Stoned

That problem solved, I went to bed early, determined to face the next day with a more positive attitude. I woke up early enough to make pancakes and eggs for Keni (she loved my blueberry pancakes), walk her to school, and give her a tight squeeze before watching her walk up the short, squat steps, disappearing into the building. Then I went back home and went on a cleaning frenzy. I scrubbed everything from top to bottom, determined to cleanse some of the anger and resentment from my soul by removing the dirt from my tiny apartment. When I was done with that, I went grocery shopping. Not at my store (I didn't want to run into Louise), but at a huge chain store across town. Which meant I had to schlep grocery bags back home on the bus...which was fine by me. The exertion left me a little more settled.

I made dinner and left it on low in the oven with a note for Anna, and then dressed and tried to mentally prepare myself for my first evening shift. I would be there from 1pm to 9pm. My sweet baby girl would be in bed, probably sleeping, by the time I arrived home. I swallowed down the tears that idea almost brought to the surface, grabbed my coat and headed out.

It was odd working in the evenings. It was a different group of co-workers, a different set of customers...of course Louise didn't think it was necessary for her to stay, so she took off around 4pm. And when Dave saw me around 7pm, he asked what the hell I was doing there. When I told him, he frowned and walked away.

The shift wasn't bad. Around 3pm, things picked and then it was rush, rush, rush for the next four hours. By the time I took my first break, I was wiped. But by then, I only had two hours left. That was kind of nice. The next two hours were much less hectic. Then, unbeknownst to me, I had to stay an extra 30 minutes to help straighten up and prep for the morning. So, it was past 10pm when I arrived home. As expected, Keni was completely knocked out. Anna was looking a little tired herself. So I hurried her off, took a quick shower, and then dropped off into Never Neverland.

*

I dragged myself out of bed the next morning to make eggs, bacon and toast for Keni. I chatted with her about her day, well, the day before, and assured her I would be home before she went to bed that night. I then walked my baby girl to school. I didn't hug her as tightly this time because I knew I would see her before she closed her eyes that night. Then I went home, took a short nap, and hurried to make my 10am shift at the store.

When I arrived, I noticed the schedule had been revised again. Taking a quick look at it, I realized I was no longer on nights. Louise had taken my evening shifts. Surprised, I caught Louise's eye before making my way over to my register. But she just rolled her eyes at me and then ignored me. When I saw Dave later on that morning, he winked, smiled at me and then disappeared into his office.

I hadn't complained to him, which is what I assumed Louise thought. He'd asked, I answered, that had been it. I'd gone about doing my job. I'm not sure how that resulted in me no longer having to work evenings...but I wasn't going to complain about it. In fact, I was surprised how relieved I felt. I let it sweep through me for a moment, a huge smile on my face as I announced that my lane was now open.

My six hours that day passed quickly, even with Louise shooting daggers at me periodically. I didn't really care. I thought we were friends, but clearly I'd been mistaken. Whatever.

When my shift was over at 6pm, I pulled on my coat and hurried home, thrilled to get home in time to have dinner with my baby. When I arrived, all of the flowers were gone. They'd been dying, and I was thinking about getting rid of them, but...I asked Anna what happened and she told me the florist had stopped by to remove everything. Courtesy of Vince. That fact made me happy...and sad. It was incredibly considerate...but my flowers were gone. Besides, that was probably the last nice thing Vince would be doing for me.

Anna stayed for dinner, laughing at my culinary skills and harassing me into letting her cook once or twice a week for us. We laughed, talked about Keni's day, helped her with her homework, and then we waved as Anna left us. By 8:30pm, Keni was asleep, I had washed the dishes, straightened up the bathroom, and was on my way to bed when someone knocked on the door. I assumed it was Anna. She'd called on Paulie's phone to let me know she'd left her cell phone. I grabbed it from the kitchen counter and hurried to the door.

"You must be really attached to this thing to come back tonight—"

It wasn't Anna. It had only been a few days, but I'd forgotten how tall she was...and how big. How her presence could diminish the size and space of a room. And I'd forgotten how intimidating that face could look, with its full lips, crooked nose, and those cool blue eyes, when she wasn't smiling. And right now, she wasn't smiling.

"You're back from Chicago," I stated the obvious idiotically.

She didn't say a word, just stared at me. Not sure what else to say, I tried again.

"Did Johnny—"

"Why are you trying to break up with me?" She bit out, interrupting me.

I raised a brow, "break up with you? We're not dating."

She pushed past me into my tiny apartment. Sighing, I closed the door before turning to her.

"No?" She demanded.

"No, we're not," I answered heatedly, my temper snapping. "We had one date and you left me in a restaurant. I wasn't even sure if I had enough money to get home," I bit out.

She looked at me for a moment. Evidently she hadn't realized how upset I was about our first date, or the lack thereof.

She sighed, "it was important, Georgia. And I would never leave you stranded."

God, I loved how she said my name. And I loved what she said. But at the moment, I was pissed.
"It doesn't matter. We're not dating so you don't owe me any explanations."

I didn't know someone that big could move so fast, but a second later my back was against the wall, her huge body pressed against me, those blue eyes staring into mine...before I could say another word, I felt those soft lips...not filled with anger, but gentle...coaxing...and I could feel the heat begin to spread through me. It started in my belly, as my breath grew short and my heart began to race, and spread upward, outward...God, she tasted so good. She'd smoked a cigarette, and it was mixed with mint...and she felt soooo good, her hands holding my hips firmly...those lips...that tongue...begging for entrance ...invading ...stroking...dancing with mine...the woman could kiss, I'd give her that.

I was breathless, my eyes closed, my chest rising and falling quickly when she finally pulled away. She waited until I opened my eyes, her blue eyes a little darker, heated...sexy.

"You feel that?" She asked softly in that deep, throaty voice of hers.

If she meant the fire coursing trough my veins from that kiss, then hell yes. I nodded.

She then took hold of one of my hands and brought it to her chest. She flattened it...and I could feel her heart beating strong...fast...very much like my own. Her eyes were still watching me intently.

"You feel that?" She asked again, whisper soft.

I nodded again, not sure I could form words yet.

"We're dating," she declared.

I didn't know what else to say or do, so I nodded yet again.

She took a step back and then pulled me behind her as she headed toward the front door.

"It's late," she informed me.

I didn't say a word. I just watched as she opened the door and then turned to me.

"I'm sorry about dinner the other night."

I was still nodding, no words forthcoming.

She smirked, "I finally found a way to shut you up, huh?"

I squinted at her, but didn't say anything. She chuckled. Then leaned in and kissed me tenderly, sweetly, softly...and much too briefly. It still stole my breath...

"You done breaking up with me?" She asked softly.

"Yea," I whispered. Now I found my voice? To say that? God I was an idiot.

"Call you tomorrow."

I stood in the doorway as she walked toward Johnny at the end of the hall. He winked at me and they stepped into the elevator, disappearing from sight. I closed the door, locked it, and then leaned against it heavily. I guess I was dating Vincenza Stone.

***

I guess I was dating Vince. For the next few weeks, she'd stop by some evenings, after Keni was sleeping (I wasn't ready to tell Keni about her yet and she seemed to understand that), and we'd have some FroYo, or watch TV, or both. She didn't kiss me again, but she'd sit close to me, our thighs touching, our arms touching...and once she put her arm on the back of the sofa and I snuggled up close to her...

We talked. About her childhood...about mine. I found out she was an only child and that she'd spent time in foster care. Her Uncle Vinny had tracked her down when she was 10 and brought her to live with him. Uncle Vinny's brother, her father, had been killed. The police called it a robbery, she was pretty sure it was a hit. She'd never known her mother. She'd probably been one of her father's girls...a prostitute.

She done well in school, majored in business, earned an MBA...and then Uncle Vinny had put her to work in the family business. She'd worked her way up, until she inherited this section of Queens. It wasn't a big piece of the pie, it's wasn't an overly important section of Queens, but he trusted her to run it and she was determined to do a good job.

I also shared, telling Vince how close I'd been to my sister, until one of her boyfriends cornered me and shoved his hand down my pants. When I tried to tell my sister and my mother, they hadn't believed me. So, we were still close, but not as close as we used to be. It was around that time I started acting out in school, until I found myself expelled and 'sentenced' to a school for troubled youth. I refused to go and my mother allowed me to take the GED instead. One year later, I moved out. I'd been on my own ever since. I stayed in touch with my family, but I didn't visit them for the holidays and we didn't spend a great deal of time together. They had never met Keni in person. I preferred it that way.

It was during one of these evenings, when we were sitting on the sofa, pretty close to one another, watching television, Keni sleeping soundly in her room, that someone knocked on the apartment door. We both turned toward the door, surprised. Vince raised a brow and I shrugged.

"Maybe one of my neighbors?" I speculated, standing. Vince followed me, positioning herself so she was behind the door when I opened it. I glanced through the peephole and then sighed.

"Oh great," I exhaled with frustration.

It looked like Vince was about to ask me who it was, but I was already opening the door.

"Hey babe, got your text."

And the tall, rather attractive, dark-haired, green-eyed man on the other side of the door pulled me into his arms and kissed me.

I was surprised, so it took me a moment to react. By then it was too late. I felt my upper arm grabbed brutally. I was pulled behind Vince and then I watched as Vince raised her hand...and punched the man directly in the face. Blood instantly gushed from his nose.

"Vince!" I yelled, moving from behind her to assist the man who'd fallen to the floor.

"What the fuck?!" He yelled.

"Who the fuck're you?" Vince growled.

"Vince, this is Michael. Keni's father."

Both heads turned to look at me. "What?" They both said at the same time. Then two additional questions, "this is the asshole who left you" and "you kept it" were fired at me at the same time. I responded to Michael first as I helped him up and into the kitchen.

"What do you mean did I keep it?" I demanded, wetting a kitchen towel with cold water and handing it to him.

"I told you I wasn't interested," he said, his voice nasally as he pressed the towel to his nose.

"So?" I asked impatiently.

"So, I thought you got rid of it."

I just stared at him as Vince shook her head and muttered "fucking asshole."

"Vince, you're not helping," I chastised under my breath.

Michael looked over at her, "who the fuck are you and why did you hit me?" He barked.

"I'm the reason you should never put your fucking hands on her again," Vince responded coolly.

He looked at her more carefully, his green eyes finally registering comprehension. Then he looked at me again. "I hurt you so bad you switched to pussy?" He joked badly.

Vince moved toward him again, but I stepped in between them, "Vince, it's fine. And Michael, shut up, please."
I took the towel from him, rinsed it thoroughly, grabbed an ice tray from the freezer, filled it with cubes, and handed the towel back to him. Meanwhile, they sized one another up silently. They were around the same height, but Vince had about 30 pounds of muscle on Michael. Michael had always prided himself on his slim frame and had enthusiastically, and rudely, encouraged me to shed my extra poundage.

I watched as Michael shook back his thick, rich dark hair, closing his eyes as he tilted his head back to position the homemade icepack correctly. He was attractive, with those sea green eyes, that full head of hair, his broad shoulders and well-toned body...but as I compared him to the darker, broader, more muscular woman standing not too far from him, watching him with cold blue eyes, I wondered what I'd seen in him. He was...vain...selfish...egotistical...and a dick. And I couldn't believe he thought I'd aborted Keni.

"What are you doing here Michael?"

He opened his eyes and focused that green gaze on me, "got your text."

"Yea, it said call, not come."

He shrugged, "I thought you were finally done being pissed."

"You thought I was upset with you for almost seven years and then just called out of the blue because I wanted to hook up?" I asked incredulously.

I don't think he realized how idiotic that sounded.

"Well, yea."

I shook my head, looking over at Vince who still had a look on her face.

"Mike, that's not why I called."

Mike glanced over at Vince briefly, then returned his gaze to me.

"Yea, I figured. So what the fuck?"
"I didn't get rid of the baby, Mike. I kept her. She's 6 and beautiful...and I need help. Financially."

He scoffed, adjusting the ice filled towel, "you texted me for child support? Seriously, babe, how do I even know that kid is mine?"

I sucked in air, my cheeks heating. At the same time I grabbed Vince's arm before she hit him again.

"Vince, it's fine," I told her.

Michael dropped the towel and ice in the sink.

"Fuck this," he tossed over his shoulder as he moved in the direction of the door.

"Walk. But don't be surprised if your wife gets a call," Vince promised coldly.

"Vince," I warned once again.

Michael stopped and turned to me, his nose red and swollen, his eyes angry and cold.

"You'd do that Gia, really? You were never like that."

I shook my head, "I'm not going to tell your wife Michael. But I will start legal proceedings against you if I have to and she'll probably find out that way. Or we can handle this informally," I offered.

He stared at me a moment longer, then left, slamming the door behind him. I sighed and looked at Vince.

"That went well."

***

"Mom! I can't do this one!"

I stopped stirring the ground beef in the skillet, turned the jet down a little and made my way to the small kitchen table. We'd started using pennies because her class had moved past single digits for math.

"Remember, start with the big number. So, count out 12 first." I watched her count out 12 pennies. "Okay, good baby, then what do you do next?"

"Take away, right?"

"Subtract, that's right baby. How many?"

"Eight."
I watched her. When she finished counting, she screamed out "four!" and then wrote the answer down, humming to herself. I smiled.

The day after Michael's visit, Vince texted to tell me she would be out of town for a few days. That had been a week ago. A part of me couldn't help but wonder if she was pissed...about that kiss. Maybe I hadn't responded quickly enough? Maybe I should have let Vince hit him once or twice more? Maybe I had tried to protect Michael too much?

Anyway, it hadn't been necessary to start proceedings against Michael. I'd received my first check from him yesterday. I'm not sure why he changed his mind, but I appreciated it. When I tore open the envelope, I'd stared at that check, amazed by the amount, and wondering if it would be a regular occurrence. I deposited it, realizing I could keep a portion of it and put enough away (if the checks arrived regularly) so that Keni could attend a decent college and still have some left over to start her life. That thought pleased me.

Louise was still pissed at me, but there was nothing I could do about that. I did mourn the loss of that friendship, however. I didn't have many friends, so the lost of one made a difference. Anna had been sick for the last two days, so Keni and I had been juggling things around. She'd stayed with me at work yesterday for three hours, something I didn't want to happen again. I didn't like her sitting around doing nothing in the break room. But things would go back to normal soon. Anna was feeling better and I was off tomorrow, which was Saturday. So, I didn't have much to worry about.

I told Keni to put away her homework just as I mixed in the Hamburger Helper and put some garlic knots in the oven. We ate in front of the television, watching another of her favorites, Beauty and the Beast. It was the only Disney movie I would let her watch. Probably because I thought she could learn from Belle about accepting people as they are, no matter what...and because it was also one of my favorite movies. Of course, the way she'd defended Panda, I think she learned the lesson already, which was way cool.

The movie was wrapping up and I was about to announce it was time for bed when someone pounded on the door. And I mean pounded, not knocked. It scared us. We looked at one another and then I stood and called out as I approached the door.

"Who is it?"

"Gia! It's Johnny! Open up!" He was yelling and pounding.

"Johnny?" I asked hesitantly.

"Gia! Now!"

I finished making my way to the door and peeked through the peephole. It was Johnny all right, looking quite agitated and red-faced. I opened the door and he quickly pushed past me.

"I need you to pack a bag for you and Keni. We need to be out of here in 5 minutes."

I raised a brow, confused. "Uh, Johnny...what—"

"Gia, listen to me. I need you to pack a bag for you and Keni. For a couple of days. Now."

"But—" I tried, still very confused.

"Now, Gia."

His tone didn't allow for an argument. In fact, it unnerved me. So much so that I told Keni to put on the clothes we'd laid out for her to wear tomorrow, jeans, a long sleeved shirt, and a pair of her favorite sneakers. And I told her to hurry. Meanwhile, I slipped into a pair of jeans and a tee, packed a very quick bag for me and Keni, and about 15 minutes later we were following Johnny to a large, black SUV. Once we were in the car, he took off like our lives depended on it.

"Johnny, what the hell is going on?"

Keni and I were sitting in the back and I was holding her to me, ignoring her wide eyes and the terror registering on her face.

"I'm taking you to a hotel tonight. Vince will join you later."

"What? What are you talking about? What's happening?"

He shook his head, "Vince will explain."

Shocked, and getting a little pissed, I didn't stop at that answer, "Johnny—"

"Gia, Vince. Will. Explain."

And again, that tone left no room for argument...so I didn't give him one.