Dusk was just making its presence known with its radiating ring of orange when Todd jumped out of the still creeping along cab to the address that he had crumbled and hidden in his jacket pocket. In the middle of the sidewalk, he turned from side to side, looking through the crowd for Marcelli. Feeling a pair of strange eyes staring at his back, he turned around straight into the angry face of Marcelli.
"Look, you're not my only client. I can't sit around waiting for you all day." Marcelli was a short, Italian man with plenty of attitude to compensate for his short stature. With his greasy, slicked back hair, wide girth and thick accent, he could easily pass for Mafioso. He managed to sweat through his cheap, shiny gray suit that was already stained red with ketchup and now had thick rings of liquid underneath his armpits.
"Whatever they're paying you, I'll double it. Now I'm your only client. Where the hell is he?" Todd scanned the area, trying to pick out the man he had never met before. He had a nervous feeling in the bottom of his stomach, the kind of feeling that any man has the first time he meets the parents of the woman he loves.
"I don't think it's going to be what you expected. I have to tell you-"
"Shut the hell up and show me where he is. Or are you trying to stall me 'cause you lost him?"
"Come on," Marcelli said, walking leading Todd toward a dark alley.
Todd was expecting to go through the back entrance of a building. He was expecting to something like what Tea had told him, how they used to go into "alternative" entrances. Looking around, he saw nothing but broken glass, old, oily paper bags, coins that had a million pairs of feet stumble upon them. There were not back doors, only an ending to the back of an alley and a stench that was sour enough to turn the most "cast iron" of stomachs. Crumbled into a ball in a corner was someone whom any other day he would have ignored, complained about how he must've liked being in that position because there were plenty of jobs available. Todd intended to overlook him, but those eyes made him stop and take another look. He had seen those eyes before, many, many times before, only they were clear and bleached white. He thought to himself that it couldn't be her father. It absolutely could not be.
"That's the mean son of a bitch over there." Marcelli pointed to the curled up figure in the corner, the one with the paper bag and bottle hidden inside, the one arguing with a man who was sitting right next to him.
"You're kidding me. That's not him. You made a mistake."
"Nope, checked the I.D. myself?that's him."
Todd ran his fingers through his hair, not at all prepared for the sight in front of him. Not in his most outrageous fantasies did he imagine this short, long-haired, thin old, angry man that was his father in law?twice. He wondered how Tea could let her father become so bad off, especially with the love she possessed in her heart. He wondered how Leon had let himself become that mess. He halfway turned around, ready to forget he ever saw him when the words hit his back and triggered something in him.
"The fuck you lookin' at? You want a piece of me you mother fucker!?!?" Her father was upon him in no time, so close Todd could feel the wind from his alcohol breath on the back of his head.
"Hey," Marcelli interjected, "go back to where you came from old man. We don't have time to fuck with your homeless ass."
The two men stood toe to toe, staring each other down. Todd watched completely outside of himself having no idea what to do. It was Tea's father, he couldn't let him live like that, on the streets, not knowing where he next meal would come from. Still, he could've turned around and walked away without the old man having a clue as to who he was. He wanted to walk away, but he couldn't. "Hey, Marcelli, you can go. I'll handle this."
"Oh, I'm a 'this?' Why don't you leave me the fuck alone. I didn't do nothin' to either one of ya."
Marcelli nodded his head at Todd in a "you want me to take care of this" gesture. Todd shook his head and dismissed Marcelli with only a look.
"Look, I don't know who you are but I got nothin' you want. Why don't you just get out of here and go with your friend?" There was an edge of fear in his voice covered by an even stronger will to seem unafraid.
"What's your name?"
"Huh?"
"What's your name?"
"What's it to you?"
"I think we might have someone in common, that's all." Todd sized him up again, so diminutive, it was hard to tell whether he was even as tall as his daughter. Tea was petite, but she was strong and he thought of her father giving her that strength. Todd looked at his clothes for the first time, his pants were old, filled with holes and shredded toward the bottom. His jacket just as old, perhaps owned by several men before him, smelled of mildew, sweat, alcohol and other scents that could be found on the streets. He was nearly bald, saving the last few strands of hair and pulling it into a ratty ponytail.
"Delgado."
"What?"
"The name's Delgado. So, who's this person we have in common?"
Todd's knees buckled for a moment. There was no mistaking the common feature they shared, but still, he hoped there had been some kind of mistake. The eyes gave him away and confirmed his identity. Todd had no idea what to do next.
"Hey!?!?"
"Yeah," Todd answered, shaken by the discovery. It was just the two of them in the alley, checking each other out. "You related to Tea Delgado?"
Leon eyed Todd warily, thinking maybe his past caught up with him. Maybe it was time for him to be punished for the sins he committed against her.
"I'm not going to hurt you. I just need to know if you're related to her, that's all."
He looked at Todd from head to toe, thinking of how he was probably Tea's latest conquest, caught in her web. He was just her type, dangerous looking, intimidating, probably capable of killing a man with his bare hands. "What are you to her?"
"You don't need to know what I am to her. All you need to know is that I'm going to help you get off these streets." Todd hadn't planned on making any offer to him. He wanted to see him once and take it from there. But when he saw him sitting pitifully in the alley, he knew he couldn't leave him like that.
"Just like that? You're going to take me in and you don't know me at all. How do I know you're not planning on making me your bitch? How do I know you're not going to-"
"You don't."
*****
A Hotel
There were certain things beyond Todd's control that bothered him more than he let on. One such thing was the way Tea grew up; stuck in the darkness of that basement apartment with nothing but stillness surrounding her. Still because those above would never accept her, could never love her, pranced around her as if she didn't exist at all. If there were any way possible, he would travel back in time and give her all the things she never had as a child. Fight all the battles lost to her. It was with that in mind that he booked a room high atop the Trump Plaza for her father.
They walked past the red velvet rope that separated the haves and the have-nots outside of the hotel. Past the screaming teenagers fighting for a glimpse of their favorite star. Up the red carpet, the golden stairs to the expensive wooden desk. The reservation clerk was less than thrilled to look up and see the two men standing in front of him, asking for a room. His first response was that they were all booked up. His second was there had been a mistake and, in fact, there was a room that would be perfect. Of course that room only became available once Todd got a little angry, threatened to sue a few people and waved several credit cards in front of their bigoted faces.
Leon walked into the room disbelieving what he saw in front of his eyes. Never had he seen a place so luxurious with faucets of gold and furniture that was a close cousin to cashmere. The floors were so clean he was hesitant to walk across them with his dirt-laden soles. He tiptoed instead, only touching the very tips of his shoes to the clean floors. He looked around, knowing he didn't belong there. Somewhere in a basement would have been fine. He turned and glanced at Todd who kept his eyes on him too. Turning back around, he was greeted with a view of Central Park. From the inside, the park wasn't as sprawling. It was loaded with little spaces, good places to sleep without being discovered. From the outside, it was so vast, a person could get lost in there and never be discovered.
"Why are you doing this?" Leon asked Todd, bracing himself for the price he would have to pay for his generosity. Nothing in life was free, everything had a price, especially kindness.
"I'm a nice guy." Todd flopped down on the couch, propping his feet on top of the expensive glass table without a care in the world.
"What do you want from me? I have nothing to give you in return."
"Look, I said I don't want anything, okay? Tea's your daughter right?"
This was the trap, Leon thought. His foot was caught between the teeth of the trap, preventing him from running from the questions. Tea was sending someone to repay him for the things he had done to her. If he gnawed his foot off, if he let her go, then this place, a hot meal, a warm bath would all be taken from him and he would be thrown back on the streets.
"Is she your daughter or isn't she?" Todd was beginning to lose patience with him. There was evilness in his eyes that worried him. Something about Tea. He stared at him long and hard, daring him to return the stare.
"Did she send you here?" Leon asked, looking at a distant spot on the wall.
"No."
The air left Leon's lungs as he exhaled in relief. He could breathe easier knowing that this wasn't "karma" creeping through the back door. "How do you know her?"
"All you need to know is that I know her. Look, you need to get cleaned up and I've got some things to do." Todd reached into his wallet and extracted several hundred-dollar bills. He threw them on the table in front of Leon, watching his eyes carefully as he threw that mound of green onto the glass. "Go buy some clothes, on me."
"Why are you doing this?"
"Oh, you'll find out. Enjoy this while it lasts."
*****
Blues Club
The blue lights that flickered on and off in the bar, wreaked havoc on Tea's already pounding head. It had been a long day to say the least and an even longer night. With all the walking and thinking and talking and avoiding, her body was completely exhausted. At the same time, even if she did lay down and try to sleep, sleep would not find her. It would tease her with brief "nods" and jolting awakenings. She would spend the time she had not "nodded" counting invisible sheep or the chances lost to her in life. One?two?three?you're out.
Men circled and "checked out," intrigued by her look of lostness. Her eyes were always on the verge of tears, but they never overflowed. In fact, they narrowed as they observed every single thing that happened around her. When they gained the courage, the invisible shield that surrounded her burned them so that they turned away before they could get within striking distance.
For the one or two that braved to attempt to penetrate her sphere of protection, they were let down gently with a fake smile and a toss of her hair. They were rejected so smoothly, it didn't occur to them until much later that they had been shot down more brutally than they had their whole life.
The live singer seemed to sing of Tea's pain. She sang from a place beyond the lower abdomen, beyond the solar plexus, beyond even the diaphragm. She sang of loss that was so painful, it was impossible for the audience to not be enraptured by her sounds of honesty. She stole the words of Billie and Ella and Aretha Franklin, claiming their lyrics for her own.
She moved her head to the sound of her voice, unconsciously mouthing the lyrics right along with her. She too moved from that place deep inside, that place of pain that was unknown to most. For some reason, instead of causing her more pain, it liberated her. She no longer had to hide within herself to feel something, the pain was a normal part of the blues. And it was the blues that woke her every morning and stayed with her all day and all night.
By the time she felt that third Cosmopolitan slide down the back of her throat, she was feeling no pain. There was nothing to feel. Then, her shield was weakened and men could come to her for playful flirtation. One by one they came to her, offering drinks, dates, the pleasure of their company for a few hours. She might talk to them for a few moments but turn them away with her favorite lie?she was seeing someone.
There was one that caught her attention. He resembled Todd in his outward anger, brownish colored hair and they eyes that had seen too many things. He sauntered over to her, grinning, holding a Cosmopolitan in his hand for her. He gave her the drink and sat down without asking. He carried the conversation, telling her how he had seen her from the moment he walked into the room, but the line wasn't cheesy at all. He said it with such confidence, it came off sounding very sexy. He waited for her to finish her drink before taking her hand and leading her onto the dance floor. He had?rhythm. They melted into each other and the music, not hearing any external sounds after awhile, only the steady breathing of each other.
It was his decision to take her back to his apartment where they could be alone in body. Not once did she protest, fully unaware of what she was doing. All she knew was that her body needed something; she needed someone to kiss the pain away.
His apartment was tucked into a side street in SoHo, a short walk from the club. It was larger than most studios, made to seem even larger by its Feng Shui arrangement of peace. They didn't talk very much once they left the bar. It was going to be one night, and they both knew and accepted that right from the beginning.
He turned on his stereo, putting the CD changer on "random." Jazz, nothing but jazz played in that one room, keeping the mood light and sexy. He stepped over to kiss her, but when the time came, the last thing she wanted was to feel someone else's tongue down her throat. Not right then, maybe later in the night. When he made his approach, she playfully turned her head and kissed his ear instead.
It was nothing more than two people with a certain need, getting it from each other. When they were both satisfied, Tea gathered her clothes and closed herself in the bathroom. In the mirror, she saw the results of her recklessness, the shades of purple barely visible on her neck. At that moment, she had never felt more alone, more dirty and more unworthy of the happiness she so desperately wanted.
