“What about friends, other family members?”
“I wasn’t allowed friends and no… no family. They all left us in the end,”
Jesus what have I got myself into? Carl cursed himself. If he killed her he wouldn’t have this dilemma but he just couldn’t do it. She was so sweet, so fragile and docile. He wanted to envelope her in clean clothes and hugs and tell her everything would be alright.
“Are you not even a little sad your father’s dead?”
“Nah,” she finished her sandwich and tossed the empty wrapper in the trash.
“You don’t even wanna know WHY he died?”
“He was a son of a bitch. I’m guessing that’s why,” she spat.
“Well yeah, I mean, from what I heard he wasn’t the greatest but still… he was your old man,”
“I’m glad he’s gone and I have you to thank,” Anna’s face turned from childish to churlish in a split second as she remembered her childhood with anger. “That man didn’t know how to be a father. Each night of my life I prayed before I went to sleep and I prayed that he couldn’t touch me again. I prayed that God would kill him and set me free and you know what? He answered my prayers. He set me free and he brought you into my life to give me wings. I’ll never grieve over that asshole. If that makes me a bad person then fine but I had time to think when I lay here all tied up last night. And I thought of you and how grateful I am. Carl from the bottom of my heart I thank you… I thank you for putting an end to my misery,” she had worked herself up into a frenzy of anger and her cheeks raged red.
Carl was taken aback and sat in his seat with a blank expression on his face and his mouth wide open. Was this a trick? Or could someone really hate their own father that much?
“He really hurt you that bad?”
“Like you wouldn’t believe, since I was nine years old,”
Carl quickly realized what she meant and decided to drop the subject.
CHAPTER 5
Don Angelo De Lorenzo was relaxing in the busy restaurant. His pockmarked skin shone with oil under the dim lamp light and his hair was slicked back immaculately. He was devouring a bowl of lobster bisque with his rubbery lipped mouth.
“Hey, you know who I saw this morning?” asked Lucas.
“Who?” Angelo didn’t bother looking up from his food.
“That Carl guy…. You know the Navy Seal,”
“I know who Carl is,” Angelo said angrily. “What about it?”
“Well…. I dunno he was just like…real shifty,”
“Shifty?”
“Yeah! Like all weird….”
“Yeah well he’s a bit of a weird guy. These military types are comin’ back from the middle east with all sortsa problems these days,”
“No nothin’ like that, I mean he seemed nervous talking, kinda eager to get away. And when I mentioned Tommy’s daughter he started blushin’. Went as red as that lobster there,” Lucas nodded to the almost empty bowl.
“Oh yeah? You think somethin’s goin’ on?”
“I dunno… I mean maybe,” Lucas chewed on a bread stick and took a sip of wine. “I just can’t put my finger on it,”
“It’s probably nothing,” the Don shrugged as he focused on his food.
“But you know what? He ordered two breakfasts… but he was there alone,”
“So what?” the Don wiped his mouth with a napkin. “He’s probably a hungry guy!”
“Yeah but he didn’t go home. I followed him for a little bit. He pulled into the motel off the freeway on the south side, only a few miles from Tommy’s place,”
“Oh yeah?” Angelo’s eyes widened and he scowled. “I wonder why he’d do that….” The cogs in his mind started whirring. “He sure was slow gettin’ to mine last night,”
“Yeah, and I just can’t trust the guy. I reckon he’s up to something,”
“We’ll see…” Angelo swept back his hair. “I want you to go out there to the motel. Tell me what you find and be quiet about it. Don’t go knocking on any doors or nothin’,”
“Sure… I’ll be in touch,” Lucas threw a 50 dollar note on the table as he left.
~
Carl and Anna were lying on the bed side by side. She felt the impulsive urge to cuddle into him but couldn’t’ bring herself to do it. What if he got the wrong idea about her? But over the course of the morning he had softened to her more than he thought was possible. She reminded him so much of someone he knew when he was younger. Someone he couldn’t help anymore.
“There’s a sad look in your eyes,” said Anna.
She was as far as she could be on her side of the bed without falling onto the floor. She wanted to be closer but at the same time was worried she’d scare him away. All she really wanted to do though was hold his hand and look in his eyes, to hug him tightly, to just say thank you.
Carl wasn’t sure what to say to Anna. He had so many conflicting thoughts running through his head. To him she looked so beautiful and sweet, so pure and kind. And she also looked so beautiful… lying there on the bed with her wet hair tumbling off the pillow. Her body even looked glamorous with the cheap motel towel wrapped around her.