Thank you for beta'ing, MsSchneeheide!
"I'm just in shock. I've failed as a mother," Blanca says over her burner phone to Karla in a shaky voice. "Ni siquiera puedo decìrselo a Diablo."
I can't even tell Diablo.
"She was asking Aleida and I all these personal questions, but I never thought...lo siento I didn't catch on…" Karla trails off. "God damn it."
"It's not your fault, it's mine. I'm still stupid and naive, but this time, it's my eldest daughter who's pulled the wool over my eyes. Jesus fuck me Christ! ¡Dios mío, el descaro de esa chica! ¡Cualquier cosa podría haberle pasado a ella!" Blanca chokes up just thinking about it. "Diablo is bringing her back home now…I told him there was a private matter I had to discuss with her, something he didn't need to know about."
My God, the nerve of that girl! Anything could have happened to her!
"No es tu culpa, Blanca."
"Then whose fault is it? Maritza's? I didn't ever think my daughter would be so stupid!" Blanca slams the counter with her fist and holds the phone away from her mouth as she lets out an angry shriek. "I know I was dumb as fuck at her age, but…I never did that."
"No, but you did get yourself involved with danger in another way. I wouldn't yell at her, really, she'll fire back with that, because it's true. I know you're mad, but try to talk to her calmly and get her side of the story."
"Yeah," Blanca says bitterly. "I sure as hell will." The front door closes. "Esa es ella. I gotta go."
That's her.
"Okay, buena suerte."
"Gracias, bye!"
"Ádios."
They hang up.
A few seconds later, Maritza walks into the kitchen where Blanca is. "Hola, Mami, you wanted to talk to me alone?"
Blanca folds her arms across her chest and steels herself for what she's about to say. She draws in a breath and exhales sharply. "Sí. Ven afuera conmigo." She waves Maritza over.
Come outside with me.
"Why?" Maritza rubs her bare arms. "It's cold and getting dark."
"That never bothered you before," Blanca snaps.
"Is there somethin' wrong? You seem irritated."
"Put on a jacket," Blanca mutters. She points to the patio. "Meet me there in five seconds. Let's go."
Maritza does as she's told and then they sit on the bench together. "What's going on?"
"I received a letter from Gloria this afternoon." Blanca wrings her hands to stop them from trembling so much. "It shook me to my core. My heart was pounding when I saw that she said…you're a prostitute."
"I'm a stripper!"
Blanca stares at her, horrified.
"I-in the play, Mamí!" Maritza stammers.
"No. This is real life. You've been...selling your body for money?
Maritza pales. "To help out our family, yes…"
"Wow."
"Wow, yourself! You sucked off the store clerk to pay for your shit when we first got here!"
"That was only once and I found better jobs once we got situated!" Blanca clears her throat. "How long have you been working in the sex industry?"
"I'm out of that, I swear-"
"¿Cuánto tiempo, Maritza? Dímelo ahora, por favor."
How long? Tell me now, please.
"Two months," Maritza admits softly. "Since we moved into Karla's just before Thanksgiving."
"So for two months you've tricked me. ¡Me hiciste creer que estabas limpiando casas! You could've at least told me you were cleaning a brothel, that would've been an inch closer to the truth," Blanca states furiously, her voice rising with each word. "Do you know you could have died? Been sold and then raped every day? Kidnapped? We would have never seen you again."
You made me believe you were cleaning houses!
"Lo siento…I…"
Blanca wags her finger at Maritza while glaring. "I knew you were dressed too nice for working as a maid! A full face of makeup, fancy hairdo, the hours…you did this while we were homeless, too! Are you addicted to any drugs?"
"I don't even like that shit!"
"Who gave you this idea? Why would you take it?" Blanca wonders aloud.
"Nobody, I already told you, I was supporting you and Raiza!" Maritza protests.
"My daughter is a straight up slut!" Blanca hisses.
"Mom, stop, I was trying to help!"
"How dare you shame us like that, young lady!"
"Ay dios mío, really?!" Maritza rolls her eyes. She stands. "Tú eres la que le gritó al mundo, ¡oye, no tenemos hogar, danos una limosna gratis!"
You're the one who screamed at the world, hey, we're homeless, give us a free handout!
Maritza is about to flip Blanca off, but she stops her daughter immediately and forces her to sit back down. "What you were doing is getting a cheap fuck from men who may as well be rapists, because the last time I checked, you were a responsible and mature sixteen year old girl who would turn the other cheek at that kind of life!"
"What the fuck else was I supposed to do, then?" Maritza yells, her eyes brimming with tears. "You're the one who got us into this situation! You stayed with him for sixteen years! You're not the only one who suffered! ¡Yo también lo hice! So did Raiza, for the first four years of her life! I was her primary caretaker!"
I did too!
"Maritza…"
"I don't want to hear it!"
"That's a rock bottom job!"
Maritza scoffs. "We were homeless. How much more rock bottom can ya get?"
"Just tell me you'll stop prostituting!"
"¡Nunca quise prostituirme! I had to, though, because it was the only goddamn job that paid good money and that I didn't have to dress nice for! There's not even an interview! We were poor because of you, okay? I was embarrassed of this life that we led! Tengo una madre rota y a baby sister who our mother can't take care of because all her life she's had to deal with Dean's shit and then we got homeless and you could barely take care of yourself! You let him make you weak! ¡Permitiste que abusara de ti! You couldn't even escape when I begged you to take us away!" Maritza breaks down and starts to cry.
I have a broken mother…I never wanted to prostitute! You let him abuse you!
"I was scared, Maritza!"
"Well, so were Raiza and I! Think of your children, and be glad I'm not a crackpot whore, you ungrateful selfish bitch!" Maritza breathes hard and begins to hyperventilate as she sobs. "What does it matter to you anyway what I did? You're not even my real mom."
Blanca's own eyes well up with tears at Maritza's stinging remark and she swallows the lump down her throat. Her hands ball up into fists at her sides, but she restrains herself from hurting Maritza physically. "You better leave this area before I do something I'm gonna regret later, young lady."
She cries silent tears herself as Maritza backs away from her, fuming and bawling. She tries to hug Maritza and apologize.
"Fuck off, don't touch me again! I'm outta this stupid life. Goodbye!" Maritza goes into the house and kicks the sliding glass door closed.
Blanca is left outside, majorly upset. Her heart is broken and she has no idea what to do. She buries her face in her hands and wails.
"Hey, you had a fight with Maritza? ¿Que pasó, baby? Dime." Diablo joins her.
What happened? Tell me.
"It was awful, we…I guess she just needs space from me, and I'll give her it. Did she say where she was going tomorrow?"
"She'll live with Gloria and her kids for a while until you both calm down. She told Raiza and Laronne she had to help Gloria out with some things at her bodega."
"Gracias por decírmelo. Dean's got no idea where Gloria lives, so that's good. It's just that Maritza got herself mixed up with dangerous people trying to earn money for us and we need to make sure she doesn't have STDs or is pregnant. Who knows what they did to her out there with me not around?" Or if anyone used a condom, she wonders inside her head. Blanca sighs. "I'll make an appointment and have one of the ladies take her."
Thank you for telling me.
"Sounds good, I'm sure her heart was in the right place, but she went about it all wrong. We shouldn't let her out of our sight! I never want her to be alone again, querida."
"Me neither. At least the assholes she was working for are all dead."
"¡Sí, gracias a dios!"
"I'm gonna tell Mami," Flaca says once she walks in on Marco flipping through T & A. She frowns and folds her arms across her chest.
"Isn't this your girlfriend?" he asks with a smirk as he shows her a nude picture of Maritza on the centerfold. "Tits out, rubbing her pussy-"
Flaca grabs the porn magazine and stares at the photo with the caption Yessica Spencer, age eighteen under it. "¡Ay, coño!"
Oh, fuck!
"I know, right? She's hot."
Flaca rolls up the magazine and whacks her younger brother over the head with it. "¡Cállate!"
Shut up!
"Pero-" he starts.
She puts her hand up. "Pero nada, no más. Where the fuck did you find this?"
But nothing, no more.
"A dirty sex store Papi got it from? Maybe Stop and Shop? I dunno." He shrugs. "It's an old issue, though. She was February's centerfold girl. They stopped sellin' em."
"Oh, hell, no. Those creeps probably took pictures of her…you've had it all this time? How could you not tell me, you stupid idiot?!"
"I couldn't find the right time to say it."
Flaca scoffs. "Me voy a la cama ahora." She throws the magazine into his paper shredder, ignoring his groans of protests and promises that he won't show their mom, and leaves.
I'm going to bed now.
Maritza shows up then and Flaca has the magazine back in her hands. "Um, what is this, Maritza?" she asks confusedly.
Maritza laughs nervously. "Oh...that's just, um...nothing!" She tries to grab it from Flaca, but then fails as Flaca holds it away from her.
Flaca opens her eyes weakly. The dream that interrupted her sleep is just a sign that she has to talk to her girl, and quick.
Diablo thinks he sees Blanca dressed like a prostitute as he drives by her on the street. He backs up his car and stops in front of her as she gazes at him confusedly. "I'm cold," she mumbles through her chattering teeth. She's shivering so much. Right away, he wraps his jacket around her and carries her to the car. "Just take me to the hospital or jail or whatever, gracias."
Instead, he takes her home to apartment seven-oh-three.
"That could've been you," Diablo whispers as he snuggles Blanca closer to him, but she doesn't hear. She just hugs him tighter around his waist and her eyes stay closed. He kisses her temple and tries to sleep again. He wishes he could kill every pervert who ever touched Maritza, but of course, he can't find them all.
Maritza rushes to Flaca; Maritza sees her first and they tearfully hug each other tightly at once. Flaca opens the kitchen window and Nicky lets her have her reunion with Maritza. They're both crying of happiness and Flaca thinks she's hallucinating and that she had no chance of ever seeing Maritza again. She says Maritza looks hot, but Maritza is actually sweaty, that's what she means, and it's so hot in there like a sauna. Maritza says her mom Maria Ramos lives in Miami; she was never deported. Flaca tells her not to panic and that she and Gloria will take care of it. Worrying gives everyone wrinkles. Maritza and Flaca share a smile in all this darkness.
Maritza bolts up in bed and groans. She's getting tired of this ongoing nightmare and wonders if it'll finally stop when Dean is dead. She can't wait to leave Blanca for a while. She can't believe her own mom would judge her, not even try to understand her point of view. If Blanca had just gotten someone's help when Raiza was a baby at least, none of this would've had to happen.
"You broke a promise to your wife-"
"Ma, we divorced way before I got with Theresa!" Yuri protests. "That's why she wasn't at Thanksgiving with us…"
"Tell me your ex-wife isn't still living in your green house with a white trim…two-four-three-six, right? Theresa knows you're claustrophobic and the oldest child, correct?"
"Yes, to both questions!"
"How do my grandchildren feel about this? Do they even know her?"
"Olga and Yelizaveta are fine, they've visited us a few times now, now please stop meddling!"
"I have to. It's my job."
Nicky chuckles. "Sorry, but her squabbles with her biological sons are hilarious to listen to!"
"Yeah, they are, no need to apologize, my love."
As they lay in Nicky's bed, with her head on Shani's chest, Shani gently strokes Nicky's hair and back as they talk.
"Remember the pillow fight we had?" Nicky asks, her eyes closed.
Shani yawns. "Yeah, and then we made out after…that was nice!"
"Thanks for my Fiona Apple poster from the 'Criminal' video."
"You're welcome, and I appreciated the potato chips, they were delicious!"
Nicky smiles. "Remember when I got some pre-electroshock therapy from working on your lights, and you were concerned and took care of me a bit?"
"Yeah, of course!"
"You remember…" Nicky giggles. "Uh…when we were going to offer to give Fig and Caputo oral for the position in the kitchen and then had to get actual interview clothing, since they said they just wanted an interview, not someone to fuck?"
"I'd been prostituting for eighteen months, darling, and you even longer…what'd anyone expect?" Shani laughs. "How come you're bringing up these things?"
"I'm just happy with the way things are going…just normal and calm now."
"Me, too!"
"I'd like to marry you someday."
"I want to as well. It would be wonderful to be your wife!"
"Yes, baby, it would."
Shani is occasionally giving Nicky cheek kisses until they both slowly fall asleep.
With a slack jaw, Aleida rolls her eyes and walks into a department store. She glances down.
Leon strolls up to her and notices her staring at the floor. "What is it, baby?" he asks.
"Cindy saw you for six days and says you a beefcake, she told me this herself…dumbass cannot keep a secret to save her life," Aleida grumbles. "Even if it's about her own personal thoughts, apparently. What would you do if she flirted with you?"
"I'd turn her down, of course!"
Aleida pats his stubbled cheek and kisses him on the lips. "Good boy. I yelled at Rick Hopper, accusing him of sexual harassment, that's part of how I met him, I can run in heels and a tight blue dress and large hoop earrings…I went past a restricted area."
"Oh I remember, that's what you wore the other day, a tight purplish blue dress that showed off your beautiful body. Your bright pink lipstick matches your nails."
"Gracias for noticing!"
"De nada." They embrace and kiss passionately in front of the rotating doors.
"What'd you make, three hundred bucks in twelve hours? I can get you triple that!" they hear suddenly from outside.
"I'm not doin' that bullshit anymore, Stratman!"
They follow the voices to investigate; the young girl sounds suspiciously like Maritza.
"Come on, I know Hellman was a bad cop, but his role play with you was good, right?"
"Humps didn't let me leave the prostitution ring, but once he was dead, I was done. So go be some other sex worker's customer."
"Hey!" Aleida yells and pushes Stratman away from Maritza and stands in front of her. "Get the fuck outta here!"
"Before we kill you with our bare hands!" Leon growls.
He slinks off and Maritza breathes a sigh of relief. "Ugh, so you guys know too, I guess, huh? Gracias."
"Daya me dijo," Aleida murmurs. "Y Leon acaba de escucharte decir que solías prostituirte."
Daya told me. And Leon just heard you say you used to be a prostitute.
Maritza rolls her eyes. "At least you ain't bein' rude about it."
"I ain't your motha. I got so angry at Cesar for plunging it into you and Daya…I had to pay his ass a visit just to yell at him!"
Maritza beams. "Gracias. Yeah, you guys are cool."
"Still, we're concerned. If I were Blanca and Diablo, I'd never let you leave the house again! You would be grounded for life."
Aleida chuckles bitterly and sets her mouth in a thin line. "I'd smack the shit outta you for bein' so stupid. I was forced to do prostitution, and you fucking walked right into it. What the hell were you thinkin', chica?"
"Well, good thing you're both not in charge of me. I gotta go meet Flaca. Later." Maritza huffs and walks away.
"I wish I'd known Elena wouldn't be around much…I can't even look at Gloria nor Ceci. They solved a mystery I never wanted revealed. They're telling me everything will be okay and they'll be more protective of me from now on, but it was gettin' a little overboard. I had to lie and say I was meeting you on the bus and took myself to the mall."
"Elena is still with Sergio at the hospital during his recovery. We're just glad he's not dead."
"Yeah, same!"
Flaca sighs. "Don't you realize you're putting yourself in more danger by being alone?"
"Sergio was shot in broad daylight while he was with Elena. Anything can happen, we can't just hide under the bed for the rest of our lives. I'm careful of my surroundings. I don't know what they were doin' that they didn't notice Anders or whoever, following them!"
"Oh yeah? Then how the fuck did Stratman find you near the parking lot? That's a good place to get kidnapped! Not to mention, Dean! Remember that shithead?"
"Ay, don't tell me you're gonna victim-blame me, too."
"Chiquita, I won't," Flaca promises as she and Maritza sift through clothes to try on. Her tone gets calmer, but her eyes are narrowed. She's still upset.
"Good, I already heard that shit from Mami." Maritza smirks. "Don't worry, I did it right back to her. She fucking deserved it. Callin' me a puta! She was a battered wife! It really can't get any worse than that. She must fucking hate herself right now. At least I had my heart in the right place."
Flaca shakes her head and frowns. "Yeah, just not your head, tonta. You told me you wouldn't go down that road when we were asked to do the dirty job all those months ago."
"Why would Gloria let you in on my biggest secret?"
"She didn't have to. I overheard Ceci and Daya telling her."
"Shit…"
"No te estoy juzgando por ser una trabajadora sexual," Flaca assures Maritza.
I'm not judging you for being a sex worker.
"Gracias. Tuve que ayudar a mi mamá con dinero."
I had to help my mom with money.
"Entiendo. I mean there are better jobs, but...what I'm mostly upset about is that you lied to me about it when I asked why that creepy weirdo called you Lolita, like you didn't feel like you could tell me the truth, you couldn't open up to me, your number one bestie...and now your girlfriend. It's one thing to lie to your mom, teens always do, pero it's a whole other thing to lie to your novia. Eso hirió mis sentimientos, Mari."
That hurt my feelings, Mari.
"Lo siento, I was ashamed." Maritza admits softly.
Flaca cups Maritza's chin and stares into her eyes deeply. "You never have to feel that way in front of me."
"Humps made me swallow a baby mouse whole and run over an old lady, I could feel the mouse slip down my throat and I tasted its tiny feet, it was like Hannibal Lecter and I felt disgusting," Maritza says darkly while covering her face.
"You're not!" Flaca insists as she gently removes Maritza's hands from her face and holds them. "He was, and he better be roasting in Hell as we speak!"
"He made me pose for T & A."
Flaca cringes. "I bet. I…I just hope you never do this squeamish bullshit again."
"Espero no tener que hacerlo. I've had a lot of scares of being discovered to be a sex worker before…like I had a second phone and it fell out of my purse when it was knocked over. My former co-workers would call me Yessica. The prostitution ring was disturbing…and it was open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Thirty minutes of full service was a hundred and fifty bucks, forty-five minutes was one-ninety, and one hour was two-hundred-thirty. I was paid in cash. The bra was too small. The fishnet stockings were too itchy. I wanted to literally die."
I hope I don't have to.
"Then why didn't you just do babysitting? I charge ten dollars an hour…and your mom has like, three jobs that don't involve selling her body, and they seem to work for her."
"I can't handle kids besides Raiza, and I hate when they throw up on me. I tried being a maid, but I found the Chapmans and Nicholses too demanding and Les too much of a pervert, so I quit both jobs. If I ever go back to that profession…Flaca, please do not get involved or try to save me, I have seen Callejón de los Milagros, it doesn't end well for the couple."
Flaca gives Maritza a comforting hug and she revels in it, feeling safe and warm in her taller girlfriend's arms. "Me aseguraré de que no vuelvas allí nunca más. I promise, querida. You can help Gloria at her bodega, my cousin at his store, my mom with her sewing…so much shit."
I'll make sure you never go back there again.
"Gracias. I'm just hopin' I ain't pregnant or have STDs."
"Yo también," Flaca agrees with a sad smile. "¿Cuándo es tu cita?"
When is your appointment?
"June somethin'...Lorna, Franny, and Sophia are all hella booked. Danny Chapman's a new doctor, but I don't want him checkin' out my goods."
Flaca shudders. "Ugh, yeah. Do you feel symptoms of anything?"
Maritza shakes her head no. "Just nausea at times…probably 'cause I'm thinking about everything that went down in the brothel…to me, to the other ladies…how those cruel pimps got killed…and the madam."
"That's good. Well, I'm here for you anytime!"
"Thanks, babe."
"You're welcome, darling!"
"Well, I met up with Drew, Jade, and Issac again, they were my old friends, they were in prison before, but got out around the time I stopped working as a prostitute. Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose…that was our motto," Nicky tells Shani, Maritza, Flaca, Alex, and Michelle on their triple date outside of King Kone. They're not smoking since Nicky wants to stay sober and not be tempted. Instead, they're having delicious ice cream of many different flavors with rainbow and chocolate sprinkles on this warm April afternoon. "They respect that I don't wanna buy more heroin…I can't get into drugs again."
"Yeah, it's a fucked-up business. Kubra won't run his cartel again, I know that for sure, 'cause he's dead. I always fought with Missy, the mule, in the drug cartel. I had a feeling she liked my ex and that's why she was always such a bitch to me. Piper cheated on me with Stella, that's why they broke up but now she's moved on to Zelda." Piper and Carol talk to each other on the street without paying them any attention. "Speaking of that cunt…"
"She got uglier," Michelle says and the others chuckle.
"Julie got me a second job working at Starbucks!" Piper says as mother and daughter walk to Carol's car. "Get this, her dad Gene is the manager."
"That's wonderful, sweetheart. Do you mind if I get something there? I want to bring a pastry to your father as well."
"Okay!"
Nicky rolls her eyes at their pleasant, casual conversation; if only things could be that easy with her own mother. Fucking Marka…
"I'm glad I finally let Piper go," Alex mutters as the wind blows through everyone's hair softly. "I forgive way too easily and I get it from my mother. She was only saying good things about the guy who walked out on her and I! Lee Burley was the drummer for Death Maiden, a rock god, apparently." Alex rolls her eyes. "She'd tell me that girls would rip their clothes off and throw themselves at his lousy ass."
"Ew," the others say before going back to their delicious treats.
"While we were homeless, my mami saw Piper looking at her once in the bathroom, so she stuffed a piece of toilet paper into her mouth and chewed on it and then later spit it out while gagging," Maritza lets the group know. "She also left her phone there, so Piper returned it and said she saw Diablo's junk come up on his phone and told her ex Larry that they were sexting each other. Everyone thought she was crazy talking to 'the devil'. She shouted 'Boo!' at Piper! It was pretty funny."
Nicky laughs. "Oh yeah, she saw me and Lorna fucking in the bathroom at school before, she's used to awkward encounters like that, probably. It's New York, what can I say?"
"Maria calls her janky versions of white celebrities," Flaca chimes in. "I don't think Maria has anything against any of us except Piper obviously, just a general disdain…although, she does sometimes French braid Maritza's, Daya's, and my hair, which is nice. Piper is also a waitress at Thunder Thais and Maria gave her a real hard time."
Maritza giggles. "That's funny!"
"Yeah…I no longer trusted Piper since she always left and wanted to be the great white hero. I got advice from Ms. Jones about relationships while my mom and I took her yoga class, something like you shouldn't demand someone leaves you and then get mad at them for it…but it's like Piper should've fought harder for me back then." Alex scoffs. "Whatever, though! I never saw the beauty in love before mon coeur, Michelle." Alex strokes her thumb up and down her girlfriend's cheek and the two women kiss, smiling into it.
My heart
"You can rip off your sleeves and make a long sleeved shirt a tank top…now, that's sexy!" Michelle tells Alex flirtatiously. "I also loved the playlist you made for me!"
"Thanks, snookums."
"Where did you learn to speak French?" Flaca asks Alex.
"I met a French guy in New York at a bar when I was sixteen and working for Kubra. I told Diane that Fahri taught me some words instead. Gilbert, the French dude…he and I swapped breakup stories and I was right, I had a worse one than he did. You know this tattoo?" She points to the words love is pain inked on her left arm. They nod. "It's saying fuck you to the beauty fish tattoo on the back of Piper's neck. I'm so over her ass!"
"I'm glad!" Michelle exclaims. "No offense, but you've had the worst exes. I mean, Piper needed symmetry, but that was the least of your problems. She was so insensitive to Alison, suggesting she take off her hijab so she wouldn't get made fun of or called a terrorist and mentioned that the Arabs bombing the Twin Towers weren't that long ago and people were still scared! She was like, a borderline bigot."
"Yeah…whenever I stood up for myself against Piper, she'd say I was gaslighting her and claiming emotional abuse."
Michelle laughs. "Oh honey, like Diane said before, she should've spent one night at Edward and Syphillis' house!"
"Yeah, she called me a hoarder, too! Even her family is boring. All I found out about them is that Cal hates drama, his girlfriend Neri has fairy coats, her best friend Yuki loves them, they have another friend named Sam, whose parents are Pam and Joe. Neri also lied about having sex with a repressed Pakistani girl, and she didn't have a three-way with Georgia Pellegrini. Anyway…I once dated this girl named Digger, whose parents ran a cemetery and she stole a ring off a corpse to give me. Digger dumped me because of a professional water skier and she was the only woman who looked hot in a life vest. Then, in high school, senior year, Mom walked in on me and a former teacher, Artesian McCullough kissing in a utility closet and the bitch was caught red-handed! My mom said she got that being a woman in the army was hard, but it gave McCullough no excuse to touch me! Even though I was almost eighteen, she wasn't supposed to take advantage of me like that. It didn't matter that she was pretty and had a back tattoo of the state of Texas, and not like some creepy dark web stalker in the bushes. What she was doing made her a pedophile, she was fired and sent to prison. The only really good ex I had was Nicky."
"Yeah, we were friends with benefits." Nicky smirks. "I used to pretend that I was a plumber and fixing Alex's dryer."
Shani chuckles. "Oh yes, I know that one! Nicky does it with me, too."
"I enjoy that with Michelle," Alex says.
"Your eyes look blue in the sunlight," Michelle tells her.
"Really? That's interesting. I always wished I was attractive in general, but you and my mom always say I'm pretty to you…are you two just saying that?"
"No, you really are truly beautiful!" Michelle rests her chin on her fist as she gazes deeply into Alex's eyes. "Especially in black and red…like when we went to Diablo's concert, you had that pretty lace outfit in those colors and then a red manicure. That drove me wild."
Alex blushes. "Thank you, baby."
"You're so welcome!"
"Michelle...you said a third of your crew wants to bone Aleida's dude...Ouija and who else?" Maritza asks.
"Zirconia."
"She's dreaming, just like she is about Luscheck," Flaca murmurs. "Her cousin jumped out of a helicopter for a promposal, but broke his pelvis and couldn't dance since then. Maybe that's where she gets her foolishness."
"Or those men are just cute to her." Michelle shrugs. "I used to like Mr. Davis when I was younger, like your age. Zirconia and I play foosball and she gave me a whole box of tampons since I told her I used one a day and was out when I had my period last month. One time, I started a fight at Starbucks because they didn't have coffee…so I had to take anger management classes. Please don't upset me by talkin' smack about Z!"
Alex rubs Michelle's back in soothing circles. "Whoa, dial it back a bit, okay, sweetie?"
"Okay, lo siento," Flaca says sourly while holding her hands up.
"I am, too. I'm just upset since someone asked Alison what happened to me since they thought us two were hella close in school, but Alison shrugged helplessly and told 'em I went to the dark side. I wanna reconnect with Alison, but I feel it's probably too late now."
"Nah, it ain't!" Maritza insists. "She seems like an understanding lady, just explain your side, tell her to listen."
"Thanks for that advice, I will!"
"No problem."
Out of the blue, Les Nichols comes up to them with a younger woman. "Nicky, nice seeing you here!"
"Can't say the same for you," Nicky mutters.
"I'm engaged!"
"She'll be your trophy wife?"
He squeezes his fiance's arm and they wear pissed-off expressions on their faces. "This is Michelle, she's a lawyer like me."
"My tucaya! I'm Michelle, too. Hi."
"Hey," the others chorus, even Nicky.
"We're getting married in November," the other Michelle says. She rubs her pregnant belly. "I'm expecting…we're gonna call her Samantha. Sammie for short."
Nicky wears a bland smile. "Congratulations. Make sure you take good care of her. You can't do the parenting job, you get dropped like a hot potato! She'll forget about you like I did. I got suspended in school because I was high, trying to block out the fact that you were a lousy dad. I kept relapsing thanks to your ass." She stands up and starts to walk away, pulling Shani with her. "Stupid motherfucker! Come on, ladies."
They follow her immediately and she doesn't say a word.
Thank you for reading and reviewing, Juliette45 and MsSchneeheide!