The Garbage Queens

"Here; I'll drive," Emily said.

While Derek reclined the passenger seat, Kerry sat with Mr. Waters in St. Elizabeth Parish Trauma Center. She smiled tightly as Freyja and Paula carried cups of coffee toward them.

"Girls really appreciate you coming," Greg mumbled.

"Uh? She's like my best friend?" Freyja reminded the man. "Here; one with the stick in its one got two sugars."

Sipping the coffee, Kerry watched Molly Dunham. The head nurse had greeted Amelia with gentle concern, got the information, then assisted a really cute looking doctor as they bustled Amelia into an examining room.

Kerry had watched as Molly, in clean scrubs dressed down a subordinate for her slovenly appearance.

"We're professionals," Molly had hissed urgently to the chastened girl. "And people expect us to look professional. No, I don't care what happened in surgery; go find a clean pair of scrubs. NOW."

Kerry remembered how much pride her sister had taken in her appearance when she'd worked for Dr. LeMoine. Kelly's outfits were always crisp, sparkling white. Their furniture had been falling apart. Their clothing had small tears, quick mends. But Kelly's uniforms had been clean.

Kelly had actually cried her last day of work. She had cried when she realized it was the last time she'd be donning the uniform of a dental hygienist.

At that moment, Molly Dunham was comforting a frightened little boy that had been struck by a car. Kerry watched as Molly helped an orderly get the boy into another room.

Then Molly disappeared, walking into Amelia's curtained off area. A moment later, the curly headed woman approached the small group, light smile on her pretty lips.

"Hi," Molly Dunham quietly greeted Greg. "They're just about finished; Dr. LaPointe will be out in a minute to talk with you, okay?"

"It hard being a nurse?" Kerry blurted out.

"Unbelievably hard," Molly smiled at the pretty eighteen-year-old. "Why? Thinking about becoming a nurse?"

"I don't know," Kerry admitted.

While Kerry was watching Molly go through her shift, Derek woke up to a constant 'whup-whup-whup' sound. Emily drove, eyes glazed over in the late afternoon sun.

"God damn, you can't hear that?" Derek screamed at her.

"Hear what?" Emily asked, turning to look at him.

"That!" Derek yelled.

A car honked; when Emily turned to look at Derek, she also turned the wheel. Derek grabbed the steering wheel and brought Emily back into the center lane.

"Fuck! Pull over," Derek yelled.

Emily tried to do so. The car honked its horn again and again Derek grabbed the steering wheel.

"Not now!" he screamed. "After this car passes us, stupid fucking bitch!"

Emily managed to pull the car to the shoulder. Derek slapped her face and jerked the car door open.

"Ass hole!" Emily screamed at Derek.

"Fucking cunt!" Derek screamed back. "God damn! Driving on a fucking flat? You some kind of retard or what?"

"Fuck you; I'm going home," Emily snapped and started walking south on the shoulder of the road.

Derek changed the tire, putting the doughnut spare on the front driver's side. After putting the shredded remains of the tire into the trunk, he smoked the last of his meth, then pulled onto the highway again.

A quick glance told Derek he was riding on fumes. He found a gas station and pulled to the pump. His mother's card was declined, and Derek scratched another bloody rivulet on his face.

"Shit," he swore and used the last ten dollars in his possession to buy some gas.

While Derek was crossing from Louisiana into Arkansas, Raoul pulled up to the trailer in Mumphrey, Louisiana.

Raoul smiled, a mean little smile to himself. He had known that Gary couldn't move five thousand a week. The first week, Raoul had beaten Gary with his fist for being one thousand, five hundred dollars short. Gary's eyes were black, and three teeth lay on the ground when Raoul stopped.

"Next time? Next time, bitch," Raoul had hissed. "Next time, I not be so nice, so understanding, hear?"

Gary was five hundred dollars short this week. Raoul pulled on his gloves and flexed his hands. The leather was soft, supple. The wires in the fingers were stiff but bent when Raoul balled his large hands into fists.

Donna looked up, curious when Gary ran from the living room. A millisecond later, there was a hard knock at the door.

"Tell him I ain't here!" Gary hissed.

Donna opened the door of the trailer and saw the large Latin man. His mean little smile made her blood run cold.

"He, uh, Gary ain't here," Donna lied.

"Oh? But you don't mind if I come in and wait, do you?" Raoul said, shoving Donna back.

"Hey, listen here," Donna blustered. "I ain't one your little bitches, just push around, hear?"

Raoul's punch knocked Donna back. Her head actually bounced when she struck the floor.

Raoul stepped over Donna's twitching form and marched down the hall. He found Gary, cowering in the bedroom closet.

When he finished, Raoul's gloves, as well as his shirt sleeves were wet with Gary's blood, up to Raoul's elbows.

"And now, I get my payment," Raoul dropped Gary's lifeless body to the floor of the bedroom.

"Senorita? Where are you, my little senorita?" Raoul called out playfully as he pushed the child's bedroom door open.

Raoul doused Donna's face with water. She moaned but did not revive. More water brought on another moan, but still the woman did not wake.

"Bitch! Where is she? Where is the girl?" Raoul screamed, slapping Donna's face.

Chapter 21

"Hey Sweetheart," Gordon said when Kelly answered the phone. "Listen, Norman James of Pilot? He's giving a symposium or some such bull this week in Hawaii and asked me to give a little talk on environmental waste and disposal; want to come along?"

"Hawaii?" Kelly gasped. "Oh my God; I have always dreamed of, when we leaving?"

"Tomorrow, flying to Atlanta, then to San Francisco, yeah, I know, Atlanta's the other way, the airlines don't tell me how do my job, I don't tell them how do theirs," Gordon chuckled at Kelly's excitement.

"Oh! And Mia! I bet she's never been on an airplane before," Kelly prattled excitedly as she ended the call.

Grabbing the suitcases, Kelly realized, she'd not unpacked their clothes from their Las Vegas/Santa Barbara trip. At the end of that trip, they'd suddenly been informed that they had a granddaughter and needed to come get the girl.

"Oh yeah, bought this for Kerry," Kelly said, seeing some cute blouses and shorts she'd bought for her sister.

Kelly carried the bags to Kerry's room and slid the closet door open. Searching for some available hangers, Kelly knocked over a bag.

Inside of the bag was some quite sensual lingerie; corsets, thong panties, garter belts and stockings. There was a bra with holes that allowed the nipples to stick out, and matching panties that were crotchless.

Two feathered alligator clips, 'roach clips' is what they had called them when Kelly was in college were also in the bag. Kelly's heart constricted as she looked at the two clips. A sniff of the metal teeth did not have the tell-tale smell of residue and the feathers were actually quite pretty.

"Maybe Kerry just thought they were cute," Kelly said hopefully.

She located some hangers and looped the five blouses onto them. She found three hangers with clips and put the three pairs of shorts onto them. The eight hangers were then looped onto the door pulls of the closet.

Todd's closet did not reveal any suspicious packages or bags. Nor did he have any available hangers. Had Kelly gone into Todd's bathroom, she would have found the one shirt hanger and one hanger for slacks for that day's outfit.

"God, he is such an old man," Kelly said aloud, noticing how neatly arranged Todd's closet was.

Todd had his short sleeve shirts first, followed by his long sleeve shirts, then his slacks followed. His belts were on a hanger designed to hold belts. Todd's selections of ties hung from a separate hanger. The shoes were arranged from casual to dress shoes, in a neat row from left to right.

Kelly had to go to her own closet to find some hangers for the three short sleeve shirts and three matching shorts and one pair of khakis she'd bought for her step-son. Those hangers were looped onto the door pulls of Todd's closet.

"Mia Donna King, what are you doing?" Kelly called out, exiting Todd's bedroom.

"If you are looking for the dangerous, ferocious beast, she is down here devouring some poor defenseless animals," Mrs. Greene called up.

Kelly found Mia seated at the kitchen table. The child was growling and making loud snapping sounds as she ate her animal crackers.

"I had no idea she was such a dangerous creature," Kelly smiled to Mrs. Greene.

"Oh yes," Mrs. Greene agreed. "Those animals didn't stand a chance.

"And, right on time," Kelly said as they heard the garage door go up.

"Uncle Todd's here!" Mia crowed happily, chewed up animal cracker crumbs spraying from her mouth.

Uncle Todd and Aunt Kerry heard all about Mia's day, as well as the fact that Gordon and Kelly King were going to Hawaii. Kerry actually whined that she wouldn't be going.

"No! Just me," Mia said triumphantly.

"Oh, there's some clothes on your closet door," Kelly said nonchalantly.

Kerry whooped and ran up the stairs. Todd shook his head and followed Kerry. Kelly also followed.

"Oh! This is so pretty!" Kerry said, holding up a peach colored blouse as Kelly entered her bedroom.

"Mm hmm. Oh! Know what else is pretty?" Kelly asked and pulled the plastic bag of lingerie out of the closet.

"I uh," Kerry stammered, face bright red.

"Hmm. I bet Todd really likes these," Kelly suggested, pulling the virginal white corset and matching thong panties out of the bag.

"He uh, I, he's never seen them," Kerry whispered.

"Oh? Just wear this for yourself?" Kelly suggested sarcastically.

"No ma'am," Kerry said, unable to look at her sister.

"Then who, Kerry? Huh? Who you wear this for?" Kelly demanded to know.

"Paula," Kerry confessed.

"Huh!" Kelly said, mouth open in shock.

"I'm sorry," Kerry sniffled, tears coursing down her face.

"Huh? Oh! Oh, no, oh no, oh Kerry, don't be sorry," Kelly hugged her baby sister. "Oh no, don't you ever be sorry."

The two sisters sat on the edge of Kerry's bed. Kelly murmured soothing sounds as Kerry sobbed.

"I uh, so, you, how long? When did you find out you're gay?" Kelly finally asked.

"Huh? I'm not, I'm not gay," Kerry denied.

"But, I mean, you and Paula, I, what's that make you?" Kelly asked.

"Huh!" Kerry sat and thought about it. "Huh! I uh, maybe bi?"

"Maybe," Kelly agreed.

"Maybe," Kerry smiled.

"Maybe baby," Kelly teased and the two sisters laughed.

At the dinner table, Mia declared that while she was gone to Hawaii, no one could sit in her chair. She further dictated that no one could play with her toys, no one could sleep in her bed.

"Not even Goldilocks?" Kerry teased.

"No! She'll break it," Mia protested.

"Mia, you don't have to worry," Todd said quietly. "No one is going to take anything away from you ever again, hear?"

Kelly looked up, searched Todd's gentle face as the young man assured his niece. She then looked at Gordon and saw the same gentle expression on her husband's face.

"Uncle Todd's right, Sweetie Pie," Gordon said.

"But its okay to share," Todd continued in the same soothing voice.

"This is good," Kerry said, complementing the chicken and sausage jambalaya that Kelly had prepared.

"Uncle Todd says Grandma made it out of frog butts," Mia announced gleefully.

"Oh! Todd!" Kerry protested.

"And, once again, Todd," Gordon sighed as Todd and Mia giggled. "Thank you ever so much."

In the morning, Kerry woke up when Kelly kissed her cheek. Kelly smiled at her sister's beautiful smile.

"Leaving?" Kerry asked quietly.

"Uh huh," Kelly said.

"What time is it?" Kerry asked, twisting around to glance at her clock.

"Four fifteen. Flight's at seven thirty," Kelly said.

"Four... Good bye, good night, have fun," Kerry grumbled and snuggled down in her bed again.

"Love you Sweetheart," Kelly said and gave her sister's cheek another kiss.

"Uh huh, at four in the morning?" Kerry said as Kelly closed her bedroom door.

Todd rubbed his step-mother's lips from his cheek and wished her a safe flight.

"Uncle Todd! We going!" Mia screamed from the doorway.

"Okay!" Todd screamed in reply. "Bye!"

"You two," Kelly shook her head.

Mia was asleep by the time they arrived at the Lafayette airport. She was fussy when she woke up in the terminal, and asleep again when they landed in Atlanta.

As Kelly was buckling Mia into her seat, preparing for their flight to San Francisco, in the King kitchen, Todd was agreeing that Kerry could drive them to school that day.

"Grape juice or fruit punch?" Mrs. Greene interrupted.

"What? No apple juice?" Todd teased.

"Your niece drank it all," Mrs. Greene snapped.

"Fruit punch," Kerry said.

"Mr. Todd?" Mrs. Greene snapped.

"Seriously? No apple juice?" Todd asked.

"Mr. Todd, if there was apple juice, I would have offered you apple juice," the woman snapped.

"Fine, fine, grape juice," Todd said.

"You don't even like apple juice," Kerry said to Todd as she looked for the keys to the Mercedes-Benz SUV.

"No, but he delights in being miserable to me," Mrs. Greene snapped.

"Dad and Kelly took the Mercedes," Todd said as he smirked at Mrs. Greene.

"Then what I'm going drive?" Kerry whined.

"The 'Vette? The Mustang?" Todd suggested.

"Todd! I can't drive those!" Kerry complained.

"Why not? Kerry, they're just cars," Todd said. "It's the same thing as the Mercedes."

Kerry found the keys to the 'Vette. Her hand shook as she took the keys down.

"Kerry, seriously, it's a car. It's just a car. You know how to drive a car," Todd assured her. "Just imagine that everyone's naked."

"That's for stage fright!" Kerry laughed as they closed the kitchen door.

"And I have my music," Todd said, already putting a Haydn cd into the player.

"Kill me," Kerry groaned, but went through the ritual of seat adjustment, mirror adjustment, buckling her seat belt.

"See?" Todd said when they pulled into the school parking lot. "Made it here in one piece."

Kerry smiled happily and impulsively kissed Todd. He gently pushed her away.

"Thanks, Todd," Kerry said.

"Uh huh," Todd said.

As Kerry and Todd climbed out of the low slung automobile, Freyja stood, seething. She had seen that passionate kiss between Kerry and Todd.

Kerry might deny that there was anything going on between her and Todd King; Amelia had also denied any attraction, other than friendship with Todd King. But the last time they'd all been at the King house, they had discovered a nude Amelia in Todd King's bed.

"Guess what?" Kerry bubbled, bouncing over to where Freyja, Amelia, and Paula stood.

"You're knocked up?" Freyja snarled bitterly.

"What?" Kerry gasped, horrified at that suggestion.

"What?" Amelia asked, face becoming pale.

"Freyja, damn! Why you got be like that?" Paula snapped. "Come on, Kerry, what?"

"Kelly and Mr. Gordon went to Hawaii; took Mia with them," Kerry said.

"Oh?" Paula asked, very interested. "And how long they going be gone?"

"Least until Sunday," Kerry whispered conspiratorially.

"So, after the football game?" Paula whooped.

"I uh, I don't think I can," Amelia said. "My mom's still in the hospital."

"Next time?" Todd said, handing Kerry her lunch bag. "Going leave your lunch in the car. See how good it tastes after being in the sun all morning, huh?"

Kerry's response was a quick kiss to Todd's lips. Freyja did notice, with small satisfaction, that Todd did not look like he had enjoyed the intimate gesture.

While Freyja was plotting a quick murder of Kerry Straughter, pondering whether or not to lose her virginity, Derek Bergeron wearily climbed out of the back seat of his mother's car. He had run out of gas in Myndee, Arkansas, had sputtered to a stop in the parking lot of a strip mall.

There was a Zydeco Coffee shop, a tire store, an H & R Block office and a shoe store in the small strip mall.

Going into any one of these shops, applying for a job, trying to see if there was any way to earn a few quick bucks never occurred to Derek Bergeron. Instead, he panhandled from customers of the coffee shop.

Finding a source of meth was no problem; it was a college town. College towns meant that there were kids celebrating being away from the watchful eyes of their loving parents. Part of celebrating meant doing things their parents had warned them not to do.

The dealer had some good supply. Derek panhandled some more money, even as pangs of hunger gnawed at his gut.

The next day, body racked with hunger, Derek did something he had never imagined doing. He went to a McDonald's and rooted around in their dumpster for food.

A few more bucks in hand, Derek found his source. The young man's lips curled in distaste as he could smell Derek's body odor.

Returning to where his mother's car had been parked, Derek stood in sock. The parking space was now occupied by a BMW coupe.

The young woman getting into the car smiled prettily. Derek looked to the left and to the right of the BMW.

"It's a beauty, huh?" the woman said and closed the door of the car.

A guy behind the counter of the tire store informed Derek that 'the piece of shit car' had been towed. The guy smirked at Derek's consternation.

"Hey. Thing ain't moved since yesterday? Don't belong to no one 'round here? We towed it," the guy said. "McMillian? Mrs. McMillian, your car's ready ma'am."

"Where?" Derek shrilled, scratching at his face.

"Police impound," the man said. "Over on Clarkston Road."

While Derek was trying to figure out what to do, lost in a strange town, Todd was in the kitchen of the King house. He smiled when his cell phone gave off Kelly King's ringtone.

Even though Hawaii and Jazz Beach, Louisiana are five hours apart in time zones, Mia knew when Uncle Todd was supposed to be home from school. The moment her internal clock said Uncle Todd would be home, she demanded that Grandma call him.

"Uncle Todd!" Mia screamed into the cell phone.

"Who is this?" Todd demanded.

"Uncle Todd!" Kerry giggled. "That's not nice."

"Huh? Uncle Todd! It's me, Mia!" Mia screamed.

The four year old child could not grasp the idea that, even though Hawaii and Louisiana are four thousand miles apart, it was not necessary for her to scream to be heard.

"Oh! Mia," Todd said, smirking at Kerry's giggle. "Where are you? I looked all over, didn't see you anywhere."

"Uncle Todd, I'm in Hawaii, remember?" Mia reminded Todd.

"Oh! So that's why Aunt Kerry's been walking around going 'oh boo hoo hoo, oh, they went to Hawaii and I didn't get to go,'" Todd said.

Mia screamed in delight at this. Kerry giggled as she listened to Mia's delighted squeals. Mia then told Uncle Todd all that she and Grandma had done that day and were going to do later on.

"A luau? Wow, I've never been to a luau," Todd said.

"You haven't?" Mia screamed, delighted that she was going to do something that Uncle Todd had never done.

"Nope. And you know what Aunt Kerry's going to say when I tell her?" Todd smiled at Kerry's wide smile.

"What?" Mia demanded to know.

"'Oh boo hoo hoo, Mia went to a luau and I didn't,'" Todd teased.

Mia squealed and ended the call. Todd shook his head as he put his cell phone back into his pocket.

"Oh boo hoo hoo, huh?" Kerry giggled and squeezed Todd in a fierce hug.

She then pressed her lips to Todd's lips. They held the kiss for a long moment.

Kerry suddenly released Todd. Her shocked eyes looked into Todd's shocked eyes.

"I uh, I..." Kerry stammered, then turned and raced up the stairs.