by Mike Gomes
“I will be right back with your water.”
Chapter 7
The sun shined down without a cloud in the sky warming Madeira to seventy degrees. Falau closed his eyes leaning back in the lounge chair letting the sun beat down on his face and arms. The short sleeve shirt and shorts were a far cry from the clothing that he had just been wearing the day before in the chilly thirty-five-degree days of Boston. Taking in a deep breath of air he let the air out slowly as a small bit of sweat built up on his forehead. A soft breeze rolled in from the waterfront gently bumping up against him as he remained silent and motionless on his patio just steps from the sliding door that led to his room in the bed and breakfast that he selected using the internet once he arrived.
The salt air pleased Falau having a different scent than that of the air in Boston that was always mixed with pollution from the cars and businesses. Madeira felt more pure and clean than the cities he had spent most of his time in. Falau let his eyes crack open and adjust to the light shining down on him. The patio was tasteful and simple. Paver stones covered the ground and were linked together in a two by one format. The patio was ten feet by ten feet and simple, but beautiful, plants sat in each corner in a terracotta bowl. The lounge chair was basic white and had a small table next to it only able to hold a drink and a book. It was exactly what Falau needed. Nothing extravagant. A simple way to spend his days and relax decompressing from his adventures with the System.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
“Come in.” called Falau barely turning his head to the side.
“Housekeeping.” said a voice from behind the big man not causing him to stir. “You checked in before I could clean the room. May I clean it now?”
“No need. I don’t mind the mess.”
“Sir. I must. I could get in big trouble if my employer found out I did not clean the room each day.” said a pleading voice that had more concern than what Falau felt was necessary.
“Sure, go right ahead. I don’t want you to get into any kind of trouble.” said the big man uncomfortable with the reaction of the woman.
“I am sorry, sir.” said the housekeeper with her voice starting to quiver.
“Hey, it's ok. You can do whatever you need to.” said Falau trying to sound reassuring to the woman but the sound of tears filled the area as the woman broke down just feet behind him. Pulling himself forward in the lounge chair Falau braced himself for the interaction that was charged with emotion but with a woman he had no idea who she was.
Turning to the sliding door Falau walked in finding the woman sitting on the edge of the bed crying. The room was simple and understated just as the patio was. A queen size bed sat centered in the room. At the foot of the bed a few feet away a long dresser stood with a flat screen TV centered on it. A single high back chair sat on the left side of the bed up high by the head board but against the far wall. The bathroom was down the hall and for community use in the modified double family home that now held four guests and the family of the owners.
“I am so sorry I didn’t mean to sound ungrateful or angry in any way.” said the big man pleading his case to the woman.
With her face looking down the woman shook slightly from the tears rolling from her eyes. She wore a basic maid’s uniform of gray and white. Her hair was pulled back into a bun and her hands were held like she was in prayer.
“No sir. It is ok. I should be going.” said the woman as she started to stand and took a small step toward the door.
“Hold on.” said Falau moving in closer. “You can’t go into the hall like this. People will think that I did this to you.”
The woman let out a slight laugh that broke the tension of the room. Stopping her movement she turned to Falau. “You would not want that.” she said lifting her head and revealing a black eye and swollen cheek that had started to take on a yellow purplish tint.
“Good God. Are you ok?” asked the big man having his forehead furrow and concern rip over his face. “What happened to you?”
“It is nothing. I took a fall and got this. It is my own fault.”
The markings on her face showed she was lying and Falau knew them only too well. With his years of drinking “falls” were something he was used to seeing bruises from. Drinking also brought on its share of fights and black eyes. Hands had a unique way of making in pattern with the knuckles causing the deepest bruises and they would be all in a row. A fresh bruise showed it best like the one that sat on the woman’s face. Someone was beating her.
“You don’t need to lie to me.” said Falau leaning into the woman and gently placing a hand on her shoulder.
The tears started to fall again from the woman’s eyes and she leaned into the big man she had just met. Unable to contain herself, she sobbed and clung tight to the big man and he stood silently and let her relieve herself from all that had been building up inside her.
As the tears started to slow Falau gently rubbed the woman’s back and was starting to realize she was not that much older than him. She was worn and ragged from a hard life but he could see from her face as it occasionally pulled away from his chest she bore few wrinkles.
“I am so sorry for this sir. I... I should have my problems at home not work. Not with a guest.”
“First of all, stop calling me sir. You can call me Mike or Michael. A lot of people just call me Falau.”
“Falau?” asked the woman pulling away from the big man and wiping her eyes. “Are you Portuguese?”
“Yes. My heritage is from this island.” replied Falau with a smile and getting one in return from the woman. “I am from the United States and thought it would be nice to see where my family came from. So, I came to the island and decided to stay here in Funchal where my family worked and lived many years ago.”
“We all come home at some point. I lived in England with my late husband for many years. After his passing I came back with my son to be near the people I grew up with.”
“You have a son? That is so nice. By the way what is your name?”
“My name is Apollonia.”
“A lovely name.”
The woman had a blush come over her cheeks and she turned slightly away letting Falau know his comment was charming.
“I do have a son and I have great shame saying he is the one that gave me this eye. He hit me. He has never done anything like that in all his life but yesterday he did it. He disobeyed me and when I tried to make him stop he hit me and knocked me to the floor like an animal. He has no respect for me.”
“I am sorry to hear that. If you think it would help, I could talk with the boy.”
“It would make no difference. My Joaquim is a good boy, but he is mixing with a bad group. They think of themselves like a gang in the United States or England, but they know nothing of it. My husband died to those gangs and the life. These boys think they are going to take over the island and control it but what they will do is get themselves all in prison or dead.”
“What kinds of things are they doing?”
“Picking pockets and stealing goods at the markets. Just small things, but their leader, Carlos, has big ideas. You can see it in his face when he is talking to the other boys. He directs them and tells them what to do. They would be running drugs, but they are almost all legal here in Madeira, so the fast money isn’t there for him. They are looking for something big but none of them knows what they are doing.”
“Maybe they will just move on when they see that there is nothing to be had with that kind of life.”
“But there is. Madeira is poor. All the rich from all over Europe come to play here on their holidays but the people of the island are some of the poorest in Portugal. Many of us work, but it is jobs like the one I have. We are concerted to the tourists who come and if these boys start giving the tourists a difficult time then the police will get rid of them permanently. There is no room for anyone on this island that hurts the tourists. If they do then the island will have nothing. My boy will be sent to prison and then
far away.”
“I wish there was some way that I could help you.”
“I wish you had some vodka.”
“I am sorry, but I have none. In fact I have no alcohol at all. I don’t drink.”
Apollonia let out a small laugh and turned to Falau making eye contact for the first time “Sorry, that was just a joke for myself. I am an alcoholic and have not had a drink in six months but today is testing me.”
“Six months. You should be very proud. I am thirty-one days sober myself.” said Falau smiling and letting his hand brush against the thirty-day chip that sat in his front pocket.
“No matter where you are in the world you can find alcoholics. Are you part of AA?”
“Yes.”
“If you need it, there is an English meeting that takes place each day just down the street from here. I like going to it. If you want I could take you to it.”
“I think that would be a good idea. I haven’t been sober that long and any meeting is a good meeting. This will be my first one outside the one I go to back in Boston.”
“They are a good group and will welcome you with open arms. You will also see a lot of other tourists there. Most places that have a lot of tourism have meetings in different languages.”
“Thank you, Apollonia . It sounds like something we can both use.”
Chapter 8
The sun drifted over the western sky and then dropped into the sea. The heat of the day fell off bit by bit as the night grew longer putting a chill into the air that had the unprepared tourists searching for light jackets to wear as they roamed Funchal. The street lights came alive and in the heart of the city they were placed in decorative holders made to look like they were from one hundred years ago.
Nossa Senhora Do Monte sat just north of Funchal in the village of Monet. The 18th century church jumped out from the surrounding building. The church was painted in white and the trim was all in black giving the building the look of a framed painting. On each side of the main structure were two bell towers equal in height and rising just a few feet higher than the crucifix that was located on the center of the main building. The bells were easily visible to the tourists and locals that walked by and they rang out several times a day. The main building was arched on the top. The three windows below held twelve panes of glass each fracturing the light as it entered the old church. In front of the church a long stairway reached down to the terrace below as this was the start of where the mountains began to pull itself up from the ground and reach high into the sky.
Like so many places in the world the Alcoholics Anonymous meeting took place in a church. Despite the fact that the beauty of Nossa Senhora Do Monte had made it a tourist attraction just as much as any other place on the island, it also made it an ideal location for the tourists to find the meeting. The doors to the basement opened and the meeting was called to a close. The heavily attended meeting had its participants fall out onto the street through its back door and scatter in every which direction unlike the meetings back at home that Falau had grown used to. The meetings at home would always have most of the participants joining together to go out for a cup of coffee or to stay back at the church and chat about the different goings on in their lives. In Monte there was no connection to the meeting other than a few locals that opted to keep their condition hidden from the other locals.
Apollonia turned up the first street that came just outside the grounds of the church with Falau just a step behind her. The big man let his eyes work their way over the woman's body that was decidedly more attractive now that she was out of the maid’s uniform that she was required to work in at the bed and breakfast. She wore a simple pair of cotton slacks that clung to her legs showing off their shape as the wind blew them tight to her. They were white and stylish for a woman of so little means. Her blouse was flowing and without wear. Falau wondered if she wore the outfit for him but he pushed the thought from his mind convincing himself that Europeans were more stylish than Americans and would dress more impressively for just day to day activities.
“Apollonia. Do you want to me to walk you home?”
Apollonia stopped and snapped her head around to Falau casting a smirk. “You think I need a walk home?”
“Well, it is late and you said that there were some boys that were troublemakers in your neighborhood.”
A laugh half filled with flirtation and half filled with amusement escaped from her mouth. “Michael. I am what you Americans would call in your movies a home girl. This is my barrio. If anyone were to do anything to me then the community would have a problem with it.”
“I am sorry. I understand.” said Falau looking to the ground in embarrassment. “It just kind of sounded like these guys break all the rules and maybe they would see you as an easy target if you were walking alone.”
“Ok, Michael. You can escort me home but you might be in need of an escort more than me.”
Reaching out Apollonia grabbed Falau by the sleeve of his shirt and pulled him closer to her and they started their way up the street. Apollonia took the time to point out the different sights and scenic views as they walked along. She stammered not sure what the course of conversation should be.
“Michael... how long are you staying?... I mean in Funchal... Madeira? I mean how long will you be on the island?”
“I have a week and today was day one. I can stay longer if I like.”
“Your job will not be mad at you for staying longer?”
“My job can be done from anywhere. It has a lot of travel so it really doesn't matter where I live or stay.”
“What is it that you do for work? It can't be more exciting than my work in the custodial arts.”
“I have a company that I work for that is attached to government work. I am not really able to talk about what I do. It could cause problems if I do.”
“Am I walking with a spy?” said Apollonia mocking Falau the best she could. “Is this one of those things where if you tell me your job you would have to kill me?
“Something like that.” replied Falau. “Or they would kill me.”
“Ohhhh ohhhh.” called Apollonia pulling away from Falau and placing her hands up like she wanted to keep her distance from the big man. “Maybe I should not be around you.”
“That's what most women say after they get to know me.”
Moving up the paths through the winding streets, the street lights became more sparse and the elimination of the downtown street lights disappeared in exchange for a curved piece of steel that held a plain plastic fixture with a plastic covering that was frosted letting not as much light out of it than was needed for the area.
The street broke off into a path that opened up to the location where the courtyard started. Out in the center of the courtyard a small fire was rolling casting four silhouettes that gathered around it.
“Is that them?’ asked Falau stopping and looking into the courtyard before he and Apollonia were visible to the gang.
“Yes. That is them. The gangster wanna bes. Those boys have no idea what they are getting themselves into.”
“Why do they want to be in a gang so bad?”
“Music. Movies. All the culture from Hollywood has made gangs look cool and fun. There was a time when being a gangster was something bad. People looked at them as stupid and trouble. But then the movies started in the seventies. The Godfather and Scarface as well as a bunch others over the years and those gangsters are now cool and everyone wants to be one. These kids think it is the only way out of being stuck on this island for life.”
“I could talk to them. My family left and never came back and found success in the United States.”
“None of them are interested in that. They think the time for going to the United States was fifty years ago. The competition there is too much to succeed. It is easier to try to steal and cheat your way around here and become the big fish in the small pond.”
“I can understand that in a strange way.” said Falau starting to wal
k again. “Sometimes it is easier to just stay with what is going on than make a change.”
The two adults walked slowly trying not to look over to the young gang in the center of the courtyard.
“Yo! Mom! Who is that you are with?” called a voice from the fire that started his movement toward the couple.
“It's a friend from the meeting.” she replied calling into the night
“Your son?” asked Falau.
“Yes.”
“I am sure he will be thrilled with me.” said Falau sarcastically.
The three figures still at the fire shifted their bodies and started to follow their friend to the couple.
“Is that a man with you? I don’t want you with a man.” called out the boy’s voice as he moved quickly across the grass and became more visible to Falau and Apollonia.
Falau’s eyes measured up the boy without even trying. He was approximately five foot ten and weighed one hundred and eighty five pounds. The boy walked with a hitch in his gait indicating he had problems with his left ankle and not walking in a stylish manner. His left hand was in his front pocket of his jeans. The possibility of a knife was no better than fifty fifty but there was no chance for a gun to be hidden in such a small front pocket.
The boy moved in quick and stopped short in front of Falau pushing out his chin that only found its way up to the big man's chest. Standing casually Falau looked down at the boy as his three friends set up behind him.
“So, who the fuck are you white boy?” asked Joaquim to the delight of his friends behind him.
“A friend of your mother's.” said Falau.
“Joaquim, what do you think you are doing?” asked Apollonia. “This nice man is walking me home to keep me safe from the low life kids that hang around these parts.”
The boys behind Joaquim shifted at the comment and started to snicker.
“I can walk you home. You don't need this yankee doing anything for us.”