Missy's Gentle Giant (3 page)

Chapter Two

Later in the evening Mr. Sanchez
hovered worriedly over his only daughter.  “All right now, Melissa you’ve
had plenty of time to calm down.”  He patted her on the shoulder. 
“Just tell me what happened.”

“My—my car broke down and he
stopped and tried to fix it.  He said it was my—no—Abigail’s rear end and
more like a heart attack than a heat stroke.  Anyway I asked him if he’d
take me to the next gas station and—and—”

“And?”  Mother and father
asked in unison.

“He got mad at me and said he
wouldn’t.”  Melissa bit her lip.  “Then he said he’d bring me to McAllen,
got my suitcase and threw it in his truck.”

“Melissa why the hell’s your car
been towed to the shop?”  Gonzalo burst into the living room.  “And
who the hell paid the towing charges?”

“Quiet!”  Mr. Sanchez put his
hand up.  “Go on Melissa, what did he do?”

“He?”  Gonzalo stopped
stunned.

“Quiet!”

“He—he—when we got to McAllen, he
asked me where I live.  I didn’t want to tell him because I didn’t want
the neighbors seeing me get out of his truck, and he—”

“Who the hell is she talking
about?”  Gonzalo yelled.

“The trucker who brought her home
when her car broke down.  Be quiet, son.”  Mrs. Sanchez smiled at
Gonzalo. 

“Who the hell was he?”  His
mother smiled?  Some damn trucker brought Melissa home and his mother
smiled?

“We don’t know.”

“You don’t know?  How the hell
can I kill the bastard?”

“Now calm down, Gonzalo.”

“Calm down?  My baby sister let
a strange man bring her home and in a truck no less, and you want me to calm
down?”

“Yes, now shut up, dammit!” 
Mrs. Salinas glared.  Three more heads appeared in the living room.

“Melissa, tell me—what did he do
when you didn’t want to give him our address.”

“He—he got mad at me again and told
me if I didn’t tell him, he was going to take me to a motel and—”

“The damned bastard!”  Mr.
Salinas and Gonzalo said in unison.

“And?”  Mrs. Sanchez grinned.

“He said he’d call the trucking
service and tell them to pick me up at the motel.”  Melissa looked
up.  “Mama he didn’t do anything wrong—”

“I know.”  Mrs. Sanchez pulled
her daughter into her arms.  “I know.”

“I’ll kill him!”  Gonzalo
stomped.  “I swear I’ll—”

“You’ll do no such thing!” 
Mrs. Sanchez glared.  “Both of you will—”  She looked around the
room.  “All of you will sit down and cool off while I get Melissa up to
bed.  “And you’ll wait until I come back downstairs.  Do you hear
me?”  She glared at her husband who was the first to sit.

“Whatever you say, Mother.”

“Fine!”  She reached for
Melissa’s chin and pulled it up.  “Melissa dear, it’s over now and we
don’t care what the neighbors say.  Your father and I trust you and know
nothing happened.”  She glared at her family; then smiled at Melissa. 
“Come now, I think you need to get some rest.”

Everyone watched until Melissa and
Mrs. Sanchez left the room.  Gonzalo jumped up.  “I’ll kill
him!  As soon as I find him, I’ll kill him!”

“Might need some help.”  Mr.
Sanchez picked at the little doily on the arm of the sofa.

“What the hell are you—”

“Ricardo says he’s a giant.”

“A what?”

“A giant—much, much bigger than
Marco—not only taller but all over bigger.”

“You saw him?”  Gonzalo turned
to his little brother.

“Yeah, he scared me he was so
big.”  Ricardo laughed.  “After blasting his horn, he jumped down
from the new truck and screamed for everyone to hear how he was an Italian and
how Italians took nice girls home rather than leave them to walk.”

“He screamed it?”

“Yeah, ain’t no one on the block
who could miss it.” Ricardo laughed and shrugged.  “Guess that’s why
Melissa’s shook up.  Even honked his horn a couple of times afterwards. 
Made sure everyone knew he brought her home.”

“Great!”  Gonzalo raked his
fingers through his hair and glanced at his father.  “Great!  Now
what the hell do we do?”

“I don’t know.  I was dead set
on going after him, but your mother says—”

“He even told Mom how you could
find him—”  Ricardo laughed.

“What?”  Gonzalo turned to his
brother.

“I heard him.  He yelled it,
tell her brothers and father my name is Ben Spinelli, and I’ll be at the first
motel—”

“Spinelli?”  Charger?  Gonzolo’s
face went pale.  “What kind of truck was he driving?”

“Brand new big rig—”  Ricardo
smiled.  “New York license plates!  I remember because they were a
funny—”

“You’re sure?”  Gonzalo leaned
over Ricardo with furious, threatening eyes.

“Yeah, I’m sure.”

“And he said his name was
Spinelli?”

“Yeah, Italian—”

“Dammit!”  Gonzalo stiffened
and raked his fingers through his hair.  “Dammit!”

“Gonzalo what’s wrong?”

“If it’s—he’s a womanizer—he’s wild
and crazy—damn, he lives just for kicks and what he can get from—” 
Gonzalo slapped his hand on his forehead.

“Gonzalo what are you talking
about?”

“If it’s the same person, we were
in Iraq together.  He saved my—the son of—”

“What on earth is wrong with
you?”  Mrs. Sanchez walked back into the room.

“Did the guy say his name was
Spinelli?”  Gonzalo turned toward her.

“Yes, but—”

“Ben Spinelli?”

“Yes, but—”

“I’ll find him if it’s the last
thing I do!”  Gonzalo spun toward the door.

“And when you do, you’ll bring him
back here as a guest.”  Mrs. Sanchez put her hands on her hips.

“As a what?”  Marco asked as
four people’s mouths dropped open and Gonzalo stopped dead in his tracks.

“Loud and clear he told me he couldn’t
accept our custom of hiding the fact he brought Melissa home.”

“So did he have to tell all the
neighbors?”

“Would they not notice a brand new
tractor trailer?  Loud and clear for everyone to hear, he told me he
brought her to the house because according to his customs he should do so with
a nice, respectable girl.  He even said he’d willingly face you if you
disagreed with his decision.  He as much as said he couldn’t bear to leave
Melissa to walk home alone—and in spite of you and what you might do, he had to
bring her to me.  He even said his name twice.”

“If it was his name.”  Mr.
Sanchez scowled.

“Mom—”  Gonzalo frowned. 
“Was he so big Ricardo might see him as a giant?”

“Yes, I did too.

“Then he gave the right
name.”  Gonzalo nodded at his father.  “I have to find him.”  He
glanced at the door.  “We were in Iraq together, and he—I have to find
him.”  Gonzalo raced out the door.

Ben groaned, blinked his eyes and
wondered what woke him.  He shook his head and heard the doorbell; no it
was a damn phone.  Did he even see a damn phone when he came in? 
Where the hell was the phone?  Slowly he reached for the lamp willing the
noise to stop.  He rubbed his eyes, saw the phone right beside the clock
and picked up the receiver.

“Yeah?”

“You bastard!”

“Huh?”  Ben pulled the
receiver away from his ear and stared at it.

“What did you do to my sister?”

“I didn’t do—your sister?” 
Ben raked his fingers through his hair and rubbed his neck.

“We’re right outside, you son of
a—”

“Wait a minute—”  Totally
confused, he sat up.

“Bringing her home and making an
announcement about it yet!  Outside!  Come outside and face us.”

“Look I just—”  Ben blinked.

“So you’re going to turn yellow
now, huh?”

“I’m what?”  Ben shook his
head.  He hadn’t expected a fight, at least not in the middle of the
night.  “Look, why don’t you come back—”

“No!  Now dammit!  Come
out and face us like a man!”

“Look—”

“Oh, the screaming Italian has lost
his nerve?”

“Is this about my taking Missy
home?”  His head finally cleared.

“You’re damn right it is!”

“What do you want?”

“You!  Outside right
now!  You’re dead meat!”

“Yeah, right.”  He dropped the
receiver, pulled himself up from the bed and reached for his pants.  Ah
hell, he’d been in fights in the middle of the night before.  Might as
well get it over with.  He braced himself and opened the door.

“Charger!  You bastard!” 
Gonzalo stood in front of the door with a wild grin.  “I ought to kick
your ass!”

“But you won’t?”  Ben blinked
surprised.

“Not until I hear what the hell
happened.”

“Great!”  Ben leaned tiredly
against the door.  “To tell the truth, I’m too damned tired to fight
anyone right now.”  He shook his head and pulled back so anyone could
enter.  He was surprised to see only Gonzalo.  “No one else?”

“The others will get you
later.”  Gonzalo grinned.  “Damn!  Four years!  What the
hell have you been doing?”

“Trying to make it.”

“Yeah, me too.”

“Look—about your kid sister, I knew
who she was the minute she said to have the car delivered to Sanchez Trucking
Service.”

“So why the big show in front of my
house?”

“Honesty?”

“Yeah, I need honesty when it comes
to you.”

“Still think I’m a creep,
huh?”  Ben shook his head.

“Not a creep Charger—just never
could figure out how you always came out smelling like a rose.”

“Would you believe my father used
his influence?”

“In Iraq?”

“Some of it was rotten luck on my
part too.”  Ben grinned.

“I’m more inclined to believe it. 
Why the show in front of my house?”

“I told your mother.”

“But everyone else too?’

“Yeah well, it grabbed me the wrong
way when Missy said the neighbors might gossip.”

“She was right; they will.”

“Two people can’t get out of a
truck without them thinking the worst?”

“Missy’s different.  The
neighbors watch out for her.”  Gonzalo looked away.

“Yeah, she told me.”  Ben
touched his forehead and dropped on the bed.

“Hey man, what happened to your
head?”

“Abigail’s rear end hit it.” 
Ben grinned.

“Abigail?”

“Missy’s car?”  Ben’s grin
widened.

“Oh yeah.  How come you paid
the towing charge?”

“The guy was worried about being
paid, so I gave him a credit card number.”

“So what brings you all the way
down here?”  Gonzalo dropped in a chair.  “Trucking is the last thing
I thought you’d be doing.”

“Hauling a load of furniture to Harlingen.”

“New truck—you haven’t been at it
long.  Should have come down Highway 77.”

“Took a detour.”  Ben
grinned.  “Had to stop and see someone in Three Rivers before  I left
civilization.”

Gonzalo laughed.  “Now that
sounds like you.”

“You been in trucking long
Gonzalo?”

“Since I came back from Iraq. 
It’s a family thing—Pop, my brothers and me.”

“Run many trucks?”

“Only have six.”  Gonzalo
rubbed his hands together.  “Things are pretty slow now.”

“I’d think you could do quite well
with six trucks.”  Ben rose and walked to the bathroom, ran some cold
water and soaked his face.

“We’re having trouble getting
loads, and I have eight trucks to pay for.  Gets rough sometimes.” 
Gonzalo stood up and grinned.  “How about getting some coffee somewhere?”

“Sounds good to me.”  Ben
reached for a shirt.

“Damn, it’s good to see you Charger.” 
Gonzalo smiled.  “But I sure as hell never expected to see you trucking—a
hit man for the Mafioso maybe—but trucking, never.” 

Gonzalo drove out to a truck stop,
and for over an hour they reminisced about their time spent in Iraq.  Ben
had eaten and now leaned back while the waitress refilled their cups and took
his empty plate.  He fingered his water glass and glanced up at
Gonzalo.  “How long has Missy been deaf?”

Gonzalo’s eyes shot up.  “Did
she tell you?”

“No, I asked some questions to her
back a couple of times and she didn’t answer.”

“I didn’t think she’d tell
you.  She tries to hide—”

“How long Gonzalo?  And why?”

“Three years.  She was
seventeen and got hurt.”  Gonzalo started shaking nervously.

“Just like that?  One day she
could hear and the next she couldn’t?”

“Yeah, she had a concussion. 
The doctor says she has a kind of amnesia.  For some time we—we used to
hope—”  Gonzalo looked away.  “She was very depressed and wouldn’t go
back to school.  Spent a long time in a hospital too.”  He shook his
head.  “It was harder for her because of her age.  She couldn’t face
everyone knowing and tried to hide it.  We finally had to send her to a
special school.”

“Does she just lip read or can she
use sign language?”

“Lip reads, uses her fingers and
signs.”

“As long as she can see what a
person says, she does fine too.”  Ben gulped some coffee.

“Yeah, but before it happened she
had her heart set on college—wanted to become a teacher.  Afterwards she
just gave up.  We don’t ever talk about it now.”

“No reason she can’t live a normal
life.”

“Try telling her.  She won’t
go out and meet people.”

Ben looked down at the table. 
“I couldn’t believe it when I saw her.”  He chuckled.  “I still
pictured her skinny and tom-boyish.”

“She grew up.”  Gonzalo smiled.

“And filled out in all the right
places.”  Ben grinned.

“Now just a damn minute!” 
Gonzalo’s eyes flared with instant rage.  “You’re talking about my baby—”

“Ah, shut up big mouth.  I
just meant she’s beautiful as hell.”  Ben reached for his billfold. 
He opened it and held up the picture of Missy he’d carried since Gonzalo gave
it to him five years before.