Maya's Choice

by Earl Sewell

  “Are you serious?” I asked.

  “Yup. Like I said, my girlfriend Toya hooked me up and taught me how to pick pockets and stuff. She can make more money in one day than your dad probably makes in a week,” Viviana boasted.

  “But what if you get caught?” I asked.

  “I’m too smart to get caught,” Viviana said stubbornly.

  “Don’t tell me you’re dumb enough to think you’d never get caught. Now you’re starting to sound like your father.” I shook my head disapprovingly. Before I could react she had wedged her forearm between my neck and shoulder and pressed down. I struggled as I placed my hand on her elbow and tried to push her off me.

  “If you ever make fun of my father again, I swear to God I will choke you in your sleep! You of all people should know that!” Viviana pressed down harder, which caused me to cough.

  I gasped for air and said, “You’re choking me.” Viviana pressed down hard one more time before she lifted her weight off me. As I tried to calm my labored breathing, she chuckled and said, “Now you know exactly how much I don’t like you.”

  Viviana hovered over me and observed as I caught my breath and curled up into the fetal position. Once I caught my breath, the only thing on my mind was retribution for what she’d just done. There was no way that I was going to let her little stunt go unanswered. I scooted over to the other side of the bed and got out of it. I moved around the bed toward Viviana with one thought in mind. Pull all of her freaking hair off her head. Viviana smirked. She knew that what she’d done would cause a fight and she welcomed the confrontation. Just as I about to make my move on her, I heard Grandmother Esmeralda shouting at Salena. I stopped cold in my tracks and listened.

  “Why won’t you get help?” I heard Grandmother Esmeralda ask.

  “Because I don’t need any, Mother!” Salena shouted back. I heard the sound of glass shattering and rushed out of the room. I hustled down the stairs and ran back toward the kitchen. Grandmother Esmeralda had grabbed a broom from the corner of the room and began to sweep up the broken glass from an empty wine bottle. I glanced over at my aunt Salena, who’d just popped open a second bottle of wine that Grandmother Esmeralda had. Salena put the bottle up to her swollen lips, tossed her head back and guzzled down the liquor like water running down a drain.

  “Is everything okay?” I asked nervously, concerned for both of them. Aunt Salena smeared away the excess liquor with the back of her hand. She looked a little better, but not much. She had a nasty-looking black eye and puffy lips.

  “What are you staring at?” She belched, clearly annoyed with the way I was staring at her.

  “Salena, think about Viviana. Think of what this is doing to her. It’s not a good thing to raise a child in an abusive home.” Grandmother Esmeralda tried to speak as lovingly and as calmly as she could. “You need help. This man you’re with is no good for you. We could go to church and talk to the priest and—”

  Salena interrupted. “So, what are you saying? That I’m not a good mother? That I’m not as good as Raven? Viviana isn’t as good or as smart as Maya?” Aunt Salena had completely snapped. I’d never seen the bitter and angry side of her.

  “I did not say that.” Grandmother Esmeralda was again trying to remain calm in an explosive situation.

  “I’ll finish cleaning that up,” I said as I moved toward my grandmother and took the broom from her.

  “You’ve always liked Raven better than me. Everything Raven did was always perfect to you and Papa. Nothing I ever did was good enough. I struggled to get good grades and Raven was an A student. Raven went to college, and I dropped out to work so that I could help out financially when Papa started getting sick and couldn’t work anymore. But did I get so much as a thank-you or any type of appreciation? No. You said it was my duty to help out while Raven was away having the time of her life in college. I helped to pay for her college education.” Salena took another long gulp of the liquor.

  “Salena. I told you that you didn’t have to drop out of college. I told you that I was taking a second job,” said Grandmother Esmeralda.

  “No, Mama. You’re twisting it around so that you don’t look bad. You told me that Raven was the smart one. You said that Raven would finish and make you and Papa proud.”

  “Salena, you’re talking crazy. You’re forty years old talking about things that happened twenty years ago. You can’t change the past.”

  “And you can’t forget it either, Mama.”

  “I worry about you, Salena. Why won’t you let me help you? You can stay here, away from that mean man who beats you.”

  “No, Mama. That man loves me. I know he does, and we are going to be happy together. You’ll see,” Salena said, taking yet another gulp of wine.

  “Give me the wine. You’ve had enough.”

  “No!” Salena held the alcohol close to her.

  “Love is not violent, Salena. If he beats you he doesn’t love or care about you,” Grandmother Esmeralda said.

  A slow yet hideous smiled spread across Salena’s face. “Our love is special, Mama. And it’s stronger than the love you and Papa had. It’s a hundred times stronger and nothing and no one is going to take him away from me.” Aunt Salena pivoted and walked toward the front door.

  “Where are you going?” Grandmother Esmeralda followed her.

  “Back to Martin,” Salena said as she opened the door.

  “Why are you so difficult!” Grandmother Esmeralda shouted.

  “Because you made me that way, Mama.” Salena stumbled out into the morning sunlight.

  “What about Viviana?” asked my grandmother as I walked up behind her. Aunt Salena didn’t answer as she staggered down the sidewalk. Grandmother Esmeralda exhaled loudly as she stepped back inside.

  “Do you want some breakfast?” she asked as she headed toward the kitchen.

  “I’ll make you some breakfast this time,” I said. Grandmother Esmeralda stood still for a moment and placed her hands into prayer position. She prayed silently for a moment before going into the kitchen. I glanced up and noticed Viviana standing at the top of the staircase. Our eyes met for a brief moment before she turned her back and entered the bathroom behind her.

  The following day Grandmother Esmeralda drove me back home. She wanted to talk to my mother face-to-face about all the drama that had gone down. I was excited because I’d get to go back home and hang out at the pool with Keysha and see Misalo once again. Although I wasn’t gone for very long, I felt as if I’d been away for an eternity. The only thing that I didn’t like about going back home was that Viviana had to come with us. When we pulled into my driveway my mother came out. Once I got out of the car she gave me a quick hug and then waited for Viviana to exit.

  “Oh, my goodness, Viviana, look at you. You’ve grown so much,” my mother said gleefully as she hugged her. Viviana reluctantly hugged her back as she took in her surroundings.

  “Hello, Mama,” my mother greeted Grandmother Esmeralda. They embraced each other before heading back inside. I noticed that my grandmother was limping.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  “I’m getting old and I’m falling apart,” she said as she entered the house. Once inside, my little brother and sister rushed over to her for their hug. I immediately went upstairs to my room to check things out. I wanted to make sure that Anna hadn’t been in there bothering my things. The first place I checked was my closet for any missing clothes.

  “So, this is your princess chamber.” Viviana walked into my room uninvited.

  “What are you doing up here?” I asked, wanting her to leave.

  “Just checking it out. Your old house was much smaller than this one. Obviously, you guys are wealthy,” she said. Viviana opened up one of the drawers of my jewelry box, which was situated in a corner.

  “Get out of there!” I said and moved over to where she stood. I closed the drawer and waited for her to back out of my room.

  “Oh, it’s like that?” Viviana had th
e nerve to be surprised by my attitude toward her.

  “It’s like that and a whole lot more.” I didn’t restrain my words or disdain for her.

  Viviana smirked and then chuckled. “You don’t have a damn thing in here that I want anyway.” She started to back out of my room.

  “Oh, there you are.” My little sister had just come upstairs. “How are you? It’s so good to see you again,” Anna said as she gave Viviana a hug.

  “It’s good to see you, too, Anna,” Viviana said. For some reason the two of them were very fond of each other. They always had been. I shut my door so that I could have some privacy.

  About an hour later, I was dressed and ready to go hang out at the pool. I’d already phoned both Keysha and Misalo and told them to meet me there. When I walked into the kitchen my mother and grandmother were sitting at the kitchen table talking.

  “I’m going to go to the pool for a while,” I informed my mother.

  “Okay. Viviana and Anna headed over there about fifteen minutes ago,” said my mother. I rolled my eyes as I walked out the door.

  When I arrived at the pool, I saw Keysha with dark sunglasses on, sitting in a chair, sipping on a strawberry smoothie. I walked over and sat beside her.

  “See, that’s not even right, girl. Where did you get that smoothie? It looks so good,” I said, wishing that I had one.

  “I made it,” Keysha said with a smile.

  “Let me taste it,” I said, extending my hand.

  “I brought two. You can have the other one. It’s in the freezer inside the clubhouse,” she said.

  “Oh, you’re the best,” I said as I went to retrieve the drink.

  When I returned I got comfortable and said, “You would not believe all of the drama that went down at my grandmother’s house.”

  “I was wondering why you hadn’t called me,” Keysha said.

  “Girl, all kinds of crazy stuff happened,” I said. “My aunt got beat up by her boyfriend, and my nutty cousin Viviana hates my guts.”

  “What?” Keysha blurted out loudly.

  “Shh. You don’t have to let the entire pool know,” I said.

  “I’m sorry. Come on, spill it. Tell me how everything went down.” I told her every detail of my visit with my grandmother. She sat and listened, but interrupted me when I mentioned Viviana’s friend Toya.

  “Wait a minute. Hold the hell up.” Keysha stopped me. “Where was Viviana living that she knows a girl named Toya who steals?” she asked.

  “I don’t know,” I said. Keysha leaned back in her seat and lifted her glasses off her face. “Why?” I asked.

  “I’m just wondering if Viviana’s Toya and the Toya I used to hang out with are one and the same person.”

  “Who is this Toya chick? You’ve never mentioned her before,” I asked.

  “We used to hang together a long time ago. Toya and I would go around shoplifting,” Keysha explained.

  “OMG, you used to go shoplifting? Why?” I asked, totally stunned by this news.

  “Times were hard,” Keysha said. “I was a different person back then. That was before I knew who my father was and long before I moved out here to live with him. Now I’ve just got to know if it’s the same Toya.”

  “Well, Viviana and my bratty sister are supposed to be here,” I said, searching around the pool deck for them.

  “Wait a minute.” Keysha tapped my thigh. “They’re just now walking in. Oh, she does look rough, Maya.”

  “I told you. That chick is loca,” I said.

  “Call her over here,” Keysha said.

  “Do I have to?” I complained.

  “Yes. I’ve just got to know if she and I know the same Toya,” Keysha said anxiously.

  “Anna!” I called to my sister to get her attention and then waved her over. She and Viviana walked over to where Keysha and I were sitting.

  “What do you want?” Anna asked.

  “I wanted to introduce Viviana to Keysha,” I said.

  “Hello,” Keysha greeted Viviana.

  “Hey,” Viviana replied.

  “Viviana, Keysha has a question for you,” I said.

  “What kind of question?” Viviana asked suspiciously.

  “It’s not that kind of question,” Keysha interjected. “I was just wondering where in Chicago do you live?”

  “Why? Do you want to make fun of me or something?” Viviana put her hands on her hips.

  “No, it’s nothing like that,” Keysha said. “I’m just trying to figure out if we know the same person.”

  “I doubt it,” Viviana said.

  “Well, you just never know. I didn’t always live out here,” Keysha explained.

  “You seem like you’ve lived out here in the lap of luxury all your life.” Viviana didn’t filter her words or attitude.

  “You live off of King Drive, don’t you?” Keysha asked.

  “And what if I do?” Viviana asked.

  “Toya Taylor,” Keysha blurted out. When Keysha said the name, Viviana’s eyes lit up.

  “You know her?” Viviana asked.

  “Yeah, we used to hang out back in the day.” At that moment Viviana popped her fingers.

  “So, you’re the Keysha that she was telling me about. She hates your guts,” Viviana informed her.

  “Well, the feeling is mutual,” Keysha fired back. “I used to live in the same building as her.”

  “Well, that makes two of us. It’s a small world,” Viviana said.

  “Well, great. Are we done here?” Anna asked. “I want to show her around.”

  “Oh, sure,” I said, glancing over at Keysha. “We just wanted to know if you guys knew the same person.”

  “I take it that you’ve told Cleopatra here about everything that’s gone down between us,” Viviana said.

  “Now, hold up. My name isn’t Cleopatra,” Keysha snapped at Viviana.

  “Whatever, chick,” Viviana said as Anna pulled her away from us.

  “That girl has a serious attitude,” Keysha said.

  “I told you. I can’t wait for her to leave,” I said.

  “Well, let me say this to you. If she’s friends with Toya Taylor, your cousin is bad news. Trust me, I know. My crazy brother, Mike, tried to date Toya and she really played him.”

  “What was Mike doing trying to date a girl like Toya?” I asked.

  “He was thinking with the little head, if you catch my drift.” Both Keysha and I cracked up laughing. While we were in the middle of laughing, Cocky Carlo, the new guy with the shifty eyes, walked up.

  “Hey, ladies,” he greeted us with his bright smile and cute dimples.

  “Hello,” Keysha and I responded simultaneously.

  “Mind if I pull up a chair and join you?” Before I could say, “Go away,” he’d sat himself down next to me. Keysha and I looked at each other and then back at him.

  “Am I interrupting something?” Carlo asked.

  “Don’t you think you’re being just a little bit bold?” Keysha asked.

  “Probably,” he answered and then smiled charmingly.

  “What Keysha is trying to say is that we’re having a private conversation,” I explained.

  “And I’m intruding, right?” Carlo nodded his head knowingly.

  “Are you always this quick, honey?” Keysha asked.

  “Okay. I can see that I’m not really welcome right now, but I wanted to stop and meet you.” He focused his attention on me.

  “Can I ask what your name is?”

  I looked deeply into Carlo’s eyes and momentarily got lost in them.

  “Maya,” I said slowly and softly.

  “Well, Maya, I’m Carlo. I’m kind of new around here,” he said and reached for my hand. He held it and said, “I haven’t seen you around lately, but I’m glad I ran into you today. I’d like to take you out sometime.” I don’t know why I didn’t say that I had a boyfriend. I think I was in shock. “Just think about it. We can go anywhere you want to. I have my own car.”
/>   “Really? You have your own car?” I sounded like I’d been temporarily drugged. I was caught in his net.

  “Yeah,” he answered. He took a pen from his pocket and turned my hand to expose my palm. He wrote his phone number in the middle of my hand. “Seriously, call me sometime,” he said and then turned my hand over and kissed the back of it. I was absolutely transfixed; lost in his eyes.

  “What’s going on?” Misalo had finally arrived and I snapped out of it.

  “Nothing,” I quickly answered him. Cocky Carlo rose to his feet and sized up Misalo. He was taller than Misalo and much more muscular.

  “Adios, Maya. It was nice meeting you,” Cocky Carlo said before he stepped away.

  “What was that about, Maya?” Misalo asked, distrustfully.

  “Nothing, baby, he was just some guy,” I said, closing my palm to hide Carlo’s phone number.

  “It looked like more than that to me. I saw the way he was looking at you, and how he kissed your hand. Are you cheating on me or something?” Misalo was clearly more upset than I realized.

  “Woo, I think it’s time for me to go for a swim,” Keysha said, excusing herself.

  “Look at you. Getting all jealous over nothing,” I said as I stood and stepped into his embrace. We kissed passionately. When I opened my eyes, I glanced over his shoulders and met Viviana’s gaze. She looked totally envious of me. I stuck my tongue out at her as I caressed the back of Misalo’s head.

  thirteen

  VIVIANA

  Grandmother Esmeralda and I arrived home before sunset. She hated driving at night because she couldn’t see as well. I was thankful that we stopped and got take-out Chinese food for dinner, beef fried rice, egg foo young and shrimp egg rolls. The food smelled so good and I just couldn’t wait to dig in. As soon as we entered the house, I pulled off my sneakers, left them at the door, and followed her into the kitchen. She set the food on top of the stove before heading to the bathroom. I grabbed a plate and fork from the cupboard, ripped open the brown bag, pulled out the white containers and opened the lids. I was starving.

  “Go wash your hands first,” said Grandmother Esmeralda, who was returning from the bathroom.