Page 9

LOU

It was early morning, a week after Ajax moved in and my day off. I sat at the kitchen table, writing checks to pay bills. The only good thing about Erwin living at my house was the extra money to help with the bills. Still, I would have rather been homeless than to see that scumbag's face ever again. Reimagining when Ajax punched Erwin in the face made me smile.

Mick stood at the stove cooking breakfast, flipping pancakes and frying sausage while her head bopped side to side, wearing headphones and listening to her Walkman. I smiled, happy she was doing something she liked.

Ajax walked into the kitchen, fresh and clean from the shower we had taken together earlier. His wavy hair was wet and combed back. He had a head full of natural curls that would make any woman jealous. I had to perm mine just to make it look half as good as his. I loved running my fingers through his hair every night and waking up in the morning to have sex like two crazy pent-up teenagers.

He walked over, leaned down to kiss me, then placed an envelope and a wad of rolled-up cash on the kitchen table. "In the envelope is the paperwork you need to enroll Mick in high school. Mace, my Sgt. at Arms, is good at what he does and made her birth certificate look legit, along with her school records from some bogus school."

"What's the money for?" I asked.

"That's a grand to help pay your bills."

I picked up the wad of cash, and my jaw dropped.

Ajax walked up behind Mick and tapped her on the shoulder. She spun around, holding a spatula in her right hand. Ajax pulled one of the Walkman earphones from her ear. "It smells good."

She smiled. "Thanks! How many pancakes do you want?"

"As many as you can make, " he said, then placed some cash in her left hand. “Here's some money to go buy clothes. Lou will get you enrolled in that high school you two have been talking about."

Mick looked down at the cash in her hand, and tears welled in her eyes. She wrapped her arms around Ajax's neck. "Thanks Dad!!"

I opened the envelope to find Mick's birth certificate and a Virginia driver's license. Michelle Leigh Remar was her birth name. My name, Louise Marie Gardner, was listed as the mother, and Ajax's real name, Andrew Michael Remar, was listed as the father.

A few nights before, we talked to Mick about getting her back into school so she could get her diploma. It was good to see her happy and excited. The new driver's license was a bonus, and Ajax planned on getting Mick a used car for her next birthday in August.

The three of us sat at the kitchen table together, eating Mick’s delicious breakfast.

Ajax was at the clubhouse for the day, so I drove Mick to the local mall. We had fun, just us girls shopping for new clothes, something I'd never experienced growing up since I only had brothers who didn't care about their younger sister. We walked into a women's clothing store called Foxmoor, which Mick said was where all the designer jeans like Jordache and Calvin Kleins were.

"Check this out!" Mick said holding up a neon pink leopard print tank top on a hanger.

I shook my head. "I don't think that's suitable to wear to school."

"Not for me, silly," she said and handed it to me. "You would look totally rad in this! Let's find you a pair of tight stone-washed jeans."

"Oh no, I can't wear this! It's too -- "

"Too what? Sexy? I'm telling you, Lou, when my dad sees you wearing this, his jaw will drop!"

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, all right."

We walked around the store and picked a few outfits to try in the dressing room. By the afternoon, we'd spent some of the money Ajax gave us on clothes, a few cassette tapes for Mick's Walkman, knick-knacks, and rock band posters to hang up in Mick’s bedroom. I wanted her to decorate it like all teenage girls do. Afterward, we ate lunch in the food court, then drove to James River High School and enrolled her to attend in a few weeks.

It had only been two weeks since Mick started high school when I received a call from her principal, Mr. Watson, during my shift at the diner. Mick had been in a physical altercation with another student, and I needed to come to his office. Chelsea covered for me as I gripped my steering wheel and drove to the school, cursing out loud.

After I parked, I entered the school and followed the signs to the principal's office. Mick sat on a bench beside a closed office door with a "Mr. Watson" nameplate. A girl with long, dark, wavy hair sat next to her, the side of her cheek swollen.

"Damit Mick!" I barked.

"It's not what you think," Mick said, looking up at me, her eyes puffy from crying.

The door opened and a man in a tan and outdated 1970s leisure suit appeared from the office. He seemed to be reaching his early fifties, balding, with a black mustache and black-rimmed glasses.

"Are you Miss Gardner?" he asked.

"Yes," I replied, wiping my sweaty brow.

"I'm Mr. Watson. Please come in so we can talk."

I sat down in a chair across from Mr. Watson's desk, that was cluttered with stacks of folders, a penholder, a black telephone, and a giant glass ashtray full of cigarette butts. The small office felt dank with the smell of old books.

Mr. Watson sat in his office chair and cleared his throat. "Thank you for coming, Miss Gardner. I know Michelle is a new eleventh-grade student. I've spoken with her teachers, and Michelle pays attention in class and finishes her homework. So far, she's getting A's on her assignments. She's a bright girl, so I'm bewildered that she was in a fight today with Sheila Ruben."

"Is that Sheila?" I asked, gesturing to the girl sitting next to Mick.

"Yes. Both Michelle and Sheila were in a physical altercation with two other students, Heather and Dustin. Their parents came and took them home for the rest of the day."

"Dustin? A boy?"

"I'm afraid so."

I suddenly feared for Dustin's safety, unsure how Ajax would react if a boy tried to hit his daughter.

A shrieked high-pitched cry came from outside Mr. Watson's office. "You're nothing but trouble, stupid girl!” the woman said. “Wait till Carl finds out about this!"

Mr. Watson jumped out of his chair to open the door as a woman with long, frizzy, dark hair entered. She wore a green tank top and tight stone-washed jeans. She glared at me first, then barked at Mr. Watson, "What did Sheila do now?"

"Calm down, Mrs. Ruben. There's no need to yell. Please sit next to Miss Gardner so we can discuss this like adults."

"Sheila is more trouble than she's worth and a bad influence," Mrs. Ruben said to me as she sat in the chair next to mine.

Mr. Watson told us that while kids were going to their 2nd period class, Mick confronted Heather concerning some bad rumors she had spread about her. Heather’s boyfriend, Dustin stepped in and pushed Mick hard and she fell to the floor in the hallway. Sheila came to Mick’s defense and punched Dustin in the face.we discussed what happened.

Afterwards, Mrs. Ruben left the office in a rush. Sheila and Mick were sent to their 3rd-period classes, but not before I spoke with Mick.

"Mr. Watson told me what happened. I'm glad you're okay," I said, rubbing her arm.

"If Sheila hadn't stepped in, it could have been worse," Mick said. Her shoulders sank, and she folded her arms.

"We can talk about it tonight with your dad because I know he will want to hear your side of what happened."

She wiped away a tear from her right cheek and smiled. "Thanks, Lou."