She smiled. “I do? Why didn’t you say so before?”
“I thought it was obvious.”
“Well, nobody else ever told me that.” She pointed to the box he’d brought with him. “What are those for?”
“My boss said I could give them to you.”
“What’s wrong with them?”
“Nothing. We just changed to a different kind and he likes them all to be the same so he said I could have these. They still work and there’s no use wasting them, so I thought you might want them.”
“How sweet.” She turned her head toward the center of the apartment. “Mama. Come see what Stump gave us.”
Mrs. Quintana, still nursing a bandaged hand, came and took a peek. “Light bulbs. We’ll think of you every time we use one,” she said, mirroring her daughter’s grin. It was another good lesson for Stump. Presents didn’t always have to be expensive.
Free to hang out together for a few hours, Stump and Maria meandered out to one of the picnic tables near the pool where Stump told Maria about the restrictions on his use of Myles’s truck. “Another thing,” he said. “The DNA test arrived. I think we should deal with it now so I can take it right over to the post office.”
Maria put her hands on her hips. “Since you paid for it I guess I have to, but I’m telling you, it’s a waste of time.”
“We’ll see,” Stump said while he opened the box. “All you gotta do is swab your mouth.”
“Afterwards, will you buy me an ice cream cone?”
“I’m not supposed to do that.” He was proud of himself for showing some restraint for a change.
Maria touched his lower lip. “You might get a reward.”
He tapped the swab. “Well, are you going to give me your DNA or not?”
Maria sighed, grabbed it and dragged it extra slowly across her tongue. “There. Happy?”
“It’s better if you wipe it on the roof of your mouth.”
She stuck her tongue out, farther than before, and seductively wiped the swab across it again, this time even slower. “Take it or leave it.”
Stump loved her playful nature. “Okay, I’ll take it,” he said as he packaged the items back up for the lab. “I’ll drop it off at the post office after school tomorrow. They ought to have the results posted online by Tuesday.”
“Isn’t that the last City Council meeting? Are you going to try again?”
“Can’t. After what Dixon did to me, everybody hates me and I’ve moved on.”
Maria grabbed his hand. “Too bad we can’t take your truck to some secret place.”
He observed her wide-open eyes and mischievous stare. He may not have been the world’s most experienced lover, but he got the hint.
Chapter Sixty-Nine
Maria’s not-so-subtle hint that she was open to making love was the highlight of Stump’s day, but they couldn’t do it right there in the front of the Cal-Vista lot. “I’ve got an idea,” Stump said, grabbing her hand. “Follow me.” He led her toward building six.
“That’s where Mr. Kraft’s office is,” Maria whispered. “I don’t want to do it in there again.”
“We’re not going there. I’ve got a better idea.”
They went around back and tiptoed down the stairs in the direction of Mr. Kraft’s office but stopped one door earlier, at the maintenance room. Stump put his finger to his lips. “In here,” he said softly while inserting his key. “I just cleaned it up and nobody comes in here after hours.” Inside he flicked on the light and pointed toward the Queen Anne bed. “See. It’s even got a new mattress. I’ll lay it down.”
Maria shrugged. “I guess it’ll do.”
Stump reached for the mattress, just as a deep cough came from Mr. Kraft’s office. Maria and Stump swung in the direction of the noise. “What’s he doing here so late?” Maria whispered.
“Don’t know. He’s usually pretty tired by this time of day.” Just then Stump heard somebody coming in the outer door. Stump flicked off the lights, as the person descended the stairs and opened the door to Mr. Kraft’s office.
“I want to leave,” Maria whispered.
Stump nodded. “Just a second. We gotta make sure they’re not coming right back into the hallway.” He moved from the door to the common wall between Mr. Kraft’s office and the maintenance room and stuck his ear to the wall.
“Have a seat,” Mr. Kraft said to his visitor. “This invoice shows we received two stoves and two refrigerators last week.” Stump couldn’t hear real well, but Mr. Kraft’s voice was stern.
“Yeah. So?”
Stump’s eyebrows rose. “It’s Dixon,” he said softly to Maria before returning his ear to the wall again.
“A few days ago, you said you were going to have a couple guys take both a stove and refrigerator to that vacant apartment in building four,” Mr. Kraft resumed.
“What’s all this about?” Dixon asked.
“The appliances were a different brand than I usually order, so a couple hours ago I went over to check them out. I was surprised to learn the place wasn’t vacant after all.”
“Oh. If you’d said that in the first place I could have told you I just rented it yesterday. I told them they could stay for free until the end of the month, then their rent would start.”
Stump raised a proud fist in the air. This was the type of crap he uncovered both the first time he and Myles visited the property and throughout the notebook. It was about time Dixon got called out for it.
“What about the boxes?” Kraft asked.
“Boxes?”
“Yeah, considering they just moved in yesterday, as you said, I’d expect to see a few moving boxes—or at least some bags around. Instead, they’ve already unpacked, put their things away, been to the grocery store, cooked a meal and left some dishes in the sink. People can’t do all that in one day. So where are they?”
“How should I know? They probably put them out by the trash last night, and somebody else must have taken them. Happens all the time.”
“Yeah, right,” Kraft said sarcastically. “That’s not the only issue. They still had their old appliances so after I left, I looked everywhere for those new appliances and couldn’t find them. Some paint is missing too. We can go next door to the maintenance room right now to have another look if you don’t believe me.”
Maria’s hands shot to her face.
“It’s okay,” Stump whispered. “They won’t come. Dixon knows that stuff is gone.”
“Is that what all this is about?” Dixon said. “It’s no problem. I heard there were some guys going around the neighborhood, late at night, breaking into maintenance rooms to steal tools and pawn them off. So just to be safe, I had a guy I know return those things to the store.”
“That’s interesting. Then where’s the paperwork that shows I got a credit on my account?”
Good question. Answer that, you lying pile of poop.
Maria tugged on Stump’s sleeve. “I can’t take this. I’ll meet you by your truck.”
“Okay. I’ll catch up in a minute.”
“He hasn’t brought it back yet,” Dixon said, “but he should bring it around by tomorrow.”
“Cut the b.s., Dixon. I may be ill but I’m no idiot. I’ve been doing a little research and I’m very disappointed in some of the things I’ve discovered.”
“Oh, I see. It’s that Stump kid, isn’t it? He’s been making up shit about me ever since he got here. I told you he was no good.”
“Don’t be passing your troubles off to him. He has nothing to do with this. I’m giving you fair warning; between radiation treatments and my meds I ain’t in no mood for this type of activity.”
Stump scrunched his ear closer to the wall.
“You’d have a hard time finding anybody who’d put up with all the crap around here,” Dixon replied. “And we both know it.”
“I’ll tell you what we both know,” Mr. Kraft said in a louder voice. “We both know that you’ve learned to bluff you
r way through life, but this time you’re up against a better hand. You’d best heed my final warning lest you lose everything you’ve got. Now get out of here and watch your back ’cause I’m on to you now.”
Stump felt like applauding but he waited to hear Dixon leave before he too scooted out the building and hustled off to his truck where Maria was waiting. “Sorry I left,” she said, “but I don’t like it when people yell at each other. What happened?”
Stump unlocked the truck. “You would have loved it,” he said as they slid into the seat and turned on the radio. “Dixon almost got fired.”
“I’m glad he’s still here so you can make him go to jail instead.”
Stump wondered if she’d think that way when the DNA test came back. “We’ll see,” he said, as his thoughts returned to that other activity he had in mind earlier, but there was no way Maria would go back to the maintenance room now.
Just then, the kissing van pulled into the lot and Manuel piled out with a shoebox-sized red and white box. He appeared to be chewing on something that looked like a piece of chicken. Stump watched Manuel walk up the sidewalk on the opposite side of the complex from where his apartment was. It was like being at the movies. Stump took Maria’s hand. “Too bad we don’t have some popcorn.”
“Do you love me?” Maria asked Stump as she laid her head on his shoulder.
“I think of you all the time,” Stump said as Manuel tossed his chicken in a trashcan, causing Stump to wonder if there was anything wrong with the trashcans on the other side of the complex.
“You do?” Maria continued. ”What do you think about?”
Returning his attention to Maria, Stump was still interested in the kinds of physical activities that lucky boys and girls do on occasion. “For one thing,” he said, “I know our relationship is special.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah. I like being with you. Doing things. Being alone. You’re an interesting person.” Anybody who’d spent her entire life happily believing in a Santa Clause type daddy would be plenty interesting. “You’re also one of the most loyal people I’ve ever known. You’re loyal to your papa even though you’ve never met him. You miss Señorita. You stood up for your mama and me. You’re usually very happy, and you’re a great kisser.”
The gleam in Maria’s eyes was essentially an invitation. Stump leaned her way. He liked being with Maria, even if it was simply in a used pickup truck at the back of a parking lot.
Another glance at the courtyard revealed that Manuel had disappeared and Dixon was near the pool and coming their direction. “I hope his rear-end hurts from that butt-chewing he just got,” Stump said.
Maria looked up. “I hate that jerk-wad. Let’s not talk to him.”
If Myles hadn’t forbidden him from side trips, Stump might have driven off. “Don’t worry, I can handle him,” he said, rolling down his window. Dixon came right to him, wagging a finger in Stump’s face. “I want you to get off this lot when you’re not working, rich boy.”
“Go away.” Maria said. “Tenants can have guests and he’s my guest.”
“I wasn’t talking to you,” Dixon turned to Stump. “I know what you’re up to and I want you out of here.”
“Okay with me,” Stump replied as he hopped out of the truck and reached back for Maria’s hand. “We’ll just go for a walk.”
Maria stepped down, looked at Dixon and said, “We don’t like you!”
Chapter Seventy
Barely a block away from Cal-Vista Stump and Maria walked past a motorhome and Stump glanced at the large chrome bumper. “I gotta tell you something,” he said, “but whatever you do, don’t turn around.”
“Don’t tell me the jerk-wad is following us.”
“You guessed it, but don’t let him know we’re on to him. We can lead him on a wild goose chase.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s almost like ditch ’em, only he doesn’t even know what’s happening. It’ll be fun. The first thing we have to do is walk a little faster.”
Maria giggled. “Okay, maybe his teeth will fall out.”
Stump grabbed her hand and they sped up ever so slightly. At the corner they turned and walked even faster. For the next fifteen minutes they went quicker and quicker, making several illogical turns. Finally a little out of breath, Stump peeked out the corner of his eye. “He’s still back there, but farther than before.”
Maria blew out a breath. You’re in better shape ’cause of riding your bike.”
Stump pointed up the street to the road construction area near the police building. “There are some bulldozers and construction equipment in the field behind those stores. Let’s go back there. We can ditch him.”
Maria nodded. “Okay. I hope he has a heart attack.”
When they reached the string of neighborhood stores, they cut around the back to the employees’ parking lot. As Stump expected, the field behind the lot contained a portable outhouse and a dozen pieces of heavy equipment such as excavators, Bobcats and dump trucks. “See,” Stump said, looking around. “These things ought to slow him down.”
“I hope so, ’cause I’m tired of this.”
Before bolting out to the field, Stump glanced to the back of the businesses where it appeared the door to the flower shop was ajar. “Quick, let’s go over there.”
Maria sighed and they hustled toward the door. Stump leaned against it. “I think we can hide in here.”
“What? That’s crazy. We might get in trouble.”
Stump glanced around. “There aren’t any cars back here. I don’t think there’s anybody around.”
“No way. They probably have alarms.”
Stump looked to the top of the building for any sign of surveillance cameras. “I don’t think so. They would have already gone off.”
“I’m not going in there. Let’s just tell that jerk-wad we’re going to call the police if he doesn’t stop following us.”
Stump glanced to the corner of the buildings. Dixon would arrive any minute. “You stay here. I’m going inside to check it out.”
“No! I don’t want—”
“I’ll be right back.” Stump hustled inside. The place was dark, delightfully chilly and smelled nearly as good as bathroom spray. He hurried down a hallway, passed a bathroom on one side and a work area on the other and ended up in the sales area where there was a fairly tall L-shaped counter and quiet music came from overhead. Seeing no sign of surveillance equipment, he snickered. Who’d want to steal flowers? He rushed back toward Maria. “All clear.”
“I don’t care. I don’t want to go in there.”
Just then sandals flapped around the corner.
“It’s Dixon,” he whispered, snagging Maria’s hand.
“But—”
He pulled her inside before quietly closing the door. “Shh. We can watch him from this room over here.” He tugged her into the work area, where they huddled behind a small window.
Just then Dixon helicoptered into the area and hovered for a moment before squatting down and looking under the big vehicles.
“See what I mean?” Stump said, beaming. “He’s caught us in Manuel’s van and Myles’s truck so he probably thinks we’re hiding inside one of those big cabs.”
Maria smiled, grabbed his hand. “You’re smart.”
Just then a brown and white cat rubbed up against Maria’s leg and meowed.
She smiled and picked it up. “She looks a lot like Señorita.”
Stump nodded, checking the tags. “Says her name is Sassy. She likes you.”
“Well, I like her too,” Maria said, rubbing her cheek against Sassy’s coat and earning a gentle purr.
For the next five minutes they giggled, petted Sassy, and watched Dixon buzz from vehicle to vehicle like a bee in a field of flowers. Finally, Dixon rushed around one of the dump trucks and smacked right into its rear-view mirror. He snapped his hand to nose, then bent over, picked up a rock and slung it at the mirror, causing b
roken glass to rain down.
“I don’t like that man,” Maria said for the hundredth time.
“Look,” Stump interrupted. “He’s taking a leak.”
Dixon was facing them, rubbing his nose with one hand and attending to Little Dixon with the other. Maria giggled. “What’s wrong with that man? There’s a Port-a-Potty right behind him.”
“He’s a piece of work alright,” Stump said as Dixon finished up and shook his little friend around.
“Ewwwww!” Maria’s hand shot to her mouth. ”That’s gross. Now where’s he going to wash his hands?”
As if on cue, Dixon rubbed his hand on the side of his Bermudas before walking back toward the corner of the building.
“Look. He’s leaving,” Maria said while petting Sassy. “You were right. We ditched him. Now we can wait a few minutes and get out of here.”
The show basically over, Stump tugged Maria’s hand into the main sales room where a large ceramic cat clock on the counter had the time at eight-twenty. On the floor near the cat clock a large trash can with a dozen or so discarded yellow flowers sat on a thick carpet. “Look. It’s like a private fort back there. We could stay here all night if we wanted to.”
Maria’s eyes darted to the floor. “No way. I’m not doing that. Mama expects me home in an hour.”
Stump grinned. “I didn’t mean it literally.” He reached in the can for the nicest of the discarded flowers and handed it to her. “I meant nobody can see us, even if they come to the windows. This is a good chance to, well, you know.”
“Oh.” Maria looked in his eyes and then at the front window.
* * *
After Stump and Maria made love, they put their clothes back on and leaned against the back of the counter.
“You were right,” she said. “This place is nice. I mean with the clean aroma and the music and Sassy.”
Stump smiled, “And the privacy.” He slid a yellow flower behind her ear. “Sometime I’ll buy you a dozen brand-new roses.”
“This isn’t a rose, silly. It’s a tulip.”
Stump shrugged. “Same difference. I just want you to have pretty things. You make them look even better.”
Maria grabbed his hand and leaned her head on his shoulder. A moment later the ceramic clock meowed.
“Nine already,” Stump said. “I guess we better be heading back.” He pointed to the remaining discarded tulips. There are a couple more nice ones. Would your mama want them?”