Not in Texas

Chapter 3

Her next waking felt luxurious compared to the last few. She slowly came to consciousness in the warm fluff of pillow. As she remembered where she was, she wanted to stay hiding among the softness. She remembered Dom's words. You're safe here. She lifted her head and looked around the dim room. It had to be Mom's. There was a dresser with pictures and a Bible on the corner. The closet, partially open, was full of dress suits and jackets. Another door revealed a bathroom with its own shower. Susan wondered at the size of the house. The whole thing could fit in two bedrooms at home. What had been home.

She went to the small window, but all she could see were bushes and another house. The street was quiet. The house was quiet. Susan walked out into the hallway and saw Mom sitting on the couch in the living room. She was watching the news. Susan wondered, vainly, if her disappearance had been enough to make this local station. Maybe she could find out what happened to Karen. She reached for her pocket in a panic. Dom had taken her phone. How would she ever hear from Karen? He remembered what he said. Karen had been detained, and had given up her name. Talking to her would just mean getting back in the same trouble as before.

Mom noticed her standing and moved over on the couch. "Are you hungry? School's almost out. Keisha will be here begging for some dinner."

"No," Susan said, but then felt like she was. "Maybe a little."

Mom stood up and went into the kitchen. "We have some leftover chicken salad..." she heard her saying. Susan thought about the taco place on the third floor of her building. She was starting to miss home. Mom reemerged with a sandwich on a ceramic plate and a glass of water. "Dominic said he'll be back before long with your phone."

"Thank you," Susan said, grateful for more than just the food. She sat down and started eating. Mom stayed standing, watching the TV. "How long has he worked at the shelter?"

Mom glanced at her. "He's been volunteering there for years. I know there's plenty of characters, but he never felt like bringing them home."

"Is he married?" She suddenly felt embarrassed.

She shook her head. "He doesn't care about anyone enough to marry them. The last time he had a girlfriend he was 16."

"Does he live here?"

"He's got a condo in Charlotte. The only other place he goes is the house out on Union."

Susan didn't know what a house out on Union was. "I live with my father."

"And you're so young. Are you in school?" She shook her head. "Are you working?" She was silent. "We here about refugees all the time on the news but I guess I don't know what to do with them. The government doesn't have the money to help them or the space to detain them all."

"They're not usually like me, are they?"

"You mean white? I've seen white, black, Puerto Rican, Mexican. They closed the border twenty years ago but people just now figuring out that it's a bad idea."

Susan had never considered the politics of the New South. Things were the way they were, just because. She wondered if Mom--and Dom--thought less of her. "I've always tried to do the right thing."

Mom's eyes still looked very sad. "If you knew how many choices there were." She looked away. The TV chatter took over the room. Susan finished eating, and Mom took the plate away. While she was gone, the door swung open and an exuberant child bounced in.

"Hi!" She stopped in front of Susan and waved. "I'm Keisha." Susan saw the door opening again and Dom entered behind her. She looked between them and saw the similarities.

"This is my little sister, Keisha. Go put your bookbag up, Key." The girl bounced away and Dom sat down beside her. Behind her, she could hear Keisha talking to Mom and telling her she had a good day, and, yes, she had said hello to the guest. Dom held Susan's phone out to her. "We reflashed your phone. Do not, under any circumstances, contact anyone in Houston. Don't even search for yourself. Here's the card." He handed her a debit card. "It's clean with the money you have left. We'll get the ID back in a day and you can figure out what to do next."