by Ladew, Lisa
Smart, Aria thought.
A woman's voice came from the doorway. Aria couldn't see the woman but she sounded young. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. He's just - he'll stop soon. He's just hungry."
"Don't be sorry," Coleton said soothingly. "I'm not complaining. I just was wondering if there was anything that you needed. Do you have food for him?"
The woman didn't answer for a moment and then Aria heard the door close. She looked over at Coleton quickly and saw that the woman had come out onto the concrete slab to stand in front of Coleton. Girl, not woman, her mind amended. Aria's eye traced the girl's face and body. She couldn't be a day over sixteen. The baby she held on her shoulder looked sad and too thin.
"I have food," the girl said, "but he won't eat it. He takes two sucks and then spits it out and cries some more," she said and Aria could hear the desperation in her voice.
"Why won't he eat it?" Coleton asked.
The girl didn't answer for a moment and when she finally did speak, Aria could tell why. She was almost crying. Aria could hear the impending tears in her voice and see them in her stooped shoulders.
"It's just that ... well, it hurts his tummy. He's allergic to it I think. But it's all we can get him. The doctor told us to give him the non-allergenic formula but we can't afford it."
The girl's voice broke on the last few words and she did begin to cry. She buried her face in the baby's clean onesie and cried a few precious tears before forcing herself to stop.
"Won't the state pay for it?" Coleton asked.
"No," she replied, looking around suddenly and catching Aria's gaze. "They only pay for the stuff that hurts his tummy."
The baby's cries tapered off slightly and he seemed to fall into a fitful sleep on the girl's shoulder.
"How much does the non-allergenic formula cost?" Coleton asked gently.
"Sixty-four dollars a can," the girl replied.
Coleton shook his head. "And how many feedings are in it?"
"I don't know," the girl said, tears threatening again. "We've never been able to buy one."
Coleton didn't say anything for a moment and Aria peeked at him again. He was hugging the girl and she was letting him. After a few moments she began sobbing openly.
Aria watched the two of them, amazed by Coleton's sensitivity. She didn't think she'd ever met a man, especially one who wasn't a father, with that much sensitivity and thoughtfulness.
When the girl stopped crying, Coleton stood her up gently and patted his pockets. "I wish I had a tissue to give you."
"That's okay," the girl said with an embarrassed laugh and snuffle.
"My name is Trey," he said.
"I'm Joanne-Marie," the girl said and Aria heard a genuine smile in her voice. Amazing. "And this is Roger," she said indicating the baby.
"Nice to meet you," Coleton said and Aria was even more amazed to hear that he sounded like he meant it. Who was this guy?
"Joanne-Marie, if I gave you some money for the formula would you have a way to go to the store and buy it?"
Joanne-Marie took a step backwards and held her free hand up. "Oh no, I couldn't take your money."
"But it's not mine. I actually work for the State Department and we are supposed to do random health and welfare checks. That's why I came here when I was leaving my friend's apartment. I heard the baby crying and I thought there was something the health and welfare department could do for you. There is a brand-new program that does spot checks in neighborhoods and gives people one-time cash bonuses for emergencies. I can see that this is an emergency for you. That's what this money is for. If you don't take it and I can't find anyone else who needs it, it will just go to waste. We have to give the fund back if we aren't able to spend it."
Aria bit back a smile. Where in the world had that story come from? She heard hope in Joanne-Marie's voice when she spoke again.
"Really? How much could you give me?"
"Enough for many cans of formula."
"Well, if it's from the state, we already get a little bit of help from them, I guess a little bit more wouldn't hurt. I could call my friend Cindy to come get me and take me to the store. She doesn't work today."
"Of course! If you guys need it you should take everything you can get. You won't always need it. Things will get better. Now I know this is a sensitive question and you don't have to answer if you don't want to. Is there any chance that you could breast-feed Roger? Sometimes that agrees with baby's stomach better than formula."
The girl shook her head swiftly. "Oh no. I took the pill that made my milk dry up. My boyfriend doesn't think breast-feeding is right."
Coleton nodded sagely. "Okay." He dug in his pocket for his wallet and Aria saw him take out what looked like everything that was in there. She bit her tongue and kept herself on the bench by sheer force of will.
"Here you go, Joanne-Marie, I hope this helps you."
"Don't I need to fill out some paperwork?"
"Nope. The emergency funds are all paperwork free," he said with such sincerity that Aria almost believed him.
"Thank you," Joanne-Marie said, and then she actually looked at the money. Aria could hear her breath catch in her throat.
"Oh my God," Joanne-Marie muttered. "This is ... this is a lot of money."
"It's all on the government. Take it and use it in good health."
"Thank you, Trey. Thank you!"
Coleton sketched out a little salute to her and retreated from the doorway. Aria watch Joanne-Marie as she stood there and stared at the money, her eyes wide.
Coleton called his goodbye and walked down the concrete walkway, past Aria. He didn't say a word, just kept walking, past their doorway too. Smart, Aria thought again.
After Joanne-Marie retreated into her apartment, Aria stood and walked around the building to where Coleton was waiting. "She's inside, hurry up," Aria said to him and jogged back to their door, both of them slipping inside.
Aria turned and looked at Coleton. "Did you give her all of your money?"
Coleton nodded, his face worried.
"That was over a thousand dollars!"
"She needed it," Coleton said simply.
Aria shook her head in exasperation. She knew Coleton was right, but she still couldn't imagine giving a complete stranger over a thousand dollars. "What are you going to do if she comes home with no formula and a new TV or maybe some drugs?"
Coleton shrugged. "It's her money now. I think she'll do what's right."
Aria shook her head. She had plenty more questions and accusations, but she tried to do the opposite of what she wanted to do.
Chapter 18
Aria stuck her fingers between the blinds in the living room and peeked out again. She couldn't let it go. She wanted to watch Joanne-Marie come home and see what she had bought. Coleton seemed unconcerned. He sat in the kitchen and eyed her with amusement. "It's her money," he called one more time.
"You keep saying that," Aria replied. But I still want to know." Joanne-Marie had left over an hour ago and Aria had tried to forget about it, but she couldn't. She had played one halfhearted game of spades and then took up her station at the window.
A black sedan pulled into the parking lot and Aria tensed. It looked like the car that Joanne-Marie had left in. It was. The driver side door opened and a girl got out. She looked only slightly older than Joanne-Marie. The girl opened the door to the back seat and waited. Joanne-Marie stepped out, carrying the baby. The baby was completely silent and drinking greedily from a bottle. Aria saw a look of joy on Joanne-Marie's face as she watched Roger fill his belly contentedly. Aria immediately felt awful about her doubts. Joanne-Marie's friend opened the trunk and the two women began shuttling can after can of baby formula into Joanne-Marie's apartment.
Aria stepped back, a lump in her throat. She'd been wrong. Oh-so wrong. Coleton had been right, and a complete prince. And now that tiny baby wouldn't be suffering anymore. Aria wiped a tear from her eye and sat on the couch. She wanted to run from her s
hame. She wanted to hide from her bitter view of humanity.
Once she got herself under control, she stood and walked into the kitchen. She looked into Coleton's handsome face and told him the truth. "You were right. I was wrong. You did a good thing today. I'm sorry for giving you such a hard time."
A sunny smile broke over Coleton's face. "Hey now, no need to be sorry. I always try to help if I can. But I know where you are coming from too. That was a lot of money to give away. There was no guarantee she wasn't going to buy drugs with it. I get it."
"But you still did it," Aria said. "That makes you the bigger person."
"Nah, I don't think of it like that at all. You give all day long, I know you do. You just give in a different way. I've got enough money that giving away a thousand dollars doesn't faze me. That doesn't make me a better person. So now that you know can we play another game of spades?"
Aria sat down and played, and in between they ate dinner. Finally, after the ten o'clock news, she retired to her bedroom and tried to sleep, her mind spinning with the puzzle that was Coleton Savoy.
***
Aria's eyes opened like a shot, confused as to what had awakened her. A crashing noise. Shouting. In an instant, she hopped off the bed and slipped her feet into her shoes. She ran to the window and looked out. Quiet that way. She sprinted down the hallway, pulling her gun out as she went.
She found Coleton, also fully dressed, standing by the front door, his stance alert and watchful. Aria joined him, and listened hard.
A man's voice, yelling, and a thudding, crunching noise. "Bitch! Don't you lie to me! Where did you get the money from? You got some baby daddy on the side? Roger ain't mine, that it?"
"Oh shit," Coleton breathed. "I didn't want to get her in trouble. Just help her."
Aria's mind spun with possibilities. One of the other neighbors was probably already calling the cops, but the Tetam County Police Department was a good twenty miles away. Even if it took a police officer fifteen minutes to get here, Joanne-Marie could be beat up pretty badly in that time. And then what would happen to little Roger?
She made a split-second decision. It was going to put them in danger, but it couldn't be helped. She returned her gun to her holster and hid it under her shirt. Maybe they could stop the situation without anyone knowing she was a cop.
She pulled open the door and felt Coleton grab her arm. "Let me," he whispered. "You stay close by in case I need you, but let's not blow your cover if we don't have to."
He rushed out past her and Aria followed closely. What he said made sense, but she wasn't going to let him get himself killed. He wasn't a cop.
Coleton ran swiftly to Joanne-Marie's door. Aria could tell by the light spilling out that it was open a crack. Before she could say a word, Coleton disappeared inside the apartment. She put on a burst of speed and got there only a second behind him. She pushed the door all the way open and stopped in her tracks.
She could see in the tiny kitchen, which was immediately to her right. Joanne-Marie cowered on the floor, a bruise already popping up on her right cheek. Tears streamed down her face. The baby was nowhere to be seen and Aria couldn't hear him crying. That wasn't good. Fear ran a wicked and painful path through Aria's body. Were they too late to save the baby?
A man stood over Joanne-Marie, his fist raised. The man was about five feet ten inches tall. His shoulders were hunched and from the back he looked like any other small time, small-minded man who thought it was okay to hit a woman. Aria's jaw clenched and she itched to rush in and teach him a lesson about women who hit back.
But she was too late. Coleton was already three quarters of the way to Joanne-Marie's boyfriend. As Coleton passed the stove, his hand shot out and grabbed a heavy pot. Coleton skidded to a stop behind the man, who just started to turn around to see who else was in the kitchen with him. Coleton brought the pot around in a hard, flat arc, and connected with the man's forehead with a sickening thud. Macaroni and cheese sprayed against the wall in a fluorescent yellow arc. Most of it stuck there. Aria's heart leapt in her chest. She hadn't known what to expect from Coleton. The man slid to the ground with a boneless thump.
Aria stayed in the doorway, but looked around the living room for signs of the little baby. She heard Coleton speaking softly to Joanne-Marie.
" Joanne-Marie, are you okay? Can you stand?"
Aria started to pick her way through the living room, not seeing any sign of little Roger, and wanting to help get Joanne-Marie to safety. Coleton turned around and waved a hand at her. He wanted her to stay back. She watched closely as Coleton pulled the sobbing Joanne-Marie to her feet and helped her gingerly step over the man lying knocked out on the floor.
"He wasn't supposed to hit me anymore!" Joanne-Marie finally wailed at full volume.
Aria shook her head. So this wasn't the first time.
"But what am I supposed to do? My mama won't take me back. And I don't have anywhere else to go. No one will hire me because I'm only seventeen and I have to work around the babysitter's schedule. He wasn't supposed to hit me again! He promised!"
"Men like that always hit," Coleton said.
"But he's my baby's father! What am I supposed to do?"
"I don't know, Joanne-Marie, I don't know," Coleton said and Aria could hear the raw emotion in his voice. Aria had seen countless situations just like this over the years, while she had been a patrol officer. It was heartbreaking, especially when you realized just how little options women like Joanne-Marie really had.
The sound of sirens raised in the distance and Aria turned towards Coleton, trying to wave him out the door. He nodded and flapped his hand at her. Joanne-Marie still hadn't noticed Aria. Her one good eye was fixed on Coleton, her face a mask of grief and fear. Coleton put an arm around her and pulled her in close to his chest, walking her slowly through the apartment as she covered her face with her hands and cried.
"Let's just get you outside for now," Coleton said. "Your boyfriend is going to jail tonight. Maybe things will look better in the morning."
"How can they look better?" Joanne-Marie screeched. "How can anything ever get better?" She cried into Coleton's chest, her shoulders wracking with sobs.
Aria retreated to the door, catching Coleton's eye one more time. She mimed holding a baby and then held her hands up at shoulder level.
"Where's Roger?" Coleton asked.
Joanne-Marie uttered a little shriek and looked back to the kitchen. "Oh," she said. He's still back there on the floor. I think you knocked him out."
"No, I mean the baby."
"Oh, Roger Jr., he's still sleeping, I'll run and get him," Joanne-Marie said, drying her tears on her sleeve.
Joanne-Marie disappeared down a tiny hallway to the left of the living room and Aria stepped forward to Coleton. "You have to get out of here before the cops show up. Meet me around the back of the building."
He nodded and Aria sprinted out the door. She had to trust that he would do as she said. They only had a small chance to make this all work and not blow their hiding spot. The sirens were getting closer, but as she swept her gaze past the parking lot, she couldn't see any red and blue lights ripping through the air.
Aria ran down the sidewalk and into their apartment. She sprinted straight to the back wall and pushed the window open, then pulled the screen out quickly. She climbed out of the window and made sure it was easy to climb back in, then she ran down the back of the building, praying that Coleton would hurry.
She heard cars pulling into the parking lot and her heart fell. Coleton had to be seen by now, but no, she saw his dark form round the corner of the building just in time. He met her and she grabbed him silently by the hand and pulled him to their window.
She twisted herself up and into the window, then turned around and motioned for him to climb inside too. He did so and then Aria put the screen back in place swiftly, and shut the window, then pulled the drapes.
She tiptoed to the front window and tried to peek outside. The blin
ds of the window covered almost every square inch, but she managed to find a tiny hole that afforded her a decent view of the parking lot without her having to move the blinds at all. She had to drop down to her knees to see out of it properly.
The first thing she saw was a police officer talking at length with Joanne-Marie. The young woman had the baby over one shoulder and he slept happily, one pudgy fist curled in Joanne-Marie's hair.
From behind her, Coleton leaned close and whispered into her ear. "She said he's never slept that well since the day he was born. She said he drank three bottles worth of the new formula and then fell asleep and hasn't woken up since. Normally he wakes up several times a night and cries and there's nothing she can do for him."
Aria smiled lightly. "Well at least the baby's happy. Too bad it caused Roger senior to blow a gasket," Aria whispered back.
"Guys like that don't need an excuse to blow a gasket. It's what they do," Coleton replied, but his whisper had a hard edge to it. Aria wondered if his father had hit his mother.
An ambulance pulled up and they watched the two paramedics head into the apartment with their gurney.
Aria spoke in a more normal voice, but still low pitched. "I thought you were going to try to talk to him."
"You don't think I should have hit him?"
"Oh no, I absolutely do think that you should have hit him, but ... I guess I had you pegged as someone who would try to talk first."
"I know when people are beyond talking," Coleton said.
Aria studied the side of his face in the dim light as he knelt on the floor beside her. He was a mystery, this Coleton Savoy. But he was a very smart and interesting mystery. She shook her head and returned her gaze out the window.
Roger senior was awake and handcuffed to the ambulance gurney as the paramedics checked him out. A police officer was talking to him sternly, and Roger's bottom lip had taken on the belligerent pout of a five-year-old. Aria knew he wasn't going to learn anything from this experience. She just hoped they were able to keep him in jail for a while so maybe Joanne-Marie could figure out a plan of action that would get her out of his reach. Maybe she had some family who would take her in. Anything.