Shadow Seed 1: The Misbegotten (79 page)

She thought for a few moments longer.  Her hand came to her mouth of a sudden and she grabbed me by the side of the shoulder, squeezing.  “You’re involved with the crackdown on Muto’s?”

“Trying to stay out of it would be a better way of putting
it, but yeah, some of the girls’ families are involved,” I replied, not speaking to the fact all of us were Muto’s or that some of us were already fugitives from of the NIA – armed and dangerous fugitives no less.

She leaned back, letting go of my arm, her eyes fluttering l
ike the wings of a hummingbird.  They were moving so fast.  “Shit,” was all she uttered.

I took a quick gander around the Loft.  No one had moved a muscle; they were all watching us intently.  Ramona had come to stand at the side of the bed closest to me and my mother, obviously concerned about her status with my mom.  I gave her a worn smile and nodded imperceptivity, sending her thoughts belying calm and confidence.  She blinked back relieved tears as she read my mind, knowing my mother could’ve thrown her out of her house if she chose to do so.

“Okay, okay, it is what it is.  We are a strong family and we will deal with it, even if it means our family will have to grow for the time being.”  She shuddered with what looked like raw trepidation.  When she peered back at me, her face was full of so many conflicting emotions, there was no way I could understand what she was thinking.

“I won’t let anything happen to any of us, mama, I
promise.”  I had said the exact same thing, as a little boy, when my father threatened to come back and beat the living shit out of mother.

She hadn’t forgotten.  She reached up and stroked my cheek.  “I know, my sweet boy, I know.”  Her gaze flickered to the others in the room as her hand descended to her hip where she rested her hand, shifting her weight to one foot.  “Well, ladies, since you are all here and seem to be staying for a while, I suppose you will all be hungry soon.  So, get cleaned up, straighten up in here - if you don’t mind - and come down and help me with breakfast.

“AND,” she added as an afterthought, pointing around the Loft.  “No funny business.”  She was arching her brows again and, in spite of ourselves, a few of us had to hide betraying grins by thinning our lips or biting them.  She pointed lastly at me.  “Don’t tell your Dad about this just yet.  I will find a way to broche the subject with him myself, ok?  He’s gone out to help you uncle Juan fix his car, so we’ll have some time to figure things out.”  Uncle Juan was one of my step-dad’s older brothers.

“Sounds good to me.”

She turned to leave and I actually let out a breath I hadn’t known I’d been holding, feeling light-headed.  I must’ve forgotten to breathe during the entire exchange.

“Oh!” exclaimed my mother, spinning on her heel.  “The little ones are sick today,” she began rolling her eyes, overwhelmed by the twist of events.  “That’s why I came up in the first place.  I was going to tell you, I’m not going to need some help today taking care of them, so since I have sooo many more of you around, I expect excellent help in that department, cool?”

“Sure, auntie,” piped Katie.

“Absolutely, Mrs. Ernando,” agreed Leda.

The others merely nodded.

She looked over at Leda.  “And call me, Pat.  Ok, ladies?”

There were more nods all around.

Then, she walked quickly back toward me, which surprised me.  She kissed me on the cheek.  “Why do I love you so much?”

“Because, I’m yours,” I supplied at once.

There was a gleam in her eyes.  “Now, I know why these little tarts like you so much.”  She smiled and chuffed with mirth.  “Have you been lifting weights, Effy?”

“Why would you say that, mom?”

“Because when I touch you, you’re hard as rock, I don’t remember your muscles being that dense before.”

I raised my shoulders toward my ears and kept them there, filling my face with mock rigor-mortis.

“Oh well,” she said and waved the question out of existence with her hand.  “See you all downstairs in a few.”  And she was gone.

“I have never been more scared in my life, Effy,” said Ramona as she rushed into my arms, crushing her breasts against my chest.  “I don’t know what I would’ve done if she had told me to leave.”  My girlfriend was shaking with fright.

“I know, baby girl, I know,” I murmured into her ear, kissing her, making her calm down.

Well, one hurdle down only about a thousand to go until this whole thing blows over…

Little did I know it would be years and years later, before it would all finally fade away into nothing.  By then, everything would be different – none more than me.

Oh god, why did Martín and Lucia have to get sick too!

{ ¹Darth Vader: fictional character, whose real name is Anakin Skywalker; the main protagonist of the
Star Wars
saga, appearing as one of the main antagonists of the
original trilogy
and as one of the main protagonists of the
prequel trilogy
. }

{ ²Force Choke: referencing an ability of the Sith Lords in the
Star Wars
saga, wherein a Sith uses the Force to choke his victim. }

{ ³“Depo” Shot: slang for the 20
th
century contraceptive, depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA), a
long acting reversible
hormonal
birth control
drug injected every 3 months.

{
4
Planned Parenthood: is short for Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA), a
non-profit organization
providing
reproductive health
and maternal and child health services
. }

~~~~~~~~~~~~♦~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Summer – 2018)

Coming Clean

“So… Tirza,
I can see, at some point, by some means, you’ve made up Estefan.  Yet, when I sit here and I see my son’s newest squeeze, sitting across the very same table as you, I am compelled to ask - why are you here, my dear?” asked my mother.  She was pushing away her plate, dotted with crumbs.  All inclining’s of the eggs, bacon, waffles and hash browns she’d eaten long gone.

She had changed out of her robe and was wearing a burgundy-colored sweat suit.  This one, though, consisted of shorts instead of pant-length bottoms and the top didn’t have sleeves.  I guess you could say it was for working out at the
gym.  She had combed her coarse, black hair away from her face, parting it right of center.  It cascaded from her head to just pass her shoulders, blanketing them in thick, lustrous locks.  She had grown into a beautiful, middle-aged woman, even after popping out a few more kids later in life.

But, when I was little, my mother was a knockout.  She
’d been big breasted, thin around the waist with flaring hips and had the same perky, bubble-butt I’d inherited from her.  Since she stood no higher than five foot one and weighed no more than ninety-eight pounds, she was what men at the time called “a spinner” – a sexy, petite beauty that a man could spin on his cock with very little effort (Not that I ever tried to imagine it or anything.  There’s no doubt I’m a Perv, I’m just not that particular sort).

Now, her skin bore more of the wear typical of a woman
her age, but only a little - .

Wait, you know what?  Now that
I’m looking back, thinking about her on that day, she was still a knockout, even at forty!  Just because I was surrounded by nearly a quarter-ton of high-grade pussy, didn’t mean my mother didn’t belong in the same category as the teens surrounding me on that day.  Hell no, she was just as beautiful, just as elegant.  I know so, because, when placed under a microscope, dissected, I know for certain why I was never afraid to approach a beautiful woman.  I grew up with one hugging and kissing me, since birth.  I was at home in the arms of a gorgeous female.

Tirza’s cheeks went pink, but her embarrassment was nowhere near as strong as her longing for her lost family, people she would never get back, would never see again.  This seemed to make her brave.  She glanced at me.  I nodded, though not before I peered around the room making sure the little ones weren’t within hearing distance.  Apparently, they were still recovering from
their Muto sickness in the TV room with Flavia.  She’d gone to check on them a few minutes ago at my mother’s behest.

Tirza cleared her throat.  “Well, Pat,” she began when
her esophagus seemed to clench on her and she choked, clearing her throat for a second time.  She breathed a laugh.  “I always feel so weird calling you by your first name,” she admitted.

“It’s okay, sweetie,” prompted my mom.

“I couldn’t think of anywhere else I could go without endangering any more of my family members.  Your house seemed like the very last place the police or anyone else would look for me, so I came here as fast as I could after it all happened.”  She stopped to absently wipe at the corners of her eyes, blinking back more tears.

“Would you care to tell me what happened?” spoke my mother in low measured tones as sweet as sugarcane.

“If it’s okay, Pat, can I go sit with Flavia and the little ones?” said Jolene, standing  quickly, pushing back her chair with her knees, making a loud drubbing sound along the wooden floor.

My mom frowned at the noise and the odd request in concert.  “Sure, my dear, absolutely, go ahead.  We’re done here by the looks of it, so if you’d be so kind as to put your plate in the sink on your way, I’d really appreciate it.”

Jolene nodded with fast, jerking motions, bending at the knees, giving my mom what looked like a curtsy.

What the hell was that?
  Even Johan seemed bemused by his girlfriend’s behavior, but he stayed put, not wanting to tip his hat to our mother that he liked the girl.

We watched her go in silence, and when she left the room, my mother turned to me.  “Why did she leave, Effy?”

Tirza answered for me though.  “Because, Pat, what I’m about to tell you happened to Jolene’s family a few nights ago.”

“Oh!” started my mom, her eyes wide, mouth slack.

So, for the next fifteen minutes, Tirza repeated what she had told Katie, Ramona and me the night she had stumbled into the Loft.  That was when she saw Katie deep throating me, while Ramona and I kissed.  During the entire time, my mom didn’t interrupt or comment, but sat there was still as stone, her dark brown eyes never once leaving Tirza’s visage as my ex-girlfriend recounted the horror and the pain she had endured the night her parents were murdered.  Whenever Tirza stopped to compose herself, my mother would smile warmly, letting her know all was well, telling her she could continue when she was ready.  She didn’t hurry her or appear impatient.  She sat stoically through the whole telling of Tirza tale.

The rest of us around the table hardly moved as well, though, by then, we had all heard Tirza’s story.  We had been accomplices in keeping her presence in the house unknown to my mom and dad, and of course, my two youngest siblings too.

When Tirza finally finished, having left out how she got into the house and the fact my girlfriend, my cousin and I had been engaged in a taboo sex act when she had done so, she shuddered.  Her hands were clasped before upon the table, and I could see how tightly she was gripping herself, fighting against the urge to cry out and weep.

By then, Flavia had walked into the Dining Room.  When she saw Tirza’s state, she tip-toed out like a gazelle and returned within seconds, a box of Kleenex
¹ in her hands.  She had been holding it, waiting for my ex- to stop talking.  Now that she had, my step-sister leaned over the table and scooted the box of tissue toward her.

Tirza gazed up at Flavia thankfully, and swiftly yanked two sheets of the
thin, fluffy paper from the box and began to tend to her face and nose.

My mother watched the exchange without speaking, but her eyes reflected the pride she felt for her step-daughter, internally praising the young girl’s thoughtfulness and kind manners.

“You okay, Teezee?” I asked.  I couldn’t help myself any longer.  I hated to see her ache like her heart had been physically ripped from her body.

She nodded and her face filled with even more gratitude.

“How long ago was this, Tirza?” asked my mom, making us look back and forth between the two of them.

Tirza seemed peevish as she spoke.  “I’ve been here for exactly two weeks.”  She tried to hide her head in her shoulders and cringed, waiting what she hoped wouldn’t be a violent outburst from my mom.

“Estefan, you have been hiding a girl in my house for two weeks?!?” she exclaimed at the audacity of our actions.

“Mom, I had no choice, those troopers were going to kill her if they got anywhere near her.  What was I going to do, let them blast her away?”  My mother was just staring at me, one eyebrow raised, because I had raised my voice.  “Sure, Tirza and I have had our differences, but it doesn’t mean in any way, shape or fashion, I’m going to allow someone to kill her.  I don’t care how many rules I have to break.  I will always stay by her side.”

My mom’s face cracked and broke into a huge smile, her eyes welling with satisfaction.  “You are such a beautiful boy, Estefan.  Now, I know why all these girls like you so much.”  That made more than one of them squirm on their chairs. 
If she only knew just
how
much they actually did like me and what they wanted to do with me, she’d keel over from an aneurism right then and there.
  “Tirza, you are welcome to stay here for as long as you want, my dear.”  She looked over at Flavia.  “Make sure you tell Jolene the same thing I’ve said here, okay?”

My step-sister said she would.

My mother peered about the dining room.  “And that goes for all the rest of you, if you need to stay, then you may, but if your parents call about you or come over, I will have to tell them you have been staying here.  Understood?”

There were “Imm-hmm’s” all around.

“We will tell my husband, that Estefan, Johan and Flavia will be having a lot of visitors.  I will say now there are groups of parents who are having their kids moved from location to location out of fear of what is happening in the neighborhood.  I will tell him it’s a safety thing and he won’t question anyone’s presence.  You all should be fine.”

I think we all look relieved.  Things had definitely gone better than I expected.

Then she went on, “That said, I know how kids your age act.  I was once very much like all of you, so I am telling you girls up front, keep your knees together when my son is around and, Estefan, you keep your hands to yourself.  Now that I know what’s going on, I’ll be watching.  No funny business.  I have no problem with you all sleeping in the Loft as long as I have your promise to keep your clothes on, okay?”

“Mom!” I exclaimed with teenage
dignity.  I couldn’t have been more discombobulated if I’d shown up to school butt-ass naked.  Actually, I think if I’d have felt better walking around school with my dick lolling to and fro,
and
having toilet paper hanging out the crack of my ass simultaneously.  Yes, that would’ve been better than having to endure my mother right then and there.

She merely pointed at me to shut my trap, and then, “Ramona?”

“Yes, Pat, I promise,” said my girlfriend dutifully.

“Tirza?”

“You will have no problems with me, I’m just so glad you’ll have me.”

My mother smiled.

“Sandra…?”

She went around the room, making sure we comprehended her rules and wouldn’t break them.  She even went as far as having Flavia bring in Jolene from the TV room, so she could promise as well, telling the girl how she knew how much she liked Johan through arched eyebrows.  Jolene, beat-red and twisting at the waist like an
elementary school girl, promised alongside the rest of us.

“Good, I’m glad we all understand each other,” she said smugly, but then her face wrinkled as another thought flashed across her awareness.  “Which brings me to the next issue at hand, we are going to need much more food, if all of
you growing teenagers are going to be spending extended time with our family.”  She went quiet, rubbing her hand along her chin.  “That could get expensive…,” she murmured the thought.

“Ma, I don’t think you’ll have to worry about that,” I offered at once.

“How’s that, Effy?” she asked scratching at the side of her head.

“I have money,” I said simply.

She shook her head the way grown-ups do when they think someone much younger and inexperienced doesn’t know what the fuck they’re talking about.  “Estefan, I’m talking hundreds of dollars, not your allowance.”

“How do you think we’ve been eating without you and Dad realizing the food was getting consumed like five times faster than normal?” I countered with a sm
ug look, then changed it to an innocent smile when her expression hardened.

She cocked her head slightly to the side.  “How much do you have then?”

“A lot, mom… thousands,” I blurted, before I’d actually thought the situation through.

She smacked the top of the table.  “And how is it that you have thousands of dollars?”

“Uncle Roberto,” was my meek reply.

“God dammit, Estefan, your drug dealing, asshole of an uncle gave you
money
?  Are you kidding me?”  She was standing now, fuming.  “You know favors from him always come at a price!”  Then she wheeled on me, pointing.  “He didn’t bring the rapist with him, did he?”

She was speaking about my uncle Juan, who she loathed.

“No, mom, of course not, do you think we’d let him around the girls?  He’d go crazy,” I admonished her, but it had little effect.

“I don’t want those low-
lives’ hanging around my house, do you hear me?”  She was so mad, I thought steam would come pouring of her ears at any second.

“Okay,” I mumbled.

“Estefan!” she yelled, striking the top of the table once more.

“Okay, mom, I heard you!”

She sat back down in a huff, half-turned from the table, crossing her arms across her chest.  “Sorry you girls had to see that.  It’s just Estefan’s uncles and I have bad blood between us.”

“It’s alright, Pat,” consoled Leda, sitting to her immediate right.

“I don’t like them much either,” agreed Tirza, “especially the older one.”

There was sorrow in my mother’s eyes in a flash.  “I know, my dear, I’m so sorry that happened to you.”  I knew my mom felt terribly guilty over my uncle Juan feeling up on my ex-girlfriend’s tits.  “At least my husband and Johan straightened everything out afterward.”  There was a wicked gleam in my mother’s stare.  I could count how many time I’d seen on one hand, but when she flashed it – get the
hell
out of her way.

I was shocked when Tirza mimicked her expression flawlessly. 
Wow!