by Trina Solet
As they got out of the car, Leon looked around. The neighborhood was a mix of tiny, single family homes and a few of these small, old apartment buildings. He could see garbage collecting against the sides of the buildings and under the stairs. A rusting dishwasher was abandoned on the curb. Further down the street, a trashcan was overturned and spilling into the gutter.
Approaching the building where 2582 Apt #4 was located, they saw a blond woman in her twenties bouncing a baby. Leon wondered if she could be Tara West until she turned around and he saw that she didn't look like the photos from the file. Turning to Phillip, he wondered if he might have been thinking the same thing. Phillip wasn't looking at her though. Something else had captured his attention.
That's when Leon noticed a little boy sitting on the front steps of the apartment building. His breath caught in his throat. The little boy was about three with curly, dark blond hair and light eyes. Leon looked back at Phillip. His eyes were wide and he didn't seem to be breathing at all.
"Sir?"
"He could be Tony at that age, if his eyes and hair were a little darker and if he was grinning like a little devil." Blinking back tears, Phillip forced himself to look away from the little boy.
Even from this distance, Leon could see a resemblance to the pictures of Phillip's brother. Unlike Tony, the little boy wasn't smiling. He looked anxious as he sat there all alone with a small backpack next to him.
Wondering what his next step would be, Leon watched Phillip. Swallowing hard and trying to get his emotions under control, Phillip approached the woman with the baby. Leon hung back a little, not wanting her to feel crowded.
Phillip stopped a few steps from the woman. "Excuse me, do you know Lillian Lasic? I believe she lives in this building."
"Why do you want to know?" the blond woman asked suspiciously.
"I'm looking for this woman." Phillip showed her a photo. "She goes by the name Tara West."
The woman shook her head before he finished saying the name. "Don't know about that. But you won't find her here. You a cop or something?"
"No. I just need to speak to her about a family matter," Phillip said, and Leon could tell that he had lost some hope.
"You from social services?" she said and she frowned even deeper. She looked him up and down and glanced over at Leon too.
"No. It's a personal matter about a member of my family," Phillip told her.
"As far as family goes, the only ones you'll find here are her great aunt and Joan's little boy," the woman said.
"Joan?"
She bounced her baby and pointed a finger at the photo of Tara West. "That's Joan."
Phillip took a deep breath then gestured toward the stairs where the little boy was sitting. "That little boy...?"
"He's Joan's son. But Joan's dead," the woman said.
Philip looked back at her, stunned. "Dead?"
"Yeah." The woman looked down at her baby then she looked away. "She died less than a year ago now. Cops came to tell Lilly about it. That's her great-aunt. Lilly's had a hell of a time of it since then and before Joan died too." The woman looked toward the little boy.
Phillip followed her gaze then asked. "Is this great-aunt, Lilly, is she around?"
"No. That's why I'm out here. I'm watching the boy until she comes back. She was feeling pretty bad. Scared me a little how bad she looked. Glad she went to the doctor."
"She isn't well?"
The woman shook her head. "At her age, it's to be expected. There's a county service that picks her up and takes her to her doctor's appointments. With all the stops they make, it takes forever."
"My name is Phillip Morton. This is my assistant, Leon Braga. Do you mind if I speak to the little boy. I think I might be his uncle," Phillip said.
Leon was surprised that he didn't wait for the great-aunt to come back so he could speak to her first. His impatience must have gotten the better of him, and Leon couldn't really blame him with his nephew only a few yards away.
"I'm Zoe. Nice to meet you," the woman said automatically while looking back and forth from Phillip to the boy. "Might be his uncle?"
"That's why I was looking for Joan. She told my brother that she was pregnant with his child then disappeared. My bother is... He died recently."
"I'm sorry for your loss." Zoe looked at him sadly. "I guess you can talk to him, poor kid," she said. "I'll be here watching."
"Of course. Thank you." Phillip went up the steps slowly while Leon stayed with Zoe.
Leon couldn't take his eyes of what was about to happen. If he was so overcome by emotion, he could only imagine how Phillip must feel. Whatever he might have been feeling, Phillip was calm and low-key as he went to sit on the steps, a few feet away from the boy. The boy looked at him curiously and Phillip smiled. Seeing the look in his eyes full of sadness and joy, Leon felt like his heart might burst.
Chapter 6
The building at number 2582 was dwarfed by a huge tree. The front of the building was in its shade, including the steps. There was no breeze. Coming down between the leaves, the sun made bright spots that seemed etched into the concrete. One of those spots was on the boy's shoulder another on his knee. They highlighted the red t-shirt and blue jeans he was wearing.
He looked so small and familiar to Phillip. He was Tony at that age and he was also what Tony lost. It was hard for Phillip not to simply burst into tears at the sight of him. But he couldn't. The little boy's eyes were on him. He had to stay calm.
As he went up the steps, Phillip was thinking that Zoe really shouldn't have let him talk to the little boy, but he was also glad that she did. He felt irresistibly pulled toward him.
He stopped a few feet from him and took a deep breath. Ignoring the dirt and dead leaves on the steps, Phillip sat down. The little boy still stared at him. Next to him was a child's backpack with duct tape along one edge.
"Hi. My name is Phillip. Is that your stuff?" Phillip asked him.
"I have a coloring book, but I finished it," the boy said.
"Do you live in this building?" he asked, not sure what he should say to keep the conversation going.
"Up there." The boy pointed straight up.
"In the tree?" Phillip asked him.
The boy giggled then shook his head. Now he pointed over toward the windows upstairs.
"Are you waiting for someone?"
"My Gran-gran."
"Her name is Lilly, right? And what's your name?"
"My name is Anthony, but everyone just calls me Ant."
Anthony. That was a surprise. After she ran from Tony, Phillip wouldn't have expected Tara to name her son after him. "What about your last name?"
"My whole name is Anthony Morton Junior."
Phillip held his breath and blinked back tears. Hearing that name, he couldn't say anything for a while, but Ant didn't notice.
He jumped up excitedly and Phillip saw that a white van slowed then stopped in front of the building. The driver got out, opened the side door and lowered some steps. Then very slowly, an old woman got out. Her hair was silvery gray and cut straight at chin level. Her eyes were a watery blue and blinking uncertainly in the sun.
Zoe called out to the old lady then spoke quietly to her while pointing at Phillip. Leon spoke to her as well. Phillip could hear him introduce himself. Blinking at Leon then at Phillip then looking back at Zoe, Lilly Lasic looked like she couldn't take it all in. Phillip sympathized. He felt the same way himself.
After parting with Zoe, she walked up the stairs, stopping every few steps to catch her breath. As Phillip stood up, Ant ran down to her. At first, Phillip only watched their happy reunion. He heard Lilly call Ant "her little man". Picking up Ant's backpack, Phillip joined them.
"My name is Phillip," he said to Lilly. Instead of introducing himself fully, he asked her, "Did Zoe tell you who I am?"
Lilly nodded slowly. She stared at him and blinked again the way she had before. Though she wore glasses, Phillip got the impression that she couldn
't see very well with them. Finally she smiled at him. Phillip noticed that her face was drawn from the effort of climbing only a few steps.
"Well, it sure is nice to meet you," she paused to take a few breaths before she continued. "I'm Lilly, and I guess you've met my little man here." She looked down at Ant proudly.
"I did, and I can't tell you how happy I am about that. I would like to speak with you, maybe more privately," Phillip told her. He looked over at Ant significantly to let her know that he shouldn't hear some of the things he wanted to say.
She nodded. "Of course. Let's go up. Though it might take me a while."
"Do you mind if my assistant comes up as well?" Phillip asked. He didn't want to leave Leon to wait.
"He's a nice looking young man. Even an old lady like me can appreciate that," she said with a smile and waved Leon up to join them.
All four of them went up with Lilly moving very slowly, just as she had warned them. Ant didn't show any impatience. He seemed used to this. The pace allowed Phillip to take in the dark stairwell and the dank smell.
"Sorry to hold up you young folks like this," Lilly said, huffing.
"No problem, ma'am," Leon told her.
"Gran-gran has slow bones. She's a snail," Ant told them.
Phillip wondered what he meant until his great-great aunt explained.
"He means I have old bones. That's why I'm slow as a snail."
Ant smiled up at her. "I like snails, but when I play with them they get scared and they hide."
Listening to his sweet voice, Phillip grinned and tried to keep tears out of his eyes. This was really Tony's son. He seemed gentler than his dad. He walked patiently next to his Gran-gran while Tony would have been sprinting up and down those stairs ten times by now, yelling for everyone to hurry up already.
They ended up in a tiny apartment with that huge tree outside the window shutting out much of the light. There seemed to be only the cramped living room and one bedroom. It was gloomy and Phillip could smell mold. Overall the place wasn't very clean.
There were signs of Ant's great-great aunt making an effort though. Seeing how she moved with difficulty, Phillip could understand why the place looked like that. Her poor eyesight also made it impossible for her to keep a clean house. It still bothered Philip that Tony's son lived in a place like this.
The kitchen and living room shared the same space with a small Formica table in the middle. A couch with misshapen cushions faced the window. It had a brick holding up one corner of it instead of a leg.
Noticing what he was looking at, Ant warned him, "No jumping."
Considering the state of that couch, even sitting on it might be dangerous. Phillip's gaze moved on to the only other room in the place. With the door open, Phillip saw into the bedroom. There was a single bed in there and a folding bed. That must have been where Ant slept.
While Phillip took in what little there was to see, Lilly sat down at the kitchen table heavily and breathed hard for a while.
"You hungry, my little man?" she asked Ant, who nodded. She started to get up with a lot of effort.
"Can I do anything?" Phillip asked.
"I was just going to give Ant some peanut butter and crackers," she said, leaning on the back of the chair for support.
"Peanut butter is all gone," Ant said.
"Oh, well. Do we have any cheese?" she asked.
Ant opened the mostly empty refrigerator and pulled out a single slice wrapped in plastic. "One cheese!" he announced.
"And where are the crackers?" Phillip asked him so Lilly could sit back down.
Ant pointed up at a cabinet. Phillip got a half empty box of crackers and also a plate. Sitting at the table across from his Gran-gran, Ant broke off a piece of cheese for each cracker until he ran out and had a few more crackers plain. Once he was done, he just sat there kicking his feet. That wasn't enough food even for a little guy like him, but Ant didn't complain.
"I'll go shopping when I've had a little rest," Lilly said, looking at Ant sadly. "Zoe sometimes buys a few things for us when she goes. She's a good girl."
"Would it be all right if I went shopping for you? I can go right now," Leon offered. Phillip was so grateful to him for being so thoughtful.
"That's such an imposition, I couldn't..." Lilly started to say, but Leon wouldn't hear it.
"Not at all. I don't mind. Donatella's Grocery is still open, isn't it?"
Lilly shook her head. "Donatella's is too pricey. Oh, no. I do my shopping at QuickSave."
"This is on Phillip's tab. He can afford Donatella's," Leon said with a wink at Phillip.
Lilly still didn't look sure, but Phillip handed Leon some cash and he was off.
Lilly sent Ant to play in the bedroom then she invited Phillip to sit at the kitchen table with her. That's when Phillip told her about Tony. With Ant just in the next room, Phillip kept his voice low. Even so he had trouble getting the words out.
Lilly clutched at the front of her shirt and looked pained as she heard about Tony's death. "Oh, my poor Ant. Zoe told me your brother passed. I'm so sorry about your loss. To think that my Ant doesn't have a momma or a daddy now."
"I was very sorry to hear about Tara, I mean Joan." He told her how he had found out about Ant and his mother. "Tony tried to find her, but he only knew her as Tara West."
"Where did she get that from?" Lilly said while she gazed at the photos that Phillip had brought along. She obviously hadn't known her great-niece used the name. That reminded Phillip to ask about Ant's name.
"When I was speaking to Ant earlier, he told me his full name. I'm happy to hear that he has his father's name, but I'm a little surprised too since Ant's mother didn't stay in touch with Tony."
Lilly sighed. "Joan didn't know what she was going to name her baby. She was thinking up names, never settling on any one in particular. After he was born, I told that girl that she better give the child his father's name in case he ever needed something. It was a sort of insurance policy. This way the boy carries his father's name and that puts a stamp on the kid, you could say. It was so he would be taken care of if something happened to Joan or to me. With the life she lived, I was always afraid...." She stopped for a moment to regain her composure. "That one time, she did listen to me. 'I can do that,' Joan said with this crafty look on her face. Later on she told me that your brother didn't like his given name at all."
"That's true, but I'm glad Ant inherited it. Once Tony left home, he was more likely to go by Tony Mortoni than his real name, and he used other aliases as well. He and Joan had that in common," Phillip said with a smile.
Tony always complained about his full name, maybe because he heard it so often when he was in trouble. He didn't think it fit him. "It makes me sound like I work in a bank or something," he groused. But he never officially changed his name, possibly for their parents' sake. Now it would live on in his little boy.
"After Joan died, did you try contacting Tony?" Phillip asked. It was clear that Lilly could have used help raising Ant.
"I didn't know how or where to start. Zoe went on the computer to look for him, but she had no luck."
If she looked for Tony under the name Anthony Morton, she wouldn't have found him very easily. And Lilly didn't have the money to pay a private investigator the way Philip did when he found her.
"I wish Tony could have found you first," Phillip told her in a quiet voice. The thought that Ant would never meet Tony, that his brother would never set eyes on his little boy choked him up. If he was alone right now that thought would have made Phillip collapse in tears.
Chapter 7
It didn't take long for Leon to come back from his shopping trip. He brought in two full bags of groceries and set them on the kitchen counter. Ant was very curious about what he bought. As Leon showed him, Phillip was glad to see a few different kinds of fruit.
"Bananas! I love bananas," Ant said until he saw that Leon got ice cream as well.
Lilly decided that Ant should have som
e real food first, and Leon volunteered to make them both sandwiches with what he bought.
As he worked in the kitchen, Leon eyed Ant. "So you're Ant. The ant and the lion. That's perfect. My name is Leon, and that means lion."
After looking confused for a minute, Ant said, "You're a lion?"
"I'm a lion in the same way you're an ant. You're an Ant but you're not an ant. But you're little like an ant."
"Nooo," Ant protested.
Leon shrugged as if to say, "I call 'em as I see 'em."
"Sorry. I didn't realize that I didn't introduce you two," Phillip said. In his state of emotional turmoil, he had forgotten to make the introductions. And he still hadn't told Ant that he was his uncle. He decided it was time to do both, with Lilly's permission. "Is it all right if I tell Ant now?" Phillip asked Lilly, and she nodded. He steeled himself then said, "As you heard, this is Leon. Leon, this is Ant, my nephew."
Ant mouthed the word nephew like he wasn't sure what it meant.
"It's something good," Leon said and smiled at the confused little kid.
Phillip explained. "You are my nephew, and I'm your uncle. My name is Phillip Morton."
"Morton like me?" Ant asked and pointed at himself.
"Yes. Exactly. You have your dad's name, but we called him Tony. Your dad was my younger brother."
"Younger? A little brother?" Ant asked in wonder.
"Yes, he was my little brother. That makes me your Uncle Phillip."
Ant looked unsure for a moment and a little overwhelmed then he said, "Hi, Uncle Phillip!"
"Hi. I'm very happy I found you," Phillip said with a voice tight with emotion and tears in his eyes. He and Ant shook hands formally, and Phillip never wanted to let go.
Lilly ate only a little bit of her sandwich though she thanked Leon profusely for making it and for doing the shopping. Leon and Ant went to sit by the open window and eat ice cream. Fresh air wafted in even if there was no breeze. After that Leon kept Ant busy with an incomplete deck of playing cards, and Phillip spoke to Lilly again.
