Some People's Kids

By Kate Freeman

Tina looked over from Maury Povich and out her living room window just in time to see the teen she had confronted in her backyard six days earlier. I'm going to scare that little fucker away from my place for good!

She jumped down off her exercise bike and ran to the front door. "Hey nigger!" Tina watched the boys' heads turn toward her in unison. That got their attention! "Stay away from my goddamn spigot! That water ain't free just cause you take it!"

"Fuck you!" the boy yelled before practically running up the street to get away.

"Well, I never," Tina muttered rolling her eyes before going back in her house pleased with the effect she seemed to have on the boy. She threw herself on the couch and stared at Maury again. Somehow the preteen-hooker-dressing-girls and their whiny relatives no longer held her attention. She started to think about Ax. She grabbed the remote and flipped through the stations. Soap. . . Soap. . . Soap. . . telethon. . . CBN. . . and lame-ass-Maury again. She growled before turning off the T.V. and sat for a few moments in silence.

Then she jumped up, threw on her oversized black pullover sweater, and ran out to Ol' Blue, her 1976 Malibu Classic and the only inherence her mom had left her. Ol' Blue roared to life as Tina turned the key. She pumped the gas a bit to keep the engine from dying. The entire car shook to life as she slipped out of park and into reverse. After exiting the driveway, she pressed hard on the gas. The engine roared, but despite this, the car moved fairly slowly. Come on Blue! Only hill between here and Buck's. The massive car struggled the entire length of Tina's street.

Four blocks away, Tina turned behind the small strip-mall. She surveyed the parking lot for recognizable cars. She noticed the dented grey hearse parked beneath the sweet gum tree. Captain. Figures. Tina pulled up beside the back entrance of the bar and put the car into park anyway.

When Tina opened the screen door and entered the bar, the smell of fried food made her salivate. As her eyes adjusted to the decreased light, she could make out Ron standing over a basket bubbling in oil and Captain staring into his empty glass. The pale glow of Maury Povich coming from the TV in the corner above them case an eerie glare across the black bar counter.

"Hey, Ron!"

"Hey, Baby Girl. You're here a bit early." Normally Tina didn't show up to the bar until after seven or so.

Tina smiled and drew her body up on a bar stool four seats away from Captain. "Do me a favor and turn that crap off. I can't take it today," she said motioning to the TV with a nod.

"I don't know if I want to. That eleven-year-old's hot," Ron said grinning ear to ear.

"If you want my money, turn the thing off," Tina said pulling a ten dollar bill from her sock and placing it on the counter. "That man's part of what drove me from my home to seek real human contact."

"Well, there's nothin' like wonderful sweaty-sock-money," Ron said shaking his head. He grabbed a paper towel and red cocktail straw. He used the red stick to guide Tina's bill into the paper towel. "It's probably moist," he said laughing as Tina took mock swings at his shoulder. He dropped the money in the register, grabbed a bottled Bud Light from the cooler, and twisted off the top before setting it in front of his second customer of the day. He grabbed the TV remote and started flipping through the channels. He stopped on Pat Roberson praying into the camera and looked over at Tina. She raised one eyebrow at him and took a sip off her beer. Ron smiled and continued through the channels.

"We get the Spanish channel here," he said flipping the station a few more times before stopping. A dark haired woman grabbed an older gentleman and gibbered something with a look of over-done terror on her face. "Oh see . . . she's scared. He must be the bad guy. You can tell cause she's such a powerful actress."

Tina giggled, "You know, Spanish soaps are better."

"So what else has you up here so early besides Mr. Povich?" Ron asked.

"Fuckin' kids," Tina said picking at the label on her bottle. "That little bastard that let Ax out the yard. That dog still ain't back. I'm getin' worried. . . That little bastard keeps gettin' in my yard to take water. I wouldn't get all mad if the little nigglet would just learn to close the freakin' gate."

Ron and Captain chuckle at Tina's rant.

"Nigglet?" Ron says shaking his head.

"Yeah! Nigglet! A little nigger. I caught that little NIGGLET," Tina said putting stress on the demeaning word, "in my yard on Saturday. I go out to tell him to get out my yard; that he ain't got no right to be there, and the little fucker start's calling me white-bitch, crack-whore, and what. Man, I got so pissed that I ran out the door at him. Lil' bastard took off like a shot. Leaped that fence like a damn deer. Left his damn bucket and all. I went and took the bucket back up to his mom and told her how her kid cussed me and she just acted like 'Oh, well, I'll talk to him.' Well apparently talkin' ain't done no good cause now my dog's gone. And to top things, the little bastard left the spigot on last time he got in the yard. Water pooled up on the side of the house and then leaked down my basement wall. So now I have no dog and fucked-up dry wall thanks to that little brat."

Ron still smiled at Tina. "I ain't never heard the word nigglet before," he said laughing as he walked back to the fryer to remove Captain's fries from the grease. "I might use that later."

"That kid needs to learn. . . Anyway, he and his mom are movin' in a month or so. Soon he'll be some other folks' problem. . . So how are you Captain?"

Captain spoke up as he watched Ron finish preparing his lunch by dousing it with salt. "I'm good, kid. Good. . .David was in here lookin' for you."

Tina rolled her eyes and kept them on the ceiling for a moment. "Did he say anything?"

Captain leaned back in his chair a bit taken aback by Tina's reaction. "No. Just wanted to know if we had seen you around."

Tina took another drink of her beer and again started pulling at the label. "He wants my washer. The thing broke down about a month ago and he said he wanted it for spare parts or to try to fix it or what. He gave me thirty bucks. Said he'd be by the next day to pick it up. I waited all day and he never came. Ticked me off, but I gave him a second chance. Again, just sat there all day and no David. He calls me up all 'Oh so sorry, got stuck at a friend's house. I'll come get it tomorrow.' Now . . . I do got a bit of a life and I didn't want to wait around all day again, so I borrowed a neighbor's dolly and moved the thing to my front porch. He still ain't come got it. Acts like I done ruined it by leaving it out in the rain. If he'd of picked it up, it wouldn't have gotten rained on. . . He ain't getting his money back. . . I already done spent it."

"That ain't how he tells the story, now girl," Ron said whipping his hands on a dirty towel.

"What's he say?" Tina asked.

"Says you got pissed that he couldn't come out on the day you chose so you got ticked and just put the thing on the porch."

Tina laughed. "That story ain't no different. . . Cause I did choose the first and the second day and he agreed to them both. Then I got pissed off and put the thing on the porch. And then it got rained on. Ain't my problem. Worse case scenario, I wheel the thing out to the curb come Monday and he'll have four days before trash pick-up."

Captain laughed with a mouth full of fries. "Some people's kids."

Tina laughed at this too and finished her beer.

Tina nursed a second beer before cutting herself off and ordering water. The Captain had four scotches in the same amount of time. He had started slurring his words two drinks ago. He got up off his bar stool and staggered over to the jukebox. He fumbled in his pocket for money and managed to dump the entire contents of his pocket on the floor when he pulled his hand out.

"Oh let me get that stuff for you Captain," Tina said jumping off her bar stool.

"No I got it!" yelled Captain. He bent over to pick up his stuff but only toppled forward onto his face and ended up in a huge heap of man on the dirty bar floor.

"Oh hell, Captain." Tina ran over to the man. "Well, he done busted his eye open," she told Ron as he rounded the end of the bar. "Get him an ice pack." Ron returned behind the bar following Tina's orders.

"I'm alright! Get off me!" The Captain shoved Tina away from him and tried to move his oversized body from the floor.

"Fine. Just wallow there like an animal then." Tina rose and went back to her stool.

Ron stood behind the bar holding the ice pack unsure what action to take next.

"Come on Captain. Get up and put this ice on your head. You're bleeding," Tina said in a tone that came across as condescending.

"I ain't bleeding," said Captain not making any motion to touch his now redden eye.

"Fine. Whatever. Sit there."

Ron finally ran to Captain's aid and pulled on the man's arm bringing him up off the floor. Captain maintained a firm grip on Ron's arm for some time trying to steady himself. "You ain't so great. You act like you're above all this, but you ain't so great."

Tina rolled her eyes again. "Oh I'm hurt. You said something to me out of anger while you were drunk. . . I'd never expect that to happen."

"You know, you're mom wasn't educated or rich, but she was sure of a hell a better person than you turned out to be," Captain said shaking his finger at Tina then turning to the bathroom.

Ron stood by the jukebox holding his towel full of ice. "He's just old and he has a lot on his mind."

"You ain't gotta apologize for him. I know how it is. I just rub people the wrong way sometimes."

"It ain't you," Ron said in a firm tone not taking his eyes off Tina.

Tina stared into her glass, concentrating on moving the lemon wedge with her red straw in order to fight back tears.

The crash from the bathroom immediately made both Ron and Tina aware that the Captain had fallen. Ron ran to the back of the building to check on his regular. Tina sat quietly and listened. She checked her watch and decided there would probably be something better on TV by this time. She could make her way home.

"Throw him in his car. I'll get him home for you," Tina said walking toward the bathroom and finding Ron kneeling over the large man.

"He's just . . . out. Fat bastard is just out," Ron said looking up at Tina. "Should we call somebody?"

"Yeah, he'll love us for that in the mornin'. Help me get him in the car and I'll get him home."

"You don't have to do this."

Tina smiled at Ron. "Well maybe I just plan to stick him in my back yard next to my spigot. Scare that little nigglet away from my house for good."

Ron laughed and tried to position his body under the fallen man to get him up. Captain half came back to life long enough to ask what happened.

"You fell trying to get to your car. We're goin' to help you to your car OK." Tina pulled on Captain's hand leading the man in a slow stager toward the door.

"I don't wanna go to my car. I want to go sit down."

"Well, let's go set in the car. It's right here by the door."

Captain stumbled as he took the step down onto the blacktop. Ron and Tina managed to lead the man to the passenger side of his hearse. Ron dug in Captain's jacket pocket for the keys and handed them over to Tina.

"Call me if you have any problems getting him to your spigot," Ron said smiling gently to Tina. He gave her arm a squeeze and opened the driver door for her. She slid into the grey velvet seat and started the engine without looking back up at Ron.

Seven minutes later she sat in the driveway of Captain's dilapidated row house. The elderly woman neighbor peeked out her blinds just to the left of Captain's front door. The Captain slept. Tina nudged him. He didn't move. She nudged him some more, but then he only recoiled from her hand and leaned against the passenger door. Tina got out and rounded the car to open the passenger door. Captain half fell from the vehicle and opened his eyes.

"HOME," said Tina walking away from the car and up to the porch. She fumbled with the keys trying to figure out which one opened the door. She turned around after getting the door open and frowned upon the fat man still laying half in and half out of the car. She walked over and smacked Captain in the forehead. His eyes opened wide and he looked about himself.

"Come on. You're home." Tina grabbed Captain's hand and again began to pull him in the direction of the door. Slowly the Captain followed her. They tumbled up the two stairs leading to Captain's house. Captain managed to walk across his living room and flop on his couch without Tina's help. Tina moved some of the empty fast food trash from the couch, giving Captain room to lie down.

She went to the kitchen to throw away Captain's trash, but the state of the kitchen stopped Tina in her tracks. Dirty dishes everywhere. Old fast-food paper cups with mold growing around the disintegrated bottoms. Trash bags piled by the back door. An overflowing trash can with litter sprawling out over the floor. And the smell added a more than creepy reality to the entire scene. She dug in the old fast food bags for napkins and then tossed the trash beside the can already packed beyond its limit. She stepped around the mess to get to the fridge. He had only two ice cubes in his freezer. She took the tray from the freezer and moved a few dirty dishes from the sink in order to fill the tray back up with water before returning it to its original position. She took the two ice cubes and placed them in the napkin and returned to the drunken man on the couch.

"I got it. Just leave me alone. I don't need your help," Captain said as Tina placed the ice pack to the man's head. "The only reason you help me is so you can feel superior over me!" Capitan shoved Tina's hands away from him. "Get out!"

Tina stepped back from the man and looked at him. She could feel tears coming. She tossed the ice on the couch beside the man and walked out the front door.

Tina walked back quickly to the bar concentrating on her breath this time to control any potential crying. She ran across the parking lot of the strip mall and climbed into Ol' Blue. She leaned on the steering wheel and began to cry. Crocodile tears landed in her lap. Mom finally dies and I'm still trying to care for ungrateful drunks. What's wrong with me? Tina whipped her face and started her car.

Tina looked up to see Ron waving at her from the small square window at the back of the bar. Tina smiled and waved back, hoping he wouldn't come out to check on her. She put Ol' Blue in reverse and made her way to the street.

A block away, Tina began to sob again. The metal and glass enclosed space Ol' Blue created always gave Tina a sense of solitude and peace. She cried hard and openly, whipping her face only when the tears blurred her vision. As she turned down her street, she did her best to regain her composure. She went to the glove box for tissues to blot her eyes and blow her nose. When she pulled into the driveway, a jolly black lab-mixed pup galloped toward the car. Tina bust out laughing and flung open the car door. The dog landed in her lap before she had a chance to stand. Tina hugged the animal hard and sobbed into his fur.

"Where have you been? Huh," Tina questioned the dog which responded by licking her face. "I love you too, but don't leave me again like that huh."

Tina hugged her dog and carried him to the house.

"Let's get you some dinner! You're hungry. I know you are."

Tina's focus rested solely on her dog at that moment and she completely missed the fact that her mailbox set crooked on the front of her home.