Willow Smoke (53 page)

The
shorter
woman
walked
with
a
limp.
After
flopping
down
on
the
couch,
she
looked
at
Daisy
through
one
squinted
eye.
The
other
eyelid
was
closed
shut,
laced
with
yellow,
purple
and
black
hues.

Daisy
sat
beside
her
on
the
edge
of
the
loveseat.
“Tell
me
what
happened.
Did
he
hit
you?”
Her
fingers
balled
into
fists.

“No,”
Maxine
snorted.
“I
fell
into
a
door.”

“Bullshit,
I’m
not
some
little
snot-nosed
kid
anymore. I know what I see. Boy, if I
could
get
my
hands
on
him
right
now,
I’d
throttle
him.”

“No.
You
don’t
understand.
Reggie
loves
me.
He doesn’t want to hurt me.” She
lifted
a
hand
to
her
face.
“This
isn’t
as
bad
as
it
looks.
He
was
high.”

“When
the
hell
isn’t
he?”

“He’s
been
having
a
hard
time
of
it
lately.
He
can’t
get
steady
work,
and
the
cops
are
sniffing
around
again.
They
never
leave
him
alone.”

Daisy
frowned.
At
least
there
was
some
hope.
“Why
do
you
stay
with
him?”
Maxine
recoiled.
It
was
a
dumb
question.

“I
love
him.”
Maxine
tried
to
smile,
but
even that effort appeared
painful. “Maybe
someday
you’ll
understand.
But
you
got
to
find
somebody
to
love
first.”

“And
then
I’ll
be
happy
being
a
punching
bag?”
Daisy
rose
to
her
feet,
distressed
with
her
impatience.
“So
what
happens
now?”

“I’ll
be
all
right.
He’ll
make
it
up
to
me.”

Daisy
didn’t
want
to
ask
how
he
might
accomplish
that.

“Every
couple
fights
now
and
then,
Daisy.
You
need
more
experience
with
men
to
know
what
I’m
talking
about.
But
if
there
were
no
fights,
there
wouldn’t
be
any
making
up.”

Her
sister’s
crooked
smile
turned
Daisy’s
stomach. Was there any hope for
the
woman?
Not
as
long
as
she
was
strung
out
on
drugs;
not
as
long
as
she
remained
under
Reggie’s
thumb.
“You
could
kick
the habit,
Maxine.
I’d
pay
for
it.”

Maxine
gave
Daisy
a
horrified
look,
as
if
she
were
listening
to
an
alien.

“I’d
stand
by
you
to
support you.”

“Right,”
Maxine
responded
bitterly.
“Goody-two-shoes
would
hold
my
hand
and
kiss
my
ass
while
I
heave
up
my
guts
and
shake
to
death.”

Her sister’s features
softened. “It’s okay, baby. I know you care. And I love you,
too.”
Maxine
brushed
a
curl
from
her
brow.
“But I can’t do what you want. I don’t
think
you
really
know
what
you’re
asking.
It’s
not
so
bad.
If
we
could
just
get
ahead
so
we
wouldn’t
have
to
move
again,
and
if
the
cops
would
leave
us
alone.
We’re
not
bothering
anybody.
Not
really.”

“Good
grief,
Maxine,
Reggie
sells
drugs.
He
beats
on
you
whenever
he’s
in
the
mood.
That’s
not
bothering
anybody?”

Maxine
clasped
her
hands
at
her
waist.
“He
doesn’t
sell
to
nobody
who
doesn’t
want to buy.
He doesn’t make anybody buy.”

Daisy
closed
her
eyes.
There
was
no
use
telling her sister that some of
her
husband’s
buyers
were
likely
kids
who
were
just
trying
to
be
cool.

“And
he
beats
me
because
he
loves
me.
He
can’t
help
himself.
You
don’t
understand,”
Maxine
wailed.
“You
don’t
even
try.”

“All
right.
All
right,
we’re
not
getting
anywhere
going
down
this
road.
We
never
do.
So
what
else
is
happening?”

“Work is slow. With the
layoff at the
factory,
we’re getting
fewer customers in the
diner
and
smaller
tips.”

Daisy
blew
air
from
compressed
lips.
“Okay,
so
how
much
do
you
need?”

“What?”

“How
much
money,
Maxine?”
Daisy
crossed
her
legs
at
the
ankles.
“How
much
do
you
want
this
time?”

“Could
you
spare
three
hundred?”
Her
voice
was
hoarse.

Daisy
listened
to
her
sister
cough,
possibly
covering
embarrassment.
“You
might
save a lot of
money by cutting out the cigarettes.”

“I know. I try from time
to time. It’s
hard,
but
you
wouldn’t
understand
that
either.”

“I’ll
have
to
write
you
a
check.
I
can’t
get
that much out of an ATM.” Daisy rubbed
her
temples.
When
would
that
splitting
headache
let
up?
“When
is
this
going
to
end,
Maxine?
How
is
it
going
to
end?”

Maxine’s
eyes
rounded.
“I
don’t
know,
baby.
I
don’t
know.
I
wish
I
did.”
She
started
to sob. At first, her sobs were soft and then they began to
wrack her entire body.

Daisy
slipped
an
arm
around
her
sister
and
held
her
tight.
They
both
sobbed.
This
might
be
the
first
time
in
years
that
she
and
her
sister
had
genuinely
communicated.

After
what
seemed
like
minutes,
Maxine
whispered,
“So
tell
me
about
your
man.
He
looked
so
handsome
in
the
newspaper.
But
he
looked
pretty
old.”