by P. K. Abbot
He is staring up at me, his eyes now wide with terror. He has the look of a gazelle whose throat is in the jaws of a leopard. He can clearly see what is about to happen to him, but he is powerless to do anything about it.
I’m beginning to enjoy myself.
Chapter 5
It was now early morning, near the end of Riley’s shift, when activity in the bar had slowed and Céline came down to Riley’s end of the bar to see how he was doing.
She smiled at him and asked, “What does Detective Riley do after work? Do you look for a party in the casino?”
“No. I’ll leave the partying to you.”
“If only that were true,” she laughed. “Before I had married, I might’ve looked for a party. But no more. Now, it’s home to bed for a few hours until my little boy wakes up.”
“How old is he?” Riley asked.
“Nathaniel just turned eight. He’s been out of school for two weeks now, and I don’t know what I’m going to do with him for the summer,” Céline said.
“Why? It’s not as if there’s nothing to do here.”
“I’ve taken him to the beach, but he’s tired of that now. And it’s not as if I can take him into the casinos.”
Riley gave her a quizzical look. “There are lots of things that a kid would like here.”
“Like what?” she asked.
“Have you taken him to see Lucy?”
“Who’s Lucy?” Céline asked.
“Lucy is a sixty foot tall building, shaped like an elephant. It’s a hundred years old, and it sits next to the beach in Margate. You can go inside the elephant. An eight year-old kid would love it.”
“Huh,” Céline said. “I never knew it was there.”
“Well, I’d be happy to take you and Nathaniel. We could go tomorrow afternoon before work.”
“You mean like a play date?” she asked.
He smiled at her and chuckled. “Yeah, I guess.”
She looked away from him and shook her head. “I don’t know,” she said.
“Why not?”
“I don’t want to mix work with pleasure.”
“I only meant it as a friend,” he said.
“A friend. As in friends with benefits?” Céline asked.
Riley looked down at his hands and shook his head. “Maybe this was a bad idea,” he said. “We can forget the whole thing.”
“I’m glad we have an understanding then,” Céline said. “I don’t want you to get the wrong idea. I don’t want you to think that the play date is with me. I don’t want to become one of your divorced or widowed friends with benefits, Riley.”
The color was rising in Riley’s face. He turned away from her, lifted his drink to his lips, and drained its contents. “I’m glad we have an understanding then,” he said.
At that moment, a massive lightning bolt struck nearby and caused the lights in the casino to surge. The light drizzle from the early evening had turned into a punishing downpour. Lightning strikes soon followed quick one after another, and thunder rattled the inside of the casino.
When the woman walked into the bar, everyone turned and stared at her. She was holding a sopping wet newspaper. She wore a low-cut red dress and cheap stiletto heels which left a trail of water as she walked across the floor. There were black streaks under her eyes. They could have come either from her mascara or from the newspaper if she had used it as an umbrella in the rain.
She walked up to the bar and picked up a cocktail napkin. She began dabbing her face and neck with the napkin.
Céline retrieved a clean towel from under the bar and handed it to the woman.
“There’s a ladies’ room around the corner. If you’d like to fix yourself up in there, I can watch your things.”
“Thank you.” The woman spoke with a strong Eastern European accent.
“Can I pour you a drink while you’re gone?”
“Just water, please.”
The woman took two steps away from the bar, then stopped. She looked back towards Céline and asked, “The water? It’s free?”
Céline stared at her and said, “Yes. There’s no charge for the water.”
The woman nodded to Céline, turned, and walked around the corner to the ladies’ room.
When she returned, the black streaks under her eyes were gone. She had a broad, friendly face, but her complexion was pale and blotchy. She had shoulder length, blonde hair, but it was soaked and it dripped water onto her dress. She was a muscular woman with rough and calloused hands.
She sat at the bar, in front of the water which Céline that poured for her. At first, she did not make eye contact with anyone. She just stared at the bar. Then she looked toward Riley and smiled at him. He smiled back at her.
“Can I buy you a real drink?” Riley asked.
She seemed a little embarrassed. “Thank you,” she said, “but just a Coke.”
Céline had heard her. She poured the Coke and set it down next to Riley. The woman moved over to sit there.
The woman did not speak for a few moments. Then she turned toward Riley. When she looked at him again, he could see that her face was flushed.
She laid her hand on his newspaper and asked “Are you alone?”
“Yes.”
“You seem nice,” she said. “Would you like a date tonight?”
Riley looked at her. “What do you have in mind?” he asked.
“We can go to your room.”
She was playing with the ends of her hair. Then she looked down. Her cheeks were becoming more flushed. Riley said nothing. He decided to wait her out.
“You’ll have to pay first,” she said without looking at him. “Two hundred dollars.”
“I’m sorry,” Riley sighed.
“Is it too much?”
“It’s just not your night.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I’m a detective, and I have to arrest you for solicitation.”
“No, no, no,” she wailed.
Riley stood up and got out his phone.
Céline came over to him and said, “This bar is inside the casino, so all Wi-Fi is blocked. You’ll have to walk out to the lobby to make a call.”
“Thanks,” he said. “I need to call the desk sergeant, but I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
He took out his handcuffs and was about to put them on the woman when Céline said, “You don’t need to do that. I’ll keep an eye on her while you’re gone. She won’t go away.”
“Okay,” he said. Then he left the bar and headed toward the lobby.
Celine took a bottle of cognac from the top shelf and poured a double for the sobbing woman.
“I can’t pay for that,” the woman said.
“It’s on me.”
“Why are you so kind to me?”
“You don’t look like you’ve done this before.”
“I haven’t,” the woman sniffled.
“What’s your name, hon?”
“Yuliya… Yuliya Novak.”
“Why are you doing this, Yuliya?”
“I need money to pay my rent.”
“How come?”
“My boss cut my hours. He wanted to sleep with me, but I wouldn’t do it. I’m broke.”
Céline placed her hand over Yuliya’s. “It’ll get better,” she said.
Yuliya started sobbing uncontrollably now. “But I don’t know what’s going to happen to my little boy now.”
“Can’t your husband or mother take care of him?”
“I don’t have a husband, and my family’s in Poland.”
“There’s nobody?”
Yuliya just shook her head no.
“Do you have a picture of him?”
Yuliya nodded as she dabbed her eyes with a napkin. She took her phone from her purse and found a video of her son. “Here he is.”
He was a little mixed-race boy, about eight years old, with Down’s syndrome. He was running, trailing a red superhero cape behind him and holding up a pendant t
oward the camera. He was beaming.
“Oh, he’s so cute,” Céline said. “What’s his name?”
“Aleksander. But I call him Zander.” Yuliya was smiling now through her tears.
“He’s so happy,” Céline said. “What is he holding in the picture?”
“It’s a pendant. I gave it to him for his birthday. It’s just like mine.” Yuliya held up her own pendant. It was a silver-plated bird on a chain.
“Is that an eagle?” Céline asked.
“It’s a falcon. A Polish falcon. He was so happy to get it. He never takes it off.’ Yuliya started crying again. “I don’t know what’s going to happen to him if I go to jail.”
Riley came back from the lobby and took Yuliya by her elbow. “We need to go,” he said.
“Hold off, Riley,” Céline said. “She’s not a professional. She’s doing it because she needs her rent money.”
He stared at Céline for a long moment. “Let me do my job, Céline. I can’t become involved.”
“But she has a kid, Riley.” She held up Yuliya’s phone so that Riley could see Zander’s video.
Seeing the boy and knowing what would happen to him in the system stirred something that Riley had tamped down for years. He glared angrily at Céline. “Dammit,” he said.
“You’re doing the right thing, Riley,” Céline said.
Riley turned to Yuliya and said, “I’ll let you go… for the boy’s sake.”
“Thank you,” she said. She turned away from Riley and started crying.
“What’s wrong,” Riley asked.
“I still need my rent money.”
“I need another waitress. I can hire you here,” Céline said.
“But I need the money before tomorrow.”
“Dammit,” Riley said. He took out his wallet. “Here. You asked for two hundred. I’m giving you three. That’s another hundred for an emergency.”
Yuliya started to cry again. “Thank you,” she said.
Then Riley pulled out one of his old business cards. He crossed out the phone number for the police department, and he wrote his cell phone number on the card. Then he handed it to Yuliya. “Here,” he said. “If you need help, call me before you do something that hurts your boy.”
He looked at Céline now. “I’m already three hundred in the hole. This is turning out to be a great job.”
“You’re doing the right thing, Riley.” Céline smiled at him. Then she said to him, “Riley?”
“Yeah?”
“Are you still interested in a play date?”
“Sure.”
“Then pick Nathaniel up at noon.”
“And what about Nathaniel’s mom?”
She grinned at him and said, “She’ll be ready then too.” Then she leaned over the bar and kissed him on the cheek.
“Great,” he replied. “Come on, Yuliya. I’ll take you home.”
As Yuliya slid off her barstool, her stiletto snapped under her weight.
Riley started laughing. “Oh, that’s not good. Here, let me help,” he said. He slipped his arm around her waist, and she held onto him. As she hobbled out of the bar, she looked at him, and they both burst out laughting.
Miss Texas had watched the whole exchange.
Chapter 6
I’ve been watching this new, little boy for half an hour now. It’s impossible to miss him. He’s wearing a red, polyester cape as he flits from one sordid derelict to another. A little, mixed-race boy with Down’s Syndrome, he’s handing out sandwiches and hugs.
A heroin addict has staked out a few square feet under the highway overpass. He’s covered his eyes with a purple bandana and spread newspapers over himself to keep warm as he nods off. A wasted human amid a pile of refuse.
The little boy go over to him. “Hey, Mister, wanna peanut butter sammich?”
“Got a Coke?”
“Naw, just the sammich.”
“Keep it.”
“How ’bout a hug then?”
“Get lost, kid!”
Tears roll down the little boy’s cheeks. He just stands there. He doesn’t know what to do. He’s just too innocent. Too good to be in this place.
I walk over to him and kneel so I can look into his eyes.
“Hey, young man!” I say. “Why don’t we buy some drinks for your sandwiches? You pick out the flavors, and I’ll pay for them. What do you say?”
I hold out my hand to him, and he takes it. He smiles at me. It’s an angelic smile – filled with innocence, trust, and love.
I smile back at him and think, “Children truly are God’s gift to us.”
Chapter 7
Riley had to drive back to Atlantic City from his home in Wildwood – about forty-five minutes away. It was late morning when he arrived at Céline’s apartment, bleary-eyed but cheerful. The ground was saturated, but the storm front that brought the previous night’s deluge had pushed up the coast and away from the city. The sun had peaked through the clouds in early morning and was now shining bright. It was a promising day.
Riley had gotten out of the car to get Céline, but, before he could jog around the front of his car, she had burst through her front door and was flying down the walkway toward him. She looked beautiful in a petite white sundress and cotton bolero sweater. With every step, her ash blonde hair swirled about her neck, and her smile became more radiant.
“I’m so happy the weather cleared up,” she said. “We’re going to have fun today.”
“Yeah, I think so.” He smiled at her and opened his arms to hug her.
Her smile faded a little from her face, and she placed her hand on his chest to keep them at a distance. “Uh, not in front of him, okay?” She nodded behind her with her head.
Riley looked down the path to where she had nodded, and he saw Nathaniel. He was about ten years old, but small for his age. He trudged down the path toward them, and Riley could feel the anger seeping out of him.
“Aren’t you excited to see the elephant, honey?” Céline asked.
“I don’t want to go to new stinky zoo,” he said as he stomped along.
“It’s not a zoo,” Riley said. “The elephant is made from wood. It’s huge, and you can climb inside it.” Nathaniel had his head down and his arms folded as he came closer. “And besides,” Riley said, “the only stinky thing there is going to be you.”
“Not funny,” Nathaniel said. Nathaniel still had his head down, but Riley could see that he was laughing as he climbed into the back seat of the car.
Within fifteen minutes, they had driven through most of Margate, the little town adjacent to the southern end of Atlantic City. Riley turned the car toward the ocean and could soon see the elephant. “There’s Lucy,” he said.
Nathaniel’s eyes grew as big as saucers. “Wow,” he said, “she’s really big.”
“Yes, she is. She’s about sixty-five feet tall and almost that long,” Riley said.
Riley pulled up to the curb alongside the elephant. Nathaniel couldn’t look away from Lucy. She was massive. She stood on four stout legs at the edge of the beach and looked out toward the ocean. She was sculpted of wood and covered with grey tin. Long white tusks curved up in front of her. An immense hookah basket sat on her back and served as an observation platform. Windows were cut into her eyes and into various points along her body.
With schools closed for the summer, scores of children and their parents milled about the attraction. Céline and Nathaniel followed Riley, who walked past the line for tickets. The lady inside the ticket booth waved Riley through without a ticket. “Thank you, Ethel,” he said. “Stay safe.” She smiled at him.
“Wow,” Céline said, “you really have pull. I’m impressed, Riley.”
“One of the perks of being a cop,” he said.
“Or maybe it’s the reward for being a nice guy.”
“Maybe,” he said. They smiled at each other. “Hey, Nathaniel, if you want to go inside, you have to go to Lucy’s backside. Come on.” The three of them wal
ked to the back of the elephant.
Nathaniel looked up and saw a window just below Lucy’s tail. A kid was standing in the window and waving at them. Nathaniel waved back. “Hey, look at that kid, Riley. You see where he’s standing? He’s in Lucy’s poop shoot.” Nathaniel started laughing at his own exceedingly witty comment.
Riley chuckled and smiled at Nathaniel. “You should go join him.”
“Why?”
“Because turds of a feather flock together.”
Nathaniel belly-laughed, but Céline cuffed Riley on the arm and exclaimed, “Riley! Are you ten years old again?”
“I think I’ve always been ten years old.” He smiled at her, and she shook her head and laughed. “Hey, Nathaniel, here’s the way inside.” Riley opened the door in the elephant’s back leg, and the little boy ran inside.
Céline and Riley followed Nathaniel into the elephant, but he was far ahead of them. When they started up the spiral staircase, he was already at the top and running into the room at the top of the stairs and leaving them alone on the staircase.
“Will he be all right?” Céline asked.
“He’ll be fine. There’s just one large room on the other side of the door.”
She seemed relieved. Halfway up the staircase she stopped and turned around to face him. “This has turned out to be such a lovely day, Riley. Nathaniel is enjoying himself so much. I want to tell you I appreciate what you’re doing for us today and what you did for Yuliya last night. You’ve been sweet. Thank you, Riley.” She bent down and kissed him softly on the cheek.
He took a step up the staircase and wrapped his arms around her to draw her closer to him. She placed her hand on his chest and pushed back slightly. “Oh,” she said, “I’m sending you the wrong message. I’m not interested in romance. I just wanted to thank you for your kindness, Riley. Can we just be friends?”
“Just friends?”
“Yes. Just friends…” Then he could see a smile creep into the corner of her mouth, as she added, “…without benefits.”
He laughed and smiled at her. “I suppose I earned that after last night. I can be your friend.”
“Good. Let’s see what Nathaniel is doing.” She bent down once more and gave him another quick peck on the cheek. Then she spun around and ran up the stairs and into the room.
