Trapped with a Way Out

by Jeffery Martinez

  The morning gloom had burned off hours ago and a sunny blue sky, accented by a few fluffy clouds, allowed anyone who lay outside in the sun long enough to feel like it was already Spring. Hans was absorbing as much sunlight as he could with a shirt folded next to the green mat he had covered with a white and blue striped beach towel, and was using the cushioned mat to relax with a thick grant sitting under his nose. When a screen door slid open behind him, the father moved to look back at the house, peaceful happiness softening his eyes and mouth when his daughter ran towards him playfully, pretending to be a little girl again. William collapsed beside her father, forcing him to scoot over before hanging onto his neck with an ecstatic, giggling grin. A small, disproportional smile, almost too faint to be detected, lifted a corner of Hans' lips when he listened to his daughter, who he knew would outgrow this behavior eventually as she matured further into woman-hood, chatter about how happy she was to see him and about how he had been gone for too long. Green moved back to the house when Leroy emerged from the open screen with a cheerful smile. A tan hand lifted to welcome his father, and, with shared humor for William' demanding behavior, Hans mirrored the show of acknowledgement, unable to do much more with his daughter clinging to him like she was.

  "Hey Dad." Rodriguez continued to grin, his lips unable to shake off his joy, though his tone was cool and casual. "When did you get back?"

  Hans, still locked in a daddy's-little-girl-vice, could not move his hands to respond, so Rodriguez frowned a little and told his sister to stop trying to strangle their father so he could answer the question. William shot a frown at her baby brother, but then was too happy to complain. The girl sat back on her calves, smiling happily at her father and chuckling mischievously when he moved about to sit up in a comfortable position.

  She calmed with a more manageable smile for the man she was kneeling in front of. "I'm glad to have you home. I was afraid that you wouldn't get back until next week, and then I wouldn't get a chance to greet you… Living in dorms is a pain…I really miss you guys sometimes…even Andy-Alex here." She smirked back at the boy who grumbled, but then the two siblings brightened, focusing on their father's hands when they moved in familiar gestures.

  My plane landed this morning. I was home by ten o'clock, thereabouts. Where were you two all morning?

  Rodriguez responded. "Yumie had a club activity, and Heinkel was there too. William wanted to come along, so I took her. We baked some cookies and brownies at Yumie's house and then met up with some other people, kids from our school, and sold whatever we baked in the park."

  Did you make enough money?

  Not to be outdone, William chirped her own contribution to gain her father's attention, nodding enthusiastically. "In total we made over three-hundred dollars. Luckily, there was some other community project going on today, and there were plenty of hungry people planting trees and flowers around the park. Plus the little kids came over from the playground with their moms or dads, or their grandparents, and they bought up most of the chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin cookies. I brought a few so that you and mom could try them. …Do you want one? They're really good."

  Pausing to consider the girl's offer, Hans glanced at his papers but then recalled the limited amount of time he had unfortunately been left with lately to spend with his kids, so he nodded and got up, pulling on his shirt before following his almost fully grown and independent children inside.

  Hans spent almost an hour, during which he ate one oatmeal raisin cookie, listening to William and Rodriguez as they prattled on about school or things they had found amusing before he returned to his work outside. William soon joined him with her own towel, dyed with vibrant tropical colors and decorated with flowers, setting a book on the ground when she brushed the folds out of her towel and lay down to read in the sunlight. Rodriguez took longer to make an appearance, but he eventually came out to enjoy the sun with a towel and his laptop, checking emails after buying four tickets for a movie showing tomorrow night that he had already planned on attending with his sister, Yumie, and Heinkel.

  Heinkel and Yumie weren't very 'girly' girls, and he hung out with them more often than he hung out with his guy friends. They'd known each other since Pre-School, and though they had spent Elementary and Middle School apart, they had kept in touch through organizing plenty of play dates when they were kids.

  It was quiet while the day progressed in the way it desired, a breeze guiding clouds further inland, intermittently clearing and darkening the sky. When clouds rolled in and refused to burn off, the trio of Rodriguezs folded up their towels and transplanted their work to a new location.

  Rodriguez went up to his room, William plopped down on the couch in her mother's home office, and Hans claimed his wife's desk to get some more work done. The three were still occupying these locations when Richard came home at 5:15 p.m., when the lights had been turned on and all evidence of the sun's existence had almost completely disappeared from the horizon.

  William sat up when she heard her mother close the garage door, and immediately the girl closed her book then took it with her when she ventured into the significantly darkerened halls, flipping light switches along the way. Eventually she met her mother, turning on another light switch that revealed her presence to Richard.

  "Hi Mom. You know that Dad's home, right?"

  "Thank you." The exhausted working-woman sighed, still casting off the stress that had collected as a dense weight on her shoulders through her work hours, adamant about not allowing her job to affect her family life, and she nodded, walking past her daughter. A side bag was hanging from her shoulder, containing her laptop and paperwork, with an additional purple file tucked under her arm; her outward appearance betraying the level of responsibility she possessed. "And 'hi' William." She threw a tired sigh to the side when an ache knotted itself in a muscle holding up her bag. She wanted to unload quickly but decided to carry her burden for a few extended seconds in order to pay attention to her daughter. "If your father hasn't already told you (assuming he's forgotten again)…we're all going out to dinner. Your father made reservations for 6 p.m. tonight."

  "Oh." William blinked and followed her mother, catching up to walk by her side. "No. He forgot, I guess. But that sounds great." She added quickly to obscure her father's mistake when Richard grimaced. "I'll tell Alex to get ready...When do we leave?"

  "In about a half-hour. Pick out something nice, but it doesn't need to be too nice. He didn't tell me where we're going yet."

  William nodded and broke away to inform her brother of the plans for that night, but she stopped when her mother turned back to her and wanted her to wait.

  "Is Vincentimir here?" The woman asked, her face becoming more stern and serious than William was accustomed to when speaking to her mother.

  The girl's brow crinkled, blue eyes blinking at the woman, giving Richard her answer before she spoke. "Vincent? Um…no…I haven't heard from him. Why? Did you speak to him?"

  With a disappointed sigh, Richard shrugged with her weighted shoulders, looking away to find a place to store the irritating feeling. "Yes. Apparently he was here earlier." She glanced at her daughter as William' face showed surprise, widened blue blinking again. "Your father didn't mention it, I suppose." The flat voice received the answer it expected when the girl shook her head, still pondering the elusive teen's visit.

  "No. He didn't say anything at all. -But he's been busy."

  "Uhuh." Richard nodded, biting her lip when it twitched; the lip having hoped to create a scowl when the white teeth stopped it. "And so have I, dear, but I still remembered." She turned on her heel with the scowl escaping her teeth when she spoke, beginning to walk again while calling back to her daughter. "William. We're going to have to work on your father's memory. We wouldn't want him becoming senile now, would we?"

  William, intimidated by the menacing voice scampered off to find her brother so she could tell him that he needed to get ready to leave and then warn him about their mother's p
oor mood, as well as the curious reason for it.

  Richard continued down the hall with her bag and purple file, dismissing her anger when she thought of how hard her husband worked and how tonight was supposed to dedicated to their family. She would forgive the man, she supposed, closing her eyes when she stood in front of her bedroom door. The calmed blue orbs opened with the door and Richard took a few steps inside before her head turned instinctively towards the alien presence sitting in front of her bookcase.

  Vincent perked up like a neglected puppy, displaying a wide grin that welcomed the woman's presence, eager to be freed so that he could run off to the bathroom, stretch his legs, and maybe get a drink of water. He asked for these things with his excited smile while Richard stared at him with empty features and a dimming gaze, focusing on his discolored cheek before letting her eyes drop down to the handcuffs attached to the bookcase's railing. Another moment passed with Vincent waited for her, expecting to be liberated, but to his dismay, the woman marched to the door, grasped the wood frame to swing most of her body out into the hallway and then….

  "HANS! IF WE DIDN'T HAVE TWO CHILDREN, I WOULD NOT HESITATE TO THROW YOU IN A PRISON CELL TO ROT!"

  With that, Richard released the doorframe with an additional curse asking God to damn the man she had married, marching down the hall after leaving her bag in the bedroom and throwing the purple folder onto her already cluttered bed. Seconds later, she marched back down the hall with her guilty husband in tow. The unfortunate and forgetful Hams was frowning and shaking his head, attempting to explain to her that he had simply forgotten.

  Merciless, Richard growled at him, ordering the man into the bedroom so he could retrieve the key that would unlock the handcuffs, growing angrier when Hans couldn't find it. "Hans, one of these days I might forget that you're my husband, and that I'm a law enforcement officer…AND THEN because I FORGOT I might accidentally kill you!Forgettingisn't enough to make a good excuse! You hurt this boy and then handcuffed him for who knows how many hours! That is inexcusable, Hans! In-ex-cusable!" She spat out her words with a venomous tongue, a glare following the silent man as he dissected a drawer in an attempt to find the missing key. "Don't tell me you forgot where you put the damn key!"

  With a heavy sigh and ruffled hair that showed Hans had indeed made an effort, the man sat back on his haunches in front of his ravaged drawers, unfolded socks and clothes sticking out in every which direction. His eyes met hers when he lifted his hands.

  I'm sorry.

  Fury scorched her face, adding color to it, and Richard bit her trembling lips, staring death into her almost prostrate husband before she threw a finger towards Vincent, who until this time had been curled up next to the bookcase, watching with intimidated and pitying eyes. Guilt weighed on his face now, when he saw that Richard's rampage had yet to run out of fuel

  She spoke in a raised voice that grated Hans and Vincent's consciences. "Apologize to him, Hans! Not to me! You didn't attack me and then handcuff me to a bookcase!"

  No. A fully grown man did not need to apologize to a stupid kid. This guy didn't deserve this. This- this was the Chief's husband, the Rodriguezs' family- They shouldn't be fighting. Vincent looked down at his lap, cringing at the woman's unpleasant tone while feeling his stomach acids churn with anxiety when she continued to yell. His hands clenched into fists to fight off the guilt-induced nausea.

  "Chief!"

  Richard became distracted when she heard Vincent's voice compete with her own, quieting when she listened to him for the sake of not punishing the boy with her anger unintentionally.

  "Chief." Wary red eyes watched Richard, searching for signs of another outburst. Vincent hesitated, but proceeded after swallowing and wetting his lips awkwardly. "It's okay. It's not such a-"

  "It is not okay Vincentimir!"

  Vincent cut her off again, raising his voice and waving his hand to snatch at her attention; loathe to endure being the cause of a fight between Rodriguez's parents for another agonizing second. "You did the same thing too when you found me in your house, right? You got me and cuffed my wrists, right? It's kind of like the natural response for this kind of thing, Chief. It's okay. It really is…just okay." Please, don't yell anymore. Please…

  The storm was subdued by a sudden gust of recollection that fought and tamed the gale of Richard's fury, taming the woman who said nothing and shielded her eyes from the boy's view by turning her head.

  Her husband, who had not known of this, was surprised by the news, feeling a weak flush of indignation for the unjust treatment he had suffered, but he put off the feeling with a shake of his head, hiding the uneasiness this news inspired, and he diverted his attention back the his drawers to think of any other location the key might be found. Apparently, his wife shared the same thoughts, for she began to search for the key just as Hans got to his feet to look through a different part of the room.

  Eventually, Richard spoke again; her voice almost gentle after the storm had subdued. "Vincentimir, none of this should happen. You're as welcome to come to our house as any of Leroy's other friends. …I'm sorry for treating you the way I did in the past, and I'm sorry for how my husband has treated you."

  Vincent was quiet, observing the strong and willful woman while she apologized to him, something no one could ever take lightly. His eyes darkened when he looked down at his lap as if to see the squirming nausea he felt, warp the appearance of his stomach. Black bangs crept into his face. A proud, respectful, and dignified woman such as Richard should never have cause for feeling shame. The fact that he had done this to her, darkened the boy's features as his loathing for himself grew.

  "Chief, it's okay…before, you had a reason to not trust me. You still have reasons to hate me right now, but you're nice to me…anyway." Richard listened while she rummaged around in her furniture, her husband also listening in with a furrowing brow, grim sternness marking it.

  Vincent continued. "…And today, I came by because I wanted to surprise Rodriguez - to just walk in on him and scare him - kind of surprise. Be like 'Whoa, what are you doing here?' and stuff. So I climbed in through the window. …I didn't see anyone to let me in, but I wanted to scare Rodriguez, so I didn't knock or ring the doorbell or anything… He-" Vincent put emphasis on the pronoun to refer to Hans. "-thought I was breaking in. None of it is his fault, or your fault. …It's my fault, here. I did it, so…I'm sorry. And-" He cleared his throat and sat up straighter with a 'cheerful' thought that might hold the solution to the whole situation. "And, you know, I can take care of the handcuffs if he gives me back my wire."

  Both of the adults stopped to look at the boy, Hans being expressionless while Richard watched Vincent, stunned, doubtful, and wary of what he had said…or perhaps…confessed. She looked at Hans when he attracted her attention to tell her about the wire and the paperclip the man suspected had helped Vincent sneak into their house. More caution and disturbance entered the woman, but these things were forgotten when a timid knock sounded at the door.

  Richard opened the door to see who it was and her husband quickly slipped out of the room, passing his sheepish daughter. He paused long enough to spare a comforting pat for her worried, blonde head. William, already flustered, became more confused by the relaxed atmosphere that seemed to hang to the departure, and she stared at her mother, twisting her hands in an anxious way.

  Her parents never, or very rarely, fought. It perturbed her when they did, always conscious of how common divorces are these days. But when she saw how quiet her mother was, her worst fears faded away, and she sighed with relief. No, her parents loved each other and they were happy together. They would never file for divorce. Never….though, the 'impossibility' might become more possible when Alex moved out… No. It was just a stupid fear. She was sure of that now.

  When William seemed to be busy with her own thoughts, Richard let her face soften and she told the girl that she had nothing to worry about. She had just been a little angry, but it was over now. "Your father ju
st forgot about something important again."

  "Oh." William' thoughts flew automatically to her mental calendar, checking to make sure there were no birthdays or anniversaries that she might have overlooked, finishing in time to have nothing to distract her when Richard swung the door back and pointed to a bruised, restrained Vincent who was staring at her with an awkward, chronic twitch in his mouth, like he was trying to give her a lighthearted smile but was unable to do so in his current predicament.

  The girl's eyes became perfectly round and she stared, stunned beyond being able to function. In the background of her stupor, her father's footsteps approached. The man slipped past the blonde females that watched him go, blue eyes following Hans when he went to Vincent and handed the boy a thin, flexible wire and stepped back so he would have enough light to work.

  When, in a time that did not exceed thirty seconds, Richard's nerves received an unpleasant shock of mixed feelings, none of them positive, and Vincent unlocked the first cuff, William finally regained control of her motor skills. The girl's mouth was the first thing to move.

  "You hurt Vincent? ..Dad?"

  Interested in seeing his daughter's reaction to perceive how she felt about the pale delinquent, Hans looked at the girl's face. She showed him astonishment, disbelief, and hurt confusion that lowered his eyes, removing the natural rigidity in his features that was inherent to his nature. He did not acknowledge that he had been responsible but he did not deny the blame either, remaining still and silent when Vincent finished with the other cuff.

  The boy folded the handcuffs to collect them in his palm before rubbing at his sore wrists with a thankful smile. He got to his feet, rolling his ankles to dislodge the discomfort that lingered in them, while he glanced at each of the different Rodriguezs in the room. They were all watching him, and none of them were speaking.