Art of Loyalty

by Monique Orgeron

  I open the door for her and say, “Yep, church.”

  She gets in the car and I close the door. She doesn’t ask me anymore, but I can see her wheels turning in her head as she looks at me in the rearview mirror.

  22

  Brittany

  I cannot believe that son-of-a-bitch showed up at my church. He met Chloe, fuck! How am I going to answer the fifty million questions that I’m waiting to come spewing out of her mouth any second? Shit! I’m driving when she finally opens her mouth.

  “He seemed nice, and damn Sis, that man is fine.”

  I can’t help but laugh, “Yes, he is that.”

  “Well, then why not give him a chance?”

  “Because he’s not what I’m looking for.”

  “I call bullshit!”

  “Hey!”

  “Well, it’s true. He is every woman’s type. Seems like he likes you a lot too.”

  “Why? What do you mean? You don’t even know the guy.”

  “Well Sis, if a man like him is willing to go to church to ask you out on a date, then he likes you a lot. I don’t know any guy who even goes to church anymore.”

  “You ever thought that he was using church as a way for him to get to me? Like just for show.”

  “Yes of course it is, but who else do you know that would put that much effort into getting the girl anymore?”

  “I am not going to go out with him, so he should just stop.”

  “Whatever you say.”

  We pull up to the nursing home and Chloe stays silent, which is scary, to say the least. She’s always talking. She helps me get all the cookies from the trunk and helps bring them in. As soon as we open the door, Mr. Fred comes strolling over in his wheelchair.

  “Hey girls, got my stash for the week?”

  I laugh because he’s not supposed to be eating cookies. I make a batch for him and sneak it to him every week. What he doesn’t know is there is no sugar in those cookies. I found a recipe online that swore you couldn’t tell and he’s never said anything about it. So, while he thinks he’s being bad sneaking cookies past his nurses, I keep the scheme up.

  “Yes, Mr. Fred. Now here, hurry before the nurse comes back to the station.” I slide him his brown paper bag, almost like a drug deal. He hides it under his blanket and takes off to his room.

  Chloe looks at me and says, “I feel so dirty feeding into his addiction.”

  “It’s all good. These people need some enjoyment still in their lives. Besides, there is nothing in them that can hurt him. It’s just the thrill of getting caught.”

  “Yeah, I guess. Let’s hurry I have another few hours of studying before my night is through.”

  We walk down the hall and stop to talk to a few of the residents. I love them all. For many years now, they’ve been a big part of my life. As we make it to our destination Chloe yells out.

  “Paw-Paw!”

  Chloe goes running to give him a kiss. “Oh, Chloe you came! I haven’t seen you in a while.”

  “I know, I’m sorry. I have so much studying to do. I promise once the semester is over, I will be by more.”

  “Nonsense, you’re too young and pretty to be in a damn nursing home every weekend. Just don’t forget me, okay?”

  I break their reunion by asking, “Hey Paw-Paw, how you feeling today? Ready to make our drop?”

  “Hey Baby, yes, let me get my slippers.” Chloe bends to grab his slippers and helps him put them on. Then she helps him toward his chair.

  “Okay all set, let's go.”

  We make our way back out the door to the other side of the building. When we hit the rec room everyone goes nuts. We set everything down on the tables and they start forming a line. I have two kinds of cookies; some with and without sugar. Paw-Paw sits back in his chair with a big smile on his face. He eats this shit up. He loves that I come regularly and bring everyone treats, it makes him feel important in here.

  After we visit with everyone for some time, we leave to go back to paw-paw’s room. When we get him settled back in his bed, my phone dings with a message about a date I have for later tonight.

  Chloe sees me reading the text and asks, “Is that him?” I have to throw my phone back into my purse fast before she tries to rip it from my hands.

  “No, it wasn’t him. It was just a friend.”

  “Who? Whose Chloe asking about?” Paw-Paw asks.

  “No one.”

  “Bullshit! Paw-Paw, a man followed us to church today and sat with us. He wants Brittany to go out with him, but she told him no. He seemed nice enough. I don’t know what the hell she’s waiting for, it’s not like she’s getting any younger and he was hot.”

  “Hey, first off, watch the language, and second, I am not that old. I just turned twenty-eight. And for the last time, I am not interested in him.”

  My paw-paw looks at me worried.

  “Yeah, yeah. Whatever. I’m going to the bathroom before we leave. Maybe you can talk some sense into her Paw-Paw. I love you and I will see you soon.” Chloe gives him a kiss on the cheek as she walks out the door.

  As soon as she’s out the room, paw-paw reaches for my hand. “Are you okay? You don’t have any trouble, do you?”

  I grip his hand tighter. “No Paw-Paw, no trouble. He’s just some guy I use to date that wants to date me again. That’s all, it’s nothing for you to worry about.”

  “You sure sweetheart? I worry every day. I wish you didn’t have to do this shit anymore. One day, I’m going to drop dead and don’t you go trying to bring me back, you hear me? Then you won’t have to worry about me and the bills I have. If I’d been a stronger man, I would’ve done it a long time ago, so I could take some of that burden away from you.”

  “Don’t you talk like that! You are not a burden for me. I need you here and if you ever did anything like that, I would never forgive you. So, you stay with us as long as you can.”

  “Would you tell me if something was wrong?”

  “No, you know I wouldn’t, but trust me when I tell you, this time there is no problem. I better go, Chloe has a lot of studying to do and I have a date later.”

  I kiss him on his cheek, but he doesn’t let me go. “Promise me you’ll be safe.”

  “Always. I will see you next Sunday.”

  I leave his room hating that I make him worry like that. He knows what I do for a living and hates it but understands none the less. I even told him about Catherine, it couldn’t hurt, he can’t do anything with the information, nor would he. It actually lowered his concerns when I told him she watches out for me. But I understand his concerns, if I had to live with knowing Chloe had to do something like this in order to survive, it would kill me.

  Oh well, we all make choices and I stick to mine. I don’t regret it at all.

  23

  Vin

  It’s Sunday again and I have a growing curiosity to find out what Brittany is all about.

  I find Catherine in her office. “Hey Catherine, do you need me for anything today?”

  She looks up at me from her desk. “Yes, it’s family day.”

  “I have plans today. I’ll be home later. There should be plenty of time for me to get everything I need to do, out of the way.”

  “What are you doing?”

  I smirk at her and tell her honestly, “I’m going to church.”

  The shocked look on her face was priceless as I walked out the door before she could question me.

  I called ahead of time to find out when the mass started. Arriving early, I find a pew in the back. Brittany won’t be able to pass by me without me seeing her. People start entering and I feel her before I see her. Standing, I grab her waist to pull her down into my pew before she passes me.

  She doesn’t shout but she made some squealing sound that has gotten people’s attention. Smiling, I whisper, “Smile, people are watching.”

  She just stares at me like I’m crazy.

  “Smile.”

  She turns her head and smiles a
t everyone looking. When the attention is off of us, she turns back to me, whispering. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

  I raise my finger towards the ceiling and tell her, “Language, we’re in church.”

  She’s gritting through her teeth now. “I told you not to do this again, Vin.”

  Turning my head, I look straight at her; sending her a message with my look that she won’t ever be able to tell me what I can and can’t do. She gets the picture and turns, facing the preacher. Halfway through the sermon, I reach over, laying my hand over hers, in her lap. She tries to wiggle her hand free, but I don’t let her. Focusing on the preacher, I can feel her stare back at me, but I don’t care. Holding her hand firmly, I continue to listen to the preacher speak.

  When church is finished, she gets up quick but again, I grab her around the waist, walking her to the exit. When we get to where the preacher is shaking hands, she tries to go past him, but I make the decision to force her to stop. I want her to do everything she would normally do when I am not here.

  “Ahhh, Brittany. How are you dear? And who is this? If I recall, I saw you here last Sunday too.”

  “He’s just a friend…”

  I shake the preachers hand and with a big smile on my face, I tell him. “Actually, I’m her boyfriend.”

  Brittany’s head turns so fast, I could feel the wind it caused to hit my face. She’s speechless, so I finish up.

  “We loved your sermon. I hope I can make it next Sunday too. My schedule calls me out of town a lot, but if I can make it, I’ll be here.”

  We say our goodbyes and I push on small of Brittany’s back, leading her away.

  Walking her to her car, I hear the beep letting me know she unlocked it by remote. I step in front of her and open her door.

  “Why are you here, Vin?”

  “I enjoyed it.” I kiss her softly on her lips and wait for her to get in the car. She’s still looking at me, puzzled, when I walk away.

  Getting into my car, I wait for her to take off. She doesn’t know it but I’m following her today. I want to see what she normally does on Sundays.

  I’m surprised when she pulls into a nursing home. Parking my car, I see her open her trunk and pull out plastic bins filled with something. A man in nurse’s scrubs comes out to meet her and helps her with the bins.

  Once they’re inside the building, I wait another few minutes before I head in. Opening the doors, I see the nurse’s station.

  “Hi, my name is Vin Stern. I was supposed to meet a Brittany Duplantis here today. Can you help me find her? She’s probably pissed because I’m late.”

  “Sure, no problem. She just got here, herself. I have to go that way anyway, so I’ll show to the room.”

  “That would be great. Thank you.”

  “No problem. We love Brittany. Any friend of hers, is a friend to all of us. Come on.”

  I follow the nurse down the hall, she points to a room as she enters another. I slowly walk up to the room she pointed out, peaking in the open door. Brittany’s talking to an old man lying in bed. I see the bins all stacked on top of each other on the sofa nearby.

  Her back is to me, as she helps the old man with his shirt. She doesn’t see me walk in, but he does.

  “Hey, you, what do you want?”

  Brittany stops and looks up. “What the hell are you doing here? Never mind, you can’t be here! Leave!” She turns and tries to push me out the room, but I shuffle past her walking further into the room.

  The man keeps his eyes on me as I walk straight to him to shake his hand. He’s hesitant at first but he takes my hand. He has a nice grip for a man his age.

  “Comment Ça va?”

  He greets me in Cajun by asking how I’m doing.

  “I’m doing fine. I’m Vincent Stern.”

  He eyes me and says, “I’m Wilson Duplantis.”

  Brittany interrupts and says, “Great! Now that introductions are out of the way.” She points at me and continues, “You have to go.”

  The old man starts eyeing me, looking concerned because Brittany seems upset. He starts speaking to her in his native tongue; Cajun French.

  “Qui est cet homme?”

  Brittany tells him, “Personne.”

  “Est-il le malheureux dont Chloe parlait?”

  He’s asking her who I am and if I’m trouble. He even asks if I’m the one Chloe was talking about. I back up and take a step or two towards his dresser but then I hear Brittany answer him back in French. I’m impressed. Not many of us, of the younger generation can speak it as fluently like she is. Sadly, it’s becoming a lost language. Most can only speak a few words here and there.

  “Ouais, mais ne t'en fait pas. Il est seulement un Casse-couille, un stalker sans danger.”

  She’s telling him I’m nobody for him to worry about and she’s fine. Then she tells him I’m nothing but a pain in her ass; a harmless stalker. Being a pain in her ass kind of makes me smile. But stalker? No. And it definitely doesn’t calm Wilson down. It makes things worse. He becomes more upset as his voice raises.

  “Il est un client?”

  “Pas plus.”

  “Puis, il va t’faire mal!”

  “J'vas m’en occupier!”

  What I find interesting, is he asks her if I’m a client. So that means he knows what she does. She tells him that I was but not anymore. He claims that can only mean I’m trouble then. Brittany calms him by telling him she will take care of it.

  Needing more information about who he is to her, I turn my back on them to look at the pictures on his dresser. There’s one of Brittany and her sister and one that looks like a picture of Brittany’s graduation. She’s in the middle of two people who look to be her parents. With the conversation going on behind me, I begin to figure out from the photos this old man is her grandfather. My eyes keep drifting through all the pictures of what seems to be a happy and loving family. Then I spot a double frame that holds two images side by side of the old man when he was younger. One side holds a picture of him in uniform, and the other one is of him and his unit, showing off their muscles for the camera.

  I turn around holding the frame and break their conversation. I ask him in his native tongue if he was in the military and what his ranking was.

  “Tu étais soldat? Duquel rang?”

  They both stare at me shocked, so I tell them both in French that yes, I can understand and speak the language.

  "Mais, Bien sûr, je comprends et parle la langue."

  Brittany becomes furious. “I cannot believe you! Why didn’t you stop us? Did you enjoy listening in on our private conversation? I don’t know why I’m even asking that, of course you did. You sure in the hell don’t mind following me.”

  “Not at all.”

  Here we go again. I am starting to get used to pissing her off.

  “Do you want me to go to Catherine?! Because I will if you don’t stop this shit!”

  The old man yells out, “Catherine? You know Catherine?”

  Brittany starts to speak but I stop her. “Yes, my name is Vincent Stern. I am her son.”

  “Well, why didn’t you say so?”

  Right then the male nurse that helped Brittany earlier comes back into the room.

  “Hey Britt, Willy, y’all ready?”

  The old man speaks up first. “Brittany, you go ahead, I want to talk to Mr. Stern.”

  “Paw-Paw, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  “Yeah well, we won’t know until you leave, now go.”

  She tries to tell me to go but the old man intervenes again telling her to leave. The nurse helps her with the bins, but before she leaves the room, she turns around and tells me,

  “I won’t forgive you for doing this. I want you gone before I come back.”

  She then turns to leave. The old man sees my concern. “Don’t worry about her, she’s always threatening something or someone. She’ll be fine.”

  He backs up in his bed to get comfortable then says
, “Sit down, boy just don’t stand there, it makes me nervous having a man as big as you standing over me.”

  I smirk then find a chair, pulling it over to his bedside. “So, you’re Brittany’s grandfather?”

  “Yes, but don’t start calling me paw-paw. You can call me Willy.”

  “Your accent’s flat, where you from? I know it’s not here.”

  “No boy, I’m from Dularge but I moved to Cocodrie when I got out the military. You ever been?”

  “Hell yeah, they got some good fishing down there.”

  “Yeah man, I had me a small camp. I loved it.”

  He sees me looking back at his military pictures. “I was in Vietnam. I signed up in 1965. They didn’t draft my ass. I was twenty-five and didn’t know shit about the world. One of the stupidest things I ever did in my life. All I wanted was to get away from here and see what the world had to offer me.”

  I nod my head knowing what he means.

  “You the one that was in Iraq?”

  I look back up to him shocked. “How do you know that?”

  “Your face gives it away, it’s that same look we all have. But, Catherine told me she had a son over there.”

  “You’ve met my mother?”

  “Hell yeah! That is one beautiful woman. If I was a younger man I would have… shit, never mind.”

  I can’t help but laugh. “Yeah old man, I know exactly what you mean. You don’t know how many times her looks used to piss me and my brothers off.”

  “I bet. My mother, rest her soul, was ugly and I thank God for that every day.”

  We both break out laughing. “You’re alright, old man.”

  When our laughter dies down I ask, “I heard you ask Brittany if I was one of her clients. You know what she does for a living?”

  He bows his head in shame. “Yeah boy, I know what she does. She tried to lie to me but I’m not stupid. I might be from down the bayou, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that a young, pretty girl doesn’t make that kind of money without a college degree.”

  “Brittany didn’t go to college?”

  “Oh, she went, was smart too, my girl. But she… you know what, you should be asking her these things. Brittany’s private about her life.”