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Lito took another step up, his eyes still locked on Truly. “I appreciate the time you took getting the stains out of that last batch of shirts. Thought that white one was a goner, my favorite shirt too.” Lito moved up another step closer.
“Yeah, you said.” Truly told him as she moved to put a planter full of hydrangeas between the two of them. “Uh, thanks for the tip.”
“Wanted to show my gratitude. Hope it was enough.”
“I bought my groceries for the week with that money, so yeah. It was enough.” Truly gave Lito a small unsure smile, and when she did, he took the two last steps up and settled his hips against the railing. We all held in a sigh of appreciation then because Lito was textbook gorgeous. He had high cheek bones, full lips, almond-shaped eyes fringed with lashes so long I swear that you could sweep the floor with them. He was clean-shaven and his skin was the color of sun-kissed copper. Everything about the man screamed scorching hot Latin lover. Just wow.
I glanced over at Melody who had just squirmed a little in her seat. When she looked back at me, Melody mouthed the wordyummyand I could not have agreed more. I threw another look in Lito’s direction hoping he had not caught Melody’s hungry gaze, but I should not have worried because that boy only had eyes for Truly.
“Hey. You’re Kid’s woman.” He said to me after a full minute-long stare at Truly.
“I’m Liddy and this is Melody.” I smiled at him.
“Pleasure to meet you.” Crix nodded but after that quick glance he was all about Truly again.
“So, you live here?” The look that he gave Truly took the phrasehe stripped her with his eyesto a whole new level. When I turned around to look at my friend, I was a bit surprised to see that Truly was still dressed.
“Me?” Truly squeaked out.
“Yeah, you.” His eyes lifted from where he had been staring at her chest.
“No.”
He waited for her to answer. When she didn’t, Lito scrubbed a hand through his hair. “Ah baby, help a guy out.”
“She lives at 124 Greenridge Ave. It’s a yellow house with white shutters.” Melody shot out. “She gets off work every night at five o’clock except on Thursdays. Then it’s three o’clock. Weekends off.”
“Good to know.” His eyes stayed on Truly. “Hey, I gotta be somewhere else for the next couple of days. I’m gonna take you out when I get back. Wherever you want to go. 124 Greenridge Ave. I’ll be in touch.”
Then Lito turned around, walked across the lawn, got on his bike, and rode away.
Liddy
It was a couple of hours later, Boo was in bed for the night and my girls and I were settling in for a movie marathon, which of course, made the baking of fudgy brownies a necessity. They had just come out of the oven, and I was busy pouring fresh whole milk into old-school jelly glasses complete with striped paper straws.
“Mother Fucker.” Melody shook her head as she peered into Crix’s backyard through the kitchen window. “Half the clubhouse is over there.” Then she looked at me with determination. “Is Annie Alvarez still with Champion Real Estate?”
“Yeah, she sold one of the newer trailers at the park just last week. You serious about moving?”
“Like a goddamn heart attack,” Melody answered as she snapped the curtain shut. “I’m calling her tomorrow first thing.” Then she turned to Truly and asked. “What was it anyway?”
“What was what?”
“What kind of stains did you get out of that gorgeous man’s shirts?”
“Blood. They were bloodstains.” Truly told her.
“He is so damn hot,” Melody said for the hundredth time and sighed. “I want him. Can I have him pleasssseee?” Then Melody started dancing around Truly holding the pan of brownies away from her while she teased her about Lito. Truly kept grabbing for them, and Melody kept waving them in front of her face. I watched with a huge smile on my face and a laugh on my breath. It hit me then how perfect a moment this was. It just felt good being together and giggling like the school girls we once had been. Not that we were old, but all three of us had always been old souls and had learned life’s lessons earlier than most. But we had survived and would continue to survive. Together.
“Waaaahhhh!” When Boo’s cry sounded out sudden and furious, Melody threw down the brownie pan and took off like a shot down the hallway to his bedroom.
“OH MY GOD!!” I yelled out when I saw Melody running towards us with the baby in her arms. Boo’s face was mottled red, his eyes had begun to swell, and he was wheezing and struggling to breathe.
“What happened?!” Truly cried out in horror.
“I don’t know! I don’t know…!!!! Melody screamed out. Boo sensing the panic in his mother began to cry harder. Only he couldn’t and it made his struggle to breathe even scarier.
In response, Melody jiggled Boo in her arms, took a deep breath, and transformed herself. I could see the panic in her eyes subside and be taken over by what I called Mother Mode. It was that kind of ferocious, fierce protective switch that can change a regular mom into a superhero.
