Gazelle (8 page)

“
The red button, right
?
”
“
You only need to hit it the once
,
” he says.

“
I know, but I hit it the once and then again to make sure s
o…
do I hit it again
?
”

“
Yeah, one more time.  And then stop playing with it or
I’
ll take it away
,
” he smiles.

              She swats at him and points the keys at the car, hitting the button with a serious intensity.
 “
Shit
!
”
“
What
?
”

“
Se
e…
you and all your questions distracted me too much
,
” she grumbles, scrimmaging through her pockets as she races back to the car, with the change for the meter.

“
Hey, look, before we go in I think I should kindawarn you...I don't know you all that well, I hope you're not too sensitive
,
” she says.
 “
My landlord can be a bit abrasive.  Do
n’
t take anything he says too seriously.  An
d…
do
n’
t make too much eye contact.  H
e’
s a total alpha
.
”

“
What does
that
mean
?
”

              She opens the tinted glass doors into a room trapped in a
dé
cor decades old.  The smell of beer, cigarettes and dirty carpet wafts up to greet them.  The felt on the tables is old and worn, the walls painted a bright orange and covered in faded beer advertisements of bikini models with long, frizzy hair from the 8
0’
s and 9
0’
s.  A bar runs the length of the room, lined with empty bar stools still turned over on the counter.  Talking Heads blares through old, dirty speakers perched adjacent to the doors.  The pool hall is a long, dark room, empty except for a small group of men in the furthest corner who circle slowly around their table in deep concentration.  They look up at the two and do
n’
t smile or frown, just watch, shifting their weights onto their cues.  Alice moves confidently in long strides towards the men, her hands shoved casually in her pockets, Julian trailing after her like a hesitant guard dog.

“
Well, well, my favorite tenant has graced us at last
.
”

“
Hi, Rolando
.
”
              Rolando is a lanky Asian man in a lavender dress shirt and slacks.  His head is shaved, his face scarred with a knife cut across his upper left cheek and over the bridge of his crooked nose.  There is a tenderness in his regard for her, but nothing else about Rolando denotes kindness.  His eyes flash over Julian, his eyebrows dip for a second.  The men at his side swell and lean in towards the couple as he relaxes and returns to his game.  He smiles lazily at her, two gold caps on his incisors, before leaning down for the shot and knocking two solids into parallel pockets.

“
Ay, chingado
!
” his friends exclaim, slapping money down on the table in defeat.

              He spreads his long arms and embraces Alice, holding her long before pulling away and scrutinizing Julian.
 “
New boyfriend?  Guerro, huh?  Yo
u’
re breaking my heart, girl
!
”

“
This is my friend, Lincoln. H
e’
s not my boyfriend
,
” Alice says.

“
Wha
t’
s with the disguise
?
”
“
H
e’
s shy
.
”
“
Yeah?  Somehow I doubt that.  Rolando
,
” Rolando says, taking Julia
n’
s outstretched hand in a crushing grip as Julian pulls off his sunglasses.  His tiny black eyes lock on Julian, who remembers Alic
e’
s words and quickly looks away.
 “
Yankees, huh?  Tha
t’
s pretty ballsy in this town.  You from New York
?
”

“
Yeah
.
”

“
Tha
t’
s good, then.  Gottarepresent no matter what, stay true to your hometown.  How do you know Alice
?
”
“
We met at work
,
” Alice says, quickly.

“
You work at Healthy Grocery, too?  I do
n’
t remember seeing you there
.
”
“
No, he works outside the store.  He spins signs.  H
e’
s a sign spinner
.
”

              Rolando looks at her in disbelief and then back at Julian before laughing.
 “
Get the fuck out!  That ai
n’
t no sign spinner!  No fucki
n
’ spinner has teeth that white
.
”

“
I swear!  He spins all over the place.  Really good.Tosses it up and catches it and everything
.
”
“
Really.  Show me
,
” Rolando says, tossing the pool stick to Julian who catches it.

              Julian stares at him and then Alice, who smiles wickedly.  Julian smirks and begins spinning the stick hand over hand slowly, picking up speed before he spins it up over his head and catches it without breaking stride.  They all laugh as he tosses the stick back to Rolando.

“
I never knew a spinner who dressed so sharp!  They must be paying well these days.
I’
m in the wrong business, I think.  Speaking of which, you have something for me, young lady
?
”
“
Here you go
,
” Alice says triumphantly as she hands him the wad.

              He counts it swiftly and hands it back to one of the men beside him.
 “
Yo
u’
re late again.  Wher
e’
s the late charge
?
”
“I’
ll get it to you tomorrow, I promise.  I have to get my car fixed
.
”
              He shakes his head and chalks his cue.
 “
Yo
u’
re pushing it.  This is the third time in a row
.
”
“
I know.  What can I say
?
”
“
You can say
,‘
i
t’
s the third and
last time
.
’
 
But we both know tha
t’
d be a lie, right
?
”

“
Rolando
-
”

“
You know how I feel about being late, lady.  I
t’
s the principle. I
t’
s your home, but i
t’
s my property, and I take care of wha
t’
s mine.  My money, tomorrow.  No more excuses.  And bring me a box of those fucki
n
’ Lace
y’
s.  I ca
n’
t get enough of them
.
”
              She steps to him and gives him a quick hug and kiss on the cheek.
 “
You got it, boss.  See you guys later
.
”

“
Le
t’
s go
,
” she whispers hurriedly to Julian.

“
Ey, amigo
!
”

 
              Julian turns to back to him, studying the way he stands, confident and dangerous, casually aggressive.  He imprints the image of the man, his tiny eyes, his scar and gold smile, leaning his great, long frame on a thin, weathered pool stick, surrounded by real men, the character forever locking into a place Julian can access.
 “
Yeah
?
”
“
Take care of her, understand?  Sh
e’
s my favorite
.
”

              They pull away from the pool hall in silence.  Julian glances sidelong at the girl, realizing fully for the first time the person next to him was not just a true human, trudging through her fucked up life, but someone who did so with a certain amount of power and control he sought desperately for himself, living alongside characters who were more real and true than he could ever know.  She smacks on gum, fiddles with the radio, sips her drink and drives all at once, with complete oblivion to the field of land mines she navigates.  She looks back at him and then twice, noticing his attention.

“
What
?
”
“
Nothing
.
”
“
That was weird, right
?
”
“
A little
.
”
              She smiles
.“
Yeah, Roland
o’
s intense. 
I’
ve known him since I moved out here, a few years back.  He helped me come out of my shell.  I spent a lot of lonely nights in that pool hall.  I taught him to knit, you know
.
”
“
Him
?
” Julians laughs.

“
Yea
h…
he was trying to wean himself off coke and mollies.  It was the only thing that kept him focused.  He would sit in that corner and just knit the whole night in complete silence with me, even after closing.  We made scarves for his entire family and that man has
family
, let me tell you
.
”

“
I ca
n’
t picture him knitting, honestly.  I ca
n’
t even picture it a little bit
.
”
“
Well, tha
t’
s because you got the gangster version.  He was playing his gangster bit because you were there.  And he totally is, do
n’
t get me wrong.  But h
e’
s also a million bazillion other things
.
”

“
Yeah, I can see that.  Most people are
.
”
“
What about you
?
”
“
What about me, what
?
”

“
Wher
e’
d you learn to spin like that?  Were you really a sign spinner before you made it big
?
”

              He laughs and shakes his head.
 “
Naw.  I had martial arts training for a movie I was in
.
”
“
Oh
yeah
!‘
Saint Blood Fal
l’
!  That was a good one.  You were a real asshole in that movie
.
”

“
Thanks, I think
.
”

“
Weird how that stuff can come in handy.  You think you could kick some gu
y’
s ass if you had to because of that training
?
”
“
No, not because of that.  Maybe because of the six years of Krav Magatraining
I’
ve had, though
.
”
“
Really
?
”
“
Yeah.  That, and Tai Kwon Do.  The
y’
re very meditative.  They teach you to control your movements completely.  Makes you really aware of your muscles and your body moving through space, the action and consequence sequence
.
”

              She is quiet a moment, studying the road
.“
Can I ask you something
?
”
“
Of course
.
”
              She takes a drink and pauses.
 “
I
t’
s strange, do
n’
t you think
?
”
“
What is
?
”
“
You, this, being here.Last night.  I
t’
s bizarre.  I mean, I do
n’
t know much about yo
u‘
cept what the tabloids say and shit on the internet. 
I’
ve seen a few of your movies.  I love
d‘
Heights
,
’ it was totally badass.  I mean, I really
loved
that movie, great script,great director, good plot and you were really good.
 ‘
Time Awa
y
’ was a little to
o‘
chick flicki
e
’ for me, but it was still pretty good
.
”