Cora was happy to have a play date with her best friend. She couldn't quite place her little finger on what was going on with her parents, but she could tell they were sad. Her mommy had hardly said a word in the last couple of days. Her daddy looked like he wanted to punch someone in the face. She had never seen them act the way they had been.
When she asked them what was wrong, they would put on phony baloney smiles and tell her that everything was okay. She saw right through them.
She may have only been six years old, but she was smart enough to know something was going on.
Being pushed down the slide caused her to forget her troubles. Her friend, a girl named Marley, was holding her stomach and laughing. "You went down faster than a cheetah wearing tennis shoes with rockets attached to them!" She climbed down the jungle gym and helped Cora to her feet.
Cora dusted the dirt from her shorts. "You better watch it, Little Missy!" She said, wagging her finger playfully at her friend. "Or I'm gonna steal all the ice cream sandwiches in your freezer."
"You wouldn't."
"Oh, I would!"
"I'll never surrender my ice cream!" Marley giggled again as she ran away from Cora so swiftly that she was clear across the park. She skidded to a halt and looked around like a lost lamb when she realized that her friend and their adult supervision were completely out of sight. Moreover, this was only her second visit to the park, so she had no clue where she was. "Uh-oh. This isn't good."
Suddenly, she felt a hand clasp her shoulder.
"Pardon me, are you lost?"
She looked up to see a man smiling down at her.
Her panic ceased. The man seemed nice. Maybe he would help her find her way back to her friend.
She nodded her head and began to ramble. "Yeah. I was playing with my friend near the jungle gym and I ran away and I got lost and-"
"Don't worry." The man took her hand. "I'll help you find your friend."
"Thanks."
The man slowly lead her down the dirt path that lead back to the playground. "What's your name?"
"Marley."
"It's nice to meet you, Marley. I'm Vincent."
"Why are you at the park by yourself?"
Vincent chuckled. "My daughter is here, too."
"Where?"
"Probably at the playground with your friend."
"Oh."
"What's your friend's name?"
"Cora."
Vincent's eyes lit up. "That's a beautiful name."
"Better than Annie, I guess. That's what her mama was gonna name her at first."
"That would have been dreadful."
"You said it."
Marley noticed his footsteps grew slower. "Does your friend live nearby?" He asked, the smile still on his lips. "Or does she live with her grandparents?"
"How did you know her grandparents live here?"
"Just a lucky guess, I suppose."
She shrugged her shoulders. She thought it was kind of strange that he seemed interested in her friend, but she didn't say anything. At least he was nice enough to help her find her way back to Cora, who was close to them now. She let go of the man's hand and said, "Thanks, mister!" before running off.
Cora watched after the man as he turned and walked away from them. She could swear she saw a tear stream down his face. "Who was that guy?"
"I dunno. He was helping me find you."
"Why was he holding your hand?"
"I dunno."
"You shouldn't talk to strangers, you know. My Daddy Martin told me they can be dangerous."
"That guy wasn't dangerous. He was really nice."
"Cora!" Their conversation ended when Hope ran towards them with her cellphone in her hand. She panted as she laid her hand on Cora's shoulder. "I told you not to leave my sight, Cookie!"
"I'm sorry, Aunt Hope. I was trying to find Marley."
"Didn't you hear me calling after you?"
"No, ma'am. I'm sorry."
"It's alright, sweetie." Her chest moved up and down so rapidly that her tiny blouse looked like it was about to burst at the seams. "Just promise me that you won't ever run off like that again. That goes for you too, Marley. You girls really scared me."
"We promise." They said in unison.
Hope stuck her phone back into the pocket of her shorts. "How about we get out of here and go grab some ice cream?"
"Yeah!!"
"Come on."
The three of them sang a tune while they walked to the parking lot, unaware they were being watched.
****
Vincent:
My stomach churned as I watched that little whore usher my daughter out of the park. I couldn't believe Emily was still friends with the likes of her. Worse was the fact she was letting her babysit our daughter. There was no telling what kind of terrible things she was filling Cora's mind with.
I sauntered back to the car, where Stella was waiting in the driver's seat, applying fire engine red lipstick to her plump lips. "What's wrong?" She asked, placing the lid back on the lipstick.
"Nothing."
"Did you see your daughter?"
"Only from a distance."
"Why didn't you talk to her?"
"I couldn't, not while she was with her friend."
Stella shrugged and started the car. If I didn't know any better, I'd think she was frustrated. She turned on the radio and began to follow after them, pulling out a cigarette that was tucked behind her ear.
"I didn't know you smoked."
"Only when I'm stressed." She remarked, blazing the cigarette with the car's lighter.
"Why are you stressed? You knew this is what we were going to do, Stella."
She took a long puff and breathed an ungodly amount of smoke from her nostrils. "I tend to stress out during waiting periods. I thought would grab her at the park, get it over with, you know."
"If only it were that simple."
She trailed behind Hope's car for several miles, stopping when they pulled into a driveway. My heart liked to have stopped in my chest when I saw Emily step out of the house. Trailing behind her with a sandwich in his hand was James. Cora jumped into his arms and bestowed a kiss upon his cheek.
That's when I noticed the golden ring on his finger.
"That son of a bitch." I muttered, clenching my hand into a tight fist. "I can't believe it."
"What is it?"
"Emily actually married that goofy ginger." I was speaking to myself more than Stella.
"He's kind of cute," Stella remarked, immediately clamping her lips shut when she saw the anger flash in my eyes. "What do you want to do? You gonna grab her now?
"Are you crazy? There's a shit ton of people in this neighborhood. I can't just walk up there and-"
"Why the hell not?" Her voice deepened in a way that made my skin crawl. "You have my pistol."
"I don't want anyone to get hurt."
She stared ahead at Emily, her fingers tightening around the steering wheel. "I'm sorry," She said, her meek voice returning. "I don't know what got into me. I guess I don't do well under pressure."
"Don't worry about it. I have a plan."
"Oh?"
"See the blonde bitch up there with the big tits?"
"Yeah."
"We'll follow her home."
"May I ask why?"
I nodded. "Emily loves that bitch for reasons I can't fathom. She would do anything to keep her safe, even giving up our daughter."
"Are you certain? What if she calls those two police officers we saw?"
"She won't. I'll make sure of it."