Sinner or Saint Read online

  Marlee staggered toward the front door, fumbling with the lock before opening it. Standing before her was Kelsey Rafferty with a roller suitcase in one hand and a backpack in the other.

  “Hello, Marlee. I took your advice, and I’m maximizing my life experience by moving here to Elmwood. I hope you’ll be able to put me up for a bit until I can get settled.”

  Marlee stared, unblinking, at the young Irish woman, struggling to make sense of the situation. “Kelsey, this is ridiculous! You can’t be here. What about your parents and the B&B? I thought you were going to take some business classes in Dublin.”

  “To hell with the B&B. My folks and I got into a squabble, and I left. Luckily, I had the good sense to get my passport last month. I knew straightaway when I met you that my life was going to change, and it’s changed already. It’s changed for the better! I can’t believe I’m in the United States, ready to pursue my dreams. No more cleaning rooms and preparing breakfasts for stupid tourists. My future is before me, and I am ready to grab it with both hands!” In her enthusiasm, Kelsey didn’t wait for an invitation. She bustled inside the house, setting down her belongings and approaching the dumbstruck women at the dining room table.

  “Hello, everyone! I’m Marlee’s cousin, and I’ve moved here from Dublin. Pleasure to meet all of yous.”

  It’s not easy to become an American citizen. Do they make it difficult on purpose?

  Chapter 5

  “Cousin?” Shelly and Kathleen chorused.

  Marlee stepped beside Kelsey in the dining room, attempting to head off Kelsey’s story before it got out of hand. “That’s not true at all. We look an awful lot alike, but we’re not actually related. Her parents ran the B&B in Dublin where I stayed.”

  “But you look so much alike,” Diane said, pouring a glass of wine from a newly opened bottle. “The hair, the complexion, and the body type. She looks just like you, only thirty years younger.”

  Marlee frowned at Diane. “I think she looks like me when I was an undergrad, which was twenty years ago.”

  Diane tilted her head, thinking over Marlee’s statement. “No, I think she looks a lot younger than you. Definitely more than twenty years younger. I’m not saying you could be her grandmother, but definitely an older aunt.”

  Sensing that the conversation was going nowhere, Shelly quickly interrupted. “Kelsey, please join us. Would you like something to eat? There’s pizza left. Would you like some wine?”

  “A glass of wine and American pizza would be lovely,” she said, flinging her backpack to the floor and pulling up a chair next to Diane. Stunned, Marlee sat down and watched Kelsey effortlessly insert herself into the supper club.

  The women around the table introduced themselves, naming the type of work they did at the university. “You’re all so accomplished,” Kelsey gushed. “I was just a room cleaner and desk attendant at a B&B. But then Marlee came to stay with us, and she told me all about America and the opportunities available to me here. Even before she left, I knew I just had to come to the U.S. and see where she lived. I’m so glad she invited me to visit!”

  “Kelsey, you were already interested in coming to this country before we met. I didn’t encourage you to come here, you made that decision yourself. In fact, I suggested you work toward a degree there in Dublin and continue working at the B&B for a few years.” Marlee was drunk and jet-lagged but still knew when someone was trying to rewrite history. Kelsey had taken her hopes and dreams, paired them with Marlee’s stay at the Rafferty B&B, and cooked up a scenario in which Marlee had inspired Kelsey to move to the U.S.

  Tears formed in Kelsey’s eyes. “But Marlee, didn’t you tell me about seeing Phantom of the Opera in New York City? And didn’t you talk about Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood?”

  I’ll have to keep my eyes on this one, Marlee thought as she looked around the dining room and saw all of her supper club friends staring at her in disbelief. Kelsey had already convinced them that Marlee persuaded her, possibly against her own better judgment, to abandon her family and move to another country.

  “Yes, I told you about those things in answer to your questions. I didn’t tell you to move here. I’m sure your parents are sick with worry. Do they know where you are?” Marlee asked.

  “They’re smart people. They probably guessed when I didn’t come home,” Kelsey said with the flippant lack of concern that only a teenager can manage.

  “You need to call them right now. Tomorrow, we’ll focus on getting you back to Dublin. I’m sure we can book you on a flight out of here in a day or two. By the end of the week, you’ll be back home, and this will all boil over in a few days. Years from now, you’ll all laugh about the time you fled to the United States on a whim,” Marlee said, gratified to see that most of her friends were nodding in agreement.

  “I’m not calling them. You can call them if you want, but I’m not speaking to either one of them. They said terrible things about me, and until they apologize, I won’t be talking to either my Ma or my Da,” Kelsey said, raising her half-finished glass of wine as if making an official proclamation. “And I’m not going back to Dublin, at least not right away. I might go back at Christmastime, but for now, I’m going to live here!”

  Gwen, always the pragmatist interjected. “You know you need a green card to work here, right? And if you’re going to school, you need to have a student visa. You can’t just stay here indefinitely.”

  “Of course, I know that. I researched it before moving here,” Kelsey said with a toss of her curls. “I’m not just going to work and educate myself. And I’m going to do whatever it takes to become a permanent resident of your country. Marlee, tomorrow, I need you to take me to the nearest immigration agency, so I can apply to become a U.S. citizen.”

  Were it not for Pippa’s baleful meowing and clawing at the door of the guest room, the house would’ve been as quiet as a cemetery following Kelsey’s announcement. The supper club had discussed many a problem in the past; murder, suicide, affairs, ethics violations, and academic backstabbing, but nothing had prepared them for this interloper and her wish to gain citizenship in the U.S.

  “Uh, I think that’s something we need to talk about tomorrow morning, after we’ve had some time to collect our thoughts. I’m sure you’re tired and ready to go to bed. Let me show you to the guest room.” Marlee grabbed Kelsey’s backpack from the floor and motioned her toward the back room. After letting Pippa free, Marlee made up the sofa sleeper and got the houseguest settled for the night.

  “What the hell was that?” Marlee asked her supper club friends after returning to the dining room.

  “We were going to ask you the same thing.” Gwen drained the last of Limoncello shot. “Did you expect her to show up?”

  “Hell, no! I’m as shocked as you all are. I have no idea what to do other than contact her parents. Hopefully, Kelsey will come to her senses after a good night’s sleep, and I can get her on a plane back to Dublin shortly. There’s no way she can stay here.” Marlee picked up her landline phone and, after a few missteps, placed a call to the Rafferty B&B.

  “You told us you were going to dissuade Kelsey from going to America, but I guess you decided to invite her instead,” spat Mary Catherine Rafferty after Marlee gave a synopsis of the situation. “You could have at least been honest with us instead of leading us to believe you were on our side!”

  “Not at all! I never told Kelsey to come to the United States. I for sure didn’t invite her to come to my house. All I did was encourage her to keep working for you at the B&B and take some classes in Dublin to earn her business degree so that someday she could move on to something she really wanted to do,” Marlee stated.

  After several rounds, Marlee convinced the Raffertys that it wasn’t her idea for Kelsey to flee Ireland for the U.S. They agreed to touch base after Kelsey woke up and Marlee was able to talk some sense into her.

  The supper club was picking up the pizza boxes and the multitude of drinking glasses when M
arlee finished with her overseas phone call. “My god, I don’t know what I’ll do if I can’t convince Kelsey to go back home.”

  “Make her do all the paperwork herself to get a green card. That’s enough to make anyone go back to their home country,” Gwen said. “Well, probably not someone fleeing genocide or other atrocities, but it really doesn’t sound like Kelsey’s life was all that bad.”

  “As far as I know, it wasn’t. She worked at her parents’ B&B, but she also had free room and board. She also came and went as she pleased during the evenings, so she didn’t have too many restrictions. Kelsey doesn’t know what it’s like to be on her own. She’s nineteen and has only lived at home, so of course she thinks she has a terrible situation and almost anything else would be better. Such is the life of a typical teenager.” Marlee picked up the sticky shot glasses and relocated them to the kitchen.

  “It’s really brave of her to get a passport and then come to another country on her own. How many people would have the guts to do that? Even if she isn’t being entirely practical, at least she has the courage to do something different than what was expected of her,” Diane said. “I couldn’t have done it when I was her age. I basically did whatever my parents told me to do.”

  The loud creak of the guest room door halted the conversation between the supper club members. “I can hear everything you’re saying,” Kelsey stated, looking directly at Marlee as if daring her to deny it.

  Marlee took a deep breath. “I talked to your parents and let them know you’re here, and that you’re safe. We’re going to talk again tomorrow morning about getting you back to Dublin.”

  “That’s the thing,” Kelsey said with a smirk. “I’m not going back to Dublin. In fact, I’m not going back to Ireland at all. I’m seeking asylum in the United States, and I need you to help me get this all sorted. Thank you again for letting me stay with you. I promise not to be a bother. Good night.” She closed the door as Marlee and her friends stood in the living room with their mouths agape.

  Step 1: Plant the seed

  Step 2: Reveal the problem

  Step 3: Ask for help

  Step 4: Drop the bomb

  Chapter 6

  It was a restless night for Marlee even though she was dog-tired from her trans-Atlantic plane ride and the six-hour time difference. Kelsey Rafferty showing up, uninvited, on her doorstep with a plan to stay in the United States was so farfetched that Marlee kept thinking she’d nodded off and experienced a bizarre dream. But then it would all come back to her; the ringing of the doorbell, Kelsey standing on her front step, the announcement that Kelsey would be seeking asylum in America. Does Kelsey even know what asylum means? Marlee wondered as she tossed and turned.

  By 5:00 a.m., she couldn’t take it any longer. Marlee rolled out of bed and made a pot of coffee. Normally, she only drank three large mugs of coffee, topped with her favorite fat-free, sugar-free, non-dairy creamer. Today was one of those days where she’d need all the help she could get, so she made a full pot, extra strength.

  By the second cup, her mind was clearing, and her thought process was no longer muddled. Marlee’s desktop computer was in the guest room, but she was still in possession of a laptop, courtesy of Midwestern State University. It had been provided to her for her teaching duties in Delhi, India earlier that year. She wasn’t sure if she would retain use of the computer or if it would have to be turned in at MSU since the teaching arrangement in India didn’t work out. Either way, it didn’t matter. She had possession of it right now and planned to use it until MSU forced her to surrender it back to the technical department.

  She logged in and began a search on seeking asylum in the United States. The only time she’d heard of it being used was when someone was being persecuted by their own government and needed to flee to another country to stay alive. Ireland and Northern Ireland were getting along better than they had in years, and there were no new attempts to overthrow the government or threat of civil war. Still, even so-called peaceful countries had their share of coup attempts and disgruntled factions which the government might try to stifle. Maybe Kelsey joined some political fringe group and got in over her head, Marlee thought as she scanned through the hits on her Internet search.

  Her quick research assignment revealed that a green card was a requirement if Kelsey sought to legally live and work in the United States until she could apply to become a naturalized citizen. Seeking asylum, on the other hand, required an insurmountable number of forms and jumping through hoops to demonstrate persecution in the applicant’s home country.

  After finishing off the pot of coffee, Marlee felt more tired than rejuvenated. She stretched out on the couch and covered herself with a fleece kittycat blanket made for her by a friend. Pippa, who’d remained in bed up until this point, sauntered into the living room and jumped up on Marlee’s stomach. She stretched, turned in circles, and then laid down for a snooze. When Marlee awoke three hours later, Pippa was gone, and Kelsey was in the bathroom. Minutes later, her houseguest emerged from the bathroom, fresh from a shower.

  “Good mornin’, Marlee. I slept like a lamb last night. Thank you again for putting me up,” Kelsey said, her eyes sparkling and a wide smile on her cherubic face. “I’m a bit concerned about your cat. She seems to have taken a dislike to me. She doesn’t bite, does she?”

  “She might,” Marlee said with a chuckle as she remembered the number of friends and family members who were frightened of the fluffy gray cat. “Just stay out of her way and don’t tease her. She’ll still hate you, but if you ignore her, she’ll ignore you.”

  “Forgive me for asking, but why do you keep her if she’s so mean?”

  “She’s not mean to me. Well, not usually. Pippa’s actually sweet and cuddly most of the time, but she’s very attached to me and doesn’t like other people. She’s territorial and does her best to scare everyone away.”

  Kelsey gave Marlee a quizzical look but said nothing. She retreated into the guest room, reappearing a minute later fully dressed. Her hair, still wet, was a tangled mass of auburn curls. From experience, Marlee knew Kelsey’s hair would get bigger and wilder as the day went on. Along with jeans, Kelsey had wisely chosen a navy wool cardigan buttoned over a white t-shirt. The thermometer outside the living room window registered minus-twelve degrees when Marlee settled in for her nap, a reading that didn’t factor in the wind chill.

  “Can you take me to apply for asylum? I was hoping we could go today.” Kelsey plopped on the couch, completely oblivious to the fact that Marlee might have better things to do than drive her hundreds of miles on a bitterly cold day.

  “I think we need to talk about this a bit before we do anything. Why are you seeking asylum here in the U.S.?”

  “I can’t tell you everything because I don’t want to put you in danger. But I can tell you that I have some information that somebody doesn’t want anyone else to know,” Kelsey said with a firm shake of her head, as if that settled the matter.

  “And who is this person?”

  “I can’t tell you that, Marlee. What I know could get me killed, and if I tell you or anyone else, it could mean death for you or them too.”

  Marlee sighed. “Just because you’re scared of someone doesn’t mean you can seek asylum in another country. You understand that, right?”

  Kelsey leapt to her feet. “Of all people, I thought you’d understand! I couldn’t depend on my Ma or my Da, but I thought you’d believe me. I guess I’m all alone now.” She whirled out of the living room and entered the guest room, slamming the door behind her. Pippa strolled by the closed guest room door and hissed before moving on to her food dish in the kitchen.

  Marlee rolled her eyes at Kelsey’s dramatic exit. She had yet to determine if Kelsey had a legitimate reason for seeking asylum in the country. So far, it sounded as if someone had threatened Kelsey, and she had come to the U.S. Whether she was actually scared or just using it as an excuse to get away from her parents was another issue. But why would s
he come to Elmwood, South Dakota? Kelsey was starstruck and dreamed of meeting actors in Hollywood. No one famous lives here.

  Now starving, Marlee went to the kitchen to see what she had for breakfast. She’d been gone for a month, so there was nothing in the fridge. When she opened the freezer, she was delighted to find a package of bacon, a partial loaf of bread, and a container of orange juice concentrate. Not ideal, but the provisions would do in a pinch.

  The frying bacon brought Kelsey out of her room ten minutes later. “I’m sorry I yelled at you, especially since you’re letting me stay here.” She looked at the floor, doing her best to look contrite.

  “Grab some plates from the cupboard.” Marlee motioned with a toss of her head. “The utensils are in the drawer by the stove.” She chose to table the topic of Kelsey’s reason for coming to the U.S. for the time being. After a good breakfast and some aimless chit-chat, the house guest might be more amenable to Marlee’s questions.

  Marlee’s instincts were right in this instance. After breakfast, the two women chatted amiably about the differences in weather, culture, and education between their two countries. Before long, they were laughing about the bone-chilling temperatures in South Dakota. “When will it get warm here?”

  “It’s colder than normal right now. Usually by this time, it’s in the low 40s. This is more typical of January than March. It should warm up soon, although we can have a blizzard or two as late as the end of April,” Marlee shuddered, remembering the severe spring snowstorms she’d seen in just the past few years. She’d lived in a second-floor apartment before buying her house, and the snow drifts during one storm reached the balcony and completely snowed in the front door to the building.

  A quiet calm passed between the two, and Marlee held her tongue, waiting for Kelsey to speak. She had the feeling if she didn’t push the issue, Kelsey would open up about the trouble she was in and what brought her to Elmwood.