She exhaled. She was disappointed and perturbed at herself all at the same time. “Okay, you’ve said what you came here to say. Thanks. One of them will lead you out.”
They objected. Tony walked right over to Maia and made his case. “There isn’t enough of you to fight them off. You need us. You and the boys are the only family I have left, and I’m not leaving here until I know you’re all safe.”
Charlie gave her those eyes; the ones that said he was about to throw some truth on her and she wasn’t going to like it. “They’re right, you know. We don’t know how many people they’ve recruited or how many dogs are out there. We need manpower.” He looked back and forth between her and Jason. “I know the two of you don’t play well together, but you need to set your differences aside and take one for the team. Can y’all do that?”
Maia stood with her arms crossed. Jason walked over to her. “I’m sorry I got it wrong. I should’ve talked to you first, but I’m not sorry for trying to defend you and protect you. And that guy wasn't innocent. He was raping a woman when we found him. Look, I…” He glanced around the room and thought about the words to use. “I can’t change how I feel about you, but I do want to be friends. Can we do that?”
She looked around the room at all of the faces. It dawned on her that she was the only female in a house full of males. “If ‘friends’ really means ‘friends’ then yes. If this is a door for you to walk back in then—“
Friends means friends,” he said, holding his hand out to shake hers. She looked at his hand and swatted it out of the way then reached around his neck hugged him tightly. He hugged her right back. “I was only looking out for you.”
“I know,” she replied.
Tye cringed. "What’s the plan?” He asked, hoping they'd break their embrace.
“Well, first things first.” Charlie walked into the den where the boys were tossing around a football. Everyone followed thinking he was about to lay out a plan or give a speech, or something. Instead, he walked over to the board and batten paneling and used his knife to pry open one side. The panel opened up like a door. Inside were huge plastic containers full of more plastic containers. Inside of those was food.
“What y’all want for supper?” he asked. “Can soup, shrimp ramen, beef ramen, chicken ramen…” Then with a huge grin on his face, he said, “…or taco mac-and-cheese?” Much to his delight, taco mac-and-cheese was the overwhelming response. “Alright then, I’ll get started. It’s all freeze-dried, so it needs to boil for about twenty minutes.”
Rodney pointed around the room at Carsten, Jaxon and some of the other boys, “Come on. We got traps to reset thanks to your uncle and his friends.”
As they headed out the door, Jaxon tossed the football to his Uncle Tony. Chairs and benches filled the large den. There was an open fireplace that gave heat and light to the room and shelves full of games, books, and knick-knacks lined the walls.
The guys each took a seat and without warning the football started flying around the den. Maia went into the kitchen to help Charlie. After the two of them had put the packages of mac-and-cheese into the pots, he sent her to grab a couple of cans of refried beans.
Before she even came around the corner into the den, she heard their conversation. She couldn’t believe it. It took less than ten minutes for the topic to come up.
She walked over the panel and opened it, shaking her head in disbelief the whole time. “What are you shaking your head about?” Tony asked.
“I cannot believe it took y’all less than ten minutes to start talking about this…stuff.”
They laughed. “What stuff, bae?” Sean asked.
“Don’t play with me. You know what I’m talking about.” She thought about saying it outright but considering in the last few minutes alone they’d used a couple of dozen ridiculous terms to describe it. She figured she'd make a distinction. “You’re talking about making love, right?”
They immediately poked fun at the term. Well, except for Tye. He didn’t dare say a word.
Tony teased her, “Oh, so after all that shit you were talking last night, you’re in the ‘making love’ camp now?”
Grrr. She wanted to smack Tony for saying that. How many times did she need to explain this to men?
“Look, when you love someone, no matter how you do it, it’s called making love,” she huffed, “when you don’t love the person then you can call it whatever you want.”
All eyes glanced around at each other in amusement. Then she thought about it; why do guys get to speak freely about sex but women don’t? She figured it was only fair that she gets to play their game. Then, just as nonchalantly as if she were speaking about the weather, she said, “I know when most people hear that term they think of the slow, erotic, sensual type of sex. That kind is great. I mean, I like it sometimes. I just tend to prefer the heated, aggressive, animalistic kind that drives me to a place where I have no choice but to scream his name in submission because in that breath, I know I’m his.”
Great, she thought to herself. Did she just say that in front of these clowns? If only she had an "undo" button for her mouth or a filter; a filter would do.
Hoops and hollers, as well as sounds of disbelief, erupted. They focused on her in amazement, waiting to hear what she’d say next. Some mouths hung open, especially Tye’s. This was pure candy for his male mind although he wasn’t too keen on all these other guys hearing it.
She looked up at them. “What? My point is both ways are making love. Quit staring at me like I just ate a booger.”
And just like that, the mood in the room dissipated. Shock and awkward smiles filled it.
“Who is this woman?” Tye said, watching her as she walked into the kitchen. Even with all of her raw edges and logistical thinking, she was all woman, and his eyes intentionally recorded her every move as she pranced away.
“Looks like that woman is gonna be the end of you, son,” Caleb replied in jest while throwing the football right at him. The rest of the guys laughed, shaking their heads in agreement.
Tye caught the football and smacked it in his hands. Maybe she was, but it didn’t matter. All he knew was that he wanted to make her his, crazy and all.
During their little fiesta, they discussed plans to scout the area and see if they could assess the number of people in each camp as well as the resources each of them had. They knew the dog hunters didn’t intend to put their plan into motion for at least two days, but that still didn’t give them much time.
Maia, Charlie, Tye, Caleb, Rodney, and a couple of the boys stayed behind while the rest set out on their mission. Caleb was in the midst of a heated battle of Monopoly with Elex and Sadie while Rodney and Charlie cleaned up the kitchen. The rest of the boys started a game of cards.
Tye walked up to Maia, “Is there somewhere we can go talk for a few minutes?”
She didn’t know why but that question made her nervous. “Yeah, we can go upstairs. Let me tell Charlie.” When she went to tell Charlie, Tye happened to catch Caleb smirking at him. He brushed him off. Caleb responded by giving him a glowing thumbs up.
Maia led the way up the creaking stairs to the second story landing. “We can go in this one. The others had leaks, and no matter how much vinegar and baking soda I put in there it still smells like mold.”
The room was relatively large with a king size bed, and half a dozen twin mattresses piled up. Maia pulled one onto the floor and took a seat against the wall. “Have a seat,” she said as she patted the space beside her.
He pivoted on his feet and plopped down onto the mattress. He hopped up and down a few times and made himself at home beside her. “This is so much more comfortable than that piece of cardboard we slept on last night,” he said.
“Yeah. We have pillows too. So…what did you want to talk about? And by the way, you should start using a bib because you are wearing more macaroni and cheese than you consumed.”
He looked down and laughed. “That was some good macaroni. I guess y
ou can put taco seasoning on anything and make it taste good.”
“I think what you’re trying to say is anything is better than MREs.”
“That too,” Tye replied. They both laughed. He continued, “I need a favor.”
“Sure, what is it?” Maia said, fidgeting with her fingernails.
“Um, I found some bloody napkins in the trash back at Charlie’s place. At first, I didn’t think anything of it. I thought maybe someone had a nosebleed or that it was from one of your injuries or something.” A grave look of concern washed over his face. “But today when I picked up Sadie’s clothes to dry them I noticed blood in her underwear.”
Realization overcame Maia, and she put her hand over her mouth. “Oh, my gosh…that’s why the dogs were chasing us.”
“Yep, that’s what I was thinking.”
“Is this her first period?”
Tye sighed and shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. I have no idea. If this isn’t her first—Beth never said anything to me. So, I don’t know. I tried to talk to her about it, but she blew me off.”
“It’s okay. I can talk to her if you want. I may have some experience with this kind of thing.” She winked at him.
“I’d appreciate it. It doesn’t bother me to talk to her about any of this, but I don’t think she’d be comfortable talking to a man even if it is her dear old dad and really, I don’t have the right anatomy to answer any questions she might have about it, you know?”
“I know what you mean. I’ll let you know how it goes.” She took a deep breath and nodded. “Yeah, I can totally do that for you. You had me scared for a minute.” She grinned. “I didn’t know what you wanted to talk to me about.”
Before he could reply, they heard a commotion downstairs. They could make out someone yelling, “Get down! Get down!”
Chapter Thirty
Tye reached over and grabbed his gun and told Maia to stay put. He opened the door slowly and quietly. Once he was out the door, again, he looked at her and mouthed, “Stay here.”
He moved stealthily along the wall of the second story landing then peered around the corner to see what was happening below. Several shady looking characters were inside the house pointing guns; their heads and faces concealed. He heard Caleb attempting to talk them down.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, fellas. We ain’t lookin’ for trouble,” Caleb assured them. Their voices carried through the empty halls of the old home.
One of the men yelled out, “Give us the woman and the boys, leave the same way you came, and there won’t be none.”
“That’s not going to happen,” Caleb said. Simultaneously, an assertive “no” escaped Tye’s lips as he stood up against the wall, prepared to go out guns blazing. He watched as Junior and the rest of Maia's boys snuck up from behind and pulled their weapons on the intruders.
Maia sat with her ear to the open door and when she heard the men speak a chill darted through her spine. She stood up tall and looked over at Tye, with her eyes and mouth wide open. This couldn’t be.
“Danny? Is that you? What are you doing?” Rodney asked, from behind them.
Maia stepped through the door with her hands raised and walked toward the stairs. Tye tried to stop her. “It’s okay,” she said to him then she signaled to her boys to put their weapons down. Tye followed her down the stairs.
One of the men’s eyes met hers. “You okay, Maia? These people hurt you?”
She knew that voice. “Mr. Clarence? What’s going on?”
At only fifty-seven years old, Clarence Williams was one of the oldest of the neighbors in Amitola. He was the first to notice Maia and her boys sneaking in and out of the psych yard. He offered advice and help when needed and quickly became a father figure to her.
“I’m fine. They’re with me. They have kids here too. They’ve been helping me.”
“Oh, a thank you wasn’t good enough? You just bring ‘em back with you? We don’t even know these people!” Danny said.
“Y’all should hear ‘em out. They can help us,” Rodney said, shushing the other boys when they tried to chime in.
“Look, I know you’re leery. I would be too. But we do know Maia, and she explained all of the rules, and we’re good with it.” Caleb explained, “We have a lot to contribute if you’ll let us. We’re not looking for anything but a safe place for our kids. That’s all.”
Maia put her hands down and stepped between Caleb and Danny blocking the path of his shotgun. She glanced quickly at the faces of the other two men. She recognized one as detective Gil Dumais. The other, she believed, was Luke Brown but she couldn’t be sure because most of his face was covered. She pointed towards Tye. “This is Tye Agosta. He was my self-defense trainer. He’s the guy I was telling you and Shelly about.”
“So you the one trained her to do all that fancy shit she’s been teaching my wife?” Danny asked flippantly, turning the gun on him. Maia slowly made her way between them again. “Get out of the way,” he said.
Attempting to de-escalate the situation Tye slowly put his gun on the ground and raised his hands. Then he carefully walked up behind Maia and gently nudged her from in front of the weapon. “It’s okay,” he told her. He focused his attention on Danny. “Yes, sir. I’m a third-degree black belt in Krav Maga, and I’ve trained several UFC champions.”
“Don’t forget undefeated in boxing and three times Golden Gloves champion.” Caleb chimed in still staring down the barrel of the gun. “And he has lots of trophies and plaques.”
“Had…” Tye corrected. “…had. I’m sure they’re all gone now.”
“Well, remind me to shake your hand when I get this gun outta your face,” Danny said.
“We could do that now. I’d love to shake your hand.”
“Nah. What about your friend here?” Danny asked shifting the direction of the shotgun from Tye to Caleb.
Maia gasped. “Danny! Mr. Clarence, please tell everyone to put the guns down. Their kids are right here! They’ve been through enough.” Maia walked over to Elex and Sadie and sat them down behind the recliner.
Rodney and the rest of the boys objected too, but it was no use.
“I’ll put the gun down when I’m good and ready. Now, who is this guy?”
Mr. Clarence locked eyes with Maia and nodded toward Danny in agreement with him. She sighed.
Caleb willfully complied. “My name is Caleb Finnigan. That’s my son, Elex. We’re originally from Boston, but I was here with my father doing business when everything started.”
Sgt. Dumais, who’d been listening intently, broke his silence, “Why do you look so familiar?” he asked Caleb.
“Uh, my family owns a company that represents stunt people. My brother and I did a reality show about it called Action, Inc. I used to do political commentary called Fin Again, so I’ve been on TV for that. I ran an organization for veterans.”
“And how is any of that going to help us?” Luke asked.
“I’m a good businessman. I’m not afraid of hard work, and if you give me a chance I can negotiate, manage, supervise, fight, hunt, clean toilets, pump water, whatever. I’ll use every skill I have to help in any way I can. In fact, I’ve already negotiated a deal with a man named Allen for a long list of supplies including labor kits. Plus, I’m working on getting a midwife and her family to join us.”
“Man, I bet you can strut sitting down, can’t ya? What makes you think we couldn’t have handled that ourselves?” Danny asked him.
“With all due respect, if you could’ve then why didn’t you? I’ve also got a warehouse full of weapons and ammo. Anything we might need. I’ll take you to it.” Tye looked at him wide-eyed, and Caleb shrugged his shoulders back at him.
“Is that true, Maia?” Clarence asked.
“Yes, to all of it except I haven’t seen the guns but I believe him if he says he knows where they are.”
Clarence and Danny shared a glance then signaled the others to put their weapons down. Finally, Maia could exhale.
>
“Oh, my gosh, what the hell was this all about?” Maia complained.
Having heard the commotion, Charlie came out of the bathroom holding up his pants. With a dumbfounded look and a toothpick stuck on his lip, he glanced around the room at all of them and said, “Uh huh, if you fine folks need any further help sorting this out, let me know. I’ll just be in here dropping a deuce.” He took the toothpick out of his mouth and held it up. “Good to see you, Clarence.”
“Good to see you too, Charlie,” Clarence replied.
“So what is this about?” Maia asked again.
“We noticed some of the dog men setting up shop all around our swamp. Aurora and Mae went missing when they were out fishing… alone. We found the boat, but we didn’t find them.”
“Aurora and Mae? What are we going to do?”
“Don’t know yet,” Clarence replied.
Danny slung his rifle onto his back. “Then some of your litter came home last night and told Shelly they couldn’t find you. Said the last they saw, you were running away from the dog hunters. So, we headed out at first light to find you. We were just heading back when we saw the candles lit up in here. Figured we’d see if it was you. Then we saw people we didn’t know. So…”
“Aww. Thank you, Danny. You do care.” She teased.
“I didn’t say all that. They care though,” he said teasing back at her while pointing at the other guys in the group.
Maia didn’t know what to think of Danny sometimes. He was beyond peculiar. He was like a small town farm boy meets back of the tracks rebel who was raised by kissing cousins in the deep, deep backwoods of the South. His dad was half Cajun and half Scots. His mother was a full blood Houma Indian. He could out hunt, out fish, out trap, out fight, and out moonshine anyone and he knew every song Metallica ever recorded and some they didn’t. He also had a bad habit of spouting off idioms, incorrectly. The worst thing about him was that he constantly referred to Maia as the “cat” in most of his contrived phrases.
Amitola: The Making of a Tribe Page 32
