Chapter 4

June 25, 2005

"You look beautiful, Stephanie," Helen said as she placed the tiara over her daughter's curls. It was the same tiara Valerie wore at her wedding. Stephanie looked into the mirror and saw a woman bearing her likeness dressed in a puffy, frilly, ostentatious white monstrosity her mother called a wedding gown. She didn't want to wear the dress her mother selected for her wedding day, and she didn't want to get married to Dickie Orr.

"I think this wedding is a mistake," Stephanie said. Stephanie and Dickie barely dated for a year. Her mom and his parents were excited for their children to marry someone from the Burg. Dickie Orr had political aspirations. Getting married to a woman who'd remain silent regarding his extra-marital activities appealed to Dickie.

"Nonsense. Dickie's from the Burg. You've completed college and got a job at EE Martin. When you get pregnant, you'll need to quit your job," Helen said, dismissing her daughter's concern. Something niggled in the back of Stephanie's mind. She had a feeling everything was going to go south fast.

September 2, 2005

Stephanie left work early. She went home to pack an overnight bag. As she pulled her car into the driveway, she noticed Dickie was already home. A red car parked on the road in front of her house seemed ominous. Stephanie shook her head and grabbed her key to unlock the door.

"Harder," a woman cried from the dining room. Stephanie quietly walked into the room to find Joyce Barnhardt, her nemesis, screwing her husband on the table. She spent several hours the night before polishing it to a shine.

"What the fuck, Dickie?" Stephanie screamed. "Get the fuck out of my house, you whore!"

"Oh, Dickie," Joyce screamed as her body shook. Dickie grunted a few times before pulling out of Joyce. Stephanie ran to the washroom to throw up. He didn't wear a condom.

She splashed cold water on her face before going upstairs to their bedroom. "I'm sorry, Steph," Dickie said as he entered their bedroom.

"Are you sorry for cheating on me or for getting caught?" Stephanie screamed.

"Both?" Dickie stupidly replied.

Stephanie opened their bedroom window. She threw all of his expensive clothes onto the front lawn. Once Stephanie felt satisfied with the pile, she grabbed the lighter fluid from the garage and soaked the clothes. With a flick of her thumb, she lit the flame on the butane lighter and dropped it onto the pile. Her eyes shone with amusement as Dickie screamed.

"Then you shouldn't have cheated on me!" Stephanie hollered back. The newlyweds argued on the front lawn until Eddie Gazarra and Carl Costanza arrived to break up the fight. "Are you okay, Steph?" Eddie asked, pulling Stephanie into an embrace.

"I will be once I see my lawyer," she replied.

"What happened?"

"Dickie was screwing Barnhardt on my dining room table," Stephanie answered. Eddie shivered. "Exactly. Her nasty infected ass was on my clean table. I've got to get tested."

"You're not pregnant, are you?" Eddie wondered.

"Not a pregnancy test. STD tests," she clarified.

Eddie was a 5'10" tall eastern Slavic that grew up a few houses away from the Plum residence. He had white-blond hair, flat, pale blue eyes, and a stubby nose. Eddie had married her cousin Shirley a year ago in March. Their wedding was intimate with immediate family at the court house. Shirley was expecting their first child in the new year.

Stephanie grabbed her suitcase to pack her clothes. She didn't have much, so it didn't take long. "Where will you stay?" Eddie asked.

"Home." Stephanie wasn't sure how her parents would respond. She went to church to light a candle for her daughter. Helen arrived a few minutes after Stephanie lit a candle. "Can I move back home?" Stephanie asked.

"No. Fix your marriage with Dickie. A lot of men cheat on their wives. Burg women look the other way," Helen replied.

"Did daddy ever cheat on you?" Stephanie asked.

"Don't be silly," Helen deflected. Stephanie understood the meaning. Her dad didn't cheat on her mom, but Stephanie should forgive her husband.

When Stephanie left the church, she drove to Point Pleasant. The beach was packed. It seemed as though everyone took advantage of the nice weather. Stephanie rented a room in the local hotel. She left her suitcase on the bed after changing our of her work clothes and made her way to the beach.

The sand felt warm beneath her feet. She walked past the boardwalk towards a more secluded area. Stephanie walked through the chilly water along the beach. Waves lapped up her legs, soaking her skin to the knee. She wore cutoff jean shorts and a red wrap top. Halfway down the shore, Stephanie walked five feet away from the water and sat on the sand.

A shadow passed over Stephanie. She looked up towards the person casting the shade. "Do you mind if I sit here?" a pretty woman asked. Stephanie noticed the woman had dark hair and skin, reminding her of the man she met on New Year's Eve.

"No," Stephanie replied.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Not yet, but I will be," Stephanie answered honestly.

"I'm Esmeralda. Everyone calls me Esme," she said, holding out a hand.

Stephanie shook her hand and reciprocated, "Michelle. Everyone calls me Mitch."

Selene Esmeralda Manoso wondered if Michelle offered her middle name as she did. Her younger brother, Ricardo Carlos Manoso, recently started to use his middle name too. "I come to the beach whenever I have to think through my problems," Esme said after twenty minutes of silence.

"Me too." Stephanie felt comfortable sitting beside Esme. She didn't feel the need to fill the silence by talking. "I caught my husband of three months screwing the town whore on my dining room table."

"Wow. That sucks. My brother got married to a woman he barely knows because she got pregnant," Esme reciprocated. "They got divorced after their daughter was born."

"Huh, stupid man," Stephanie said, speaking Italian.

Esme giggled. "Did you just call my brother stupid?" she asked.

Stephanie thought for a few minutes. "I guess I did."

The women laughed until they fell over crying. "Thanks, Michelle. I needed to laugh."

"Ditto," Stephanie replied. They hung around for a few hours, talking and eating dinner. Neither of the women shared too many details about their childhoods, family or life. Mainly, they talked about clothes.

"Do you want to have children someday?" Esme asked out of the blue.

"Not really. I don't have any interest in becoming someone's mother," Stephanie answered honestly.

"What if the right man comes along?" she asked.

Stephanie had to think about her response. "It would take a special man for me to change my mind," Stephanie replied. "My husband wanted children, but I had just started a new job."

"I should head home before my parents send out the rescue squad," Esme joked. She hugged Stephanie before leaving her in the restaurant.

Stephanie walked back into the hotel lobby. The hotel looked different from her last visit. They had replaced the old beige carpets with black and multi-coloured lines. It was hard on the eyes. In the Casino, the carpets extended throughout the room. The lights reflecting off the coloured flecks made the carpet come to life. It overloaded the senses. Stephanie wondered if that was the goal.

She used her $50 casino chip coupon to purchase coins for the slot machines. Stephanie fed the one-arm-bandit a coin and pulled the handle. "Cherry, Banana, Lime," she read out loud. Stephanie continued feeding the machine until feeding it the last quarter. The second she vacated the stool, an older man used the slot machine, winning $1000. "Figures," Stephanie mumbled before retiring into her room.

Unable to sleep, Stephanie went to the washroom to draw a bubble bath. She filled the tub with water as hot as she could tolerate. Stephanie slipped into the water up to her neck. The water was cold when she climbed from the tub. Her skin was wrinkled, reminding her of grandma Mazur.

Stephanie sighed, wrapping a towel around her body. She walked into the room where the queen-sized bed sat in the middle. A small chair got placed beside the window. The TV was on top of a dark wood dresser. She grabbed the remote before pulling the blankets back to climb into bed naked.

A smile crossed her lips when she found a Spanish Novella to watch. The man resembled her New Year's Eve lover. Her hand slipped under the blankets, rubbing her folds as the movie played. "Rick," she whispered as her body shook. She fell asleep with thoughts of Rick on her mind.

September 22, 2005

Stephanie had moved to Newark after filing for divorce. Her divorce was loud and dragged out. Stephanie knew it would take a year to get everything settled. Her new apartment was only a few blocks away from EE Martin, within walking distance. She had settled in with a group of friends at work. They'd go to movies, dinner or clubs on the weekends. Her coworker, Talia, invited her for dinner on Tuesday night. "I'm sorry, Talia, but I've already made plans," Stephanie replied.

"Oh. Okay. Tomorrow then?" Talia asked, hopeful that Stephanie would say yes. Talia had difficulty making friends. She often came on a little too strong, scaring people away. Stephanie was friendly and didn't shy away from Talia's aggressiveness.

"Sure. Tomorrow sounds good. We'll leave after work," Stephanie suggested.

Talia was several inches shorter than Stephanie. She had a large family with six brothers and two sisters. Her auburn, curly hair and brown eyes didn't match anyone in the family, making her feel like an outcast. Some rumours in the family said the mother had children by multiple men, most of whom were her father's brothers. Talia didn't believe them until her father said that she belonged to her favourite uncle.

After work, Stephenie went to the church in Newark and lit a candle. An older woman, close to her mother's age, lit a candle for the safe return of her son and his friends. Stephanie went to another candle altar located in front of Saint Philomena. She lit a candle and said a prayer for her daughter's soul.

The older woman spoke Spanish, preventing Stephanie from understanding more than a few words. Maria Manoso felt the young woman looking at her. She pretended to close her eyes as she checked the woman's appearance. Her brown hair pulled into a low bun. She had light-coloured eyes that Maria guessed were blue. It was hard to make out the features in the dimly lit church. The young woman wore a skirt and heels.

Maria said another prayer for her son, Ricardo and his daughter, Julie. She never got the chance to meet her granddaughter before Ricardo and Rachel got divorced. Her daughter-in-law had met another man while her son, Ricardo, fought for their rights and freedoms in the Army. When he returned, she filed for divorce and asked Ricardo to relinquish his paternal rights so her fiancé, Ron Martine, could adopt her. She prayed that Ricardo would find a woman worthy of his love.

September 22, 2014

Rafael woke up in the guest bedroom inside the Manoso home. He rubbed his eyes before he looked around the room as he did the past few mornings. The previous occupant had decorated the walls with military posters. Rafael had stayed at the Manoso home all weekend. His foster mother never asked him to come home Sunday night.

Mrs. Manoso used deep blue blankets and cream-coloured sheets on the bed. Rafael climbed from bed and dressed in the clothes Mrs. Manoso left on the dresser.

"Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Manoso," Rafael greeted as he entered the kitchen.

"Morning, Rafael. I made eggs, bacon, toast and waffles for breakfast. Please take a seat, and I'll serve you a plate," Mrs. Manoso stated. She moved around the kitchen to dish the food for Rafael.

"Thank you, Mrs. Manoso."

"Please call me Maria or Tia."

"Okay, Tia," Rafael said. "Whose bedroom did I sleep in this weekend?"

"Ricardo, our oldest son," Maria replied.

Rafael remembered he was the man that brought clothes for him and his foster siblings. "Did your son join the military?"

"Army," Mr. Manoso answered. As they ate breakfast, the Manosos told Rafael about their oldest son. Ricardo goes by the name Ranger among his friends and employees. He had joined the special ops Rangers after he finished his mandatory service years. Ranger was the best in the elite group. They were proud of their son but scared every time he left on a mission.

"Your son sounds like a cool man," Rafael stated. "I think I'll join the Army when I get older."

"Have you looked for your father?" Mr. Manoso asked.

"I wouldn't know where to look," he replied.

"Do you know anything about your mother?" Mrs. Manoso asked.

"No. I only know that I was born in a Newark hospital. When I asked which one, they didn't have it in the file. The adoption agency never gave the copy to the CPS," Rafael answered.

Maria wondered if there was anything she could do to find his mother's name. With closed adoptions, it would be a challenge to get the information. She got the results of the paternity test she ordered at dinner time. Ricardo asked, "Did we get the call?"

"Yes, the lab called. Rafael is our grandson," she replied. "Ric's son."

They have another grandson. But they were powerless to remove Rafael from the Rodriguez home. It was a legal battle they couldn't afford. Ric barely visited Julie. He didn't want to be a full-time father.

"All we can do is watch over the boy and be there when he needs someone," Ricardo stated.

"I will pray that Rafael's mother comes home," Rosa said. Maria ended the call, feeling more at peace. She thought about the woman she met at the church nine years ago. The woman prayed for the daughter she had lost after getting hit by a car. Maria couldn't understand why the memory suddenly popped into her mind. She felt there was a connection between the woman and Rafael.