Good Deed Bad Deed, Marcia Morgan [summer beach reads TXT] 📗

Before long, a middle-aged woman came out of the restroom carrying a bucket and mop. Her long black hair was tied back with a scarf and she had the weary expression of one for whom life has been a disappointment. The shabby dress and shoes seemed to confirm that luck had passed her by. She put down the bucket and mop then wiped her hands on the brightly printed apron she was wearing. She noticed Lenny staring at her and proceeded to utter several expletives of disapproval. Since he didn’t speak Spanish, the effect was minimal. Undeterred, he slid out of his chair and approached her. It soon became obvious that she didn’t speak English, although her wide-eyed stare at his tattooed head could have accounted for her lack of response. A patron sitting at the bar saw that the conversation was at an impasse and offered to translate.

Lenny made a monetary offer to the woman, via the translator—one so generous that she was unlikely to refuse. Her first reaction was shock and disgust. Before the patron could clarify what he wanted, the woman had misinterpreted his offer as a proposal for sexual favors. The patron, who was evidently not accomplished at Spanish, tried again and began to do better. Continuing the translation process, he was honest with her about the severe condition of the house, but she assured him she was used to dirty work, hard work. She accepted the job, was given the address, and then she held up four fingers—her way of saying she could be there by four o’clock that afternoon. Lenny handed her the key, and through the patron-interpreter told her to do just as she was told. Then he asked her name.

She nodded her head toward Lenny and said, “Annunciata—Annunciata Domingo. Encantada de conocerte.”

He told Lenny that she was pleased to meet him, but Lenny failed to return a similar polite response, simply grunting before returning to his beer. As she picked up her cleaning tools he called after her and told her to buy rattraps. The interpreter at the bar turned his head and repeated the request in Spanish. She nodded her head and walked through to the back of the bar and out of sight. He wondered if he had offered her too much money for the job, then realized that considering the state of the place, it was probably not enough. Lenny gulped down the rest of his beer and got up to leave. He emerged from the dark smoky room into blinding sunlight and had a sudden thought that she might just keep his money and not show up to clean the house. He laughed to himself, realizing that was more like something he would do. There were no taxis in sight and he was annoyed that he had not decided to drive himself in the rental car. He walked two blocks to a busier street and was soon able to hail a cab.

Back in his hotel room he flopped on the bed and began to organize his thoughts for the next step to be carried out. Without the success of tomorrow’s assignment everything would fall apart. After an hour or so he got up and rummaged through his suitcase, pulling out a few items of clothing that he then stuffed into a small duffle. He tossed in a few toiletries, zipped it up and placed it by the door. He was ready. All he had to do after tomorrow’s job was to wait for Linus to fetch Gareth from the airport.

* * *

Annunciata stopped wringing the mop for a moment and slowly straightened her body. She reached behind to dig knuckles into her tight and fatigued back muscles. After the short pause she continued through the list of cleaning duties for her job at the bar. She wondered how things could get so disgusting within the few days that elapsed between her cleaning shifts. Her actions were automatic. She had many years of cleaning behind her and it had put food on the table for her four children. There were many days when she would shake her head, wondering how and why life as a widow had cast her into this menial role. Memories of childhood dreams had become too heavy as the years passed. She took comfort in her robust health and told herself that few women could work at such a pace. However, she could not escape the reality of her age. There would be a day when she would wake up and find that the toll on her body had been too great.

The extra job came to her so unexpectedly that she had worked as fast as possible in order keep her promise to be there by four o’clock. The last chore finished, she found a canvas bag in the bar’s storage closet, and after checking to be sure no one was watching she began to fill it with rags, bleach and a scrub brush. Her shift was not quite over, and she didn’t want to be seen leaving early. She gathered her personal belongings and with a bag in each hand left quietly through the back door of the bar. She looked up and down the alley for the bar owner’s car, but it wasn’t there. Although she had already worked three jobs that day and had started at dawn, she was thankful for the opportunity to make a little more money from the rude man in the bar. She hoped it was a legitimate offer and also hoped he would not be there while she was cleaning. Everything about him made her uneasy.

Annunciata stopped at the corner bodega to purchase rattraps and a candy bar. She showed the clerk a paper with the address written on it and was told the house was near the end of the next block. She was relieved not to have to board a bus and possibly change several times.