Sacrifices of the Soul, Chapter 13
 

Chad was sitting around, trying to write song, when the phone rang.

" Hello?"

" Chad. It’s me, Kay."

" Hey Kay."

" I was wondering, did you give any thought to what we talked about?"

" Simone."

" Yep."

" Well, I went to the hotel, and Dr. Russell isn’t there. She’s left town."

" Where is she?"

" I dunno. But, I’m not going to stop trying to find Dr. Russell. That’s if you think that Simone really needs her."

" She does, Chad. She may not even think she does, but, she does. Simone is hurting for her mother." Kay lowers her voice. " Are you?"

" Am I?"

" Are you hurting for your mother?"

" Ain’t got nothing to do with me. I thought this was about Simone."

" It is. But, don’t you want her too?"

" How many times I gotta say that this is about SIMONE."

" Fine. Well, I came up with..actually, it was Miguel who came up with the plan."

" Yeah. He stuck a note on my door about helping Simone, and that he would talk to me later about it. So, what’s the idea?"

" French cooking lessons. "

" COOKING LESSONS? Kay, what the hell is that?"

" Don’t be so skeptical. I was, at first, but, when Miguel explained it to me, well…I saw the wisdom of it."

Chad took the phone away from his ear and looked at it. There was something ‘off’ about the way Kay had said that sentence. But, he’d have to think about it later. " Explain Kay."

" Well, cooking class would be four days a week.  And, that’s just class. Now, in order for us to do well, we’ll have to practice, which means even more time."

" And, the more time, Simone spends with you, she won’t be spending it with that lowlife..what’s his name?"

" Hakim. Didn’t you get the envelope I put under your door?"

Chad went over to his desk. " I saw it, but, thought that it was from Mrs. Lopez-Fitzgerald." Chad opened it up, and there was a Polaroid of Hakim and his address.

" Do you see what I sent you?"

" Yeah. What do you want me to do?"

" I want you to get Hakim the hell away from Simone? You’re from the street, you should know how to speak his language."

Chad was about to say something, but, just laughed. " Ok, Kay. Even IF I get rid of Hakim, you don’t know if Simone will take the cooking lessons."

" Oh, I assure you. I’m not letting Simone leave here today, until she’s agreed to the lessons. Chad, I need to know that I can count on you. If you’re going to flake out on me, I’ll handle things myself."

" Well, damn, Ms. Thing, aren’t you the bossy one."

" When it comes to someone that I love, you better believe that I am. Now, are you in or out?"

" I’m in. I don’t want no lowlife around Simone. "

" Well, I have your cellphone number. I left mine in the envelope. You can call me anytime, Chad."

" Ok, Kay."

" Simone’s lucky to have a big brother like you.", Kay said and then hung up.

Chad sat there for a moment, thinking about Kay’s words. He WAS a ‘Big Brother’. First time someone had put him in that context. And, as a ‘Big Brother’, he had work to do.
 

Eve was sitting in her usual place. Dr. Collins had left her. She was just watching the grounds, when she saw roses. She didn’t move, but, let Julian continue.

" Well, today’s rose is a White one. I had this picked from the Crane garden. I hope you like them. "

Julian placed them town on the table, along with the reading material.

" Now, I could begin reading again today, but, I have some news." Julian paused for effect. " Our son came to see me."

There was no response from Eve. " Is he ready to kiss and make up? Hardly. He was there for Simone…..it seems as if she’s been looking for you. It’s possible, she needs you, Eve."

Julian waited for some acknowledgement of what he had said, but, none came.

" Well, anyway, the conversation was blunt and terse. He looks healthy though. I think that construction job keeps him physically fit. He doesn’t know, but, I have people that keep a look out for him, all around town. I know that he went to the Sea Scape a few nights ago, and that his date was the ‘lovely’ Theresa. It’s good that he’s getting on with his life, romantically speaking, since the Whitney fiasco. "

Julian waited again, and then stood up and walked in front of Eve.
" Dammit, Eve! How can you sit here, day after day. At first, I thought that you needed the rest, but, COME ON!! You’ve got to be tired of this! Where’s my Eve. The Eve who could insult me, who could make me laugh, full of fire and passion. Hell, I’m so desperate, I’ll even take the sanctimonious imposter who was married to TC." Julian kneels before Eve and takes her hand. "  Eve, so many things are coming up that can affect the rest of your life. I know it’s hard, but, I’m here. I promise to be here for you, this time. I won’t let you down." Julian kisses her hand, and goes back to his seat, and opens the copy of Madame Bovary to where he had stopped yesterday. Julian read his 25 pages, and then stopped. Julian sat with Eve for awhile and then confessed to her:

" I told Sheridan about you. I needed someone to voice my problems where you and Chad and this entire situation is concerned. It sure in hell won’t be Ivy. She’s up to something, but, I don’t have the time to even think about her. Sheridan suggested that I inform Chad of your situation. I don’t know, Eve. He’s very angry, and giving him this kind of information might not be advisable. But, on the other hand, Sheridan was quite logical about him having the right to know, and he is an adult, and if we are to ever have some sort of relationship with him, it had to begin with something."

By this time, the helper came around with the afternoon juices and Julian took theirs. While Eve didn’t drink hers, Julian gulped his down, and then laughs.

" You want to know what came to me in the car on the way up here? Our first dinner at Chow Lee’s. You had never eaten with chopsticks before, and so I tried to impress you. Of course, I inadvertently ate that cluster of hot peppers that should be thrown out, and when my faced turned colors, you laughed at me so. But, I didn’t care. Unlike others, you weren’t laughing AT me….you were laughing WITH me, and appreciated the joke. You never belittled me….I’m ashamed to say that I wasn’t always as kind…….I’m really a bastard, aren’t I?"

Eve wanted to scream, DAMN STRAIGHT you are….but, she wasn’t even mad enough to do that. She can’t believe Julian would be reading her another book where the heroine commits suicide in the end, so soon after they finished   Anna Karenina . Only Julian. Eve wanted to laugh, but, didn’t feel like it. He only wants to reinforce what she almost did, and that it was wrong, because she had something to live FOR, and that she could look to him as a reason to live. The irony of the situation was not lost on Eve. She wished that she could hate him….wouldn’t that be the logical thing? Yet, logical is the ONE adjective that could never be used to describe her and Julian. Eve just sat in her usual silence, until the end of the visit.
 

Kay was sitting in her bedroom, when Simone came in.

" Simone! You got over here fast."

" You told me that you wouldn’t cover for me with Hakim, if I didn’t. What do you want, Kay?"

" How about spending time with my best friend?"

" I have a man now, Kay. I can’t be wasting my time with you."

" Wasting your time? Wasting time? You’d rather be with a screaming LOSER like Hakim?"

" That’s it. I don’t care if you cover for me. My father doesn’t even notice me gone anyway. I told you that if you talked bad about Hakim, we were over."

Simone goes to open the door, and Kay runs off the bed and beats her to the door.

" Simone, come on. I’m sorry. But, I can’t help but feel a little ignored. You spend a lot of time with him, and I’m just wanting for us to spend a little time together. You don’t have to meet him right now, do you?"

" No, but…"

" So, you’ll come on over, and we’ll talk and hang out until you have to go see him. Ok?"

Simone looked at Kay with suspicion. " Ok. But, only for a little while." Simone went to sit on the other bed, and there was an awkward silence between them. Kay wondered to herself how this could have happened. She and Simone had known one another since their parents put them in the same playpen as infants. She knew Hakim was bad news to the extreme, but, Simone wasn’t listening.

" Simone. I hate that we’ve been distant."

" Hasn’t been my fault. I don’t need someone ragging on me about my life."

" I know. I should be more supportive. You finally found a guy who likes you, right?"

Simone looked at Kay and tried to see whether she was serious or not. Deciding that she was, she finally began to relax. " Yes. Hakim likes me. Only me. Not Whitney, and I’m an afterthought. I feel free when I’m with him."

"An older guy, what’s that like?" , Kay said with all the enthusiasm that she could muster. She wanted to strangle Simone, but, now wasn’t the time to run her away.

" I dunno. I don’t feel like a little girl, anymore."

" You don’t? You mean…"

Simone shakes her head. " No, we haven’t yet. But, I’m sure that we will soon."

Kay hid her relief and finding out that Simone’s ‘virtue’ was still in tact. " Simone, I think that we should do something together."

" DO Something? What do you mean, Kay?"

" I think that we should find an activity that we can have some fun with…break the tension."

" Well…..we have been friends forever."

" That’s right. And, I think I’ve found the perfect one." Kay pulls the brochure off her nightstand and gives it to Simone.

" Cooking classes?! Kay, what the hell is this?"

" Something that we could do together."

" Kay. This isn’t fun. This is torture."

" I know…that’s what I thought at first. But, then, I remembered that old saying."

" What saying?"

" The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach."

" That’s bogus, Kay."

" I dunno about that, Simone. My dad always gives my mom kisses and such after she fixes him his favorite meal. "

" Your parents have more in common than food."

" True. But, what about when they were in that dating stage?"

Simone thinks about it. " My dad always used to comment that my mother’s cooking made her stand out."

" See! See! Men aren’t that complicated. They want food and sex."

Simone rolls her eyes. " Miguel."

" Yes, Simone, Miguel. If I can do something that Charity can’t, then maybe he’ll realize that he loves me, and not her."

" Kay, he hasn’t noticed any of the rest of your schemes…so, why would this one work?"

" Would you be shocked if I told you that this wasn’t my idea, it was Miguel’s?"

" Don’t lie Kay. "

" I’m not lying. Miguel is the one who showed the brochure to me."

" He WANTS to take this class?"

" Yes."

" Then why isn’t Charity taking it too?"

" Because, she’s not interested in it. Don’t you see Simone, this is my chance! All that uninterrupted time with Miguel, without Charity. It will remind him of the old days, before SHE came and ruined my life. "

" So, then, you don’t really want to spend time with me at all. You just want to have some ‘cover’ for Miguel. No thanks, Kay. "

" Simone…come on. Yes, I want to spend time with Miguel. But, I also want to spend time with you. You and I seem to fight everytime we open our mouths lately. The cooking could diffuse the tension between us, and let us spend time together. Simone, I’ll still take the class without you, but, I won’t be happy about it. I miss my best friend. Actually, I miss both of you. Don’t you remember ‘The Three Musketeers’?"  Kay went to her dresser and picked up a picture frame and took it and sat down next to Simone. " Do you remember when this was taken?"

Simone smiled. " It was the first day of High School. We were SO nervous."

Kay laughed. " I know. My mom, being my mom, thought it would be ‘cute’ for us to have a picture together. Back then, Miguel practically lived over at my house."

" He still does, Kay."

" I know. But, then, he used to come see ME."

Simone took the picture. " The Three Musketeers. It’s been ages since I thought about us like that. I have to admit, I miss Miguel. "

" So do I. Simone, come on, we can spend some time together, learn how to do something useful, and, we can cook great meals for the men in our lives."

Simone thought about it. The more that Hakim thought of her as a woman, the better. And, cooking could do that…maybe.

" Ok, Kay. I’ll go with you and Miguel to the cooking lessons."

Kay hugged her best friend. " It’ll be great." Kay sighed with relief. She had held up to her part of the bargain. Now it was time for Chad to live up to his and get Hakim out of Simone’s.
 

Chad stood outside of the building. He checked the address with what Kay had scribbled on the note. They matched, so Chad went in. He went downstairs, just as Kay said he should do. He walked into the makeshift hangout, with the pool table, an old couch and chairs, and a makeshift bar. He saw Hakim immediately and went over to him.

" You Hakim?"

" Who wants to know."

" Someone who doesn’t like the company you keep."

" Keep a lot of company. "

" Well, this company is 16 and named Simone."

" What?", Hakim laughed. " You her man?"

" No. I’m her brother. And, I want you away from her."

" She has her own mind."

" It’s clouded right now, or she would see that she doesn’t need to be around garbage like you."

" What the fuck did you say?"

" I called you what you are…garbage."

" Nigga, you better get the fuck out of here, before I hurt you."

" Not until you understand that you ain’t goin’ near Simone."

" I’ll go near her, anytime I want..long as she wants me."

" No."

Hakim attempts to walk around Chad, but, Chad gets in his way, never letting him get past. He’s in Hakim’s face, and gets him angrier and angrier.

" Get out of my way."

" Nope."

When Chad continues to play the dance with Hakim, Hakim, tiring of it all, shoves Chad. Chad rushes back, charging like a bull, and the two of them are at it, pounding one another with their fists, each getting in punches. Chad delivers two good blows to the face, and Hakim stumbles back, and then reveals a knife, and goes after Chad. Chad dodges as Hakim is determined to slash him, and gets Chad in the arm.  Chad grabs a nearby pool cue and smacks the knife out of his hand. Chad begins to repeatedly hit Hakim over and over again, until someone screams ‘ YOU’RE FUCKING GONNA KILL HIM!’

Chad snapped out of it and looked at Hakim.

" Listen up, mutherfucker. Don’t make me come back again. I won’t be as nice.", and he left.