by ChaShiree M
Once I am calm and together, we both get dressed and head downstairs. Everything is already in full swing. Everyone is walking around with drinks in their hands, mingling and having a good time. Saxson stops at the bottom of the stairs and turns to me. “This, Lexi, is your new family. Take a look at them.” My eyes scan the room. I see his parents, sitting side by side, whispering to one another, his sister and Manny talking with Lara and Ramone, laughing as they sip mimosas. I recognize his brother Julio and he has a girl with him I do not know, talking to his cousin Connie and another lady that looks so much like them. There are a few men in the corner, talking about something. Judging by the motion of their hands, I am assuming its sports. There are a number of other people here as well, all seem to be smiling and genuinely happy. “All of these people are going to be in your life. Our kids’ lives. You don’t need to feel alone anymore, baby. You understand?” I take in the room once more and then turn to my husband and look at the man who, in such a short time, has given me everything I felt I was missing. My heart overflowing with the amount of love I feel this man.
“I do, Saxson.” I kiss his lips before walking the rest of the way down.
“Ah. Finally. Everyone was looking for you two.” His father says as he pats Sax on the back. We walk around saying hello to everyone, engaging in small talk. It all feels so natural. We come to the corner where his cousin Connie is talking to the woman I don’t know, and he introduces us.
“Lexi, I would like for you to meet my other cousin Brenda. She is Connie’s older sister. Prima, this is my wife Alexis.” We shake hands and she kisses me on both cheeks.
“Oh, my goodness. You are gorgeous. It's so great to meet you. I never thought I would see the day my big primo would get married.” She says as she hugs me. Hearing a beeping in my ear. I pull back and notice she is checking her phone. She picks it up and answers.
“This is Dr. Brenda Parsons.”
“Parsons?” I look toward Connie in askance, my voice conveying the confusion.
“Yes. Her husband is over there with mine. His name is Tim Parsons.” She says, laughing. I laugh and shake my head, realizing I seem to have the preconception that everyone in this family should have the last name Maldonado. I mean isn’t that how it is in mafia families? The last names never change, married or not? I shrug my shoulders telling myself it doesn't matter. We continue to walk and talk, making our way around the room. We come to three men, standing in the corner, talking amongst themselves. They look familiar, but I know I haven’t met them yet.
“Lexi have you met my dad and brothers?” Connie asks me, signaling toward the men.
“I haven’t.”
“That’s right. They were in Spain during the wedding. Well this is my father Carlos, my brother Diego and my brother Lothario. Fellas this is Saxson’s wife Alexis.” They each take turns kissing my hand and cheek, welcoming me into the family. Now I know why they look so familiar. They look like Connie and Brenda.
“It’s nice to meet you all. Thank you for coming to the brunch.” I say, not sure what else to say. Thankfully I am saved.
“Alright everyone brunch is ready.” Saxson’s mom announces. Looking beside me, I realize Saxson is no longer there. I scan the room and find him by the door talking to his brothers. All of them look serious and I want to know what is going on. Maybe it is about my parents.
“There you are. Where have you been?” Lara asks me grabbing my arm.
“The question my friend is where have you been. Are you having fun?” I ask her, wanting to make sure Ramone is being on his best behavior.
“Everyone is so nice. You are lucky Lexi. Your in-laws are amazing.” I smile because she is right. We make it outside to the outdoor table and Saxson is right behind me.
“Let me pull out your chair, baby.” He leans down and kisses my neck as he pushes my chair in. The waiters begin bringing out the food and everyone's reaction makes me feel better. Everything is more than delicious. The banter back and forth, laughter and conversation are a welcome change from eating alone every night like I used to. More than a few times I have been complimented on how great the food is and how the decorations are beautiful and elegant. My chest begins to feel lighter as the tension leaves my body. “See. I told you not to worry.” He whispers in my ear.
Saxson stands, tapping the side of his glass with his spoon. The laughter begins to die down, but then it was replaced by a popping sound. I assume it to be a champagne flute. I turn to see where the champagne came from when everything around me is in chaos. Suddenly, everyone is yelling and shouting and screaming. My heart is beating more than a mile a minute and as I reach for Saxson, he shoves me to the ground yelling at me to stay down. For some reason, my brain is not computing what is happening.
“Don’t move Lexi. Stay here,” he says. His eyes, filled with anger and rage, relay a fear I have never seen from him before. He leans down and looks at me, his hands holding my face. “Promise me you won’t move baby. Promise me.” I nod my head, still not sure what is happening. I see him pull a gun out of the back of his pants and that is when the bubble I have been trapped in this whole time, bursts. Like a storm that comes from nowhere, all is black. Tears stream down my face as I watch him stand and begin shooting at whoever did this to us. I see his father, brothers, uncle, and cousins, also firing back as his mother, who is on the other side of the table is holding rosary beads and praying. Brenda and Connie, though calm, are obviously distressed, as their husbands keep holding them and rocking them.
“Oh God. Where is Lara?” I begin looking around trying to see if I see her anywhere. Peeking my head over the table, I spot her on the other side with Julissa, whose husband I finally notice, is entrenched in this gun battle with the guys. Positioning myself to crawl to the other side, having my hands over my ears is preventing me from moving. Frantically, I look for Saxson. He is not where I just saw him. I see Ramone, still firing, as he points, telling Manny to go somewhere else.
“Sax! Saxon, where are you?” I shout, dread beginning to creep into my veins. What if he has been shot and no one knows it yet. Oh God! I stand without thinking, walking around shouting his name. Somewhere off in the distance, I can hear my name being called, shouted really. But it’s not Saxson’s voice.
“Saxson, please. Answer me.” All around me there is gun smoke, shouting and the sounds of glass breaking. But all I can hear is the sound of my heart as it begins to splinter with every passing second that I can’t find him or hear him. “SAXSON!! PLEASE. DON’T DO THIS. I LOVE YOU!!! WHERE ARE YOU?”
Like a zombie I float through the violence, searching for an antidote to the virus eating my heart. At one point, I vaguely for a split second feel a piercing sensation in my arm, followed by a burning, but even that is dulled by not knowing where he is. “Oh God.” I whisper to myself. “Not like this. I just found him.” I wail, feeling light-headed and lifeless.
“Lexi. Baby, what are you doing? I told you to stay down. Oh God!! Is that blood?” I can hear his voice now. Talking to me, telling me everything is going to be ok. How come I can hear him, but I don’t hear anything else? “BRENDA!!” He shouts. “Shit, baby I told you to stay down no matter what. Why were you up?”
I’m not sure where he is. Maybe we are both dead. That makes sense, because I could never live without him. Now that I know what love like ours feels like, I couldn’t live without it. But only from him. “I couldn’t find you,” is the last thing I remember whispering before everything dies.
25
Saxson
Shit!! As soon as I heard the first pop, I knew what it was. When I grabbed her and threw her to the ground, I silently vowed to end every single last one of them. How dare they come to my fucking house, with my wife, family, and friends here and open fire. They want to fuck with me? I hope they are ready for the repercussions. After extracting the promise from her that she isn’t going to move, I go closer to my brothers and father and open fire back. My eyes never too far from Lexi.
Everyone is yelling and screaming, not sure where to go, what’s safe. Ramone moves behind the tree for cover, still firing as my father tries to take cover as well. Managing to look around for a second, I can see the glint coming from the side of the gate. Ah ha. Gotcha!!! Ducking down, I run over to Julio. “Cover me. I think I see where the shooter is.” He nods his head and pulls out his second weapon and begins firing from both. I have a moment of doubt about what I am about to do because Lexi will no longer be in my eyesight. But, if I want this to stop, I have no choice. Shaking it off, I duck behind my pool house and make my way to the gate. When I get halfway on it, I note that the shooter I saw is not alone. About 100 meters to his left, is another and I can see one more moving closer to the house. Pulling off my jacket because it is white, I duck behind one of the trees and try to camouflage myself. When I feel like I am as hidden as I can be, aiming at the one closest to the house, I hit him directly in his neck. He falls to the ground.
“Scorpio is down, Lairn. I repeat Scorpio is down.” I hear the one to the left say into his communication device.
“Shit. I have been hit in the leg Hawk. Retreat. Retreat.”
“10-4 Lairn.” Oh. They think it is going to be that easy, do they? Before he makes it a foot, I come up behind him, wrap my arm around his throat and put him to sleep. As much as I want to kill him, I need him alive for information.
“Lairn. Lairn, do you copy?” The one called Hawk calls into the walkie talkie.
“Lairn can’t come to the phone right now. But when he wakes up, I’ll be sure he hears you scream.” He looks down at the device in his hand and turns to run out of the gate. Grabbing my knife from my sock, I throw it, keeping my anger in check so my aim is dead center and hits him in the back of his leg. Killing them would have been too easy. Me, I like torture. See, Ramone is the most hardcore. He does all of the dirty work if you will. The muscle as they say. But people often confuse that to mean I am civilized and one note. Like I just shoot to kill and that's it. That’s where people are wrong.
I am about to call my brothers when I look back toward the house and notice Lexi is standing, stumbling, screaming my name. Running toward her, I hear her calling me over and over, asking where I am, crying for me and it almost undoes me. The first thing I notice when I make it her is that she is she seems out of it. “Lexi. Baby, what are you doing? I told you to stay down. Oh God!! Is that blood?” I yell, noticing her shirt is soaked in it. “BRENDA!!” I yell, calling for my cousin. “Shit, baby I told you to stay down no matter what. Why were you up?” Her eyes are glassy, as she mumbles over and over, ‘not like this. Oh God, not like this.’ I try whispering in her ear that I am here, but I don't think she is lucid right now. “Fuck baby. Damn it. Why didn’t you stay down?” I whisper again kissing her head.
“I couldn’t find you,” is the last thing she responds before she passes out.
“WHAT THE FUCK!!” I yell shaking her trying to get her to open her eyes. My heart begins to skip beats, it’s life based on her heart working. The moment I saw her, my heart became entwined with hers.
“Step back primo, she is still breathing. I think she passed out from the blood loss and panic. The paramedics are on the way. Let me apply pressure.” She says, trying to move next to Lexi.
“Son, come. Let your cousin work on her.” My father says trying to move me back. I know I should listen, but there is no part of me that would be ok not touching her right now. Shaking my head no, I yank my arm from him and move back to her.
“Come on baby, open your eyes and look at me. Look at your Sexson, brat. Please be ok Lexi. I love you so fucking much.” I repeat this over and over, not caring about anything else right now except making sure she can hear my voice. I don’t know how much time has passed, before the ambulance shows up and lifts her into the truck. Turning back toward my family, all of them, wet eyed and worried, nod my head and load into the back of the ambulance. The sirens, drowning out my pain as I pray to the God who has no reason to listen to me, to please not take my heart from me. Unless he is going to take me too.
I have been at this hospital for what feels like forever. Immediately upon arrival they wheeled her back into surgery. I stood there by the door to the operating room, body numb, heart paused as it decides whether we will get to beat again. The only feeling still very viable is the rage burning inside me, cackling like a campfire, waiting to incinerate everyone who had something to do with this. My hands, clenching and unclenching are begging me to allow them to do something. Anything. Even if it is to bang on the walls in here and destroy everything in its path. Luckily, the rest of my family makes it into the waiting room before I completely go crazy.
“What are they saying son?” My father asks me, patting me on the back.
“Nothing right now. I am barely holding on dad.” I admit to him, knowing he will understand. His love for my mom is this all-consuming as well.
“She will be fine, my boy.” He stands to go to my mother who is sobbing, and Ramone and Julio take his place.
“I am not sure what you want me to say right now. I can sit here and say nothing, or I can take your mind off it for a few minutes. You tell me what you want me to do.” With my hands on my head, feeling the life drain out of me with every passing second, I turn to him.
“Take my mind off it, hermano. Did you recover the two fucks?” I need to make sure I will have somewhere to focus this rage when I know she is ok.
“Yes. They woke up as we were tying them up in the rathouse.”
“Excellent. Did they say anything?”
“They tried. I figured you would want first crack at them, so we didn’t stick around to listen. We covered their mouths and came here. Interestingly enough, I found one of their wallets in the back of the car. The one called Lairn, his last name is Smith.” Son of a bitch. I knew Ransom fucking sent them. I am about to respond and tell him to take Manny and go pick up Ransom and Tripp, Lexi’s dad, but the surgeon walks in.
“Mr. Maldonado.” He says walking into the room taking his cap off. Immediately my legs begin to cave in. I have seen enough movies to know they only remove their cap when the patient has died. I hear this wail, this high pitch mournful, scream rent the air, and it isn’t until the doctor helps me into the chair that I realize it came from me. “Mr. Maldonado, are you ok?” He asks me, flashing a light into my eyes.
“Doc just say it. He obviously believes you are coming to tell him she’s dead.” Ramone says to him, as he pats my back.
“Oh, my word. I’m sorry. No. Mrs. Maldonado is fine. The bullet went through her lower arm. Clean shot. She lost a lot of blood because it nicked an artery. Plus, we had to be cognizant of the anesthesia due to the baby, but otherwise, she is just fine. Both of them are just fine.” Baby! Did he just? I look up at him, my brain clearly creating words that aren’t said. I believe for a moment I am hallucinating until I hear Lara and my mother gasp.
“I’m sorry, did you say baby? My wife is not pregnant.” I mean hell we only had sex for the first time three weeks ago. Surely, it’s too soon to tell. Right? The doctor begins to chuckle making my ire rise. What the fuck is so funny?
“I can see why you would be confused. I am sure she probably didn’t know either. In the past, it would have been too soon to tell. But technology is as such, that first day of her missed period she would be able to find out. However, as standard in my operating room, any woman of childbearing age, gets an ultrasound as a precaution. Just so happens, your wife is indeed pregnant.”
Suddenly, everything changes. The rage is still there, but it is dulled out by the fact that Lexi is going to be fine and we are having a baby. A father. I am going to be a father. “When can I see her?” I need to go and see for myself she is fine. I need to be able to lean down and kiss her mouth, and rub her head, and put my hand on her stomach that is housing our child.
“You may go now if you like. She is lightly sedated, since that is all that is safe for the baby. She is probably
going to sleep the rest of the day. If all goes well tomorrow, she can go home in two days. Congratulations!!!” He shakes my hand and walks off. I take a deep breath, mentally bringing myself back from the brink of hell.
“I am so happy for you hijo. Un niño. Qué maravilloso.” I turn to her to hug her, needing her calming presence to bring me the rest of the way back.
“Sì mama. It is wonderful.”
“Go to her, son. Tell her we love her and get better.” I nod my head, looking at Lara who is being comforted by my brother.
“Would you like to come and see her for a moment? You two were friends long before she was my wife.”
“Can I? I promise I won't take long. I just need to look at her and know she is really ok.” She says wiping her eyes. I notice that Ramone hasn’t left her side since he got here. His hand always somewhere on her.
“Of course.” We walk the hallway to the room, and I stand by the door as she goes in, kisses her cheek and whispers something in her ear. Lexi doesn’t move, so I am not sure she heard it, but I know it makes Lara feel better. She thanks me as she walks out of the room. Looking down at my sleeping beauty, I can’t help but give thanks to God for sparing her and the new life we created. For giving me a chance to be the kind of husband and father mine was. They will be my everything. My whole world will begin and end with them. Kissing her lips, I tell her I love her and that I will be back. I lean down and kiss her stomach, before walking out of the room. Now that I know she is fine, it’s time to finish this.
There is no one in the waiting room when I walk back down there but Ramone and Manny. Julio knows his family. He knows what happens next and if he is going to keep his job so he can protect us, he can’t be anywhere around. “I need you and Manny to go and pick up Tripp Bose and Ransom Smith. Bring them back here.”
