by S. W. Frank
“I’ll get a second opinion honey, just not today.”
He nodded in acceptance. The tension after her announcement lessened a little. Then he peered at the restraints on his hand. They were a subtle reminder of a human’s fragility. Skin, skeletal tissue, respiratory and circulatory systems cannot survive without a functioning heart.
He was upset. The years with Selange spoiled him. He didn’t doubt other good women existed. Selange was the only one he wanted. Yeah, he wasn’t ashamed to admit that he wanted to hold on to that good feeling she brought to his insides. “I didn’t mean to push.” His lower lip descended. “The kids –me –we all depend on you.” He scoffed. “I’m sounding selfish aren’t I?”
Her wise aquiline eyes softened. “No, you sound like the man I love. But, you can’t do it this time Al. You can’t buy or bully me well. This is an internal fight and I need to be emotionally strong for the battle. I need a brief moment of silence before I face a house full of people.”
“It’s tough with so many people under one roof, I get it, but I have a crew over at Nico’s place working on the renovations. They’ll be gone soon, babe.”
“I can handle the temporary arrangement, but everybody wanting something or other right now, might cause me to lose my patience.”
“All right…all right, I understand.”
They rolled to a stop at the heliport that would take her to a pier. She caressed Alfonzo’s cheek. Tiny hairs tickled her fingers. Her poor honey needed a shave and a haircut. In spite of that, he was as handsome as the day she first laid eyes on him, a rough around the edges person that had taken her on the ride of her life.
He sighed, gazed at her with such sad affection, she almost cried when he said, “I love you babe. I’m always going to want to see you happy. There’s not a day that goes by I don’t think about how blessed I am to have you.”
“Me too. You –” she choked up then, but when she recovered, her voice was strong. “You told me I have an arsenal of love. I believe you and I know we’ll make it through this crisis.” She chuckled sweetly. “You know why?”
His eyes were intense and she viewed the ocean within their depths. The masculine beauty extended outward to claim her breath. Her tear was joy that she had a special connection with someone she considered her spiritual match.
Her honey was worried that cancer might be the bullet they couldn’t dodge. He’d front, stay outwardly strong, but inside, he was praying they eradicated every diseased cell and she lived a long healthy life. She wanted that, too, but a few days relaxing wouldn’t adversely affect her condition. They had time for a second opinion and then they could proceed from there.
He kissed her gently, catching the human rain sliding down her cheek with his tongue, talking to her skin as if he wanted to blend with her flesh. The action was comforting and sensual. She exhaled, which sounded more like a gasp at the pulsing below.
“Tell me why chica, por que mami?”
She held his shoulders as his lips formed suction cups that traversed her cheek and clamped hold to her throat to suck her skin red. She moaned for him, smiling in pain because she wanted him in her but he pulled back leaving her wanton and with a hickey.
“Dammit honey, you’re making it hard for me aren’t you?”
“Yeah, as hard as it is for me to let you go.”
She smirked. “I’m always at your side. We made a pact, Al and Selange, emphasis on and that’s why we’ll beat this, we’re better as a team when trouble backs us in a corner.”
“Damn straight –speak it babe. We’re fighters…it’s in our DNA.”
The helicopter loomed a few meters away, ready to fly her over the sea.
Selange replied. “I’ll see you soon, be good.”
He tapped the car window and the door opened on cue. She gave him a kiss before stepping out and he watched her leave, struggling internally at the possibility of losing his best friend. He listened to the songs of the wind, hearing an old familiar melody.
‘If you ever leave me baby,
Leave some morphine at my door,
‘Cause it will take a whole lot of medication,
To realize what we use to have we don’t have anymore,
There’s no religion that can save me,
No matter how long my knees are on the floor…
There’ll be no sunlight if I lose you baby…
Every day it will rain, rain, rain, rain –ain –ain…’
• • • • • •
There was an invisible downpour only he saw. He had gone inward to all the bad feelings he experienced every time he came close to losing her. He looked skyward as the chopper lifted into the air and watched until the metal bird became indistinguishable.
He tapped the back of the driver’s seat.
The car began to roll.
Please don’t ever leave me baby. With you, there’s normalcy. You’re sweet and hopeful. Coming home and seeing you are how I cope with my badass ways, he ruminated in the solitary confines of the plush leather seat.
Chapter Three
Alfonzo watched the soccer ball sail in the air, and then drop into the shirtless teen’s hands. Supine in the center of his lawn was one of Nico’s boys, chilling without a care.
“Hey, buongiorno Zio!” The teen exclaimed as the homeowner passed.
“Morning. Which one are you?” Alfonzo asked, noticing the boy used his shirt for a pillow and the grass as his bed. He was long limbed and muscular, just like his dad with a similar laid-back demeanor.
“Aaron!”
The ball went up and Alfonzo continued to the entry, leaving the teen to his game of catch.
“Where’s mom?” Sal asked the minute Alfonzo stepped inside mayhem central. “Can I go with Aaron to the mall?”
Kids and toys were everywhere. Nico, Ari, Anita, Allie and Darren were nowhere in sight. From the looks of the dining table, the children had recently eaten a late breakfast.
Angie and Vincent were engaged in a tug of war over a laptop. Vincent let go and his sister flopped on her butt. His wife would have entered this chaos.
Alfonzo’s irritation built. He whistled and the shrill sound caused the unsupervised small people to halt. Angie turned her puppy dog eyes in her father’s direction and exaggeratedly rubbed her leg, although the injury should have been to her ass.
“Vincent pushed me daddy. Ooh it hurts!” She whined.
“Hija get up and stop the nonsense. I’m not in the mood.” Alfonzo grumbled. “All of you, clean this mess up and then take your asses to the den…find a book to read until dinner and if any of you so much as cough I’m spanking every one of you!”
They scurried about, haphazardly grabbing items to stick in the wood toy chest, neglecting to clean the table.
Semira laughed the entire time as if she experienced adult outbursts every day. Then Vincent split, sticking out his tongue at his sister and Angie scurried after him, swinging at his back with her fists. Apparently, her legs were working fine.
Semira puckered her mouth as she picked up her toy and skipped out of Alfonzo’s sight, waving. He wondered where her parents were as he walked to the staircase with Sal on his heels, begging to leave the house.
“Allie!” Alfonzo shouted, ignoring his son as he waited for the girl to respond, but it was Anita that appeared at the top of the stairs, shushing him and fussing that the babies were asleep. “Tell Allie to get her ass downstairs!” He noticed Sal heading for the door. “Where are you going?”
“You didn’t say no,” the teen replied.
“Did I need to?” Alfonzo quipped. His eyes went to his son’s sagging pants. “Pull up your damn pants or put on a belt. I don’t want to see the shit stains on your underwear. I doubt the girls won’t either. But a fucker out of jail might consider that an invitation.”
Sal glowered. “Why? It’s not as if I’m going anywhere. Besides, I wouldn’t know anything about jail, maybe one day you’ll school me!”
“What
the fuck did you say?” Alfonzo scowled. “Tell Aaron you’re not going and neither is he until his parents come back. Instead of running to the mall he needs to watch his sister and you better watch your mouth before I punch the air out of your lungs!”
“You’re bugging dad!” Sal shot back and then slipped out the door in a huff just as Allie descended the steps, texting away.
“Yeah dad, are you hollering for me?”
“Go watch the little ones chica.”
She peered over her cell at him. “Why me? Sal never does anything. Where’s mom?”
His eyes narrowed. Certainly, Allie hadn’t mistaken the splints on his hand as a sign he could not whack her behind, he rumored. Between clenched teeth, he repeated. “Go watch the kids. They’re in the den hija.”
She smacked her lips when she passed, mumbling under her breath. When he snatched her cell and flung it across the room, she screamed, “What did you do that for?”
“Because when I tell you to do something you do it without the back talk!”
“Mom!” she screamed at the top of her lungs.
“She isn’t here mija, and if she was, she couldn’t stop me from beating your ass!”
“I’m calling mom. You’re acting mean!”
Nico, Ari and Darren entered as Alfonzo stormed across the floor and stomped the device several times until it splintered and some of the pieces swiveled in their direction. “Call your Mama now, go ahead, but you won’t use the phone my mean ass bought for you or any phone in mi casa, hija!”
“Whoa! Whoa!” Nico interjected, uncertain of what he walked into, nonetheless the scene was anomalous in the Diaz household.
“Damn kids!” Alfonzo growled before he marched away to cool down. He went toward the exercise room with Nico following on his heels determined to find out why Alfonzo flipped on his daughter.
Ari grimaced. For Alfonzo to spazz out on Allie, she must have done something really awful –then again, the girl had a nasty mouth like her father and a shitty attitude like her Uncle. Put that together in a cute adolescent female and bam –Aldonza Diaz is the result. Thank goodness, she was pretty, but eventually an attitude like hers makes a person ugly.
Allie hiccupped and Ari pitied the girl. “Are you okay Allie?”
Allie rubbed her eyes and snapped. “I’m fine!”
Darren snickered. “Cry baby.”
Allie cut Darren a nasty stare. “Yours is upstairs pooping and pissing you mean bastard!”
Ari’s jaw dropped. “Allie!”
The girl ran upstairs. Ari actually contemplated going after her and slapping her in the mouth. “You better run! Where the hell is Selange?”
Allie’s head suddenly appeared around the balustrade. “She’s not here but that doesn’t make you the boss of me, Aunt Ari!”
“Oh my god!” Ari fumed and ran up the stairs intent on giving the child an old-fashioned whooping. The door slammed in her face. She tried the doorknob and it didn’t budge. “Open the door Allie!”
“No. Go away!”
“Allie open this door!”
Anita appeared. “The babies went to sleep. Keep this noise down!”
The wail of Annalisa followed.
Ari groaned, thinking, she had to get out of Selange’s madhouse before she went crazy.
Chapter Four
The sun salutation felt good. With a cleansing breath, Selange assumed a bridge pose, relaxed and became light –weightless, although her ass reminded her she gained three pounds from stress eating Allie’s darn brownies and pizza last week.
She cleared the negative thoughts, focused on the sound of the wind and sea.
The universe unfolded and she was a particle of earth, giving herself up to the galaxy.
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
Nope, I’m not answering that, she thought.
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
The noise interfered with her concentration. Dismiss the sound, listen to the sea and breathe, were Selange’s choices. When the gentle strokes of the ocean brushed the rocks below, she drifted on the waves with her eyes shut, swaying in the bosom of serenity, while the stress dissolved in the mist.
The buzzing was insistent and she lowered her tush to the yoga mat, sitting forward to retrieve her phone. “Dammit, I should’ve turned this off!” she said before pressing the green icon on the screen after seeing the red zeros, denoting the secured call was urgent.
“Mom?”
“Allie? Why are you on the emergency phone?”
“It’s an emergency. Dad broke my cell phone.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
“I don’t either but I’m sure there’s a reason.”
“Dad is mad for no reason.”
“There’s a reason when he’s upset.”
“Well not this time!”
“Change your tone. You called using an emergency line and I’m trying to understand why you believe a broken cell is an emergency.”
Allie sucked her teeth. “You’re defending dad but you weren’t here. You’re taking his side although he broke my phone!”
Selange took a long breath. Allie’s attitude was back in full effect. “Listen young lady, this isn’t about whose side I’m on, this is about what warranted a call from that line. Did he break you, leave you hurt –bleeding –in the hospital –what?”
“You’re being sarcastic.”
“I’m glad you know the definition of the word, you have a leg up in literacy. Now cut the crap Allie, go step by step with everything that led up to dad breaking your phone, since I wasn’t there.”
“I was upstairs minding my business and then dad started screaming at me to watch the kids. I had already helped Anita bathe the babies. Alexandros had pooped all over himself, stinking up our house and Annalisa kept crying and she finally fell asleep. I went in my room to use my phone ‘cause my friend Julia text to ask if I’m still attending her pajama party tonight. That’s when dad started.”
“Where were your Aunt and Uncle?”
“They had taken Darren to visit Anna’s gravesite right after you left. They returned a few minutes ago.”
Selange totally forgot about the pajama party. Goodness, she failed to mention it to Alfonzo. “Okay, I’ll confirm with Julia’s mom, you’ll be there. That is if you still want to go.”
Selange awaited her daughter’s response. Meanwhile, a message from Ari appeared on the screen. ‘Where ever you are, get back here soon before I beat Allie’s ass!’
Selange humphed; Ari knew better than lay a hand on her daughter. The impotent threat didn’t warrant a reply. Comments such as those needed a face-to-face response.
Allie sniffled. “I’m frustrated. I got my period today and I hate it!”
“Wow, okay, yes, that’s a big deal. You know we talked about what that means and you know where everything is, right?”
“Yes, I know.”
“You’re a young lady, congratulations. Do you still want to go to the pajama party?”
“I want to, but it might not be any fun because I’ll worry about bleeding on stuff.”
“Yeah, I understand. You decide and let me know.”
There was an immediate turnaround. “I’ll go. I can handle it.”
“I know you can.”
“I’ll call your dad and clear things with him –and your friend’s mom.”
“Where are you anyway mom?”
“Dad didn’t tell you? I had something important to do.”
“When are you coming home?”
“Tomorrow,” Selange answered definitively. Poor Al wouldn’t last two days without reinforcement.
“Everybody’s always mad at me.”
“I’m sure everybody isn’t mad at you. For starters, I’m not.”
“You’re my mom.”
“Yes, I am and I love you to pieces Allie-smiley. I was just thinking about the day you were born and how you arrived with the cutest grin. We were so happy to welcome you to the w
orld, even today, we’re extremely glad you’re part of our family. Sometimes, adults are frustrated, too. We forget that we may say and do something that might hurt the people we care about the most. Can you try to understand that adults have emotions, too?”
“I’ll try.”
“Great. How about before summer ends, we have a girls day, maybe invite your friend and her mom to hang with us?”
“Can I choose the activity?”
“Yes, you can.”
“Thanks, it’ll be something fun. No boys or babies allowed.”
“That’s the point.”
“Okay, I’m with that. Don’t forget to call Julia’s mom.”
“I won’t.” Before Allie hung up, Selange added. “Allie, the entire family really –really loves you. You may be the second child but you’re never second in your parent’s hearts.”
“Okay mom I’m fine now –I have to figure out what I’m going to wear to Julia’s house.”
Allie was uplifted. The world could spin once again.
“Don’t forget, you’re a young lady, having manners and watching what you say to people is a sign of a mature and thoughtful person. Be mindful of what you say if you want Julia to invite you over again.”
“All right, bye mom –bye!”
The phone went dead and Selange laughed. “Bye to you, too.”
The quiet she sought was a wishful thought. For a mom with four children, apparently peace comes with sleep.
Her cell buzzed. Sophie’s number flashed.
“Buongiorno, Sophie, how are you?”
“No bene. Are you at home?”
“No. Why, what’s going on?”
“I am heartbroken over what happened last night.”
“What happened last night?” Selange asked as she sat upon the rocks to peer at the Tyrrhenian Sea. The blue waters were calming. The boats sailing in the distance were equally sedative to the spirit. She could see the shoreline of Cirella where sunbathers gathered to beat the afternoon crowd that would arrive and their colorful umbrellas would line the length of the beach.
“Aye! Your husband did not tell you, aye I spoke too soon!”