Star Bright

by Christina OW

  Maria stared down at her feet, “About that...”

  “We can argue about Miguel after we are done with Izzy.” Dave said, cutting her off.

  He had personally registered Michael in school. He had known the principal for a while and had managed to convince him to register Michael under an alias using the excuse that he was under protection and no one, but himself or his mother, were to pick him up from school. The problems with private schools are that they do a full check on a potential student like they were doing a credit check.

  Maria looked up at Dave for a moment. He had placed Michael in a school which she couldn’t afford. They did fight about that, but she had no choice to take a back seat on it. When he insisted on doing something there was no way of stopping him, and she had tried a few times. She didn’t have much of a chance winning with Michael practically joined to Dave’s hip.

  “Okay, your place is much closer to Miguel’s school anyway. But I have to tell you something before he starts...”

  Dave was sure she was about to tell him a little of the truth about herself before Todd crashed into his office interrupting their ‘family conference’ as he so often called it.

  Todd flashed a smile at Paula, then looked at Dave, “Oh, sorry but my dad wants to see you.” His interruption put a long pause to that conversation. But Dave was patient, he would wait until she felt ready. He loved her more than enough to wait.

  The last couple of weeks were busier than he had anticipated. Fixing Todd’s mistake proved to be harder and more expensive than he had thought. He was left with no other choice but to tell McKenzie about his son’s mess up, and even though they all thought that it was Todd’s final strike, he got off with a slap on the wrist and all his clients divided amongst other lawyers. Dave receiving the heavy load of course, after his long awaited promotion, and what was worse, Todd was his tail until he learned enough to reach Dave’s standards. It was a cruel and unjustified punishment for Dave, and he felt depressed that he barely got to see his daughter. He thought with the new promotion he would be able to see Izzy more often, but the only person who got that accolade was Paula.

  He smiled to himself, the image of her captivating green eyes peeking up at him, through her thick jet black hair, that barely hid her flushed pink cheeks, which matched the sweet smile, curved by her thin pink lips.

  Each time she looked at him like that, he felt like a giddy high school kid.

  He loved that feeling.

  “I love her.” He whispered softly, a flutter in his belly as his lips pulled into a wider smile.

  Carol walked into his office with a black file in her hand. She stood at his desk with a puzzled look on her face, “Who is Maria Diana Martinez? And why does she look so much like Paula?”

  “You shouldn’t read documents you aren’t supposed to.” Dave stood up and pulled the file from her hand. He didn’t want anyone else finding out about Paula/Maria until he knew all the facts and how dangerous the man she was running from was.

  “Her picture fell out.” She said, still puzzled.

  “And you couldn’t help yourself.” Dave opened the file and looked through it. He finally had Paula Michaels past in his hands, Maria Martinez. It wasn’t hard once he got the private investigator to look for an Edna Michaels. He overheard Maria on the phone with Edna and shamelessly had the operator give him the last number dialed on the pay phone. It wasn’t very clever of Maria to use her mother’s maiden name, it was a mistake that a lot of women on the run made, and most of them ended up dead.

  “I pick up a lot from you. Is that Paula?” she asked, pointing to the file.

  “Yes.”

  “I knew she was too perfect to be true. She was too beautiful and motherly, she must be psychotic. Where is Izzy?”

  He pulled a page out and handed it to her, “She is not psychotic, just on the run.”

  She took it and scanned it quietly. Her hand rose covering her neck, her face creased in disgust as she got to the bottom of the page, “There are two pages of this?” she whispered. She put it down on his desk, “I can’t read anymore.”

  Dave picked it up and went through it again. It was a medical report from Jacksonville County hospital, listing all the injuries she had been treated for. The treatments for sickness were on another piece of paper, but the one he had in his hand was exclusive to body injuries. The doctor’s comments were general, from falling down the staircase, to getting hit by a car, but Dave knew better and he was sure the doctor did too.

  “Why didn’t anyone help her, she was just a kid?” He placed the report down and picked up the file, again looking through more details of her life.

  “How old is she?”

  “She’ll turn twenty-three next February, Michael’s fifth birthday is in a couple of weeks.”

  “That guy broke close to every bone in her body, like he was reconstructing her, according to that, she should have more scars on her body than Frankenstein.” Carol commented lowering herself into the seat.

  “I haven’t seen any, but she has different shades on her skin. I knew there was something wrong immediately, I saw how scared she was with Michael. There was something about her that didn’t feel right.”

  “You don’t miss a thing do you? Either way, she has perfect skin or she wouldn’t have healed so well. I hope you find that monster and put him behind bars, better yet, have one of your friends in low places deal with him.”

  Dave sat down, his lips pulled up at the corner and dropped the file on his desk, “I don’t have to, he’s dead. The sheriff suspects he was burnt to death in a fire.”

  Carol leaned forward, “He is? Then why is she running?”

  “Probably because she set the fire, but it was ruled as an accident.” Dave was glad he was dead, but he could still feel there was a piece of the puzzle missing, he just couldn’t see what it was.

  Carol stood up and straightened her blue pencil skirt, “Dave, something else is going on and you need to find out what.”

  Dave smiled up at her, “You have picked up a lot from me.”

  Maria put the kids in the back of Dave’s Prado before she went back to lock the house door. She had stopped working at the cafe full time and became a part time nanny for Dave. At the rate he was working, Izzy was going to be neglected, she couldn’t stay in day care because he would only be distracted, worrying himself. Dave was very pleased that she quit and he felt more relaxed with this arrangement. It was her way of paying him for Michael’s tuition, it wasn’t much, but a start.

  It was a very different experience for her the last couple of weeks, with her new extended family. Her mother thought it fate that she had finally landed a proper man and a functional family, unlike what they had. Maria however didn’t see it that way, to her it was a further complication in her already screwed up life. She had been a woman on the run with her child, now she was technically a mother of two children, taking care of a home and making sure Dave didn’t forget to eat and had a change of clothes when he didn’t stumble into the house in the middle of the night completely exhausted.

  Maria got into the car laughing, remembering the first time he came home at two in the morning. She almost knocked him out with his own baseball bat, he gave her a tired smile before he leaned against her half asleep, she had to drag him up to his room and tuck him in bed, then a few hours later he was gone and back at work.

  “Mama, what’s so funny?” Michael asked from the back seat.

  “Nothing honey. So, are you ready for school?”

  “Yes, but.... mama can Dave take me?” Michael begged.

  Maria looked at him through the rear view mirror. She had gotten use to him asking for Dave, but it still made her very uncomfortable, “He can’t, he has work, but we’ll see him after and you can tell him about your first day.”

  “Da!” Izzy yelled, waving her doll around.

  Michael pulled the doll out of her hand, turning her attention to him, “It’s dad, say dad or daddy.”

&
nbsp; Maria kept her eyes on him, she’d never heard him say that, at least not like that. When Ricky forced him to say it, it was empty and very resentful, but when he said it referring to Dave it was heavy with emotion, she knew what emotion, but she wasn’t going to admit it to herself.

  Maria started backing out of the driveway, stopping just in time. A red Covet was parked behind the car and she almost ran into it, “Stay in the car.” She told Michael as she got out. She walked to the blond leaning against the Covet. She was in a very short, black skirt with an exposing slit over her thigh and a white blouse that showed too much cleavage, leaving very little to the imagination. Her red high heels, which looked like a potential threat to her neck, matched her blood-red lips and the Covet.

  Maria understood that she came from a small town and things were very different in New York, but this woman’s dress screamed desperate and very willing. Edna would never let her out of the house dressed like that and Ricky would most definitely use it as an excuse to beat her unconscious, not that he needed an excuse, but he would say it was her fault and she had provoked him.

  “Hi, can I help you?”

  She looked Maria over, sizing her up with the coldest stare, “No.”

  “Okay then, please move your car, I need to leave.” Maria returned in the same tone. She turned to leave, already irritated by the woman.

  “You must be Dave’s new toy?” She barked, standing upright.

  Maria turned around, her eyes slit harshly, “Excuse you?”

  “He’s letting you play with his old toy,” she pointed to the Prado, “that means he must be playing with you.” Her lips rose in a malicious smile.

  Maria moved closer to her, her patience slowly wearing off, “Who are you?”

  “Amy, his wife.” She responded with a wider smile.

  Maria laughed, acknowledging the hostility, “You are the ex-wife?” She looked Amy over, “I’ve got to say, Dave is pretty good with descriptions, and I should have recognized you immediately.”

  Amy hiked her knee to pull the slit higher up her thigh, “I know, I’m a knock out.”

  “Aha, you are close, but what he really said is that he’d like to knock you out.”

  “It’s called sexual tension. He’s still in love with me.”

  “No it’s called belligerence and hate. And not even you believe that, he choose Izzy remember?”

  “Izzy” she said with disgust, “It’s Elizabeth, I’m sure where you come from they can pronounce that.”

  “Just as well as we pronounce la Diabla,” Maria answered back. Amy’s condescending manner was getting to her and she was close to knocking her out herself.

  “Where is my daughter?” Amy asked harshly.

  “Do you even know what that word means?”

  “I didn’t come here for English lessons, where is Elizabeth?”

  “She’s in the car, but you aren’t going anywhere near her.” Maria pressed the lock button on the car remote, all the doors locked with a beeping sound.

  “You have no right...” She stepped closer to Maria, her hands fisted at her sides.

  Maria took a step towards her, closing the gap between them, “Yes I do, Dave has full custody and she’s under my care.” She felt good standing up to Amy, not giving her a chance to belittle her again. Standing at the top of the side walk did put her at a height advantage in her sneakers, but the courage inside her made her feel tall enough. “Don’t you have little boys to chase after?” Amy’s eyes widened and her lips parted in a gasp, “Move your car before I crush it with my toy.”

  Maria turned around and got into the car. She moved the car forward and waited for Amy to move hers. Amy moved the car back, completely blocking Maria in. Maria looked at her in the rear view mirror and smiled, she could see how petty Amy was being and the best way to reciprocate was by being pettier. Maria revved the car as a warning, but Amy didn’t move, then she backed it up fast and stopped inches away from Amy. Amy was frightened and even more enraged, but she didn’t move.

  “Okay, if that’s the way you want it.” Maria said moving the car forward.

  “Mama, what are you doing?” Michael asked quietly, then turned to look out the back window.

  “Keep your eyes forward honey.” she revved the car and reversed it fast. Amy pushed her car forward, but she didn’t make it in time. Maria scratched her back bumper before she drove off, leaving a screaming Amy on the road alone.

  Michael laughed, sitting properly on his seat, “Mama, don’t ever call me childish again.”

  Carol opened Dave’s door laughing, drawing Dave back to reality, “Your wife’s lawyer is on the phone. She says your girlfriend tried to run Amy over.”

  “What?”

  “I knew I liked Maria a lot, I bet the witch tried to take Izzy, she didn’t bet on mama bear.”

  “Mama bear?” Dave picked up the receiver, smiling at the thought of Maria running Amy over, but he hoped she hadn’t, because she had enough problems on her plate.

  She turned to leave, “Maria is very protective of Izzy and Miguel, I mean Michael.”

  “Carol.”

  “Don’t worry, my lips are sealed.” She closed the door behind her.

  “What is it?” Dave asked directly into the receiver, his professional voice on.

  Maria walked into the firm behind Michael and Izzy, carrying their lunch in her hands. She had grown accustomed to the stares and the stares had reduced since she became a constant visitor. She got to Carol’s desk and placed a chocolate cake on it, “For the best secretary ever.”

  Carol smiled, “Thanks, you spoil me.” She looked at Maria differently, with a new found respect. After all she had been through, it was a miracle she gathered the courage to set foot out of her home every day, if it was her she would be locked in, hiding in a corner.

  “You deserve it.” she pulled Michael and Izzy back before they ran into his office, “Wait a minute, he might be busy.”

  “Actually, he’s talking to Amy’s lawyer. Good job by the way.” Carol stood up and hugged her. The congratulation on her victory over Amy was an excuse to give her a comforting hug, which she really wanted to give her.

  Maria felt uneasy, the pleasure of putting Amy in her place all gone. She didn’t want any legal problems, she would be a sitting duck if she were to end up in jail for it, “That was a really bad move.”

  Carol pulled away, her face lit with excitement, “You really did run her over?”

  “I didn’t run her over, I nicked her car.” Maria defended herself, “How bad is it?” “Don’t worry, Dave is taking care of it. Go in.” Izzy and Michael ran in, but Maria took her time. She was sure Dave was furious, she had damaged his and Amy’s car. She hated his temper and she hoped he wouldn’t be very mad at her, either way, she would take it, hopefully without cowering away. She was learning to get used to his temper, since it was never directed to her or the kids, but it was difficult and all she could think about was the day that it would be directed to her.

  “What was she doing there in the first place?” Dave’s hard voice filled the room. Maria heard the door close behind her and she felt trapped, already hearing the anger in Dave’s voice. She thought of sneaking out since he had his back to her, he wouldn’t notice. “Do I have to file a restraining order?” he bellowed louder. Maria moved to the table and placed the food on it before her shaky hands dropped it.

  “She’s lucky, if it was me I would have run her and that stupid car over.” he turned and his harsh face eased into a grin when he spotted Michael and Izzy playing in the corner, “she was trespassing!” his voice gentler. Maria relaxed, taking the change as a good sign. He turned to her and his grin widened, then picked up a few papers and a file and stuck them in a drawer.

  Maria had gotten used to seeing him do that, she knew his job required privacy and she tried to always avoid reading his papers when she cleaned up at home, she was still getting used to calling his house her home. He beckoned the kids to him, they r
an to him, Michael getting there first. He picked him up with one hand and hugged him tight, then set him down and did the same with Izzy. Maria watched them, she loved seeing that, it was picture perfect.

  And the urge to go to him and have him hold her, filled her every essence. She hated being touched, that was an undisputed fact, but she craved his touch, his protective comforting touch.

  “Ask your client to read the terms of the divorce again and make it clear to her.” he signaled for Maria to come to him, she moved slowly towards him, her hands dug in her back pockets. He’d seen how tense she was and he wanted to reassure her, “She is no longer my wife and who I live with or buy a car for is none of her business.” He draped a hand over Maria’s shoulders and chuckled at the stunned look she gave him, “The insurance will cover it.” he tucked a few loose strands of her hair behind her ear, when he did, it exposed a long scar on the side of her head, something he’d never seen before. He pulled his eyes away fast before she noticed, holding her tighter against him, “We both know your client so what does she really want?”

  Maria looked at him keenly, the anger was back in his voice and face. She was sure Amy was proving to be difficult, she was the only one capable of making him angry so fast.

  She smiled at herself, glad she didn’t get the itchy feeling, instead she felt warm and comfortable. She felt his tight grip on her shoulder and as much as it made her uncomfortable she was relieved it wasn’t meant to hurt her, no longer a sign of a beating to come. She shook her head and pressed her face in his chest for a moment, she needed to get her mind out of the past and focus on her future, not everyone wanted to hurt her.

  Dave looked down at her, worried, she had never done that before. He had gotten used to a quick touch on his arm, handshakes and quick pecks on the cheek and only when she felt comfortable enough to do all those.

  He put his thumb under her chin and pushed her head up. She looked up at him with a smile then turned to the kids’ direction. He kept his eyes on her, half listening to the blabbering of Amy’s lawyer. Like a hundred times before, he felt the urge to kiss her forehead, then her long neck, but he fought it, he didn’t want to scare her away, especially now that he knew what she went through with Ricky. If he wasn’t already dead, he would kill him himself.