Chapter 25

Ricci

After Manny leaves, I take a shower, once again luxuriating in my bathroom. Freshly clean, I grab my phone and call Ivy.

“Hey, girl, I was just thinking about you,” she says as I prop myself up against my headboard. “How was your day?”

“It wasn’t all that bad, but I saw something today and don’t know what to make of it,” I admit.

“What did you see?” she asks.

“Okay, so I’ll go back to it, but first of all, I think I finally saw Manny’s ex. She was in the tattoo shop when I stopped in to drop off some food for him. But earlier today, during the breakfast rush, she was in the diner with a teenage girl.”

“And?” Ivy prods, her voice sounding impatient now.

“Ive, she looks just like Manny,” I whisper. “As well as several of his nieces.”

The day I came home to my apartment, it was overrun with Manny’s family, including several nieces and nephews. While I was slightly overwhelmed, once his mom realized there were too many people, she slowly but surely got them to leave until it was just her, Manny, and my sisters toward the end.

“Do you think it’s his?” Ivy questions. “Wasn’t she married to someone else?”

“She was, yes, and they’re divorced now, but the girl would be the right age if it was Manny’s,” I insist, quickly doing the math in my head. “She’s a dead ringer for his one cousin, Maribelle.”

“Shit, what are you going to do?”

I stop and consider what she’s asking me. On one hand, if the girl I saw is his, he deserves to know. On the other, if it’s his daughter, would I be pushing him back to his ex? I express my concerns to Ivy who starts laughing.

“Why are you laughing like a damn hyena?” I grouse. “There’s nothing funny about this at all! His family has been through enough with losing his sister and unborn niece. I mean, his mom is one of the strongest people I’ve ever met in my life because if I had lost a child the way she did, I’d be curled in a corner unable to function.”

“You did, sweetie,” she softly says, bringing me up short. “Your babies were killed due to domestic violence, just like his sister and niece were. The only difference is you hadn’t met your babies yet.”

A lone tear trickles down my face as I think about what she’s just said. Not a day goes by that I don’t wonder about my babies; what they would’ve looked like, if they would’ve been boys or girls, how I would’ve been as a mom.

Before I can reply, she continues. “You’d have been the best mom, Ricci. You had our mom as a guide, remember? I suspect you’d be one of those ‘Earth moms’, getting your hands dirty as you taught them how to cook and bake, or craft.”

“You give me a lot of credit, Ivy,” I reply.

“I just give you the credit you deserve. Now, as to what you saw this morning, I think you should tell Manny what you saw. Let him make his own decisions as to how he wants to handle it. I know you really like him.”

“I do, but you don’t think it’s too soon?”

She snorts which makes me giggle. “Not at all, sweetie. It’s been a few months now since you left that asshole. You deserve someone who’ll treat you the way Papa treated Mama.”

“He already does,” I murmur, thinking of all the little things Manny has done for me these past few weeks since I came home. When he goes to the store, he picks up things he thinks I’ll like. He helped me change the oil in my SUV two weeks ago; we went out to his property and since he saw I knew what I was doing, he let me do it. Then, took my vehicle in and got it detailed before he filled up the gas tank.

All things that Papa B used to do for Mama B. Small things that on the outside looking in, probably wouldn’t seem to be all that much. But for me, they show he cares. Even if it’s only as a friend, I can live with that right now.

“Good. Now, tell me something funny that happened at work,” she demands.

I immediately launch into yet another ‘Betty’s Diner’ story, which soon has both of us laughing our asses off. It seems that Possum Run has its fair share of characters, and with football season in full swing, some of the locals get a bit hot under the collar about what the coach ‘should be doing’ which usually ends up with shouting matches across the diner. Betty says it’s all in good fun, but I’m not too sure sometimes.

“I need to run, Ivy. I’ll tell him this weekend about the teenager,” I promise. “Love you.”

“Love you too, Ricci.”

* * *

“Manny, I have something to tell you, but I’m not sure how you’re going to take it,” I say.

We’re in the workshop, the two barn doors open wide to allow the fresh air inside, while he sands several pieces he claims will eventually be a huge farmhouse table. I’ve already put all the tools where they belong, which had him grinning, then washed the coffee pot and mug before putting on a fresh pot for him.

“Just tell me, Ricci. You never have to worry about telling me anything. I might get upset or angry, but it won’t be at you, understand?” he replies, glancing over at me.

Taking a deep breath, I begin talking and by the time I’ve finished, he’s got his head in his hands and he’s shaking. Whether it’s in anger or distress, I can’t say for sure, until he bolts off of his feet and says, “It would be just like that crazy bitch to do something like that!”

Pulling out my phone, I open up my pictures and swipe over to the ones I took of Leanna and the girl. “Here, I managed to sneak these,” I tell him, handing my phone to him.

His indrawn breath has me glancing worriedly at his face only to see it’s nearly ashen while his eyes appear glassy. “She looks just like Luci,” he whispers, his finger caressing my phone screen. “Dead ringer.”

“Are you okay?” I ask after several minutes of silence. “Should I go home?” Not that I can on my own since he picked me up, but maybe he needs to be by himself right now.

“No,” he replies. “But I will be. Can you hold down the fort here for a little bit? I want to see what I can figure out and the only way I know how to do that is to find Leanna.”

“Sure. Do you need me to do anything in the house?” I question.

He scoffs then grins. “And take away Gabriella’s way to make money?”

“You’re a good uncle, Manny,” I reply. He gives his nieces and nephews who are old enough ‘jobs’ either at the tattoo shop or out at his house. For the boys, it’s restocking shelves, cutting grass, and all the manual labor stuff. For the girls, it’s cleaning his house and the shop, and grocery shopping, which he says he hates to do. Although he does pick things up for me, so there’s that to consider.

“I want them to have what we didn”t have growing up. Not that Mama and Papa didn’t provide, but there were a lot of mouths to feed, so we all had something we did to help out. Luci babysat, I ran errands. Easy shit, but with all of us in better positions than we were growing up, it makes all of us feel good that we can do it for the kids, you know what I mean?”

“I understand. I earned an allowance when I was growing up too, but they also let me take on part-time jobs. I babysat, walked dogs, cleaned houses, and mowed lawns before I went to work at the little corner store.”

He stops his pacing and stares at me. “You worked in a convenience store?” His tone is full of horror, and I understand where he’s coming from.

“No, it was more of a mom-and-pop kind of catch-all store. There was a section with local produce from the farmers, and canned jellies, even venison jerky. They had basic stuff, of course, like eggs, bread, and milk, that sort of thing, but you couldn’t do a full grocery shop. They didn’t sell beer either. Just sodas and juices.”

“I understand now,” he replies. “I was picturing a gas station or something along those lines, and that’s definitely not the kind of job a teenage girl should have.”

I giggle at his words because he sounds a bit… sexist right now if I’m being truthful. Only, that’s not his personality by any means.

“No, there’s no way Papa B would’ve allowed me to do that,” I tell him. “Now, since I don’t need to do anything in the house, can I see about creating something out here?”

He’s got a pile of scrap wood, along with bits of tile, and I’ve been toying with making some of those cutesy signs I’ve seen online for my bathroom, as well as the laundry room area.

“Help yourself, Ricci. I’ll be back as soon as possible. You’ve got your phone, right?” he asks.

“Right here,” I reply, patting my pocket.

“Good. Just be aware of your surroundings.”

“Always am.”

* * *

Humming to myself, I sit back and look at what I just made. I traced the word ‘Laundry’ on a decent-sized board and then glued pieces of tile into the word. Now I just need to paint around it, then figure out what Manny used to fill in the cracks. Hearing a noise, I turn and nearly pass out, seeing Erik standing in the doorway.

“W-what are you doing here?” I ask, backing up slightly as he moves forward, anger marring his face.

“Took me some time to find out where you went,” he seethes, his hands clenched in fists. “If the pretty little bank teller hadn’t asked me if I was joining my girlfriend in Possum Run, I would still be looking.”

“Why do you care?” I question. “You were cheating on me, you hurt me constantly. Hell, your treatment of me killed my babies, Erik! I’d think you’d be happy I left.”

“Look at how brave you are,” he sneers. “You’ve turned into a mouthy little bitch, haven’t you?”

“No, I just finally realized my worth,” I taunt. I might be scared to death right now, but I refuse to allow him to see my fear.

He lashes out and I feel his fist connect with my cheek. While I was busy talking, I failed to realize he had moved closer. It’s a mistake I won’t make again.

Provided I survive.

* * *

Despite my best efforts, I’m flat on my back as Erik’s fists rain down on my aching body. Regardless, I continue to scratch and bite at him, determined to hurt him if possible. But I’m running out of steam since I’m smaller and weaker than him and I feel sadness wash over me at the thought that Manny might very well find my dead body in a place he enjoys so much.

And then… I hear sirens which gives me a burst of adrenaline. Grunting, I thrust my hips upward, catching him off balance which allows me to roll away.

“Help!” I scream as I hear doors open and feet pounding on the ground. “Please, help me!”

“Police! Put your hands up!” a male officer yells as he breaches the doors. Another officer runs toward me as tears steadily pour down my face. I watch as Erik is handcuffed then see the first officer touch the mic on his shoulder to notify EMS the scene is secured.

As the paramedics run through the grass toward the workshop, the gurney between them, I see Manny overtaking them. He reaches my side and hits his knees. “Thank God I put cameras in here,” he murmurs, his eyes taking in my bloody and bruised face and body.

“Y-y-you did?” I stammer as the paramedics get me moved to the gurney and start checking me over.

“Yeah, wanted to make sure I had nobody trying to break in again,” he teases as his hand grips mine.

Once they have an IV started, we start the process across the yard, Manny never letting my hand go. As I’m loaded into the ambulance, I see Erik being put into the back of a squad car and smile.

“What’s that smile for, Ricci?” Manny asks as the doors of the ambulance are closed and we start pulling away.

“I fought back. For the first time in my life, I fought back,” I murmur, my eyes never leaving his. “Thanks to you, I found something worth fighting for again.”