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Good. I want to pick her brain about mortgage loans and what Kate’s possibilities are. Maybe Michelle will have an idea how I can help Kate anonymously. Where’s Ed McMann when you need him to deliver a fake Publisher’s Clearing House check? Oh, yeah, he died.
At noon-fifteen, I walk down to where the trolley picks up one block over from my house although I have to walk a little ways further to Shine Street, the closest cross street to Main. Two dollars gets me a pleasant ride on a polished wood bench down to Buffalo Bodega’s where I’ll wait for Michelle. I can’t ask Kate, because I need to discuss her situation with Michelle and I feel my face would reveal I was up to something if I asked her to give me a lift.
Michelle is walking up the sidewalk as I hop off the trolley. I wave, and we both enter Buffalo’s where we are led to a table.We order our drinks and peruse the menu like we don’t already have them memorized.
“I want to help Kate.” I blurt out.
Michelle’s gaze considers mine. It’s as if she were analyzing the sincerity she sees in my eyes. “I know you do.” She says with a sigh. “How can I help?”
That’s just what I was hoping to hear. I lean on the table and quietly tell her about Kate’s dilemma. Michelle listens until I stop talking.
“Well, I don’t have any idea where she stands financially, but I do know that with a 580 credit score she can get an FHA loan with as little as three-point-five percent down. If her credit score is as low as 500, it would take ten percent down.”
Our waitress sets our iced teas on our tables. “What can I get you ladies?”
Michelle orders a grilled chicken salad and I ask for the club salad. She concurs that our choices are excellent, which always makes me want to giggle. I’m so glad my waitress approves of my order. I turn back to Michelle. “So… what if she has depleted her savings and someone else wanted to… gift her the downpayment?”
Michelle’s eyes brighten. Has she figured out my little plan to give Kate the money? “FHA allows gift funds from family, employers, and…charitableorganizations to be applied to the down payment. So… if you are thinking about gifting her some money, it won’t hurt her chances of obtaining the mortgage.”
I nod.
“Maribeth, are you thinking of giving Kate enough money to make a downpayment?”
I look into my friend’s eyes. Is she going to discourage me from throwing my money away on a woman in our community who is considered unstable? I swallow. “Yes.”
Michelle holds my gaze for a long moment. “I can’t do much, but I might have an extra thousand dollars I could contribute.”
It’s my turn to stare at her. I blink. “You want to help, too?”
“Of course. We all shunned her before, thinking she was… just Crazy Kate.”
The waitress sets our salads in front of us. “Is there anything else I can get you ladies?”
“No. We’re good.” I answer for the both of us. And return my attention to Michelle.
She smiles at our gal and nods agreement, then turns to me. “But you brought her into our fold. You showed us how we should have treated her all along. And you know what? I like her. I really like her. She’s an amazing person. So, yes. I want to help, although I don’t have much.
“Michelle. I’m so… Thank you.”
“I think we should talk to the other gals and see if they want to help, too. Friends are family and family helps family.”
I nod in agreement. It’s amazing to me what good friends I have since moving to Deadwood. I could never have anticipated my life would become so rich after losing everything. “Okay. Let’s get together for Karaoke, Saturday night and discuss it with them.” I hesitate. “There’s one other problem.”
Michelle swallows her bite of chicken and lettuce. “What?”
“I’ve already offered Kate the gift… and… she refused to accept it.”
Michelle nods slowly. “Yes. Pride is a vicious beast we all carry on our backs.” She pauses. “Well, that’s what we’ll figure out, also, when we get together on Saturday.”
I nod. I am so happy I met Michelle and her friends who have become my friends as well, and now Kate is one of us.?
I pace in front of the window in my house where I can see Blaze’s driveway. He’s home, but as the sun buddies up with the horizon, I know he’s going to be leaving for his night recon. I chew my lip, worrying over what I can say to find out just what he is looking for.
I could be completely wrong. Paranoid, even. Vainly thinking his quest has anything to do with me. I really would love to learn that he is actually watching for a back-alley drug deal, oranythingother than poker games being illegally held in secret cellars.
He came to my house, when Jason was barging in, with a lame excuse to borrow sugar, perhaps I can use just as lame of an excuse to say, “thank you,” and query details about his assignment. For all he knows, I’m just being a nosey neighbor. Or looking for a way into his —I grin— panties.
A tingling sensation dances down my spine and taps its shoes on my tummy. It wouldn’t be a bad thing to find out what kind of lover Blaze is. My expectations are very high at this point. But if he is on the assignment that I fear he is on— and we were lovers— and he found out that I’ve known all along about the games— and have sat in on a few already since I came to Deadwood— whatever romantic relationship we would have built to date would be destroyed in a ball of fire. Continuing tolive next door would be beyond awkward to say the least. And, knowing how sharp Blaze’s instincts are, I’d never be able to seek a game again without him barging in and putting a halt to everyone’s chances to win big money.
