Inner Diva (18 page)

Barbie and her mother exchanged glances.
“When is it?”

“Saturday night.”

Barbie’s face crushed into disappointment.
“
This
Saturday?”

Monica nodded and shifted her gaze over to
her mother, who looked equally forlorn.

“We can’t possibly make it this Saturday,
Mon. It’s Rick’s party fund-raiser. You know re-election time is
coming up. All the state representatives will be there, and it’s
black tie. Mom’s watching the kids while I attend with Rick.”

It was a perfectly good excuse, something
they’d been planning for months. Monica knew she’d thrown this on
them spur of the moment. But she couldn’t stop the tears pricking
at her eyes.

“Oh Mon! I’m so sorry!” Barbie gave her a
tight hug. “I’d be there if I could. You know I would.”

“No, it’s okay. I understand.”

Barbie studied her carefully. “Tell you what.
I’ll get on the phone and see if I can get a babysitter. That’ll at
least free Mom up so she can go to your opening night. Then I’ll
come to the very next show. How about that?”

Monica nodded, sniffed, mopped her eyes. Her
emotion was ridiculous. Her family would be there eventually, just
not for Opening Night. The chances of Barbie finding a replacement
babysitter were slim to none. The only babysitter those kids had
ever had, besides Grandma, was Aunt Monica.

“Okay. I better get to practice. Thanks for
the wine, Barbie.” She hustled to the door amid shouts of “Break a
leg!”

In the car, she scrubbed her face with her
palms. Life was going too well to succumb to tears for long.
Besides, maybe she wouldn’t be alone after all. Just maybe she’d
have a tall, dark and extremely handsome man cheering for her in
the audience. After what they’d shared last night, she fully
expected Carlos would want to attend Opening Night.

Recalling last night, warmth dissipated
through her, causing her heart to beat a little faster until her
sadness became a distant memory.

Rehearsal wrapped up as Monica’s cell phone
rang. She’d made it through the whole play without an incident – no
forgotten lines, no botched staging. Whatever problems they had up
there on stage tonight hadn’t been
her
doing.

“Hello?”

She heard her favorite little-girl voice in
the world. “Monica! Guess what? You’ll never guess. I won tickets
to an international dance show for Friday night! It’s downtown and
I get to dress up and go watch the beautiful dancers, and see their
costumes. I won by writing an essay!”

The excitement in her voice was contagious.
“That’s fantastic, honey. I’m so proud of you.”

“Do you want to go? Me, you and Carlos. How
about it?”

Dress Rehearsal was scheduled to end early
Friday evening to allow the actors to relax before Opening Night.
“I’d love to go.”

The week passed quickly and the night of the
dance, Monica studied her face in the mirror and brushed on the
finishing touches. When the doorbell rang she pulled it open.
Predictably, Carlos looked fantastic – his dark hair slicked back,
face shaven. He’d even dressed in a dark suit the first time she’d
ever seen him in one. Along with the spicy scent of cologne, he
could’ve stepped right out of one of her dreams.

She knew she looked good, too. Carlos took a
long, appreciative look, his face beaming as he gripped her
shoulders and pulled her close for a long kiss.

Monica relaxed into the feelings his kiss
caused in her heart. When they parted, she caught a glance of
Luisa, standing beside him on her front step. Funny how the sight
of Carlos in a dark suit made her unaware of the rest of her
surroundings. The little girl stared, open-mouthed, wide-eyed.

Monica knelt beside her, stricken by their
carelessness. “Luisa, see, it’s like this …”

Carlos joined her in a kneel.
“
Hermana
, Monica and I like each other. That okay with
you?”

Luisa’s face burst into a huge smile.
“Yeah!”

The dance show was held at the new inter-city
amphitheater on the west side of town. It gleamed in its newness.
The three held hands as they crossed the busy street and approached
the front doors. Inside, Luisa tilted her head back and gazed up in
amazement at the sheer vastness of the theater. Steel beams ran up
on all sides of the immense hall and combined with clear glass to
create an ultra-modern cathedral ceiling. Stars twinkled through,
encouraging them to stay still and stare, waiting for the right
moment to witness a shooting star.

Even if Monica hadn’t been looking forward to
the dance show herself – which she was – and even if she didn’t
have the added advantage of sitting next to the most gorgeous man
in the world for two straight hours – which she did – the evening
would’ve been worth it based solely on the beaming appreciation on
Luisa’s face. She was obviously having the time of her life.

“Luisa, thank you so much for getting us
these tickets. This is going to be a great show.”

Luisa giggled. “I just wish Mama could’ve
come. I wish she had the night off.”

Monica nodded and caught Carlos’ eye. He
winked at her as they headed for their seats.

Their seats were excellent – twenty rows from
the front on the floor level, in the center. Behind them, a
magnificent balcony rose up, then behind it, two more levels
besides. To their left and right, three levels of box seats hung
from the side walls. This place was enormous.

They chatted about the theater, and discussed
the contents of Luisa’s essay. When they quieted, Monica said, “I
have some really exciting news of my own.”

Carlos grinned, eyebrows raised. Monica
laughed and slugged him in the arm. “Not that,” she whispered and
darted a quick glance at Luisa. Although
that
in itself was
one of the most exciting things that had happened to her in a very
long time.

“I’m going to be in the play. I actually get
to be on stage as Victoria, the leading lady.”

Luisa clapped and gave Monica a high five.
Carlos squeezed her hand. “This is no small thing, you know.”

Monica released a long, shaky breath. “I
don’t know if I can do it or not. We’ll find out tomorrow night,
won’t we?”

“Tomorrow night?”

She nodded. “Opening night. If you’d like to
come, I’ll leave tickets for you both at the box office.”

Luisa squealed and Carlos put his hand on his
sister’s shoulder. “Count on us. We’ll be there.”

“I was hoping you’d say that. Especially
since I found out my mother and sister won’t be there. There’s
something about Opening Night. Especially for me, since this is my
first time on stage. I want to know there’s someone out there,
thinking positive thoughts and wishing me the best. I don’t want to
be all alone.”

“You won’t be.” Luisa smiled and craned over,
placing a kiss on Monica’s cheek. “My big brother and I will be
there for you.”

The lights dimmed and soon the stage filled
with dancers dressed in big, colorful skirts, peasant blouses and
heeled shoes, swooshing around in a frenzy of choreographed
motion.

Later, they trekked back outside, the chill
in the air cutting through their warm garb. Luisa stifled a yawn
and Monica realized it was way past her normal bedtime. They
chatted about the performance. It was an evening Luisa would
remember for a long, long time.

They traveled along with the flow of audience
members now crossing the street in a crowd to get to their cars.
Once in the car, they settled into their seats.

Carlos turned the key to start the engine.
Nothing. No sound, no response. He looked at Monica, then back at
the steering wheel. He turned the key again. The engine was
decidedly dead.

He sat back in his seat, sighing. Monica
watched him. They were stuck in downtown St. Louis, late at night,
with a broken down car. But who better to handle the situation than
Carlos? He was a mechanic, for God’s sake.

“What’s wrong?” Luisa’s little voice came
from the back seat.

“The car won’t start.” Carlos opened his
door. “It’ll be fine. I’ll just check out the engine.”

Carlos crossed to the front and opened the
hood. He lowered his head into the engine, removing him from
Monica’s view. She turned to face Luisa in the back seat. “He’ll
take care of it, sweetie. Don’t worry.”

“What if he needs some tools or oil or
something? Stuff we don’t have here?”

“Then . . .,” Monica thought quickly, “we’ll
just call a cab. How about that? I have my cell phone. We can call
someone to pick us up.”

Luisa’s face calmed into a slight smile.
Good. They were perfectly safe.

Carlos worked on the engine, moving to the
trunk, then back to the front. The show-goers filtered past, and
eventually cleared out. Monica and Luisa filled the time playing a
round of “I Spy.”

About fifteen minutes into the wait, Monica
called out the window, “What would you think about leaving the car
here? I could call a cab and we could have it towed.”

He waved her suggestion away. “I’ve almost
got it.” He slid back into the car seat and tried the key again,
pumping his foot on the accelerator. This time, the engine grumbled
and screeched a little before it settled again into inactivity. He
slammed his fist on the steering wheel.

From the back seat, Luisa gasped.
“Monica?”

Monica watched the little girl and saw fear
developing in her eyes. “It’ll be okay, sweetie.” Monica dug in her
purse for her cell and punched in the numbers for Information. She
asked for a nearby cab company and waited while the operator
connected her. A brief conversation made her feel a little less
anxious. “They said it’d be about twenty minutes.”

Carlos nodded. “Hopefully I’ll have it
running by then.” He slid out again and went back to work. Luisa
lay down on the back seat and closed her eyes.

The car rocked gently as Carlos bent to his
task. Monica watched as his hands struggled with greasy-looking
tools and engine parts, removing them from a leather pouch he’d
pulled from the trunk and arranged on the rim of the engine. He
stopped for a moment to examine each extracted part, when the big
lights in the parking lot suddenly went out, plunging them into
darkness.

Monica heard a screwdriver hit the pavement
and Carlos spit out an angry curse. With the hood up, Monica
couldn’t see him fully and the darkness wasn’t helping either. She
rolled the window down and peered outside. Lights from a gas
station a block away and cars traveling on the roads surrounding
the lot helped illuminate the inky blackness.

An unmuffled engine roared in the night.
Instead of getting more distant, the menacing sound grew louder.
And louder. Monica cringed. The car was coming their way. When the
engine roar was so loud and menacing she wanted to scream, she
leaned over the seat and clapped her hands over Luisa’s ears to
shield her eardrums. The little girl looked up, her face scrunched
in fear. Then, the engine cut.

Silence.

“It’s you.” The deep, male voice made her
tremble. It sounded threatening.

“Take it easy,
amigo
. I don’t want any
trouble.” Carlos’ voice, in return, was calm and controlled.

“You may not want any but you found it.”

“Easy, buddy.”

She heard doors open and slam. “Stay here,
sweetie.”

Monica jumped out of the car and walked
around to the front. Carlos stood with two dark-haired men – one
with long, stringy hair, the other crew-cut. The men huddled in a
menacing circle in front of the raised hood. Carlos startled at the
sight of her, his eyes wide with surprise. “Get back in the
car.”

She shook her head, worried about him. Were
these guys from his gang days? Were they threatening him? She took
a step closer. “Monica, go.” Monica shuddered at the urgency in his
tone.

“Hey,
guerra
, you with him?” The
long-haired one leered at her. He looked back and forth between her
and Carlos, then with a swipe, pulled on the snaps of his leather
jacket till it fell open. “Why don’t you let me show you what a
real man is like?” He pulled his jacket off and threw it on the
ground.

It was the first moment she was quite sure
they were in trouble. Featured on the man’s forearm in black ink
was a tattoo identical to the one on Carlos’s back – L.D.

She gaped at it in horror, her breath caught
in her throat. She caught a glint of reflection off a metal blade
in the other man’s hand. Carlos took a step toward her and gave her
a nudge. “Lock the door, you hear me? Don’t let anyone in.” She ran
around the car, heading for the back door. Catcalls from the two
strangers were directed at her, and profane suggestions that made
her shiver with fright.

Carlos turned back to the men. Monica dove
into the backseat with Luisa and saw Crew Cut haul an arm back and
punch Carlos in the face with a blurred fist. Monica screamed and
reached across the vehicle to lock all the doors. Carlos tripped,
one foot over the other and fell, landing in a heap on the
pavement.

Luisa stirred and blinked sleepy eyes at her.
“What’s going on? Where’s Carlos?”

“You think you’re hot-shit, don’t you? You
think you can just walk away from us?” Monica wasn’t sure which of
them had said it.

“We’ll fight for your little
chica
with the tight ass. She’s hot,
hombre
. Winner takes
her.”

Carlos’ attacker leaned over him, taunting
Carlos as he jumped to his feet. The man’s words were eerily
filtered through the sealed windows of the car. Laughter rose into
the night but there was no humor in it. Monica’s heart pumped in
her chest. Hands shaking, she pulled out her cell and punched in
9-1-1. “I need the police. I’m in the parking lot of the
amphitheater and there’s a fight going on – two against one. One’s
got a knife. We need help!”