Star Bright

by Christina OW

  Maria gasped. She lowered herself onto the seat, “he wouldn’t do that.” she whispered. She knew better than to believe her own words. Ricky was capable of anything especially now that he was out for revenge.

  “Why not, hurting Michael is the best way to hurt you?”

  “Nate is here, what’s it going to be Maria?” Tom asked gently.

  Maria looked up at him, then at Jane and her mother. She realized how stupid she was being letting her fear decide her fate. She needed to be courageous, if not for herself for Michael. Ricky would hurt Michael to get back at her. He already hit him once, why wouldn’t he do worse? He didn’t see Michael as a son, he saw him as his way to control Maria, and it had worked for years. Edna was right, Ricky wouldn’t stay behind bars for long, especially after he told the sheriff the truth about the fire.

  Without a word she jetted off the seat and rushed to the room Michael was sleeping in. She pulled out all of their things from the drawers and threw them onto the bed. Jane appeared behind her with a suitcase. She threw all the things already on the bed into the suitcase while Maria changed her clothes.

  Edna watched them from the door for a while before she went back to the living room. Tom was outside speaking to Nate. She picked up the phone and dialed a number she had called for years, just for the sake of listening to his voice, a few months ago for help, which she didn’t need anymore and again that night, to request for something he wouldn’t find impossible to give. He owed her, in more ways than one.

  “You need to come as soon as possible.... well the SOB isn’t dead, he’s like a roach.... no, she’s leaving tonight....she’s taking him with her.... you do it or I will,” she wiped the tears from her cheeks as she listened, “hurry, please.” her voice broke. She stayed on the line, listening to the voice she’d missed so much before she hung up.

  Maria walked into the living room holding her sleeping son against her chest. Tom walked into the house with Nate in tow, with a large bag in his hand. He was well built, his body toned by his daily farming.

  She stood there and waited for the plan she hoped they had come up with. She was sure Ricky was outside and there was no way he was going to let them walk out and drive away. She was finally on board with running away, but she didn’t want to get shot trying. “So what’s the plan?”

  Nate put the bag on the table and opened it wide, “We can’t just walk out of the house, I’m sure that maniac is hiding in the bushes, so we are going to put Michael in this bag and I’ll carry him out in it.” He spoke with a smile. Maria held Michael closer to her and stared at Nate as if he had completely lost his mind. There was no way she was putting her baby in a bag that looked like a body bag. “You’ll walk out between Tom and me. You are small enough to go unnoticed.” Maria stared at Edna then at him, incredulously. She was still stuck on the part they wanted to put Michael in a bag.

  “Just try it.” Edna spoke as she wedged Michael out of Maria’s hands. She wrapped him in a blanket and carefully put him in the bag. She then zipped up the bag, but stopped at Michael’s head when she heard Maria whimper. She understood her fear, she wasn’t too comfortable with her grandson in a bag, but there was no other way.

  “What about mama?” Maria spoke, her eyes glued on Michael’s sleeping face.

  “I’m not coming with you.” Edna said quietly.

  Maria’s eyes shot to her, “What, why not?” She asked, falling into a panic again.

  “I can’t come if Ricky is to think you are still in the house, and I’m also waiting for someone.”

  “Mama, Miguel is never coming back.” Maria said annoyed. She had always hated seeing her mother sit in one place and wait for her father to come. She had been waiting for twenty-two years and she was still waiting.

  Edna hugged Maria then kissed Michael. She wished she could tell Maria the truth, but she couldn’t, not yet. “It’s time.”

  Nate carefully picked up the bag with Michael in it and walked to the door. He waited for Tom to go out first with the suitcase, and Maria to go out after him, moving very closely behind him before he came out, blocking the shadow her body may make against the porch light. Tom opened the back door to his truck and placed the suitcase in. They pretended to talk and laugh for a while so that Maria could sneak into the car, and then Nate put the bag in and closed the door.

  “See you tomorrow Tom.” Nate yelled joyously in pretence as he got into the driver seat. He started the car and drove slowly, not wanting to draw too much attention to himself. When they got to a reasonable distance from the house and he was sure no one was following them, he accelerated and sped to the train station.

  Maria stayed down between the seats. She pulled the bag open wider, the sight of Michael sleeping in there like a corpse made her uncomfortable. She traced the scar on his forehead with her finger, a permanent reminder of Ricky, and then placed her face close to Michael’s, relieved he didn’t wake up. She wasn’t going to tell him the truth, one of them looking over their shoulder was enough. He was going to have the childhood she almost denied him because of her teenage crush that turned into years in hell.

  Ricky drove back to his hotel peeved that he hadn’t gotten the chance to storm into Tom’s house before the sheriff arrived. He took out two beers from his small refrigerator, one he placed on the bump on the back of his head the other he drank. He had to move out of Jacksonville if he didn’t want to get caught. He would move to the nearest town. He didn’t want to miss his chance, tormenting Maria before he killed her.

  It felt like they had spent a full day on the train on their way to New York. Michael thought he was still dreaming when he woke up, but it was the coolest dream ever. He didn’t even bother to ask how he got there, he was just excited about being on a train. He kept looking out the window and making zooming sounds whenever they passed something, when he got bored with that he ran around. Maria was exhausted, but she wasn’t about to let Michael wonder around alone. Children were kidnapped in the strangest places, and knowing Michael, he might just decide it would be cool jumping off a speeding train like he’d seen in the western cowboy movies.

  She was relived, but still a little reserved when the conductor offered to baby sit while she slept. Of course like a paranoid parent, she pinched his wallet and copied all his details before she put it back in his pocket- something she had to learn to get her money back from Ricky. She was glad he was an old man, or he could have felt her fingers. But Michael provided a good distraction, excitedly asking questions about trains, the conductor was only too happy to answer, he too loved trains and from what she’d gathered he had worked on trains for close to thirty two years.

  Out of the fifteen hour train ride, she’d only managed to sleep for close to one or two hours. She would wake up shaking and sweating, sometimes crying. Ricky’s disfigured face constantly haunted her sleep. She worried about her mother and Jane and her family. If Ricky found out the trick they had played on him, none of them were safe. She kept expecting him to walk into her cabin and throw her out the window or worse yet throw Michael out the window.

  But she was glad they had left, and they were miles away from Ricky, it was a good thing he wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, but she was still sure he would find them. It would take him a while to realize they weren’t in Jacksonville anymore, and then he would try to find them, through Edna, Jane, or anyone, he’d find a way to figure out where they were. When he did, he’d come after her, more furious than he’d ever been, but she’d be ready, not ready to fight, but to run. She had her savings and that of Edna’s, if they had to, they would go to Mexico maybe learn a thing or two about her father’s side of the family, maybe some Spanish too.

  Michael didn’t know Ricky was alive, he couldn’t, and she wasn’t going to rob him of his happiness. He hadn’t once asked where they were going or where Edna was. He thought Maria was keeping her promise she was going to take him on a train ride for his birthday, well, his present had come early and she was making sure he
had many more birthdays.

  When they got to New York, Maria put her gloves back on she always had them on when Michael was around, the kid was four, but very clever. She kept her other cuts covered up too, and had her hair held up in a pony tail over the wound on the back of her head. Edna had cut out the hair on that spot to place a bandage over the deep cut. It wouldn’t have been necessary if she just got stitches, but with a maniac after Maria, no one suggested a hospital, the only suggestions made were just the fastest way out of Jacksonville.

  Michael ran into the cabin and bumped into Maria, “Mama, are we getting off?” She held onto the top railing to keep steady. The old conductor came behind him, a huge grin on his face. He had really enjoyed spending time with Michael, but who wouldn’t, he was a perfect little boy only Ricky didn’t see that.

  “Yes. Help me put your things back.” Maria put the small suitcase into the big black bag that had once hosted Michael.

  He picked up his toys and threw them into the bag, “Aren’t we going back home?”

  “No, we are going to live in New York for a while.” Maria spoke softly. She kept her attention on packing, she could tell he was figuring out something was wrong.

  He stopped and turned to her, carefully watching her, “Is grandma coming?” He was more clever than Maria gave him credit for.

  “No,” she turned to him and smiled, “She’s going to stay home while we stay here, but she’s going to come visit us,” she got nervous when he didn’t return the smile. She sat down and pulled him close to her, “It’s going to be fun. Think of this as a new beginning for both of us, we’ll have more opportunities here than we could ever have back home.”

  “Why did we move?” Maria looked up at the conductor who now had a glum look on his face, and then back at Michael, she needed a full proof lie if she was to convince him. “Where are we going to live?” his lips parted into a smile, then he went back to packing his toys.

  She felt relieved once he let her off the hook, “Nate, Uncle Tom’s friend, has a small apartment in Brooklyn.” She wondered what happened to the days kids still believed in Santa and the tooth fairy, but Michael was no ordinary kid.

  “Okay, let’s go.” He took off running, speeding past the conductor. The conductor looked at Maria with knowing eyes. He could see what she was hiding, he’d seen it before, in his own daughter’s eyes.

  Smiling, “I’ll go after him.” then he disappeared. Maria stared after him. She’d seen the pity in his eyes and she’d hated it. She loathed being pitied as much as she loathed Ricky. She wished he had died, she wished she had made sure he was dead.

  Next time she would.

  Maria walked into the studio apartment. It looked small, but yet quaint. It was an open space, there wasn’t a boundary between the kitchen and the living room, and the bedroom was closed off by a folding reed stand that went completely around the bed and closet. There were only two doors, that leading to the bathroom and that leading out of the apartment. Maria was grateful it was furnished, there was nothing fancy, just the essentials, all dark and bold, exactly what a bachelor’s pad should look like. She was glad she didn’t need to buy anything else for the place and that it was rent free, one less worry as she went around looking for a job.

  She set the bag down and closed the door behind her, double bolting it. She chuckled at her urge to wedge a chair against it. Ricky had really screwed her up. She watched as Michael ran around the space, exploring their new home. She hoped he would like it as it was their new home, “So what do you think?”

  Michael stopped at the kitchen counter and climbed onto the stool. Maria moved and sat next to him, anxiously waiting for his answer.

  “It’s okay. It’s kind of small compared to our home, but it’s nice.” He spoke softly with a smile.

  Maria pushed his hair back. She was worried he was just saying that for her benefit, “Are you sure you are okay with this?”

  “Yes, and it’s a good thing grandma didn’t come, we can’t all fit here,” he jumped off the stool and rushed to the living room. He dove on the seat and turned the TV on, “Can we have pizza for super?”

  Maria looked at him, she could see he was doing it again, putting on a front for her sake. She couldn’t help but think he had figured it out, why they moved, she just hoped his little genius mind didn’t figure out that Ricky was still alive, “Sure.” she smiled gently and picked up the phone.

  It crushed her seeing Michael pretend to be alright with everything when he evidently wasn’t. She wanted to protect him, but she wasn’t going to let him be miserable, he’d had enough misery in his short life. Michael was a four year old who did everything that he thought Maria wanted because he wanted to make her happy, to make her life easy and stress free. Maria had seen how normal four year olds were annoying, loud, and stubborn and a constant temptation to murder, but Michael wasn’t like that and it broke her heart.

  He was going to have a normal childhood, even if it meant she forced one on him. She put down the phone and picked up their jackets, “How about we go exploring. It’s only midday and we can get pizza on our way back.”

  “I’m watching this.” he mumbled his eyes glued to the screen. Maria turned to the TV, there was a documentary on fish. She turned off the TV and began tickling him. She almost cried when Michael’s shrilly laugh filled her ears. It was loud, pure and honest she couldn’t detect any fake to it. She picked him up and held him against her, and then she planted numerous kisses on his face. He fidgeted, trying to dodge them, but Maria had him locked in place, “Mama, stop!” he said between giggles.

  “I’ll stop when you say yes.”

  “Yes, yes!” Maria stopped. Michael kissed her nose before she put him down. She put his jacket on and they walked to the door. Maria looked around before she let Michael shoot out of the apartment. As much as she wanted normal, the paranoia was never going to leave her.

  They got into a tour bus that went around the Big Apple. Michael got excited as he pointed out to the tall buildings, the big screens and flashing lights. Maria let her guard down and enjoyed the scenery, as excited as Michael. New York to her was like a whole other world, noisy, busy and vast, a complete new experience for her. They got off the bus when Michael spotted a parking building next to an equally tall building. He wanted to see the cars and get to the top of the building, and of course, eat.

  When they got to the huge glass doors, they were stopped by a tall, huge bellied man. Maria pulled Michael behind her and greeted the man with one of her fake-waitress smiles, “I’m sorry, but you can’t come in here.”

  Maria looked him over again, his voice didn’t match his physic. He looked intimidating while his soft voice was welcoming, “It’s just that my son wants to go to the top, he’s never seen a building this tall, neither have I.” She confessed.

  The man’s lips parted in a smile, “It’s the weekend, and I can’t let anyone in without an appointment card,” he crouched down and looked at Michael, whose face was partly hidden behind Maria’s long legs, “Come back on Monday and I’ll take you up,” he looked up at Maria, “After I get permission from my boss and your mother.”

  Michael moved from behind Maria, a huge grin on his face, “Mama please!” he begged.

  Maria looked at him, her guard up. She was suspicious of the man and his offer, all she could think of was that he wanted something, they always want something, “No, I don’t want to inconvenience you.” she said politely.

  The man stood up and he was back to towering over her, “It will be no problem we have a number of tourists who tour the building. The owner says its free advertising, I’m sure they don’t have buildings this tall in Mexico,” Maria was taken aback by the comment she thought her accent would give away where she was from, “I’m Leo, if you change your mind, I’ll be here on Monday.” He extended his hand.

  Maria hesitated from a moment before she took his hand, “I’m Paula, and I’ll let you know on Monday. Thank you for the offer and I m
ight take you up on it.” She smiled before she turned and walked away, pulling Michael behind her.

  “Mama, why did you lie?” Michael asked concerned.

  Maria hadn’t bothered to consider his reaction, she had unconsciously lied to the man. As pleasant as he might have sounded, she still didn’t want him to know anything about her, he was a complete stranger and she knew more than to trust only what she saw, “I thought it sounded more Mexican.” She beamed a smile down at him.

  Michael giggled, “We really do look like Grandpa Miguel.” He pushed open the Cafe Rose’s door and walked in.

  Maria was always uncomfortable when Michael put grandpa before Miguel. All he knew about him were the stories Edna told him, and she was annoyed at Edna for filling his head just as she did hers. Michael spoke excitedly about him sometimes like they’d met, she was once like that when she was young, then she grew up and got tired of waiting for him and the constant excuses Edna would give and once she met Ricky, she prayed he would never come back. She didn’t want her son to face another disappointment.

  “Mama, here.” Michael held out a paper at Maria.

  “What’s this?” She took it and read the caption at the top. It was an employment contract, “Michael...” she stopped when she didn’t see him in front of her anymore. She looked around the cafe, slowly rising into a panic.

  “Mama.”

  She followed his voice to find him on a table waving at her. He had a chocolate milk shake on the table in front of him, a smiling blond waitress in a white, long sleeved shirt and a short black skirt next to him. Maria liked the uniform already.

  She walked to the table and rubbed her knuckles on Michael’s head, he winced but went back to drinking his shake. She turned to the waitress with a smile, “Hi, are you hiring or did my son wrestle the form from you?”

  She chuckled, “We are hiring, and your son is very convincing. He would make a perfect lawyer. I’m Jane.” Maria could feel her smile fade, the name of her best friend gave her a chest pain. It had only been a day and she missed her like crazy, “You are Paula, your son already did your interview on your behalf.”