by Donald Wells
“I heard the other cops talking.” I said. “Something about a serial killer?”
“Yeah, that poor little girl is the fourth one dumped in two years. All of them were blondes and all of them were pretty and all of them were slaughtered and left in a field like garbage.”
Bill gripped the steering wheel hard, his voice tinged with anger as he drove faster than usual. He couldn’t have kids of his own, because his wife, Cindy, was unable to bear children due to a childhood accident, and I had learned from my grandfather that Bill always took a special interest in cases involving children.
“Who… what kind of person does something like that, and why? Was she raped?”
“We don’t know about this one yet,” Bill said. “But the others showed signs of sexual assault.”
I shook my head. “There are some damn sick people in the world.”
Bill swerved the car onto the shoulder and stared at me.
“There are sick people in the world, the broken ones. I don’t know whether it’s poverty, abuse, drugs, some freak of genetics or the tooth fairy that made them the way they are, but there are broken people out there who seem determined to shatter and destroy anything decent they find. That girl back there, she’s never going to get married or raise a family or have a career, hell, maybe she was snuffed out before she even got the chance to fall in love. Remember that Johnny, life can be damn short sometimes. Your own father, my friend, he never even got to see forty because some damn drunk smashed into him. Cherish life John. Don’t take it for granted. When you find someone to love, and you will, you hold onto her with both hands and treasure every second.”
I returned his gaze. “I will Bill, I will.”
He clapped me on the shoulder and then pulled back onto the road; ahead I could see the lights of the town.
“Have you ever been in love Johnny?”
“No, I guess not, you know, I’ve been out with a bunch of girls, but sooner or later I get bored or they get bored and we break up.”
“What about the Delgado girl, Felicia? She sticks to you like a tick, seems whenever I stop by she’s there in the garage handing you tools while you work, or sweeping up the shop.”
I shrugged. “It’s not like that with us, she’s just a friend.”
“You know it’s funny, but I once knew a girl like her who used to follow this guy everywhere, she even started following him when he went out on dates with other girls. Finally, he had to tell her to leave him alone, that he wasn’t interested in her like that.”
“How’d she take it?”
“She ignored him and kept hanging around with his group. It drove him crazy. After high school, she moved to Philadelphia. A month later, the poor guy missed her so much that he followed her there. It wasn’t too long after that, that they were married and had a kid.”
“That’s funny, so what was her name?”
He turned his head and grinned at me.
“You used to call her mom.”
4
I was out back behind the shop, working a speed bag, while Felicia sat on the rear steps and watched me, and I admit it, I was showing off. I spent five minutes making the bag dance, and at the end, I hit it so hard that I sent it flying off its swivel base, to land in a corner of the yard.
Felicia laughed and clapped her hands. I bowed at the waist and then walked over to sit beside her. She offered me some of her soda and I took it and swallowed about a third of it, when I passed it back, I noticed that she sipped from the bottle without wiping it off first.
It was summer, July 4th to be exact, and every once in a while the staccato pop of firecrackers would sound off in the distance.
“I’m going to a cookout later, do you want to come?” I asked.
“Whose cookout is it?”
“My friend Bill, you know, the cop? He and his wife Cindy invited me and my grandfather over.”
“They won’t mind me being there?”
I glanced at her sideways. “Bill said I could bring a date.”
“A date?”
“That’s what he said.”
She smiled at me. “I’d love to go, but first, let me run home and change my blouse.”
“Cool, I’ll take a shower and pick you up at two.”
“No! I’ll meet you back here.”
I reached over and took her hand, noticing for the first time that she was wearing red nail polish. She’d been doing that a lot lately, wearing polish and lipstick; her wardrobe had improved considerably since she’d started babysitting. Now that she had money of her own, she could afford to wear clothes that weren’t ready for the rag bin. She’d also grown a few inches this year and begun developing curves. It was getting harder for me to think of her as a little girl.
“How come you never want me to come by your house?”
“It’s my father.”
“What about him?”
“He doesn’t like company… and he drinks.”
“I’ve heard about him. Bill says he’s the town’s tough guy.”
She grew angry. “My father’s nothing but a bully. He hits my sister sometimes and he used to beat my mom up all the time.”
I took her by the shoulders. “Has he ever hit you?”
She shook her head no and I let her go.
“He grabs my wrist too hard sometimes and leaves a bruise, but I don’t talk back to him like Mona does. My sister’s not afraid of him, she just keeps yelling back until he hits her, and then she leaves the house for a few days while he cools down.”
“If he ever hits you, you let me know, okay?”
She shook her head no vigorously. “He’d hurt you Johnny, he’s very strong and he’s even bigger than you are. I’ve seen him beat up men until they begged him to stop.”
“If he scares you, come here; don’t stay in the house with him.”
“He’s hardly ever home, when he’s not working he spends most of his time at the racetrack, or at the bar down the street.”
I leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. “I’m sorry you’ve got such a crappy home life baby.”
She laid her head on my shoulder. “At least I’ve got a good friend.”
* * *
After Felicia left to go home and change, I spent a little time with the weights. I was on my back, bench-pressing, when a shadow fell over me. I secured the weight in its cradle and stood up to find a girl standing there, a very sexy girl. She was wearing a pair of white shorts that showed off her long legs, while her large breasts practically spilled out of a red knit halter-top. Her curly hair hung about her beautiful face like a mane, a face that greatly resembled Felicia’s.
“You must be Mona.”
“Why must I?”
“Because you look like your sister,”
She stepped closer. I was shirtless and sweaty from my workout, wearing only a pair of cut-off jeans and sneakers. She ran a hand over my torso, squeezing my pecs and tracing a fingernail along the ridges of my abdomen. When she was done, she licked the beads of sweat from her fingers.
“Are you fuckin’ my little sister Muscleman?”
“Felicia and I are just friends.”
She laughed. “Sure you are, and what about Sara Tyson? Are you and she just friends too?”
“I’ve gone out with Sara, so what?”
“Sara says you’re damn good in bed, and I bet my little sister thinks she’s your one and only.”
I sighed. I could try and convince her that Felicia and I were just friends, but what would be the point? Her mind was already made up.
“What’s this visit all about Mona?”
“I’m just lookin’ out for my sister. I don’t want to see her get knocked up, and I know she’s too dumb to use birth control, I on the other hand…” She reached into a back pocket and brought out a small foil package, it was a condom. “I’ll make you a deal, stay away from Felicia and I’ll fuck your brains out anytime you want.”
I looked her over, lingering at her breasts, feel
ing an ache. I really did want her, but there was something in her eyes, that spoke of damage. Also, in her own weird way I thought she was trying to be protective of Felicia, altruistic even, by offering herself in place of her sister.
“It’s no deal.” I said.
“She’s just a kid.”
“I would never hurt your sister.”
“You really like Felicia, huh? Then you’ll love me.”
Mona reached out and unzipped my jeans and I slapped her hands away and zipped back up.
“If I ever want any I’ll let you know, okay?”
She gave me a look of pure hate.
“Oh I see, you only like ‘em young.”
She turned and marched away from me. She then spun around and made me a promise.
“Stay away from my sister, or I’ll make sure that somebody beats the shit out of you.”
And then she was gone.
I toweled off and went upstairs to take a hot shower, as I washed off the sweat, thoughts of Mona’s breasts popped into my mind. I reached down and turned the faucet handle until the spray ran cold.
5
After a harsh winter and a drenching spring, summer turned out wonderful.
It was the 17th, of August, and since late June, we had seen little rain and low humidity, with temperatures in the eighties. I was in Atlantic City, walking along the boardwalk with Felicia and her best friend, Janey Winslow.
It was a Sunday, and also, Janey’s sixteenth birthday.
We had spent the day playing video games and just generally goofing off.
Janey wore her brown hair in pigtails that reached to the small of her back and they were the only things about her that said girl and not woman. She was five-ten and had the curves of a lingerie model.
I pointed to a bench along the railing, and the three of us settled upon it and gazed out at the ocean. Down on the beach were hundreds of people relaxing, strolling, building sand castles, and even several daring souls on surfboards, braving the waves of the Atlantic.
Janey sat between me and Felicia and slumped back on the bench.
“I wish I hadn’t run out of money. I really wanted to get that camera at the Grab-It game.”
The ‘Grab-It game’ was a metal claw that dipped into a glass case full of toys and trinkets. Janey must have already spent twenty dollars trying to win an eight-dollar disposable camera.
I reached in my pocket and brought out a ten.
“Here, have fun,”
Janey blinked at me. “You’re serious?”
“Sure, happy birthday,”
Janey grabbed the money and stood up. Before leaving, she bent over and kissed me on the cheek.
“Thanks Johnny, be back soon.”
As Janey ran off to try her luck, Felicia got off the bench and stood at the rail.
“You like Janey a lot, don’t you?” She asked.
“Sure,”
Felicia then made a sniffling sound and took a deep breath.
“You could have taken her out alone if you wanted, you didn’t have to drag me along too.”
I sat up straight. “Whoa, when I said I liked Janey, I meant that I like her, not like like her, you know? She’s just a friend.”
Felicia turned and stared at me. “Am I just a friend too?”
I patted the bench. “Come here, please?”
Felicia sat beside me. I brought out my wallet and took a picture from it, a picture of my parents.
“That’s my mom and dad.”
She took the photo from me. “What were their names?”
“Ray and Hannah,”
“Hannah, I like that name, it’s pretty, and she was pretty too, but you mostly look like your dad.”
My dad was a mechanic, at least part-time; he spent most of his time trying to become heavyweight champ.”
“He was a fighter?”
“Well, he thought so, he had the skills, it’s just that you’re either born a great fighter or you’re not, he wasn’t. We never had much money because my dad was always chasing his dream, instead of working as a mechanic. My mom used to clean houses just so we could pay the bills.”
“You sound like you were mad at him.”
“I loved my dad. It’s just that, even as a kid I knew that what he was doing wasn’t right. He should have worked harder at giving my mom a good home before he worried about being a fighter. But it was his dream and my grandpa says dreams can own you as much as you own them.”
Felicia gazed into my eyes. “Do you have a dream?”
“Yeah, I want to build an engine that can get a hundred miles to the gallon. It’s probably impossible though, hell, maybe I’m more like my father than I know.”
“You’ll do it someday.” She said, as if stating a fact.
“You think so?”
She nodded, while smiling at me.
I pointed to the photo. “Notice anything about that picture?”
Felicia inspected the photo. It showed my parents sitting together on a bench, on a boardwalk, this boardwalk. She turned and looked at the building behind us.
“This is the same bench! We’re sitting on the same bench.”
“Yeah, it was taken on their first date, they were eighteen.”
She handed me the picture and I placed it back into my wallet.
“This bench is special to you, isn’t it?”
“I didn’t give Janey that money because I like her; I gave Janey that money to get rid of her for a while, so we could be alone on this bench, just like my parents were.”
Felicia smiled shyly at me and then lifted her head up towards me; as I leaned down to kiss her. Suddenly, there was a teddy bear in front of my face and Janey was leaning on the back of the bench.
“Look what I won!” She said, and showed us her prize. Along with the bear, she had also won her camera.
Janey ran around to the front of the bench and took aim. “Smile!”
I put my arm around Felicia just as the picture was snapped.
“That’s gonna be a great photo.” Janey said.
Felicia and I grinned at each other; then I took her hand and got off the bench.
“Why don’t we go home now?” I said, and the girls agreed.
As we walked along, I put my right arm around Felicia and hugged her to me, as we headed to my car.
“Thanks for taking us to Atlantic City Johnny, I had a great birthday.”
“You’re welcome Janey, we had a good time too.”
Felicia rested her head upon my chest as we strolled along and I knew that something had changed between us.
I had always dated a lot, drifting from girl to girl like a bee flitting from flower to flower.
I looked down at Felicia, as she smiled up at me, and I knew that she wouldn’t be, couldn’t be, just another girl, that when we began it would be forever.
I was eighteen and the thought of never being with another woman should have sent me running in the other direction, but instead, I hugged Felicia just a little tighter and trembled with joy at what the future would bring.
6
Felicia and I were in the park, enjoying an impromptu picnic of chilidogs and fries.
It was late September, but the temperature was still mild and we had an hour to kill before our movie started. We were seated by the lake, watching the ducks drift about lazily in the water, leaving trails among the clouds reflected upon its calm surface.
Felicia had turned sixteen just about a week ago, and the little ragamuffin whose clock I’d fixed, was now a nattily dressed young lady whose figure caught the eye of nearly every male in town. She spent the summer babysitting and working as a cashier at the supermarket and, as far as I could tell, all of her money went to buy clothes. Today’s outfit was a pair of designer jeans with a red blouse that revealed a hint of cleavage. My eyes drifted to that spot quite often as I sucked down my chilidogs.
“Are you still seeing Karen Willis?” She asked.
I stared at her for a moment bef
ore answering. She had never before asked me about the girls I dated.
“We broke up weeks ago; she’s with Todd Baylor now.”
“Oh,” She said, and went back to picking at her fries. A few moments later, she asked a second question.
“So… who are you seeing now?”
“No one, but I got a girl in my sights.”
“Do I know her?”
I smiled at her, as I brushed a stray curl back from her face.
“You know her very well.”
“How come you never asked her out before?”
“She thinks of me as a friend, maybe that’s all she wants from me.”
She smiled to herself and then turned toward me on the bench.
“This girl, whoever she is, maybe she’s had a thing for you for a long time.”
“Maybe,” I said, while savoring our little game.
Then she said, “Ricky Hasbro asked me out yesterday.” and stared at me, looking for a reaction. I froze, just as I was about to toss my last piece of chilidog into my mouth. I glared at it then and threw it back into the empty bag.
“Hasbro? That big blond guy with the red corvette? He’s on the football team, right?”
She smiled, “He’s the quarterback.”
My appetite had now fully deserted me and I gathered up my fries and shoved them into the bag.
“So, when are you and Hasbro going on this date?”
“We’re not. I told him no.”
I turned toward her, our lips only inches apart.
“What if I asked you out?”
“We’re out now in case you haven’t noticed.”
“You know what I mean.”
“Johnny?”
“What?”
“If you don’t kiss me I’m gonna hit you.”
And so I kissed her. It wasn’t technically our first, we had shared little pecks lately, but it was the first time a kiss… promised more than a kiss. After we separated, she turned backwards and leaned against me. I wrapped my arms around her and rested my chin atop her head.
She said. “So, where do we go from here?”
“To the movies,”
I felt her stiffen in my arms. “You know what I mean.”
