Promise To Keep

by Rainwater, Priscilla Poole

  Done with the man, Connell hung up and calmly placed the Blackberry back on it’s charging stand.

  Max looked at the phone in his hand, then suddenly hurled it against the wall, screaming with rage. He began pacing again, shouting loud curses in his native tongue. When that didn’t help he grabbed the closest chair and hurled it through the glass window behind his desk. “HOPE IT HITS SOMEBODY ON THE HEAD!” he screamed peevishly, causing his aide and secretary to scatter like quail from the other side of the door where they had been eavesdropping.

  Stomping to the door, he slammed it open, and yelled, “Sasha, get me on the fastest thing going to the states, NOW!”

  Trembling, the frightened woman clamped her legs together tightly, trying to control her suddenly loose bladder. She had never seen him in such a state.

  “I said, right FUCKING NOW!!!!” he screamed as she whimpered and snatched the nearest phone out of it’s cradle.

  *********************************************************

  Connell knew he should have been in bed hours ago, but he couldn’t. He was plagued with doubts about the words he had spoken to Max earlier. Now he didn’t feel so confident. Do I really have something to offer her, to make her think I’m worthy of her? Do I really make her happy? he thought.

  Hearing a thud, he got up. Opening the door, he listened closely, then went upstairs. He peeked inside Abby and Shawn’s rooms, and saw they weren’t there.

  Quickly, he walked to Aisha’s room, and seeing the door cracked and the night light on, peeked inside. A huge grin spread across his handsome face at what he saw. Abby was wrapped around Aisha, one arm thrown over her waist, and Shawn was curled up on the other side of her. Quietly, he opened the door and walked in, looking down at them.

  Aisha looked up at him and gave him a sweet, sleepy smile. “I know they should sleep in their rooms, but I missed them.” she mumbled.

  Connell stood looking down at them, and thought, Jenny, sweetie, I finally realize why you asked us to promise you. You knew. You knew that she would love the children unconditionally. Suddenly he felt goose bumps racing up and down his entire body as he could have swore he heard a sweet voice whisper directly in his ear, “And love you, too……”

  “Honey, what’s wrong?” Aisha asked, seeing the look on his face.

  The goose bumps disappeared, and he felt a warmth envelope him as the voice drifted away, saying, “Tell her she doesn’t need to feel guilty, no need to feel….the voice trailed off, and he caught a faint whiff of honeysuckle, which quickly vanished, then everything was normal again.

  Walking over to the bed, he lowered himself to the floor, and resting his arms on the edge, gently caressed Shawn’s soft hair. “Just lay there and let me enjoy my family, please.” he told her in a soft voice.

  She sensed that for whatever reason, he needed to be near them at the moment. She nodded and laid her head back down, drifting off to sleep again.

  Several hours later she woke to find him sleeping in the same spot, a content look on his face.

  ***********************************

  Several weeks later:

  Aisha snapped the last of the nature shots that Carol had her shooting for the paper. She had left the children with Connell, and she had enjoyed the few hours in the wooded area alone. She had been feeling tired a lot lately, and the fresh air had invigorated her.

  Putting her camera away, she got in her Explorer and headed to the cemetery where Jenny had been laid to rest. Lately she had been feeling compelled to go there for some reason.

  I wonder if I’m ready for this…she thought, and to keep herself from thinking about it too much, popped a Pure Moods cd into the player.

  Finally arriving, she climbed out of the SUV, grabbed the vase of flowers from the back seat, locked the doors, and slipped the keys in her jacket pocket. A strong gust of wind blew and she shivered, looked up, and noticed the sky was now overcast, looking as if it would begin raining any moment. Zipping her jacket, she made her way to Jenny’s grave.

  Looking at the headstone, she placed the vase of wildflowers that she had picked at the base. Touching the cool marble, she ran her hand over the name and epitaph carved on it: Jenny Renée Riley, Beloved Wife, Mother, Sister, and Friend. Now One Of Gods Angels.

  Her lips trembled as she wished for the thousandth time she had had more time with her friend, and mumbled, “Jen, girl, you got me in a bind this time, I bet you’re lounging around somewhere out there laughing, aren’t you? Well, that’s Ok girl, you always did have a twisted sense of humor. I never expected to fall in love with him. DAMN! Why did you ask me to make that promise? Girl, I don’t know what to do. I really don’t think it’s best for me to try to be Abby and Shawn’s mother, much as I would love to step in and do it. People around here, well, most people around here, are just too backwards. They would grow up with so many folks giving them a hard……“

  Her voice was cut off and she let out a startled yelp as she felt something touch her shoulder. Spinning around quickly, expecting to see someone behind her, there was no one there. A sense of urgency washed over her, and she felt a sudden urge to leave, quickly. Rationally, she knew she was being silly, but suddenly she couldn’t get the image of the old black and white movie “Night of the Living Dead” out of her mind. In particular, the scene where the young girl’s brother began taunting her in the cemetery, saying, “Theyyyy’re coming to get you, Barbara!” in a spooky voice.

  A faint sound, like a gunshot, made her jump once more. “Come on girl, you’re giving yourself the heebie-jeebies now!” she muttered, but headed for her Explorer quickly anyway.

  Halfway there she slowed down a bit, and felt herself becoming spooked once again. In her haste, she hadn’t noticed, until now, that there was a battered, older model Ford 4x4 pickup parked directly behind her own vehicle. The truck was covered with mud, front to back, and there was a small Confederate flag hanging from the radio antenna, flapping in the breeze. Her heart picked up speed as she saw a large man, almost as huge as Connell himself, casually leaning against the driver’s side door of her Explorer, alternately taking sips from a can of Budweiser and smoking a cigarette. This is not good….she thought.

  He said nothing as she approached cautiously and sized him up from a reasonably safe distance. The man simply looked mean. He was perhaps an inch shorter than Connell, just as heavy, and wore his filthy looking long hair drawn back in a ponytail. He was wearing dirty Levis, harness boots, and a lumberjack coat with the arms missing. His own arms were covered with tattoos, and she became even more frightened when she saw one in particular, one that sported the logo, White power.

  Flicking his cigarette away and throwing the half-full can of beer to the ground, the man grinned at her nastily, showing off a mouth full of what appeared to be broken teeth. “Well looky what we got here…Yer’ Connell’s new woman, ain’t ya‘?”

  The way the man was looking at her made her flesh crawl, but as frightened as she was, she was determined not to show it. Her instincts told her that the man would react like an aggressive canine if she did, that being the first whiff of fear would only encourage him.

  “Whatsa’ matter‘ girl, cat got yer’ tongue?” he mocked.

  She did her best to stare him down, and replied in a cool voice, “First, you’re not my damn father, so I’m not your girl, BOY! Now, get your nasty ass off my door and step aside. And by the way, what’s your name? I’m sure Connell would like to tell you personally if I’m his woman or not.”

  The man looked startled for a moment, then stepped forward, looking around as if expecting to see him any second. After a moment he relaxed, reasoning that if the man was anywhere around, the girl would have screamed for help already.

  Bracing herself and praying silently, she tried to remember the things Max had taught her about protecting herself. She remembered the many times he would yell at her as he trained her at self-defense. Go for the groin first, and be prepared to use anything e
lse you can find to defend yourself! And above all else, always try to remain calm.

  Her heart picked up speed as the man took another step towards her, sporting a raging hard-on that was clearly evident from the bulge in his dirty jeans. She slid the keys out of her coat pocket, ready to use them to gouge the slug’s eyes out, right after she kicked him in the family jewels.

  The sound of snapping twigs made her whirl around and look, while trying to keep her attention on the current threat at the same time. Her heart fell as she saw a man just as large emerge from the woods, zipping his pants up. He bore a strong resemblance to the other man, and she instinctively knew they were related. So, bears aren’t the only animals that shit in the woods, she thought. She wrinkled her nose in distaste at seeing him wipe his hands on his nasty work pants.

  “So, she finally came down, huh Leroy? Saved us a trip though, we figured we would hafta’ drive down to her place to introduce ourselves proper.”

  Leroy! Now if I can just get the other asshole’s name…. she thought, then said out loud, “Get the hell away from me, and get the hell away from my car. I really don’t have time to deal with you two Beverly Hillbilly rejects.”

  The grease ball who had just emerged from the woods grinned at her with a mouthful of nearly green teeth and snarled, “Now don’t you talk to us like that, sweet thang’! After all, we’re jes’ about to take you for a ride on Space Mountain! Is that any way to speak to your betters? Hell, we figure any white man will do, you giving it to one now, you can give us some too.”

  Growing more frightened by the second, she decided her best hope would be to try to catch them both off guard by mocking them, while she tried to think of a way out of the mess. “Yeah, any white MAN will do, just not you two! I’m sorry, I don’t do unwashed stank trailer-trash boys that probably don’t measure two inches between the both of them. Shit, Jerry Springer would take one look at you two and say, “Get this trailer park white trash shit off my set!” Now step aside, you dickless wonders!”

  Both of them stopped laughing and glared at her.

  “Billy-boy, my ribs are still a little sore, so I’ll let you handle the pre-game warm-up. Aw’ hell, since you bought the beer this mornin’ I’ll even let you have first crack at her black crack! Just save enough for me!” Leroy said, and giggled like an insane schoolboy.

  Walking quickly towards her, Billy leaped frantically to one side just as her foot came up and tried to kick him in the groin, then caught her tiny wrist in his huge hand as she swung desperately at his face with the keys. Giggling like his brother, his hand reached down and grabbed the button of her jeans.

  “Iiiiiiiiiitttssss..SHOWTIME!” Leroy whooped, rubbing his hands together in gleeful anticipation. Stepping closer, he licked his lips and said, “Alrighty then, let’s see some pussy.”

  “AHHHHHH SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT!!!!” Billy screamed as Aisha whipped her head forward and bit him on the wrist with all her strength. He hopped around a bit, finally stopped, and with his free hand he drew back, prepared to strike her. “Why you little nigger bitch, I’m gonna’….”

  “HEY HEY you two, KNOCK IT OFF!” a loud voice cracked through the air like a whip.

  As one the trio turned to see an elderly black man emerging from the far side of the muddy pickup truck. He looked to be in his eighties, easily, but still had a head full of snow-white hair, and a short beard. He was railroad thin, but tall, and his clear eyes were sharp as a razor.

  Billy and Leroy both found themselves staring at the business end of a .410 double-barreled shotgun, and Aisha released her bite as she felt Billy release her wrist.

  “Whatchoo’ boys gettin yer’self into now, as if I didn’t know.” the old man said grimly. The hands that held the shotgun were gnarled but strong looking, and the barrel of the gun didn’t waver the slightest fraction.

  “Mr. Teddy. We was just….introducing ourselves, we was only funnin.” Billy stammered as he threw his hands up and backed away.

  “Yeah, I’ll just bet.” the old man replied. “Was that any way to talk to a beautiful lady? Guess that beating you two got at the Roadhouse didn’t register, huh boys?”

  “Mr. Ted, it wasn’t what you think, we was…”

  “Shut yo’ mouth boy!“ the old man interrupted Leroy as he turned his hard gaze on him. “You two ain’t nothin but damn trouble, always have been! That’s why I had to always beat your skinny little asses when you two rode my school bus! And you, boy,” he said, turning his attention back to Billy. “Did I see you put your hands on this here gal? I don‘t hold with puttin‘ yore hands on no woman, no sir!”“

  “Mr. Ted, we…..”“

  “I done told the both of you ‘bout coming up here and messing around in this graveyard. Drinking, leaving a mess of beer cans behind, screwing any woman who can put up with the smell of both of ya’, and now you out here harassing folks! Now, you best get on outta’ here! And don’t let me catch you ‘round here no mo’.!“

  “But….“

  "Don’t BUT me, boy! Keep hem-hawin’ around, testin’ my patience, and see won’t I blow the tires right offa’ that there raggedy-ass piece a’ shit jalopy you call a truck.“ he said, motioning with the shotgun in the direction of their pickup. "Now go on,... GIT!!!“

  Aisha was amazed at their response. Each of them gave her a brief, withering glare, but scurried to their truck quickly. They tore out, dust flying, their confederate flag flapping in the wind.

  Once they were out of sight the old man opened the shotgun and slowly removed the shells, which he placed in his jacket pocket. Turning to her, he said, “You Ok, missy? Sorry ’bout the awful language, if the Missus knew I had cussed like that in front of a young lady she’d take her cane to me. But damn if those two don‘t make my blood boil! Rotten apples, the both of them!”

  “Thank you sir, for your help.” she said as she smiled and tried to control the trembling in her legs.

  “Sir? Sweetie, jes’ call me Mr. Teddy, like children been calling me in these parts for the past eighty years. I used to be the gym teacher at high school, and the bus driver for the grade school. Heck, alla’ the young’uns still call me Mr. Teddy. Only folks call me sir is people that want my money.” he smiled as he extended his free hand and shook hers. His grip was gentle, yet firm.

  “Nice to meet you, Mr. Teddy.” she replied.

  “So, I gather yer’Connell’s little lady? Well, that boy always did have good taste, although I’ve half a mind right now to go find that big red-headed devil and give him a good hiding, lettin you run around by yourself out here in the middle of nowhere with scum like those two slinking around. Those two boys, they wouldn’t know how to treat a woman if she was ta give them instructions.”

  “Well, all’s well that ends well, thanks to you.“ she smiled, the tension beginning to melt.

  “The missus said she had saw you at little Jenny’s funeral, couldn’t make it myself, sorry to say. Always did love that young lady. Anyway, I ended up nursing a cold. Went hunting day before yesterday, and my ol’ dog took off on me. He caught himself a whiff of some mary jane somewhere, and took off running to get hisself some, I reckon’. Had to practically drag the dang fool all the way home. Heavens to Betsy, I bet I’m justa’ bout the only man who has a dog that likes to get high.”

  Unsure she had heard correctly, “Aisha laughed and said, “What?“

  Waving a hand dismissively, he said, “Tellya’ bout’ that later. Anyway, it seems to be good for him, he sure can see them turkeys. Now, what was your name sweetie? Missus said it was Asia…Alisa…something…but I says to her, now what kind of name is that? She says you’re famous, so it’s probly’ like that P. Digging, you know, the rapper boy that changed his name? Now why ya’ll want to give up the name’s yo’ momma gave you? And hell, I’m just a doddering old fool who’s rambling..”

  Finally able to get a word in edge-wise, she laughed and said, “Aisha…my name is Aisha, Mr. Ted.”

  He pronounced i
t slowly, then replied, “Such a pretty name, Aisha. I like that. Well looky here, Aisha, why don’t you come on up to the house, say hello to the missus? She would be mad that I got to talk to you and she didn’t. Her hip’s gone bad, so she don’t get out of the house like she used to, but she loves her some company once in awhile. Me and the tv are ‘bout all she has most days.”