by Ellen, Tracy
Speak of the little devil, it was a text from Jasmyn: I’m wearing fringe tonight!
John wasn’t done with me. “Wait, let me get this straight. You want me to go out with your sister?”
I quickly texted back: Go Pilgrim!
Looking up, I inquired apologetically, “Excuse me, umm, what did you ask?”
John gracious smile was a little tight. “I asked if you actually want me to go out with Jasmyn.”
Shaking my head, with a crooked smile I asked in return, “Is that what you call it? Going out? Gosh no, I don’t want Jazy to go out with a man like you, but she’s a big girl.”
“Aren’t you worried about me emotionally devastating her, or treating her like a slab of meat?” John asked. Surprisingly, his voice reflected no sarcasm, only curiosity.
“Jazy?” I snorted delicately with raised brows. I looked him in the eye with something near pity. “Believe you me; it’s highly doubtful Jazy will let you near her person. If she does, it won’t be her feeling like a slab of meat. Make that a very sore slab of meat.” Over John’s yip of surprised laughter, I added impatiently, “Besides, our deal was for Northfield, Jazy doesn’t reside in Northfield, and a deal’s a deal. Right, John Smith?” I took his arm and lightly shook him while scolding, “Now come on, we’re three minutes late for our rescue plan meeting. Is this the way you and Luke always operate? You malingering in hallways to talk about your angry inch like you’re still in high school? If so, I gotta tell you, I am so not impressed…”
I giggled when, laughing loudly in protest at my defamation, John shoulder-checked me playfully against the wall in retaliation.
The Mid-Eastern John Smith then demanded, “I thought you said we couldn’t be friends?”
“Hey, if this is how your friends treat you, then by all means put me on your Christmas card list, Infidel.”
“Whose angry inch are we talking about now?” Anna inquired brightly from the doorway into the store, her ringing voice easily heard over our laughter.
When the three of us walked into the Garden Room, Luke and Maria had already met and were in a deep discussion. Luke glanced up at me and pulled out the chair next to him.
Luke returned his attention to listening with a grave, attentive expression while a chattering Maria spoke rapidly in Spanish. This evidence of another hidden talent made me debate banging my head against the table, or jumping onto his lap to smother him in delighted kisses. Instead of doing either, I stood patiently by while waiting for Maria to finish speaking.
Introducing myself in English, I patted her hand and started out by reassuring the anxious woman upfront that she needn’t worry a minute more because our plan consisted of rescuing her niece no later than midnight tonight. The rest of this meeting was just to work out all the tiny details.
Maria Sanchez was still an attractive woman in her mid-forties who probably was called beautiful one hundred pounds and twenty years ago. She gave the first impression of overall roundness. She has a round face with round cheeks and a cute button nose. She has enormously round breasts and a larger round bottom that was showcased in a tight fitting knit dress. The dress accented every curve and roll. Even her hoop earrings, bangle bracelets, and black purse were circular.
I was sure her normal expression was jovial, but this evening her face was drawn with worry. At my words, she searched my face anxiously with big, round brown eyes and a quivering bottom lip. Unexpectedly, she stood up and launched herself into my arms. Hugging me tightly, she rocked me violently back and forth while crying out her thanks and relief in a torrent of mixed English and Spanish.
I understand this situation was nerve-wracking and dire for Maria, but she caught me completely by surprise with the passionate force of her outburst. Locked in her embrace, we staggered back a few steps and crashed into the wall behind me. Over the stranglehold of the weeping, praying woman hanging on my neck, I saw John Smith eyeing the woman’s generous butt in her tight dress. Anna was grinning broadly with a “Didn’t I tell you she was a hysteric?” smirk of satisfaction. I couldn’t see Luke’s face and I was glad for small favors.
Patting her shoulder for a few minutes and uttering soothing noises, Maria showed no signs of slowing down the outpouring of unintelligible words or the downpour of her distraught tears. Recalling Anna mentioned enduring twenty minutes of this crap, I glared over at my friend. Shrugging sympathetically at my dilemma, her grin flashing on and off like a yield light at a four-corner traffic stop told the real story.
Dealing with hysterically crying women in my life was a rarity. My tendency was to throw things at them, so I truly was at a loss what to do with Maria. Surely it wasn’t cool to haul off and smack Maria across the face like they did in the movies to make her snap out of it? I heard Luke’s low chuckle, and I took a deep breath of resolve.
Grabbing Maria firmly by the shoulders and pushing with a few grunts, I forcefully peeled her off me while using a knee to her round stomach for leverage. Once I could stand up straight, I eluded her clutching hands and shook her hard enough by the shoulders that her sobbing head flopped around on her neck.
Not knowing how far I could go before causing shaken baby syndrome, I held onto her round head with both my hands.
In my best General’s voice, I shouted right in her face, “WOMAN, SHUT THE FUCK UP!”
Except for the door slamming shut behind Anna when she ran out of the meeting, the room thrummed with blessed silence. I smiled encouragingly back into Maria’s stunned face. Her mouth was gaping open and closed in mid-cry like a fish out of water, but mercifully she was silent.
“Good. Now let’s you and me sit down, okay, Maria? I’ll ask some questions and you nod yes or no.” She nodded, but when she attempted to speak and I could see the apology trembling on her lips, I interrupted quickly, “Oh no, not another word, please. Here, sit down.”
I led her back to the chair next to Luke. If I kicked his chair leg when I seated myself on Luke’s other side, I think I could be forgiven that little slip of my boot.
He squeezed my thigh, but I didn’t trust myself to give Luke any eye contact. Disregarding his hand, I leaned forward and asked Maria a series of questions about Blanca’s life; her schooling, friends, and her relationship with her mother and stepfather. My matter-of-fact tone and no-nonsense manner had Maria calming down and soon she was speaking without a hiccup.
Maria confirmed, without a doubt, she wanted her niece permanently removed from her current home environment. Maria cared about Inez, her sister and Blanca’s mom, but didn’t trust her to protect her niece. Maria stated Inez was in agreement that Blanca would be better off living somewhere else, preferably with Maria. The sisters had been discussing this when all the trouble started with the stepfather’s gambling debt. Once Blanca came to the attention of the pedophile enforcer, Maria knew her niece living with her was not protection enough. Drastic measures were needed, but Maria was growing desperate to find outside help. Everybody in their community knew of each other’s families and friends, so she didn’t trust anyone to not talk. That’s when Maria heard of me kicking the crap out of Ron Hansen and knew I was her girl. My words, not hers. Maria’s description was more voluble and flowery; mentioning angels, demons, baby Jesus, the blessed Mother Mary, and several saints.
Maria slid over the notebook to Luke and me, confirming she’d written down everything Anna had asked of her and everything she’d just told Luke that she knew of the situation.
Luke slid the notebook across the table to the quietly observing John while squeezing my thigh again. He then asked me to repeat my plan for everyone to discuss. At the notebook pushing motion, I was distracted by his black cashmere sweater molding to his flexing bicep.
‘Talk about Demons! The man has the best arms I have ever seen.’
I flashed on an image of him nude and gripping my hips, both of his arms flexed with muscle while he held me up against the shower wall in his barn this morning.
“Anabel?” At Luke�
�s smiling question, I quickly took my stroking hand off his arm. I jumped up out of my chair, as if it was on fire. Most likely it was only my panties again.
Anna walked back into the room then, head facing down. Pulling out her chair next to John’s, she was pink-cheeked but composed. She folded her hands neatly, sat up straight, and looked at me expectantly. Then she promptly started biting her lip and flashing her grin again.
Shaking my head at the madhouse that was now my life, I smiled grimly and started pacing. “Okay, Maria. This is what the overall plan is for your niece. Let me know if you think it will work but,” I laughed in amusement then and shook a finger at her warningly, “no flinging yourself and attacking me. Promise?”
Maria blushed and twittered, but nodded her head rapidly while promising with a big smile.
“There are two parts to my plan. The first part concerns Blanca’s safety and her future. Late tonight, Blanca will sneak out of her house. We will be waiting. We will bring Blanca back here and she will then stay at an undisclosed place for the next month. She will be protected until she’s brought to her new home and school.” Pausing by Maria’s chair, I squeezed her shoulder and said, “Aunt Maria, I’m afraid you will need to stay away from your niece for a few weeks or even months, until we determine if she is safe. She’ll be enrolled at Shattuck and will start classes after Christmas with the new term. Blanca can live there safe and sound for the rest of this school year.”
Maria frowned ominously at my statement she’d need to stay away from Blanca. Then she started squealing and waving her arms at the mention of Shattuck. I stopped in my pacing and gave her a look. Maria visibly struggled to contain herself at this news, but lost the battle. However, she did stay in her chair this time when she erupted with volatile excitement. At a complete loss to decipher one word from the babble of questions pouring forth nonstop out of her mouth, I left it up to Anna to communicate with Maria.
I asked John, “Have you heard of Shattuck?”
He looked up from reading the open notebook and answered, “Yes, ma’am. Shattuck-St. Mary’s is a prestigious boarding school located on the Northeast side of Faribault.”
“Very good, John, that’s one gold star for you today,” I replied primly to his smarmy tone and heard Luke’s soft snort off to my right. “They have a lower school for grades six through eight, and what they term an upper school for high school age students. Blanca can get away from her stepdad and his lovely friends, and be near enough for Maria to eventually visit.”
I resumed pacing and tapped Maria’s shoulder to get her attention again. “Listen up, Maria. I understand you have many questions and we’ll talk more in-depth about them later. For right now, can you please just believe that it’s true Blanca’s been accepted, for all intents and purposes, at Shattuck and you needn’t worry? I have a good friend that runs the administration office and she’s given me her assurances.”
“Excuse me, of course! I am simply so excited for my Blanca that she will have such an opportunity…”
It was impossible to resist smiling back at the bubbling excitement gushing from the woman, but I interrupted firmly, “I am so glad we are in agreement this plan is viable for your niece. Maria, what I need from you now is your close attention. This is your part in the plan and very, very important. Please hold your questions until I am done telling you everything, alright?”
“Yes, I am listening, Anabel,” Maria breathed out, twisting to follow my pacing progress.
“You have to do three things that only you can do. The first thing you need to take care of immediately after this meeting. Go talk privately with Blanca and let her know you’ve arranged for her future safety. Your sister must be convinced Blanca has left the state. Blanca needs to leave a note saying she has runaway to California to escape the bad man. In the note, she can reassure her mother she is safe with friends and will contact her soon. It’s going to be tough on your sister Inez, but no more than she deserves for putting her daughter in harm’s way. Our only goal is to make sure Mr. Pervert the pedophile gives up on the idea of getting near Blanca.
Maria pounded the table and declared, “Yes, yes, this is true! We have friends and family in California, so Inez will believe this runaway story! Since the bad men hit and punched Inez, we have been terrified and have talked of this solution before for Blanca.” Maria spat and added bitterly, “But Inez always believes her husband’s lies that he will stop gambling, and I know they can locate Blanca with our relatives in California.”
I made a face. “Yeah, it’s pretty amazing how women manage to convince themselves of the weirdest things over a man. Okay, then. I don’t know how reliable Blanca is…”
Anxiously, Maria broke-in, “She’s a very good girl, very smart and respectful.”
Nodding, I said, “I’m sure she is, but it still’s probably wisest if we wait to tell Blanca the truth about where she’ll be living until after she runs away. Anna and I will tell her tonight. If she’s bummed at the idea, it will only be until school ends in June. Then we can reassess the threat level…” I cut my eyes in John’s direction when I heard a smothered yip, but he returned my look blandly. Watching him closely a second longer, I turned back to Maria, but not before I caught the quick glance of amusement John shared across the table with Luke. The cocky bastards were getting a kick out of my plan.
‘Wait until John hears his part!’
Chuckling to myself, it suddenly clicked where I’d heard Stella’s evil little laugh before.
Maria reiterated firmly, “Blanca is a good girl and will do as she’s told, but I will wait as you say, Anabel.”
“She will be safer, Maria, so I’m relieved you understand. Okay, this is the second part. We’re giving you the cash to give to your brother-in-law to pay back his loan.”
At Maria’s gasp, I shot a quick look in Luke’s direction. I think I forgot to mention this part of my plan to him in my office earlier.
Pushed back from the table and sprawled lazily in his chair, Luke’s legs were out in front of him and crossed at the ankle. His clasped hands were resting on his abdomen, and with half-closed eyes, he was watching me pace. He didn’t react to my statement, but I could see the glittering green of those eyes. Anna knew this part of the plan and was nodding, while John was sitting forward and listening.
“After you tell Blanca the plan for her to runaway tonight at midnight, you must be out in public somewhere at that time, so nobody suspects you knew. Is that a problem?”
Maria shook her head and said eagerly, “I will do anything to make the plan work for Blanca. Anything!”
I grinned at the woman and held up a fist. “Go Woman Power! Now, when your sister tells you the news of Blanca’s running away, you must be completely, hysterically distraught.” I asked innocently, “Will that be a problem?”
Everyone laughed, Maria the hardest.
“You will go over there tomorrow immediately after your sister calls with the discovery of the missing Blanca. You can watch Jorge freak out for a while, in fear for his life.” Maria squealed her delight and I smiled slightly. “When you are satisfied the asswipe is petrified, tell Jorge you are paying his bad debt. Tell him you’d been trying to scrape up the money to save your niece before this news of her running away. You’ve begged and borrowed from friends and wiped out your own savings account to come up with the cash. Let Jorge know you planned on telling him this good news today at Thanksgiving dinner. You must stress over and over to Jorge that you’re only paying this one time, and only because you don’t want your runaway niece hurt. You are not doing this for him, but so that Blanca will feel safe someday to come home when the threat is gone.”
Maria was nodding happily at these instructions and started clapping and squealing in earnest. “Yes, I can do this. I like this word asswipe, Anabel. What next?”
“Yeah, I’m partial to it myself,” I agreed. “The next bit will be hard for you, but I’m ordering you to tell Jorge how much you hate his guts. You
must call him the foulest names you know and warn him you will kill him if he ever hurts your sister.” I shrugged. “You know, the usual Thanksgiving chit-chat amongst family members.”
I didn’t glance at the sniggering men, but Anna and I exchanged grins while I waited for Maria’s loud laughter to die down. “Jorge needs to be warned that the one condition of your giving him the money is that he must never divulge to a living soul Blanca’s ran away to California.” Seeing the protest building up on Maria’s open face, I stopped her. “Of course, he can’t be trusted.” Relieved and nodding, Maria settled back and I went on, “So worst case scenario, Jorge talks and give out a false trail.”
Maria clapped excitedly. “Yes! Nobody will know where she’s living. Blanca will grow up safe and become a big, important lawyer!”
I regarded Maria dubiously and asked, “Are you sure that’s what she wants to be?”
Maria pounded a fist on the table. “Yes, Blanca is a good, smart girl!”
I held up my hands in pacification and said reluctantly, ‘Okay, okay, I guess it’s possible to be a lawyer and a good girl.” I muttered, “I’ve heard of stranger things.”
Picking my way carefully over Luke’s extended legs; I yanked gently on his black hair when I passed behind him.
Pacing to the other side of the table, I continued, “This is the third thing, Maria, and the most important to part two of the plan. Jorge must call and make arrangements to go pay the loan off right away on Thanksgiving night. What is the loan shark’s name, anyway?”
John spoke up helpfully while reading from the notebook, “It says his name’s Nester Ramirez.”
Maria’s lip curled in disdain and she made a rude hand gesture, even as she nodded that John was correct.
Passing behind John’s chair, it was hard to resist the urge to flick his shiny, shaved head.
So I didn’t.