The Take (6 page)

Hanging
up, he faced Felina. “We’ve gotta get out of here. Now.”

“Why
can’t you meet him somewhere else?” she asked.

“Val
knows I might not want to meet him at Denny’s if I’m carrying all this money
around. He might figure I’d make the drop in a more private place. He’s not
gonna take any chances, so he might be tailing Raymond this morning. That’s
probably why he sent you out to Channelview, so he could take care of me while
you’re gone. Now, let’s move.”

≈≈≈

Raymond Cannetta slowly replaced the receiver on the hook following
Eddie’s frantic call. He sipped his morning coffee as he studied the newspaper
in front of him:

Police speculate robbery was the motive.
Salazar’s passport was found on his person …
 
believed he was carrying a large amount
of cash … no suspects at this time.

Calmly,
he lifted his phone receiver off the hook and punched in a number.

“Artie?
You up? Well, get dressed. We’ve got a collection to make. Meet me at …” He
thumbed through his address book, stopping at Eddie’s name.

≈≈≈

Eddie grabbed the old leather suitcase, then started for the door.

“Is
that … is that …” Felina stammered, pointing at the suitcase.

He
nodded. They knew it might as well be loaded with TNT, as they warily headed
down the stairs.

Before
stepping outside, Eddie opened the door a crack to survey the street. His car
still sat right in front with a ticket on the windshield. Nobody lingering
where they shouldn’t be. Everything normal.

“Okay,
let’s go,” he said. “And remember, we’re just another couple loading our car
for a weekend trip.”

They
walked out casually. After placing the suitcase in the trunk, they climbed into
the car. He drove around the block to see if anyone followed. When no one did,
he aimed the Toyota for the freeway.

“You
said your mother lives in Channelview?” he asked, as they rode the ramp onto
the East Freeway. She nodded, then he said, “Let’s go there. Just like you were
supposed to. You got any clothes over there?”

“A few
things. But if we go there, Val might be waiting.”

“He won’t
be waiting. More than likely, he’s on his way over to Raymond’s right now to
see where he goes for his meeting with me. He’s probably planning to take care
of you later.” He accelerated up to about sixty-five, then cruised. “Can you be
lieve
that son of a bitch? I trusted
him. I been trusting him all this time. We been friends for years. Shit, he got
me my bettors for my first football pool back when we was in eighth grade. And
now this. Can you be
lieve
this shit?”

Felina
remained silent while they headed out of Houston. Eddie ran it all over again
in his mind. He let Val talk him into this crazy heist, which was bad enough.
That right there could’ve got him killed, you know?

But
then, the betrayal. He would’ve been shot dead today in Denny’s parking lot,
right in broad daylight, without even knowing what happened! Without even
knowing. Val was just going to let him have it, probably in the back.

Son of a bitch was gonna do me in. Yeah,
with me outa the way, he’d be in the clear. Right in the clear … and with all the
goddam money. Son of a bitch!

C
hannelview was
a short drive out the East Freeway. Felina’s mother lived in a tumbledown
trailer park a minute or so from the exit.

They
motored to a unit near the south edge of the park, bordering on a vacant lot.
As Eddie pulled up, he saw the aging trailer listing a little to one side,
although it really looked no worse than any of the others in the drab
collection.

Dark-skinned
kids ran around everywhere, while clothes hung from makeshift lines. A few dogs
moved listlessly here and there. Heavy vegetation around the perimeter of the
park helped keep the air still. He noticed the trash hadn’t been picked up in
at least a couple of days. The odor didn’t travel well in the high Texas heat.

“Give
me a minute,” Felina said. “Just let me run in.”

Eddie
shut the motor off. As Felina skipped up the narrow steps to the door, he
reached into the clutter of the back seat and fished out a week-old newspaper.
Luckily, it was the sports section.

Felina
put her face up to the aluminum screen door. She looked into the trailer’s
compact interior and from back in the bedroom, she heard the TV.

“¡Mami!
” she called. “
¡Mami!
”

“Ay!”
came the response. “Felina.” Her mother came quickly. “
¿Qué pasa, querida? Todo va bien?
” There was motherly worry in her
voice.

“Yes,
Mami, everything is all right. But I can only stay a minute.”

Her
mother unlocked the door and Felina greeted her with a big hug. The trailer was
the same as she had left it on her last visit a couple of weeks ago. It had always
been the same her whole life, spare and clean, except for the new couch her
mother bought about three years ago. A loveseat, actually. The place was too
small for a full-sized couch, but the loveseat fit perfectly.

Her
mother had saved for a long time to buy it and she was thrilled the day it
arrived, delivered and everything, straight from the outlet store. Felina had
made a special trip out there that day because she knew her mother wanted her
to witness the arrival. Since that great day, it had held up pretty well.
Before anyone sat on it, her mother always placed towels on the cushions to
keep them as free from wear as possible.

Felina
hugged her and kissed each cheek, wishing there were something like that she
could do to protect her mother’s once-flawless face from the onset of aging.

She
knew her mother was at least forty, or maybe older, and the woman’s classic
Latin beauty was being slowly devoured by time. The first etchings of lines
were just now attacking her around the eyes and cheeks. Her satiny skin had
grown thicker and dryer, surrendering the resilience Felina had always felt
when she touched it. It no longer emanated that honeyed glow, and while she was
still a lovely woman, she had relinquished her youth forever.

Upon
seeing this, Felina recoiled slightly. With a touch of horror, she saw herself
twenty years from now, and heard the ticking of a clock for the first time in
her life.

Ticking
second by second, downward to zero.

Even
though she was now only
twenty-four,
she realized these same forces were right now planning out their attack on her
own radiant skin and sleek figure, patiently waiting for the first moment when
they would decide to show themselves. When they did expose those first tiny
signs, Felina realized, the floodgates of aging would be flung wide open, and
she would be helpless to resist, able only to kneel and surrender, as her dear
mother was doing now.

Suddenly
aware of this time limit, she knew she had to do something with her life before
the zero hour arrived.

As they
broke from the hug, their eyes met. Smiles leaped off their faces and Felina
embraced her mother once more for good measure.

They
exchanged loving phrases in rapid Spanish, and her mother went to the bedroom
to retrieve her can of Dr Pepper. When they finally sat on the toweled
loveseat, Felina asked, “How is everything?”

“Oh
honey, it couldn’t be better. I have picked up two more houses to clean. One is
for a city councilman of Pasadena. That’s a very good one. Four days a week.”

“Mami,
that’s wonderful.”

”And
with the extra money, I now have cable TV.”

“Cable
TV?” Felina knew the breakthrough that
represented. Even with the taped-together rabbit ears, her tiny,
antiquated TV could barely pick up the Houston stations out here.

“Yes
honey. I now get Univisión. The all-Spanish channel. I can watch all my
telenovelas
, and even Don Francisco
every Saturday night.”

“I’m so
happy for you, Mami. But I don’t want you to overwork yourself.”

“I’m
not,” she replied as she finished off her Dr Pepper. “Even with the new jobs, I’m
only working about fifty hours a week.” She got up and went to the kitchen
area, depositing the empty can in the trash. “Speaking of work, how’s your job
at the cleaners?”

“Well …
that’s why I came here today, Mami. I won’t be working there any longer.”

“No? Do
you have a better job? Modeling maybe, like you always wanted?”

“No,
Mami. Not modeling.” Her mother’s jaw sagged just a tiny bit. Felina picked up
on the disappointment. “In fact, I — I — well, I won’t be working
for a while. I’m —”

“Won’t
be working? Not working? Why not? That boy Val, is he making you quit? Is that
it?”

“No, no
Mami. It’s not Val. In fact, I’m not with Val anymore. He’s …” She sighed while
she tried to think of how to explain it. “I’m with someone else,” she said, gesturing
over toward the window.

With a
little effort, her mother looked out over the sill to where the dented orange
Toyota was parked, Eddie inside reading his paper.

“Who is
this?” she asked, ready to add another male name to an ever-lengthening list.

Felina
took her mother’s hands in her own. “Mami, I’m leaving Houston.”

“
¡Ay! ¡Diós mío!
What is happening? What
is wrong? Why are you —”

“Everything
is all right, Mami.” Felina squeezed her mother’s hands. “I promise you,
nothing is wrong. Eddie — that fellow — and I are just going away
for a while. Just a short while until …”

Her
mother’s voice escalated to more frantic levels. “My darling, my darling
Felina! You are leaving? Why? Where are you going? Wh-what is all this?”

“Please,
Mami. Please. It is all right. I will be all right.”

“Where
are you going?”

”I’m … I’m
not sure yet, but I will call you soon. In a few
days. I promise.”

”You
are leaving Houston? And you don’t know where you
are going? How long will you be gone?”

Felina
hugged her to calm her down. It did, but only a
little.

“Mami,
Mami, listen to me. I’m not leaving for good. Just for a little while, like I
said.” She turned her mother’s head so their eyes locked, then said, “All of
our problems will soon be over. I swear to you. But you must wait for a little
while.”

“What
are you talking about? What do you me –“

Felina
held her mother’s shoulders. “Please, Mami. Just wait and trust what I say.
Very soon, I will be able to repay you for all of the wonderful things you did
for me. And for everything you wanted to do but couldn’t.” Her mother started
to speak again, but Felina silenced her. “I will call you and let you know
where I am. I promise I will. In just a couple of days. But now I need to get a
few things and then I must go. Quickly.”

This
stab of news plunged deep inside her mother’s heart. Her sharp black eyes
turned wet with pain. When the tears came, she buried her face in her hands.
Within moments, Felina came out of the bedroom with a small carrying bag.

“Please
don’t cry, Mami.” She helped her mother to her feet. “I will call you, just be
patient. I promise I will call you.” Then she added, “Everything will be all
right. You will see.” They hugged again in the doorway. Felina was having her
own problem fighting back the tears. “Mami, Mami! I love you so. I love you.”

As
Felina pulled away from the embrace and slid down the steps, she heard Eddie
start the car. Then her mother called out through her tears, “I love you too,
honey. Oh, be careful. I love you, I love you.”

“I love
you, Mami,” she cried as she got in the car. As it pulled away, she looked back
through the rear window at her mother standing in the half-open aluminum screen
door, waving.

“E
verything
okay?” asked Eddie, as he wound his way to the trailer park exit. His casual
tone told her he didn’t want any details.

“I feel
terrible, Eddie. I couldn’t tell her anything. Only that I’m leaving, and I don’t
even know where I’m going.”

“It’s
okay, baby,” he said, trying for consolation. He saw a tear or two had made it
out onto her cheek and he knew it must have been rough.

A few
large raindrops began splattering the roof of the car. Within moments, they
became a downpour. It didn’t chase away the heat and humidity, though. Eddie
turned up the air conditioning, looking for relief, but it didn’t do the job.

“Listen,”
he said, “my sister Linda lives in New Orleans. We can stay with her till we
get our bearings. Then we can call your mother later on when we’re sure it’s
safe.”