Her Vigilant Seal (2 page)

“Quit flirting with Sophia, otherwise she might take you up on it and find out you stopped delivering twenty years ago,” Mrs. DeLuca called from the bread aisle. Sophia snorted. This was why she came here and donated her time. She originally started coming because they needed the food for her mother and younger brother, but after her mother became so ill and her brother got taken away this had become her refuge. She still brought home food from the pantry to feed herself and her mother, but at odd hours when her mother was resting she could now donate her time in return.

She secretly loved that Tony always called her pretty. She knew she really wasn’t. Compared to most girls in Southern California she was plain. Oh, her long blonde hair was nice, but her face had a smattering of freckles, her nose was too wide, and her green eyes would have looked better if she was a brunette. Even at twenty-two she still didn’t have much of a figure. Now that she’d lost weight she kind of looked like a board. But Tony made her feel special.

“Have you had breakfast, Bella?” he asked bluntly.

“Yes.”

“No she hasn’t, Tony. She’s tinier than last month, make her eat something,” Frannie bellowed from the other room.

“I’m fine. I had breakfast.” She’d had the cup of noodles at the beach, but being at home in the trailer with her mother so sick, made her lose her appetite.

“Enough!” Mrs. DeLuca pounded her way to the kitchen where Sophia was sorting through the rotten fruit.

“Come with me right now.” Mrs. DeLuca, who was twice Sophia’s normal size, grabbed her upper arm and looked her in the eye. “I will drag you out of here if you make me. Are you coming willingly or will you make me force you?”

Shocked, Sophia finally said, “Willingly.”

Five doors down was one of the busiest diners in town and the proof was in the fact that at barely seven a.m. there wasn’t a seat available.

“We don’t have time and there’s no place to sit.” Sophia tugged her arm trying to get Frannie DeLuca to let her loose.

“Margie,” Frannie yelled out. A woman came out from the back of the diner and hugged Frannie.

“Hello, who have we here?” the woman said looking Sophia up and down.

“This is Sophia, the girl I’ve been telling you about. The one whose mama is so sick. She needs some breakfast.” Margie looked around the diner, she must have noticed the two men who were nursing cups of coffee because she went over and whispered something. They got up and smiled at Frannie as they made their way to the register.

“A table just opened up.” The customers who had been waiting in line started to groan, grumble, and protest.

“You just keep a civil tone. I’ve always done right by you. This is Frannie from the food pantry, she’s taking a break from packing lunches for the kids who need ‘em. She has to get back quick. So you can all quit your whining.” Margie cast an evil eye at the crowd and some of them chuckled, most just quieted down.

After they were seated, Margie popped menus in their hands and said she would be back in a moment to take their orders.

“I can’t let you pay for my breakfast,” Sophia protested.

“I can afford to buy you breakfast so pick whatever you want on the menu.” Sophia knew Tony and Frannie lived on Social Security and really didn’t want to take her money.

“I can afford it. Now order what you want.” When Margie came back she placed her order, and Frannie added a cinnamon roll and a large glass of orange juice.

“Honey, in the five months you’ve been coming to the food pantry, you’ve lost a lot of weight.” Frannie’s tone was blunt, but she gave Sophia’s hand a motherly pat.

“I’ve always wanted to be this size. Who knew the being broke diet was so damn easy.” Sophia loved Frannie’s laugh.

“Tell me what’s going on with your mother and your brother, Billy.” Sophia smiled at Frannie’s tone. There were no questions from Frannie DeLuca, she expected to be kept up-to-date like a kindly aunt. She made Sophia feel good.

“The nurse that came over yesterday said it would be anytime now. I feel guilty coming to the pantry, but it feels wrong staying in the little trailer, basically sitting on top of her and waiting for her to die, you know?” Sophia’s voice broke. For the past two years she’d been taking care of her mother, who was slowly dying from lung cancer. In the last few months it had gotten much worse when the cancer metastasized to her brain. Her mother didn’t have much longer to live.

“Does she recognize you?”

“Occasionally. She did last week. Most of the time she calls me mom and asks about her dad and brothers.” Sophia pulled at her hair and her voice trembled as she explained.

“What are your plans regarding Billy after she passes?” Frannie held Sophia’s hand tighter.

“I want Billy to come and live with me. We’re family. He likes the Bards, but he’s told me again and again he wants to live with me. After she dies, I’ll need to get a job and a place to live that DHCS will find suitable and then petition for custody.” Sophia was now pulling and twirling her hair with one hand, as she held onto Frannie’s hand with the other.

Margie placed the food in front of her, and even though she’d been so hungry, she couldn’t seem to bring herself to eat.

“I’m so sorry about your mama honey. But after she passes you’ll be able to take in Billy and that’ll be a blessing,” Margie said kindly as she patted her shoulder.

Sophia looked at the icing on the cinnamon roll and felt like she was going to throw up. It was all too much. She didn’t know what she was going to do. As soon as her mother passed away the pension would stop. Sophia needed a job like yesterday, but she couldn’t leave her mom, but no more than a month after she died she wouldn’t have a place to stay.

Dammit, how had this happened? She’d been going to college, had scholarships, and a part-time internship. She’d even had a boy who she thought loved her. She’d been normal. She’d been making it. It all stopped when her mom needed full-time care. Now she needed to find a job fast. She’d already started to contact local women’s shelters, so she’d have a place to stay until she could afford first and last month’s rent. She didn’t know if she would be able to get a good enough job to be able to pay for an apartment that would pass muster with DCHS, so Billy might have to continue in foster care. What was she going to do?

“Honey, you have to eat.”

“Don’t you like my food?” Margie asked as she topped off Frannie’s coffee.

To Sophia’s absolute horror, Frannie explained Sophia’s circumstances to the owner of the diner. She had no idea Frannie knew every little detail, and here she was gossiping about it. Sophia wanted to crawl underneath the table.

“I am so sorry to hear that. I remember when my mom died, it damn near broke my heart,” Margie said as she sat down next to Frannie. “But perhaps you could do me a hell of a favor when the time comes.”

Sophia looked at the older woman in confusion. She was still considering sinking beneath the table, except Frannie was looking at her with love.

“What kind of favor do you need?” Frannie asked.

“I need someone to start opening the diner for me. I promised my son I would move in with him and his wife, and stop the early morning openings. I’ve been looking for someone reliable that I could have takeover the apartment above the diner, start the morning baking, and then open.” Margie stopped and turned red in the face.

“What Margie?” Frannie asked. “What the hell are you doing looking like you swallowed a golf ball? It sounds like a perfect set up for Sophia.”

“Do you know how to bake?” Margie blurted out. Sophia nodded and Frannie laughed.

“I used to bake all the time.” Sophia’s eyes lit up.

“Well all right then. When the time comes, come talk to me and we’ll set it all up.” Margie nodded her head and smiled.

“Look Margie, I couldn’t possibly. I don’t even know your last name. I haven’t filled out an application. This just isn’t right.” Sophia was appalled the woman was making such a big decision after barely knowing her an hour.

“It’s right. I believe God sends us who and what we need when we need it. The apartment over the shop probably won’t be good enough to get custody of your brother, but it should be a start to get you back on your feet.”

“I can’t,” Sophia said, but Margie smiled and left the table.

“Well that went well,” Frannie said.

“She can’t possibly be serious,” she said looking at her friend in amazement.

“Oh, she’s serious.” Frannie chuckled.

Five Months Later…

Downtown San Diego at three in the morning was scary and Sophia couldn’t imagine how frightening it would be for a twelve year old boy. The police were on the lookout for Billy, but she had to try to find him herself. This was the fourth time he’d run away. Last time he had been found near Encanto Park so she thought looking for him there made sense.

She’d been walking up and down the streets and checking out the different hidey-holes. Last time she’d found Billy huddled in an alley with a homeless man. He wasn’t in the same place so she looked even further afield. She had brought a flashlight with her and turned it toward the sounds coming from a Mercedes parked on an empty industrial street.

The back door was open and a man was standing beside it. She heard the sound again and realized it was a girl’s voice crying the word, “No.” As she got closer she saw another man with his pants around his thighs bent over the backseat of the car. It was obvious what he was doing.

“Come on hurry up, I want my turn,” the man who was standing said. Sophia grabbed her phone out of the front pocket of her hoodie just as the man looked up and saw her.

“Well hello, nice of you to join the party.” He leered.

She got the phone unlocked as the man rushed her and batted the phone to the ground. She heard the girl scream again. Ducking her head around the side of the man in front of her she yelled, “Quit hurting her.”

“She’s on the clock. We paid for her time. She knew what she was getting into.” The man grabbed Sophia by her hair and dragged her over to the car. The girl was sobbing. Sophia screamed for all she was worth. The man backhanded her, and she fell onto the hood of the car hitting her ribs hard against the steel.

“Look at me, bitch.” Sophia looked at the man who held her hair, he had crooked teeth and an evil smile. “This is nice we each get one.” Sophia opened her mouth to scream again but he put his hands around her neck and started to squeeze.

“Scream again and I’ll strangle you.” Sophia gasped for air when he let go and he laughed. She heard the girl crying even harder.

“Please let her go,” Sophia begged. Suddenly the second man was beside the first.

“What will you do if I stop? Will you cooperate?” He was holding his pants up with one hand and a broken beer bottle in the other. He turned to the man who kept her shoved on to the car. “I like them when they’ll do what I want, and you know the things I want.” He and his friend laughed uproariously.

“Yes, anything. Just don’t hurt her anymore.” Sophia meant it. She could survive this, just as long as they didn’t hurt the poor girl anymore. The girl was sobbing quietly.

“Now that sounds like fun. I vote for a little two on one action. I like ‘em willing. The other one might be a pro but she sure isn’t acting like one.”

Sophia hoped the girl would take this opportunity to run. Sophia forced her hand into the front pocket of her hoodie and pulled out the can of mace. She held up the can of pepper spray and depressed the trigger.

“Bitch!” The first man screamed as it hit his eyes and the second man grabbed her arm and held it backwards. “On your knees bitch or I’ll break your arm.” Out of the corner of her eye she finally saw the girl scrambling away.
Thank God.

She was pushed down to the ground and two sets of hands worked to pull her hoodie over her head. The second man used the jagged edges of the beer bottle to cut her bra off. Sophia kept kicking, until one of the two men sat on her legs.

“Give me the bottle,” the first man said. “She needs to pay,” he said as he rubbed at his streaming eyes. He held his hand over her mouth, and then pressed the tip of the bottle into her flesh cutting a line down her shoulder.

“There, that won’t interfere with the good parts.” He laughed. Fire burst down her arm from her shoulder. She felt blood pulsing from the cut, hurting with each heartbeat.

“Pay attention. We’re going to teach you some tricks.” Evil gleamed in his eyes.

Her breasts were groped and twisted. Then she heard a girl yell, “Over there, please mister, you’ve got to help her.”

The man holding her turned around at the sound of the other girl’s loud voice. Distracted, he let go of her mouth and Sophia screamed at the top of her lungs. A fist slammed into the side of her head and face. She saw a shadow above the two men.
Oh God, not a third one
. And then she heard one of the two men screech as he was pulled off of her.

“Use my phone and call 911,” the shadow yelled to the girl.

That was the last thing Sophia heard as pain engulfed her.

****

“Ah hell, it’s Sophia,” the cop said as he crouched next to the woman in Mason’s arms.

“How do you know her?” Mason’s head jerked up and he eyed the cop.

“She’s been looking for her brother again. He keeps running away from his foster home. She’s been searching for him the last four nights. I told her it wasn’t safe.” Mason looked down at the unconscious woman and agreed with the patrolman’s assessment.

“How much longer before the ambulance arrives?” Mason clipped out the question.

“How bad is she? What happened?” The cop nodded to where Mason’s jacket was covering Sophia’s torso.