” Thank you. Thank you very much.” She sniffed and quickly collected the tissue paper. The trembling in her hands had greatly reduced thanks to the warmness of the car.
” Are you sure you are okay. You don’t look too well. I know how difficult things can be for expatriates around here. I’m one myself. Just know everything would be okay.” Said the Cabwoman who didn’t take her eyes off the road.
” Thank you very much.” She said and kept mum. She was not the type to tell her problems to a total stranger. If hunger had not found a way to kill her these past days, it was not going to kill her now, she concluded.
” When I came to Texas I didn’t come with as much a dollar on me. Just the old cloth I was wearing then my body and it’s life. Well I don’t say life has been so good to me. No not all. Life is not fair. What I’m grateful for is that now in the present, I have a beautiful daughter and I can’t recall when last I begged for favors, a habit that I hated but had to inculcate to survive. All hardship goes away with time.” She silvered with a smile and kept on moving.
” Thank you. You are so kind. Your daughter, what’s her name. She must be beautiful.” Said Marilyn and as she gazed around the car, avoiding to gaze at the half eaten burger all over again.
” Catalina Is her name. She is four years old. She’s the apple of my eyes. Her father left me for another woman. It’s typical for all this men to do so, but I’m just glad he left me with the most beautiful gift I could ever ask for. By the way my name is Renee what’s yours” Said the cabwoman.
” I’m Marilyn. That’s an awful thing to happen to a nice person like you. It’s so unfortunate. Your daughter, I have no doubt she is so beautiful.” Said Marilyn.
” She is. She’s so beautiful. Maybe someday when we became so close I will invite you over Marilyn. I think you should eat now. You are hungry and all I have is this half burger.” Said Renee. Marilyn nodded her head and smiled. She didn’t negate the idea. If it was offered again, she would have to eat cause she hadn’t eaten anything better than cabbage for the past three days.
” Please sister. Eat.” Said Renee and gazed at Marilyn who had a smile on her tired face. She was already exhausted just to think of what awaited her in Bear creek. It was wisdom for her to eat.
” Okay thank you.” She Said with modesty and reached for the aromatic bugger. It was in perfect shape as both fillet, cheese and lettuce where married properly on the sesame spiced loaf. Slowly she moved it closer to her mouth and eventually had a bite. Delicious! Her brain shouted, making her take another bite, then another bite, till she was certain that the burger was as devoured as her modesty in the eyes of Renee who chose to keep her eyes on the road.
” I’m sorry I don’t make such loud noises when I eat. I was just overwhelmed.” She said and applied the tissue over her mouth to clean up the mayonnaise around it.
” Oh common. It’s okay to shove those auspicious table manners into the dumpster. Whoever invented them anyway. You are doing well my dear. Here have some water. Its also half to.” She expressed and placed her hand in the side of her chair and quickly took out a half filled table of water.
” Thank you. Really thank you very much. You are so kind. I haven’t had a decent meal in like three days. It’s been rough for me and my daughter.” Whimpered Marilyn and gulped some fresh water into her system. She was tired of ingesting Tank water which smelled absurd.
” Oh that’s so sad. Did you loose your job perhaps. What happened?” She asked while she kept on hovering.
” It’s funny how one simple bad decision can backfire and make you suffer for a life. I was crying just a moment ago.” Said Marilyn and breathed deeply in calmness. It felt good to eat something other than cabbage and cucumbers.
” I Know I’m driving and should not be taking to much. It’s okay to talk to me about it if you ever want to.” She said with a mild smile on her face.
” Is there really much to talk about? It’s my husband. The looser left me for saving his life. If he hates me so much for what I did then what Is the crime of our baby? She’s just three and deserves better from the world.” She said rested into the warm chair all over again.
” Well men are demons. Some good and some bad. My man gave me his old truck as a parting gift when I told him I was pregnant. He said he hated kids and didn’t want anything to do with it. I never was going to abort my little girl. She’s the apple of my eyes. Well to cut a long story short. I was fortunate to swap the old truck for this beauty. She’s not the best of cars but she pays my bills. I don’t know if I will be a cab driver for the rest of my life. All I know is that with children, you have hope. Live the life a day at a time and let’s see where it takes us to.” Preened Renee and nodded her head to buttress her point.
” That’s true. I’m glad things turned out well for you.” She said and kept mum again.
” And you? How did things turn out for you. Did he leave you with any compensation?” She asked with a smile. Amelia did not know how to answer the question. Gustavo was the best husband any lady could ask for when it came to his generosity. What she wanted the most from him was his time and presence.
” Well it’s complicated. He is a soldier In Afghanistan. I think about him getting killed always and it caused me to fall sick. One day I searched for help and then head of an influential man with the power to help me bring him back to Texas. The man did a bad job as my husband got relieved of his duty and was billed to come back home to me in Texas. Not really a bad job cause it’s what I paid all our life savings of over thirty thousand to achieve….”
” Thirty thousand! My god that’s a fortune. Did you ask him first?” Renee asked.
” No I didn’t. If I did, he wouldn’t have allowed me. I know it sounds like a bad decision but I did it to save his life.” She sniffled and turned her gaze to the side of the window in a bid to avoid the judging eyes of Renee.
” I’m not judging you my dear. Only you know what you were passing through.”
” Yes things didn’t go quite as planned. His job was terminated. I am not employed and have no savings, he won’t come back home to take the social security in his name. I and Erica don’t qualify cause we don’t have any history of fatal sicknesses or disability. The funny thing is that just nine days back, I was in my Sienna SUV having the best time of my life. Today I don’t even have a fare and I’m traveling to do god knows what just to feed my daughter. It’s a cold world.” She whined and winced out in pain.
” Don’t be so hard on yourself. Shit happens some times. I have no doubt it’s going to be good soon. She said with a smile on her face.
” Yes I hope so.”
” So the man you are going to meet in Bear Creek. Your new man? Sorry I ask so much questions.”
” Don’t worry please. It’s fine. Well I won’t say my new man. I’m just hoping to get some benefits from him to pass through this hard times. His place is just further over there. I will have to get in and collect the cash for you. I have no more call time on my phone.” She said pointing to the road that bent to the left.
” Okay the inn over there right. I know an inn there.” She said and applied her lights to signal her turn.
” Yes it’s the inn.” Said Marilyn and was compelled by her modesty to keep shut as the inn was synonymous with all social vices and dark kind of fun.
” Well here we are. I will wait for you then.” Said Renee and gazed around the meadow to make sure no one was stalking her.
” Yes just a minute.” said Marilyn and alighted the cab before heading straight to the inn. Soon she was between the confinement of the black rose tavern and the hard rock music was already blasting amidst the red and Blue light that travelled in organized assembly of clandestine spirals. Today, the lanky weirdo was not at the entrance to stop her so she headed straight to the office of Gallagher. She Applied a knock on the door but was met with a silence that made her heart skip in fear. ” How the hell was she going to pay Renee If he wasn’t around.” She wondered and pounded the door even harder with her knuckles this time around doing it with rage. Two minutes Into knocking and frantically. She picked up her phone and tried calling but it won’t connect as she had no airtime in it. She was still trying to figure a way out when finally the door was flung open.