was excited to find out the gender of the baby. Also to bring takeout so they could chow down together. He took everything in stride. As long as Patricia was safe he was willing to do whatever she requested. Mary was the perfect person to do this. He knew they had a strained relationship but she was harmless.

Cynthia was more skeptical. Still convinced that after the last call it was unlikely that Patricia would chose her sister to be a house-sitter and roommate. Why trust the person you were planning to kick out? Plus, she was wary of Patricia not making this call herself. But he concluded that his publicist was worrying too much. Not taking into account the family dynamics which were unpredictable. One day siblings were on the best of terms then at each other’s throats the next. Mary was going to be an aunt. What better reason to reform?

He also was nervous about another thing. At this point it seemed a good idea for Patricia to move. As a billionaire there were multiple places they could move to but all were far from the community she called home. His girlfriend was possessive of those she cared about. Being an activist wasn’t going to make the discussion any easier. After all, her first impression of him was of a rich white man invading her community for his personal gain. Sure, he was doing charity but there was still the incentive of good press and being in the spotlight.

Perhaps he needed to show Patricia that life with him would be just as carefree as her own. Sure there were bodyguards but they could go incognito, giving them a better sense of privacy while out. Maybe even find an outing where they could actually be alone. Like a tour of landmarks where the security was unrivaled. It would be a much better outing than just hanging out at the movies. At least, he hoped Patricia would see things that way.

The life of a billionaire was filled with both ups and down. Once Patricia understood that a balance could be found with both his and her world he had no doubt she would embrace the idea of moving in with him. The apartment was likely a quaint spot with lots of nostalgia but that didn’t equal safety or make it easy to seek top notch medical treatment if anything went wrong. She needed to be in an environment where help was just a button, phone call, or helicopter ride away. Outsiders who married into wealthy families usually got used to things after a while. He saw no reason why Patricia wouldn’t be able to do the same.

The limo went straight to a popular fast food joint where Cynthia insisted on making the orders. He didn’t plan on bringing her along but she insisted, still determined to prove that something was wrong. It was as if she was craving some kind of drama. Was she preparing for when the relationship went public? Was there a leak and she was distracting him until the time was right? There was no way of knowing but part of him wanted to hurry to see his girlfriend just to prove his publicist incorrect. After all, who would want to harm Patricia?

Arriving at the apartment complex was quite an experience. He was somewhat unimpressed with where his girlfriend resided. It was more quaint than expected and there were beggars sneaking onto the property without being stopped. A big security risk since he’d heard stories of thieves pretending to be poor people in order to sneak into buildings and rob innocent bystanders. The grounds were poorly maintained and Cynthia screamed seeing a raccoon scurry by as if it was an everyday thing. The vermin weren’t even being terminated.

He was already regretting allowing two bodyguards to mix into the crowd unseen.

“The pictures online didn’t do this dumpster dive justice. You better drag her out of this place screaming if you have to. I swear that raccoon was big enough to steal my tablet.” Cynthia shuddered as George checked with the front desk. People were already beginning to stare at them. They’d decided to dress in no name brand clothing but they still looked more immaculately dressed than most of the people present. There was even a man wearing tiny shorts and a cowboy hat chatting with someone wearing a sheet with two eye holes. He could see immediately that the building had no self respecting dress code whatsoever.

George tried to take the elevator but got off only two floors up. It smelled absolutely ghastly and Cynthia came out with a coughing fit. This place was an absolute nightmare. How could Patricia live here for years when he couldn’t wait to get out in just minutes. He’d been to homeless shelters with better hygiene maintenance than this building. A place where people were supposed to live and procreate? No child deserved to be in this house of horrors. No way was his going to even know this awful complex ever existed on the face of the earth.

“I should have stayed in the limo. Patricia must be a secret warrior in order to survive these horrors.” Cynthia covered her nose with a handkerchief as they took the stairs but froze upon seeing a pair of rats run down the railing. Walking slowly without touching anything the pair made their way to Patricia’s floor, jumping at every shadow and random squeak heard along the way. If this was what it meant to not be in the top percentile, neither wanted this kind of life for themselves. This might as well be a prison with a free pass to go outside.