At What Price? (2 page)

Sheriff Tom Stone also came by. He’d been a friend of Sam’s and mine since we purchased the property. He was a regular visitor, always checking on me. When Rio opened Tom’s present she gave a yelp of excitement and exclaimed this was her first grown-up present. Inside the package was a packet of glittery, neon colored nail polish. For his efforts he got a big hug from her and nasty glare from me.

Rio couldn’t have been happier. After all her friends had gone home, Tom stayed to help clean up.

Once the place was tidied and back to normal, Rio painted Tom’s fingernails.

There was a knock at the door.

Rio jumped up. “I’ll get it!”

“Mom!” Rio threw herself into the arms of her mother.

Lacey hugged her daughter close.

Then Lacey looked at me. “Hi, Mom.” She was so thin. “Am I welcome here?”

She had dark circles under her eyes and a trace of an old bruise on her jawbone. My arms folded her into a fierce hug. Both of us were crying. “Are you okay?”

“Yea,” she replied. Her eyes darted nervously around the house. “I’m just so excited to see my Rio.” Her laugh sounded brittle and she chewed on her bottom lip. She spotted Tom and looked at me. “Where’s dad?”

“He died five years ago, honey.” I laid my hand on her shoulder and she seemed to flinch, ever so slightly. Probably just my imagination. She said nothing, but her eyes lit again on Tom.

“This is Tom Stone. He is a friend of Dad’s and mine.”

“Hi, Lacey,” Tom said, walking over to shake her hand. “You have quite a daughter here. She’s trying to class me up a little, starting with my nails.” He wiggled his fingers, showing the glittery polish.

Rio was laughing. Lacey’s muttered “One big happy family” didn’t go unnoticed by Tom or me.

An uncomfortable silence followed until Rio dragged her mother over to show her all the birthday gifts. Tom said he had to get home and motioned for me to follow him out. On the porch, he whispered, “Will you be okay here? I can stay.”

“Tom, it’s my daughter!”

“Yea, I get that. He rubbed the back of his neck. “She’s not….”

“I’ll be fine, Tom.” I gave him a quick hug. “Thanks for coming. Both Rio and I appreciate it.”

“Mimi,” Rio ran out to me. “Mom’s taking me shopping tomorrow and I get to pick out whatever I want for my birthday!”

Lacey was brushing some imaginary dust off her pants, not looking at me.

“That’s great, Rio!” Trying to sound much more excited than I felt.

Surprisingly, supper had been pleasant. I decided to make spaghetti and meatballs with garlic bread. It had been one of Lacey’s favorites. She wolfed down two helpings and three pieces of bread. I couldn’t help but wonder when was the last time she’d eaten a good meal.

It was almost like years past when Lacey and I could talk and laugh about anything. Rio, nodding off and on, finally had to go to bed. Kissing us both good night, she said, “You can sleep with me in my bed, Mom.”

“I’d like that, darling,” Lacey said without any warmth in her words.

When it was just the two of us, I asked, “Where have you been?”

“Mom, please, don’t push me on this.” She grabbed my hand. “I’m clean and I want my family back. Both of you!”

My heart gave an involuntary skip and my whole world brightened hearing those words. A tear slipped down my cheek and Lacey reached up to wipe it away. “I’m hoping you will let me stay here until I get back on my feet.”

“For as long as you need,” I told her, blinking back tears.

“It’s late, Mom, and I’m beat. I don’t want to wake Rio so I’ll just sack out on the couch for tonight.”

“All right, dear.” I got up. “If you need anything, just wake me.”

I went to bed.

Rio was getting her mom back. I should have been happy, but something didn’t feel right. My stomach muscles clenched tight.

Please God, let this be a new beginning for Rio.

****

“Mimi,” Rio whispered, waking me out of a deep sleep. The sun was streaming in the window.

Rolling on my side I leaned over and kissed Rio on the forehead, and whispered, “Is your mom still asleep?”

“She’s not here,” Rio said in a small voice.

I sat up and my stomach muscles felt wobbly again. “She’s probably just outside, looking around.” Getting out of bed, I pulled on my robe, dreading what I’d find. The blankets and pillow were exactly where I’d put them on the couch last night.

I went to the window but before I could look, Rio confirmed my fear. “Her car is gone.”

I knelt down in front of her. “Maybe she just went into town. She wouldn’t leave without saying goodbye.” Knowing in my heart, Lacey was long gone.

One lone tear made its way down Rio’s cheek. “Yes, she would, Mimi.” She wiped her eyes and went to her room.

At that very second, I hated my daughter. How could she do that?

It wasn’t until later that day that I found all my cash had been taken from my purse.

Tom called that afternoon. When I told him what happened, he exploded. “That bitch! How could she do that to Rio?”

Tears welled up in my eyes again. I couldn’t seem to make them stop. “I don’t know.” I cocked my head at him. Normally, he wasn’t such a regular visitor as this. Sniffing, I asked, “Why’d you drop by so soon, anyway?”

He looked sheepish as he said, “I ran her plate last night. That car isn’t registered in her name. It belongs to some guy in California.” He held my hands in his and offered, “I can try to hunt her down Kat, and bring her in.”

“For what? Taking forty-eight dollars from her mother? I don’t think there’s a law for being a rotten child or parent.”

He started to object.

“Just let it go, Tom. We’ll probably never see her again.”

I was so wrong!

THREE

The sound of a motor down in the valley brought me back to the present. She would be here soon.

Blackie slowly ambled over to the porch swing, hoping to get his ears scratched. His old nose lifted in the air, and he gave a single bark, alerting me that somebody was coming.

“I know boy. I’m ready.”

****

We didn’t hear from Lacey for two years. In that time, my life was a beehive of activity, from softball games to gymnastics. When school was out, we took a trip to the beach. We went to Disneyland and Universal Studios. Rio had never been there and her excitement and laughter were contagious. It was a wonderful period of my life.

Rio’s tenth birthday was only a few days away. She was still at school, so I decided to take advantage of the silence and went to read on the porch. It was then I saw. Then I saw a car drive into the yard. My heart dropped when I saw Lacey behind the wheel, but my blood started to boil when Rio jumped out of the passenger side.

“Mimi!” she yelled, running toward me with a Wal-Mart bag clutched in her hand. “Look what Mom got me for my birthday!” A Barbie doll along with the Barbie corvette was pulled from the bag. “And we had lunch at Denny’s!”

I was trying not to show how furious I was, but not succeeding too well. “You took her out of school?”

Rio’s smile faded. “Mimi, don’t be mad.”

“It’s okay, honey,” Lacey told Rio. “I need to talk to Mimi. Why don’t you put your toys away and give us a minute.”

Rio hesitated, then slowly turned and obeyed her mom.

Lacey sat down on a patio chair next to mine. She took her sunglasses off and looked me in the eye. “I’m the one listed under mother on her birth certificate. I can take her any time I feel like it.”

“I’m not sure if it makes a tinker’s damn to you, but she was devastated the last time you graced her with your presence and then snuck off in the middle of the night.”

She took out a cigarette, lit it. “I’m sure you explained things to soothe her hurt feelings.”

“Didn’t really have to. She was a pretty smart little girl, even back then. She seemed to take it in stride that you had just up and left…again.”

“Whatever.” She put her glasses back on. “I need $500.”

I let out a gasp, and ground my teeth. “That forty-eight dollars you stole from my purse didn’t last very long, did it?”

Lacey had the grace to blush at that. “Are you aware I can take Rio away with me any time I please?”

There it was – her ace in the hole. “I’ll take you to court. No judge in this world would give that little girl back to you.” My whole body trembled. Who was this calculating bitch?

“Are you sure?” She chuckled. “Are you willing to take that chance?”

She knew only too well I wasn’t willing to chance it. Without a word, I went in the house and wrote the check. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I went out and handed it to her. “Get out,” I croaked.

She put the check in her purse, stood and straightened her shirt. “Rio!” she called.

Rio hurried out onto the porch.

“Oh honey, just got a call from work and there’s an emergency. I’m sorry, Baby; I’ve got to get back.” Lacey gave her daughter a quick hug, all but skipped to the car, and drove away, happy as a clam, mindless of the heartache she left behind.

“Why did she leave?” Rio asked, her eyes filling with tears.

“You heard her. Something about work.” It was a lame reply, but the only one I dared give her.

Rio’s face crumpled in distress. “She left ’cause of you. You were mad ’cause she took me out of school!” She ran back into the house, slamming the door.

Rio stayed in her room until dinner, which was a very quiet affair. Every attempt at conversation was met with one-syllable answers.

Tom stopped by the following evening. Hot dogs smothered in chili and French fries were served.
Rio laughed and joked with him, but still ignored me.

When she went to do her homework, Tom asked what was going on.

“That’s extortion!” Tom yelled, after I told him the truth.

“Keep your voice down. Rio will hear you!”

He got out of his chair and started to pace. “This is unbelievable,” he growled quietly. “I should have that…her… picked up.”

“What good would that do? I have no legal claim.” My voice broke. “She doesn’t want anything to do with Rio but she would take her just to spite me.”

Tom gathered me in his arms. “Okay, okay, I’m sorry. It just makes me so damn mad that she thinks she can get away with this.”

****

The next day was Saturday and Rio still seemed withdrawn on the ride into town. We were on our way to the local pizza parlor for her tenth birthday party.

“Mimi, what’s ex…extortion?”

My heart dropped to my stomach. She must have overheard Tom. Dear God, how much did she hear?

I pulled into the parking lot at Peter Piper Pizza. I shut off the engine and turned to look at her.

Eyes wide, she looked so damn innocent. Is it best to lie, or let her know just what kind of person her mother was?

“Honey, that is such a grown-up word.”

“Please tell me, Mimi.”

“Extortion is when a person demands money or something of value from another person.”

Rio looked down at her hands. “Why wouldn’t the other person just say ‘no’?”

I cupped her chin in my hand and she raised her eyes to mine. I said, gently, “Because if that person didn’t pay, they just might lose the most treasured thing in their life.”

A tear escaped down her cheek and I wiped it away with my thumb. “Now, do we, or do we not have a party to go to?”

Rio smiled, gave me a big hug, and an “I love you Mimi”, before running to meet her friends in the pizza parlor. Things were back to normal.

FOUR

On Rio’s twelfth birthday, Lacey tried a new tactic. The phone rang and when I answered, she skipped all the niceties and got right down to it. “I need $1,000 this time and you’ll need to wire it.”

I hung up without a word. I was trembling when the phone rang again. I picked it up after the fourth ring. “I don’t have $1,000 to give you and even if I did, you sure as hell wouldn’t get it.” Lacey tried butting in, but I didn’t give her the chance. “Whatever money I’m willing to let you extort from me will have to be picked up here. You will have to look your daughter in the eyes and do your best to hide what she is already beginning to see.” I hung up on her again.

The phone rang once more, but this time I didn’t answer and quickly unplugged my antiquated answering machine. The ball was in her court. My hope was she would just put that ball in her pocket and go live her life.

A couple weeks went by before Lacey made her next appearance.

It was a Friday afternoon and Rio had a half-day at school. That evening was the annual ice cream social; the school’s only fund raiser for the year. Rio was meeting Ricky Stevens there and she was on cloud nine.