“WAIT!” I hear, so much closer.
“Sold!” the auctioneer announces, and it might be my imagination but I think he shoots a look of disdain at Ron as he barrels forward, practically crashing through the crowd.
“No! Wait! I’m here!”
“That concludes today’s auctions,” the auctioneer sniffs, barely registering Ron’s mini tantrum. “Please proceed to the registrar to complete your transactions.”
Shaking his head in disbelief, Ron shuffles toward me with his hands out. He is wearing a maroon tracksuit with the zipper only halfway up so that his pelt of chest hair is exposed.
“What did you do? How could you do this?”
I just shake my head. “I won the auction, I guess?”
Turning around to make my way to the registrar, I feel him coming up close beside me and resist the urge to cringe away. After all, he’s not a stranger. I’ve known him for almost twenty years. He’s just Ron, even if his head does look like it’s going to explode.
“Just give me the papers, sweetie,” the registrar simpers, holding out a hand. From the look that she shoots at Ron, I can see that this is giving her at least a small amount of pleasure.
“Okay, a joke’s a joke,” he continues. “But you can’t do this, Penny. It’s going to take, what, a million dollars to finish? You don’t have that kind of cash.”
“She doesn’t need that kind of cash,” Wanda interrupts, shouldering between us defiantly. “You don’t build every development with your own personal money, do you, Ron?”
He grimaces in frustration. “You guys… did you do this? Did you do this on purpose? Screw me like this?”
“You’re not being screwed, Ron,” I sigh, but I still can’t look right at him. “It’s just business. Right? Just regular old business.”
The registrar fills out a form and then turns it to face me, circling the number on the very bottom with a ballpoint pen. My stomach drops. Wanda looks at me in alarm.
“What’s wrong?” she whispers so nobody else can hear.
“The buyer’s premium…” I whisper back. “It’s… It’s more than I’ve got. I can’t pay it. Oh my God, Wanda, what did I do?”
“I got you,” she shrugs.
“See, I knew it!” Ron huffs. “You should have just left this to me, Penny. You’re just making it difficult.”
The registrar pushes the paper to me and scowls at Ron briefly. “You know what? I’ll just give you a minute. I’ll be right back, okay?”
She pushes herself up from the folding table and discreetly shuffles away. While I appreciate her discretion, I don’t see how that’s going to help me.
Wanda takes me by the shoulders and forces me to look right at her, and only her.
“Wanda? I think it’s over. I think… I have to let him have it.”
“Penelope Gable. Has it ever occurred to you that you are stubborn to the point of being stupid?”
If she weren’t holding me so tightly by the shoulders I could probably kick her or something.
“Seriously, I’m asking,” she continues. “How is that all working out for you? All that stubbornness? Hmm? Is it satisfying in any way? What does Clay say?”
I totally ignore the Clay part of this conversation and focus instead on the auction.
“The buyer’s premium is 20 percent,” I explain calmly. “I guess I knew that, but in all the excitement, it slipped my mind. So I am short. By a lot.”
“No, you’re not,” Wanda growls at me. “You and I are going to be partners, and you are going to take my money.”
“You can’t bully me into being partners with you,” I insist, trying to shrug away from her viselike grip and getting nowhere. “Didn’t you learn about bullying in school? Hello?”
“Ladies? Why don’t you just let me take care of this?” Ron says reasonably, his chest all puffed out. “If it’s too much, that’s okay. You’ll get the next one.”