Chapter Two: And Her Needs
Mother bundled her up.
Covering her hands
With cotton mittens.
Wrapping her neck
With an old black scarf,
-The one she use to wear
Back in her younger days-
She buttoned
Her daughter's small body
Into two thick coats.
"Alright darling, Mommy's giving you two hundred okay? Two hundred." She held up a bag of money
Made of up mostly tens
And twenties
All bunched together
Within a silk purple ribbon.
A trademark of hers
Since she was a young girl.
She shoved the bag
Into an inside pocket
Near her chest.
Her hand,
Brushed against her daughter's soft cheek
Before she rose
From her knees.
Mother took a few steps
To the door
And opened it
Quietly,
"Now run along darling."
She inhaled,
Wobbling over to the door
That allowed
The winter breeze
To flow in.
"And remember, don't keep mommy waiting!" She smiled,
Eyeing her daughter
Amble through the door.
When she took a step
Onto the porch,
Mother shut the door.
Her heavy shoes,
Thumped across the porch
To the small set of stairs
That led to the gravel pathway.
{Her mind raced back
To when she turned around,
Because she was scared
Of going out late at night.
Mother was angry
When she did that.}
Her feet trod onto
The gravel road
To the sidewalk
Where few light poles
Lead the way
In the dreary town.
{The pain
Of when Mother
Snatched her by the hair
Back into the home,
And punched her
Several times
Still throbs.
When she was done,
She threw her out
Back onto the porch
And locked the door
With the silver locks
That clanked.
She screamed
Behind the locked door,
"If you won't go get what Mommy wants, then Mommy won't let you back in! You'll be eaten by the wolves and die!" }
As she walked,
Passing the late night stragglers,
The many bits and pieces
Of that cruel night
Continued to play
She fled from the large house
On Mahogany Road
And ran down the sidewalk,
To the small alleyway
Where those men were.
They looked scary,
When brought her to them.
Each of their eyes shined
Within the dim light
And their white smiles
Could be seen,
Bleeding into the dark.
Each spoke
With a vibrating,
Bass,
Voice.
Mother told her,
She should be familiar with them.
"Mommy can't be seen outside. Or else Father will be mad. We don't want Father angry, do we?"
Is what she told her.
She turned the corner,
Into the alley
And strolled towards the three gentlemen
Who stood in front of the green door
That had a rusty
"V"
In front.
She believed
That all their names
Started with the letter V.
"Well well well..." The man with a top hat spoke,
Setting a cig in between his lips.
This was the first V.
He always stood in the middle,
Closest to the door,
And huffed on the long white stick
That glowed a fiery red at the end.
"If it ain't the child!" He took the cig
Out of his mouth.
With a slight tap
Of his finger,
The ashes slipped off.
"Is that a...?"
The second V,
Who wore a blue coat
Rushed over to her
He squinted his yellow eyes,
Getting a better look
At the large oval
Over her eye,
"She got a black eye!"
He announced.
"No wonder ya back here again!"
The third V
Who stood to the right
Chortled with a slight cough.
He never looked well.
"How much did she give ya?" The First V asked.
She dug into her inside pocket
And brought out the bag of money,
"Two hundred." She answered.
The Second V
Grabbed the money from her,
"Two fucking hundred! Aint that bitch just grand? She be always makin my day!"
"She probably gave us a little bit more."
The Third V commented.
"Probably." The First V threw the cig down
And reached into his coat pockets.
He took out
Four small packets
All stamped with the letter V
Near the top.
"Here ya go miss. Two hundred dollars worth of glass." He walked over to her
And handed them over,
"Tell ya mommy I said, thank you for doing business with us."
She grabbed the packets
And placed them within her coat pockets.
She turned around,
Heading out of the alley.
"Oh yeah by the way small miss, if you see them damned Pigs pretend to be one of the orphaned." He noted.
She nodded her head.
She had done it before.
Lying.
The sirens and lights
Lit up the alleyway one night,
In a various of blue and white.
She watched
The three men scatter
Like cockroaches
And the Coppers in white
Chased after them.
She stood in awe,
Not knowing what she should do.
She wanted to run-
She wanted to stay.
One of the Coppers
Approached her,
Asking what she was doing.
She told him that she was looking for her brother.
He believed her
And told her to let the police handle it
Before allowing her to leave.
She exhaled,
Feeling the winter
Numb her face.
She couldn't wait to get back home,
Where it was somewhat warm
And somewhat safe.
Covering her hands
With cotton mittens.
Wrapping her neck
With an old black scarf,
-The one she use to wear
Back in her younger days-
She buttoned
Her daughter's small body
Into two thick coats.
"Alright darling, Mommy's giving you two hundred okay? Two hundred." She held up a bag of money
Made of up mostly tens
And twenties
All bunched together
Within a silk purple ribbon.
A trademark of hers
Since she was a young girl.
She shoved the bag
Into an inside pocket
Near her chest.
Her hand,
Brushed against her daughter's soft cheek
Before she rose
From her knees.
Mother took a few steps
To the door
And opened it
Quietly,
"Now run along darling."
She inhaled,
Wobbling over to the door
That allowed
The winter breeze
To flow in.
"And remember, don't keep mommy waiting!" She smiled,
Eyeing her daughter
Amble through the door.
When she took a step
Onto the porch,
Mother shut the door.
Her heavy shoes,
Thumped across the porch
To the small set of stairs
That led to the gravel pathway.
{Her mind raced back
To when she turned around,
Because she was scared
Of going out late at night.
Mother was angry
When she did that.}
Her feet trod onto
The gravel road
To the sidewalk
Where few light poles
Lead the way
In the dreary town.
{The pain
Of when Mother
Snatched her by the hair
Back into the home,
And punched her
Several times
Still throbs.
When she was done,
She threw her out
Back onto the porch
And locked the door
With the silver locks
That clanked.
She screamed
Behind the locked door,
"If you won't go get what Mommy wants, then Mommy won't let you back in! You'll be eaten by the wolves and die!" }
As she walked,
Passing the late night stragglers,
The many bits and pieces
Of that cruel night
Continued to play
She fled from the large house
On Mahogany Road
And ran down the sidewalk,
To the small alleyway
Where those men were.
They looked scary,
When brought her to them.
Each of their eyes shined
Within the dim light
And their white smiles
Could be seen,
Bleeding into the dark.
Each spoke
With a vibrating,
Bass,
Voice.
Mother told her,
She should be familiar with them.
"Mommy can't be seen outside. Or else Father will be mad. We don't want Father angry, do we?"
Is what she told her.
She turned the corner,
Into the alley
And strolled towards the three gentlemen
Who stood in front of the green door
That had a rusty
"V"
In front.
She believed
That all their names
Started with the letter V.
"Well well well..." The man with a top hat spoke,
Setting a cig in between his lips.
This was the first V.
He always stood in the middle,
Closest to the door,
And huffed on the long white stick
That glowed a fiery red at the end.
"If it ain't the child!" He took the cig
Out of his mouth.
With a slight tap
Of his finger,
The ashes slipped off.
"Is that a...?"
The second V,
Who wore a blue coat
Rushed over to her
He squinted his yellow eyes,
Getting a better look
At the large oval
Over her eye,
"She got a black eye!"
He announced.
"No wonder ya back here again!"
The third V
Who stood to the right
Chortled with a slight cough.
He never looked well.
"How much did she give ya?" The First V asked.
She dug into her inside pocket
And brought out the bag of money,
"Two hundred." She answered.
The Second V
Grabbed the money from her,
"Two fucking hundred! Aint that bitch just grand? She be always makin my day!"
"She probably gave us a little bit more."
The Third V commented.
"Probably." The First V threw the cig down
And reached into his coat pockets.
He took out
Four small packets
All stamped with the letter V
Near the top.
"Here ya go miss. Two hundred dollars worth of glass." He walked over to her
And handed them over,
"Tell ya mommy I said, thank you for doing business with us."
She grabbed the packets
And placed them within her coat pockets.
She turned around,
Heading out of the alley.
"Oh yeah by the way small miss, if you see them damned Pigs pretend to be one of the orphaned." He noted.
She nodded her head.
She had done it before.
Lying.
The sirens and lights
Lit up the alleyway one night,
In a various of blue and white.
She watched
The three men scatter
Like cockroaches
And the Coppers in white
Chased after them.
She stood in awe,
Not knowing what she should do.
She wanted to run-
She wanted to stay.
One of the Coppers
Approached her,
Asking what she was doing.
She told him that she was looking for her brother.
He believed her
And told her to let the police handle it
Before allowing her to leave.
She exhaled,
Feeling the winter
Numb her face.
She couldn't wait to get back home,
Where it was somewhat warm
And somewhat safe.
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