The bright desert sun peaking through the motel curtain woke Ezra with a start. Where was he? Then he remembered what had happened. There was a faint smell of gasoline still lingering in the room. He was covered with a blanket. At some point, he must have fallen asleep and she had covered him up, still caring for him. He looked at his phone. It was early. He quietly got up and grabbed his things. He felt badly for falling asleep there. He saw a pen and pad of paper and decided to leave her a note. When he moved through the pad to find a clean sheet of paper, he noticed some notes jotted down, song lyrics. And on one page, he saw a note.
"If anything happens to me, it was Sean Conley."
He looked over at her, curled up on the bed. She looked so peaceful there, sleeping on the end with a sheet over her. That explains the fear I saw, he thought.
He left the thank you note and quietly covered her with the warm blanket she given him the night before, closed the door, grabbed the gas can and walked out into the light and down the road to his car.
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Billie woke up and looked around. Easton was gone. She yawned and walked over to start some coffee. Glancing over at the table, she saw a note.
"I can't thank you enough. The selfless kindness that you showed me was more than I have received in my entire life. You are an Angel. A light on a dark and terrible day. I'll never forget it. ~E."
She smiled and nodded. "Everyone deserves kindness." She said out loud. She drank her coffee, got dressed and headed to work.
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"Good morning, Miss Lily." One of her regular customers said.
"Well good morning to you, sir." She said.
"Hey Lily. I might have a something for you." Paula said, walking by her with a fresh pot of coffee.
"Oh yeah? What's that?" She said.
"A house. A rental. My fathers place. We are going to have to put him in a nursing home." She said, sadly. "It's awful. He broke his leg a few months ago and it had been all down hill since. He can't take care of the house anymore. And I don't want to fuss with selling it right now. The restaurant is way too busy. I'd have to put a lot of work in it to get what it's worth. So, after work, I can take you out there and you can see if you'd like it?" She said.
"Wow. Yes. I'd love to. Like really love that. I don't know how much you're thinking about charging though." Billie said, putting her head down.
"Let's take a look at it and go from there. The yard needs some work. I'm sure I could take that off the rent. It's small, two bedrooms, and a small garage. Comes with a car though." She said with a wink.
"Oh my god! Really?" Lily said.
"Yeah. It's an old beater but it'll get you around." She said.
"I can't wait. I'm so excited." Billie said. The work sat went by so slowly. Finally, around 9pm, they were able to head out.
The house was about 6 miles from town on a secluded back road. There were other houses near it but not close. It was really small but cute on the outside. It was a modular, it seemed. But a newer one. There was a small porch on the front of the house and a one car detached garage and Paula was right, the yard was in a sad state. It appeared that at one time, there was care given by the statues and rocks that had fallen over and the patio blocks out back that were missing several pieces. There was a hot tub that looked like it was now a pond and several wrought iron chairs that needed cushions and to be painted. The patio was glorious at one time, Billie thought. Paula opened the front door and Billie was pleasantly surprised. Grey, weathered hardwood ran along the floors and there was a modern kitchen with an island and barstool seating. The only furniture in the main living room was what looked like a brand new sectional couch and a wooden coffee table that looked like it was made of barn wood. There were two bedrooms and two bathrooms. The master bedroom had a bed without bedding on it and a nightstand. It looked sadly empty. The door to the master bath was a sliding barn wood door on rails. It was super cute. The bathtub was large and jetted and there was a shower too. She could tell he hadn't lived here long.
"Paula, this house is amazing. Don't you want to live here?" Billie asked.
"Oh no, darlin'. I have a house about 20 minutes from here. It's been my home since my husband died. I don't want to sell it yet. I bought my dad this house brand new two years ago. He had moved here from Michigan to be closer to me after mom died. I used my savings to buy it. He paid me back but I wanted to surprise him. He loved it while he had it. He's been in and out the hospital so much in the last year, it's barely been lived in." She said.
"I would love to live here. It's a dream. But I can't afford this. I can help you clean up the yard, though. I'd be happy to." Billie said.
"Nonsense. What's going to happen to it if you don't rent it? I'm doing to have to sell it and I don't want to do that yet. It'll just sit here." Pula said. "How about 500 a month and you fix up the yard? I'll take care of the utilities for now. I've been paying them since day one anyway." Paula said. Billie couldn't believe it.
"That seems far from fair for you. Where I come from, houses like this go for over a thousand a month." Billie said.
"We will call it the friend's discount. I don't have many and you need a place to live." Paula said. "It takes a worry off me. This house will be lived in. Makes sense. And if you decide you to move, you can help me get it ready to sell. It's a win/win for me."
"I'm never going to want to move." Billie said.
"I hope you don't." Paula said, giving her a hug.