Page 13 of Hunter

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Lou

A couple of days after Daddy’s meeting with Miss Black, he takes me around to Javier’s house. I’m nervous, I’ve never been there before, and Javier scares me. I’ve watched him and Phoenix playing rough and tumble; it’s like when wild dogs are playing. It’s horribly violent and looks as though it’s on the verge of turning into something nasty.

Their house is large and grand compared to our place, but I already knew they had lots of money because Javier always seems to have all the expensive new toys and top-of-the-line sneakers. He never brags and always shares with Phoenix, but I can see it sometimes gets to my brother, even to Daddy on some occasions. I don’t care about those things. In fact, I don’t like new things, I like my old toys, the ones that have been with me since before I can remember. Most of them were bought for me by my mother, a woman I never knew long enough to even remember her face beyond photographs.

Phoenix runs in ahead of us to meet his best friend at the door before they disappear inside to get up to goodness knows what. I hold back for a moment, so Daddy looks at me and crouches, so we are eye to eye.

“Come on, Lou, we’re going to go and meet Javier’s mommy. She’s really nice and she says you can help her make cookies. How does that sound? Fun?” I shrug my shoulders because the whole thing seems too scary for me. “Come on, pumpkin, I need some help to get you to talk…” He looks away and I notice a tear escape down his cheek. “I don’t wanna lose you, sweetheart!”

I wipe away the tear with my finger and then give him a small nod. He smiles and stands back up before leading me inside.

We walk through an airy hallway, full of ornaments and photographs of the family. Happy, smiling faces that stare back at me with comforting silent messages of greeting as we invade their home. The family portraits are your picture-perfect arrangements of a mom, dad, and two small boys. I look away, feeling ashamed, because we will never have a family portrait like that.

The smell of cooking and a woman’s perfume fills my nose as we get closer to a voice; a voice of a mom who is humming as she goes about her chores. I wonder if my mom would have hummed like this. What tune would she be humming to? Would I have known it? Hummed it too? Recognized it as solely hers, even in a crowded room?

“Mama,” a small boy’s voice calls out, “can I have an apple?”

“Si, mijo” she laughs, using that same word the scary man had used, but it sounds so much more comforting on her lips. “Hablando en inglés? (Speaking in English?”

“Yes, Mama, our guests are here. The ones you told me about, remember?”

She laughs and nods her head.

Suddenly, a small boy with the same complexion as his mother, warm like cinnamon, appears before me. His brown eyes are almost as big as mine, and his black hair is sticking up in peaks all over his head. He bites into his apple before smiling at me with his teeth, where I notice the two bottom ones are missing. I cling on tighter to my daddy and he laughs, but it sounds nervous, not happy like it should.

“Hello, Tony,” Daddy says to the small boy, who now looks up at him to offer the same toothy smile. “Hello, Ava!”

“Come in, come in!” she says in a rich Spanish accent, wiping her hands on her apron and calling us forward with a wave of her hand. “Can I get you a coffee? Emilio is out back if you want to go and talk about boring grown-up stuff!”

She pulls a face at us when she says that last part, making the little boy laugh in such a way, I can’t help but smile too.

“A coffee would be great, Ava.” Daddy smiles at the mommy and then bends down to face me. “You ok if I go outside, Lou? Ava will look after you.” I cling to his hand like he’s my anchor and shake my head with a look of pure fear written all over my face. I’m so scared, I could cry. “Come on, Lou, you can make cookies with Ava.”

“I’ll look after her, Mr Flynn,” Tony says with his accented voice and then he looks right at me and smiles. I give him my usual wide eyes and freeze, but he doesn’t seem to be put off by my silence. “Come on, Lou, I’ll show you my toys!”

The boy grabs my hand and pulls me into the other room where there are boys’ toys everywhere. The TV’s blaring out Spanish cartoons, but he ignores it, and goes to pick up a Batman doll.

“This one is my favorite because he’s kind of bad and good, you know?”

I can’t tell if he’s asking me or telling me, so I just sit next to him and let him talk, which he does…a lot. I like it though; it makes me feel comfortable and safe. Usually, only Daddy and Phoenix allow me to be happy in my own skin, but here is a stranger of my own age letting me just be. He frequently asks me questions but then talks again when I don’t answer him; he never makes me feel guilty about it. We end up playing with the Batman and Joker dolls and he seems to enjoy it, even though I don’t say anything. Instead, I move the doll around like he’s attacking Batman.

A few days later, we go to play at Tony’s house again, but this time, we play with his Lego. We build spaceships from the Star Wars movies; I know them because Phoenix always puts them on when it’s our turn to choose. I never argue because I’d do anything to spend time with my big brother. Tony shows me how to make them, but once he gives me the paper instructions, I soon get the hang of it, so he lets me get on with it. After we’ve built a couple, we start playing with them and Tony makes noises like he’s the spaceship and I do the same.

“Wow!” Tony says, freezing his model in the air, and I instantly kick myself for mucking up the game and making him stop. “Don’t stop, Lou, keep making that noise, it’s cool!”

He grins and I see the beginning of one of those bottom teeth pushing up. I smile back at him and carry on playing, and so does he. When we finish, I see Daddy and Ava watching us, but I’m confused because Daddy’s got tears running out of his eyes.

“I’m so proud of you, Lou!” Daddy says as he begins crying with proper sobs escaping from his mouth. “Come here, baby!”

He holds his arms out for me, and I look at Tony who waves his hand to encourage me to go to him. I then cross the room and hug my dad. It feels so nice, we stay there for a long while.

When it’s time to go home, I feel sad because I’ve really liked playing with Tony, and I feel warm inside to call him my friend. He gives me a small hug and I notice his mom winking at my father, which makes Tony’s cheeks turn pink.

“Bye, Lou, I’ll see you soon, yeah?”

“Yes,” I say out loud, big and clear, then smile with pride for finally being able to verbalize that one small word.

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