Underdogs The First Stories - By Geonn Cannon Page 0,4

home until she was eighteen, and then she moved into a small apartment so she could work her way through college. Independence, that sort of thing. We were so proud of her, my husband and I. She would come back home to do laundry, and she stayed in touch until... about a year ago. She stopped calling and stopped coming by. Finally I went to her apartment and discovered she had moved out.

"I was panicked until one day, out of the blue, she just showed up at home with another load of laundry. I was livid, as you can imagine. I demanded to know where she had moved, and she refused to tell me. The girl who told me everything growing up wouldn't even tell me where she was sleeping at night. So we argued. Eventually, she told me. She was living with a woman. They were lovers."

She dabbed at her eyes with the handkerchief and took a trembling breath. "I don't have a problem with... that sort of relationship. If Rebecca is happy, then I'm happy for her. She's made her own decisions and she can deal with the fallout. If there is fallout, I mean. I just... I don't want her to be hurt. I want to make sure that she's okay. I want to know if this woman is taking advantage of her."

Ari said, "I'm sorry, but... what exactly do you want us to do?"

"Watch them. Observe how they are in public. I know that if I tried to see what they were like, they'd just put on a performance. I want a third party opinion. If you don't find anything, I can relax. I can start to mend my relationship with my daughter and we can get past this. But if she is being hurt..."

"I think we can handle that," Ari said. "Dale will explain our expenses and rates. It shouldn't take us very long to make a determination, once we start observing them."

"I want three days, minimum," Mrs. Sampson said. "Just to be sure."

Ari said, "That's doable. Dale?"

"Step out into the main office and we'll make the proper arrangements." She escorted Mrs. Sampson to the door and turned to Ari. Ari nodded, and Dale closed her door behind her. Ari went to the window and crossed her arms over her chest. She was still lost in thought when Dale came back into the office. "Get everything settled?"

"She gave us a check for five days," Dale said. "She'll write another to cover our expenses. When do you want to start?"

Ari turned around. "Did she tell you where to find Rebecca and this mystery lover?"

Dale held up a notepad, along with a few photographs for visual identification.

"Then let's go for an afternoon walk."

#

There was an al fresco café a few blocks from the address Mrs. Sampson gave them. They both ordered coffee and took a seat close enough to the sidewalk so they could watch the passersby. Dale had her laptop out, and Ari contented herself with people watching. After a few minutes of silence, Dale said, "I noticed you were pretty caught up in the mother's story."

"She just wants to make sure her daughter is safe," Ari said. "I can respect that."

"Is that all it is?"

Ari sighed and straightened in her seat. "Okay, the story struck a nerve. How much detail do you want?"

"As much as you're willing to give. You know me, little miss nosy."

Ari grinned. "Okay. When I first left home, I lived on the street for a few years. I was nineteen when I met this woman named Evangeline. She saw me in a diner, one of the few times I actually had money for food, and told me that she knew what I was, and she could offer me a place to stay until I found a job and got back on my feet. She looked rich... smelled rich, too. I knew there were strings attached, but I didn't really have a lot of options. I agreed, and she took me home. Big mansion. I had a little guest house out back all to myself."

"And it must have worked out wonderfully, because you're still there now?" Dale said. "I assume you found out what the strings were pretty fast. Sex?"

"I was actually hoping for sex. Evangeline was a beautiful woman, and I figured if the worst thing I had to do was make love to a beautiful woman, then I was on easy street. But it wasn't quiet that simple. You know,