She took another bite of her fruit salad. Dipped a piece of cantaloupe into strawberry yogurt.
“Knock, knock.” It was Tim from orientation. He was dressed as if he was working in the electronics section of his local Target: pleated khakis, a red polo, and a cell phone in a holder strapped to his brown belt. “Do you remember me?”
“Yeah, of course.” Lena wiped her mouth with the back of her hand in case any yogurt was lingering around the corners.
“So, we’ve been thrilled with your results. You have a wonderful memory, an incredible tolerance,” he said, smiling. She could tell he was very pleased. “We would love to officially invite you to be a part of Lakewood.”
“Lakewood?” Lena asked as if she hadn’t heard the name before, as if it hadn’t been hinted at all the time.
Tim poured them both coffee. “You would be working more with Dr. Lisa. The two of you seem to have connected.” His smile widened. Lena gripped her knees beneath the table. His tone, the expressions on his face made her wary. Why did he feel the need to sell her on this? They had to know she was desperate for money. Whatever they wanted her to do would have to be much worse than the things that had happened this week.
Slowly, Lena said that while Dr. Lisa was great, she cared much more about what she would be doing in this project.
“That’s a great question.”
“It wasn’t a question.”
“We like what a straight shooter you are.”
And that was another lie. Here she had made an effort to be soft. It hadn’t been conscious most of the time, but she had been eager to make a good impression on everyone.
Lakewood was the name of a small town about two and a half hours north of Lena and Deziree’s home. Tim explained they were building an “undercover site” there. “We’ll have what looks like a regular job set up for you, but you’ll be doing research studies most of the time. You’ll get a free place to stay, generous health insurance for you and your mom, and we pay very, very well.”
He handed Lena a contract, flipped to the page with the amount of money she would be paid.
“It’s not a typo. And of course, complete health coverage for your entire family. Nothing paid out of pocket.”
On the money line was an amount so big that it embarrassed Lena. Below that were the terms of a new nondisclosure agreement. Potential jail time. Up to a million dollars in damages as decided by a federal judge’s ruling. A section detailing the amount of money she—or her designated beneficiaries—would receive depending on what happened to her. If she died, $100,000. For sustained brain damage or neurocognitive issues, $75,000. Smaller amounts for blindness, irreversible changes to her appearance. If she lost a foot, $15,000.
“How could I lose a foot?”
“Oh, our lawyers have to think of every possibility, you know, liabilities. You got to be one hundred percent protected in this business.”
“I see.”
It was the healthcare. Her mom could start getting Botox again for her migraines, go to the recommended physical therapist. She could always afford her medication and being hospitalized again. A new wheelchair or cane for when she was having episodes. No more negotiating with Miss Shaunté about when she was getting paid. Lena could give her mom something her grandma couldn’t: a stable life. Routine. If Tim wasn’t staring directly at Lena, she would have teared up with relief. Still, a big sigh of relief puffed out of her mouth.
“Right?” Tim said. “I know, it can be overwhelming. But this is life changing.” He started talking about how much better the country would be if everyone could have access to health insurance. And wasn’t it a shame that the true health insurance was being nice to people online and hoping something so dramatic and interesting happened people would buy into the story and get invested enough to give you money? He was talking and talking, but it felt to Lena like he was doing a magic trick. Pay attention to the things my mouth is saying, how wetly I’m talking; don’t watch my hands, don’t ask where the quarter came from, don’t look closely to see whether it’s real.
Lena flipped the page and signed.
Back at home, Lena’s mom was in the kitchen looking at paint samples she had taped to the walls. Mint, Cash, Mid-Spring Leaf, Toxic Waste, Palm Tree Leaf, Bottle.
“What feels the luckiest to you?” Deziree asked.
“All of these say the longest weekend of our lives. Painting, taping, cleaning.”
Deziree turned, about to say something, then paused. Her eyes widened. “Are you okay? You look exhausted.”
“I think I’m coming down with something.”
“You look like you’ve lived a million years.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
Her mom made chicken soup. They sat side by side in Lena’s bed, watching TV. Lena rested her head against Deziree’s shoulder. On the phone, someone pretending to be Lena had said, “I love you, Mom,” every day. That person had conversations with Lena’s friends, sent them pictures and weird GIFs. No one had realized it wasn’t her. Deziree’s hair smelled like coconut, her skin: roses. It could be like this all the time soon.
On the phone, Dr. Lisa explained Lena’s cover position would be working for a trucking and warehouse company, Great Lakes Shipping Company. It would be a brand-new business in Lakewood. Floor 1 would look like a regular truck dispatch space with offices and cubicles and a warehouse. The second floor would have conference rooms and areas set up for the studies. The third floor and basement were off-limits.
“So, I have to learn how to be a dispatch operator?”
“No. Well, you’ll learn enough about it to have conversations. And every day, we’ll give you a card with what happened during your workday to use when you speak with friends and family.”
Deziree walked by, knocked on the door, and said, “Dinner in ten.”
All her coworkers, the ones in the office and the warehouse, would be in the experiments with her. Truck drivers would be dropping off and picking things up, but most of them would not be affiliated. Lena would have to be vigilant about how her actions appeared to others.
“Why have real truck drivers near this?”
“We’ve thought of everything, don’t worry about it.” The doctor cleared her throat. “The town is small, and people like to talk. We wish it could be simpler, but no one will believe you just moved to Lakewood.”
“What should I wear?”
“The town is small, and people like to talk,” Dr. Lisa repeated. “So dress like you’re going to church. Like you’re trying to impress someone’s mom. Ugh. As long as you don’t dress like you’re going to a club.”
Lena couldn’t tell if the doctor was stressed out or if she had sized her up and was having second thoughts about her maturity or her age—or maybe someone had forced her to make the hire. Everything she could think of to reassure Dr. Lisa seemed like it would only make the doctor certain Lena was a bad decision.
“Got it.”
“Here are your phrases for tomorrow. Silent butter. Corkscrew Idaho. Careless Regulations. Violet. The order is important this time.”
Lena repeated the phrases back once, twice.
“Great.”