Maria was finally asleep, her strawberry blond head settling on the pillows as cartoons played quietly on the television. Her small body was snuggled up with her favorite bear, doughy little limbs entangled with the furry arms of the stuffed animal.
Erin finished her make-up in the mirror, finishing her bronzed skin with a dusting of thick glitter. She pulled her fiery hair into a high ponytail and secured it with bobby pins until it formed a neat bun. Sliding false glasses onto her nose she eyed the new lingerie one more time before pulling on the white button-up and short black skirt. She had finally decided on the red lace knee-highs with black peep-toe stilettos. The deep red color of her hair was fine with color treatment and stringy with product, evoking the hint of blood at the roots. Grabbing two bags by the door, she went outside and loaded them into the car.
Maria barely woke when her mother picked her up, but the comfort of her mother’s arms and the rocking motion of being carried had lulled her back to sleep. She woke again, feeling an unfamiliar hardness underneath her back, she had the briefest glimpse of her mother. Her mother’s pretty face was a blank mask, and then it changed, ever so slightly. Maria’s mother reached out to touch her face and before she could move or think or struggle the hand clamped over her mouth and nose and then she could no longer see her mothers face, twisted with strain as she pressed her hand there.
Erin strode into the club’s back entrance, hearing the thump of Lacy’s last dance. At least she wasn’t late. Tossing her purse into her locker, she jogged quickly toward the stage entrance and waited for her own music to start. Checking her eyeliner once again, she slid through a gap in the curtain and began writhing across the stage, thrusting bust or pelvis at everyone seated at the bar. She liked to think she was a good dancer, and was hoping she’d get lots of tips, especially since she’d gotten new lingerie.
Maria woke again. She smelled the acrid smell of the car store and attempted to vanquish the smell of it with her hand. But it wouldn’t move. In fact, she wasn’t sure she had hands at all. It was then, in the dark confusion that she tried to scream for her mommy, only to find thick, stiff tape on her face. She began to panic, crying and screaming against the tape. Maria began to move, finding her numb arms once again, connected painfully behind her back and somehow connected to her feet. Struggling against the tape to scream made her face hurt, and she quickly lost the strength to scream and toss about and simply cried pitiful, helpless, quiet tears.
Erin’s first dance of the night complete, she exited the stage, blotting at her body with a fresh towel. Her smokes were by the table near the door, and she threw open the alley door and into the cooling night.
“Hey, darlin’,” came a voice in the dark.
“Back off, I’m packin’,” she replied, lifting the edge of her jacket to reveal the butt of her gun. Flicking the cigarette away, she flung the door open and darted through. The fake gun thing worked sometimes, sometimes not. Fuck. I forgot to check on Maria.
Opening the door again, she glanced around to see if the man was still lurking in the shadows. When she didn’t see anything she slipped back outside and trotted toward her car. Opening the trunk slowly, she saw the frightened eyes of her daughter.
“It’s okay honey, I’m sorry you woke up. Here, Mommy will help you go back to sleep,” and again she grasped Maria’s face with the damp rag. When Maria finally went limp, she shut the trunk and returned to work.
Maria awoke once more, to the same dark place, the same acrid smell of the trunk. It was all that she could smell, and for some reason she began to have trouble drawing in a breath. It was as if her body was rejecting the wretched air. She clawed at the twisted tape that held her hands, to no avail. She wanted to scream. She wanted to call for her mother, and for a moment she tried to gather enough air to do that, but something happened. Something bad. Maria’s eyes closed, and the last puff of air from her lungs pressed against the tape covering her mouth before seeping back to escape her nostrils.
Erin clocked out and sat at the bar. Her outfit was a little more low-key; tiny white tee shirt and jeans. Her prominent breasts attracted the attention of the drunken man two seats down. Ignoring his slurring come-on, she ordered two whiskey shots. Throwing them back, she felt a surge of warmth and suddenly she wanted to dance again. Not on the stage, but in a hot crowd with the music so loud she wouldn’t be able to think.
There was little traffic on the way to the club. When she arrived, she ordered two more shots of whiskey and wove her way through the crowd and began to dance. After a while the whiskey wore off, and she needed a cigarette. Once outside the club she opened the trunk. Inside the limp and lifeless body of her daughter lay staring up at her. Erin slammed the trunk shut and quickly got into the car. She drove for hours, finally dumping the car in an empty lot, and caught a taxi to the bus station.
Erin got on the first departing bus and never looked back. Maria watched her mother ride away from her body, her journey toward the heavens momentarily paused. In that moment Maria knew that she would never see her mother again.
***This is a work of fiction. Any similarity between the characters, events, or places within this short story and any actual places, persons, or events is purely coincidental.***
