~oOo~
It was entirely possible I should have made Mayra drive.
Of course, that never would have worked because I wouldn’t have been able to get out of the car and move with any sort of stealth, and this was a stealth mission. I turned down the proper street and slowed the car down as we approached a simple brick house near the end of the cul-de-sac.
Two weeks ago, we had quietly and anonymously claimed the prize money. With a little help from the attorney Dr. Harris recommended to me, I got a financial advisor, opened a money market account, and chose the lump sum payment. Even after taxes, the number on my bank statement made me queasy.
Mayra had a stack of one-hundred-dollar bills tucked neatly into a card, which was stuffed into
an envelope. There was also a check, written by the attorney I hired so it couldn’t be traced back to me, for half of the winnings. On the envelope, there were three simple words: For the Baby
“What if they don’t believe it’s real?” I asked for the hundredth time. “What if they just assume it’s fake and throw it away? What if—”
“Stop the ‘what-iffing,’” Mayra said. She craned her neck out the car window to look down the street. “I don’t see Scott’s car. I think we’re good.”
“I don’t want them to know where it came from,” I said, knowing I was repeating the same fears over and over. “What if Dr. Harris—”
“Hush,” Mayra said. “I know, baby. Don’t worry. She said she wouldn’t tell, right?”
“I guess so.”
“Then we’ll be fine.”
With my foot planted on the brake, we came to a stop near the driveway of the brick house. Mayra jumped out, ran up to the door, and slipped the envelope into the mail slot. She turned quickly and raced back to the car, threw herself into the passenger seat, and whipped the seatbelt around her.
“Let’s go!” she shouted. “Down the street and out of sight!”
We parked at the top of the next street over and waited. Mayra was breathing hard though I knew the brief run hadn’t exerted her. I really didn’t know how to feel, so I just sat and stared at my hands on the wheel as Mayra got out her iPhone.
“We’re all set,” she said into the phone. “The envelope is through the mail slot, and Aimee should be getting off work right now. Do you still have the number I gave you? Good!”
I glanced over at Mayra as she turned to face me. Her eyes were bright with excitement and held no concern at all. They served to calm me a bit though I couldn’t look her in the face for very long.
“Perfect!” Mayra said. “Thank you so much for agreeing to do this, Dr. Harris. I think you are the only one Matthew would trust to keep this anonymous. Talk to you soon!”
Mayra reached over and grabbed my hand in hers.
“Let’s go,” she said. “I’ve got to hear this!”
I shook my head, not at all convinced this part of the plan was a good one, but I got out of the car and followed Mayra between the houses, through a couple of back yards, and to a large clump of lilac bushes just to the side of the driveway of the Schultz’s house. We crouched down and out of sight just before Scott’s light blue Civic pulled into the driveway.
“I still think it’s a bunch of crap,” Scott was saying. “I mean seriously, Aimee—who would do such a thing?”
“I don’t know,” Aimee said as she maneuvered out of the car. “It can’t hurt to find out though, right?”
They walked around the corner to the front door, which was out sight but within hearing range. It was only a minute later they were coming back, envelope in hand.
“If it’s all fake, what would be the point?” Aimee said as they came back outside. “No one would go through that kind of trouble for a joke.”
“It’s not funny,” Scott grumbled.
“Well, it not like we’ll be any worse off if it is fake.”
“It’s going to cost me in gas money just to get to the bank,” Scott stated.
“It’s worth a shot…”
The doors to the car shut, and the pending parents backed out of the driveway and continued down the street. Mayra turned toward me and grasped both of my hands. Her eyes still sparkled with excitement, and she squealed slightly as she gripped my fingertips before we both ran back through the yards to my parked car.