Broad Street Goddesses Read online

  “Finally, this white will be used on the railings of your porch and to accent the edges of your fancy trim. It’s the purity in which your ideas are conceived…without limits, without judgment.” She felt the pulse in his hand as he slipped it into hers, “How’d I do?”

  “How did you learn so much about the spiritual properties of color?” She quizzed him.

  “Color has a life of its own. I’ve been around women who use it, manipulate it and heal with it my whole life. What else was left to me than to become an artist?” He rubbed the back of her hand.

  “You need to know I’m having very impure thoughts right now.” She couldn’t believe she just said it.

  “Good,” he leaned forward and stopped short of touching noses, “Etta, you are amazing.” With his fingers against the side of her face, his kiss was light and lingering. The feeling of his breath in her own lungs kept her mesmerized as she felt the slightest touch of his tongue against her bottom lip and she gasped inviting him in. They looked at each other absolutely caught up in the longing. The next kiss was deep and needy. Etta’s hands were underneath his shirt feeling the warm pleasure of his skin. He kissed her neck, brushing his lips to her ears and scraping his teeth along the edge of her jaw which brought out a throaty moan of delight. She unbuttoned his shirt leaving a trail of soft kisses down his fit, tanned stomach. She stopped at his belly button, which gave her an excuse to play with her tongue. His moans increased her pulse as he raised her on top of him and met her mouth with anxious craving. She felt his hands slip underneath her skirt. She lifted her top off revealing herself. Etta opened up her bra from the front he nuzzled into her cleavage. They rolled onto the floor in a wild fit of laughing and various stages of undress. Etta reached for his waist but he just shook his head no and began kissing along her collar bone to her shoulders and down to tease her breasts. She grabbed his hair and pulled him closer, harder until he devoured her nakedness. Etta lost all knowing of where she was. The only thing she could feel was the fire building with every touch, every kiss. Fingertips ran down her sides and over her legs, sweeping her knee and up to the tenderness of her inner thigh. She writhed with anticipation as he lightly touched her most womanly flesh. His kisses trailing down painfully slow, methodically driving her to squirm, his tongue ran across her hip bone, he teased her with gentle bites on her lower stomach and then he did it. His nose rooting lower until she opened herself fully to him and he took what she didn’t know she was capable of giving. He made love to her in the most intimate way she had ever experienced. With his mouth he circled her again and again until she felt the sweet flow of release building. He increased the tempo painfully slow, but it was his fingers that drove her over the edge and exhausted every bit of energy from her body. She grabbed frantically at his hair and uttered, “Sweet Jesus, what have I been missing?” He came up smiling to lie next to her and kissed her fingers, her arms and then her trembling lips.

  “You taste like peaches… sweet and soft.” He kissed her again letting her taste herself in his mouth.

  “I think you should follow me…” Etta stood bare and exposed in front of him. Feeling radiant but wobbly, she held out her hand and led him to the room she designed for romance.

  He fell onto her bed and she took charge as they pleasured each other. The last time they made love that night, it was full of tenderness. Their eyelids were heavy and stomachs empty. Etta went to the kitchen and returned with one plate of cold lasagna.

  “Oh I love you woman…” Will said as she shoveled a heap into his mouth.

  “Really…” She laughed.

  “Really Etta, I have always loved you, but now it’s much more.”

  Tummies full and physically exhausted, her head relaxed on his shoulder and they fell asleep tangled up in each other’s arms.

  Will woke to the sound of his cell phone vibrating against the wooden floor. He squinted against the breaking light of morning and reached for the woman behind him. Soft and sweet, she was still sleeping off their night of passion. The fringe hanging down on the drapes over the bed made him smile. Miss Etta got her romance and danged if he wasn’t head over heels in love with her. He looked at the sweep of her neck as it connected her shoulders and longing stirred in him again. He snuck out of bed, grabbed his pants and went to make coffee.

  The ting against his leg reminded him he’d had a call. It was six in the morning, who calls that early unless it’s an emergency? He flipped it open and saw an unfamiliar number from San Francisco. There was no message. He searched the cupboards but found no coffee pot. Sneaking open the pink box he ran his finger across the top of a mini carrot cake and savored the cream cheese icing.

  “Hey” Etta’s sleepy voice whispered.

  “Hey,” he looked at her wearing his aloha shirt and a chill ran through him, “No coffee pot?”

  “She reached into the Hoosier and handed him the little glass carafe with a funky top.

  “Oh, great, something I haven’t mastered yet.” He took the pot from her and examined it, “Too early for lessons.” He kissed her quickly as she took the carafe back and measured coffee into the bottom before clicking the tea kettle on.

  “I think the coffee tastes better after it sets in a Jacuzzi of hot water instead of forcing the brew.”

  “So it’s a kinder, gentler coffee?” He said with a smirk.

  “Exactly.”

  “So grind and brew tastes forced?” He was reaching for the carrot cake box when his phone went off again, “Too early for good news. But I don’t recognize the number.”

  “Don’t you think you should answer it?” She beat him to the carrot cake pinching an edge off with her fingers.

  He flipped open the phone, “This is Will.”

  “Hello Lover.” The voice sounded sharp and mean.

  “Who is this?” He walked away from Etta back into the bedroom.

  “Who the hell do you THINK this is?” An angry female voice yelled at him.

  “Um, well I don’t know.”

  “It’s Darla. You knocked me up after that party. Now I’ve got this screaming shit machine and if you want it, you better come and get it. Or I’m getting rid of the little bastard. Hell if you don’t come get it I’ll toss it off the Golden Gate Bridge.”

  “A baby?”

  “Yeah, complete with diapers and puke. I’m dead serious Will, come get the little fucker. I don’t want it. I got a life to live.”

  “How do I find you?” He was numb and reeling. The baby was screaming in the background.

  “Call this number before noon. Hey, and while you’re at it, I could use a few bucks to get myself back on track. I figure it’s the least you could do.” Will was pacing the floor in Etta’s room.

  “Ok, give me your address. I’ll be there today.”

  “You must think I’m stupid! Call the number before noon. You don’t want the whole world to know your kid bit it off the Golden Gate.”

  “I’ll call you.”

  He shut the phone, sat on the edge of the bed, running his hands through his hair.

  “Oh God, Will, what’s wrong?” Etta rushed to him. He put his arms around her middle pulling her close to him. He needed to think. Hell, he needed to get moving. He needed to get a grip and get out of Etta’s house.

  “You’re gonna have to give up the shirt, Love. I gotta go.” He was already unbuttoning his aloha shirt, stripping it off of her. She stood naked in front of him. He wasn’t even tempted to touch her.

  “I’ve gotta go.” He put the shirt on and Etta watched the tails flapping behind him as he walked out.

  The little red car hugged the curves and drove like a champ. It only took him an hour to get past Sacramento. He hadn’t been able to put things straight in his head since the phone call. He vaguely remembered a Darla; slightly neurotic, beautifully built red headed bartender he met in the City. She’d been one hell of a lot of fun. With a foggy recollection he tried to piece together the dates and times he’d seen her, weighing th
e possibilities. It didn’t really matter if the baby was his or not. There was a kid being threatened and she linked it to him. He grabbed the phone and looked at the time. It was nine thirty in the morning. He searched the phone for his buddy Grant, the cop, who’d have the best advice. Obviously Darla wasn’t stable.

  “Hey Grant, its Will. I’ve got a problem and need your help. Are you available, Buddy?”

  “What did you do man? I’m on duty.” Grant said in a hushed tone.

  “It’s a long story. I didn’t break any laws… I have a situation and I’m not sure how to handle it.”

  After meeting with Grant, they determined if Darla was unstable they needed to involve Child Protective Services. Grant agreed to make the calls and followed Will’s lead to find out what was really going on. Will made the call to Darla and found out where to go. The baby was still screaming in the background and she warned him to get his ass there quickly before she lost it and drowned the kid.

  Will took turns down into what felt like the bowels of San Francisco, a part of the city he’d never been. The farther he went the dirtier and more run down it became. He parked in front of a four story brick building with iron rails on the windows. White plastic grocery bags hung in the trees, soda cans and trash had piled where the wind blew it into drifts like ratty snow. His stomach turned as he heard a baby wail somewhere in the building. He hurried to the apartment number she’d given him, answering the door before he had a chance to knock twice.

  “Nice car lover.” She looked haggard, thin with dark undereyes. Not quite the woman he remembered. He scanned the room. It was dark with an old comforter over the front window. He smelled rotting food and cigarettes. There was no baby crying. He took a few steps into the apartment and stopped short at the realization that one night of reckless sex had ruined someone else’s life, maybe two.

  “How are you Darla?” He didn’t know what else to say.

  “I’m fucking great. Look at this place.” She grabbed a cigarette and fumbled for a lighter, “Living the life of luxury while you go out and make it big.”

  Will cringed when she finally lit the cigarette. Wanting to crush it out for the baby’s sake, he quickly decided to not upset her any further.

  “How was I supposed to…? I didn’t know.” He moved a blanket over on the sofa to sit down and realized the baby was swaddled in it. Frozen, he looked at the immobile lump in the blanket and held his breath until he saw the gentle movement of the baby’s breathing. First it was relief and then he felt a tear working into his eye.

  “What is it you want from me?” He watched her pace the floor blowing smoke from her nose as she relentlessly puffed away.

  “I want that out of my life.” She pointed viciously at the baby next to him.

  “I don’t know the first thing about how this works. I don’t want you to harm the baby.”

  “Take him then. Get him out of here. You deal with it, crying, eating, shitting, I’ve had it.”

  “I need to be sure it’s legal.” The expression on his face softened and turned painful, “it’s, I mean, he’s a boy?” He swallowed hard and looked back to the sleeping baby, “I have to be sure it’s mine.” He said timidly.

  “FUCK YOU!” She screamed waking the baby.

  The cries could have broken glass but he moved closer to lift up the infant and placed it in the crook of his arm. He didn’t know the first thing about handling a baby but his instincts told him to sway and comfort him. He looked into the angry wrinkled face and felt a rush of deep unexpected emotion. “Shhhhhhh,” he cooed rocking it back and forth. When the crying stopped the baby examined him with bright watery eyes.

  “Isn’t that a pretty picture?” Darla crushed out her cigarette on a paper plate next to a piece of pizza, “What’s in it for me, Papa?”

  Will found it impossible to respond to the question, shaking his head he asked, “What do you want?”

  “That car’s real pretty. That’ll do for a start.”

  “So you’re going to sell your child for that car down there?”

  “Consider it child support.” She reached for another cigarette, “He’s your kid.”

  “Please don’t smoke while the baby’s here.” He said quickly.

  She threw the pack down on the table and leveled off an incinerating stare, “Look, you handsome piece of shit. Take your kid, give me your car and some money to fix my life and I’ll never bother you again.”

  “Darla, this has to be done legally. I don’t want to break any laws…”

  “Jesus Christ! You amaze me. Take him now. I can’t stand to look at him.”

  Will looked down at the quiet baby in his arms and smiled, “A boy. What’s his name?”

  “I put Jon on the birth certificate. I just call him a pain in my ass. That little parasite ruined my body. I’ll never dance again. You wanna see my stitches?” she pulled down her sweat pants but Will looked back to the baby’s face.

  “We’ll do it legal, we’ll do it right. I will compensate you for the inconvenience.”

  There was a rap on the door, “Police. Open up.”

  “You righteous shit!” she looked sharply at Will and snatched the baby away from him. Will didn’t protest, not wanting to hurt the baby.

  “Come in, Grant.”

  Darla stormed out of the room shrieking, “Mother Fuckin’ son of a bitch!”

  “I’ve got CPS coming up the stairs right now.” Grant said looking at Will’s empty arms.

  “She’s got him in the bathroom.”

  “They’ll make sure he’s taken from her until she gets her act together.”

  “She doesn’t want him.” Will said exasperated, “What if I want to take him?”

  “Well that will be determined in family court, Sir.” A woman said standing in the door of the apartment, “I’m Amanda Jones. I’ll need to speak to the mother of the child. Is she here?” The baby was screaming again. Amanda looked around like the living conditions were something she saw everyday. Maybe they were.

  “She took the baby into the bathroom.” Grant pointed to the closed door.

  Will didn’t care if he was the biological father of the baby or not, now he was desperately concerned about the welfare of the child.

  “What does she want from you Will?” Grant asked quietly.

  “My car and some money. But I want all of this to be legal; I don’t want to be dealing with this drama forever. I want Jon to have a good life.”

  “You want the baby?”

  “He’s my son. Of course I want him.”

  Chapter 11

  (Present day)

  The mood in Jakes house was somber. Will cracked another beer when he continued the story, “I’ll tell you what bro. He stole my heart in just those few minutes. Handing him over to that case worker was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. You know, you hear the horror stories of kids in the system and you can’t get them out. I thought a thousand times in the last year that I should have just tossed her the keys and ran with him. It would have been easier. The paternity test only took a few days, but the results to appear in court took three months. All the time I can’t see him and he’s in foster care.”

  “Where is he now?” Jake’s concern was genuine.

  “With foster parents. I am trying to make this as healthy for him as possible. Darla took the car and pawned it for dope. I paid for rehab and she’ll be out tomorrow. After all the papers are signed I’ll sleep a lot easier.”

  “We grew up in a safe world.” Jake said thoughtfully, “Sometimes I think we haven’t been prepared for the real world. How old is the baby?”

  “15 months. He just learned to walk. I was there when he took his first step. It was pretty awesome.”

  “So he’s ok, having a druggie for a mom didn’t affect him?”

  “He’s been tested for everything and he’s great.”

  “And you’re ready for this?”

  “Are you kidding? Where do you think I’ve been for the last yea
r? I’ve been taking parenting classes, fighting a legal battle with the state, dealing with case workers and foster families, visitations, first regulated and then those Nazi bastards let me have him for a weekend at a time. I had to get a place down there and prove that I can financially care for him. I’ve had to play the game.”

  “And you couldn’t let us know what was going on?” Jake was brewing up a case of righteous indignation.

  “Jake, I couldn’t break my Mom’s heart until I knew this was all over and I could bring him home. Nevada City is our safe cocoon from a hateful world. I couldn’t stomach the thought of dragging her into a battle. I told her the story in her office yesterday. She was so pissed off at me. First she pouted then this peculiar look spread across her face and she started crying and laughing at the same time. She’s probably buying baby furniture right now, creating fung shui for baby development”.

  “What about Etta? Where does she fit into this?”

  “Where ever she wants to. I can be honest with her and see what happens.”

  Jake laughed, “Way to go Will. You’re a dad. That’s going to take some getting used to.”

  “I can’t wait to finally bring him home where he belongs.”

  “Well, you’ve got some explaining to do.”

  “Yeah I was going to let Etta cool off for a couple of days…”

  “And then spring a baby on her? Think it through, Buddy. She needs to know NOW.”

  “Shit. I can’t stand to hurt her. I love her, you know. It’s not that brother love we’ve all shared Jake, this is the soul-mate love of my life kind.”

  “Well sober up and take care of business man. I expect to see you kissing her ass for the rest of her life.”

  “Let me have this night… let me drink this shitty feeling away. Tomorrow I’ll come clean and hope for the best.”

  Etta looked perfectly placed in her white and red polka dotted apron, “The key to great

  pie crust is making sure the water is really cold and so is the butter.”

  Paige had worked the flour and butter into pea sized pieces with some funky shaped pastry cutter, “I think it’s easier to let Georgia make pies.”