Midnight Special

by Daya Daniels

  “Later, babes,” Mason and Sam said with huge grins on their faces, as they headed out the door.

  “Bye, Mom,” Dylan said kissing me on the cheek.

  “Are you sure you don’t want me to come along?” I pleaded with Ty.

  “No, we will be fine.”

  “Are you sure?” I asked again, putting my hands in prayer position and touching my fingertips to my nose.

  I really was worried for Ty. Mason and Sam could be a handful but I knew Dylan would help to keep the two in line. Carter was never a problem, so I knew everything would be fine there.

  “Yes,” Ty said pulling me into a fierce hug and kissing the top of my head. “We will be fine.”

  “Okay.”

  “Relax, we will be back in a few hours. I have a surprise for you.”

  I gave him a look just when he dipped out of the door, shutting it behind him.

  “Mommy, do you want to watch a movie with me?” Kacey said getting my attention.

  She was standing in the middle of the kitchen floor, holding a DVD in her hand.

  “Of course.” I took it from her looking her over.

  We were watching Tangled for the umpteenth time this Sunday it seemed. I made us both two sandwiches and settled in the living room in front of the television. I looked around taking in the room that I never got to sit in because Mason, Sam, and Carter were always in here, hogging the television with their video games. The couch was always also taken up by Dylan, since it was technically his bed. I shut my eyes for a long moment while Kacey settled next to me, crossing her legs.

  It was quiet here. It was never quiet here.

  I sighed and slumped against the back of the sofa, picking up the stack of papers that I’d picked up over the past few days. They were an assortment of divorce forms. The clerk at the court office told me that if I couldn’t find Dominic, I would have to divorce him by putting an official notice of divorce in the newspaper, in the city of wherever I thought he could be. I had a hundred places to choose from and narrowed it down to either Cleveland, since that’s where his brother was, or Houston, Texas. It was possible Dominic could even have been in Las Vegas, Nevada since commercial construction there was booming, enabling him to find work.

  A University of the Arts application was in the pile as well. I grabbed a pen and flipped through everything, watching the movie on the television in between.

  The jangle of keys and the rustling of bags brought my attention back to the kitchen.

  “Hey, Mads,” Zita said setting some packages down.

  “Hey,” I said standing and walking towards her, taking in her confused expression.

  “Groceries.”

  “Where are the girls?”

  “With my mom,” she said.

  “Oh.”

  “Where is everyone?”

  “I’m here!” Kacey yelled from the living room.

  “Um, Ty took the boys to a baseball game?”

  “All four of them?” Zita asked, with an incredulous look on her face.

  “Yeah,” I said slipping my hands in my pockets.

  “Girlll, you must be laying it down.”

  I let out a loud laugh, feeling my cheeks heat. “Stop it,” I scolded her.

  “Hmmm mmh,” Zita said starting to unpack the bags. “Well, he’s definitely fine, Mads. You did well with that.”

  I blushed, shifting to lean against the wall and then moved to peek in the bags.

  “Why’d you buy all of this?”

  “Because you gave me some money this month and I went shopping. I figured I would pick you guys up some extra things while I was at it.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Ralph tells me they really miss you at The Red Room.” Zita laughed.

  “I bet they do.”

  “This is better for you, Madison. All of it.”

  “I know.

  “I’m thinking about going back to school...dance school that is.”

  “That’s wonderful,” Zita said with a bright face.

  I felt my heart flutter just thinking about being in a dance studio again all the time.

  “I think that’s wonderful news, Madison, really. You’re a dancer at heart.”

  “And I’m filling out divorce papers that I plan to file tomorrow.”

  “Good.” Zita nodded, spinning around.

  “I have to do something,” I said softly. “I know all of this is only temporary.”

  Her brows bunched at my words. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean come on, Zita, who am I fooling? Ty might be nice and all and he seems to love the boys, but he’s not going to stay,” I said, whispering the last word.

  Zita jerked her head back. “Well, he sure seems like he plans to. You need to stop this shit. You’re shooting yourself in the foot before any of this even gets a chance...always the pessimist.”

  I sighed and looked away from Zita.

  “Madison,” Zita said putting her hands on my shoulders and shaking me slightly. “You deserve to be happy,” she said softly. “Just because you made the mistake of marrying that asshole Dominic, does not mean that you should have to pay for it for the rest of your fucking life and be alone. I’m sure he’s been shacking up with all sorts of women, wherever the hell he is on earth.”

  I gave Zita a nod.

  “I can’t expect Ty to do this, Zita. So, whenever he is ready to bail, I’m not going to allow myself to be upset about it.”

  Zita tilted her head to the side, looking me over. “And you’re willing to give up that man making love to you, in whatever fashion he does it in, Madison, and giving it to some other chick?” Zita stepped closer, arching a perfectly penciled, black brow in my direction.

  “No,” I said exhaling.

  “Exactly,” she said stepping away to unload more boxes of cereal.

  “What’s going on with you?” I asked, looking over the red tinge on Zita’s brown cheeks.

  “Ah, nothing much. Brian’s been back here, temporarily of course,” she said.

  I tried to hide the stunned look that took over my face but it was no use.

  Zita held a hand up. “We’re taking it slow but I think I’m going to move back to Maryland with the girls.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, I might. I’m sorry, Mads.”

  “No, no,” I said shaking my head. “You do what is best for you.”

  “I’m only thinking about it. It isn’t a sure thing yet but you know the girls want to be closer to their father.”

  “Yeah, I understand.”

  Ty

  We were halfway through the seventh inning and I’d already spent nearly two hundred dollars here. These little monsters were expensive. The four of them sat next to each other, calmly watching the game. They were full of popcorn, cotton candy, soda and hot dogs. I didn’t think they couldn want any more to eat but I knew that was wishful thinking. I promised to take them to get some memorabilia before we left, which would no doubt double the bill I’d already incurred bringing them here.

  Patrick decided to join us. Rafe promised he would be here before the eighth inning started. Dylan was sitting next to me but stood to take Mason, Sam, and Carter to the bathroom. I clocked him from the time he left, since there seemed to be freaks everywhere, as Madison reminded me.

  “How have you been?” Patrick said giving me a manly smack on the shoulder. “I see you decided to bring the boys along.”

  I laughed and took a sip of water from the bottle I was holding.

  “Yeah, they’re good kids. They remind me a lot of us when we were young actually.”

  “I bet.

  “So, you’re in love now?” Patrick asked, eyeing me over, suspiciously.

  “Yeah, I guess I am.”

  “Nice, man. Nice. Is she worth it? All this?”

  “Yeah,” I said with a breath. “Yeah, she is.”

  “Does Diana know?”

  “No,” I told him just as a home run was whacked out of the
park by the Phillies.

  The crowd went crazy. People stood around the stadium, cheering and whistling.

  “You thought about how you would explain this to her?” Patrick asked raising his voice.

  “Explain?” I laughed. “I’m a grown-ass man, Patrick. I don’t explain anything to anyone.”

  “That’s the shit, my brother.” Patrick laughed. “I bumped into Whitney the other day, leaving your office.”

  I stiffened and then looked away from him. “Yeah, she came by.”

  Patrick nodded, running a hand through his hair and putting his baseball cap back on.

  “She wants you, man. She wants you bad.”

  I scoffed. “You mean she wants my last name.”

  Patrick belted out a laugh. “Yeah, that, and I guess whatever you’ve been banging her with all these years that’s turned her bat shit crazy.”

  I groaned.

  “Whitney Westwood,” Patrick joked giving me a retarded look. “It doesn’t even sound right—too much whistling.”

  “You’re such an idiot,” I said. “It makes no sense even imagining it because it’s not going to happen. I’m happy with Madison. She’s a good person.”

  “She’s also a stripper, Ty.”

  “She used to be a stripper, Patrick,” I said giving him a hard stare. “Madison doesn’t work at The Red Room anymore.”

  “You made her quit?”

  “Bingo...

  “Madison really is a dancer—classically trained.”

  “Oh yeah? I guess that explains some of the very interesting things we saw her do at the first show. They weren’t exactly stripper moves.” Patrick laughed.

  “No, they weren’t,” I agree. “Mads is going to UArts soon,” I tell him.

  Patrick’s face brightened. “So, is that how she looks so good after having five kids? I thought it was genetic. I mean it has to kind of be genetic, right? No woman looks like that after having five fucking kids. That woman can’t be human.”

  I chuckled, realizing Patrick was actually serious about his question.

  “Yes, she is human but she’s super fit and super sexy. Madison is super fucking everything...including supermom.”

  “I bet.”

  Dylan, Mason, Sam, and Carter took their seats again, carrying more cotton candy. When I met Dylan’s eyes in question he only shrugged, which made me laugh.

  “I’m going to go water my hose,” Patrick said standing up.

  Dylan reminded me so much of myself when I was his age. He was almost the same height as his mother, which meant he was tall for eleven. He had shaggy brown hair that always looked like it needed to be cut and big brown eyes that were the exact shape of Madison’s. He was a good-looking kid that I was sure would break all the girls’ hearts when he got older.

  We sat and looked out to the field for a little while when the teams changed over. Mason and Sam seemed to be off in their own little world talking to each other. They were close but I guess it was because they were twins. Carter was the youngest. He was closer with Dylan. Carter hadn’t said more than two words since we’d been here. He was the quietest out of all four of them. After a few minutes, the boys had scattered out along the rows to play but Dylan remained in his seat.

  “You like my mom?” Dylan asked, getting my attention.

  “Yeah.”

  “My dad is an asshole.”

  “I don’t think your mom would like to know you’re swearing,” I said casually looking back to the field.

  “Sorry, I only said it for effect.”

  I stifled my laugh and sipped from the water bottle in my hand.

  “She takes care of us the best way she can.”

  “Yeah, I know.”

  “I used to hear her crying in the bathroom late nights when she figured we were all sleep I guess. That’s where she goes for privacy,” Dylan said. “Since she shares a bed with Kacey.”

  I met his eyes, trying not to scowl.

  He fiddled with the straw in his paper cup. “Don’t tell her I told you that.”

  “I won’t.”

  “Mom’s been different, since she started spending time with you. She laughs more, even when she’s just with us.”

  “That’s good.”

  “I think she always thought she would have to settle for being with some old dude. You know that was probably like a hundred. Or maybe even just be alone, until the five of us were old enough to be on our own.

  “But you’re young. In fact, I think you’re even older than my mom.”

  I smiled. “I am.”

  “Yes, right. That’s what I thought.”

  I stared straight ahead, listening to Dylan talk.

  “My friend Matt’s dad was hot after my mom for months. He still is really. Matt’s parents are divorced. Matt told me that he overheard his dad telling his uncle that he just wanted to fuck my mom but long-term with her would be a joke, because she had too many fucking kids...were his exact words.”

  I gave Dylan a sidelong glance while he chuckled. Then his face went stiff again.

  “Swearing.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  I was beginning to think this kid had Tourette’s.

  Dylan took a deep breath. “I don’t want that for her, you know. A bunch of men just being nice to her to get in her pants. I want her to be in love like she used to be with that asshole Dominic.”

  “Who’s Dom—” I let out a breath. “Never mind.”

  “My dad,” Dylan said like the word in itself disgusted him. “I just call him asshole. He left us. I haven’t seen or heard from him in over a year. He doesn’t send us anything and he hasn’t given my mother a dime in probably the same amount of time. We don’t get birthday cards, Christmas presents, postcards...nothing. Dominic doesn’t even call to make sure none of us are dead. He just disappeared.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  He shrugged and pulled some Junior Mints out of his pocket, giving them to Carter. “Ever since then, my mom’s just been struggling.”

  I gave Dylan a nod.

  “She’s been stripping too but I think she stopped.”

  I swallowed the sudden lump in my throat, looking at Dylan. “She did,” I mumbled.

  “A few of my friends’ dads have seen her at The Red Room. The guys I go to school with try to make fun of me but it doesn’t work. I always just say my mom is hotter than yours...so what. That’s why their dads spend their hard-earned money on my mom’s ass, instead of putting food on their tables.”

  I snorted a laugh and took a deep breath. This kid seemed more like he was sixteen, than the eleven years he really was.

  “I love her, you know—my mom. I just want the best for her and I want to see her happy. I know we are five but we’re not so bad. I help her a lot with Mason, Sam, and Carter to keep them in line. Kacey is still little.”

  “What do your brothers think about your dad?”

  “The same.” Dylan shrugged. “They don’t care. Same as me.

  “Kacey is the only one hoping that Dominic comes back.”

  I bobbed my head a few times, tapping the now empty water bottle on my knee.

  “He used to smack her around,” he said quietly. “Dominic used to hit my mother. She doesn’t talk about it. It’s like she just likes to pretend it never happened.”

  I turned to look at him slowly, trying my best to conceal the rage I felt at the information he’d just given me. Just the thought of someone hurting Madison made me see black. This Dominic was clearly from the bottom of the barrel.

  “She’s just trying her best to protect you, Dylan—all of you,” I said flexing my hand against my thigh, wanting to hit something.

  “I can take care of myself,” he said. “My mother needs someone to protect her.”

  “Home run! Go, Phillies!” Dylan shouted, jumping up from his chair and throwing his fist in the air a few times.

  I laughed at the sudden outburst, taking in that he was actually having fun. Carter was smi
ling and Mason and Sam were looking out on the field, in between having their heads buried in the mobile PS3 handheld games they’d brought along with them.

  Craning my neck and turning around, I spotted Rafe and his son, Jeremy, walking down the stairs, heading towards where we sat. Patrick wasn’t far behind them. The bathroom he found must have been two cities away, for the length of time he was gone.

  “I got stuck on the phone,” Patrick said holding his cell up.

  “Hey, man,” I said pulling Rafe into the typical manly handshake, half-hug, shoulder slap.

  I spent a few minutes introducing everyone. Jeremy moved to take a seat with the boys. He was Dylan’s age so I knew he would keep him company. When we all sat back down, I noticed that the bunch of us together, nearly filled an entire row, except for one seat, which was amusing.

  “Full house today,” Rafe said taking a seat next to Patrick, holding a beer in his hand.

  “Where’s yours?”

  “I’m driving today, plus I have something to do with Madison later.”

  Rafe nodded. “Understood, understood.”

  “I started dating this girl Ramona,” Patrick said. “We should double date one night.”

  “Yeah, sure, that sounds cool.”

  “I guess you just need to find a babysitter.” Patrick laughed.

  “Yes, we do.” I smirked.

  Madison

  “Where am I?” I asked, walking ahead of Ty while he guided me blindfolded, keeping his palm on my lower back. “This is silly, Ty.” I laughed.

  “Mads, just do as I say,” Ty quipped, jokingly.

  “Okay, stand still. I’m removing the blindfold.”

  Ty’s warm fingers brushed over my cheeks, pulling the dark material away from my eyes. The only thing in my view were dark hardwood floors until I lifted my head to meet his bright eyes. I did a semi-circle, scanning the large room where I stood, taking in the vaulted ceilings above me, the large fireplace at the other end of the room with a large flat-screen television that sat above it and the state-of-the-art kitchen.

  I twisted my face looking at him, completely lost for words.

  Ty’s mouth quirked up into a lopsided grin and then a full-on smile, showing every single one of his white teeth.

  “Do you like it? It’s yours!”