Day 9

Buttered popcorn, homemade ice-cream, jelly-beans and jumbo sized Soda’s. This is how movie night always was Nancy thought happily, but it wasn’t really a family night since their father was not around. She’d been laying around at home for afew days catching up with Phillip instead of going out and finding her father, she felt terrible about it, but at the moment she was sitting with the rest of her family watching “Devil” and couldn’t think of anywhere else to be. She intended to start her investigation tomorrow morning, she planned to question Mr Shellevaski first then head to The Pretty Pink Saloon to see what she could dig up on Dad’s mistress……..the word’s still stung her every time she thought about the fact that her father had been the cheat she once so prided her father for not being.

Nancy still felt foolish and deceived for not knowing or finding out that her father had an affair with a woman her mother definitely knew….was this Miss Izabell a friend or foe? Definitely a foe since she had been heartless enough to do such a cruel thing to her sweet, kind mother.

“Ow man!” Either Will or Philip said as the 3rd person on the lift in the movie was murdered. The doorbell rang and Rebecca flinched off her seat from sheer fright.  “Could you get the door dear?” Rebecca pleaded.

“If I don’t who will?” Nancy headed for the door, walked quickly for she wanted to get back to living room to see who the devil was. Nancy opened the door to find a short, slightly plump black haired Mexican woman on their doorstep. The first word that came to mind if anyone see’s this woman would be Rebecca, there was no doubt about it this woman was a spitting image of Rebecca but only in Mexican form. “May I help you?”

“Yeah, you could by giving me a place to stay” the woman said, plucking the toothpick she had in her mouth and throwing it away.

“Excuse me!?” Nancy said with a polite smile.

“Listen, you may not know me but I know you” said the woman with a thick Mexican accent “your Derrick’s first kid, right?”

“Correct” Nancy replied trying to make the conversation sound civilized.

“Well say hello to the newest member of the family” the woman whipped her long hair back and patted her round belly which was somewhat straining against the woman’s blue jean and her pink skirt which she wore a purple vest jacket over.

It hadn’t until now occurred to Nancy that this woman was very stylishly dressed. With the front portion of the woman hair in long strands of wavy curls and the back half was either a tight bun or lose pony tail, Nancy couldn’t tell which. She was just about to comment on the woman lovely white sneakers when the words the short woman had said finally sent alarm bells ringing in her head.

“WHAT!!!”

“You heard me, say hello to the newest Parker edition” she rubbed her belly fondly as if she’d done it a million times before.

“Okay, listen lady–” Nancy mother came running beside her, cutting Nancy rude comment short.

“Darling! Turns out it was that sweet old woman who was the De-vil….”Rebecca froze stiff on her spot as she just locked eyes with the black haired woman. “Hello Izabell”

IZABELL!!! Nancy screamed in her head as she gawked at both women. A million and one things ran through Nancy’s mind as she deduced, theorized, and concluded what was going through her mind.

First! She though if Izabell is pregnant that mean she most have…..slept with Dad, but if she slept with father that means Dad’s still having an affair. But what motive would Izabell have to kidnap the father of her unborn child? Or is she just faking all this to lead us off her trail?

“Mom” Nancy managed to say “Miss Izabell here has some disturbing news”

“Whatever she has to say won’t surprise me. She’s already having an affair with my husband.”

Izabell’s face instantly saddened as she tried to say “C’mon Becky-”

“Don’t –call me that” Rebecca snapped “You don’t deserve to call me that” The deadly tone with which she spoke made Nancy’s skin crawl.

“Whatever your feelings are towards me now I’ll have to deal with that later….right now I’m in an awkward position and I have no one to turn to but you” Izabell’s voice and tone turned meek and less rude. Perhaps the courage and confidence with which she brought with her to their house had ebbed away upon sight of Rebecca.

“Is it more awkward then the position you take with my husband in bed?”  Rebecca said without as much as a twitch.

“Wow” Nancy heard a voice whisper from behind the big plant pot in the room. Nancy turned to glare at the spot she knew Will and Philip were eavesdropping from but decided against it for she was still blushing at her mother’s comment.

“Now really Beaky, you don’t need to be rude about it” Izabell said “It’s not my fault I happen to be an only child and an orphan with no family income to support me, my saloon is nearly bankrupt and I have no other person on the planet to turn to”

Of course! Nancy thought, she’s near bankruptcy so she wants to become close to our family, so when that sad day comes to be able to find a way of bleeding money or stealing it from us!

“So you decided the best place to come stay is your top customers house?” Nancy intended to make this Miss Izabell sound like the whore Nancy knew she is.

“It’s not that!” Izabell’s cold green eye’s glared intensely at Nancy, making it clear that it was Rebecca she feared not herself. “Tell me what you’d’ve done if you were in my position”

“Get a life instead of trying to steal mine” Rebecca said coolly, not moving an inch.

“Rebecca” Izabell finally said with a sigh “I’m begging you here. Am I that evil to you?”

“Yes” Arms folded, Rebecca didn’t move a muscle.

“Okay fine, I can take a hint’’ Izabell turned leave “I thought that if you wouldn’t do it for me, you’ll at least do it for the unborn child’’ Nancy thought she saw Rebecca twitch from the corner of her eye “who’s absolutely done nothing to deserve any of this”

Nancy watch the black haired Mexican walk down the marble stones steps which she remembered constructing with her father when she was just seven.  Izabell walked pass the yellow light that came out through the open door, across the green garden barely disturbing a blade of grass…..a garden where Nancy and her brothers had injured themselves an infinite number of times. As Izabell was just about to disappear from sight……