A Waste of Time

It didn't move. She tried harder. It still didn't move. She put all her weight into it. It still didn't move. She was just about to give it another try with all her might when ...

HOOOOONK

"Come on, lady. Move your fucking car."

Anna had been startled by the horn and lost her grip on the L shaped thing and ended up face down on the hot concrete.

"Ouch."

Ok. There had to be another way to tackle this problem. She got out her phone. She looked through the list of her male friends. Jerry was at work so she couldn't call him. Adam would think this was his ticket to a date so that was out. Ok, maybe not out completely but he was her last option.

While she was looking at the names she saw George Nemo. She remembered back to the fact that he'd offered to just give her a hundred million dollars. That sure would buy a lot of road side assistance. With just a bit of trepidation she called him up, being fully aware that she might sound like a mooch who only called to asked for things.

"Hello." he answered.

"Hi. It's Anna Arbor."

"Hello. How's your father?"

"He's doing very well. Thank you."

"Anything I can do to help?"

"I appreciate that. I know you're probably really busy but I was wondering if you'd be able to help me get in touch with a tow truck."

"A tow truck?"

"I got a flat tire and the things are rusted or something. I'm stranded at the ..."

"I know where you are."

"What?"

"I'm across the street. Look up."

"What are you ... Um ..."

"This bakery has the best blueberry bagels."

"Yeah, I know that place."

"Sit tight. I'll be right over; that is, if you want me to come help."

"That would be great. Thanks."

Anna looked around and thought that he would just walk over. Instead he drove his white truck that looked like it had seen better days. It was strange to see him driving something like that if he was as rich as she seemed to think he was. He parked directly behind her blocking the lane and when he got out he was only wearing a white t-shirt and blue jeans.

"What's the trouble?"

"Flat tire."

"Lug wrench." he said as he extended his hand in a gesture that suggested she should give him something.

Anna just looked at him with confusion.

"That thing in your hand."

"Oh. Here."

She watched as he started to use the thing to take the other things off her vehicle. Right as George was trying to place the spare onto the wheel studs that asshole drove past again and blew his horn.

"Get your fucking truck out of the way, man."

George got up and walked over to the guy.

"You're Simon Smith, right?"

"Yeah. What's it to you?"

"Get over here and help this nice young lady out."

"What? I don't take orders from you."

"Oh you don't. I think you do. I'm George Nemo and Ryan works for me."

The man in the car fell silent. George waited and pointed to Anna's car.

The dick head slowly got out of his car and his entire demeanor changed.

"Over there?" he asked.

George nodded and then watched as the loud mouth lowered his head as he passed Anna and then knelt down to finish screwing the lugs onto the spare. Then he stood up and started to try and apologize to Anna for bothering her.

George cut him off. "That's fine Simon. Here." he said as he passed a couple of hundred dollar bills to him. "Tell Ryan I said hello when you see him."

"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir."

After that there was a bit of a vehicle dance as Anna got her car out of the way, Simon got his car into the spot he so coveted and Anna followed George to the garage he claimed to own. Once they got to the garage several guys were already prepping to get her a new tire and another guy was going to deliver her groceries to her house for her.

"This is too much." she said as she sat at the little table in the office part of the shop.

"This is nothing." said George. "And I wouldn't have to do this sort of thing at all if you'd taken the money I'd offered."

"I still don't understand why you wanted to give me anything."

"I have my own reasons."

"Yeah but just some guy showing up and doing what you're doing is a bit creepy. Can't you see that?"

"I admit I didn't expect for you all to take me that way. It's a bit of a secret actually."

"What is?"

"I really shouldn't say. I have a very good reason to want to help you and your family."

"Then tell me."

"I can't. Not because I don't want to but it's to protect people."

"Protect who?"

"It isn't something that can be easily understood or accepted."

"Try me."

"No. You already think too little of me."

"Come on. Give me a chance."

"All I'll say is I've, ... though he doesn't know it, I've known your father for a long time."

"You have?"

"Yeah. And I'd never met your mom until recently, but my father knew your mom and always spoke highly of her."

"How exactly did he know my mom?"

"Um ... well he was ... at the wedding."

"My parents' wedding?"

"Yeah."

"He was a friend of theirs?"

"I think I should stop now. It's way too complicated to explain."

"But I still don't understand. That doesn't explain why you'd want to ..."

"You're never going to understand. I'm in the middle of it and even I have trouble wrapping my head around it. Just look ... I have a lot of money and I want to give some of it to you. You want it or you don't want it."

"But why?"

"Just because I'm a nice guy. You certainly haven't earned it. I guess come to think of it, I didn't earn it either but it's something that's owed to me."

"By who?"

"By everyone. No one."

"You just can't give a straight answer to anything, can you?"

"Nope."

Anna thought for a bit and wondered if she should take the conversation further. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you."

"No offense taken."

"I guess I just feel like I want to understand."

"You'll just have to accept that in the real world there's a lot of randomness to cause and effect."

"Randomness?"

"Indeed. A man and a woman are together and that causes a child to come into the world. But you and your sister aren't identical."

"No. Of course not." Anna was wondering why he'd brought up sex.

"You know, a couple would have to produce over eight thousand children before they ran out of combinations. Random. The genes you got from your parents are random. The fact that you're a girl and not a boy was random."

"So I should just accept it when a random guy I don't know wants to give me money and I shouldn't be suspicious he's going to hurt me."

"Random bad things happen. Sure. So you have to be smart and look after yourself but random good things happen too; no matter how much other people want to keep it from being so."

"And you're just a random good thing?"

"I'm here and I want to be nice to you. I want to give you money with no strings attached. You can decide for yourself how you want to interpret that."

Anna thought about the words 'no strings attached'. She looked at him and felt that he was handsome. He was taller than her and rather muscular but not too much. More than anything, when she looked at his face, she felt she could trust him.

"Ok. So what exactly would I have to do?"

"Nothing. Well, you'd have to go to the bank and tell them which account you want the money to go into."

"And that's it? Nothing else."

"That's it from my end."

"But you're going to say we need to talk about it over dinner or something."

"No. We're talking about it right now. I mean, if you wanted to go to dinner with me I could take you wherever you wanted to go but as for the bank, all I have to do is make a phone call."

"Sure. Make the call. Then maybe I'll take you out to dinner."

"Are you asking just for yourself or for everyone?"

"Everyone?"

"I can just give you a hundred or I can give you four hundred and you can dole out the rest to your family as you see fit."

"Well, that's something to think about."

"I can give you your share now and then you can get back to me on the rest. No rush."

"Ok. That sounds best. I mean, Zoe can come and ask you herself."

"I look forward to her call. I don't think it would take long after she sees that you actually got paid."

"It's still just mind boggling to think that this is real."

"Yeah, you don't even know the half of it."

"This isn't like money laundering or anything, is it?"

"Nope. I make my money with diamonds. I have an endless supply of them. Diamonds, gold, rare earth metals, a bunch of stuff I can't even pronounce."

"So you own mines?"

"I can't say. Trade secret."

"Oh. Sorry."

"It's ok. So, you're taking me out to dinner. I like pork chops just so you know."

"Pork chops?"

"Hell yeah. Here. Let me make a call so you'll have the money to pay."

His phone call was brief and he wrote down some information on a note pad that was nearby. Then he ended the call and tore out the page.

"Here. Go to your bank tomorrow and tell them you're expecting a transfer from this account."

"Tomorrow. Ok."

"Or I could call and get them to open just for you today if you want."

"No. Tomorrow is fine."

"So maybe I'll pay for dinner then. Unless you want to hold off to see if you actually get paid."

"That's ok. I'd be honored to have dinner with you."

"Cool. So I'm thinking lobster. I know a great place."

"Lobster?"

"Why not? Ever had lobster?"

"No."

George made arrangements for one of the garage employees to drive Anna's car to her house and then she got into his truck and they drove out to a seafood restaurant. When they got there a camper was parked next to the building. George walked up to the driver who greeted them warmly. Then George went around to the side door and opened it for Anna.

"What's this?" she asked.

"The restaurant has a dress code and so I need to change."

"You just have a guy driving around with your wardrobe?"

"Basically. Oh, and you should think of changing too. You'll find some things that should fit in the back room."

"You have a guy driving around with women's clothes?"

"You have to think ahead in this life."

Anna closed the door and looked over all the various selections. Everything was new and then she noticed that everything was her size. Ok, that was just a bit creepy. This guy was weird. She started to feel herself becoming frightened again.

"Did you really plan on me wearing this stuff?"

"Wrong size?"

"No, but ..."

"My ex bought all that. She bought so much I don't think she ever got around to wearing most of it. But if they don't fit I can have a guy run to purchase something. Just give me your sizes."

"No, these things should be fine."

Anna got changed into a blue dress and hoped it looked classy enough. She came out of the room and George was wearing a nice dress shirt and tie.

"Shall we?"

"So, do you own the place we're going to or are we just guests?"

"I have a small stake. They wouldn't sell me more than that no matter how much I threw at them."

"What's with that, anyway?"

"I don't know. I just like this town and I want to see good things happen for it. I own shares of just about every company traded on every public exchange. I live here so I figured I should do my part to help the local businesses grow and develop. I own the factory on the river that makes solar panels and I thought that at the very least the people who live in this town with me should all be rich enough to buy my product."

"Solar panels are nice. Some of the people in my neighborhood have them."

"And mine are extra special. They use solar energy to break down CO2 and strip it out of the air."

"Oh, you make the zero carbon footprint ones."

"That's me. I also sell larger versions to factories all over the world to help reduce pollution. Honestly, just between you and me, global warming isn't nearly as big of a problem as everyone makes it out to be, but we all want clean air."

"You don't think global warming is a problem?"

"Plants need CO2 to make sugars. If we strip it all out of the air we can't grow any food."

"Oh. But ..."

"Oh, and check this out. I went to China to see if they'd be interested since they're one of the biggest polluters nowadays. They told me they weren't going to buy anything and I offered to give the technology to them for free. They told me no and then later I found out that they stole the plans and started using it anyway. They just didn't want to have to show gratitude for anything."

"Can't you do anything to stop them?"

"Sure if I wanted to. But it's fine. They learned the hard way not to let CO2 levels go too low."

"I didn't think there was such a thing as too low with that."

"Well, there is. Entire regions of China saw all the vegetation turn brown and die in the span of a few weeks."

"And that's why they're desperate to import food."

"That's why."

They were welcomed into the restaurant and were able to be seated at a private table. The chef personally came out to welcome them when they sat down. The wait staff was very prompt with everything and George actually had to tell them to not rush their food out to them too quickly.

Somehow the topic of Anna's childhood came up and she started telling stories. George listened with great interest as Anna relayed the time everyone pitched in to paint her room pink. He listened when he heard about the way their father had acted when Zoe said she was going to run away and get married with some guy. He listened when Anna talked about how disappointed she was that she hadn't been elected prom queen.

"So you had so many good memories in that house." he said.

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Is that why you haven't moved out?"

"No. I just haven't gotten to that point yet."

"Oh. ok."

"What about you? Where did you grow up."

"I grew up here. In town."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I think I'm, what? Maybe five years older than you. So that might be why we never bumped into each other in school."

"You went to central?"

"I did." He smiled and then his smile faded.

"What about your parents?"

"Well. ... My mom died when I was born. My father had a hard time raising me as a single parent. We were poor for a long time. I did almost have a step mom but it didn't work out, I guess."

"I'm sorry."

"It's ok. I lost my dad in a plane crash a few years back."

"That's terrible."

"That's life. All we can do is try to do the best with what we have and make a good future for ourselves."

"You're a lot more positive than I would be. I don't know what I'd do if I lost my parents."

"No one ever does until it happens. I'd like to think that my dad would be proud of me. I know I've made a lot of mistakes but I'd hope that on balance he'd be proud of me and judge me on my intentions and not my outcomes."

"You're the richest person I've ever met. I can't imagine why your father wouldn't be proud of you."

"You don't make an omelet without breaking some eggs."

George turned the conversation to a happier topic. He spoke of his grand plans for a future filled with hope and plenty for all.

"Yeah, it's rough in some places now but everyday we're building a better future and we're almost, you know, we're almost there."

When the dinner was finished they went back to the RV to change back into their regular clothes and Anna started to wonder if George would make some sort of sexual advance towards her. She practiced in her head what she might need to say to ward him off but then it didn't happen. She was fully dressed and he was opening the door of his truck for her so he could drive her home. It was that moment that she discovered in truth, she wanted him to make a pass at her. She wasn't going to reject him. She wanted him.

She thought he might have noticed the way she was looking at him. At times it seemed like he was returning her looks and at other times it looked like he was annoyed with her.

He stopped in front of her house.

"I'd walk you up to the door but it might not look right." he said.

"It's ok. The restraining order ended four days ago."

"I know, but it's still your father's house and he made it clear how he felt about ..."

"It's ok. It'll be fine."

"No, it won't. You know it won't. Come on. You know him."

She knew he was right so she didn't argue anymore. Why couldn't he have just taken her to his house so they could ...

"I hope you don't think this is too forward but where do you live exactly?" she asked.

"I have a house by the lake."

Good, she thought. Please ask me to go there. "Is it nice?"

"I like it."

"I'd love to see it."

"How about Saturday?"

How about right now, Anna thought. "Saturday? That works for me."

"Cool. We can have barbecue."

George got out of the truck and went around to her side to open her door for her. The path from the street to the front door seemed so long to her in that moment. She was just about to walk away when she turned back to George. Why did he have to be such a perfect gentleman?

"Say, you're not married or anything, are you?"

"No. Why do you ask?"

"Seeing anyone?"

"You trying to set me up with somebody?"

Yeah, me, idiot. Anna grabbed his shirt and went in for the kiss. She'd been building up her courage to make the first move on this guy from the moment he'd given her that note.

At first he seemed to really enjoy the kiss but then without warning he pushed her away.

"Sorry." he said.

"What? It was good."

"I know, but we can't do that."

"I'm a big girl. I can kiss guys if I want."

"I know. I didn't mean it like that. I meant ..."

"Don't you like me?"

"I do. I do. I really do. It's amazing how much I like you and yet I know we're not supposed to do that kind of stuff."

"Why not?"

"Cause ... um ..."

"Wait. You're not gay are you?"

"No. Absolutely not."

"What's the problem?"

"It's just, we're friends. We're such good friends and I don't want to ruin the friendship."

"We just met each other. Look, if you're worried about someone going after your money, you know, that's the last ..."

"It's not that. It's that ... I make a terrible boyfriend. You just don't even know."

"But I want to get to know you. Can I please have that chance?"

He was struggling to find words to tell her. "You don't understand."

"Then explain it to me."

"See. I have this problem. Yeah. Totally. I have a mental condition."

"Like what?"

"Um ... There isn't a specific medical word for it, you know, yet. Not yet. It's not in the medical book yet. But I have this condition where I can't ... um ... date just one woman. I can only achieve ... you know ... um ... I have to be with two women at the same time or it doesn't work down there."

"It looks like it's working just fine right now."

"I know. This is so embarrassing."

"Hey. It's ok. I don't judge you."

"I know. But maybe it's best, since no woman would ever want to date a guy like me, that we just try it as friends for right now."

"Friends? Well, I kiss some of my friends."

"Your guy friends?"

"What matter does it make what gender they are?"

"It kind of matters to me since I don't go kissing a lot of people and if I do kiss someone I don't think of them as just a friend."

"Then don't think of me as just any friend."

"Ok. Look. I know what you want. It's not you. It's me. Ok. I want the same thing that you want. But we can't."

"I'm that one special friend that you have who you can kiss."

He made a face like it was becoming difficult for him to resist her and then he put his arm around her and pulled her to himself. He kissed her and Anna felt like she was floating into the clouds. She wanted nothing more in that moment than for him to take her into the truck and fuck her right there on the street.

But of course he didn't do that.

The kiss broke and he panted as he backed away from her. "I'm sorry. We shouldn't have done that."