I don't own these characters/historical figures. I don't even know how that would work.
A/N: there's some pretty offensive language here used by a character we'd expect to use that language.
3: Set That Aside
Angelica could not wait to get home and flop on the sofa. Riding the subway in the summer in a full business suit was almost never a good experience, no matter how light the material. Even when the train car had air condition, there were still bodies packed on top of each other, giving off all that body heat and humidity. Thankfully, she did not have to ride for long, but today the car she was on did not have AC and work had picked up enough to wear into today. She wanted to take a long shower, slip into some comfy clothes, and sip wine until Maria showed up.
Stepping into the condo building, she waved to the doorman and was hit with a wave of cool air. It was a nice change from the humid New York evening. She gave a playful wink to the woman at the front desk, who smiled in return. Before going upstairs, she went to the mailroom and grabbed her mail from the box on her way. It was not much, but one envelope stood out. It was from a Mister James Reynolds, addressed to her. The world turned upside down and the bubble began to crack. She almost dropped her cream-colored, leather briefcase as she shoved everything inside of the front pocket, like she could bury the truth.
Dread clogged up her throat, but she managed to swallow it down. It was like swallowing entire chicken bones, choking her. She took a deep breath to maintain control of herself and rushed to the elevator. The elevator ride was always long, going up twenty stories had that effect, but it seemed to take forever today. Suddenly, all of the AC in the world could not stop the uncomfortable heat from sticking to her. It did not help that her fingertips burned to touch the letter again. Her eyes itched to read.
Angelica managed to make it up to her condo before she burst into flames from feeling. Shoving her hand into her briefcase, she tossed the bag to the floor as she yanked out the envelope. She tore open the letter from James Reynolds. How he knew where she lived, she could only guess, but that was probably why he sent a letter. He wanted to add to the pressure of communicating with her and making her aware he knew where to find her. Well, the joke was on him. That was a spark to a fire that was waiting to be ignited. She would love an excuse to tear him apart.
You don't frighten me, Mister Reynolds. She had disliked him with a passion since she met Maria, and it had nothing to do with her wanting Maria for herself. It had everything to do with him mistreating Maria for the month that she had known Maria. He had a gem and treated her like trash. She could guess what sort of man he was.
"Dear Madam," the letter began and she could not help rolling her eyes before she continued reading. I hope this letter finds you in good health… Blah, blah, blah. The end caught her attention and made her temper flare. You can keep seeing my whore wife if the price is right, if not I wonder what the Schuyler family would think to find out you're a dyke.
Angelica screamed and resisted the urge to put her fist into the wall. She wanted to explode, but there was nowhere to go. She could not even implode, as she needed to keep her wits about her. Instead, the anger consumed her, became her. How could she be so stupid?
As if summoned by magic, Maria knocked on the door as Angelica slammed the letter down on the kitchen counter. She did not even realize she was there until that moment. With another knock to the door, Angelica moved like a shark who smelled blood in the water and opened the door. Her glower had to be epic from the way Maria winced upon seeing her. She was ready to blow up and the feeling was so immense she could not form words. Maria stood there for a long moment, as if waiting for Angelica to do something. Unfortunately, Angelica could not say anything just yet, too much build up, all wanting to come up out at the same time, like a clog.
Eventually, Maria entered with caution, sidestepping Angelica to get by. Angelica slammed the door and Maria practically jumped out of her skin. Maria had the nerve to look at her with wet eyes.
"What's wrong?" Maria asked, voice quivering.
"What's wrong?" Angelica stomped to the counter with all of the grace of a tornado and grabbed the letter. "Maybe this is wrong." She waved the sheet a white paper. "A letter from your goddamn husband threatening to out me to my family if I don't pay him!" She crushed the paper in her hand as she used it to point. "So, was your whole story a setup?" And I fell for it!
Maria sniffled and tears fell almost immediately. It had to be an act. "I don't know about any letter!" There was so much feeling in that one statement, but it did not move Angelica in the slightest.
"Stop crying, goddamn it." Angelica shoved the letter at her.
Maria sobbed louder. "I didn't know any better!"
Angelica wanted to bring down the heavens on Maria. "What the hell does that even mean?" What the hell did any of this really mean?
"Please, don't leave me!" Maria rushed to her and clutched her arm, knocking the letter from her hands. "I am helpless!"
Angelica snarled and snatched her arm away and moved over to the stairs. "How could I do this?" It was more a question to herself than to anyone else. Was she impulsive? Yes. Was she reckless? No. This was reckless and now it was messy. It could get even worse.
"Just give him what he wants and you can have me!" Maria let loose a loud sob.
With a curl to her lip, Angelica shook her head as she felt her blood run ice cold. "I don't want you." She bounded upstairs the bedroom, needing to regroup. She stood in the middle of the floor, just away from the king-sized, neatly made bed.
She heard a god-awful wail that rippled through her, rattling her bones, but her blood remained frozen. Eventually, the sound of the door closing echoed through the place. It thumped through her with even more force than the scream and knocked her stomach into her feet. She should have felt better with Maria gone, or at the very least afraid and full of rage. Instead, sorrow flooded her system and she fought back her own tears.
Her fury and distress clashed with an under current of hurt and drowning desire, warring in her system. It was like coming apart at the seams, like her body was split into pieces and flesh was pulled from muscle while the muscle was snatched from the bone. It was agony. She was ready to vomit up every vital organ and she did not know how to treat it.
She was frozen in her own personal Hell. She stared at the wall, as if it had answers. It had nothing, like she had nothing. How could she fall for this? What was wrong with her?
"Am I broken? Am I not meant to be satisfied?" Angelica asked. She had been so content with life for the past few weeks. She had not wanted more, had not craved, yearned, or longed for anything beyond coming home. But, she had lost her way, had allowed herself to be blinded. She was not satisfied. She was selfish and indulgent. Never again. "But, that solves nothing right now."
She had to figure out what to do. There were two people out there who could, and possibly would, wreck her life. She could lose her family over less than a month of fun and excitement. How foolish.
She wished she could call Eliza, if only for the comfort, but this burden she would have to shoulder alone. She was not ready to come out, unsure how Eliza would take it. No, Eliza never said anything untoward in regards to homosexuals. Hell, in regards to anyone really, but things could always change when family was involved. She was on her own with this grief.
"I have to do something." Her body was still tense, fighting itself, but she was able to pace. It was not much and each move broke her anew, snapped her down to the cellular level. This was worse than when she ran off and married John like some simpleton.
Angelica spent her entire life trying to do the right thing and also proving she was not stupid. She rarely met people she would concede were on her level, yet for all of her high ground, she had committed two enormous blunders. One that her father called her on repeatedly and the other so obviously a trap, she was certain Little Philip would have been able to warn her about it.
Blowing out a breath. Angelica massaged her temples, as if that would get her brain to function properly. How could she have messed up so bad? Want of attention? Pain for not being able to make things work with John, even though she swore she would because she could not, would not let her father be right? She was normally such a good judge of character. How could she be so wrong about Maria?
She did not want to see the obvious signs of who and what Maria was. She was a honey pot, meant to trap Alexander. Instead, she caught Angelica. Possibly easier than she would have caught Alexander since he was not touch-starved and repressing his sexuality. Angelica slapped herself in the forehead.
"It shouldn't have been so damn easy, but she looks at you with those eyes, like you hung the moon especially for her, and you'd still give her the world if you could," Angelica said, hissing at her behavior. She had turned herself inside out for Maria, because of Maria, and despite it all, her heart thumped at the thought of those eyes.
She prided herself on being above average when it came to most things, but she was cornered by a below average conman. Beyond that, she fell for a honey pot! She could not let that go. It was not so much that she was in love with Maria or something like that, but there was something there. She liked Maria, wanted to take care of her, and could see herself in a good relationship with her. She would never pimp her out and refer to her as a "whore," as Mister James Reynolds had done. She would never degrade, belittle, or use Maria. And then, she knocked on her forehead as she realized what she was doing — minimizing Maria's role.
You're acting like she didn't have a choice. You don't know what their plan was or how much input she had. The whole thing could have been Maria's idea!
The very notion made Angelica itch and her stomach churned, pushing acid in her throat. It was sickening and she would not mind throwing up everything inside of her, if only it would somehow allow her to start over. She wanted to explode, but she already did and it was hard for a bomb to go off twice. Now, all she could do was sit and smolder.
She dropped into a chair in the corner by the sliding doors, sunlight pouring in through partially opened blinds and illuminating the balcony. There was a little garden out there and usually seeing it put a smile on her face. It was not much, but her own little bit of green in the concrete jungle of New York City. Maria enjoyed it with her. On a couple of weekends, they sat out there on the garden sofa, took in the view, and talked as they ate junk food. Maria showed her how to make s'mores, in the kitchen, but they ate them on the upstairs balcony.
Tears stung her eyes, but she wiped them away and forced them down. Happier times that felt real then, but now scratched at her soul with venom and malice. The whole time was a lie. Now, her heart squeezed itself, pained beyond reason. Such a fool.
She was not sure how much time passed, but the doorbell chimed. The noise chiseled a scowl on her visage. Who the hell is that? Really it could only be one person, but there was no way in hell she would dare to come back. But, as she got to the door, Angelica found herself proven wrong. Through the peephole, there was Maria. How dare she come back? Angelica had to find out how she had such nerve.
"What do you want?" Angelica asked through the door.
Maria's chin wobbled and her eyes glistened. Angelica took a low breath to keep her righteous indignation and refused to let her heart weaken anymore for Maria. She stepped away from the peephole for a second, needing to be free of Maria's gaze. Those eyes would not be her downfall. She's a liar and she played you. Don't let her play you again.
"To talk. And you need to eat." Maria held up a white plastic bag.
Angelica wanted to tell her to shove it, but her stomach twisted. She had not eaten since lunch and this whole ordeal had drained her. But, she could find something in the refrigerator or get takeout. She did not need anything from Maria.
"Can I just tell you what happened?" Maria asked and her voice cracked, which was enough to make Angelica look once more. Maria stared at the door with a sorrowful pout and a tear slid down her cheek.
Angelica melted from the expression and her blood thawed from one damn tear. It was maddening that she still could wield such power over Angelica, even after the damned letter! Maria had bewitched her. Now, she wanted to hear what story Maria would spin. Maybe it would help her break free of the spell, help her get back to her old self. She wanted to start picking apart Maria's lies. She had to learn what to look for and then she could figure out what lies Maria told her over the past month. So, she yanked open the door.
Maria's eyes were on the floor now and it took Angelica a moment before she stepped inside. Angelica closed the door while Maria scurried to the kitchen counter. Angelica stood there for a moment, wishing she could settle down, but there was a whirlwind inside of her. There were too many emotions, swirling and ripping at her.
The plastic bag rustled, catching Angelica's attention. She moved over to the living room to stare into the kitchen. Maria pulled two white containers from the plastic bag. She took out two cans of soda, one being Cherry Coke. A twinge went through Angelica until she remembered Maria was probably a con artist. Of course she would learn her mark's likes, especially her favorites. Memories of Maria making some of her favorite things flashed through her mind, but she shook those thoughts away. Don't let her lies get to you.
"Are you going to sit?" Maria asked, her voice low.
Angelica checked out the two platters to determine where she was meant to sit. Curry chicken, rice and peas, mixed vegetables, and plantains in one dish. Pepper steak, rice and peas, mixed vegetables, and plantains sat in the other. She took the pepper steak. Maria sat down, leaving an empty seat between them, and they were both quiet, using the excuse of mixing their meals as an excuse to not say anything.
How many times had they sat down together and enjoyed a meal? Too many meals to count already. She thought every smile and sparkle in Maria's eye was true delight, but apparently it was an empty wish on her barren heart. Even now the dimwitted organ longed for Maria's affections. She would lock it in a box after this.
"You wanted to talk," Angelica said, eyes on her food.
With a nod, Maria sighed. "I read the letter."
"The letter that you knew nothing about." Of course, Angelica had lost track of the letter by the time she stormed off. Had she dropped it? It was possible Maria read it after she went to the room.
Maria swallowed and tapped her fingers against each other. "I didn't know about the letter, but I can't pretend I didn't know he planned something like this, just not for you."
Angelica scowled. "For Alexander." That did not make it any better. It made her a little pleased to have been caught, so Eliza and Alexander did not have to suffer this humiliation.
"Yes. The plan had been for him, but then you answered the door." Maria shrugged a little and twisted her mouth up. Her bottom lip quivered regardless.
"Uh-huh."
"I panicked. I wasn't expecting you." Maria rubbed her forehead. "So, yeah, panicked and ended up following the script, not really knowing what else to do."
Angelica held in a groan. She fell for a ploy specifically designed for Alexander. He would never let her live it down if he ever found out. No one will find out about this.
"So, I've just been an unwitting player in your script? An unfortunate understudy?" Angelica asked.
"No!" Maria clutched her forearm before she realized what she did. She pulled back without being told. "You actually made me go off-script. Yeah, I did what James wanted, but I also didn't do what he wanted because he didn't do what he was supposed to."
"Sleeping with me was in the script, was it not?" Angelica scowled. Each time they were together, she had thought they had an authentic connection.
Maria flinched and scrubbed her hands together. That was the answer to that. She had not meant anything to Maria. She was a mark. How could I be so damn stupid? She was about to tell Maria to leave, but she continued talking.
"James came and took the seven hundred dollars and vanished. He didn't say anything, but the next day, friends of his came and took our stuff to hold it for him. He skipped out on the rent and didn't even bother to tell me. It wasn't the first time, but something cracked inside of me." Maria sniffled. "You gave me this money, not expecting anything back while he took that money and left me with nothing. Suddenly, all I wanted to do was pay you back, like somehow getting you that seven hundred dollars would make up for what I did to you, like it would fix my life."
Angelica held off on rolling her eyes. "My one act of kindness suddenly flipped a switch in you?" She's still conning me. And, her damned heart wanted to dive right into this next lie and swim in it like it would save her rather than drown her. No, heart, the brain is in charge now. You've done enough damage.
"I know it sounds corny, but it's true. I've…" Maria's shoulders dropped as she sighed. "I've been around a lot of bad in my life. While my parents weren't bad, my father was illiterate and my mother wasn't much better. They didn't have a lot of employment opportunities and I grew up in poverty. I met James at fifteen and just ended up pulled into his circle. There was always a scheme, a con, a corner."
Angelica hoped that did not mean what it sounded like, but considering James referred to Maria as a "whore" it probably was exactly what it sounded like. Had he not used Maria to sleep with her for money and blackmail? No, no, no. Don't put it all on him just yet. You don't know what hand she had in this. "You have a lot of practice at this then?"
Maria's entire face shattered and she looked down at her plate, as if that would save her. Angelica had to fight her heart from doing the same, as it dared to try to spark back to life. There was genuine grief in Maria's eyes, like this was not a game.
Maria licked her lips before she continued on. "I've never had a steady job in my life, but less than a week after meeting you, I went and got a real job, cleaning houses. When I popped up the second time, there was no script. I made about fifty dollars in tips and gave all of it to you."
Angelica gritted her teeth, gripping her anger like it was the only thing keeping her alive. "Only to sleep with me again and reel me into your plot."
"There was no plot then. James was gone with that seven hundred dollars. I didn't know what he was doing. I hadn't heard him since he took the money. There was only me wanting to be close to you while I could. I just wanted time with you."
"Why should I believe you?" Angelica asked, tone purposely sharp. She needed to cut Maria somehow, even though her heart clutched at the thought of hurting Maria. For all she knew, this was part of the act and she was still under Maria's spell.
Maria gazed her deep in the eyes. "Because you know me."
Angelica glared, doing her best to fight off the urge to fall into that beautiful sight. You're drowning again. "Do I? What I do know is your husband's threatening to out me to my family unless I pay him. What I also know is that he wouldn't know that if he didn't know we slept together."
"I only told him about the first time! That was part of the plan and he asked how things went when he took the money. I haven't seen him since!" Tears pooled in Maria's eyes.
Angelica held up a finger and Maria winced. The reaction made Angelica's heart collapse into itself, but she blazed forward. "Don't you dare cry. You're not the one about to lose her entire world."
"Aren't I?" Maria sobbed.
With a curl of her upper lip, Angelica sucked her teeth. "Don't be dramatic." And don't you fucking fall for it. You want so badly to believe in her that you're willing to pretend those tears are real. The emotion seemed true, though.
Sniffling, Maria wiped her face with both hands, but it did not help. Tears poured down her face and she sniffed. "This has been the best time of my life. I was finally free from James. I felt safe and, well, I guess loved. Cared for at the least."
Angelica swallowed down pure melancholy, willing to choke on it if it meant she would retain her righteous fury. "Yeah, well, wasn't I the idiot for caring?"
Maria deflated right before her eyes, body somehow shrinking, shivering in front of her. "Can I… can I at least stay here tonight? I'll get out tomorrow, I promise, but I don't have anywhere else to go."
The sensible thing would have been to put Maria out right now. James was probably somewhere waiting. But, what if he's not? Even now, Angelica could not risk it.
"You know where everything is." Angelica pushed away from the counter and retreated back upstairs, leaving her food untouched.
The little talk did not leave Angelica feeling any better, everything inside of her still at war, and she paced the bedroom like a caged tiger. She also did not feel confident in determining if Maria was lying. Her affections blocked her intellect, even now. Her heart broke, but for Maria, not herself.
Maria said she had been with James since she was fifteen. When they first met Maria also claimed he beat her. If those things were true, he maintained a level of control over her. She had seen things like that often when volunteering at battered women's shelters with Eliza, typically offering them legal advice. It was made worse if Maria viewed him ever a savior, pulling her out of poverty. The fact that he referred to her as a whore in his letter gave the whole story credibility.
"You're just giving her excuses," Angelica said aloud. She needed to hear it and maybe it would break Maria's hold on her.
Instead of freeing her, Angelica's mind flooded her with memories of the past few weeks, letting her know how and why Maria had a hold on her. Every single second they shared together had seemed so real. The way Maria's face lit up seemed just as sincere as the way it broke before Angelica's eyes not too long ago. At no point during their time together did Angelica suspect anything beyond honest emotion and connection. Maria seemed to want her as much as she wanted Maria.
Her heart twinged again. Did… does she truly want to be with me? Was any of what she said true? She did not know what was going on, but the idea that she needed more facts gnawed at her. It ate all of her anger and left her with an irritating curiosity. Might as well scratch the itch. Isn't that what got you into this mess in the first place, wanting to see where the whole matter was going?
Angelica made her way downstairs. All of the lights were out. There was a blanket on the living room floor and a lump under the blanket. With a low sigh, she shook her head and made her way to the living room. She laid down, spooning the lump. Maria poked her head out, placing it on one of the couch throw pillows she used as a regular pillow, which would be something to talk about if they survived this moment with any form of relationship. Maria did not look at Angelica.
"Fifteen, huh?" Angelica felt that was as good as any to start.
Maria took a deep breath Angelica both heard and felt. "He saw me at the bus stop one morning, on my way to school. His car was really cool. He offered to give me a ride. It was cold and raining and he had a Porsche. Hell, yeah, I want a ride. I never made it to school."
"Again?"
"Ever again." Maria was quiet for a long moment. "It's okay." The pause did not make that seem true. "If not him, something else would've probably convinced me to drop out. I wasn't a good student."
Angelica squeezed her. "I don't believe that."
Maria chuckled. "You're sweet, but I failed a bunch of classes all the time."
"That doesn't necessarily mean you're a bad student. You learned how to use that stove a lot faster than I did." Angelica did not have the patience for it. Space age stove was nice and all, but takeout worked just fine for her.
"I was determined to cook from that damn futuristic stove. It has way more buttons than it needs." Maria snickered, but it sounded forced.
Back to the matter at hand. "When did you marry James?"
"I was sixteen."
Angelica's brow furrowed. "Your parents approved?" While Maria did not say much about her parents, what she did not say was loud and clear. She had not mentioned them hurting her in any way. Would they have allowed her to go off with some random man who was older than she was and convinced her to drop out of school?
"No. I ran away with James. He promised me all sorts of things that sound amazing to a poor fifteen year old. He got me all sorts of fake documents to legally marry me."
"He wanted you to believe you couldn't leave him. A fake marriage, you can walk away. A real marriage…" Although she was not sure this counted as real if he used fraudulent documents to wed a minor. Of course, it might depend on where they were married.
Maria sighed. "And I'm still here despite it all. He always promised things would be better, but I realize now, it never actually had to get better."
"What do you mean?"
"Because I never understood what 'better' was, all he had to do was be nice every now and then and I'd be stuck. I'd think it was better and that was the case for years. But, now I know better. You taught me better." She shifted, turning to look at Angelica.
God, those eyes. Even in the dark, Angelica could see them so clearly. She knew in that moment she would do anything to keep those eyes in her life. But, beyond that, she wanted to continue to give Maria "better." Maria had spent such influential years with a lying conman and that was not fair to her. You're making excuses for her again. It did not feel that way, though.
"When did he first hit you?" Angelica asked to get back to it.
Maria frowned. "Not too long after I ran away with him."
That made sense, too. "Did you think that was normal? Did you see that in your household?"
"No. My dad never hit my mom or me. James made it seem like it was my fault, like I was about to mess up a deal for him."
"A deal? He used you in his cons right out the gate?" That would not surprise Angelica. James seemed to be using Maria in every way that he could. Having a doe-eyed teenage girl around him probably helped smooth out his image and sold whatever the story was. She might have added an air of innocence to things. She had the face of an angel and she was tiny, adorable. Maria probably did not know any better, too young and naive to get what was going on. Eventually, that life became normal for her, so there were no alarms going off and he probably controlled things enough where it seemed impossible for her to leave if she wanted to.
Maria gnawed the corner of her mouth. "I thought they were business deals at first. He told me he was a businessman. I didn't know he was a con artist. He had this great car and nice apartment. I thought he was just awesome at his business, whatever it was." That made sense for a teenager. "Turns out, he got those from selling fake car warranties to old people."
"This guy sounds like a real gem." Angelica wanted to punch him in the balls.
Maria glanced down. "It wasn't all bad or always bad. He bought me nice things."
"After he hurt you." Classic abuser technique.
Maria pursed her trembling lips. "Yeah. I guess it was one of those things to help me believe it would be better."
Angelica caressed her hair. "It's all right."
Maria took a breath and slowly released it. "Thinking about it, even when he took me places, it was because a con blew up in his face and we were fleeing the area. We once stayed in Mexico for two months and it wasn't at a fun resort. It was a dingy motel. We stayed a lot of places where I'm shocked they didn't steal our organs at night. Hell, I think we lived in Canada for four months, but I'm not really sure if we left the country or not. I just know we were up north."
Angelica could only imagine and she would not ask Maria to paint her a picture. Maria was carrying around a lot. She did not need to relive it to validate Angelica. Even now you don't want to hurt her. You're in so deep, you can't even see the top.
"It had to be hard. That was a quarter of your life with him," Angelica said.
Maria blew out the breath. "I never think of it like that. Honestly, sometimes, it feels like my whole life, like I can't remember anything before him."
"That must hurt."
Maria sniffled and nodded. She shifted and curled into Angelica, despite the blanket being between them. "Please don't make me leave." Her voice was a scared whisper. "I don't want to be without you."
And somehow that simple sentence put Angelica back together. The fight inside of her ended. She believed Maria, about everything. She believed their time together was real. She believed Maria felt something for her. She believed Maria did not know about the letter, and had not tried to ruin her. It was the only thing she could believe beyond how she felt about Maria.
Angelica gave her a small smile and caressed the top of her head. "I don't want you to leave."
Maria smiled back at her. "I really like you, Angelica. And I meant everything I said about caring about you and I feel safe with you and I want to take care of you with little things. I appreciate you and I want you to know it."
"I appreciate you, too. You make me satisfied with life and I don't have the words to explain to you how big that is."
"I don't need an explanation. I'm just happy you trust me."
Angelica probably would not say all of that right now. James had a mental hold on Maria, even if she thought she escaped it. This was a small step, but there was a long road ahead of them. The trouble was Angelica was wanting and willing to walk that road with Maria.
"What do you want to do now?" Angelica asked.
"Me?" Maria's face scrunched up. "He's threatening you."
Angelica waved that away. "We'll work on that next, but what do you want to do?" She could handle James Reynolds, but it would be a task with pulling Maria away from influence, even if she did not think so. There was so much to build up in Maria's life. Angelica had one small hill in her path while Maria had many and so much higher.
Maria looked at her with those big, doe eyes. "Well, I want to stay with you."
"And?"
"What do you mean?"
"What do you want to do with your life?" Angelica asked.
"Oh." Maria nodded and then thought about it. "I want to keep my job. It's hard, but I like earning a paycheck."
"Okay. Anything else?"
Maria took a moment. "I want James out of my life. I just…" Her brow wrinkled. "I don't know how to do it. He always comes back. I can't shake him."
"And what does out of your life mean for you?" Depending on the answer, Angelica would figure things out.
"Never have to see him again."
Angelica did not want to say it, but it seemed like she had no choice. "Is there a reason you won't divorce him?" If the marriage is legal in the first place.
Maria's face twisted, so confused, like it never occurred to her that was an option. "It's too much money."
"Says who?"
"Ja—" Maria gasped and her eyes went wide. "Whenever we had a fight and he pushed me a little further than he meant, he made fun of me about not being able to leave him. He always said I'd never be able to afford it. And he said if he didn't sign it, it wouldn't count. It just started to seem impossible after awhile, so I didn't bother. Like it would be easier for me to go to the moon."
Angelica shook her head. "A lot of things might have seemed impossible, but here you are."
"I could get a divorce." There was awe in Maria's voice. This was from James' hold on her from being fifteen when he picked up. He colored her world, was her world, but now she could see there was so much more. With James, her world had been a dark cave and now she was able to emerge and see what else was there. "I could get a divorce."
"Yup."
"I could get a divorce and live a regular life. Never have to worry about cons or stuff again. I could be normal and be with you."
Angelica held in a smile. "Is that something you want?"
"Yes!" Maria's face was so bright, it lit up the darkened living room. "And we could be proper girlfriends and go out!"
"Oh, so you do want to go on dates?" She had entertained thoughts that Maria did not want to go out on dates for fear of being spotted. But, she tended to dismiss those thoughts with the notion Maria was too tired from work.
"I do. I just didn't want to risk him seeing us out or someone he knows. I didn't want to give him a chance to hurt you or mess this up. I really want this."
Angelica nodded. "I do as well."
Maria sniffled. "I can't believe someone like you would want me."
"Sweetheart, you're a gem." Angelica meant that. She was not sure how or why, but Maria had carved a place in her heart and had become precious to her.
"I don't feel that way."
"You'll get there."
Maria nodded. "What are you going to do about him threatening to out you?"
Angelica had some ideas. "I'll handle it. You focus on getting away from him."
"Okay, but I want to help."
"I get the feeling you will. After all, you know five years worth of dirt on the guy. That can come in handy."
Maria managed a laugh. "Yes."
They did not bother to go to the bed. Maria lifted the blanket and let Angelica in her cocoon. Angelica wrapped her arms around Maria and they fell asleep like that.
-8-8-8-8-
Next time: time for reinforcements and Angelica comes out to two people close to her.