"Carmen"

The Book Woman Club has not been meeting!  It's recording secretary has continued to drop the ball, but is picking it up again!  Check out my November 14th, 2011 story "Carmen" before reading this entry.  Carmen is trying to find Erica before her very angry husband does.....

Carmen left Bessie Davis Hudson's house with frown lines folding down her forehead.  She needed to find Erica before Pedro found her.  As gentle as Pedro was with her, he could not seem to keep his fists off Erica's face!  She was going to have to move her time-table with Pedro up a month or two!  What was Erica thinking?  Disappearing like this and scewing up Carmen's plan!  Where could she be?

Sweat filled Carmen's armpits as she turned onto James Street, heading back towards downtown Syracuse.   The humidity of the Syracuse weather and Carmen's fear for Erica radiated their sour smell through her sweat.  She had to find Erica before Pedro got to her!  She damned Erica, and she damned herself for not being at the Book Woman Club in time to pick Erica up!  Carmen thought back on the afternoon that she had spent with Pedro and shivered.  He had gotten a babysitter to watch the kids while he was with Carmen.  He had taken his time, and had not left an inch of her body untouched.  She shivered again.  That's why she was late picking up Erica!  Pedro must have left Carmen and gone home to release the babysitter right away!  She thought she had enough time to get Erica and give her a ride home before Pedro got impatient.  He was such a bastard! 
Carmen was jerked out of her thoughts, spotting Erica and an older woman coming out of a big house near the corner of James and Tealle Ave.!  Carmen slammed on her brakes, and pulled her car over, the brakes screeching as she threw her bright red convertible onto the curb!  "What the hell is wrong with you!"  The driver behind her screamed a profanity as he pulled around her, his fist raised in the air!  Ignoring him, Carmen she jumped out of her car, leaving the motor running, and ran over to Erica and the elderly woman.  "You need to come with me, NOW!", she shouted, and grabbed Erica's arm.  "Carmen!  You're hurting me!"  Erica pulled her arm away from Carmen, rubbing the bruises that didn't show yet, but had begun to throb under her skin.  "Pedro is driving around looking for you, and he's really pissed!"  Panic rose in Erica's eyes!  "But he said I could go to the Book Woman Club Meeting!  He knew I was there!"  "Yeah, he's been to Ms. Hudson's house and made a big scene!  Said you were late getting home!  He had all the kids in the car!"  "But I'm not that late!  You weren't at the meeting, so I was walking home.  I just stopped for a few minutes to talk to my friend Ms. Celeste!"  Erica turned to the older woman.  "This is my friend that I told you about...Carmen this is Ms. Celeste."  "Nice to meet you, Ms. Celeste."  Carmen pulled impatiently at her sweat drenched shirt.  "Erica told me alot about you...  I don't mean to be rude, but we got to go, now! Now, before Pedro drives by and sees us!  Sees you!"  Carmen grabbed at Erica's arm again, but let go when Erica winced.  Glaring at Carmen, Erica rubbed her arm, and then turned to Celeste and gave her a big hug.  "I got to go.  I'll try to come see you soon, ok?"  "You could stay here, my child!  You know you can stay here!  I don't want you to get hurt!"  Celeste gently took both of Erica's arms by her wrinkled hands, their touch soothing the bruises that were forming from Carmen's roughness.  She looked deeply into Erica's eyes, her own eyes reflecting the fear that filled Erica's face.  "You don't have to go back there!  You can make a choice, right now, and change your life, Erica!  Stay!"  Erica's eyes brimmed with tears and she shook her head.  She whispered, "I have to go!  I have children.  I can't just leave them!"  Tears of resignation and defeat ran down Erica's cheeks.  Celeste repeated what she had said so many times to Erica, hoping that she would hear them this time.  "I have room for all of you.  The door is open!"  "I can't!  I just can't!"  Erica pulled away from Celeste.  "Yes, you can!  You can, Erica!"  Celeste took a step towards Erica as Carmen pushed Erica towards the car.  "Come on Erica, we got to go!"  Carmen voice rose as she frantically scanned the street.  Carmen turned to Celeste as she and Erica began to move towards the car.  "When she's ready, Ms. Celeste.  When she's ready, I will bring her myself!  I'll take her home!  He won't hurt her if I'm there!  I promise!"  Before Carmen and Erica could get to the car, Pedro came barreling down the street.  His car rocked as he swung it in a wide arc to park at an angel in front of Carmen's convertible, the back hanging out into James street and blocking any possibility of escape!  "Bitch! Where the fuck you been?" Pedro shouted as he jumped across the hood of his car, the screams and wails of the children pouring out of the car windows!  Carmen swung Erica around, sending her running back towards Celeste's house, using her own body as a sheild between the raging Pedro and the terrified Erica! Pedro threw his body towards Erica.  "Bitch!  Where you think you going?  Don't you run from me!"  He leaped across the sidewalk and shoved Erica to the ground, trapping Carmen under Erica as they both fell!  "No, Pedro, no!" Carmen's screams mixed with Erica's as Pedro raised his fist!  Carmen tried to crawl out from under Erica's weight; tried to sceam through Pedro's rage, begging him to hear her!  "Don't do this Pedro!  Don't...."  Blood filled Carmen's mouth as she felt the the blows of Pedro's fist travel through Erica's face, to her face!  "Please, Pedro, please!", Carmen's screams mingled with Erica's as blow after shared blow fell.  She saw stars, comets, the flaring of a million suns as she began to black out...