Gazelle (10 page)

“
So then she told you what she did, right
?
” He points his middle finger to the crook in his nose.
 “
Broke my goddamn nose
!
”

              Julian fights off his smile and turns away, pulling his hat down.

“
Yeah, and
why
did I break it?  You want to tell him
why
?
!
”

“
’
Cuzyou two don't know how to effectively communicate without getting all crazy
!
” His brother shouts from behind him, laughing with the others.

“
Ey, shut up, Alejandro
,
” Anthony says, holding up a hand.
 “
Mind your business.  Al, you come around here, asking me for favors, for this and that, but only when you want something, right?  You use me,girl, and I do
n’
t hear shit from you otherwise.  And then you show up here with this pinc
hé
, guerro boyfriend, asking me to fix that piece of shit car
again
for free?  Come on
!
”

“
First off, again, h
e’
s not my boyfriend.  And second, Anthony, this isn't the time or place. We both know you're gonna fix it.  Stop embarrassing me."
“
Fine, right, okay, give me the money, you get your car tomorrow
.
”
“
Anthon
y
…”
“
No, i
t’
s cool.  Yo
u’
re right.  Yo
u’
re always right.  Give me the money and you get it tomorrow
.
”

              Alice sighs and hands him fifty.

“
Wher
e’
s the rest
?
”
“I’
ll get it to you tomorrow, when I get the car
.
”

              Anthony licks his lips, as his brothers roll their eyes and saunter back to the shop, knowing he is defeated despite all his big talk.
 “
You come to my house tomorrow, with the money, and you pick up your car
.
”
“
What?!No way
!
”
              He holds up his hands, unmoved.
 “
Nope, no.  You will.  You will come over,you will come in and say hi to Mama.  She misses you, she asks about you all the time.  I
t’
s selfish you do
n’
t call her nomore.  And you will visit with Felicia.  She has
n’
t seen you in months, either.  You owe her that.  You ca
n’
t just cut her out of your life because you do
n’
t wannasee me, tha
t’
s fucked up
.
”
              Alice rolls her eyes and he stares at her.
 “
Okay, fine.  Tomorrow.  But only for them
.
”
“
Tha
t’
s fine.  See you then
.
” He glares one last time at Julian before turning back towards his brothers.

“
You can drive now
,
” she sighs, tossing him the keys and slouching down into the passenger seat.

“
Wh
o’
s Felicia?  Your daughter
?
” Julian asks.

“
Hell no!  Felici
a’
s his fucking Chihuahua
.
” 

              Julian laughs and starts the car, flooring it as they peel away.

“
Are you hungry? 
I’
m starved
,
” she says, stretching and wrapping her arms up under her hair, letting it fall in a lazy pile around her shoulders.

“
Yeah, I could eat.  Where you wannago
?
”
“
Oooo!  My choice
?
”
“
Yeah, sure
.
”
“
Anywhere I want?  Any fancy place I want?
 ‘
Beverly Hill
s
’ fancy, even
?
”
              He laughs.
 “
Sure, why not
.
”
“
Okay!  Take me to a place the stars go
.
”

              They sit up at Griffith Observatory, picking through their vegetarian sandwiches and sipping their drinks, watching the sunset.  She frowns at him and down at her healthy food.

“
This is where the stars go
?
”
“
It
is
an observatory
,
” he smiles, giving her his pickles. 

              She snorts and bites into the sandwich, instantly making a sour face at the healthy taste of sprouts.

“
I like this place.  I
t’
s kind of quiet.  I use to come here all the time befor
e…
before
,
” he shrugs.

“
This is what the stars eat?  Blech
.
”
“
I
t’
s what you eat when you have a shoot coming up and you start training 6AM tomorrow, four hours a day, six days a week
.
”

“
Are you serious?  Really
?
”
              He nods, chewing through the sandwich, staring over the city.  "Yeah...this role is...very important.  I really like the character but I'm gonna have a hard time, I can feel it..."

"Why?"

"I don't know.  Usually I just do my homework and spend time creating who I'm going to be.  But this guy...he's different.  Well, no, maybe that's the opposite.  He's too familiar.  And it scares me a little.  I don't know how to get ready for it.  So...I guess I'm gonna work out like crazy and starve myself until I figure it out."

“
My gaw
d…
I would so not make it even a week.  I think I would hack off my arm and bar-b-queit after three days if I had to eat shit like this
.
”

“
I
t’
d be the most expensive bar-b-queyou ever ate.  My arms are worth millions right now
.
”
“
Jesus, yo
u’
re right.  I never thought of it that way.  Tha
t’
s weird, your body parts are a commodity
.
”

              He smiles and stares out over the city, his face hidden still beneath the cap and glasses he has worn all day. 

“
Can you do me a favor
?
” she asks.

“
Of course
.
”
“
Can you take off the disguise
?
”

              He tugs off the glasses and hat, squinting at her, the bright, blue eyes piercing her with their casual gaze.  He looks immediately lighter, young and almost childlike, and then, with a dangerous twist of his brow he becomes the face she was once familiar with, but could never see him as again.  She smiles a long, slow smile and tussles his hair.  He laughs and sheepishly runs a hand over his hair.

“
God, yo
u’
re unreal!  How can you even stand it
?
”
 
She laughs.

              He smiles and throws a carrot stick at her.  She throws her pickle at him and they squeeze into one another for a second, giggling like children.

“
What am
I going to do
?
” he mumbles, plucking the flaccid carrot from his lap and examining it.

              She pulls away and sips her drink, studying the homes around them, imagining, as she tended to do with big homes, the people inside and their lives.  How they sauntered through flawless rooms with wine glasses, everything in the perfect spot, every luxury accommodating them.  How they came to acquire such home and lives.  She always gets to the part where she tries to imagine herself as one of them before she realizes it could never happen, she would never fit, the people that live in these homes are the people she
serves
.  It occurs to her that he could easily be one of them, one of the people she serves day in and day out without ever really being a part of their lives.  He feels her distance, and an ache races through him, imagining her vanish as the fog of his impending life rolls in.

“
Do you want a job
?
”
              She bites into her sandwich and chews it thoughtfully, as if she had
n’
t heard the question or recognized the uncanny relevance it had to her thought process.

“
I mean,do you want a real job?  I do
n’
t-I think I need someone like you around
.
”
“
You want me to work for you
?
”
“
Yeah
.
”
“
You could have me around.  We could be friends.  I do
n’
t have to work for you
.
”
“
N
o…
i
t…
I do
n’
t really have many friends.  I told you, all I do is work.  I'm all over the place, all the time.  The friends I have, I see every once in awhile and-and I know you would just get lost in the shuffle.  I do
n’
t want that to happen.  If you worked for m
e
…”
              She laughs and nods.
 “
If I worked for you,
I’
d be in the shuffle all the time, too
.
”

“
Exactly
.
”

“
What would I do
?
”
“
Well, u
h…
I gues
s…
remember CeCe
?
”
“
Your secretary
.
”
“
Right.  Well, yo
u’
d work under her.  Yo
u’
d be my personal assistant
.
”
“
Wait, you want me to pick up your dog shits
!
”
“
Yeah!  NO!  I want you to just, help me, you know.  In daily things.  Running errands like we did today, but they would be my errands.  Helping me make decisions.  Just-being with me, you know, help me keep current, help me keep on top of current events, politics, world news, music and books and shit like that
.
”

              She swallows her bite and looks at him.
 “
That sounds pretty good, actually.  Do I get benefits
?
”
“
Sure
.
”
“
How much would I make
?
”
“
I do
n’
t kno
w…
CeCe deals with that stuff.  But off the top of my head, I would promise no less than 40
.
”

              Her jaw drops, quivering slightly, her eyes widen.
 “
A year
?
”
“
Yeah, is that too little? 
I’
m sure we could get you more.  And
I’
ll make sure you have a good car.  I
t’
d be leased, but i
t’
d be yours
.
”

“
Okay, really?  Are you being for reals
?
”
“
Yes!  I mean it!  Do you want to do it
?
”
“
When would I start
?
”
“
Tomorrow?

“
Tomorrow? No way, I can't!  I have to give my two weeks at Healthy
.
”
              He chuckles and then sees her deeply concerned expression.
 “
Seriously
?
”
“
Yes, seriously!  What if this does
n’
t work out?  I have a career there.  I do
n’
t want to burn any bridges
.
”