Ice Heart Ch. 04

"You are fucking shitting me," April had said, then colored as she remembered her surroundings.

"Please?" Alicia asked. "It would mean so much to Cris and me."

"When Cris and I got married, he asked me to go back to college; I only had three more semesters," Alicia explained to Nicole, who was still giggling over her father and step-mother's deception. "I got my degree in Early Childhood Education with a minor in Business Administration. Sister Andrea retired and Brother Dominick, Cris's cousin came up to us at church and asked me if I'd be interested in the job. Cris and I don't need the money, but I did want to do SOMETHING besides just sitting around the house, so..."

"And when Fred and I moved back to Lafayette..." Nicole said happily.

"We wanted you to be a part of the St. Richard's family," Alicia smiled. "He won't admit it, but all he wants to do is take care of you, take care of his grandchildren."

****

"Hey, shorty, your daddy home?" Sweet William asked Christopher Michael when Christopher Michael answered the door.

"Yeah, Mr. Sweet, come on in," Christopher Michael said and swung the door wide open.

"Hey," Cris said, surprised, when Sweet William swaggered in.

"Hope I ain't interrupting nothing," Sweet William asked.

"No, no, just watching the news; Alicia's cooking; you sticking around for dinner?" Cris asked.

"Nah, got plans, but wanted to talk to you, man to man," Sweet William said, nodding toward the back porch.

"Sure, Honey!" Cris called out."

Yeah?" she called back.

"Sweet William and I be out on the back porch," Cris called back."

Okay," Alicia called back. "He staying for dinner?"

"No, says your cooking's horrible, gives him diarrhea," Cris called back.

"I did not say anything like that!" Sweet William protested.

"That's okay, I'm going to burn his," Alicia laughed.

"Don't you always?" Cris asked as he opened the door to the porch.

"You, um, you remember that girl, Trish? The one from the exercise place?" Sweet William asked as they sat down on the stone bench.

"Trish Miller?" Cris asked. "Yeah, whatever happened to her? I mean, y'all were going at it pretty hot and heavy and then all of a sudden..."

"Yeah, she got scared, she said," Sweet William shrugs. "Anyway, she comes over last week and she says 'Hey, guess what, "Daddy?"' and I'm like 'Oh no you ain't!' and she's all like..."

"Come on, man, speak English," Cris laughed.

"Oh, I keeps forgetting; you white," Sweet William smiled. "She's pregnant."

"So?" Cris asked point blank. "What are you going to do about it?"

"Man, I look at you, and at Alicia; y'all got what? Twenty kids and always wanting more?" Sweet William said and looked as Christopher Michael came running out of the house toward them.

"Hey, Mr. William and I are talking," Cris said to the boy.

"Nah, he ain't hurting nothing," Sweet William smiled at his buddy.

"So?" Cris asked again. "What you going to do about it?"

"Shit, man, I done begged her to marry me," Sweet William smiled broadly. "That's what I come over here for; you be my best man?"

"Why the hell not? You were mine," Cris said and hugged his friend.

"Woo hoo! You getting married, Mr. Sweet?" Christopher Michael asked.

"Yeah, what you think about that?" Sweet William smiled down at the boy.

"That's awesome!" Christopher Michael crowed. "Can I go to your wedding?"

"Aw you know it, my man!" Sweet William agreed. "Wouldn't even dream of getting married if you ain't there."

"Can I bring my girlfriend too?" Christopher Michael asked, accepting the loving hug from the large man.

"A what?" Sweet William laughed out loud. "Boy, ain't you a little young already be having yourself a girlfriend?"

"He's got himself a sweet heart," Cris smiled.

"Yeah, me too, I got me a sweet heart," Sweet William said and hugged the boy tightly. "Yeah, boy, bring your woman."

"Sure you won't join us?" Alicia asked.

"Nah, love to, but got to go; she and her roommate, they cooking up a 'celebration dinner,'" Sweet William smiled and stood up.

"Love you," Cris said sincerely and the two men hugged.

Chapter 16

Pam Broussard's jaw dropped when Trish brought her fiancé into the kitchen to meet her. She had known the man was black; Trish had not made any secret about that. She also knew the man was big; Trish towered over her and Trish said she had to look up to see Willie's face.

But she was not expecting a giant. The man had to duck under the door jamb to enter the room.

"Oh my God," she gasped as Trish smiled proudly, clinging onto the man.

"And this is my best friend in the whole world, Pam," Trish was bubbling. "Pam Ham Broussard."

Paul entered the kitchen, carrying Barbara, Paulie right behind them.

"Hey, brother, help me out here?" Paul asked Sweet William. "Think you can take this little monster down?"

"Him?" Sweet William smiled. "Don't know, he looks kind of mean."

"Ma ma ma ma," Barbara began chanting.

"Better not," Paulie threatened the large man. "I know karate."

"You do not!" Paul laughed and Pam snapped out of her reverie and took Barbara out of Paul's hands.

"So, you the one Trish's always talking about?" Paul asked, shaking the man's hand warmly.

"Yeah, I guess so, depends on what's she saying," Sweet William shrugged.

"I do too," Paulie said. "Watch!"

"Oh, you know, how you almost as good looking as me, almost," Paul smiled.

"Hi Yah!" Paulie screamed and gave his father's leg a chop.

"Ow, boy!" Paul laughed and picked his son up by the legs and dangled the boy upside down.

"Hey!" Paulie called out.

"Almost?" Sweet William laughed.

"See?" Pam slapped Paul on the buttocks with her spatula. "That's why Trish can't wait to get out of here; you always doing stuff like that."

"Oh no, she didn't tell y'all?" Sweet William laughed. "She ain't moving out; I'm moving on in."

"Hmm, going to have to raise all them ceiling fans," Paul pointedly looked at the top of Sweet William's head.

"Put him down, Paul," Pam ordered.

"You heard her; she said 'drop you,'" Paul told Paulie.

"I did not!" Pam said. "I said..."

"No!" Paulie shrieked as Paul dipped him suddenly.

"...Put him down," Pam said."

"Oh, that's different," Paul said and put the boy down.

"It's always like this around here," Trish admitted to Sweet William.

"I see that," he agreed.

"Want a beer before dinner?" Paul asked and reached into the refrigerator for a couple of bottles.

"Where's Candy?" Pam demanded.

No thanks," Sweet William said, seeing Trish's almost imperceptible shake of her head.

"Getting ready to wake her up," Paul said.

"Come on, let's go into the living room, leave Pam alone so she can cook that mystery meat," Trish said. "She's coon ass, you know, never quite sure what we're eating."

"Damn it, Trish!" Pam yelled. "Keep it up, it WILL be mystery meat on your plate, you hear?"

She turned to Paul and shook her head.

"Here, Baby, take Barbara; I got to finish dinner; burn herd's I swear," Pam said after giving her daughter a big wet kiss.

****

"By the way, I saw April today," Alicia said.

"Oh yeah?" Cris asked, tensing up slightly.

"Yeah, you're paying for Jamie to go to St. Richard's," Alicia said.

"Wow, I am one generous man, huh?" Cris said, relaxing.

"And you're sending April two hundred a month for expenses," Alicia went on.

"Man, I am super nice, huh?" Cris said.

"Cris, that girl is yours, you know that," Alicia said.

"I know," he agreed.

"Jamie Christine Hollister," Alicia said. "Gee, I wonder where the 'Christine' comes from."

"Wouldn't know," Cris said.

"Oh, come on, Cris, Cris, Christine, and Cris, get it?" Alicia said.

"Nope, didn't go to college, get me no edumucation like y'all did," Cris said, squeezing his wife.

"Shut up, butt hole, you're ten times smarter than any of us will ever be," Alicia giggled.

"Think two hundred a month is enough?" Cris asked her.

"I'll ask her next time I see her," Alicia promised, reaching under the blanket for his manhood.

She gripped it and wiggled it a few times.

"Think you could um..." she asked.

"Think you could suck it?" he asked in mock sternness.

****

"That Mrs. Dumas?" April told Jamie as she buttoned up the child's uniform shirt. "You do whatever that woman tells you, you here? She tells you stand on your head, you say 'yes ma'am,' and do it, you hear?"

"Yes ma'am," Jamie promised.

"Here, this is your lunch ticket," April said and put it in the child's back pack. See? It's going in your pocket, the one right up front where your Mickey Mouse pencil is."

"And my crayons!" Jamie said excitedly.

"And your crayons," April agreed.

She hid behind the tree and watched. Right on schedule, bus number one forty two pulled to a stop and Jamie got on the bus. She wiped the tears away with the back of her hand and walked back to the trailer.

"This is Mrs. Dumas," Alicia answered the office phone.

"She's on the bus," April managed to choke out. "My baby, she's on the bus, she's on her way to school."

"Oh, okay, that's great," Alicia said, a little confused.

"This is April," April sobbed out. "I just don't know how, I'll never be able to repay you."

"Hi April," Alicia said, understanding now what the call was about. "You don't owe me any thanks. Cris and I are happy to do it, okay?"

"She does anything, you let me know," April vowed. "I told her to be a good girl; she's not, you let me know, you hear?"

"I have no doubt she's going to be the best little girl in the first grade," Alicia assured April.

April hung up and sighed as Zack started coughing violently again.

They both were in the last stages of AIDS, sharing dirty needles, but Zack Wright had already given up, was just waiting to die. April kept trying to fight it, kept trying to hold on to life as long as possible; when she died, there would be no one to take care of Jamie.

And Zack blamed everyone else but himself for getting the HIV virus; it was his mother's fault, it was his unknown father's fault, it was some bitch girl named Nicole's fault, it was April's fault.

"Ain't no one pushed that fucking needle in your arm but you, mother fucker," April reminded him.

At least she knew it was her and her alone that had shot her full of the fearsome disease.

His attention had been so blatant, almost laughable as she wandered up and down the grocery store aisle. She used her standard 'unless you can eat pussy as good as my girlfriend...' line and laughed out loud when Zack smugly told her "Shit, who you think taught her how to eat it, huh?"

They went back to the trailer; Zack was sleeping on the floor of Rudy's apartment at the time. Jimbo and Big Mike didn't even look up as they cooked up their heroin. April checked on three year old Jamie; still asleep, then dragged Zack into the bedroom.

"Start eating, mother fucker," April said.

He was good and moved his guitar and three pairs of jeans into the trailer that night.

At first April refused to hook him up, refused to show him how to fix himself. Big Mike did not have any reservations about scoring another customer so he showed the long haired kid how to cook up the powder, how to find a good vein, how to release the belt to enjoy the euphoria.

To be fair to Big Mike, he did not know his girlfriend had contracted the HIV virus while turning a few tricks. He did not know he was infecting his friends Jimbo and April and April's latest lover. By the time he found out, it was too late and Jimbo was far from caring any longer.

"Got any cigarettes?" Zack asked after he finished coughing.

"Last one, mother fucker, you can kiss my ass you think you getting it," April said and dug the cigarette out of the pack.

"Fucking bitch," Zack whined.

"This is Cris," he said when Sandra patched the call through to him.

"Cris, this is April," April said. "I need to; can I come see you about something?"

****

Christopher Michael made sure he was sitting right next to Sophia as Mr. Sweet and Miss Trish got married. His dad looked real important, standing there in his tuxedo, helping Mr. Sweet. The little midget helping Miss Trish looked kind of funny, though; everyone else was twice her size.

Paul and Cindy sat together, Paulie on Paul's left, Barbara in Paul's lap, and Candy in Cindy's lap.

"I do promise to love you, to honor you, to cherish you for as long as we both shall live," William promised and Trish smiled as she watched the tears streaming down the large man's cheeks.

"The ring is a circle; it has no beginning and no end. It is a fitting symbol of love, the love that William and Patricia share for one another," the minister intoned.

The reception was next door in the church hall.

"Aw, yeah, J.T., he's my boy!" Christopher Michael crowed when the DJ announced he'd be playing one of Justin Timberlake's songs next.

He jumped down from his seat at the banquet table and ran around to where Sophia was sitting.

"Na'ole!" she called out in alarm as Christopher Michael was trying to drag her onto the dance floor.

"Try," Nicole encouraged the girl. "You try."

"Da!" Sophia cried out, trying to get Fred to intervene for her.

"Try," Fred signed to her. "You do what he does, you try."

"Come on, you'll love it," Christopher Michael encouraged.

Mimicry was something Sophia was good at, so she mimicked Christopher Michael's moves.

Quickly she noticed that when she felt a vibration, Christopher Michael would put his right foot forward and swivel. The vibrations were steady and she began to follow the vibrations as well.

"Aw yeah, hit it girl!" Christopher Michael encouraged.

"Woo! Look at that boy!" Sweet William laughed.

He walked over to the disc jockey and slipped the man a twenty dollar bill.

"Keep that tune going, know what I'm saying?" he said and pointed out the two children dancing and smiling happily at each other.

"You sure that boy's white?" Fred nudged Cris as they were both videotaping Christopher Michael and Sophia dancing.

He glows in the dark, he's so white," Cris laughed.

"See?" Nicole signed when Sophia and Christopher Michael, both sweating, finally came back to the table. "Try. You like, right?"

In answer, Sophia hugged her sister tightly. Fred cane up, putting the video camera down on the table.

"Hey, good looking, want to dance?" Fred asked.

"Yeah, right," Nicole smiled as she stood up. "You just want an excuse to rub all up over me."

"That's dancing, right?" Fred smiled.

"Only kind I know," Nicole agreed.

****

Alicia leaned heavily against Cris after he buckled Cynthia into her car seat.

"I love weddings," she whispered to him.

"Uh huh, you love champagne," he smiled and kissed her.

"Take me home," she whispered seductively. "Get them brats in bed, then come 'April' me, you hear?"

"Jamie?" Cris asked, nodding his head toward the girl that sat buckled in the middle of the back seat.

""Staying over; she's going to church with us tomorrow morning," Alicia said. "Now, quit dawdling, lover boy."

"The baby?" he asked, rubbing her belly.

"Baby will be fine," she insisted and opened her car door.

He looked at the minivan next to theirs; Paul Robichaux was passed out in the rear of the car as Pam and Cindy bustled about getting their children into their car seats. The young man had started drinking the minute the bar opened and had only stopped when the bartender refused to serve him any more drinks.

Cindy made eye contact with Cris then looked down in embarrassment.

Sophia peered out the window of their SUV at Christopher Michael and smiled when he looked over at her. She held up her right hand, thumb, forefinger and pinky extended; 'I Love You.'

Her smile widened even more when he returned the gesture and blushed as he blew her a kiss.

"Hey, Dad, hang onto this, hear?" Christopher Michael said patting the sleeve of Cris's tuxedo. "You go to need it when me and Sophia get married."

"Hang on," Alicia said, smiling. "How you know she's going to want to marry you?"

"What?" Christopher Michael asked, incredulous that she would even ask such a question. "Cracker please! Look at me! I am all that and a bag of M&Ms!"

"Hey, do not call your mother a 'cracker,'" Cris ordered.

"A bag of M&Ms?" Alicia asked. "Isn't it supposed to be 'a bag of chips?'"

"Oh yeah, melt in your mouth, not in your hands," Christopher Michael said smugly.

"Christopher Michael, that's nasty!" Alicia screeched, trying very hard not to laugh.

The End.

**This is the end of the 'Ice Heart' series.