“Yeah. But that’s because of your old man. They’re tight. Besides, Carlito likes you.”
“Ah, it’s all in your head Rafi. Carlito’s OK. But you’re right. I wouldn’t want to fuck with him either. I heard he got his tats in prison.”
“Yeah, I heard the same thing. But my Papa says never bring that up, so believe me, I don’t.”
Just then a cute little girl in a bright pink dress and long black hair came bounding down the little hill in the public park at full speed and Adam barely had time to steady himself for her leap into his arms.
Rafi looked on smiling but said he’d catch Adam later and took off, leaving this adorable little “world of trouble” to his younger cousin.
Adam turned to her, “Damn, girl you’re getting so big now. And so pretty. When did you get all grown up? You married yet?”
“No, silly I’m not old enough. Least that’s what Papa says. You said ‘damn’; that’s naughty. That’s what mommy says.”
“Really? Well, I better behave myself then or your mommy won’t let me ever, ever see you again. Then I would be very sad.”
“I won’t tell on you then. I promise.” The child was so pretty, so full of life and everyone’s favorite bundle of energy.
“Where’s your Papa by the way? I wanted to talk to him about fishin’.”
“Fishin’? Eeeewww. That’s messy. That’s what my mommy says.”
“She here?”
“No. She said she wasn’t feelin’ good, so she stayed home to rest. Maybe she will next time. That’s what she said.”
Just then a great hulk of a man came down the hill from where the family had gathered, the men obligatorily talking with the men and the women doing all the cooking and set up. The man was sleeved with tats from fingers to neck, and his short crew cut made him look military. And, as Adam noted, a little scary come to think of it.
“So, you came this time Adam.” He said as he approached. “And I see you found my little girl who knows better than to run off without telling her Papa where she is going. Even to see her favorite cousin.” Carlos could look stern and as scary as Rafi said but he was softer than putty in the hands of his little angel.
“Sorry, Papa. I won’t do it again. I promise.” Then she jumped down from Adam’s arms and ran away up the hill. She stopped, turned around and said, “Till next time I mean.” She giggled that irrepressible giggle that only children can do and flitted off toward in the direction of nowhere in particular. All eyes were on this precocious little eight-year-old but most wondered how her deeply religious and spiritual mom ever got involved with her ex-con father. If there was an answer, it wasn’t shared with the kids. Everyone knew better than to annoy Carlos Alarcon, late of Oaxaca, Mexico.
Adam turned to his uncle and asked “Is tia here?”
“No, she couldn’t come today.” Carlos preferred to avoid the subject of his wife, whenever possible.
“Still hates Dad, I suppose.”
“I suppose. But she doesn’t hate you. Why don’t you swing by some time? She gets terribly lonely and I know she’d like to visit with you.”
“She goin’ to Mass tomorrow? We can meet there and maybe she can bring me over to your place afterward.”
“I’ll find out and let you know. Tia doesn’t miss Mass, at least not when you’re in town. I don’t suppose your Dad is going too.”
“Dad and Mass in the same sentence. Maybe if you go.”
“Nah, I think we’re going fly fishing in the morning. Early. Real early.” They both laughed. Adam knew what that meant and fishin' was only part of what these two would be up to.
Edward couldn’t be dragged to any church and Carlos held a well-known grudge against the Church. Dead folk and weddings were about the extent of Edward’s church going, which he did, however, take very seriously. Edward’s adopted Seattle family was large and his obligations to them many, so he made the trip between Barrows Bay and Seattle often. He was active with his extended family in Seattle and environs, as he was back in Barrows Bay. He did miss a lot of events but not the important ones for his family favorites. The smaller group of the original families that came to the United States and settled in the Seattle area, along with two families in Barrows Bay, were informally called the Eight Families.
Later, as brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, cousins and strays eventually found their way up north, Edward and the Eight Families would welcome them, find them jobs and help them start fresh. All they asked in return was for the new arrivals to not get involved in any of the old family businesses or any bad habits from Mexico and to stay connected to Church and family. There were a lot of characters in the Eight Families and each had a place.
Everyone in the Eight Families knew Edward and he remembered each of them by name and occupation. He could recount the names of spouses, children and relations. And they knew him, some from the old days in Oaxaca, but most from more recently. They liked him, made time for him and were a little afraid of him. They had no objective reason to be afraid of Edward, but the fact remained that Edward unsettled people. They did not always know why.
Stories had circulated for years though and not all cast Edward in a positive light. There had been incidents, both in Oaxaca and in LA, which had been rumored for years. For those who did not know him well, it was a reason to be cautious. For those who did know him well, Edward was a saint with a sinner’s past.
Edward traveled a lot generally, and was, in past years, gone every summer with Rod and Adam for work at archeological digs around the world. But he knew how to write a letter, send a card and pick up the phone. Edward had the odd behavior of saving every birthday card, Christmas card and announcement he ever received from family. Kept them in boxes by dates and stored them in the basement.
He still looked at them from time to time but neither Rod nor Adam knew why. If Maria or Agustin knew, they never said.
Carlos turned to walk back up the hill and go find Edward. Carlos was Edward’s closest friend in the Eight Families, and in life, but Carlito’s relationship with the rest of the Eight Families had never been particularly close. At least not after their arrival in America some twenty years earlier. Carlos kept to himself, did not work in the food distribution business run by the Eight Families and was married to his childhood sweetheart from the old country.
Soledad, Carlos’ wife, a slight and tiny woman, was somewhat younger than her husband. She had been vehemently against the move to Seattle and the United States from the very beginning. She had no desire to emigrate, leave Mexico or live in a country that didn’t even know how to play futbol. Carlos would eventually inherit the big colonial house in Oaxaca, now a B&B, and their lives would be happy. When the time came to decide about moving with all his childhood friends and family, she said no. Carlos said yes and that’s where the discussion ended. They moved to the United States, had a baby daughter and lived comfortably off the earnings Carlos brought home from his landscaping business. Soledad’s health was never good but most chalked that up to a miserable marriage and life in a country she absolutely detested.
Adam followed Carlos up the hill toward the men gathered around Edward when he spotted his little prima in the bright pink dress walking alone and picking wild flowers. She had worked her way back down the hill and a good distance from the rest of the family gathering. She was not paying attention and was all by herself.
An older boy, a teen, came up to her, said something and then followed close behind her as she turned away from him and back toward the family picnic. Adam could see him saying something loudly to her, but he was too far away to hear what was being said. Adam didn’t like the looks of what he was seeing so he started off back down the hill in her direction, just in case.
Suddenly and for no apparent reason, the girl threw her flowers down on the ground, hard, and started walking away quickly and with determination. The boy reacted by kicking the girl’s right foot into her left from behind, a chil
d’s trick, causing her to fall down on the sidewalk, knees and hands hitting the concrete sidewalk first.
Adam caught up to the two, just as the teen turned away, heading back for the street.
Adam was furious at what he had just seen, which put him in a mood. Something inside him snapped. It had happened once before, and recently.
Chapter 32
The little girl was now on the sidewalk crying with skinned up palms and knees. Adam was not happy to see his little cousin in this way and wondered what had just happened. When he finally got to her, Adam noticed that the boy was about thirteen or fourteen, bigger than he appeared at a distance with a pimply complexion and a dour face.
“What happened here?” he shouted at the teen as the little girl stretched out her arms to Adam, so he could pick her up. The big sobs had ceased and a more controlled whimpering set in. The child was hurt but just scratches. It hurt a lot, he was sure, but it looked even worse.
The boy turned to Adam, and said, “Who the fuck are you, you little shit? It’s none of your business, so just beat it before I kick your ass.”
“You think you’re going to kick my ass after you just tripped my girlfriend. What makes you think?” Adam sized up the kid quickly, realizing he posed no danger to him even though the kid was older and a lot bigger.
His little cousin had stopped crying and was now hugging Adam tightly as he held her, her back to the young thug.
“Yeah, she looks like your speed. Stupid shit little girl. For all I know, she fell down. So, fuck off.” He began to walk off again.
By then Rafi and three or four older cousins were down at the scene and a couple of random kids playing soccer stopped to watch what was going on.
“Stay right where you are there, gordito.” Adam said, setting the little girl down so he could find out what she had to say. The boy kept going but was beginning to see there were more of them than there was of him. Rafi blocked his way. So, did the rest of Adam’s assembled cousins.
Adam turned to the girl, “Sweetie, honey, are you alright. What happened?”
“My knee knees hurt. A lot Adam.” He could see in her face that she was trying to be brave, but she was skinned up pretty good and she was about to start crying again.
“It’s all right now sweetie, it’s gonna be OK. I’m here and this jerk won’t bother you again. I promise.”
“’Cause you’re my boyfriend? Like you just said to him?”
“Yes, ‘cause you’re my girl and I gotta protect my girl from gorditos like this. Tell me what happened.”
“He said something to me. Him.” She pointed at the boy but didn’t look at his face. “I didn’t understand him, so I kept picking my flowers. I thought he’d go away and leave me alone. But he didn’t and kept walking toward me. But he said something else and he was scaring me, so I threw down my pretty flowers and asked him to leave me alone. Just like Mama and Papa told me to do.”
“What did he say?”
“He used bad words and some words I don’t know. He wasn’t being very nice. So, I told him to go away. Then he tripped me, and I fell on the sidewalk. Then you came.”
“Sweetie, I know this is hard, really hard for you, but you need to tell me what words he said to you. Can you do that? Do you remember them?”
The little girl did not want to repeat the words out loud, with all the boys around and she was still a little frightened of the pimply teen.
So, she said “Can I whisper them to you. They are very bad words. Please, I don’t want to say them out loud in front of everyone. Mama would be mad if I did.”
“Of course. Just whisper them right here in my ear.” Adam bent down and let the girl explain what the boy said. Then he said, “That was very brave of you and I’m very proud of you.”
“Do you love me Adam? You said I was your girlfriend to him, does that mean you love me?” Her eyes were glistening with tears, but she looked so serious and so fragile, like the rest of what had just happened hardly mattered. In that moment, all she could see was Adam, holding her, smiling at her and protecting her.
“Yes, I do; you know I do. And you’ll always be my girlfriend. Forever. But right now, I must do something and so I need you to be brave and hold my hand for just a minute more. Then we’ll go back to the picnic. OK? Do you think you can do that for me?”
“If you say so. I think so. What are you going to do, Adam?”
“Nuthin’ for you to worry about, sweetie.”
Chapter 33
Adam rose slowly, his mind now skipping ahead to what he was certain he was just about to do. He thought he’d better get to it quickly, as he knew the parents at the picnic would have their parental, trouble smelling kid radar on, designed to spot their kids about to get themselves into mischief. So, Adam looked off in the distance and saw a few stares but no one moving in his direction.
Adam looked at the boy, and began, “Do you know how old this little girl is? Can you even guess?”
“Don’t know, don’t fucking care. What’s your point? I didn’t do nuthin’. The little bitch is fine. Maybe she’s just clumsy.” The boy was staring Adam down, confident that if there was a scuffle, he would clean this kid’s clock. He easily had four inches and forty pounds on him. Maybe more.
“What you said to her wasn’t very nice, was it? It was crude and very mean to a child who probably didn’t understand a single word you said. That’s good for you in this case, but, still, you shouldn’t have said anything like that to her.” Adam stood, staring back at the oaf, “So apologize to her. Right now!”
“Yeah, right. Like I’m going to apologize to some little cunt just to make you happy? No fucking way. Get lost before I kick your ass.”
Adam continued, “You pushed her down too. She skinned her knees and hands. You made her cry. What are you going to do about that?”
“Uh. Nuthin’ you little faggot. I’m going to walk away unless you and your faggot friends try to stop me. And, if they do, I’m callin’ the cops. Comprende?” The latter wasn’t spoken with respect but out of pure ignorance and malice.
“OK, OK. I just wanted to get all the facts straight. You disrespected my girlfriend, hurt her and then made her cry. Now you refuse to apologize to her. Is that about, right?”
Adam was addressing the boy, but the little girl started to answer, then realized Adam wasn’t speaking to her. She whispered very low and quietly, “Sorry”.
The kid stood there, nothing to say and waiting for someone to make the first move. Or back off.
Adam looked over to Rafi and asked “Can you please hold Misti’s hand? I have something I need to do.”
Rafi looked at Adam and knew exactly what Adam was going to do. He said, “Adam. Think this through. You need to stay out of this. I’ll take care of the kid. We don’t need any trouble. You don’t need any trouble.”
“Rafi, will you please hold Misti’s hand. And when this starts, can you take her back up the hill. She doesn’t need to see what’s comin’ next.”
“Are you fucking crazy, Adam? We are all going to get it and your Dad will go ape-fucking-shit. We can’t do this here and now. Later. We’ll find this fuck later. Then we’ll take care of it. So, please, I’m askin’ you man, please don’t do this.”
Adam was long past listening to Rafi, his father or even Uncle Carlos. Not even his little cousin Misti could communicate with him now. Adam was in another zone; another dark place and his gaze and mind were singularly focused.
“Misti sweetie,” Adam said. Please take cousin Rafi’s hand. Then start back up the hill to see your Papa. Can you do that for me if I ask real nice and say please? Pleeeaaassse.”
“You’re scaring me, Adam. I don’t want to hold cousin Rafi’s hand. I want to hold your hand. Please take me back to my Papa. Please. I’m scared.”
“Sorry honey, I can’t do that right now, but I will in a second. Can you start up the hill by yourself? I’ll be right behind you.”
Eight-year-old Misti looked up at her boyfriend-cousin and bravely said, “If you don’t go, I won’t go. If you are going to do something, then I want to stay and watch.”
“I understand, sweetie. And you are brave. Very brave which is the main reason I love you so much.” Adam smiled and Misti blushed.
Adam turned to the kid and said, “We can end this right here and right now. Tell my girlfriend that you are sorry for what you said and even sorrier for what you did. Do it now and we all walk away.”
The kid, still defiant, said “Or what? You gonna tell your mommy? Fuck off you little punk, I’m leavin.’”
Whatever hadn’t already snapped in Adam’s troubled brain, snapped at that moment.
“If you won’t apologize then I’ll take you up on your offer to ‘kick my ass.’”
The young thug wasn’t stupid and knew he was outnumbered. “Why, so your friends can finish beating on me when I’m done with you?”
“Nope. A fair fight just you and me and everyone else agrees to leave you alone, no matter who walks away. Rafi, you make sure.”
Rafi said, “I will, but we’re all in for it now. I’ll get Misti outta here.”
“Now you won’t. I’m going to watch.” The tears were gone and Misti didn’t seem at all frightened any more. Whether she was truly a brave little girl or something else had just happened with her young psyche, who knew. But she didn’t leave, and she didn’t cry. She watched with avid interest, just like the boys.
Adam took off his windbreaker and began circling the kid. The kid stood his ground, not believing his luck. Next to the girl, this dope was the smallest one in the crowd. This should be quick and painful. For the dope.
The big kid decided to bull rush Adam and swung wildly as he charged. The big kid had been in plenty of fights growing up and knew how to take a punch and get up. He did not, however, get a second swing, as Adam avoided the punch, stepped to the side and kicked him in the gut, stopping him cold, and doubling him over. As the kid caught his breath, Adam put him in an arm lock, applying downward pressure against his elbow. The kid was in obvious pain as Adam repositioned him so he, Adam, could look up the hill and see if anyone was coming. He saw his Dad and Carlos walking with purpose in down the hill directly toward him. Adam decided to end it quickly.
Discovery Page 51
