That's a Terrible Idea...What Time?

That’s a Terrible Idea…What Time?

What Could Have Happened

Helen pulled out of her racist gynecologist’s office parking lot.

There was a red truck in front of her. OnThat the back of the truck were a set of metal testicles and a “my body my choice” bumper sticker. She glanced at the clock on the dashboard; it read 5:57 pm. She knew it was going to take her a half-hour to get to Lupe’s house. They were leaving at 6:45 p.m.

The guy in the truck seemed to be trying to get the parking attendant’s number. She was giggling, but finally, she entered the shack and came out with a piece of paper that she handed him. If she really wanted to connect, she would have called his cell. Helen grinned knowing the number was fake. The gate went up, and the truck pulled out onto Lime Ave.

Helen pulled up to the gate. She handed her ticket over. The gate went up, and she turned left to get on the 710 North.                                                              

Once on the freeway, she punched a button on her phone.

“Call Lupe…”

“Calling Lupe home…”

The phone rang and Lupe picked up. Helen could hear the girls in the background.

“Hey, Helen!” Lupe said loud enough to quiet down everyone in the background.

“Lupe…miracles of all miracles…I’m going to be on time.”

“Hang on I’m putting you on speaker.” The phone clicked over and the voice quality changed. The room got a little bit quieter. “Now repeat what you just said.”

“I’m going to be on time.”

The room exploded into cheers. Ruth screamed, "Thank you, Jesus!” and several people laughed.

“If I am late, I’ll just head to the restaurant.” Helen got serious as the traffic slowed. “The reservation is for seven...right?”

Ruth spoke up from the back. “Yeah…seven. This would be a lot easier if you weren’t so much fun Helen, then we wouldn’t have to invite your ‘maybe-gonna-be-on-time ass’ Bitch.” As she said this, she raised her glass. She then added, “I just got my bounty hunter license…and a pair of handcuffs…metal not fuzzy…I bought a Taser today!” With that, she let out a war whoop.

“Congratulations Ruth! How long did that take?”

“I’ve been working on it for a few months. Now get your ass here on time, or I’ll cuff you and Taze you until you’re going to need Nurse Nora to help you!”

Nora yelled out. “Yeah, girlfriend!”

“I know this is a problem and I’m working on it.” Helen felt terrible.

“Yeah, and I’m working on not eating these fantastic nachos here.” Ruth reached out for yet another nacho.

“Are those Todd’s nachos?”

“God damn right they are Helen. Now get here, and I’ll reward you with a couple…” Todd laughed.

“Now that’s an incentive…” The whole room cheered. “Let me drive, and I’ll be there at…” She checked the GPS. “6:22”.

The women chatted for a few more minutes, and then Helen was able to get off the phone.

At 6:24, Helen pulled up in front of Lupe’s house. Her house was one house from the corner.

Suddenly a man came into their view. He just appeared out of nowhere. He reeled his fist back and smashed the woman in the face. He had a tank top on that said, “That’s a terrible idea…what time?” The woman went down.

For a second, Terrance and Ralph were frozen. Then the man started pummeling the woman. Terrance stood up and screamed, “Get the gun…” He then ran over and pulled the man off of the woman. Her face was covered with blood and she had definitely broken her nose.

The man struggled. Terrance was able to get his hands behind his back. He kept pulling him away from the motionless woman. As he did this he thought, “Where the fuck is Ralph?”

Both men hit the pavement and blood flowed out into the night air. The man stopped struggling. Terrance stayed on top. Everything slowed down. Terrance was relieved they weren’t on the woman.

“We got you fucker!.” Suddenly, Ralph was there. The assailant saw the gun and went limp. Terrance arched his head and bellowed, “Fire! We need help!.”

The man was still limp. “What did I do?”, he screamed out.

Suddenly, there were five women around. One had handcuffs. She and Terrance managed to get them onto the man. Lupe called 911.

“We just had an assault on my friend at Logan and Third Street. The suspect has been detained and we need an ambulance. My friend isn’t responding”. Nora had her ear to Helen’s mouth.

“She’s breathing … but her nose is broken”. She looked into her face, then tapped her on the face lightly. “What’s your name?” Helen moaned and started choking on her blood from the broken nose. She turned herself over. Nora exhaled. “She’s not paralyzed, but her nose is broken.”

“What happened?” Helen moaned, then passed out.

 “We need paramedics. She’s unconscious.” Nora howled with an authoritative tone.

Terrance and Ruth stayed near the man. He was bent over, looking at the sidewalk. A calm fell over the group. The first part of the emergency was over.

They could hear the sirens getting closer.

The paramedics arrived first. Nora identified herself and told them the situation. In the middle of this, the police arrived and Ruth updated them. One of the paramedics went over to the man. The paramedic checked the man out and told the police to put him in their car.

Helen was moved into the ambulance, and Nora rode along with her. Lupe arranged transport to the hospital.

While the police were taking Terrance’s statement, Lupe approached.

The policeman stepped back. “I just want to thank you.”

Terrance extended his arms. Lupe stepped forward into them. “I did nothing, Ms. Rojas. At least nothing any other man wouldn’t have done. My Friday night beer just paid off.” He smiled.

Lupe withdrew from him and ended the hug. “I owe you dinner and a six-pack…nay, make it 2 24 packs.” She held up two fingers.

“You’re going to cut down on my defensive abilities with that much alcohol.” He looked her up and down. “Were you all going out?”

“Yeah, we were headed over to Fannie’s Fiesta. Happy hour ends at eight.”

“Get going Lupe…Helen is hurt…”

“Oh yeah…” Lupe giggled as the car full of her crew pulled up. A back door opened and she was absorbed into the vehicle.

After the door closed, Ruth leaned into Lupe and said, “Jesus…no flirting going on with him? Huh?”

What Did Happen

Helen sat in line to pay to leave the parking lot. The car ahead of her had a bumper sticker on the back that said, “Mother Nature bats last.” It was an older Volvo. The driver was alone.

Then the Volvo was at the booth. The ritual played out for an appropriate length of time. The gate went up, and the Volvo turned right.

Helen pulled up to the gate. She performed the same procedure as the previous car. She pulled over, took the phone off of the magnet, and punched in Lupe’s house on the GPS … just to figure out how long it would take to get there. The GPS responded, “29 minutes”. She would be there around 5:18. It was Friday, and she knew that there would be traffic. All of Lupe’s friends lived near her. Helen was the one who was driving the farthest.

She then texted Lupe and let her know her ETA. The phone went back on the magnet, and the trip began.

A few minutes later Lupe called. The group was excited, mostly because Helen was going to be on time. After a while, the conversation ended.

Then Helen was in the car alone. Just her and everyone else trying to get somewhere on a Friday night.

The car hummed under her, and the radio played.

At 5:19, she pulled up to Lupe’s.

Four minutes earlier…

Terrance took a sip of his beer and heard the clink of the glass on cement. He leaned back on his stoop. Ralph was next to him. It was a Friday and felt like it.

Ralph wasn’t drinking as usual. His drink of choice was water. It mellowed him out.

“So, who lives over here?” He thumbed the place next to Terrance’s

Terrance continued watching the street. “That’s Lupe. She is a great-lookin’ woman.” He leaned forward and shook his head. “Her friends are even hotter. But she is a really decent person.” He picked up the bottle. “Do you remember when I had to go up north when my dick of a brother finally died?” Ralph nodded. “She took care of Alfie…walked him every day and just took him in.” Terrance finished his beer.

Ralph glanced up at Terrance. “How are you doing dealing with Alfie not being around?”

Terrance finished his beer. “It’s tough, but as time goes on you get over it. It’s like everything else, you just absorb the blow and get back up.”

A red sports car pulled up and parked in front of Lupe’s house. A woman in her mid-thirties got out of the car. She was wearing a mid-length black dress and red heels.

The men’s conversation stopped. They watched her approach the sidewalk.

She got out of her car and then looked over towards the house on the corner.

Two men, in their mid-forties, were sitting on the stoop. Both of them had beers. They had been talking, When Helen closed the car door the conversation stopped. They sat, stared, and tried not to be rude about it.

Helen glanced down the block to a man in a tank top that said, “That’s a horrible idea…what time?”. Then looked down at the ground and quickly walked into Lupe’s house.

Once she was behind the door, she exhaled.

Her friends briefly disbanded their group to greet her and then regrouped into slightly different configurations.

Eventually, Lupe and Helen were alone in Lupe’s bedroom. Lupe had to pick out a scarf for tonight.

“So what do you think of this one?”

Helen was lying on Lupe’s bed, propped up on one arm. “That looks fantastic. Everything looks great on you.”

There was a pause. Helen sat up. “What do you know about those guys that live next door to you?”

“The guys on the stoop over there?” Lupe was moving the scarf around on her neck. She tilted her head in the direction of the men.

“Yeah … those guys…”

“They’re really great guys. Very protective of the neighborhood. About five years ago, I took care of Terrance’s little dog … Alvie or something. Terrance had a family emergency up north and needed someone fast. Living next to Terrance … who can be a very scary man when strangers are around … makes me sleep better.” She fell silent and waved her hand away giving up on the reality of perfect scarf placement. “Why?”

“They were just staring at me when I walked up.”

“They do that Helen. They’re men, and you’re gorgeous.”

“So you’re not afraid of Terrance?”

“Not at all … he’s really cool.”

“Have you ever gone out with him?”

Lupe was going through the coats. “Please, I don’t fuck where I eat…” She pulled out a brown jacket. “At least not this year…”

“There was also … this creepy guy on the corner.” Helen stood up from the bed. “I just still get nervous.”

Lupe put her hand on Helen’s shoulder. “Not all men are Frank…”

Helen was adjusting her hair. “I know they’re not. It just … doesn’t leave you.” She grinned at Lupe. “You are never going to guess who I ran into at the grocery store last week.”

“Did you run into Liberace?”

“No silly, he’s dead.”

“But I did guess.”

“But you gave the wrong answer.”

“Now you want me to guess and give the right answer. Just tell me.” Both women were looking at each other.

“I ran into Janet…”

“Janet who?”

“Your sister.., and her daughter Rachel.” There was a pause, and Lupe turned towards the mirror to brush her hair again.

The warmth drained out of Lupe, “How is she?”

“She’s great. Rachel is graduating from High School in June. She is gorgeous.”

“Of course she is … have you ever seen her father?”

“Nope”

“That’s why it’s a surprise to you.”

Lupe stopped brushing her hair. “She wants you to call her.”

“Of course she does.”

“Are you going to?”

Lupe shrugged.

“That’s understandable.” Helen wished she hadn’t brought it up.

“Just be lucky that you don’t understand this situation, Helen.”

“I am.” Helen looked down at her feet.

“You have no idea how hard being in my family is.”

“I know.”

Helen knew Lupe hadn’t heard her.

“My dad would push us together. You know, the old family is the only thing.” Lupe sat down in front of her mirror. She stared into it. Helen knew she was looking at the past. “My mom used to drive us apart and then when we fought she would smile. If you called her on it she would deny it.” She played with her scarf some more. “Then she would come back here and leave my father to pick up the pieces. That man… surrounded by women in Boston. He would push us back together and we would get along again eventually.” She stopped playing with the scarf. “Then Mother would return and we would be at each other's throats again.” Helen watched as Lupe drifted back in time to a much harder place. “I told Janet that mom was doing this but she always ignored me. Janet and Dad would ignore me or laugh or gaslight me. Janet was the chosen one. Mom gave her enough walls to block me out. I was there to be ignored. Now, those walls have become a rigid part of Janet’s being.” There was a hush in the room. Helen knew this would happen. She rarely mentioned Janet.

Lupe stood up from the makeup table. As she walked closer to Helen. She saw her soul fill her body once again.

They embraced.

“Sorry, I brought it up.”

Lupe lifted her face. “You told her you would give me the message…didn’t you?”

“Yeah…”

“And you have … and if you hadn’t, who gives a fuck?” She let go of her face. “It’s out of your hands … let’s get out of here.” She moved towards the door of her bedroom. “Happy hour is ticking away second by second…”

With that, the women walked out of the bedroom to collect their tribe.

Lupe sat on her couch in the welcome silence of her home. She scrolled through her contacts, until “Janet” appeared.

She clicked on it and looked up the history of calls.

On November 12, 2016, they talked for 67 minutes.

That name was burned into her memory and her past.

So many fights. So many apologies. So many laps around the abuse track.

She wondered how her niece Rachel was, especially as she turned 18 this year. She would be going off to Stanford after her graduation.

She had always been bright, so no one was surprised by these developments.

Rachel had reached out a few years before, but Lupe wasn’t ready. She wasn’t sure if she ever would be.

She sighed and got up from the couch to go over to the dining room table. She glanced at the nachos. Tonight was fun. Ruth told a great story about her boss. Some guy asked Helen to dance and Nora hunkered down with Todd to commiserate about the lack of clarity at the end of Battles of Dust. Overall, the night was great.

Lupe grabbed the remnants of the nachos and wandered out to the back porch.

Her neighborhood seemed quiet tonight. She looked at her phone. It was 12:47 a.m. No wonder. Off in the distance, there was the sound of an ambulance.

The nachos were set down on her small table that sat next to her back porch chair. It was too late for questions. But they showed up anyway…uninvited and late.

She pulled her phone up and looked at Janet’s name in her contact list.

Lupe thought you should make a decision about Janet. Then she realized she had made decisions about her every day. It was the same one and it was correct.

She bit into a nacho that had been made seven hours ago. It wasn’t that good nachos don’t age well. She finished the nacho and Terrance’s back door opened.

He inhaled the night. Lupe noticed that he had a beer in his hand. She sort of wanted one. Instead, she looked at the nachos and wanted them gone. She stood up and moved back into the house.

As she shoved them down the garbage disposal. She thought about how she hadn’t noticed Terrance before.

He was there when she moved in.

He provided a neighborhood service as watchman of the block. There had been block parties. He always showed up but he stayed to himself.

Like most of her neighbors, she really didn’t know anything about him.

Then she sat back on the couch. Helen had brought up too many questions she couldn’t answer this evening. One thing she knew was that she wouldn’t be calling Janet…

She knew that her father was wrong about having siblings. She so wanted him to be right…for her sake.