by A. C. Mason
“How did you know all that stuff? About the nurse and the little boy, Aaron?”
“When we were making arrangements for me to visit the kids, she told me the story about the doll.” He leaned on the door of the men’s restroom. “When Aaron came to the hospital the day before I picked you up, I had to administer the sedative for a biopsy. I asked him about Christmas and if he’d written to Santa. It calms the patients to think about other things.”
He turned away from her. She rushed to him and wrapped her arms around him. “Thank you.” Tears flowed freely from her eyes. She pressed her face to his back. Large warm hands covered hers.
“When I was eight, I had best friend named Samuel. He and his family lived in your house, actually. Anyway, Samuel got very sick just before Christmas. I wrote Santa and asked him to make Samuel better but, as you can imagine, he never did. That’s when I stopped believing in Santa. I stopped having hope.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered and held him tight. “By Easter, cancer had claimed Samuel. I watched him wither away. I stopped playing sports and withdrew from my friends. I barely ate. I hardly slept. Sometimes, I think that’s why my parents drifted apart. All they did was argue about how to fix me. I try to be a good man but I’m distant and don’t know how to leap. You’re fearless, Indy, and I admire you.”
“I’m not fearless, Tim. I’m scared. That’s why I’m so reckless. I don’t think things through the way you do before I act. Sometimes I hurt people I care about.”
“Yet you dust yourself off and go at it again. I live with obligation and guilt. All I want is for others to have better a Christmas than my childhood holidays. Sometimes I wonder if I’m even living.” He pushed her hands from his body and vanished into the restroom.
There was so much more to Tim than she’d known. She wiped the tears from her face and changed. The view of the ocean was spectacular. Clear blue waters.
Tim entered the meeting room in dark gray slacks and a blue dress shirt with his eyes red and avoiding hers.
If, for a moment, he felt embarrassed about becoming emotional while he'd opened up to her she’d be hurt. The more she uncovered about him the more she wanted to know.
“I’ve left a message with one of the other doctors who’ll pick up the rest of the gifts and have them dropped off at the shelter.”
She nodded. “Are you sure you want to go to some hole in the ground place after this? My biological mother’s family can be a bit much.”
“Are you uncomfortable about me going?”
“I’ve never brought anyone there.” She didn’t know what he’d make of her after meeting them. “It’s not pretty.”
“There are parts of my every day that aren’t pleasant.”
“I don’t want you to look at me or my father differently after.”
“Where is this all coming from?” He leaned on the window.
There was only one way for him to know. Shit, if he wasn’t going to accept it was better to know now than later. She’d grown up in Malibu but she really wasn’t from there. It had taken her years to fit in. Time to reveal that dark part of her.
Lily Oak Mobile Homes wasn’t a pretty place. It was a hellhole by the Bob Hope airport. Noisy and ignorant trash lived there. Like her mother’s sister, Patricia, who hated her mother for being the smart, favorite sibling. Now, her mother Vivian was the dead one. Indy was all that was left of her mother and not something they really wanted to be reminded of.
After they’d swung home and she’d changed into something more formal, they headed out. The ride was silent but she caught Tim watching her more than once.
The tightly packed mobile homes crammed the park. People sat outside their trailers, smoking and watching them as they drove past. Aunt Patricia’s was at the back. She’d been there longer than most--since she’d cashed in her mother’s life insurance, in fact. The place saw a lot of turnover.
Tim opened her door and grabbed gifts out of the back. Caught so deep in her own thoughts she hadn’t even gotten out of the car.
Laughter and loud voices came from the box of a house. It was a three bedroom coffin with barely enough space for a single bed in the rooms. Indy had a cousin, Misty, a year older than her who was an exotic dancer with a five year old daughter named Brianna. They were every stereotype cliché one could toss at them and proud of it. To top it all off they didn’t like black people. And that was Indy sugarcoating it. Not that they refused her gifts and money.
One reluctant step at a time, she drew closer to the house though Tim reached the landing first and rang the bell.
Swearing came from inside.
The door opened and Aunt Patricia put a hand on her hip. “Look what the cat dragged in. A stray.”
“Merry Christmas, Aunty.” Indy swallowed back her usual sassiness. It only ever urged their hatred on. Things were going to be uncomfortable enough with Tim there that she didn’t need to stir the pot.
“What do we have here?” Patricia’s eyes lit up.
“This is Dr. Tim Boyd, a friend,” Indy put her hand on him possessively then retracted it, confused.
“Ooh. A doctor. You’d better wear protection, doctor. You know how ’em sistas like to snag a man by getting knocked up.” Patricia put her arm around Indy.
Oh she did go there. She’d had more husbands than Liz Taylor. Indy sighed refusing to respond.
“You should meet my daughter Misty.”
Misty glanced over at Tim and her eyes lit up like a kid in a candy store.
“Where do you want me to put these?” Indy asked.
“Over by the tree, girlfriend.” Shit, she hated it when white people talked like that. Aunty Patricia wasn't her girlfriend. Not even close.
Brianna was over in the playpen. Wasn’t she a little old to be in one of those? “Can I give the baby her gift?”
Patricia waved her off and turned to Tim. “So are you and Indy a couple?”
“We’re friends.”
“That’s good. Real good.”
“What kind of doctor are you?”
“Anesthesiologist.”
“Well paid.” She grinned. “Have a seat.”
“I can’t stay long,” Indy said. “We have dinner with my parents.”
“How’s your father?” The dark twinkle in Patricia’s eyes unnerved her.
“Good.” It was an improvement from how she used to address him.
Aunty Patricia had run herself into the ground. The former playboy bunny had worked her body to the bone. Now when death passed over her, it ran screaming in the other direction.
Brianna cried in her playpen. Neither her mother nor grandmother paid any mind to the child. It was sad, really. Her aunt used to love to tell her she could’ve raised her but didn’t want to have to explain her skin color.
Misty sat on the arm of the chair Tim was in and flaunted her augmented breasts in his face. He squirmed and shifted his body to the other side. Time for them to go.
“I don’t mean to drop and run but we need to head back.” Indy rose, headed for the door, with Tim close behind.
Patricia’s voice followed them. “In a certain light, when I don’t catch your wide nose and curly hair, you look like your mother. She was beautiful.”
The back-handed compliment she’d been waiting for. That was all the woman had left—poison.
Tim looked like he was going to say something, and Indy shook her head. “Thank you, Aunty.”
“Don’t forget to double bag if you don’t want to be trapped,” she said to Tim. “Be a good girl, Indy, and earn a living.”
Indy pushed him out the door and they headed back into the car. The whirlwind was over and done with. Shit, she only had to do it a few times a year and it hadn’t killed her yet. Though, on some occasions, she had to admit she thought of killing them. Overall, they got to be the reminder of everything she didn’t want to be.
“My mom was very intelligent. Graduated top of her class. She and my father were in the same law
program, though he was finishing up when she got there. They met through a friend.”
“You don’t have to explain,” Tim said, taking her shaking hand.
“I know.” But she’d feel better if she did. “Dad finished and got into a prestigious firm. One of their first black hires. They married, and I came soon after. Mom struggled to finish schooling with a baby, and Daddy was so busy.” Indy wondered if her mother had ever blamed her for ruining her dreams. “It was the eighties and she got into cocaine. Daddy came home one night to find me crying in my crib and mom dead on the floor.”
“I’m sorry, Indy.” Tim squeezed her hand. “I knew about your mother but I had no idea you were there.”
“I don’t talk about it. I don’t like to think about her. I don’t remember her but I do know I don’t want to end up like her.” Lately she was drinking a lot and that scared her. It was in her blood—her genes. Did she have the same personality weakness her mother had?
At times, the stories all blended together. Daddy’s side of what happen. The trailer park Brady bunch version of the tragedy. They each told it with their own spin of her mother. Indy had no idea which version was real.
Chapter 12
Tim decided to drive northwest to the coast and hop onto the Pacific Highway stretch into Malibu. The coast and the mountains were calming, even if some sections were obscured by houses. He didn’t do spontaneous and yet there he was doing it. His passenger didn’t seem to make note of him going the long way back.
“Mind if I put the top down?”
“Let me put my hair in a ponytail so I don’t end up with a full fro.”
She’d probably look great either way, but he waited. When her hair was pulled back, he pulled over and hit the button to let the top down.
A state trooper pulled up behind them.
The seasoned officer got out and came over to the car. “Is everything all right?”
“Yes, officer. I just thought given the weather it would be nice to put the top down.” Tim smiled. “I hoped to catch the sunset before dinner with her parents.”
The trooper looked from Tim to Indy. “I’m sure you’ll do fine. You seem like a nice couple.”
This wasn’t the first time someone had thought he and Indy were together. Was he giving off the vibe for it? Not that he minded, but he also didn’t want to rush her.
Indy smiled. “Thank you, officer.”
“Merry Christmas to you both.” The officer smiled then headed to his vehicle.
“Thank you.” Tim sank into his seat before turning to her. “What do you say to stopping at the Malibu wall and watching the sunset?”
The trooper pulled back onto the highway.
“Sounds like a plan.” She leaned into the seat. “I haven’t been down to the beach since the summer.”
“It’s not every year we get weather like this so late in the year.”
“I hadn’t realized how much I miss our way of life and how the people here interact with each other.”
“This is your hometown. Doesn’t matter where you go, it’s part of you.”
“Technically, I was born in LA.”
“But raised on the coast and the hills. The sun, ocean, mountains and sand are in your blood.”
“You're romanticizing it. For a long time I thought I didn’t fit in.”
“Why?”
“Being best friends with the hot guy and star quarterback didn’t help. Until the other girls realized I was no threat to them.”
“I think you’re plenty threat.”
She smiled. “Liam’s football buddies only wanted in my pants.”
“I’ve always found that removing pants is the way to go.” He pulled into Malibu Lagoon State Beach parking lot.
“You might want to share that tip with them.”
“Not a chance. I’m trying to reduce the Gregs of the world, not contribute to their population growth.” He turned off the vehicle.
She laughed. “Why do you think it was someone like Greg?”
“Just a sneaking suspicion. Someone like him wouldn’t know a diamond from glass.” The beach was empty. He got out of the car. “Am I wrong?”
She shook her head and hopped out. “I don’t think I’ve ever been down here without a single person here.”
“It’s beautiful.”
Indy took off her shoes and tossed them on the floor. “Heels and sand don’t mix.”
“Sand and most things don’t mix.” Tim removed his dress shoes and socks then rolled up his pants.
Malibu Lagoon State Beach was up ahead. The sun was low in the sky, the water lay still and the beach was deserted in all directions. He helped Indy up the sand dune. They walked to the edge of the wet sand and took a seat.
Warm wind whirled around them.
“I wonder if the water is cold.” Indy stood and walked into the ocean.
“And?”
“Refreshing. I don’t think it’s ever been this warm in December before.”
Tim stood, stepped closer and let the cool water rush over his feet. “Fabulously refreshing.”
Indy turned to him. “Let’s take a dip.”
“Right now?”
“Yeah, I’m sure your boxers could serve as trunks.”
“Sure, if I had some on.”
“Oh!” Her gaze moved down to his slacks. “Well, I’ve seen you in the buff before. What’s the chance we’ll ever be down here again when it’s completely deserted as the sun is setting.” She lifted her dress over her head and tossed it on the sand. “I won’t tell if you don’t.”
Before he could speak she slid off her bra and slipped out of her panties. So he did the only thing he could—remove his shirt and pants.
She slowly descended further into the water. “Ever done this before?”
“Skinny-dip at public beach?”
“Yeah.”
“Can’t say I have. You?”
“No.” She pinched her lips between her fingers.
He stood inches from her.
Water covered her to her shoulders, wetting the ends of her hair. The sun lowered on the horizon and dipped into the ocean.
Indy stepped back against his body. A soft sound came from her. “I hate that you witnessed that.”
“You being kind and poised to people filled with hatred? I’m not.”
“They’re all I have of my mother.” She glanced back at him, eyes filled with tears.
“Indy,” he said softly, “you are what’s left of your mother.”
The moon shone over them. Indy turned toward him. The tips of her breasts slipped above the waterline.
He ached to kiss her. But he didn’t want it to be like this. Not with her vulnerable from cruelties others had inflicted on her.
“We should get going or we’ll be late for dinner.” He gestured with his head.
Indy nodded.
Chapter 13
Indy wrapped a towel around her. Tim had gone home to clean up as well, but the lights were off in his room. For an instant, she’d thought they would kiss, but the moment had come and gone.
On the nightstand next to her bed, her cellphone vibrated. She picked up the device. L. Boyd lit the call display. She didn’t want to pick up but this wasn’t the first time he called today.
“Hello.” Admittedly she’d didn’t sound happy. But lately every time they spoke it was negativity.
“Hey, you. Merry Christmas.”
“Thanks, you too.”
“I’ll be flying in overnight on the thirtieth. I’ll arrive on the thirty first in the AM. Red eyeing it to be with my favorite girl.”
If she was his favorite girl why was he spending Christmas on the other coast? “I wish you wouldn’t say stuff like that. It isn’t fair to Brenda.”
“Brenda knows what you mean to me.”
At least it wasn’t anger today. “Don’t say those things on my account then.”
“What’s wrong?”
“The things you say cross the
friendship line. I just don’t think if I were seeing someone he’d want you calling me your favorite girl.”
“You’d let some next dude get between us?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“I’ve never let any of the women I’ve dated tell me how to conduct our friendship.”
“Liam, that’s different. You didn’t love those women or you would have stopped. “
“This is the first time we’ve been apart this long. All this nonsense will be set straight when I’m back home.”
As though she would just change how she felt after a sit-down talk. “I’ve got to run, dinner is nearly ready.”
“All right. Be safe.”
“You too, Liam. Bye!” She ended the call, glad to be done with it without a major blowout.
She stared into her closet. The little black dress she’d got in the summer was sexy without overdoing it.
Would Tim like it? She shouldn’t be trying to muddy the waters any more than they were.
One at a time she put on her lace bra, panties, black stockings and dress. She clipped red stone earrings and a bracelet into place to add some color.
She headed to the kitchen, ready for dinner. What was taking Tim so long? Maybe skinny-dipping had left him in need of relief. She smiled.
Mum placed the food in ornate dishes to set out on the formal dining room table. Festive smells and decorations always cheered her spirit.
“Do you need help?”
“Sure, could you put out the gravy?”
“Yeah.” Indy pulled down the gravy boat. Not long ago Mum and Indy hadn’t been able to hold a conversation. Not without war breaking out.
Mum gestured with her head to the back end of the house. “Tim’s in the den with your father.”
“I didn’t hear the bell.” Tim’s side trip to the beach had left her yearning.
“It must’ve been while you were in the shower.” Mum shrugged. “The two of you have been spending a lot of time together.”
“Tim’s looking for a new set of wheels and it so happens that I have great taste.” All the outings and they didn’t even have vehicle prospects on the horizon.
“He’s older.” As she scraped out the pot, a mountain of mash potatoes steamed.
