Chapter Forty Nine
He handed her a glass of water. “Where did you see him?”
She took the glass and sipped the water, “Outside the food catering office.” she handed the glass back, not trusting her shaking hands to hold it for too long without dropping it. He took it, placed it on the floor next to the couch.
“What was he doing?” he asked, more concerned. He wasn’t too willing to confirm her fears, just yet. He cursed Johnson quietly in his head, he promised to warn them if Ricky got too close, and he had gotten close, too close for comfort.
“He was just standing there, smiling at me.” she closed her eyes to erase Ricky from her head. She might be talking about him, but she sure as hell didn’t want to remember his face, a face she had disfigured, and Ricky detested her more for.
“You said you thought you seen him, why?” Dave asked, cautiously. He knew what he was doing was wrong, but there was no way he was going to allow her to run, he was even more astounded she came to him and hadn’t taken Michael from school and ran. She trusted him to fix it, and he was going to, one way or the other.
“Because he was there one minute and gone the next.” she opened her eyes and stared at him, “Do you think I was imaging him?” she asked, hopeful. Right now if Dave told her she was going crazy and flying elephants existed, she was going to accept it, anything but Ricky having found them.
“What do you think?” he asked, avoiding to answer her. He knew for sure she wasn’t imaging it, but he wasn’t about to tell her that.
“I think I was imagining it. Yesterday brought back a lot of buried memories and feelings.” she wrapped her arms around her body at the memory of her nightmare, “Maybe I was just projecting and he really wasn’t there.” she said unsure, then bit down on her lower lip. She waited for Dave’s own thoughts, anything he said she would believe like the gospel truth.
“I think you…” he started. You are doing the right thing, it’s what’s best for her he thought to himself, “Those boys made you insecure again and since all your pain was brought by Ricky.” this lie is justified, “you saw him because he represents it.”
Maria nodded completely believing in him. He had people digging into her life, he would know if Ricky was in New York or not, and he would tell her. She moved closer to him and leaned against him in a hug, scared, traumatized but safe. She was safe with Dave.
Dave held her, angry and yet frightened of the consequences. He had to call Miguel as soon as possible. Screw his principles and values, they weren’t going to protect his family against that monster, “You should have pressed charges against them.”
“And then what?” she kissed the bottom of his neck before she rested her head back on his chest, “giving Amy more attention would only be wasting our time, besides her affair with that kid would be known and she would be in more trouble.”
“And your point is?”
“She is still the mother of your daughter.”
“Again, your point is?”
She sat upright and pushed her hair back, “You are impossible. How do you think she’ll feel when she’s old enough to understand the words ‘daddy put mommy in prison’?”
“Just as well as Michael will understand, ‘his mommy helped his new daddy put the man who sired him behind bars’.” He stood up and moved to sit on top of his desk.
“The two are not the same.” Maria said quietly. She didn’t mean to defend Amy, but her conscience wouldn’t allow her to let Dave throw her in prison. The same conscience that wouldn’t allow her to tell Michael she had let his father burn in the house fire, the same conscience that let Ricky burn in that fire, her conscience was very fickle.
“They both don’t love their children. Ricky hit Michael while Amy abandoned Izzy more than once, if I had stayed with her longer, she would have hit her. And they both openly despise their children, exactly how are they not the same?” he said heatedly.
“You’ve made your point, don’t get mad about it.” she stood up and walked to the mini fridge, “I guess she’s not invited to the party.” She pulled out a few containers of food and went to the door.
“I’ll haul her ass out if she dares!” he yelled. Maria jumped, but she kept her head and kept walking. Dave exhaled loudly as he tried to reel in his anger, “Wait, Carol can do that.” he said, stopping her. Before Maria could protest Dave already had the receiver to his ear, “Carol could you please come get some food and warm them for me please.” he spoke with the same heated voice, before replacing the receiver.
Maria stood there looking at him with a very patient look on her face. She didn’t want to say anything that would fuel the presently quiet temper in him. Carol came in and took the containers from her hands. She didn’t say a word, she just gave Maria a puzzled look before she disappeared out the door again.
Maria sat back down on the couch, “You are very scary when you’re angry.” she twisted her hair in one rope before she knotted it, “I thought I was the only one, but it seems I have a few more campers with me.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about Ricky sooner?” He blurted out, unconsciously.
“I wasn’t under any obligation to do so.” Maria answered calmly, “And besides, I figured you would find out your way.”
“If you had, I would have dealt with him sooner. He wouldn’t be bothering you and you wouldn’t be so scared all the time.”
Maria looked at him with suspicion, “Dave, do you know something about Ricky that I don’t?”
“Apart from what happened between the two of you, and that he’s still in Jacksonville, no.” He watched her as she eased back on the couch, her body loosening in relief. She really needed him to be in Jacksonville, and that’s where he would remain as far as she was concerned. “Michael can’t know about this.”
“I know that. To him Ricky is dead and he’ll stay that way. If he finds out, he’ll stop being my baby and go back to being my guardian. I don’t want that for him.”
“He doesn’t mind his father being dead?”
“He doesn’t want to say it, but I can see it with how happy he is.” she chuckled lightly, “It’s the best thing that could ever happen to our lives. He knows mommy will be fine and happy without Ricky around, that’s all he cares about.”
Dave moved to sit next to her, “Smart boy.”
“As evil as Ricky might be, it’s not right to celebrate death, especially for a child to see it as a sign of relief.”