A Valentine's Day Mess Pt. 05

This is the last chapter in what has been a long writing adventure. I've learned a lot. I hope you've enjoyed it.

12. Closing the door

Claudia watched the road in front of them and asked, "How long are you going to be here? Not all the way 'till school starts, right?"

Manny turned his car through a switchback before he answered. The last snowfall was days before, but there were still streaks of ice across the road where it was shaded by cliffs or tall stands of ponderosa. "I'm off work until the first Monday after New Years—the fourth, I think. Have you finished your Christmas shopping?"

"For everyone but you." Claudia said.

"I don't have yours either," Manny said. "Tomorrow, you might get a card from the grocery store." Manny took another tight curve then slowed and turned into a parking lot on the edge of the mountain's crest.

Claudia climbed out of the car and peered over the iron rail, down at the granite spires and crags that defined the steep mountain face, to the city sprawling below them. "Aii! That makes me dizzy," she said and stepped back.

Manny watched the smiling people with snow shoes and cross-country skis who came and went from the trails. "There's more people here than I thought there'd be. Are there too many?"

"Maybe," Claudia said. She zipped her pink, fur-trimmed jacket all the way up, and found matching mittens in her pockets. "We need to find a place where, if Angelito comes along with the locket when I call it back, he won't be able to take hostages—that's why we're not in town, si?" She pointed to the trail at the edge of the cliff. "There's no snow on that trail, so no skiers. The wind must blow it all off."

They walked south along the trail until the cliff edge veered away to a sharp point and the only sounds were from the wind rushing through the pine and spruce. It was easy to see where people had climbed over the railing to peek off the edge, and that's what Manny and Claudia did.

Manny got far enough out to look down, and then he backed away. "You know, we must have passed a dozen places on the way here that could have worked."

"But I like it here," Claudia said. "It's the top of Turtle Mountain, and the refuge of the Zuni gods. It seems like a good place to do this." She faced into the breeze that climbed the mountain's steep face and closed her eyes for a moment. "I think I'm ready."

"How can you know that?" Manny asked. "How do we know this will work at all?"

"I've been practicing," Claudia said. "I can find the locket, and I can tug on it. This is the first time I'll really try to pull it back. Ready?"

Manny didn't have anything to do but wait, so he watched Claudia close her eyes again and draw a breath. With her heart and her soul, his sister called back the charm that Falcona said would always be hers. He didn't see or feel anything change, but Claudia held her mittened hands out, and the gleaming locket appeared in her palms.

Angelito appeared with it. He was a confused old man wrapped in a blanket with the locket still on the leather thong around his neck.

Claudia clenched her jaw and shoved Angelito away while Manny snatched the charm. Angelito tried to push Manny off, but Manny pulled the charm over his head and stepped back with it dangling from his fist.

Angelito staggered a couple steps back before he stopped himself. He glanced around and seemed to realize where he was, and then he lunged for Claudia. He caught her hair and her arm and tried to hold her against his chest while he backed toward the cliff's edge.

"Give me the locket," Angelito said, "or she's goes. Maybe we both go." He struggled to stay standing with Claudia fighting and cursing in his grasp, and Manny lunged at him. In one motion, he pulled Claudia away and shoved Angelito to his knees.

Angelito hardly seemed able to lift his head, but he caught his breath, pushed himself off the ground with one hand, and cradled the other arm in front of him. He lurched toward Manny and tried to snatch the charm, but Manny held it out of reach, and Angelito took one step back and then another.

Manny started to follow Angelito, but Claudia stopped him with a hand on his arm. "Let him go," she said. "He doesn't look so dangerous right now, except maybe to himself."

Angelito nodded toward Claudia as if he agreed. "It's been weeks since I met your bear," Angelito said. "I'm hurt, I'm sick, and I'm never going to be well again." He took another step back toward the cliff. "I can't live in this world of yours anymore." He motioned to the locket that Manny still held in his hand and stepped back again. "That thing gave me a life in the shadows. Without it, there's no place for me."

Angelito stopped at the edge of the cliff with his back to the blue sky. He straightened his shoulders and focused on Manny and Claudia. "Now I'll see if all those people who cursed me to hell are going to get their wish."

Someone on the trail behind Manny and Claudia screamed, "Oh my God!" as Angelito spread his arms, arced backwards, and disappeared beyond the cliff.

Manny and Claudia scrambled to the edge and looked over. Angelito's body was broken on a snowy crag a hundred feet below. "He's still alive." Claudia said. "I can still feel him." She stopped and watched as the snow around his head turned red. "And now I can't."

Claudia turned around and sat up as two girls climbed over the railing. "We saw him jump!" they said. "Did you know him? Is he dead?"

Manny sat up beside Claudia, wrapped his arm around her and told the girls, "Yeah, sort of and yeah, he's dead."

Claudia was trembling, and then she buried her face in Manny's shoulder and started sobbing. "Dios Mio Manny! I never imagined Angelito would go that way." She had tears streaming down her cheeks when she looked up. "I think I need help."

"You and me both," Manny said.

* * *

The night was clear and cold, and Manny pulled his jacket tighter while he talked. "We stayed there while the climbers brought his body up, and we answered all their questions as well as we could," Manny said. "Out of all we told them, they'll choose to believe what they want to believe. It felt like a long day." There wasn't really very much more that he could tell his mom and dad, because he'd never told them much before.

"And on Christmas Eve!" Dolly said. "Imagine how terrible that has to be for his family." Manny shrugged without saying more. He didn't know of anyone who would mourn for Angelito, but that was something else he didn't need to say.

"This is a depressing time of year for some people," Tom said. He pulled Dolly by her hand. "Come on, the tour starts over here."

Claudia and Manny lagged behind. "I didn't know the walking tour had a start," Claudia said. She watched people moving among the glowing luminarias that lined the paths and sidewalks and found Manny watching an old woman under the portal at the east side of the plaza.

"It doesn't," Manny said, "but Dad likes things to have a beginning and an end." He turned back to Claudia and studied her face in the flickering light. "You look as tired as I feel."

"Estoy, Manny," Claudia said. "What's worse is that no matter how tired I am, the voices are going to make it hard to sleep tonight."

Manny took a step back from his sister. "Go with Mom and Dad," he said, "and I'll catch up with you in a few minutes."

Claudia jogged to catch up with Tom and Dolly, and Manny went to the woman under the portal. She stood behind a small table with silver jewelry neatly arranged across it. Manny could hardly see in the dim light. "I need something for my sister," he said. "She's special, so it should be special."

The woman studied Manny for a moment, and then drew a small bag from inside the blanket that wrapped her shoulders. She opened it and held a bracelet out to Manny. "This is for a special woman." She said. Her quiet voice was rough, like she rarely spoke.

The bracelet was a wide silver band with inlaid with a design in turquoise and coral. Manny licked his lips and took it from the woman. He didn't need to look close to see it. The bracelet seemed to glow in his hands. "How much?" he asked.

"Three-hundred and fifty," the woman said, and Manny shook his head.

"I don't have that much. What I have is more like thirty-five."

The woman studied Manny for a moment longer. "Make it fifty, and your special sister can have it."

Manny bought the bracelet, slipped it into his jacket pocket, and turned around to look for his folks in the crowd. He found them just as Claudia and Dolly left Tom on the sidewalk and disappeared into a shop on the south side of the plaza. He glanced back at the old woman to thank her, and she was gone.

Manny shrugged. "Of course she's gone," he told himself. "That's the way things work now." He checked his pocket in case the bracelet had disappeared with the old woman. It was still there, so he found his way through the crowd to where his dad waited. "You didn't go in with them?" he asked.

Tom laughed. "They put me on sentry duty. Claudia's looking for your Christmas present, and she doesn't want you barging in."

They stood shoulder-to-shoulder, talked, and watched across the plaza as people came and went from San Felipe de Neri. It was the sound of Dolly's laughter behind them that made them turn around.

"I didn't have that kind of money," Claudia said. "I had to bargain with the old lady or leave it there."

Dolly laughed again. "I didn't even know you could haggle over price in a shop like this. But it was so special, I would've loaned you the money." She looked back into the shop. "I wonder where the old lady went."

She shrugged, tucked her hand into the crook of Tom's elbow and changed the subject. "Isn't it a beautiful Christmas Eve? The kids had a bad day, but the last couple months have been good to us with the new clinic doing so well and Gil elected to Congress. We have a lot to celebrate, don't we?"

Tom nodded to his wife in the dark and smiled at Claudia. "Times have been good to us," he said, "and tomorrow it will be one year since you became part of our family. It's been a good year."

They let Tom lead them through the golden lights along the pathways to see the decorations at the church and in shop windows. He stopped when they returned to where they started and slapped Manny's arm. "We have bourbon and eggnog waiting at home."

Dolly tugged on Claudia's arm. "You're coming too, aren't you? I have your pink bedroom ready and waiting for you."

Claudia gave Dolly a tired smile and said, "It's all arranged, and I have a bag in Manny's car, but we'll have to leave early in the morning. Madre doesn't want the kids opening their presents until we're all there."

"Where did you park?" Dolly asked. She pointed east from the plaza. "We're by the museum."

Manny pointed north. "We're up by Maria Teresa's, so we'll see you at home." He wrapped his hand around Claudia's arm and tugged her away.

They'd taken just a few steps before Claudia said, "The old lady who sold me your Christmas present looked just like the one you talked to on the plaza."

"The lady on the plaza disappeared as soon as I bought your present," Manny said. "Maybe we need to find her."

"Where would you look, Manny?" Claudia asked. "Where would you look? Let's just keep going."

They were just past Church Street when Claudia suddenly stopped where a dim light flickered from an alley, and the scent of piñon smoke drifted in the air. "She's here," Claudia said, and pulled on Manny's arm. "I can feel her."

The firelight led them around a corner, where the old woman sat with her back to a wall at the end of a blind alley and warmed her hands over small fire. She nodded without smiling and spoke in her hoarse, little-used voice. "Good. I've been waiting for you."

"Who are you?" Manny asked. "What do you want?"

"You can call me Grandmother," she said. She pulled her blanket tighter around her. "It's a cold time for this old woman to be out."

"Grandmother Spider?" Claudia asked, and the old woman nodded her head. "I'm called that."

Manny watched the woman and repeated, "What do you want?"

"I'm not the one who wants something, child. That's you. I heard your cry for help this morning. If you can help yourself, then I can help you."

"How do we help ourselves?" Claudia asked. "How do you help us?"

"First," Grandmother said, "you have to tell me what you need, so I know you understand."

Claudia started. "We opened a door in our minds, and the voices of our ancestors came through. Mi Abuela said that we stood with one foot among men and one foot among las animas. That's where we've been ever since."

"And now we're exhausted from living too many lives at once," Manny said. "Before that kills us, we need to close the door and put both feet in this world."

Grandmother looked from Claudia to Manny and asked, "You know, that it was your lust for each other that opened that door?" and they both nodded their heads. "I can help you close the door, but to keep it closed you'll have to learn how to love each other like brother and sister, not like husband and wife."

Claudia and Manny looked at each other, and Claudia bit her lip. "Aii, Manny! Can we?"

Manny answered, "Before Manuel left us on Dias de los Muertos, he told us 'You will know what has to be done, but it will be hard to do.' Maybe this is what he meant."

"I can close your door," Grandmother said, and held out her hand toward Manny. "In return you have to give me the charm your sister made, so it can never fall into the wrong hands again."

Manny looked at Claudia, and waited for her to agree, then he found the locket in his pocket—still on Angelito's leather thong—and held it out for Grandmother to take.

Grandmother Spider opened her blanket to put the charm away, and she drew out something closed in her hands. She shut her eyes, and they could barely hear the soft chant that she recited under her breath.

When Grandmother looked up she held both hands out—one to Claudia and one to Manny. "Take these," she said, and gave a pipe to Manny and a pouch to Claudia. "When you're ready, fill the pipe and share it. That will close the door."

They each took the gifts that Grandmother offered, and she dropped her hands into her lap. "The gifts you give each other tomorrow," she said, "will help you remember me, and they'll remind you to do what you have to do, because if you open that door again, then you'll surely die."

Manny and Claudia glanced at each other, and when they looked back at Grandmother Spider, they found the alley empty and the fire quickly dying.

"Now what?" Claudia asked.

"I guess we figure out when we're ready," Manny said. "That's sure not right now."

Claudia turned, put her hand on Manny's chest, and said, "Tonight, but not until after we do it one more time, si?"

Manny grasped Claudia's arms and pulled her to him, and she giggled while he inhaled the scent from her neck. "One more time," he said, and felt his cock grow firm in his jeans. "First, we have to be nice with Mom and Dad."

Their sudden arousal gave them energy. They found their way out of the alley by the light of the waxing moon, and ran north. They dodged through slow-moving traffic, then through a parking lot and around a hedge to Manny's car.

Christmas Eve traffic on the freeway was light, and the neighborhood around the house was quiet. Christmas lights glowed on every house and on every shrub, and they lit the way while Manny pulled Claudia into the house, dragging her bag behind her.

Tom and Dolly were cocooned on the sofa. Dolly pointed Manny to the kitchen to make their drinks himself. "We've got ours," she said. "I have my husband's arm around me, a log on the fire, and the Christmas tree all lit up beside me. I am not moving."

Claudia followed Manny to the kitchen, and while he poured eggnog, she said, "Your folks look like they might want to go to bed as much as we do. Pretty soon, you know, I'm going to act sleepy. Give me about twenty minutes, and I'll be ready when you get there."

That's how it worked. Claudia let her eyes droop before she was done with her drink. She yawned and stretched, and said, "Aii, I'm tired. It's time for me to visit my new bedroom."

Manny watched the clock. He felt like he was keeping his parents from something important before the twenty minutes were up, and they didn't do anything to slow him down when he told them good night.

The air in Claudia's bedroom was heavy with humidity from the shower and the scent of shampoos and lotions, but Claudia was still closed in the bathroom. Manny backed out and turned on the television to make background noise in case they got too excited, and then he turned to find an unopened box of chocolate cherry cordials that Dolly had left on the coffee table.

Manny opened the box and sat back, busy with thoughts of his sister and with the voices in his head until Claudia stepped from her room. She set a water bottle on the coffee table next to the cordials and laughed. "These make such a mess!" she said, and plucked a chocolate from the box.

Claudia straddled her brother's thighs and settled on his lap. Her pink bathrobe opened to show her naked body underneath, and she held the chocolate up for Manny to take a bite before she finished it herself.

Manny inhaled his sister's candy-scented breath while she leaned forward with her lips close by his ear. "This is exactly where we were the first time we did it—back before there were so many people in our heads."

"I think it's a good place for the last time, too," Manny said. He slipped his hands inside his sister's robe and caressed her soft skin; she was still warm and moist from the shower. One hand traveled down to rest on her hip and the other traveled up to her full breast and her firm nipple.

The perfumed scents that flowed up from Claudia body were sweet, but it was her natural scent mingled with the perfumes that excited Manny. He pulled her mouth to his. Her lips were soft, and her tongue welcomed him. Her breath was warm on his cheek, and before they broke their kiss it burned hot and rough against his skin.

Claudia laid her head on Manny's shoulder and tugged at his belt while he kissed her neck and stroked her body. "This seems harder than it used to be," Claudia said, and the laughed in Manny's ear. "I don't mean your cock. That's always been hard. I mean getting to it."

"I'll do it," Manny said, and Claudia sat back on his thighs to watch. He pulled his shirt over his head, tossed it aside, and opened his belt and his jeans before he stopped. "This isn't going to work very well," Manny said, and Claudia squawked in surprise when he laid her down on the sofa.

Manny stood to get his clothes off, and Claudia opened her robe to show him her glistening pussy. Manny didn't need the extra encouragement, and his cock sprung up when he shoved his jeans and boxers to the floor.

Claudia watched while her brother climb over her, and she lifted her legs around him. His hard-on rested on her belly for a moment before she wrapped it in both hands and stroked her thumbs over its smooth head. "I want you to come for me first," she said.

Manny had to catch his breath. Claudia tumbled his balls with her fingertips and pumped his straining shaft. He closed his eyes, fought for control, and told her, "This way, you're going to make me come right now."

"Manny, no! Not yet." Claudia said, and she slowed her stroke. "I want to play with you for a while." She spread his pre-cum over his shaft and her hand slipped slowly down his length. Manny gave in to a sudden urge, and his body undulated over his little sister while he fucked her soft hands.

Claudia tightened her grip to slow Manny down then she tugged his cock up toward her breasts. Manny untangled their legs and climbed over her. She squeezed his cock between her tits, and Manny returned to his slowly-accelerating undulation.