Wealth Pt. 02

Then she remembered; the tennis shoes on her feet cost more than the new television that Luther was so proud of. Anita remembered that she had a cell phone in her leather purse, a cell phone the government didn't give to her, in a real leather purse, not a cheap vinyl purse. Anita remembered that they were going shopping for a car; she had managed to save up nearly eight thousand, despite the quarterly Sales taxes they'd just paid, despite the purchase of an industrial mixer, despite the purchase of several candle molds, she had managed to save up a sizable amount of money.

They whizzed past one used car lot, then a second one. Anita looked at Toni.

"Where are we going? You just drove past..." Anita asked.

"Uh, and like what does my Daddy do?" Toni asked.

"Uh and like I can afford any..." Anita said.

"Uh, and like you'll never know unless we ask?" Toni said as she pulled up to Superior Motors.

Inside the showroom, Bob Robichaux looked up from wiping an imaginary spot from the gleaming black Maserati.

"Barry, your daughters are here," he called out.

"Remember when he only had one?" Henry asked Jack.

"Uh, remember when you didn't have any?" Jack asked.

"Oh shut up," Henry laughed.

"Uh, where's Shirley right now?" Jack continued his assault.

"Baton Rouge, because Babbage's and Abdul's just didn't have any cute tops and Caitlin's size," Henry admitted, giving Jack a friendly shoulder punch.

"Hi Daddy," Toni called out as she entered the showroom. "Anita like needs a car."

"She like does?" Barry asked, giving Toni a kiss, then kissing Anita. "Wow, like guess what? I like sell like cars."

"Like I told her that," Toni said, waving 'hi' to Mr. Jack, Mr. Henry, and Mr. Bob.

"Okay, so what are you looking to get?" Barry asked, ushering them to the side lot where the pre-owned automobiles were.

"I don't know," Anita admitted.

"She only like has six thousand," Toni said.

"Hmm," Barry looked around.

"Toni, I can't..." Anita said, also looking around at the automobiles.

They displayed tags of eighteen thousand, twenty thousand; there were a few that displayed thirty and fifty thousand dollar tags.

"Oh!" Barry said. "Well, here's a E365, very nice, only has seventy four thousand miles on it."

"But that's..." Anita said, looking at the price tag on the driver's window.

"It has been in one accident," Barry admitted as Toni looked at the metallic green BMW.

"But y'all want..." Anita argued.

"One accident?" Barry said. "And I say yes, but it was just a fender bender; you look closely you can tell where they replaced the rear quarter panel and you say but I don't want a car that's been in an accident and I say look, make me an offer ."

"You can't even tell," Toni said, trying to tell which rear panel had been replaced.

"But Mr. Barry, this is..." Anita stammered.

"And you say five thousand and I say five thousand are you crazy? And you say okay how about fifty five and I say are you kidding me? You must be kidding me; it's got a blue book value of and you say but it's already got seventy four thousand miles on it, it's been in an accident and I'll be the third owner of it and I say, all right listen, don't tell anyone, don't tell anyone, but six thousand, you pay all title and tax and you say let me drive it first and I say the keys are in it, let me get the gate, all right?" Barry said.

"He got rid of that ugly ass BMW," Bob commented as he watched a tearful Anita hug Barry.

"That green one? Thank God; thing's been here for almost seven months," Jack said, blowing on his cup of coffee.

"God, she drives like an old woman," Henry commented as they watched Anita pull out onto Highway 52.

"Gentlemen, I'll give you the commission as if I sold it for the asking price," Barry promised.

"That's fine," Bob shrugged.

"Really, don't worry about it," Jack said. "Want her in a good car."

"Oh, and I gave Toni our lunch order; y'all all right with Clark's?" Barry said.

"Oh, I don't know," Henry sighed dramatically. "Shirley's wanting me to cut back on them carbs."

"Sissy," Jack said.

"Uh huh, and who had to hide his jar of peanut butter cups when Melanie paid him a surprise visit?" Barry asked.

Inside the car, Toni played with the electric buttons, adjusting the passenger seat to her liking.

"Toni, I can't take this car," Anita declared.

"What? Like why? I mean, yeah, that is like an ugly color but..." Toni said.

"But Toni, Mr. Barry's going to lose..." Anita said as she turned into Clark's parking lot, making sure to stay well away from the other cars.

"And if like you had it and I really like needed it, would you give it to me?" Toni asked.

"Well yeah, but..." Anita said and tried to figure out what button lowered the window.

"Anita, my daddy like really loves you," Toni said, grasping Anita's hand as Monica, a pretty blonde waitress skated up.

"And I like really love him too," Anita admitted.

Even though Anita could not remember a time that Luther had not been a part of her life, Anita considered Mr. Barry to be more of a father than Luther had ever been.

"Then let him, please, like just let him," Toni begged. "You don't always have to be so like, oh, I don't know, so like all tough and stuff."

"Hi, welcome to Clark's," Monica chirped.

"I'm not always so like tough and stuff," Anita protested.

"Hi, I want a chili burger, um, like add jalapenos and small fries, oh! Add cheese," Toni called out.

"Smokehouse, hold the tomatoes add grilled onions, small fries," Anita said.

"And these too," Toni said, handing Monica the piece of paper Barry had written their lunch orders on.

"I don't," Anita protested as Monica rapidly skated away.

"You do," Toni said quietly.

"When do you ever just like let me love you?" Toni asked quietly, touching Anita's face. "Huh? Who's always got to be like the one on top?"

"I just, Toni, I just don't want you thinking I'm like using you," Anita admitted.

"Like I know you're not like just using me," Toni whispered.

Toni smirked when Anita proved her point by trying to insist on paying for the meal with her debit card.

"Here, like keep the change," Toni called out, handing Monica the fifty dollar bill Barry had given her.

"Thanks!" Monica said brightly and skated away before Toni could change her mind about the seven dollar tip.

"I guess we'll take it," Toni gave a dramatic sigh when they entered the showroom.

"Thank you," Henry said when Barry handed him his double bacon cheeseburger.

"So, how much did she beat you down?" Bob asked as he dug out his chicken sandwich and onion rings.

"Oh, I tell you, it was horrible," Barry sighed. "Brutal! I was begging, I was pleading, I was on my knees saying 'please, this is all I have, I've got eight mouths to feed, please' but do you think she cared?"

"No she did not," Jack mumbled around a mouthful of his smokehouse burger.

"Like eight mouths to fee?" Toni asked, trying not to drip any of her chili cheeseburger on her jeans.

"Mr. Barry!" Anita protested, unfolding a napkin.

"I was crying, tears running down my face; if you look, you can see where the tears ran down," Barry said and leaned forward, trying not to get any of his chili cheeseburger on his suit.

"Here," Anita said, putting the unfolded napkin on Toni's lap.

"Ooh, glad I wasn't here; I hate seeing a grown man cry," Bob said and groaned as he got a big dollop of mayonnaise on his tie.

"Thanks," Toni smiled.

"Oh, well, at least you still have your dignity," Henry said.

"Yeah, sounds like he's got a lot of that left," Jack said, stuffing some onion rings in his mouth.

"Shut up, Mr. Peanut Butter Cups," Barry smiled.

They ate quickly while Barry and Anita filled out the paperwork.

"I like your hair longer like that," Henry told Toni as she gathered up all the sandwich wrappers.

"Oh thank you!" Toni said, touching her blonde curls.

"Thank you again, Mr. Barry," Anita said, hugging the man.

"You're welcome; I love you," Barry said.

"Love you too," Anita mumbled into his chest.

"Sorry, Bob; that one's going to the dry cleaner's," Jack said, looking at Bob's soiled tie. "Barry, I don't know how much of a discount you gave her but looks like it was worth it."

"Yep," Barry smiled as Toni's Lexus and Anita's BMW pulled out of the parking lot.

They drove to Toni's house, dropped off the Lexus, then went to Young Insurance, where Julie Chamblee, a pretty blonde agent helped them get insurance for the car.

"Really? It's your first car? And it's a BMW?" Julie laughed. "My first car was a beat up old Toyota."

From there, they went to Early's, picked up more ingredients for more soaps and candles, then drove back to Toni's house.

So it was six o'clock before Anita finally drove home to the trailer park.

Once there, both Luther and Marco sneered and claimed that they could have gotten a better car at a better price, as well as getting her better insurance.

Louisa glared at her daughter, then yanked her, almost savagely, into the kitchen.

"Uh, hey Missy, uh, you got you all kind of money be buying you some fancy ass clothes and shit and now a new car? Uh, you ever think maybe you need to give us something letting you live here?" Louisa demanded.

"What?" Anita asked, shocked.

"I mean, shit, think this place is like free?" Louisa asked, indicating the trailer with a wave of her hand.

"You are joking, right?" Anita asked, anger rising.

"No I am not joking!" Louisa shrilled. "Think this place is free?"

"It is for you!" Anita yelled. "Who gets her a fat ass check every month supposed to be all handicapped and shit," Anita screamed.

"You got all kind of money, think you need pay your fair share," Louisa demanded.

"Fine, Mother, tell you what, I'll pay what Marco pays, how about that?" Anita sneered.

"Marco ain't..." Louisa said.

"That's right, Mother, Marco don't pay shit! But because I'm only one around here works, I got to pay? Bull fucking shit too!" Anita screamed.

Louisa moved to slap her impertinent daughter. She was too fat and too slow; Anita very easily blocked the slap and flipped open her blade.

"Don't. Even. Try. It, Mother," Anita hissed hatefully.

"Think you need to just get your shit and get on out of here," Louisa snarled.

"Fine; you and those other parasites have fun living in this shit hole," Anita laughed derisively.

"Not cool," Marco declared from her doorway as Anita hurriedly packed.

"I really think you owe us an apology, calling us parasites," Luther demanded.

"Fine, I'm sorry I called you parasites. How about Losers. Like that better? How about leeches? That better?" Anita laughed and made sure all of her schoolbooks were in her backpack before very forcefully shoving him out of her way.

"Hey!" he complained.

"Later, losers," Anita called out as she slammed the door of the trailer shut.

At the showroom, Barry was showing the black Maserati, the one that Caitlin claimed was hers, to a potential customer when his cell phone chirped.

"Daddy, like Anita had this really big fight with her Mom and it like all right she stays here?" Toni begged.

"I need her mother's phone number," Barry demanded.

The customer was flexing his hands on the steering wheel, looking at the sleek dashboard so Barry called Louisa's number.

"Hi, Ms. Lopez? Hi, this is Barry Delacroix, Toni's Dad?" Barry said pleasantly into the phone while the customer closed his eyes, resting his hand on the stick shift.

Barry pursed his lips tightly as Louisa Lopez let loose with a string of profanities.

"Ms. Lopez, Ms. Lopez," he interrupted her. "Ma'am? I was simply calling to let you know that Anita will be staying with us until this all blows over, all right? You have my number; you ever just want to talk, give me a call, okay?"

He hung up while Louisa was telling him where Anita could go and called his daughter's cell phone.

"Hello?" a nervous Toni answered.

"Anita is welcome to stay as long as she wants," Barry said and immediately pulled the phone away from his ear as Toni screamed happily.

In Toni's bedroom, Anita was still bitterly complaining about her mother.

"And believe this shit? Tells me I need to pay my fair share," Anita said.

"Oh my God, like no she didn't!" Toni gasped.

"Yeah, believe that shit?" Anita asked. "I mean, what's that all about? Huh?"

"Hmm, the rich like need to pay their fair share, hmm, now like who does that sound like?" Toni giggled and kissed Anita.

"Huh?" Anita said, not comprehending.

"Coach Dumas' class, like first day you're there, tell me the rich need to pay their fair share?" Toni reminded her.

"Oh shut up," Anita said.

"But..." Toni said, pushed Anita into a sitting position on the bed and straddled her, kneeling on the bed.

"Now that you're like in MY room, you need to like listen up, hear?" Toni said

"What?" Anita asked.

"Yeah, like no more of this being like all tough and stuff," Toni demanded, sitting on Anita's thighs.

"Toni I am not..." Anita protested.

"You like need to let me, let me love you and like take care of you," Toni whispered, softly touching Anita's face.

Anita opened her mouth to protest and Toni stuffed her tongue into Anita's open mouth.

"Now, first thing, I'm like starving; you?" Toni said, bounding off the bed.

Toni might think she was the one in charge, but it was Anita that fixed their sandwiches, their drinks, and a fruit salad, then cleaned up after their light meal.

Chapter 17

"Ah, give me a bite," Caitlin ordered, mouth open wide.

"Ah, eat your own, huh?" Barry said but did scoop up some of his Veal Corleone and gently feed it to her.

"Well?" Shirley St. Martin asked as Caitlin finished chewing the tender veal.

"Ooh, that's good; I'm getting that next time we come here," Caitlin said.

She held out a fork of her Shrimp Scampi.

"Honey, you want to try mine?" she asked.

"Sure," Barry smiled and accepted the bite of her food.

"Like mine just a little bit better," he conceded.

The door of the lounge at La Scalia's Italian Restaurant in Bender, Louisiana opened and the live music spilled out.

"Caitlin, do you dance?" Shirley asked, sipping her glass of red wine.

Henry St. Martin smiled; whenever Shirley drank red wine, he could count on her feeling a little amorous. Tonight, she had already drank two glasses so he could count on her being quite amorous.

"Why, Mrs. St. Martin!" Caitlin gasped, fluttering her eyelashes. "Are you asking me to dance? And you, a married woman!"

"Caitlin, you kook!" Shirley hooted as Caitlin grinned.

"Sweetheart, can you dance?" Barry asked, smiling at Caitlin's mischievous grin.

"Yes I can; you?" Caitlin asked.

"Little bit," Barry shrugged.

After their meal, the two couples entered the lounge and Barry took Caitlin into his arms and guided her through a lively foxtrot.

"Show off," Henry playfully groused as he and Shirley joined them on the dance floor.

The band switched to a waltz and Barry pulled Caitlin in tightly.

"Love you," he murmured into her hair.

"Wait what?" Caitlin asked, pulling her head back and looking into his pale blue eyes.

"Said love you," he smiled and twirled her again.

"You do?" she asked, feeling her eyes begin to fill with tears.

She'd told him from the very first that she loved him. On Christmas Day, she'd begged him for a chance, just a chance to show him that she loved him.

But this was the first time he'd ever said it to her.

"Yes," he said and again twirled her around.

"I'm sorry if I haven't said it before," he said as the band announced that they were going on a ten minute break.

"Caitlin, seriously, do you know, do you have any idea how scary this is?" he asked as he ordered a cup of coffee from the waiter.

"Coffee for me too," Caitlin told the waiter. "Baby, why's it scary?"

"Sweetheart, look at you!" Barry smiled as she clutched his hand in her small hand. "You're young, you're beautiful, you're sexy; I mean what's to keep..."

"And look at you," Caitlin interjected. "You're young, you're beautiful, you're sexy; what chance does a girl like me have with a guy like you, huh?"

"I'd say a pretty damned good one," Shirley said. "We're going; you two have fun."

"Think just as soon as our coffee gets here, we're going too," Barry smiled, shook Henry's hand and kissed Shirley's offered cheek.

"Call me," Shirley mouthed over Barry's shoulder and Caitlin nodded her head yes.

"Call me," Henry mouthed and Caitlin burst into giggles as Shirley slapped Henry's arm.

"What?" Henry laughed as he helped Shirley put her coat on. "You can say that but I can't?"

If the waiter minded that the patrons paid for the coffee and left, he didn't show it.

The cook, however, asked what had been wrong with his coffee.

"They said it looked like you'd put your hairy nut sack in it," the waiter shrugged. "Said they didn't want it."

In his car, just before he turned onto her street, Caitlin softly touched Barry's arm.

"Say it again," she begged.

"Say what again? That I love you?" he asked and pulled up behind her old Saturn.

"Yeah, say it again," she asked.

"Caitlin Weinstein, I love you," he said and kissed her.

"And Barry Delacroix, I love you," she giggled happily.

Ever the gentleman, Barry walked around, opened her car door, and walked with her to her front door.

"Oops, Momma's up," Caitlin said when the porch light flashed on.

"Uh huh," Barry smiled and waved to the unseen Theresa.

The two kissed a few times, then Caitlin let herself in and Barry walked back to his car.

The drive home was quick; they only lived a few streets apart. In his driveway, he smiled, seeing that both Toni's and Anita's cars were in the driveway.

Barry had offered Miss Alvarez an additional fifty dollars a week since she would now be cooking and cleaning and shopping for two girls instead of just the one. She had shrugged her shoulders and smiled.

"Ees not trouble," she said. "But you want geeve me more money? I say okay."

Walking into his house, he could hear the two girls in the kitchen, chattering and laughing. One of Toni's insipid CDs played; he wondered where his daughter got such bad taste in music.

Give him some good old country music any day of the week, some Merle Haggard, Jerry Jeff Walker, Johnny Cash, and Loretta Lynn. Thankfully, Caitlin leaned more toward Classic Rock and he could definitely tolerate that. BJ also agreed with Dad; some Conway Twitty, some George Jones, a little bit of Tammy Wynnette. Michael and Patrick had gone horribly wrong; those two loved them some heavy metal tunes

But Toni, his baby girl listened to the schlock they called country music today.

"Oh my God; that's nothing but bubble gum pop with a twang," he complained whenever Toni would put on a Taylor Swift CD. "That is NOT Country!"

Right now, the two girls were dancing around the kitchen to a Kasey Chambers CD.

"Hi Daddy!" Toni cheerfully called out as 'Luka' came to an end.

"Hi Mr. Barry," Anita echoed, putting the finishing touches on the banana splits she was preparing for them. "You want a banana split?"

"Thanks, but no; ate way too much already. Good night," he smiled and beat a retreat before the next intolerable song began. "Oh, girls? Nine thirty mass tomorrow, all right?"

"Ah," Toni said, opening her mouth wide.

She shrieked in laughter as Anita playfully squirted her in the face with the can of whipped cream.

"Here," Anita fed Toni a spoonful of the frozen treat.

"Ah," Toni said, holding out her own spoon of the dessert.

"Toni, eat your own," Anita laughed as Toni again opened her mouth wide.

"Ah," Toni insisted.

At the St. Martin home, Shirley squealed as Henry chased her up the stairs to their bedroom.