I didn’t call her back, and I finished the liquor in my glass. Maybe paying back her medical bill without her consent was unethical, but I didn’t care. It would save her a lot of money over the next three months, and for someone like her, that money made all the difference in the world. If she really walked away from me, I wouldn’t stop her. She had more power than she realized.
I showed up on her doorstep an hour later.
She opened the door, looking both sexy and pissed. “I’m surprised you didn’t just let yourself inside.”
“I was tempted.”
She shut the door in my face.
I slipped my foot in the crack so the door wouldn’t close. I invited myself inside, seeing the TV playing an old rerun of Friends, while the blanket was rumpled on the sofa from where she’d been lying.
“Please come in…” She moved into the kitchen and pulled out a bottle of wine.
I wasn’t a fan of her apartment. It was on the bad side of town, and the walls were so thin I could hear everything her neighbors did. Sometimes I was afraid a man would realize a beautiful woman lived here alone and try to do something sinister. When I encouraged her to move closer to the center of Manhattan, she said she could never afford it, even without all those loans to pay. She would rather save her money to buy something someday.
Maybe I should just buy her something.
Man, that would really piss her off.
She returned with two glasses of wine. “Here.”
“Thanks.” I’d just finished a glass of scotch before I came over here, so the wine wasn’t a good chaser. But I brought it to my lips and took a drink anyway. I stared at her as I felt the red wine across my tongue, a cheap five-dollar wine she must have picked up at the bodega on the corner. I didn’t mean to judge her for the thrifty items she bought, but I was used to the finer things in life.
Her neighbor started to scream at his wife, yelling obscenities that would make anyone call the police.
But she didn’t flinch at the sound.
“Do you think we should call someone?” I asked.
“I’ve already tried. I’ve called the police several times, but nothing ever changes. They take him to jail, he’s there for a week or so, and then he gets out and comes back to the apartment. They fight again, and the process repeats itself.”
“If he’s beating her, he could go to jail for a long time.”
“I have a feeling she’s not pressing charges. She’s probably too scared of his retaliation.”
That seemed to be the main problem with domestic abuse. There was no real solution. Once the man got out of jail, he would be so pissed off that he might kill her this time. “Then maybe you should relocate. Find an apartment closer to work.”
“Like I said, I can’t afford it.”
“But you can afford it.” Her rent would be twice as expensive, but at least she would be safe every night. Now I didn’t know if I wanted to leave her here every night when she didn’t stay at my place, especially when she came home from work in those cute outfits.
“I shouldn’t spend most of my check on rent. Now I can afford groceries again. I still need health insurance, haircuts, and all those other fundamentals.”
“But wouldn’t you rather spend a little more to be in a safe place?”
Instead of drinking her wine, she gave me a ferocious look. “I know I don’t live in a palace, but that doesn’t make you better than me. This is all I can afford, and I’m okay with that. I’m grateful I have a roof over my head and food on the table.”
“Wait, you don’t have health insurance?”
She shook her head.
“How can you not have health insurance? Isn’t that provided at your job?”
“There’s a small benefits package, but it really doesn’t cover much.”
“I just don’t think this part of town is safe.”
“It’s New York,” she said. “It’s one of the most dangerous places to live. It doesn’t matter where you go.”
No, it did matter. “You know it’s the law. You’re supposed to have health insurance.”
She rolled her eyes. “When you’re as broke as I am, you aren’t afraid to break the law. It wasn’t until last month that I even had enough cash to cover a single payment. So back off a little.”
How could I back off when I was unhappy with all of her decisions?
She finished her wine and set the empty glass on the entryway table. “So, you pissed me off by paying back my debt, and now you’re here to patronize me? I assumed you came here to get laid.”
“I did.”
“Well, you aren’t getting me in the mood, that’s for sure.”
Where she lived and her health insurance shouldn’t be my concern if I only wanted to fuck her. She wasn’t my girlfriend, so her safety wasn’t my priority. I shouldn’t care at all, but anytime I was in her apartment, I wanted to make her life better. I wanted to shower her with beautiful things so she would never have to worry about making rent or getting food on the table. All that stuff would be taken care of.