“Where have you seen purple like that before?” Moni asked with a hint of nervousness as she thought of the tumors and glowing eyes. For once, she felt relieved that Mariella wouldn’t answer her. “Maybe on a pretty flower?”
Mariella drew a purple flower. The petals were precisely even and symmetrical. She sketched a heart underneath it and handed it to Moni.
“Ah, for me? Thank you!” She held the precious paper up and made sure the girl saw her beaming approval. “I’ll hang it in the kitchen with the others.”
Keeping the girl on the patio in the corner of her eye, Moni took her backpack and went into the house. When she pulled out a few other drawings that Mariella had made at school, she came across the gator picture. She couldn’t help but notice it because it didn’t look anything like the others. The lines around its scaly body and stubby claws were rigid. It didn’t have cartoonish features like Mrs. Mint had said. The gator had jagged teeth—meat rendering teeth.
Moni remembered the crime scene photo with the divots of flesh torn out of Robbie Cooper’s arm. That creature had caught him in a death grip and dragged him below water. She felt a little hand on her back and jumped.
“Oh! Hi.” She patted Mariella on the shoulder.
The girl offered her another paper. This one had writing: I am eight years old.
“Very good, baby.” Moni placed the gator drawing face down on the kitchen counter so she could avoid voicing her opinion on that one. Mariella must not have noticed because she smiled proudly.
The doorbell rang and the girl dropped her smile. She curled into her safety position right behind Moni’s leg and clung on for dear life.
“It’s okay, child.” Moni patted her on the head as she dislodged her foot from the floor and hauled the girl with her to the door. “I’m expecting a friendly visitor today. You’ll like this guy.”
After making sure she saw those blond locks through the side window, Moni swung open the door for Aaron and his teddy bear. The surfing stud could have come in a T decked with tribal skulls and sharks. Moni patted herself on the back for figuring that Aaron would know better. His beach bum button-down shirt and jean shorts shouldn’t threaten Mariella at all. And even better; he held a brown furry teddy in front of his face and gave it a voice.
“Hi, little girl,” Aaron said in a voice that sounded more like a chipmunk than a baby bear. “The fleas are getting me out here. May I please come in?”
Mariella ducked behind Moni’s leg so the cotton-stuffed intimidator wouldn’t spot her. Lowering the bear, Aaron uncovered his deflated face. The novice didn’t know that he couldn’t win a strange child’s heart in the first five seconds with a toy. Now candy—that might have a shot.
Still, Moni saw a double meaning in his gesture of bringing a present for the child, but nothing for the full-grown woman. Either he viewed this as a strictly friendly meeting or he made it a point in showing her that he would embrace having a kid around. Moni hadn’t made up her mind which one of those she’d prefer.
“That pickup line so bombed. We’re not that easy,” Moni told Aaron. “Don’t worry. I’ll still invite you in.” She backpedaled with Mariella clinging against her leg. Aaron sauntered on in as if he had been in her house a thousand times. He kept the teddy bear in hand and his black bag slung over his shoulder. Mariella better calm down so he can do her checkup, Moni thought.
“Okay, Mariella. This is my friend Aaron.”
She reached behind her and grabbed the child’s hand, but she resisted a gentle tug toward the visitor. Mariella squirmed away and scampered onto the couch. She sat with her legs shielding everything but her dark hair and piercing brown eyes.
“I’m sorry. It just takes a while with new people,” Moni said. Of course, there were some people Mariella never tolerated. She might have been an innocent, all-trusting child before, but never again after what happened to her parents.
“It’s cool. I guess I’m one creepy dude,” Aaron said. “I knew I should have worn my Chuck E. Cheese cologne.” His eyes brightened as Moni giggled. “Look, I’ll just leave the little princess this teddy bear right on this couch. She can take teddy if she wants… Please don’t leave him sad and alone.”
Aaron tossed the teddy bear on the opposite end of the couch from Mariella. She stretched her leg out and curiously poked it with her toes. The girl snapped her foot back as if the furry toy had been on fire.
“It’s just a toy, baby,” Moni said. “It won’t hurt you. This man has only brought good things for you today.” At least, that’s what she hoped.
Mariella didn’t budge. She curled her head into her knees as if she were an armadillo balling up.
“It’s been a rough week, I know, I know,” Aaron told the girl. “I remember when I was in elementary school like you and the other kids thought I was a total scrub. I was all bird-chested and twig-limbed. One time when they were making us do chin-ups on the big bar and I could barely do one, this kid from a higher grade snuck behind and pantsed me. I’m talking totally down to my ankles in front of the whole class.” Mariella stole a peek at him from behind her knees. She couldn’t hide that smile. Moni couldn’t believe the girl finally looked amused. “Aw man, they brought it up every day. That’s when I took up surfing. Out there, all you hear are the waves. They might dump you on your butt sometimes, but they don’t mean anything personal by it. Just remember to keep your bathing suit tied up tight. I’ve been pantsed by a wave before too, but that was my fault.”
With a big grin curling along the corners of her lips, Mariella snatched up his bear and cradled it in her lap. She finally placed her feet on the floor. Moni gawked at Aaron as if he had just leapt over the Great Wall of China.
With the girl at ease with him, Aaron studied all the tribal African paintings and figurines on Moni’s walls and cabinets. Most were of proud women traced in black chalk with slender yet strong bodies and boisterous Afros. There were no men in any of the artwork besides the male animals: the mighty lion head cast in fiery orange with black obsidian eyes, the stoic giraffe being led by the robed tribal woman, a horse racing a woman who has lightening streaking from her hair.
Moni knew her decorating practically screamed, “This is a black woman’s house!” She didn’t do it for her light-skinned guests. They would say a single drop of chocolate into a cup of white milk looks black. No, Moni made sure her brothers and sisters didn’t confuse her complexion with being light on soul.
“Wicked house, Moni,” said Aaron, who didn’t appear at all concerned about her untamed warrior complex. Maybe he liked that kind of thing.
“I’m keeping the African importers in business,” Moni said. “Mariella likes it too. She’s drawn some of these animals. She especially likes the horses.”
“Oh yeah?” He faced Mariella but smartly kept his distance. “I know a horse ranch. How’d you like to go horseback riding some time?”
After a few seconds processing the offer, Mariella nodded slowly. As Mariella sat on the couch coloring alongside her new teddy bear, the cool breeze seeped in from the screen in the rear of the house and jostled through the girl’s hair. Moni and Aaron sat around the dining table, where they could see her and still talk quietly without the girl overhearing. She liked his surfing and boating stories so much that she nearly asked him for a trip out on the water with him. The problem was Moni didn’t like any body of water she couldn’t see straight through. She imagined there were critters or slimy things in there. With all that bacteria gunk in the lagoon, that applied more than ever.
And Mariella had bathed in that vile water enough.
“Listen, Aaron,” she said during a narrow gap between his stories. The less she countered with stories about her life, the better. “I think Mariella feels more comfortable with you now. Can you check her out a little just to be sure she doesn’t have… you know?”
“I’ll try, but I don’t think she’ll let me touch her. I wouldn’t want to force myself…”
“I can keep her
steady. We’ll start with her mouth.”
“The mouth, huh? Have you ever seen anything there? You know what they look like.”
Caught hesitating, Moni shrugged. She offered him a seductive smile that she hoped would make him forget the question. Sure enough, Aaron grinned as dumbly as a rabbit trapped in a box and munching on the bait.
Moni sat besides Mariella and started stroking the girl’s hair as she colored. Her eyes locked on those brownish pink lips. She wondered whether those delicate petals hid a horde of purple welts full of life-sucking bacteria. They would have left their toxic residue on every utensil and dish in Moni’s house. Every time Moni opened her mouth or breathed in the air inside her own house, the tiny assassins invaded her body. Mariella didn’t appear sick. Moni didn’t feel bad either, but the very thought of their existence made her blood curdle inside her veins.
The moment Aaron took a step toward the couch with the black bag at his side, Mariella froze. She dropped her crayon, clasped her palm atop Moni’s hand and cowered against her protector. Nothing got past this girl.
“Oh Mariella. I told you Aaron won’t hurt you. He’s just gonna give you a quick check up.”
“Only if you’re okay with it,” Aaron assured her.
“Oh course, she…”
Feeling Mariella’s frightened touch, Moni realized that she couldn’t speak for the girl. Just because Mariella didn’t talk, that didn’t mean Moni could make her decisions for her. The tiny trembling fingers digging into her hand told her all that mattered. Mariella felt healthy and strong. She didn’t need instruments probing her body. She hated needles. Moni couldn’t let anyone do it—even Aaron.
He paced closer. Moni stood up and shielded the girl. “Change of plans.”
“Oh? You seemed so sure a second ago.”
“Mariella isn’t ready for more tests. What she had last week after we picked her up was enough.”
“I’m not arguing.” Aaron dropped his bag and kicked it underneath the table. “We’ll play doctor another time. But right now, how about we play ‘order that pizza’?”
“Now you’re talking.” Moni grinned and set a fresh sheet of paper on the table for Mariella, who finally relaxed her grip so the blood could rush back into Moni’s arm. “Hey, baby, why don’t you draw me a nice picture of all the toppings you…”
Her words were cut off by a loud bang and crash from in front of her house. Mariella scampered behind the couch as fast as a mouse shooting back into its hole. Moni leapt up and marched past the befuddled Aaron toward the front window. She brushed back the curtains. The side mirror on Aaron’s sedan had been bashed and left hanging like a mangled limb. Darren had paid them a little visit.
“That’s my fucking car!” Aaron hollered. “My dad will be so pissed.”
Moni didn’t care how much Aaron mooched off his parents at that moment because she knew the man who smacked that mirror off Aaron’s car wouldn’t hesitate in separating parts from real bodies. The door shook under his pounding.
“Open this door Moni!”
Her father had screamed the same message at her when she held tight to the handle on the other side of her closet door. He had always overpowered her flimsy arms and barged inside with his breath aflame.
Darren’s boot slammed into the door. Moni felt the vibration of the blow in the floor and jolted back.
“I got ways of com’n in here. Remember, this is where I live! This is my house!”
Moni’s hand hovered over the gun hanging on her waistband. It stood ready for a moment like this. She didn’t touch it. Darren had smacked her around, but he’d never go gangster on her.
“Moni, who the hell is that?” Aaron asked.
“Just some guy,” she mumbled.
“Some guy’s gonna make us call the police. No offense and all, but I think you could use some backup on this one.”
“Don’t. I got this.”
He didn’t deserve jail time. He wasn’t like her father. She had thought Darren would protect her from her father. He’d never mess with a 6-foot, 4-inch mass of black muscle adorned with thick chains, gold teeth and tribal tattoos all up and down his arms.
“I know you got some little faggot in there wit’ you!” he shouted through the door. “You really want me to break this window don’t you? Or how about I come ‘round back and stomp in your screen?”
Moni glanced behind her. If Darren came through the rear, he’d see Mariella hiding behind the couch. That asshole had ruined enough girls’ lives.
“You wanna see me?” Moni asked. “Here I am.”
Her hand froze over her gun. Darren wouldn’t go that far unless she drew first. She unlocked the deadbolt. He immediately yanked open the door, but the chain stopped it from opening more than five inches. Darren nearly dislodged the chain from the wall. Moni saw cracks form in the wood around it.
His nostrils flared as he poked his face through as far as he could. Those lips that had once kissed her so passionately all over her body and made her squeal with delight now snarled like a panther with gold-capped fangs.
“You can’t kick me out,” Darren said. “I paid for this crib.”
“You leant me a couple hundred bucks once. That doesn’t mean you own the place.”
“I own what I say I own and we’re not done until I say we’re done. I don’t remember breaking up with you, bitch.”
“Yeah, what you call what you were doing with that ho? That’s a relationship killer right there. There is no coming back home from that shit.”
“Men got urges. Sometimes that’s what happens when the woman is working late when her ass should be home. You can’t blame me for that.”
“Fine. I don’t blame you… Now get away from my house.”
Moni pushed the door shut, but Darren wrapped his bear paw of a hand around the door. She couldn’t press it closed. She squinted her eyes and shoved it harder. Her effort stymied, Moni opened her eyes and saw the silver nozzle of Darren’s gun in her face. She instantly realized how foolish she was to trust that she wouldn’t need to draw her gun.
“Ain’t you gonna invite me in so I can meet your guest?”
Chapter 15
Moni did what her ex-boyfriend said. She dropped her gun on the floor and unlocked the chain so he could come inside. Aaron had never been held at gunpoint. The worst weapon he’d seen used on the beachside was a skateboard swung around. His blood ran cold when the hulking black man burst in the house and swept the aim of his gun between him and Moni.
After telling himself a thousand times that this wasn’t happening and holding his ass from shitting his pants, Aaron got the notion that Mr. Muscles wasn’t playing games. This guy intended on hurting somebody—maybe killing them.
“What’s up?” the man barked as he pointed the gun at Aaron’s forehead.
His mumbling reply didn’t form a coherent response.
“You think you can mack on my girl? Yeah, this is what happens.”
He brought the barrel within inches of his face. Aaron squeezed his eyes closed.
“Stop it, Darren!” Moni shouted. “This is between you and me. It has nothing to do with him.”
The man turned the gun from Aaron and casually aimed it at her ribs. “Oh, so when you bring some punk home to lay that pipe in you it means nothing, but when I stray for just one night it’s all over. Is that how it works with you? That’s a double standard, if you ask me.”
“You don’t know shit about what I’m doing. I haven’t done anything with Aaron. He’s here as a friend.”
The diss of being called a friend didn’t hurt Aaron as bad as how Darren responded when he heard his name.
“Aaron, huh?” Darren turned the gun on him again. “So that’s the name they’ll be writing on your tombstone.”
Aaron shielded his face—as if his arms could block a bullet—and backed off.
“Darren, get a grip on yourself! You’re not that kind of person. I’ve known you since high school. You’re no k
iller.”
Aaron peeked out from behind his arms and saw Darren facing Moni with the gun on her again.
“You’ve known me all these years, Moni, and now you’re kick’n me outta this house like a dog. Cause I made, what, one mistake? How many times have I covered for you when you screwed up? Huh? You still haven’t told off your father and he keeps com’n round. Without me, you think he would have left here without hurting you?”
“And now you’re telling my father all about my life. You’ve sure come full circle.”
“I’m just making sure you remember how good you had it. You think this little white boy is gonna save you from your ex-con daddy? Look at him.” He waved at Aaron with a hand and forearm nearly as wide as the kid’s calves.
By Aaron’s count, Moni had a thuggish ex-boyfriend, an abusive father and a cruel boss. With her horrible luck with men, Aaron figured he resembled a dashing prince in comparison. Of course, he didn’t feel all that heroic with Darren and his gun in the room.
When he saw Moni’s desperate eyes putting him on the spot to say something and stand up for his manliness, Aaron couldn’t catch his tongue. His bragging would have been like the town sandal shiner unleashing a battle cry in the face of a Spartan warrior.
“Get outta here, punk.” Darren said without even pointing his gun at him. The deep growl in his voice sounded deadly enough. “Leave me and my girl and don’t let me catch you even looking at her again. If I see you again, there’s gonna be a whooping headed your way.”
Aaron didn’t feel readying for a whooping that day, especially from the business end of a gun. He faced Moni, who still had the weapon trained on her. “It’s okay, Aaron. You don’t have to stay for this.” She couldn’t even look at him as her words drowned in disappointment.
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