Trust: Book One of Gypsies, Gamblers & Thieves

Chapter 6: No Woman, No Cry

I had just set down my book bag and was about to call Julian. My stepdad, Saul, and Maggie Sue were painting landscapes at the picnic table on our back porch. "Hi Reva" and "Hi Sissy," they greeted me in unison through the screen door.    

After my mom and Saul separated, he returned to work as a traveling doctor. He saw the whole country and made a shit load of money. Several months ago, Lilith apologized, begged, and played the trump card of keeping our family together. That's when we all moved back into our ranch house in East Las Vegas.

I opened the screen door, stepped outside, and tousled Maggie's wild hair.

"You're sister's on her way to becoming a mini-Monet," Saul bragged.

I looked over her shoulder and added, "That red barn and blue sky look just like a Norman Rockwell painting. We'll call you Mags Americana."

A grin spread across her face and into her eyes.

Saul added, "You're right, Reva. This is more modern than impressionist."  

I kissed the crown of Maggie's head and she hugged my neck. I went back inside to make my phone call. It was 3:00 p.m.

 That's when my mother and The Stranger arrived.

"Hi Honey," she approached and gave me a peck on the cheek. "This is my friend, Jerry. He's going to be staying with us for a while."         
    

The dude wore baggy three-days-dirty jeans and a white golf shirt emblazoned with a Gamblers Anonymous logo. He was bald down the center of his head with greasy, gray and black curls around the perimeter. A few days of stubble littered his face, and his skin hung loose on a burly frame. He looked like he had lost a lot of weight. The Stranger dropped a red duffle bag by the kitchen table and sat down in a chair.

I stopped dialing the phone.

Saul rose from the picnic table, opened the screen door, and came inside. "Lily, may I please speak to you privately?" he asked without raising his voice.

Shoving his glasses up the bridge of his nose, Saul nodded at Jerry.

"Speak to me about what?" my mother sing-songed.

"Lily. I said 'privately,' " Saul replied, still calm.

"Darling, can't you see we have a house guest? I want him to feel welcome." She smiled without blinking, "Let's not tell secrets."

Saul's eyes narrowed at the edges, "I thought we agreed not to discuss these matters in front of the children, Lily."

"What do you mean by " 'these matters,' " Saul? What's so private that we can't talk about it here?" Lilith smiled with the sweetness of Snow White's witch, holding the apple.

"Suit yourself, Lily. We have a lot going on right now. And I don't think this is the best time for a house guest," Saul's voice trembled.

I relocated to the farthest corner of the dining room, which is really an extension of the kitchen. Leaned against the wall. Waited. Watched.

"This is my house too, Saul, and I want to help Jerry get back on his feet. We suffer from the same disease. Compulsive gambling is–"  

"Compulsive gambling my ass, Lily," Saul interrupted her. So my mom spoke over him.

"Tonight at GA, when I listened, truly listened to Jerry share, I connected with what he was saying. I realized how lucky I am. How lucky I am not to be getting evicted from my home–especially with a Jew like you trying to bleed me dry in this divorce."