Chapter 5 Kelly And Tasha |
September 10th to 12th 2011
Kelly and Mona
went to Kelly’s house after leaving the bar. Kelly had to stop on the way to
her house to pick up a twelve pack of beer. Mona said she would not go home
with her unless Kelly did so.
When they reached Kelly’s house they set in the living room floor and drink the beer and talked girl talk.
Kelly asked Mona where her car was, and Mona said she had done what she always done and had left it at home and took a taxi. Mona would not drive when she was drinking.
Kelly asked Mona how she had met this David guy and Mona said he was entering another bar as she was leaving. So she picked him up and let him drive her to the bar she found Kelly in.
Mona was already feeling no pain, and so Kelly had found a bottle of wine somewhere and after two large glasses she was feeling about the same.
So the two girls set there and talked about the men in their life.
Mona was not a beautiful girl. She was pretty to be sure, but pretty does not give you many boy friends growing up. Mona said she had only been in love once in her life. That had been her husband, the bastard that broke her heart and left her all alone.
As she set there talking about her love life, Mona was watching Kelly and she could see there was a secret that Kelly was not telling.
“I want to know his name.” she said.
Kelly looked at her like she was crazy.
“What?’ She asked.
“I can see someone in your eyes. I want to know his name.” Mona had never had a boy friend before she married, but that did not mean she did not know what love looked like.
Mona knew about both Gary and Keith but this was someone else. Someone she had heard rumors about from Tasha but had never talked to Kelly about.
“Thomas is his name. I already know that. But I want to hear it from you.” Mona said.
Kelly’s eyes grow wide.
“How do you know that name?” Kelly asked.
“That little girl of your loves you, she worries about you and we talk about you behind your back sometime.” Mona was serious.
Kelly just shook her head.
“With friends like you, and a daughter like Tasha, who needs enemies?” Kelly was laughing.
“So don’t try to pass it off. Who is he? I want to know everything.” Mona said. She even slid closer to Kelly like she was trying to hide the secret and no one could hear them talk.
Kelly and Mona set there in her floor drinking the beer and talking about Kelly’s secret love life for hours. It was already early morning of the next day. But Mona still wanted to talk. She wanted to know everything, every small detail.
Mona even called Kelly a little slut when she had found out how old Kelly had been at the time. Both of them laughed about that and Kelly said, “I was wasn’t I.”
Kelly told Mona how two men had tried to rape her one night and how Thomas had come to her rescue. She said that Thomas tried to shoot one of the men in the face but the gun didn’t fire.
Mona said she was in love with this man and wanted to know where he was. She started crying when she found out that he had left Kelly all alone and had been gone for over twenty years.
Kelly told her it was not his fault. She said he had thought she had left him. Kelly said that if Thomas knew where she was he would be there.
“Maybe he is right this minute thinking about you Kelly.” Mona said.
“I can only dream that’s true Mona.” Kelly said. “I know I dream about him a lot. And I would give anything to just know he was okay”
The girls set there and held each others hand.
“You will see him again Kelly.” Mona said. “I can feel it. True love is so hard to find. And from what you told me, I know he is somewhere thinking about you also tonight.”
“Mona as we were leaving the bar I had this awful feeling. Like someone I loved was dieing.” Kelly said.
“Do you think it was him? Mona asked.
“I don’t know Mona. But I feel like something is going to happen to me. I am scared.”
Mona just stared at her friend.
“Don’t you worry about that, I want let anything ever happen to you or Tasha.” Mona meant it too.
The two girls set there and talked some more, and then as night wore on they had both fallen asleep there in the floor.
Somewhere in the early morning Kelly had got up and made Mona go get in Tasha’s bed, and then she had went to her own bed.
Late that afternoon they both woke up about the same time. They were both hungry but neither wanted to cook. So they decided to go to the local burger joint to get take-out.
Setting there in the car, Kelly noticed that the man driving the car behind her was watching her. She thought that she knew him but could not name the face.
As she took her food and started to leave she saw that the car pulled forward to get his order. The car did not try to follow her but the man did watch her as she drove off.
Not really wanting to do anything, Kelly and Mona went to the movie store and picked out a movie and then went back to Kelly’s house to eat and watch the movie.
Both girls turned in soon after the movie. They were tired still from the night before.
The next day Tasha returned home around 2:00 pm. So Kelly asked her if she would like to go to a movie.
Tasha said she would like to go see a movie, and Mona also wanted to go. So the three girls went to a late movie and then stopped by the waffle house to eat a late dinner.
After that Kelly took Mona home. Both her and Mona had been off on Saturday and Sunday, but had to be at work early the next morning.
Kelly and Tasha went home.
Over the years Kelly had had the same dream over and over. In the dream Thomas was dieing, and she was lying in his arms also dieing.
Kelly had not had the dream for so long now that she could not remember the last time, but she had the dream tonight.
Only this time it was different. Tasha was also there. Tasha had never been in the dream before. And there were other people there watching her and Thomas also. They were also crying.
In the dream tonight Tasha was crying for her mother not to go and leave her alone, but Kelly felt a wonderful feeling lying there in Thomas’s arms.
When Thomas started slipping away from her and she was losing him again Kelly woke up screaming.
Tasha was in bed with her mother, and Kelly’s scream woke her. At first she did not know what was wrong then she remembered the dreams.
“Mama” she said, holding her mother, “Its okay. It was only the dream again.”
Kelly set there for a few minutes. She managed to stop crying, but was still shaking. She looked at her daughter.
You had the dream about him again, didn’t you mama.” Tasha asked.
Kelly looked at her little girl. She did not say anything. She shook her head yes.
Tasha could remember her mother having this dream many times before but not in a long time.
“When are you going to tell me about him?” Tasha asked.
“I think I need a coffee.” Kelly said, “What about you?”
“Yes mama.” Tasha said, and they went to the kitchen.
Kelly started to make coffee as Tasha started pulling out cakes and cookies.
“These will go good with the coffee.” She said. She turned on the radio.
Kelly set two cups on the table. Then she poured them full of the coffee she had just made. Then Kelly set down at the table and Tasha put a bowl with a big slice of chocolate cake in front of her.
“Eat up.” She said, and she set down with her own bowl of cake.
“This is not a good breakfast.” Kelly said. “You need something better.
Tasha smiled and kept eating cake.
As the two set there Kelly was thinking about everything that had happened over the weekend. Then she remembered the car behind her at the hamburger joint.
Dan Johnson was the man’s name, he was a cop. Kelly remembered him now. It had been years sense she had seen him. Not sense before Tasha had been born.
It was him and his mother that had been responsible for her and Thomas being apart. After Kelly’s mother died, Dan Johnson was the one that had Kelly sent away. After she had returned, she found out that his mother had told a lie about her and made Thomas lose hope and leave.
She hated this man. After Thomas was gone and when she was homeless on the street Dan Johnson was the man that had locked her up. She now saw him as the one that caused her to lose her first baby.
On Saturday night Dan set in his car waiting for the car in front of him to leave. Dan had a million things on his mind. There was a murderer going around killing young black girls. A third one had just turned up dead.
They had arrested the man who owned the house where the body was found. His name was William More. But Dan already knew that this man had not killed anyone.
The man was a sick mother fucker for sure. They found a lot of pictures of little boys on his computer. But the man had been out of town when the girl had been killed. He could not have killed her.
Dan was still going to put the man away. It was his job. Ad he loved it.
As he waited for the car in front of him to pay for their food he saw the girl driving, a mid age black girl. No not black, she was mixed. Something about her made him remember her but he could not place the face.
He knew he knew her from somewhere but where?
Maybe he should pull her over and check her out. She might be wanted. Then it hit him. He remembered her. He still could not place the name, but he knew where he had known her before.
She was a slut. She had been shacked up with a man over twice her age and had even had a baby with the old prick.
Dan even remembered him, but not his name.
He had been in trouble before this girl with another little girl. And Dan had almost put his ass away the first time but then he had been reassigned and told to leave this man alone if he wanted his job.
Dan could not stand these sick mother fuckers.
He wondered what ever happened to the guy. Last he heard the man had killed his self. Good for him, he did his self and the world a favor.
Dan watched as the car in front of him drove off. He saw that the girl was watching him from her rear view mirror as she was leaving.
Bitch, he thought.
“Earth to Kelly, over.”
Kelly turned her head to look at her daughter. Tasha had finished her cake and was cleaning the table.
“Was it him again?” her daughter asked. “Is that who you were thinking about?”
Kelly looked at her daughter.
“No” Kelly said. “I was just day dreaming.”
“Why will you not tell me about him mama.” Tasha asked.
Kelly looked at her daughter. How could she tell this eleven year old baby that when she was her age she was in love with a man old enough to be her father? She was not ashamed of the fact, or of what they did. But she did not want her daughter doing anything like that.
Then she thought what would she do if Tasha did try to do something like that? How would she react? Well for one she would not act like her own mother had acted. All her mother wanted was some more dope, and she was willing to sell Kelly to get it. She had even tried to sell Kelly to Thomas, But Kelly had put a stop to that ideal by telling her mother she already belonged to Thomas and he did not have to buy her.
But as she set here now, she thought about her daughter and wondered what she would do if Tasha was in love with an older man. She would kill them both that’s was what she would do.
There was in fact an older man in Tasha’s life. His name was Carl Price.
Carl was the old drunk that lived in his storage unit. He did odd jobs for Kelly at the storage company. He helped her because he liked to work. That was what he told her. But she knew that he helped her because she turned the other eye about him living in his unit. She also paid him.
That was against company rules. But she could not turn him out. He had no where else to go.
“I hope the old man is okay.” She said.
“Who mama?” asked Tasha.
Kelly didn’t know she had spoken out load.
“Your friend Carl, he was not in his storage unit Friday”
“He doesn’t stay there every night mama. He has other camps sites that he also stays in.”
Kelly wondered how Tasha knew so much about where the man stayed.
“How do you know?” she asked.
“Because I know where some of them are.” Tasha had slipped.
Kelly set there and looked at Tasha. She did not say a word. She didn’t have to. Tasha knew her mama was waiting for an answer.
“I seen his camp that he has in the woods one day. I was there picking plants for Gilda and I come across it. Thomas was there and so I asked him about the camp.”
“When was this?” Kelly asked.
A month ago maybe, I am not sure. I don’t go there much, just that one time.
“Don’t lie to me Tasha.” Kelly said.
“I’m not Mother” another give away. Tasha never said mother unless she was in trouble.
“Tasha”
“I just go there sometimes to pick plants. But I don’t go there a lot.”
Kelly thought about this. Tasha was not as old as Kelly was when she was Tasha’s age. Kelly had been born as a grown up. Or if not, then she had to grow up fast. She had to raise her mother instead of her mother raising her.
“Tasha a long time ago I knew a man name Thomas.” It was time to teach Tasha about the facts of life. Better she learn them from Kelly than some boy, or old man.
Kelly had learned from watching her own mother and father and their friends. She did not want this to happen to Tasha.
Kelly and Tasha set there for an hour with Kelly telling Tasha about her life with Thomas. She told her almost the same things she had told Mona. She left out some of the more colorful details.
When she was finished Tasha looked at her.
“You were only twelve the first time?’ she asked.
“I was almost thirteen.” Kelly said.
“That doesn’t count mama, not unless you are playing horse shoes.”
Kelly laughed.
“Did you love him?” Tasha asked.
“What do you think?” Kelly replied.
Tasha smiled, “I know you did. Because he is all you ever dream about.”
“I dream about you also Tasha.” Kelly said.
Tasha smiled, set there the asked,
“Mama, do you ever dream about daddy?”
Kelly knew that Tasha was thinking about Keith. Tasha had never known Gary, but she was old enough to have just a few memories of Keith.
“I have dreamed about both of your daddies, and yes I did love them. Just not as much as I love Thomas.”
They both set there looking at each other.
“Mama will I ever meet Thomas?” Tasha asked.
“I don’t know. I hope so.”
“Will he like me?’
Kelly didn’t know what to say. She thought about the questing.
“I think he will love you like you were his own.” She said.
Tasha thought about this.
“I want to meet him.”
“I want you to meet him Tasha. One of these days maybe he will come back. But now I want to talk to you about boys.”
Tasha laughed.
“Don’t worry mama. I am never going to fall in love and let some silly boy touch me.
Kelly did not say anything for a few seconds. Then she asked,
“What about Carl?”
“Mama, how sick” Tasha made a face, “How nasty.”
Kelly laughed. She had her answer.
“I feel bad mama.” Tasha said.
“Why baby?” Kelly asked.
“Because it was Carl’s birthday Friday and I didn’t see him to tell him happy birthday. I bet no one told him happy birthday.”
Kelly just looked at her daughter.
“Tonight we will make him a cake.” Kelly said.
“Okay. But we need to get him a present also.” Tasha said.
“We will. Now it is time to get ready for school.”
“Okay” Tasha said.
It was beginning to become daylight out side already, so the two girls got up from the table. Kelly told Tasha to run and take her bath and that she would clean the table.
An hour later the two were driving into the parking lot of the storage company, an hour after that the bus picked Tasha up for school. Kelly stood at the door and watched as her daughter went into the bus and the bus drove away.
Kelly looked over at the adjoining parking lot. There were only a few vehicles in the whole parking lot. Two of them were owned by the people at the Russian groceries store. She knew them. She had only seen one of those ever move. Two of the other cars belonged to the people at Marina’s, a Spanish restaurant and bar. The only other car that she knew was really a Van and belonged to the animal store.
One of the several vehicles that she did not know stood out. It was a big truck. A ford she thought. Dual cab, with those extra wheels in back.
What made the truck stand out to her was the picture of the bird on the passenger door.
She had seen that picture before. It was a bird, scooping down to grab some small animal with it’s out stretch claws. The small animal was looking back up at the bird, and showing it the small middle finger of it’s out stretched hand.
She could tell the truck was running, smoke was coming out of the tail pipe, but she could not see inside the truck. It had those tinted windows, the kind that was supposed to be illegal, but only if the police pulled you over.
As she watched the truck, she had the feeling that she herself was being watched.
Kelly turned and locked the door. She then hopped on her golf cart and using the side walk drove next door to the service mart.
As Kelly drove into the service mart parking lot a voice called out over the intercom, “New Coffee in the pot for the lady in the caddie.”
Kelly looked up and seen the man in the store behind the register that owned the voice. He was smiling and looking at her. She knew that he had been talking to her.
This was a normal routine for her. Every morning after Tasha had left for school Kelly would come over for a cup of coffee. Then she would go back to the store and after drinking her coffee make her rounds.
She had done this for almost six years. That was how long she had been the manager of the storage complex.
A short fat man with a balding head, balding was not the word, bald was closer to it: he had a little hair just over each ear, nothing more, but he was nice, and he gave Kelly her coffee for free.
Kelly thought it was in hope of maybe getting a date with her sometime, but he had never asked her, so she never had to say no.
She would have gone out with him, he was nice, but that would have been it, and he would have had to agree that was all that would happen before she would go.
After Kelly had her coffee she left the store and got back into the golf cart and started to go back over to the storage complex. The two businesses were side by side so Kelly always used the side walk to get from one to the other. It was only like twenty five feet.
As Kelly started to go, she saw that the black truck with the bird was setting in her way.
He’s watching me, she thought. That was when a hand came out of the trucks half open window. The middle finger was extended out.
Looking around Kelly thought is that for me? There was no one else around. She looked back at the truck. The truck took off. At first it looked as if it was coming right at her, then it veered away and missed her and sped out of the drive and off down the road.
Kelly set there with her hands shaking, her heart beating faster than she had ever known it to beat, and for the first time that she could remember she was scared. She could not move.
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