The Mirrors of Fate (28 page)

“
Mother, stop!” Louie rebuked sternly. “What does her name have to do with anything? A name does not change anything about her. I find that she is quite endearing.”

“
Endearing?” Louie’s father asked. “Was this not the same girl you were cursing profanities over when you came home with a red face?”

That shut Louie up, and told everyone in the room that the offence, though they had hoped it hadn’t, had been passed on to Louie’s parents.

“
I admit my daughter might have acted...wrongly before,” her father defended, “but she has already thoroughly apologized for that over the phone, she told me. I promise you she will make a good wife. Good wives aren’t born—they’re made.”

Something was wrong. Inside Maria’s gut there was a celebration going on that Louie’s parents weren’t happy with her, but there was also embarrassment. To be marketed as if she were a farm-raised cow? To be rejected by these judgmental, hypocritical people as well?

“
Vee disagree with you,” Mrs. Singh said with her nose tilted toward the ceiling. “I find it hard to believe that any gul like her vhill make any man happy vid such a sickly looking disposition and rebellious attitude.”

To be spoken badly of for a man who wasn’t worth it?

“
Maybe somevone with no high standards for themselves.” The woman looked at Maria. “I am not trying to be vrude to you, please understand. But vhen I get mad, I get puhlain. How can you come in here looking the vay you do? You look frail and ill. And I must say, I have no tolerance for modern guls like you and your attitude problems. The mere fact that you slapped my son proves your problems. To be frank with you, I don’t like you. I never liked you from the moment my son came home hurt. How dare you hit my son vhen you did.”

“
Mrs. Singh—”

“
No child, let me finish. And don’t think me a racist, but I don’t see my son marrying a black voman, mixed or vhatever it is that you are, and produce little Negro babies all ova the place. I couldn’t stomach the idea. You are a pretty gul but you just don’t fit the package. By the vay, do you even know vhat your background is like? Vhat will you tell your children about your real parents if
you
didn’t even know dem? Do you remember anything about your real parents?”

“
That’s enough!” her father tried to stop the woman.

“
No, I need to know! Vhat are you anyway, gul? You’re a mix between black and white parents? Vell, yes, that’s obvious because black people don’t have curly hair like you. You don’t even have any idea of vhat you are. Aren’t your parents dead? Or vere they arrested?”

Everyone’s jaws became unhinged at the woman’s words. Even her own husband and son looked shocked at her merciless scrutiny. Maria sat stone-faced. The malicious dissection from Louie’s mother had drained the blood from her face long before anyone had even taken the time to notice. In the gripping silence that followed, Maria wasn’t trying to figure out a good comeback or any response at all for that matter. She herself was just too stunned.

She had never wanted to marry this person. She should be glad they hated her. But these people’s judgments, their cutting up of her personality and autopsying every little detail about the pieces made a hole of emptiness tear in her chest so painful and embarrassing she felt like all her energy had been sucked out. Was she really that inept? Was she really that worthless of a person even
she
didn’t deserve someone like Louie of all people?

In glancing around at everyone, she saw no one could say anything to help her. Somehow this pleased the woman. But when Maria’s gaze went toward David, her embarrassment was put on hold for a split second when she noticed a hard, cold glare being sent like heat waves from him toward the woman. How ironic. Only he, for some reason, looked ready to defend her.

When he glanced at her, she sent him a message from her stare that was as honest as her soul felt naked sitting there—
You said you came here to destroy me, but what have you really come to destroy?

So, moving that aside and considering her situation for a moment, she had only two alternatives now. One, sit there and take things graciously, or two, do not. She chose the latter.

“
Mrs. Singh, may I speak on behalf of myself?”

No one had expected Maria to speak, but when she did, Mrs. Singh nodded in response and allowed it.

“
No ma’am, I don’t know my birth parents. My parents could be dead or they really could be in jail, as you said. Before I came to live with my adoptive parents I was already at an orphanage. I can’t really tell you about my background so I am living each day of my existence like a memoryless idiot with no identity.
You
have your identity—it is your Indian culture. As you can see I’m not like you nor am I like my parents. I’m quite glad my parents raised me the ‘wrong’ way. If being raised ‘right’ meant ending up like you I’d rather be buried alive in a ditch somewhere.”

Mrs. Singh’s eyes widened in offence.

“
Oh, and am I the right one for your son, you asked? No, I am not. But that’s not any fault of mine. Were I married to your son, I wouldn’t be able to guarantee living longer than his former wife did. Waking up to a face like that every morning is enough reason for me to join her wherever she is.”

“
What did you say to me!?”

“
And frankly, the thought of having you as a mother-in-law, as much of a hidden blessing that may be, is the last thing I’d want, even if it meant living by the side of the road selling my body to get a place to stay.”

Maria stood up. Both families stared in shock.

“
Maria!”

“
I don’t want to offend your culture, but I won’t sit here and let you berate me. When you give away your daughter,”—she looked to her parents—“and when you give away your son”—she glared at Louie’s, “you do it with warmth, with love, not like you’re conducting business. I see no more reason for me to entertain you all in this ridiculous dress, so forgive me for being rude but you can all kiss my big
Negro
ass.” Maria motioned to leave, but not before saying, “Oh, and by the way, Maria is a damn good name, Heeeeeeena!”

As Maria left the living room area, her soul began to expand, to exult with the strangest sense of freedom and triumph she had ever felt before in her eighteen years. She left them all speechless, but she’d too become infused with the same kind of shock when her eyes unintentionally caught a glimpse of David’s face during her departure.

He was trying to suppress a grin.

Maria charged up the stairs and in no time at all was back in her room. The second she sat down on her bed the roaring arguments between the guests and her parents began. The bickering should have gone on like that for a long time, but barely a span of two minutes had passed before she heard angry footsteps coming. Her father, definitely, with fists ready to pummel her into the floor. She wouldn’t reach the door in time to lock it, so she clutched a thick, heavy hardcover book from off of her desk and stood with it. But it wasn’t her father who came in through her door. A furious, hot-tempered Louie entered.

He stared at her with revulsion in his eyes. “You, Maria Jaghai, will go downstairs and apologize for how you offended my family tonight.”

“
Oh really? I think I’ll pass on that.”

He closed the door behind him. “You seem to think I’m joking with you.”

Maria went tense as he approached her. He stopped and then stood with intimidating fists at his sides. “This is not a question or a request. No one speaks to my mother like that. Not even you.”

“
Oh? Well, I didn’t hear you defending me too much when she gave that long soliloquy of insults. Both your parents talk for you like your damn mouth has been sewn shut. I guess I was wrong about your age. I’m not taking back anything I said down there. If I won’t apologize to my parents, what makes you think I’ll apologize to her?”

Louie took a firm hold of her shoulders. His fingertips dug so hard into her flesh she yelled in pain and her hand went limp. Her only weapon of a book dropped.

“
You will do it because I told you to do it! You want to act bigger than your age, you little bitch? You’ll be treated accordingly.”

“
Let go of me! You’re hurting me!” she cried out.

“
I can hurt you a lot worse than this,” he said, tightening his hold on her. “I told you before whether or not you like it this is going to happen. Forget what my mother has to say. I like your spirit but it’s too damn exasperating.” He shook her violently. “You
will
learn to listen to me!”

Maria hawked back saliva and sent a spitball flying into his face. He yelled and in an instant his fist raised to strike her.

The door opened. Louie dropped his fist and turned to look at the door. “Mr. Jaghai?” he asked.

David stood in the doorway, his tall figure blocking the light. “I’m sorry, was I interrupting something?” he asked coolly.

Louie looked at the intruder with a venomous glare. “Yes you are. Kindly leave, sir.”

“
I was actually just looking for the phone,” David said.

Louie frowned. “Then let me give you a lesson on proper etiquette. In the house of someone you don’t know, you don’t go upstairs and start searching around. You ask someone. There’s a phone in their kitchen
down
stairs, so why don’t you go there?”

“
Soon enough, soon enough,” David said, waving a hand uncaringly.

Louie’s eyes lit up at the man’s audacity.

“
I just need to talk to Ms. Jaghai.”

Maria looked away.

“
Excuse me? What business do you have with her? Listen man, use the phone, call yourself a taxi and leave. That’s why we brought you here in the first place and didn’t leave you on the side of the road.”

David leaned against the door frame with his arms folded across his chest. “After I speak with Ms. Jaghai,” he said again with unshakable resolve.

Louie was clearly fuming. He took to his heels but Maria clutched at him, holding him back.

“
No! Please don’t do this here!”

“
What is your problem?” he sneered, glaring down at her. “Oh, I see. Don’t worry.” He started smiling widely, obviously pleased with himself. “I won’t hurt him.”

That was the very least of her worries, if a worry any at all. Maria knew that if he instigated a fight,
he
and not David would be the one unconscious or dead within a matter of minutes. As much as she didn’t like him, she didn’t want his beating to happen either. Mr. Lohan was a direct example of what David could do.

“
David? David, is it?” Maria looked at him as the stranger he was posing to be. “Thank you for your help, but I would appreciate it if you left my roo—”

Louie pulled away from her. “Don’t say anything to him!” He began unbuttoning his tailored jacket. “If he doesn’t leave real quick, by my say, he’s about to get something he’s not going to like.”

David raised his eyebrows coaxingly and grinned. “Something I’m not going to like? Well, I’d definitely like to see this ‘something’ if you’re willing to show me.”

Louie threw off his jacket and dashed it to the floor. “You think I’m kidding? It’s been a long time since I’ve beaten a man.”

“
Not for me, but it’s been a long time since I’ve killed one.” His frightening indifference halted Louie completely.

David leaned off the door and straightened himself on both legs. Louie suddenly grimaced when he saw that his leg was fine.

“
You’re standing on both legs, you lying bastard! I thought you hurt your ankle. You con-artist! Who the hell are you? Dad! Dad come up here quickly! You have to see this!”

David grinned. Without warning, he advanced to Louie and let fly two deadly punches, one connecting with Louie’s jaw, the other with his nose. The strikes sent him stumbling backward onto the hard floor.

Blood flooded the depths of Louie’s mouth and poured out his nose. “
My j-jaw. You ba
—
sch
—
tard. You brughck it. M-My nose too.”

Maria panicked and ran in front of Louie with arms spread wide. “Stop! Please! Don’t do anymore! I can’t take this anymore!” Maria yelled, her hair a mess about her face.

David merely watched her.

“
I can’t take you popping up here and there! Showing up in my head! Showing up in my dreams! You’re driving me crazy ’til I can’t sleep at night without having to make sure my door is locked. If you want to kill someone here tonight, then kill me.”

That was what he had come to do anyway. She knew it. That was his intention from the start. She thought hearing herself say those words “kill me” would scare her, but as she stood there staring into this new face, his proximity close and still intimidating, fear was relinquished in her. For some reason, something strange and unexplainable—she wasn’t afraid to die in that moment.

“
Kill you?
” Louie said from below. “
Schtupid idiot, whut are you saying?
” He wiped the blood from his mouth with the bottom of her white dress. “
You
know
this crazy ba-sch-tard
?”