ATONEMENT (9 page)

“I didn’t touch my kids!”

“No, you hit their mom
and in my book it’s
equally offensive
!” He stepped chest-to-chest to his cousin, “
Why don’t you swing at me
,
pretend I’m your wife if
it
gives you courage.
”

Domingo didn’t move. Alfonzo bumped
him and
Domingo shoved
back,
“
Yo
, w
hy you tripping?”

Alfonzo
seethed, tapping a finger to his cousin’s forehead,
“Because you don’t get it. Tho
se girls love you and
y
ou poisoned their innocence
. W
hen th
ey grow up
and
some douchebag smacks them around they might think it’s normal. After-all, daddy hits mommy. Do you get it now, is it sinking in your thick skull that you never…ever strike a woman or child
you
low-life
sonovabitch?”

Alfonzo
deliberately insulted him in public, drawing out the anger, bringing it to the surface
.
He wanted to leave a lasting impression on his cousin and make him understand there are choices in some situations and on this topic of domestic abuse there were no compromises.
Domingo should’ve w
alk
ed
out the d
oor and cooled
down;
instea
d he lost control and turned the girl’s sense of security into fear. Their sanctuary was now unguarded, and Alfonzo wasn’t okay with it. He would take up post and bust his cousin’s
head
if it came to it. One thing’s for sure, when it came to family, he’d never sit idly by and
do
nothing
!
  

Domingo retreat
ed because
he didn’t want to fight Alfonzo
. “Chill, primo.”

“That’s what you should’ve done
, chilled
.”

“
Yo
,
step off
, I ‘
aint
playing
,
yo
!
”

A
lfonzo advanced, “
Oh now you’re
exercising
restraint
,
it’s a little late don’t you think?”

Domingo stopped walking, “I ‘
aint
scared of you
primo
!”

A
lfonzo
quickly
removed
his suit jacket and t
ossed
it to the ground
. “Good, don’t be scared and take your shots. I’m in your face nagging,
isn’t that what you said Teresa
does
? She got on your case b
ecause you were out all night. Doesn’t sound like nagging to me, sounds like a woman tired of
being disrespected
!
”

Domingo shoved
Alfonzo,
“
Yo
, f
uck you!”

Alfonzo answered back with a solid blow to
Domingo’s
mouth. He
bust
his lip in the same place he struck Teresa.
Domingo’s head
snapped back and he charged Alfonzo
. T
hey crashed against the
rental
car
where Vincent sat
and it shook under the force.
Vincent stayed
in the driver’s seat
laughing. He
bet his
money on Alfonzo. The cousin was all brawn and no brains.

The men scuffled and as Vincent suspected,
Alfonzo
came out on top. Alfonzo was beating the crap out of Domingo
w
hen Vincent noticed a police car
fast
approaching and honked the horn to get their attention.
“Hey
the
cops
are coming. S
traighten up
fuckers
!” He yelled out the window.

They scrambled to their feet a second before the squad car careened to the curb. The officers were out of the vehicle in a flash, “
W
hat’s going on
here?
”

Domingo wiped the blood from his mouth
,
“No
thing
officer. Me and my cousin were just horsing around, why?”

The officers were uncertain on how to respond
.
T
hey
received an anonymous call about two men fighting but they
hadn’t
actually
witnessed the
brawl
. The mysterious
caller
as always,
wasn’t anywhere around
. Legally, their hands were tied unless one of the men chose to confirm they were fighting and seek to press charges. Both men had injuries, the one with blue eyes apparently fared better than the
stocky
one
brandishing a
bloody mouth and swollen eye.

A
n
officer
turned to Alfonzo, “Is that true?”

Alfonzo’s shirt was torn,
a
cheek
flashed
red but h
is composure was calm. He merely
shrugged,
“
Yep, just horsing around
rookie, we do it all the time
.”

“All right, you guys get out of here. If I get another call about you two I’m making an arrest for disorderly conduct.”

Domingo saluted and when the
police cruiser pulled away,
he laughed, “
Yo
, you lucky they saved your ass,
cuz
.”

Alfonzo
snatched
his jacket from the ground, shook it off and put it on. “
Talk
to me about what’s go
ing on. What’s the real deal?”

Domingo licked the blood trickling from his lip
then put a hand to his throbbing eye
, “Damn, you were hitting like you meant it!”

“I did.”

“
That’s messed up, for real.”

They were face-to-face again. No tension. No anger.
Cousins.

Domingo
sulked
, “I’ve been trying to keep the shop afloat,
and the
overhead’s a killer. The girls
’
private school, mortgage payments
and
the whole nine
I can’t
pay for
sitting home
.
This nine to five shit is a different hustle,
Teresa ca
n’t
seem to
understand I
gotta
be there when the shop opens and stay
there un
til it closes.”

Alfonzo nodded
;
he understood.

“
Teresa,
w
on’t cut me a break.
She
’s
constantly accusing me of cheating
‘
cause
I got customers blowing up my phone, some of them are
chicas
.
You know how it was at Al’s.
It’s busier than ever now,
cuz
. I’m not
gonna
make the money unless I make sure the work gets done. I got tired of coming home to the questions and
crashed at
Raúl’s
the other night. It’s been a war-zone eversince.” He shrugged,
“I didn’t mean to hit her but she kept coming at me, cursing and throwing
pots and
shit then I lost it.”

“
And now
you’re at a strip joint.
Smart
.
”

“It took my mind off my problems.”

“But the problem’s
at home.
”

“Teresa’s crazy, I wasn’t going home.”

“Call her, apologize.”

“When I’m ready.”

“Don’t take too long.” Alfonzo replied.
Listening to Domingo
made
Alfonzo realize
he’d slacked
when it came to his cousin.
He was always p
reoccupied with his own
mess
and
left his cousin to fly solo. They were family
and he refused to let D
omingo
struggle alone.
Whatever his cousin needed he’d give, money
,
an ear
and a
kidney,
anything for
someone Alfonzo considered a brother.

The chill seep
ed
through
Alfonzo’s
skin
and h
e put
an
arm around
Domingo’s
shoulder, “We’re Diaz’
,
we don’t beat women. Get cleaned
up;
make
it
right with Teresa
and
the
girls
.
I’ll
clear
the financial crap
.
Make sure you patch things up before you come to PR. I really want you and the family there, together, you hear me?”