John Miller - The Last Day

“Kind of like a memento,” she said, a look of suspicion crossing her features. “Is that the truth?”

“Absolutely.”

Alice opened her bag and looked in. She took a note card out and studied it.

“What's that?” Todd asked.

“He drew this picture of me on the airplane,” she said, showing it to Todd.

“It's good,” Todd said.

“I forgot all about it,” she said. “He's a good sketcher. You think I look like this?”

“Yes.” Todd glanced from card to person, back and forth. “It shows a you I haven't seen before.”

“Seriously?”

“Yep. In the picture, you look innocent and sensitive. And you look vulnerable, and there's intelligence, humor, and mischief in your expression. I guess he drew you the way he saw you.”

“I make good grades. That's never been hard for me. And I can do some mischief shit. I did something earlier tonight that would be considered that exactly.”

Todd said, “He obviously thought you were a nice person. So why would you want to do him harm?”

“I don't. You think I made up that he wanted to screw me. I thought that's probably why he drew me so… I don't know. Because he wanted to hook up with me. I guess maybe he was just being nice.”

“I think he liked you because he thought there was something likeable about you. I doubt he ever imagined you'd do what you did. He's the kind of guy who would be kind to a young person traveling alone. You told him your parents were divorced and you were shuttling between them.”

“No, I didn't,” she said, but her eyes wandered around the space.

“He was kind to you because that's the kind of man he is. He thought you were vulnerable, and maybe in pain over the fact that you felt betrayed by your parents. There was never anything sexual in his mind, and I think you know that.”

“I don't know anything like that!” she snapped. “And you don't either. You're just trying to make me feel bad.”

Todd took the envelope out of his pocket and placed it on the table in front of her.

“This is yours.” But he purposefully kept the envelope pinned under his hand. “It's two thousand,” Todd told her.

“You want the car now?”

“I think we've arrived at that point.”

She reached into the black carry bag and removed the small blue car and placed it on the table, wheels down, and pushed it across the table. Todd lifted his hand, picked the car up, and examined it.

“It was already scratched,” she said, taking the envelope.

“You can count it,” Todd said.

“I trust you.” Alice stuffed the envelope into her purse and looked around the food court.

“So, where's Earl?” Todd asked, placing the model in his jacket pocket.

“I don't know, and I don't care.”

“You could do better,” Todd said. “I'm sure you know that.”

Her face suddenly felt hot and she snatched the drawing and tore it up into small pieces and let them flutter to the tabletop. “You don't know me. You've got your little piece- of- shit toy car.” She stood up and grabbed up her tote bag.

“Good luck,” he told her.

“Fuck you,” she replied, and stormed off out of the food court.

Alice was around the corner in the corridor when her cell phone started ringing. She pulled it from the pocket of her jeans and looked at the ID. It was Earl.

“What, Earl?” she said.

“Where you at?”

“If it's any of your business, I'm at the mall.”

“Doing the deal?”

“Maybe. You still drunk?”

“Naw, did you ask for ten like I said?”

“No, I did not. I agreed on two. More would be dishonorable.”

“Damn. A’ight, that's cool. So, see ah'm sayin’, you coming to get me so we can do what we said. You know, gets me my money, the tat and stuff?”

“Your money?”

“Well, it's like mostly mines, in it? Was me gots the gun. Who negotiated the deal? Who said ten grand so as you ended with two not some measly five hundred? Who'd you shoot in the fuckin’ head?”

“I don't know, Earl. I'm thinking that I should keep the entire two thousand.”

“Without me you'd be lucky to have anybody fuck you through a hole in a wall, you no- tit loser bitch. If you couldn't make a fist around my pecker, you'd be worthless.”

“Whatever,” she said, fuming. “But if I'm the loser, how come I've got the money and you're the one sitting on your front porch?”

“Who're you calling a loser?”

“Maybe the loser who's a penniless freak with the IQ of a mollusk.”

“Don't you dare try to fuck me!”

“Why would I bother, when you're doing such a great job of fucking yourself? We're done, and if I ever see you again, even by accident, I really am going to shoot you.”

She snapped the phone closed and laughed. When her phone rang again, she started to ignore it, but she wanted to say a few more things.

“You evil little monster! You horrid bitch!” the voice hissed.

Alice felt her cheeks reddening, and her stomach felt hot and hollow. The female voice was distorted by cold fury, but Alice had heard this same tone often enough since childhood.

“You miserable ingrate.”

“What's wrong, Mother?” Alice managed to say, using the most innocent voice she could muster.

“You've ruined me,” her mother hissed.

“What are you talking about?”

“Nine one one ring any bells?”

“That's the emergency police and fire number.”

“Do you have any idea what you've done?”

“If you'll calm down before you blow out a vein or something and tell me what you're talking about…”

“I'm talking about the police coming into my house with their guns out and handcuffing the lawn boy! You've really done it.” Her mother's ranting was now accented by sobs.

Fuck it. “Were you two still fucking when the cops came?”

“They were going to arrest me!” Delores snapped.

“You aren't in jail though, are you?”

“No, I'm not. He's seventeen. How could you?”

“How could you screw a boy younger than me in my own kitchen while I was home? You deserve to be arrested for child molesting. And I hate you, you bitch.”

“I'll put your things on the back porch. Maybe you can go live with your father, but he doesn't want you there either. We have given you everything, and you've given nothing but pain in return. You are a self- centered, hateful, evil little troll, and you've never done one unselfish thing in your life. So we got divorced, it happens, and you decided to punish us for the rest of our lives. That's over, Alice, for good.”

“I'm not the reason you got divorced, so don't try to make me feel guilty. You hate me because you think I'm ugly, and you are so friggin’ beautiful.”

“Talking to you is a waste of breath. I can't tell you anything the professionals couldn't tell us. Lawyers and shrinks, all a waste of my time and money. Good- bye, Alice. And I wish you good luck, because you lack any personality or capacity to care about anybody but yourself.”

The phone went dead.

Alice wanted to laugh because the cops had caught her mother screwing a kid in the kitchen. She wished she had a film of it to watch.

I'm an evil monster?

She's the monster.

She never loved me.

I never loved her. Screw her.

I've got money.

I can get an apartment, and I can get a job.

I'll show her.

Alice left the mall, walked to her car, unlocked it, and climbed in. She put the bag on the passenger seat, cranked it, and just sat there, thinking. Her mother was wrong. She'd done lots of unselfish things. Lots. Alice tried to think of one, but nothing came to mind.

“I gave Mr. McCarty his little toy car back when I didn't have to. That was unselfish. Totally unselfish,” she said.