by Joan Davis
“How is the girl doing?” Mauve asked quietly. “I can’t imagine how difficult it must be to overcome so many traumas that early in life.” Mauve took her husband’s hand and absently caressed it.
“Risa is a strong woman. She is one of the bravest people I know. Despite everything she has been through, she still gets up every day with a smile and a curiosity for life. She is an artist with an amazing talent. I look at her and I don’t know how she can be so full of life after what’s happened to her. But she walks into a room and it’s like she brings the sunlight with her,” Samson said, unaware of the intense emotion showing on his face.
“Risa tries so hard to hide her pain and fear from her father so he doesn’t worry about her. She is fiercely protective of people she cares about, and she is always seeking to take away the pain of others without thinking about her own,” Samson said proudly.
Selena Knight glanced at her son and his wife before staring thoughtfully at Samson for several seconds. “I would like to meet such a woman. You should bring her out here for a visit,” Selena said.
“Maybe. we’ll see,” Samson said noncommittally and went back to his lunch.
Raising an aging eyebrow, Selena again glanced at her son and his wife before silently finishing her own lunch.
Later while Jake and Mauve Knight took a quick walk, Samson and his grandmother sat alone in her comfortable living room.
“So, you do not want the share this woman with your family,” Selena stated calmly.
Hanging his head and rubbing his neck, Samson said, “Grandmother, she has been through so much and it hasn’t ended. Even though she fights against her fears, Risa finds it very difficult to be around strangers and unfamiliar situations. She is self-conscious about the scars on her body and the way she looks. But she is so beautiful, Grandmother, and she doesn’t even realize it. Those people who hurt her took so much away from her.” Samson voice was ragged.
“I mean no disrespect, but I don’t want to bombard her with the whole family at this point. You and I both know that even if I tried to have a small gathering for her to meet everyone, it would swell out of control, like it always does. I love our family, but I refuse to do that to Risa. I need for her to feel safe and secure. I am trying my best to provide those things for her,” Samson finished, hoping for understanding from his grandmother.
Selena stared at Samson and nodded sagely. “You are very protective of this girl, grandson. That is a good thing. I will abide by your wishes for the time being. She must be a very special person to have stolen my grandson’s heart.” At Samson’s stunned look, his grandmother held up a hand and shook her head slowly. “That is all I will say about this.” Selena then smiled and said, “Tell me, how are your friends? I think often of the one who walks the spirit-path with the Great White Wolf. And what of Conner, your friend who makes me wish I were 50 years younger?”
His shock quickly turning to amusement, Samson said, “Mikhail and Conner are both doing great, Grandmother, I will tell them you asked about them. Thank God, she’s letting me dodge that big fat bullet she just aimed at me, Samson thought, knowing she had hit the target anyway. This afternoon had brought home the fact that Samson couldn’t keep the world at bay for much longer. He needed to bring Risa more fully into his life. I just have to figure out how to do it without scaring her to death, Sam thought with rye humor.
*****
Samson thought he had found a small, but idyllic way to show Risa a part of his world. He had invited the guys over for a small lake party. They had been working hard to make sure Risa and her dad were both safe, and Samson wanted to show his appreciation. He also wanted to introduce Risa to them in a less serious setting. Sitting next to her, Sam felt like he had made the right decision, and thus felt some of the tension draining from his shoulders.
Risa was happy. She was holding a beautiful baby girl. Chris Sanchez’s wife, Sarah, had recently given birth to their first child, Christina Maria Sanchez. She had beautiful black curls, dark chocolate eyes and had little diamond earrings in each ear. Risa was in love.
Everyone had taken a break for the weekend and gathered at Samson’s house for the party. Along with the Sanchez family, Conner, Mikhail, Jose and his pregnant wife, Maria, had all come out to enjoy the day. Risa looked over at her dad as he helped Samson man the grill and smiled. Her dad smiled back, knowing how much Risa always loved holding babies even when she was almost still one herself. “Isn’t she adorable, daddy?” Risa cooed softly.
Bill laughed and said, “She reminds me a little bit of you when you were a baby, but you were usually screaming at the top of your lungs.”
Risa rolled her eyes and grinned impishly. “Well, a girl has got to tell it like it is. Isn’t that right, Christina?” Risa smiled down at the beautiful baby, and the baby smiled back, causing Risa to laugh joyfully.
After over an hour, Risa reluctantly gave up custody of baby Christina so her mother could feed her and put her down for a nap in one of the guest rooms. They had brought their baby monitor so they could safely listen for her from outside on the deck.
Samson came over and sat beside Risa and nudged her. He then looked at Jose and whispered in her ear. When Risa shook her head, Samson nudged her again and grinned. Risa gritted her teeth in embarrassment and elbowed Samson a couple of times, but he just kept up his teasing.
“Risa . . .?” Jose Rojas called out gently.
Looking embarrassed, Risa faced Jose. She saw Conner and Mikhail grin and wink at her from behind Jose. Idiots, Risa thought in exasperation.
Grinning, Jose said, “Would you like to look at my tattoos?”
Biting her lip and elbowing Samson hard, Risa asked, “Would you mind? I think they’re really amazing, but I don’t want to seem rude or impose on your privacy.” Risa looked at Samson pointedly and then Conner and Mikhail. But almost irresistibly, her eyes were drawn back to Jose and flitted from his arms to his to his bald, tattoo- Frowning Conner thought, covered head.
“I would be honored,” Jose said with a proud grin. He slowly scooted his chair closer to Samson’s and Risa’s making sure she was okay with him being so close to her. Jose brought both of his arms forward and presented them to Risa, palm down first.
Risa was fascinated. A myriad of tattoos swirled and danced up both of Jose’s arms. Animals, plant life, Asian-inspired artwork, the elements of earth, wind, fire, and water were all represented in blazing colors up and down his arms, from his wrists to his shoulders.
Without a thought, Risa sat forward eagerly and traced an intricate Celtic band that circled and was duplicated on both of Jose’s wrists. “That is so cool,” she breathed. “How can the artist match them so exactly?” Risa asked in awe.
“You have to find a really good tattoo artist. Just like every other job, there are artists who are better than others. There are a few tattoo artists that have even become famous for their work. They have their designs displayed in books and art galleries. Then you have those who have the technical skill to tattoo but don’t have the artistry to make their work come alive.”
Looking up, Risa eyed the spider web tattoo that practically covered Jose’s bald head. “Didn’t that hurt?” she asked, wincing at the thought of a needle piercing her scalp over and over again.
Jose shrugged. “I had a headache for a few days afterwards, but the guy did an amazing job.” He turned his head and indicated a large black widow spider that seemed to be hanging from a black thread behind his left ear. “He got the placement of the web and the spider perfect. It was worth the pain,” Jose grinned proudly.
“Did you ever get a bad tattoo? I mean one where the tattoo artist messed up the design?” Risa asked curiously.
Both Jose and Chris started laughing and nodding at the same time. “Show her, brother,” Jose urged his friend Chris.
Smiling ruefully, Chris Sanchez stood up and pulled his T-shirt up until he exposed his entire well-defined chest and abdomen area. Keeping his arms raised, Chris tw
isted his torso until Risa saw a large tattoo of a black panther. It draped from Chris’s upper back and twined down so that its head and front paws ended half way down Chris’s abdomen. It had amazing bright green eyes and looked as if it could literally jump right off of Chris’s body.
Looking confused, Risa looked between Chris and Jose. “I don’t understand. I think that’s a beautiful tattoo.”
Laughing, Jose rocked back into his chair and Chris frowned scornfully at him in humor. “It is not the panther that is bad. It is what the panther is covering up that was VERY bad,” Jose grinned.
Surprised, Risa asked, “It’s covering another tattoo?” indicating the panther tattoo.
Chris sighed and said, “When I was younger, I went to this tattoo shop that was offering larger tats at a reduced price. They were a new shop and trying to set up their business. I had wanted a traditional pin-up tattoo for a while but hadn’t saved enough money for it. I figured it was a perfect opportunity.
Jose snorted and grinned before taking a drink of his beer and leaning back in his chair.
Chris sent Jose a dirty look and said, “Anyway, I went down there and the guy seemed legit. He drew up a rendering, and I really liked it. He transferred it onto my left side like I wanted, and then he got to work. Because of the placement, I couldn’t really see what he was doing. The rib area is sometimes really sensitive, so I was also trying to stay as still as I could. Finally, after what seemed like forever, the guy said he was done. I stood up and went over and looked in the mirror.” Chris winced as if in pain.
Jose started laughing and holding his stomach. “Oh dude, it was bad.”
“Stop teasing him, Jose,” Jose’s wife, Maria, said chidingly, as she rested next to her husband in a lounge chair. Jose grinned affectionately and reached over to lovingly rub his wife’s pregnant belly.
Chris ignored Jose and continued, “It was bad. Everything was wrong. Her skin looked green and her hair was . . . I don’t even know how to describe it. Her tits, I mean, her breasts, were lopsided and her legs were thick and only about 2 inches long. He had gotten her hands mixed up so that her thumbs were on the wrong side of her hands. It was a mess. I let the dude convince me that it was just because the tattoo hadn’t healed yet, but I knew it was horrible,” Chris said chagrinned.
Jose still chuckling said, “Chris didn’t take his shirt off in front of anyone for like a year. I had to get him drunk to get him to show it to me. That thing was nothing but ugly,” Jose snickered.
Trying not to laugh, Risa said, “So you got the panther to cover up the bad tattoo? Well, whoever did it did a wonderful job. I can’t even tell that there’s another tattoo underneath it.”
Chris looked down and ran a finger down the panther tattoo, following a light blue highlight on the panther’s side. “If you look close, this blue part was part of the pin-up’s dress.”
Risa leaned closer and squinted and could just make out the outline he spoke of from the old tattoo. “Oh, I see it, but it’s really faint,” she said, sitting back.
Chris pulled his shirt down and sat back into his deck chair. “It cost me every penny I had to get that panther, but it was totally worth what I paid for it.” He grinned in satisfaction.
“Yes, I hope that taught my husband that he doesn’t need to put pictures of other women on his body. I am the only woman he should be looking at anyway,” Sarah Sanchez said teasingly as she came back out onto the deck and stood eyeing her husband with a grin.
“Don’t try to tell me what to do, woman,” Chris growled in mock anger and grabbed his wife playfully, then pulled her over his lap and lightly spanked her behind a couple of times.
“Chris, stop,” Sarah squealed, fighting his hold on her and laughing.
Risa wasn’t smiling. She had leaped to her feet, her body rigid when Chris had landed the first blow to his wife’s bottom. “Don’t!” Risa shouted. “Don’t hit her.”
Everyone froze. Chris cautiously brought his wife back up until she was standing again. He cautiously got to his feet and slowly held up his hands as if in surrender. “Risa, please, I would never, ever hurt my wife. I would never hurt any woman for that matter. You don’t understand . . .”
Smiling gently, Sarah Sanchez said, “We were just playing, Risa. Honestly, we didn’t mean to upset you.”
Conner and Mik moved towards Risa with looks of concern.
Risa suddenly felt embarrassed and confused. She felt like everyone was looking at her like she was crazy. When Samson tried to catch her hand, Risa jerked away and stepped back from everyone. She rubbed her suddenly throbbing temple. “You shouldn’t hit people,” She whispered and whirled away and ran into the house until she got to her room. Gasping for breath, Risa sat heavily in the plush chair and tried to remain calm.
“Risa, are you okay honey?” Bill Landau asked gently.
Risa looked up and found both he and Samson had followed her. Shaking her head and crossing her arms over her chest defensively, Risa said angrily, “He hit her.”
Sighing and trying to choose his words carefully, Bill said, “Risa, you misunderstood what you saw.” Bill hesitated. “Sometimes couples play with each other. Chris was only pretending to spank his wife. To them it was a game.”
Risa looked at him in shock. Samson was standing silently watching Risa. “Hitting someone isn’t play, Daddy. He is so much bigger than her. He could have hurt her. How could you say that?” Risa cried, and suddenly a thought occurred to her. “Did you ever do that to Mom?”
“No, honey, but . . .” Bill sputtered.
“Excuse us, we don’t mean to intrude,” Sarah Sanchez said quietly. She and Maria Rojas entered Risa’s room together. “Would it be okay if we had a word with you, Risa, in private, just the three of us? It won’t take long.”
Uncertain, Risa bit her lip and nodded. Samson smiled reassuringly. “I’ll be right outside if you need me. Come on Bill. Let’s let the ladies have their girl time,” Samson said, leading Bill out of the room and quietly shutting the door.
Risa looked a little stormy. “Did he just say, ‘let the ladies have their girl time’?” she asked.
Laughing and shaking her head, Maria said, “Who knows? Men say crap like that whenever more than one woman ends up in a room together without a man holding court. Just ignore it.” Sarah agreed and shook her shiny cap of blond curls and rolled her blue eyes in disgust.
Grabbing the desk chair for Maria to sit on, Sarah just plopped her soft rounded body down on the ground in front of Risa’s chair. “First, I just want to say that Chris and I are really sorry that we upset you by playing around that way. You just seem so together and wonderful. We forgot for a second, you know, about all you’ve endured. We should have realized how seeing something like that, even though it was innocent, might bother you,” Sarah said sincerely.
Maria quietly added, “I know that most people see Jose and Chris as really scary men, but Risa, they are two of the kindest, most gentle, loving people I know. They would die rather that cause either Sarah or me any pain or hurt. Please believe that.” Maria’s warm brown eyes expressed her worry and sincerity. Her hands were unconsciously rubbing her pregnant belly as she leaned her petite frame back in the chair.
Sarah nodded in agreement. “They’ve both had hard lives. They grew up in the California gang life, neither one of them thought that they’d live to see thirty. But someone must have been looking out for them. They met Sam and Conner at a bar one night when Conner had been visiting family. I guess Sam had come along for fun. Anyway, Jose says Sam and Conner treated them like men, you know, with respect. Chris was impressed that even though both Sam and Conner were the same age as him and Jose, both owned their own businesses. In the end, Sam and Conner invited the boys out to North Carolina, anytime they wanted to visit and said maybe they could find jobs for them.”
Maria picked up the story and continued, “Jose and I were already together at that point. I knew that Jose was tired of the gang life, bu
t he didn’t know anything else. After speaking with Sam and Conner, I could see a change in him and Chris. After a few months they left the gang,” Maria said nervously, tucking a long golden-brown lock of hair behind her ear. She looked down at her hands as they gently rested on her belly. “Without going into details it’s not an easy thing to leave a gang.” She frowned with dark memories. “After that night, Jose finally decided to take a chance. He packed us up, grabbed Chris, and we drove across the country in a beat-up old Chevy pickup truck until we got to Dalton, North Carolina.” Maria grinned. “I don’t think Dalton was ready for us, if you can imagine,” she said, making the other women laugh. “Well, Chris called Conner and sure enough, within a week, Sam and Conner gave both Jose and Chris jobs and even found us a small house to share. They have been so great to us. You have no idea.”
Sarah smiled and said, “I met Jose at Trinity Memorial Hospital two years ago. I’m a nurse in the E.R. and he had come in with a nail stuck in his hand from a construction accident. It was hate-at-first-sight,” Sarah said and laughed at Risa’s shocked expression. “He was all macho and being a hard-ass and I was not impressed. But then he kept after me until I agreed to a date. Don’t tell him, but I was hot for him from the first day I met him, but he was so arrogant that I made him work for my affection.” Sarah grinned, then sighed. “I promptly fell in love, married him and then he knocked me up, one, two, three.”
“Wow,” Risa said in awe.
“Yeah, but look at what I got out of it. A man who loves me more than his own life and a beautiful baby girl that we both adore. How can I not feel blessed?” Sarah asked dreamily.
Sighing, Risa rubbed her temples. “I still don’t get it. How could you stand to have him hit you like that?” She sat in front of these two amazing women thinking how awkward this all seemed. Risa remembered hours and hours of sitting in her bedroom with her best friends from school, talking about absolutely everything. They had laughed and cried and knew each other’s deepest secrets. They had had slumber parties, birthdays and field trips together. Until this minute, Risa hadn’t allowed herself to think about that part of her life. It was too painful to think of the friends she had lost. She was close to Samson and knew she could tell him anything, but she missed having close girlfriends to share things with on occasion. She wondered if she would ever have someone to call a true friend again.