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It was getting dark and Salomi needed to get back home. She wasn’t going to bother to ask whether she could stay at Eveline’s. Sometimes her father wasn’t in the mood for her to stay there and sometimes Eveline’s mother wasn’t in the mood either. “Bye Evie”she said to her
“Bye, see you tomorrow”Eveline said to her
Salomi said goodbye to Millie and James and she started to walk home. She walked along the small dirt road as a few carriages and wagons rode by. She walked quickly since she was pretty hungry and she hoped that her dad bought her the candy that she ran out of. She loved how he spoiled her now. Then she heard a whistle and stopped as a wagon slowly rode beside her. Some teenage boys were whistling at her. She rolled her eyes. She was pretty developed for an eleven year old, her father said that she got it from her mother. She had breasts,hips and nice long legs. Her light caramel skin was greatly accented by her long wavy black hair and she had dark brown eyes that you could stare into for days and full lips that would tease any man. She rolled her eyes, she knew what they were whistling at.
“Hey girl, where you going?”one of them asked her
“Running home to your daddy?”another said and they all laughed,”Or your pimp?”he asked and their laughter got louder.
She tried to ignore them but implying that she was seeing a pimp also implied that she was one of those “dirty girls” that stood on the corner downtown.”I am not dirty”she said to them as she put her hands on her hips.
“Guess you running home to your daddy then”he said and smirked,”How about we give you a ride?”
“I am not going to get into that wagon with you”she said as she started walking again.The wagon riding beside her.
“Ok that’s fine, how about you ride me?”he asked her and the other guys hooted and hollered.
She didn’t really know what that meant exactly but she didn’t like the way they were laughing. They weren’t going to back off so she was going to have to make them. She picked up a rock and threw it at the horse that was pulling their wagon. It hit the horse on the back, pretty hard too, and the horse took off running at lightning speed. Some of the guys weren’t prepared for the force and some fell to the floor.”You little bitch!”one called after her as they tried to stop the horse. However, it wasn’t gonna stop and soon they were out of sight.
Salomi watched as the wagon disappeared down the road.”Im not a bitch either”she said to herself. Then she started to laugh and continued to walk home. The sun was setting just as she walked around the house and walked in through the back door. The house was dark but she heard something moving. It was coming from their bedroom. Abby decorated their place like theirs and they had a thin sheet that separated the bedroom from the rest of the house and she saw a silhouette of someone kneeling on the floor. It looked like her father, but what was he doing? She tiptoed over and pulled back the sheet quietly.
“Come on”he said as he tried to fit something under the floor. Then she saw that it was a huge bag of money?! She gasped, where did he get all this money from?
“Daddy? Where did you get all that money from?”she asked him in shock.
He turned around quickly. She saw in his eyes that she just caught him doing something that he didn’t want her to see. Then he sighed,”Shit”he said,”You weren’t supposed to see this”he said to her
“I know, that’s why you are hiding it”she said,”Daddy, did you steal that?”she asked him
“No baby I didn’t”he said and then sighed and sat down on the bed.”Here sit down. Daddy needs to start telling the truth”he said to her as he patted the spot next to him.
“So if you didn’t steal it, then why are you hiding it?”she asked him as she sat next to him.
“Let me start from the beginning”he said to her. “4 years ago, on your 7th birthday actually, I saw your Uncle Vernie doing the same thing, hiding large amounts of money under the floor. I asked him where it was from. He told me that he had a side job besides the one at the factory. His boss, who will later become my boss as well, makes counterfeit money”he said as he picked up one of the fives.”They look real but they’re not.How do we know?Some of the numbers here are missing. But no one looks for that…”he says.”That’s how Ive been able to spoil you lately. I wanted to give us a better life. I told Vernon not to do it but hes doing it because he wants to not be seen as some poor good for nothin’. He wants a better life for him and Abby.I felt the same way and I saw how happy you were when you got this doll”he said as he picked up the doll.She still slept with it.”You were so happy.I wanted to see you happy.So I joined in too.So for the past 4 years I have been delivering counterfeit money to other businesses, other mobsters.Its all hush hush. But its illegal, like if a cop came in here and found this money….I could go to jail”
“No Daddy”Salomi said in shock
“That’s why you have to promise me not to tell anyone. Not Eveline, not anyone at school, not Millie or James. Not even Abby, she doesn’t even know”Abraham said to her,”This is very serious. This pays for everything we have. Everything in here is paid for from all this, our clothes, our food, your schooling. If anyone finds out, this will all disappear”he said to her
“Why are you hiding it here? Ive never seen you hide it here before”she asked him
“We have gotten busy, more people have found out about us. Which is both good and bad for the business. We cant risk getting caught so now we bring our own banks of money home. This way if one of us do get caught….it will be just one of us going down and not all”he said as he started to put the money back in the hole.
“Can I help?”she asked him
“No”he said to her.”Never touch this you hear me?”he said to her sternly. She nodded. She sat there in silence as he hid the money and put the floorboard back to cover it.”We’re gonna need a type of carpet or rug to cover that”he said to himself and looked at her. She was too quiet. She was probably still shocked. He wasn’t surprised. She just found out that her father has been leading a secret life for the past 4 years, a life of crime no less. “Don’t look so sad babydoll”he said to her as he took her favorite candy out of his pocket and handed it to her,”I knew you would kill me if I forgot to pick this up for you”he said to her with a smile.
Her smile instantly came back as she opened the candy and popped one in her mouth,”Thank you Daddy”she said to him and got up and kissed him on the cheek,”I love you”she said to him
“Even though Im a criminal?”he asked her
She smiled a little,”You’re not a criminal Daddy. Criminals don’t make lives better. You made our life better”she said to him simply.
“Makes sense”he said,”You are too smart for your own good”he said to her as he kissed her on her forehead,”I love you too”he said to her,”Im gonna make dinner now”he said to her.She nodded and followed him to the kitchen table.
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
Abraham looked at the paper in front of him. Since he was now doing his deliveries from home, he only needed to go to Morietti’s office to pick up the list of where his stops were and how much the client needed. Now he had to do everything himself, especially counting up the money.
“Wait…what’s half of 500?”he asked himself.It was probably a stupid question but he was so tired that he couldn’t even comprehend the easiest questions.
“250”he heard Salomi’s voice say as she walked in the bedroom
“Thanks”he said as he coughed.
“You ok Daddy?”she asked him. The weather got unexpectedly cold for March and there was a flu going around. Some of the kids at school got it.
“Yeah, just my throat is sore and I have a small cough, its nothing”he said to her as he counted out $250.”Half of 250 is….”he said to himself and then stopped.
“125”Salomi answered
“Thank you”he said as he coughed again.
“Im going to make the soup?Since your busy?”she asked him.He nodded.She went to the kitchen and prepared the soup, it was her specialty now. He loved the way she made it. She put the soup in a bowl and brought it into the room.
“Shit”he said as he put his head in his hands.
“What’s wrong?”she asked him
“I must have miscounted”he said to her and coughed,”Thank you”he said as he took the bowl and drank from it,”Ahh that hits the spot”
“Daddy?Can I help?”she asked him
“No”he said.She sighed and gave up. She got her bowl of soup and ate it and drank her milk and did her homework. She was done before him. She sat and stared at him as he counted the money out loud. “5,10,15,20,25,30,35,40,45,50,60-“
“You missed 55”she said to him
“Salomi…I am trying to count”he said to her
“You counted wrong Daddy”she said,”You don’t have 60 there, you have 55. You are 5 dollars short”she said to him
He narrowed his eyes at her and then handed her the small stack of money,”Ok show me”he said to her
She smiled at him,surprised that he was letting her touch it. Shes never touched this much money before! “5,10,15,20,25,30,35,40,45,50,55”she said
He laughed a little.”You’re right”
“I know”she said to him with a little smirk.
“I must be that tired if an eleven year old can count better than me”he said
“Eleven and 2 months”she corrected him
“Oh excuse me”he said to her,they sat there in silence,”Ok you made your point. You can help me but only to count behind me, just in case I miscount. I cant do that. I will get in trouble if I do”
“How much trouble?”she asked him
“A lot of trouble”he said seriously. She nodded,”You still want to help?”he asked her
She nodded and said,”Yes”
“Ok, this customer needs $125 and they also need a separate stack of $125 for their other office”he said to her. He drank some of his soup and then started to count,”Ok we have 55 here”he said to her,”55,60,65,70,75,80,85,90,95,100,105,110,115,120, 125”he said,”125?”he asked her
“Yeah that’s 125”she said
“Good”he said as he put a band around it and put it to the side,he picked up another stack of money and started again,”5,10,15,20,25,30…”
Salomi smiled as she counted behind him. She was happy that he was willing to let her help. She felt so grown up and privileged.
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
“So I heard that you made the fastest delivery yesterday”Vernon said to Abraham as they walked to his house.”You still trying to get on his good side after what happened a long time ago?”he asked him with a laugh. Ever since that first miscounting incident, Abraham has taken the job seriously. But now the two of them laugh about it.
“Im just a good worker, is that so hard to believe?”he asked him as they walked in the house.
“Its freezing out there”Vernon said,”But its oh so warm in here”he said,”Where’s Salomi?”he asked and then saw her silhouette behind the curtain and walked in the bedroom,”Hey you-“then he stopped when he saw Salomi surrounded by neatly organized small stacks of cash.”What are you doing?”he asked her
“Hey Uncle Vernie”she said to him,”Im helping Daddy count”she said to him
“Hey babydoll”he said as he walked in,”Wow you got a whole lot done”
“Im all done”she said proudly
“That’s my girl”he said to her
“I just finished up counting $1000 for some Antonio guy. That’s the most I have ever counted”she said excitedly
Abraham smiled,”Good for you-“
“Abe, can I talk to you for a minute?”Vernon asked him sternly
“Yes…”Abraham said, looking at him strangely.What was wrong with him?”Hey put those stacks in a neat little pile in one of those bags ok?”he told her. She nodded and he walked outside,”What’s wrong?”he asked as he picked up an ax and started to chop some more wood.
“She knows?”he asked him
“Yeah, I didn’t want to lie to her anymore and she caught me hiding money. Like when I first caught you”he said as he chopped the first piece.
“Abe, I know how much Salomi means to you-“
“Yes, shes my lung, my heart, my life, my everything….”Abraham said as he moved the pieces aside, picked up another piece of wood, picked up the ax and chopped it.
“Then why is she helping you?You just broke a rule! You told someone on the outside about us!”
“I was on the outside when I found out but you used me for your advantage and now Im in and helping out. She helps me count. I still miscount sometimes but she counts behind me and lets me know when Im wrong. That’s why Im always done before everyone else, she does the counting for me now. You don’t know how smart she is at math. That school is doing wonders, she can do division and addition so fast and easy”he said as he chopped another piece of wood.
“What if she tells one of her friends?Huh?She could get you killed!”Vernon hissed
“She knows how important this is-“
“Oh so you told her that you could die if you make another mistake and that her life is at stake since she knows about it now too?”
“I didn’t tell her that. I didn’t want to scare her. She knows its illegal and that if I get caught I could go to jail, that alone scared her”Abraham said
“But what if she makes a mistake!? It could kill you! Abe how can you be so stupid!”
“Im not being stupid”Abraham said to him,”Shes been doing this for months and I haven’t had one complaint. She’s doing much better than I have ever done and shes making me better. We are a good team”he said,”I think you should tell Abby about it and have her help you. Have a sort of Bonnie and Clyde tag team”he said with a chuckle
Then the next thing he knew, Vernon punched him in the face. He staggered back a little and then put his hand to his cheek.”Did that knock some sense into you?”Vernon asked him
“I don’t need any sense knocked into me Vern”Abraham said as he pushed him back
Vernon pushed him back.”You are letting this job get to your head! So bad that you let a twelve year old help you with organized crime!”
Abraham pushed him back.”Im not letting this job get to my head! But Im doing all I can to not make any mistakes and take this job seriously!”
Vernon grabbed Abraham’s shoulders and shook him,”You may be killing your own daughter!”he said to him,”Have you even thought about that? Do you want Morietti to put a gun to her head and pull the trigger just like he did to you? If he finds out, he will do that. He has gotten rid of people on the outside that have figured out the system and when I mean get rid of them, I mean that they arent around to tell about it”he said. He turned Abraham toward Salomi’s grave. “You want her lying there next to her mother?”
Abraham pushed him away,”Don’t talk like that”
“Why not?It could be the truth! You have to be careful Abraham! I cant believe that you would be so careless!”
“Im not being careless! I value her life more than my own and if anyone of us is going to lay beside her mother its going to be me first!”Abraham said as he could feel tears welling up in his eyes,”It was hard enough for me to bury one Salomi, but I cant bury another. She’s gonna have to bury me one day”he said to him,”I know what Im doing Vern and if something isn’t right….she will tell me”he said as he pointed to Salomi’s grave.”She told me to do this in the first place and she told me that this would be the best thing that has ever happened to me and it has. It isn’t perfect yes but nothing is and she would never lie to me”he said to him.He picked up the pieces of wood and walked inside, leaving Vernon still shocked.
*______________________*