Maya's Choice (12 page)

“What happened to you?” Maya asked.

“The same thing that happened you,” I said, sizing her up once again.

“I said that I'm fine and I don't want to go to the hospital!” I heard my mother fussing. I glanced in the direction of the bathroom.

“Are you going to go check on your mother, or are you going to stand here hating on me for no reason?” Maya asked.

“Oh, I have my reasons for not liking you and you know exactly what they are,” I said. Maya dropped her eyes toward the floor with guilty shame. “Yeah, I haven't forgotten about what you did.” I reminded her of how she should feel at fault. In that instant, if my eyes had been laser beams, Maya would have been incinerated beyond recognition.

“How are you two getting along in here?” Grandmother Esmeralda entered the room. I didn't say anything, but my
murderous eyes were shouting. Maya finally broke the silence and tried to downplay the tension between us.

“Everything is fine—we're just catching up.”

Grandmother Esmeralda chose to ignore the disquiet between Maya and me. She elected to smile at Maya before turning her attention to me. “Are you okay? Did you see who did that to your mother?”

“No,” I answered. “But I have a good idea of who did it.”

“Was it the security guard she was dating?” Grandmother Esmeralda asked.

“No, she broke up with him a long time ago. She has a new idiot named Martin who is responsible,” I said. “I swear before God, the next time I see him, he's going to have to deal with me,” I said in my meanest voice.

“You will do no such thing, Viviana. Nor are you a match for a man. You will only get yourself killed.” Grandmother Esmeralda paused in thought. “I just don't understand this thing she has with abusive men. She's too old to have this type of problem.”

“People get beat down every day. Weren't you the one who was always saying, ‘You're never too old to get your butt beat?'” In some small way I got a twisted pleasure by making her eat her own words.

“Yes, but…” Grandmother Esmeralda stopped talking briefly. “Never mind, it's not worth arguing the point.”

“Well, it is what it is,” I said, feeling my heart turning into stone.

“Your grandfather was the best father and husband in the world. He never raised a hand to me or his children. He loved us so much. If he were still alive, he'd be so hurt by
this. I wish I could make Salena understand that love does not have a fist. I don't understand why she is like that.”

“Well, apparently, she missed that lesson,” I spoke out sarcastically. Grandmother Esmeralda honed in on my negative attitude.

“Viviana, your mouth is filthy and it is going to get you into big trouble one day if you don't clean it up. Why can't you be more like Maya? She's a good girl. She only makes little teenage mistakes here and there, but overall she's a very respectable young lady. She doesn't have such a bad attitude like you do. You could learn so much from her.”

I curled my lips into a sour frown when she suggested I become more like Maya. She was the last person I wanted to emulate.

“Are those your clothes in that bag?” asked Grandmother Esmeralda, pointing to my bag.

“Yeah,” I answered, glancing down at my old, dirty duffel bag. For a moment I allowed my thoughts to be seduced with the fantasy of hurling the sack of laundry at Maya's head.

“When was the last time they were washed?” she asked.

I shrugged my shoulders and said, “I don't know, but it's about time for them to be cleaned.”

“Fine, take them down to the laundry room. You know where it is. There is plenty of laundry detergent down there,” Grandmother Esmeralda said as she exhaled and then collapsed on the sofa. She combed her fingers through her hair and then glanced at the ceiling. Maya sat next to her and hugged her in an effort to comfort her.

“What a suck-up,” I mumbled as I picked up my sack of clothes and headed toward the laundry room.

MAYA

It
was well after midnight before Viviana and I got a chance to go to bed. While in the bathroom brushing my teeth I thought about what Viviana used to be like. I didn't like the new version of her. She'd grown into the type of girl who'd beat anyone down in a heartbeat at the slightest hint of disrespect.

Viviana and I grew up together and spent the summer months at our grandmother's home. We went to church together, played with our dolls together, combed each other's hair, and danced to our favorite music in Grandmother Esmeralda's backyard. We were inseparable back then. Grandmother Esmeralda loved to take us everywhere with her. We'd do fun things like hang out at the beach, go shopping, and at one point Viviana and I were both taking ballet lessons. When Viviana and I were nine years old, Grandmother Esmeralda took us to Disney World. We had so much fun that summer. By the time we'd turned twelve, Viviana had discovered that she liked boys. They were just okay to me, but it wasn't like I was truly interested in them at that age. How
ever, Viviana convinced me that having a boyfriend would make us look mature. So that summer we started getting into a little mischief with the twin brothers Revell and Reggie, who used to live next door to Grandmother Esmeralda. They both had high-pitched voices, laughed obnoxiously and had bad acne. Neither one was particularly cute, but for Viviana and me, we were only having a little fun. That was until we ended up experiencing our first kiss together.

One hot afternoon, Grandmother Esmeralda left the house to run a quick errand. Viviana and I were hanging out in the backyard drinking Kool-Aid and thumbing through fashion magazines. Viviana decided to call Reggie so that he and his brother could come over and take advantage of the time that our grandmother was away. Both Revell and Reggie came out of the house immediately and jumped the fence that separated our yards. I'll be the first to admit that I was having fun being chased around and screaming at the top of my voice. I didn't want Revell to catch me, but then again I did. They cornered us on opposite sides of the same tree. Without asking, Revell pressed his lips against mine and I angrily pushed him off me. Reggie was doing the same to Viviana, but she liked it. Their lips were smashed together and they just kept turning their heads back and forth. I, of course, thought it was gross because at the time it just seemed like they were sharing each other's spit. Revell begged me to get with the program and be more like Viviana, but I was a good girl and just didn't do stuff like that. Viviana thought I was so lame. Revell, who wasn't about to be outdone by his brother, pressed up against me and tried to steal a kiss. I once
again fought him off and told Viviana that I didn't think it was such a good idea to call them up and invite them over.

Viviana broke away from her kissing session and said, “Stop being so afraid, Maya. It's a lot of fun if you'd just relax.”

“Yeah. Just relax and let me do the work.” Revell tried to use a low and commanding voice, but it only cracked and released an irritating pitch right in the middle of his sentence.

“I don't think so,” I said, wanting both boys to leave before Grandmother Esmeralda returned.

“Revell, you should leave,” I said, pointing in the direction of his house.

“No. Just let me get to second base. Look at Viviana and my brother. She's letting him go to second base.” Revell once again begged me to let my guard down. I held my ground and firmly told him no. I walked back to the house, entered it and stood behind the safety of the screen door. Then, just as I'd feared, Grandmother Esmeralda returned home and caught Viviana kissing and getting felt up.

I closed my eyes for a second and erased the memory from my thoughts. I tied up my hair and headed toward the bedroom. When I entered, Viviana was just pulling back the bedcovers.

“You can use the washroom now,” I said politely.

“What for?” Viviana asked.

“To wash your face and brush your teeth. There is a spare toothbrush in the medicine cabinet,” I said.

“I don't see the purpose of brushing my teeth before I go to bed when I'm just going to wake up with morning breath anyway,” she said.

“It's part of having good hygiene,” I explained.

Viviana met my gaze. “So, what are you saying? That I stink or something?”

I knew right away that she'd gotten offended. “That's not what I said.”

“But that's what you're implying, right?” Viviana stepped close to me and I backed away.

“I wasn't trying to be insulting. You've taken my comment way too seriously,” I said.

Viviana glared at me with heat in her eyes. The old Viviana that I used to get along with was long gone. “Why don't you just leave me alone and go get in your own bed?” she said.

“Uhm, don't you remember what our grandmother said? We have to share the bed.”

“I'm not sharing this bed. I was here first, so it's mine.” Viviana got in the bed and pulled the covers up to her shoulder.

“So where am I supposed to sleep?” I asked.

“On the floor,
princess,
” Viviana said.

“Oh, no! There is no
way
that I'm sleeping on the floor.” That was where I drew the line.

“You want to fight for the bed?” Viviana asked. She tossed back the covers and rose to her feet.

“Come on, take your best shot,” she encouraged me to bring it.

“What's the matter with you? Why can't you just let what happened in the past go?” I asked, trying to reason with her.

“It's not that easy,
princess,
” she said, waiting for me to make my first move.

“This is stupid and ghetto,” I said, turning my back to her.
I walked over to a nearby closet and pulled out a blanket and another pillow. I glanced at Viviana with disgust and exited the bedroom. I went downstairs, figuring that I'd sleep on the sofa. However, when I got there, Salena was already asleep on it. I grumbled quietly to myself and walked back upstairs. I entered Grandmother Esmeralda's bedroom. She was already in a deep sleep, so I crawled into bed with her, curled my body up and closed my eyes.

 

When I awoke the following morning Grandmother Esmeralda wasn't beside me. Her bed was so comfortable that I toyed with the idea of never leaving it. I turned onto my side and snuggled up with one of the pillows to try and get more sleep. Just as I was about to close my eyes, something told me to turn over. When I did, Viviana was standing over me.

“Aww, the poor princess was too high-strung to sleep on the floor.” Viviana didn't waste any time handing out critical remarks.

“Why don't you just go away? I'm not bothering you,” I grumbled as I turned back over.

“Trust me. I wish I could go someplace far away and just be by myself.” Viviana's voice had a sad undertone to it, so I turned back over to face her. I thought that perhaps she was in a slightly better mood.

“Where would you go?” I asked.

“I don't know. Just someplace where life is easy.”

“Do you like reading books at all?”

“What does reading some stupid book have to do with anything?” she asked mockingly.

“Well. For a lot of people reading a book can be sort of like escaping from your own reality. It's worked for me a few times. I thought maybe it'd work for you, too.”

Viviana laughed. “That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard of. But I'm not surprised, especially since it came from your mouth.”

“Whatever, Viviana. I was only trying to help.”

“What I need help with is getting money to get my own place. Me and my friend Toya talked about living together,” Viviana said as she sat down in a chair in the corner of the room.

“You're too young to live on your own.” I thought to myself that her idea was truly a dumb one.

“No, I'm not. I know what life is really about. I've been places, seen and done things. I'm not some sheltered princess who lives in la-la land like you.” Viviana didn't let up for even a second with her personal attacks on me.

“Just for your information, my life isn't as perfect as you think it is,” I said, feeling the need to defend myself.

“Yeah, right. You practically have a silver spoon in your mouth. I'll even bet you that Aunt Raven and your father, Herman, have even set up a college fund for you.” Viviana had a contemptuous frown on her face.

“Well, yeah. Of course they do,” I said. To me, saving for college was just as normal as back-to-school shopping.

“You guys still living in that big house out in the suburbs?” Viviana asked.

“Our house is small,” I said, feeling the need to make her feel better.

“When I do get settled down, the place that I'm going to
live in is going to be twenty times bigger than yours. I'm going to have everything in it. Maids, cooks, a ton of clothes and lots of jewelry. You just wait. I'll show you.”

“How do you plan on getting all of that stuff?” I asked.

“I'm going to steal it. Well, most of it, anyway,” she said without batting an eye.

“Are you serious?” I asked.

“Yup. Like I said, my girlfriend Toya hooked me up and taught me how to pick pockets and stuff. She can make more money in one day than your dad probably makes in a week,” Viviana boasted.

“But what if you get caught?” I asked.

“I'm too smart to get caught,” Viviana said stubbornly.

“Don't tell me you're dumb enough to think you'd never get caught. Now you're starting to sound like your father.” I shook my head disapprovingly. Before I could react she had wedged her forearm between my neck and shoulder and pressed down. I struggled as I placed my hand on her elbow and tried to push her off me.

“If you ever make fun of my father again, I swear to God I will choke you in your sleep! You of all people should know that!” Viviana pressed down harder, which caused me to cough.

I gasped for air and said, “You're choking me.” Viviana pressed down hard one more time before she lifted her weight off me. As I tried to calm my labored breathing, she chuckled and said, “Now you know exactly how much I don't like you.”

Viviana hovered over me and observed as I caught my breath and curled up into the fetal position. Once I caught
my breath, the only thing on my mind was retribution for what she'd just done. There was no way that I was going to let her little stunt go unanswered. I scooted over to the other side of the bed and got out of it. I moved around the bed toward Viviana with one thought in mind.
Pull all of her freaking hair off her head.
Viviana smirked. She knew that what she'd done would cause a fight and she welcomed the confrontation. Just as I about to make my move on her, I heard Grandmother Esmeralda shouting at Salena. I stopped cold in my tracks and listened.

“Why won't you get help?” I heard Grandmother Esmeralda ask.

“Because I don't need any, Mother!” Salena shouted back. I heard the sound of glass shattering and rushed out of the room. I hustled down the stairs and ran back toward the kitchen. Grandmother Esmeralda had grabbed a broom from the corner of the room and began to sweep up the broken glass from an empty wine bottle. I glanced over at my aunt Salena, who'd just popped open a second bottle of wine that Grandmother Esmeralda had. Salena put the bottle up to her swollen lips, tossed her head back and guzzled down the liquor like water running down a drain.

“Is everything okay?” I asked nervously, concerned for both of them. Aunt Salena smeared away the excess liquor with the back of her hand. She looked a little better, but not much. She had a nasty-looking black eye and puffy lips.

“What are you staring at?” She belched, clearly annoyed with the way I was staring at her.

“Salena, think about Viviana. Think of what this is doing to her. It's not a good thing to raise a child in an abusive
home.” Grandmother Esmeralda tried to speak as lovingly and as calmly as she could. “You need help. This man you're with is no good for you. We could go to church and talk to the priest and—”

Salena interrupted. “So, what are you saying? That I'm not a good mother? That I'm not as good as Raven? Viviana isn't as good or as smart as Maya?” Aunt Salena had completely snapped. I'd never seen the bitter and angry side of her.

“I did not say that.” Grandmother Esmeralda was again trying to remain calm in an explosive situation.

“I'll finish cleaning that up,” I said as I moved toward my grandmother and took the broom from her.

“You've always liked Raven better than me. Everything Raven did was always perfect to you and Papa. Nothing I ever did was good enough. I struggled to get good grades and Raven was an A student. Raven went to college, and I dropped out to work so that I could help out financially when Papa started getting sick and couldn't work anymore. But did I get so much as a thank-you or any type of appreciation? No. You said it was my duty to help out while Raven was away having the time of her life in college. I helped to pay for her college education.” Salena took another long gulp of the liquor.

“Salena. I told you that you didn't have to drop out of college. I told you that I was taking a second job,” said Grandmother Esmeralda.

“No, Mama. You're twisting it around so that you don't look bad. You told me that Raven was the smart one. You said that Raven would finish and make you and Papa proud.”

“Salena, you're talking crazy. You're forty years old talk
ing about things that happened twenty years ago. You can't change the past.”

“And you can't forget it either, Mama.”

“I worry about you, Salena. Why won't you let me help you? You can stay here, away from that mean man who beats you.”

“No, Mama. That man loves me. I know he does, and we are going to be happy together. You'll see,” Salena said, taking yet another gulp of wine.