c. 2024 Rod Ice
All rights reserved
(7-24)
Linn Speck felt confidence surge through his flabby torso, while standing in front of the abandoned trailer where Hagreb Tonta had lived for most of the past year. A tattered blanket hung in the broken, front window. Graffiti had been spray-painted all over the trailer walls. There were ruts in the yard from pickup trucks doing burnouts. Litter had been scattered everywhere.
He spat on the ground while shouting an oath.
“GOOD RIDDANCE, FREAK! THERE’LL BE NO TEARS SHED AT EVERGREEN ESTATES OVER YOU BUGGING OUT! YOU NEVER BELONGED HERE ANYWAY! YOU WERE NEVER ONE OF US! PTOOEY!”
Jimmy, his son and twenty-something provocateur, stood to one side with a can of Red Bull in his right hand. He was thrilled to see that the immigrant outsider had decided to leave their mobile-home community, before being forcefully ejected.
“HAGGOT DID NOTHING BUT MAKE TROUBLE FOR ME AT GIANT EAGLE! I HOPE THEY SEND HIM BACK TO CLEVELAND!”
As the two men were basking in a glow of self-congratulation, Dana Alvarez appeared in a golf cart used at the development. She had been the on-site manager for long enough to be recognized as an authority figure of consequence. An honor that previous members of park supervision never held for long, due to their frequent changes in ownership.
She wore dark glasses, and had her straight, black hair pulled back in an orange scrunchie.
“Hey pendejo, what’s up with this casa? You and your boy finally chased out that geeky foreign dude?”
The elder Speck laughed and cheered to himself. Then embraced his offspring with a one-armed squeeze
“YES I DID! OR SHOULD I SAY, WE DID!”
The property queen reacted in a way that neither of the agitators expected.
“Okay, so you gonna cover the rent on this place till I find another tenant? We can’t beg people to move in here, it’s so far away from anything and everything! That oddball paid his lot rent on time every month, I liked him for that. Dios mío, why would you run him out of here? Now this space will sit empty until the maintenance guys can clean it up, and I can find another buyer or somebody to do a rent-to-own!”
Jimmy slurred his reply after a mouthful of the energy drink. He looked sheepish and guilty.
“C’mon, Mizz Dana! Haggot was a dickhead! He got me written up at work, and never came to any of the bonfires here at our park. He was too stuck up, you know? Too high on himself! Like he felt better than any of us, that was bullshit! I hated his attitude!”
Their manager huffed at both of the rotund troublemakers.
“He seemed to be at his job all the time! You gonna fault him for making money? Maybe the two of you ought to take a lesson, then your check wouldn’t be late every freaking month!”
Linn pressed his belly closer to the short, slender woman, to appear superior. He pointed a finger in her face.
“I PAY MY BILLS, DAMMIT! AND I DO A LOT OF EXTRAS FOR THIS NEIGHBORHOOD! YOU BETTER SHOW ME A LITTLE RESPECT, OR THERE MIGHT BE AN UPRISING HERE, MY ASSOCIATION WOULD TAKE A DIM VIEW OF YOU OVERSTEPPING YOUR BOUNDARIES! DON’T MAKE ME CIRCULATE ANOTHER PETITION! I’M NOT AFRAID OF YOU OR THE OWNERS IN CALIFORNIA OR FLORIDA OR WHEREVER THE HELL THEY ARE!”
Dana grabbed his wrist and dug in her polished nails like a barmaid handling a misbehaving drunk. She had no appetite for playing political games.
“Look, cabrón! I got four older brothers, every one of them is a cop or did prison time. Take your pick! Who you wanna have kicking your gordo ass? The Po-Po or a convict? They all love their little sister! You think rolling the dice would be smart?”
Jimmy tried to project an air of defiance.
“My dad was in the guard, he ain’t afraid of a little bitch who can’t even speak English! Pipe down, pipsqueak!”
Suddenly, Linn felt his reserve of courage running dry.
“Calm down, calm down! I’m not tilting at windmills, Ms. Alvarez. Forgive my boy, he’s an excitable kid. We’re just glad to have that freak off the property. I never trusted him, he was sneaky and slimy. Always dirty, what was up with that shade of tan? What would make a guy like him move out here anyway? This county isn’t a place for his kind of people. We are godly and patriotic and loyal to the land. We take care of this community! We care about being good Americans, all day, every day!”
Dana snorted and let go of his throbbing limb.
“You wanna take care of things? Pay your rent and keep your fat mouth shut! I know you look at me sideways, like I’m no better than that poor dude with the thick glasses. Except I got the office keys, ha ha! So you gotta behave. Watch your step, gritón, you talk too much! That jawing will get you in trouble! I keep a pistola in my desk! And I know how to handle pigs who get out of their pen, I’ll smash your bolas!”
She steered her golf cart back out into the street, and rolled away without another word.
At store 6609, there was a scramble to find someone else who would take over their night crew, after Hagreb inexplicably abandoned his post by stepping down from supervisory duties. The veteran clerk asked for a transfer back to Cleveland. He had decided that being promoted, receiving a generous raise, and finding a measure of comfort in the country didn’t mean that much after all. More important was his dignity as a naturalized citizen, and his membership in a family that had endured for many generations on a foreign continent.
He could look in a mirror once again, and enjoy seeing his own reflection. That was a privilege worth more than all of the perks and bonuses any employer could offer.
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