All four of the women requested to have Monday off from their respective employments, and each carried on as Maura happily played on a swing at a park. Lexi, Abby and Kayla sat on a bench as Maura giggled from the swing. Piper was busy pushing the girl and waved at the other three. They were in the middle of conversation but waved back at the two, happy that they found a park away from the prying eyes of their employer.
"So Kayla," Lexi began. "You are going to watch Maura tomorrow while Piper and I look for a car, right?"
"Yes, I already said I was taking Maura to the swimming pool. We will have a blast together...just me and her and a whole lot of fun." 1
"Abby, how much money do we have now?" Lexi asked.
Abby opened her laptop and began to type in their bank's website. After a couple of minutes, she looked at Lexi. "I don't think we have enough yet, Lex. Not with us looking into new living arrangements. We have six thousand, but we need to use some of that for living expenses when we move. So...four thousand is supposed to buy us a car, one that will not break down when we pull it out of the lot. Maybe we should finance instead." Abby suggested but Lexi shook her head. 13
"No, we cannot have anything in the system that Moretti can trace to us. You know this, Abby. There has to be something decent we can find. We will look tomorrow anyway."
"Well, we need four new phones too. How do we buy four prepaid phones, a car and a new house with six thousand dollars? Be logical, Lexi." Abby kept typing, looking for house rentals. "I mean, we are looking at a minimum of fifteen hundred for move-in costs, and what...four hundred for phones and minutes." 10
"I know!" Lexi voiced exasperated, "Fine, three thousand for a car. I promise I will find us something so we can push Moretti's tracking device in the middle of the ocean."
Kayla scrunched her brows together and pointed as Abby shut her laptop. "Look, Abby. We will have to make this work. Lexi can do it if anyone can; and since we all have jobs, it will be fine. Quit being so damn pessimistic."
Abby glared back at Kayla. "Pessimistic? You mean realistic. You know as well as I do that Moretti keeps a close eye on our bank account. When we start withdrawing large sums of money, don't think he won't notice; so I suggest when we do move forward, that we have a house, a car and those phones within a week's time. I don't want his flunkies showing up on our doorstep, flashing their guns around and scaring Maura half to death again. Look at Lexi's face. That happened at her work...okay? Imagine what they could get by with if they found us alone. They don't care about us." 6
"Okay, already," Lexi sighed and stopped the argument before it started. "We get the point, Abby."
Lexi felt relief when she saw Piper and Maura approaching. The women would not argue with Maura around. Nobody ever said getting back at Moretti was going to be easy. That is why they were trying to find Maura's father in the first place. 18
"So?" Piper looked at the girls, appearing thankful that she missed whatever discussion had caused the depressed looks in their eyes. "Are we going to lunch, because Maura tells me she's starving?"
The women smiled at Maura. Her curly, reddish-brown locks bounced as she attempted to catch a butterfly. "Yes," Lexi reached out her hand to Maura. "We are going to eat at a small restaurant by the ocean. Would you like that Maura?"
Maura nodded, making her large green eyes twinkle in the sunlight as the women stood to their feet. They almost never went out to eat due to saving every dollar; but after a month and a half in Miami, Lexi figured they earned the treat. Besides, seeing how excited Maura became was worth every cent.
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Kayla drove for a couple of minutes before arriving at the restaurant on the beach. Picnic tables lined outside and gave the girls a gorgeous view of the water. There were already visitors enjoying a day on the sand. Some were jumping in the waves and some were sunbathing. Lexi pondered how truly breathtaking the city of Miami appeared. She would not mind living here forever. It beat the pitfall of hell they had been living in the cities that Moretti dictated.
"So what will you have?" A girl about seventeen approached their bench; a genuine smile planted on her face. She seemed to enjoy the environment as well.
Piper smiled wide and gave all five orders. "Okay, so we want five cherry cokes. Put extra cherries in one of them for the little girl over there." Then Piper paused, looking over the menu. "Okay, and for food we will have a small cheese pizza, an order of mozzarella sticks and..." She looked around the table. 3
"An order of your chicken wings...the mild kind." Abby added.
"With five plates," Lexi finished the order.
"Alright, five cherry cokes – one with extra cherries, a small cheese pizza, mozzarella sticks, mild wings and five plates. Is that right?" The server repeated their order. 30
"Perfect!" Lexi smiled as the girl took the menus.
"Okay, just give me a few minutes and I will bring out those cokes."
"Thanks," they all grinned in unison.
Fifteen minutes later, Maura was on her eighth cherry. Even the server seemed suckered by Maura's sweet face and brought out an entire side bowl filled with cherries. The sight seemed almost normal, making the women forget about the problems surrounding them. Then they all squealed with delight as the server set the food on the table. 1
"Oh my god, this food smells so wonderful!" Piper put a slice of pizza and a mozzarella stick on a plate and handed it to Maura. "Watch out, sweetie. It might still be hot."
Each woman took for herself and started filling their appetites with the delectable meal. They were quiet, absentmindedly enjoying the moment when the server approached again.
"I hate to disturb you, but some man dropped this off and told me to hand it to you." She handed a piece of paper to Lexi.
The four women exchanged disturbed looks. The note made Lexi uneasy. She could never let down her guard. Someone was stalking them when she had hoped to escape any prying eyes for the day. "Thank you," Lexi forced a smile and accepted the note, not opening it until the server walked away.
"What does it say, Lex?" Kayla whispered from across the table; Lexi's expression fell.
"It says..." Lexi looked at Maura and noticed how intently she was listening to the women talk. "Here, you read it."
Kayla silently read. We are watching you waste our precious time, Cinderella. You had better get your shit together if you want to keep that little brat around. Then she scowled, "Asshole!" 1
"Kayla!" Lexi reprimanded and gestured her chin towards Maura beside her.
"Sorry," Kayla slumped in her seat.
After each of the women read the note, Lexi took it back and stuffed it in her purse. "Any questions on why we have to make this work, Abby?"
"Lex, You already know how I feel. I know there's no other way. Sometimes, I just wish there was." Abby's voice tapered.
"Alright, tomorrow then," Lexi said and all the women silently went back to finishing their meals, trying to enjoy what time they had left of their outing before going home.
***
Before eight that evening, all of Lexi's friends took part in dressing her for her date with Rafa. None of the women met or dared peek out of the window at him, but they were intrigued when Lexi told them about her last outing. If she had a good time, then they were all for the man. Anyone who could show Lexi a good time earned their approval. 2
Piper threw Lexi a short, slinky black dress while Kayla dangled a couple of black heels in front of her. All the while, Abby smiled deviously with a make-up bag in hand. 4
"Geez, having all of you here at the same time is making me think I'm not good enough as I am." Lexi fell to the bed in her room. "I'm not even sure I should be going after that message we received earlier. What if something happens when I'm gone? I would be a hysterical mess."
"Oh," Abby pointed. "You're going. You hardly ever go anywhere."
"We will be fine," Piper brushed off Lexi's concern.
Lexi sighed, "Alright, I'll go; but what's with this outfit? I'm not wearing that. I don't want Rafa thinking that I'm there for sex. I will feel like I'm practicing stealth skills while trying not to show my ass when I bend." All the women laughed, making Lexi frown. They must be up to something. 4
"That's the point, Lex." Kayla grinned wide, "To practice...your skills." She squatted low to the floor and looked through her long red hair feathered in front of her face with the end of her pointer finger between her teeth. 3
Lexi glared at her before bursting out laughing. "That's why they chose you to strip at Whips. You're a natural."
"I know," Kayla agreed and stood back up. "But I'd rather it be with some rich dude who was interested in me than a strip joint."
"Wear it, Lexi, or we will burn all your clothes. As you can see, you have no choice in the matter. Besides, it's not that short. It comes to the end of your thighs and it's not even tight. It will look good on those curves of yours and show off your legs." Piper picked up the dress and held it against Lexi's body.
"Fine," Lexi finally gave in though unwillingly. "I will try it on if it will make you happy."
The women smiled at each other and waited for Lexi to finish in the restroom. Instead of Lexi showing them how the dress looked, they heard her shriek out loud. "I am not wearing this! No way!"
"Come on, Lexi. Let us have a look." Lexi stumbled out of the restroom scowling at the three.
"You are out of your minds!"
"Oh! It's perfect." Abby nodded with approval. "Get your heels on and come do your make-up."
"Why, for the love of god, are you three so set in me wearing this when I'm only going to his house for drinks?"
They giggled when Kayla spoke on their behalf. "You're the sexy cordial, baby."
Lexi held her temples with one hand and exclaimed, "I will never make it through the night. I can already tell."
"Now who needs to lighten up?" Abby swiped mascara across Lexi's lashes. "Just enjoy yourself, Lex. That's why you are going...to enjoy yourself."
When she finished, Piper and Kayla pushed a hesitant Lexi towards the stairs. "Now get!" Kayla demanded.
"And don't worry about a thing. We have the house covered." Piper added with a wave.
