ch 2 Chevy Van

Fast forward. . .

 

 

Chapter 2

 

 "This is Eli Banks. Oh, hey Sweetheart. Tell me something good. Really? That’s awesome. Yeah, I’ve got one more contract to look over, then I’m all yours. Yep. Okay then. Kiss the girls for me and tell them Daddy will be home for pizza night. Yes Dear, all three of them. Okay then, see you later. Love you. Bye."

 

 Eli smiles, hanging up the phone. He reaches for his favorite photo of his wife and triplet daughters, on the pier at sunset in San Francisco. He quickly revisits that moment. Placing the photo back on his desk , he reads over the latest music contract to cross his desk. He gets a gut feeling this group will make it big. As he always does, he signs it, knowing his investment will payoff. 

 

Waving goodbye to his secretary Annie, he wishes her a great weekend and heads for home. He enters the concrete parking garage and presses the alarm on his key ring. The lights on his two month old , mirror black BMW flash and the alarm beeps. "I love today’s technology !" he says with a giggle, as he heads for his mansion in Beverly Hills. It’s six pm and the freeway is bumper to bumper. A drive that should take 20 minutes, looks to be closer to 45.

 

He slides in his oldie’s CD, which, his wife, Susan bought him, for his birthday, two weeks ago. He smiles threw the first four songs, as they take him back to more simple times. As the fifth song begins, Eli becomes distracted, nearly side swiping the car next to him. He recognizes the song immediately. This song does not take him to a simple place in time. In fact, it drives him straight to his darkest period in nearly twenty years. He fumbles with the buttons on his CD player, desperately ejecting the CD, flinging it out the window."Jesus Chr. . . ! Gawd ! Man ! Whew. Whoa. I haven’t thought of that nightmare in a long time. Gee whiz ! Whew. Susan would have my head !" he rambles nervously. The song makes him think of the dark stranger. Thinking of the dark, beautiful stranger makes him uncomfortable in his own skin. Dragging him further back, it reminds him of those darkest, most frightful years, when the sexual abuse at the hands of his Uncle was an every week occurrence. Shaking uncontrollably , he cleares his tears away with his sleeve. "Mom and Dad should have done something to stop him !" he sneers threw his clenched teeth. "They knew what he was doing, saw what he was doing and did nothing!" Screaming and pounding his fist on the steering wheel. Another flash of memory; his mother scrubbing his lower body frantically, with lava soap and hot water from age 11 until age 13. It was never clear whether she scrubbed him to wash away the act or the evidence...  

 

 

He has evolved into someone far different than the pathetic loser from small town Texas. He has abolished the memories of his classmates, relentlessly taunting and teasing him, proclaiming he was gay because he didn’t date or screw around with the girls. He couldn’t bring himself to initiate what it would have taken to get a girl to date him, much less have sex with him. Each time he thought he’d give it a try, memories of his disgusting and perverted Uncle kicked him in the gut, causing instantaneous and overwhelming feelings of nausea. The only reason he actually had sex in high school, was because the girl involved lost a bet to the football team.

 

He nearly obliterated the person he was back then from his memory, until now. His wife has no idea that person even existed. Susan met Eli after he had become a record producer. They met during a wedding of which, turned out to be a mutual friend of them both. That day changed his life for the better. He had time enough to have erased his past and created a new one; one he could live with. Denouncing his family, Eli told everyone, including Susan, that his family died in a bad earthquake some years ago. When he married Susan, on the beach in Maui, they were surrounded by his friends, employees and her family. He made a shallow speech, stating his family was ‘there in spirit’. No one knew the difference.

 

His exit came up quickly. He turns right off the freeway and decides he needs a few minutes more to regroup before facing his family. While driving, he quickly thinks of an antidote; pretend it was all a bad dream, it never actually happened. "That works. Just smile and love your family, ‘cause they’re all you got big guy !" convincing himself as he pulls around his circular brick driveway and up to his front door.

 

The blonde triplets run out to greet their father, followed by their gorgeous mother. Susan has the classic looks of Princess Grace and the body of a model. Eli keeps her and his precious triplets draped in the latest fashions. Susan has her own safe, just for the jewelry Eli buys her. Greeting Eli, they walk with their arms wrapped around him, entering the mansion, for their Friday family pizza night. He kisses the girls on their foreheads and lays a dramatic kiss followed by a dip on Susan. She is taken by surprise. He promises more to come later in the evening. He walks up the spiral, imported marble staircase to the master suite and removing his $2000. Armani suit. He tosses his suit on the 18^th century settee and strolls to his master bath, fit for a king. Stopping in front of the 25 foot mirror, placing his hands on the hand cut granite counter top to steady himself.

 

His mind is suddenly caught up in a whirlwind of racing, random thoughts, flooding his conscience with overpowering emotions. "Stop it !" he demands of himself. "Can’t afford to go there !Stop it ! Stop it ! Damn it! Stop!" he screams, pulling his hair, reeling from the painful memories of the pathetic loser his once was. Unraveling as he falls to his knees, "No ! You are not that person ! You are not that awkward loser anymore ! No ! No! No, you’re not ! You are Eli Banks ! Top music producer of the entire West Coast ! No ! You are the man ! The man who has everything ! Wife, kids, the mansion, the money. . . the world ! No !"

 

The sensation of Susan’s hand stroking the back of his head snaps Eli back to the present. Slowly, he raises his head, as Susan gently places her hand under his chin. She looks into his bloodshot eyes, caressing his tear stained face. "Sweetheart, I’m here. Tell me what’s wrong? Did something bad happen at work today?" she asks sweetly. Eli is too distraught to answer. She continues, "Honey, whatever happened, we can fix it together, okay? You know I will help you anyway that I can. Did a major contract fall threw? Huh?" She reaches over, grabs a white washcloth, running it under the cold water. She wipes the cold cloth across his forehead, helping him to his feet.Eli remains silent, searching for a way to explain this outburst, without revealing his deep, dark past. He is amazed at how Susan stands willfully by his side for so many years, without knowledge of any of these events in his past. "How quickly she would come to despise me, if she had the slightest inclination," he thought, rising to the occasion. "I’m okay now , Honey. I just had one of those moments, doubting my abilities. You know, a brain fart !" he says, laughingly. Susan laughs along with him, hugging him tightly, professing her never ending love for him and all of his quirks. "

 

 

The family rejoins in the main dining room, proceeding to have one of the greatest Friday Family Pizza night’s in recent memory. Susan sits opposite Eli, at the end of their highly polished teak wood dining table, made to seat 14 people. Susan watches, as the triplets laugh and cut up with their father, keeping thoughts of what she witnessed just moments before to herself. She smiles as the girls rally around their father, each taking turns, feeding Daddy a bite of their slices of pizza. Eli rambunctiously hugging and kissing his three little princesses after each bite. While Susan quietly eats her dinner, her thoughts turn to a place of uncharted territory; Doubt. In as many years as she has been with Eli, she has never questioned his answers about his past, nor had any reason to. After watching him, reeling uncontrollably in the master bath, she begins to think there is much more to Eli Banks than she has been led to believe.

 

She continues struggling with her new found doubts about her husband. Weeks pass without a reoccurrence or rehashing of the mysterious meltdown. Susan’s determination to get to the truth, is beginning to overtake her entire life. She finally gives in , beginning her search for the truth, without a word to Eli.

 

While the triplets attend school and Eli works his 14 to 16 hour days, Susan searches frantically over the internet, library microfiche, old newspaper clippings and family trees, for anything that will give confirmation to Eli’s stories. She follows a few leads that don’t pan out. She feels there is only one alternative means of getting at the truth, but it is going to cost her, dearly.

 

  Manuel Garza, the son of their illegal immigrant housekeeper and Nanny, Maria Garza. Maria had become a prostitute when she was young, to help feed her large Mexican family. She became pregnant at age 16 from a disgusting tourist who asked her to dress up as a boy. She gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. Wanting more for her daughter than the miserable life she was stuck in, she gave the baby girl to a ‘coyote’ to bring across the border into New Mexico and give her to a ‘good’ family. The coyote never returned with the money he had received for selling the baby. A few years later, Donato Garza found Maria on a street corner and feel in love. He promised to take her away from the life she was living. In doing so, he married her and soon she gave birth to a son, Manuel.  

   

Maria and Manuel crossed the border into the country, when Manuel was a mere boy of thirteen. Maria’s husband, Donato Garza, was part of the local drug cartel and was killed instantly when his car ‘mysteriously’ exploded after his son’s Holy Confirmation. Maria panicked, grabbing only the necessary items to aid them in crossing over the border to freedom. The cartel surely wouldn’t risk exposure trying to hunt them down.

 

 

 

 

 

Susan and Eli hire Maria as their housekeeper and Manuel as their pool boy/gardener, after meeting them in front of a grocery store fourteen years ago. They were begging for food in their heavy Mexican accents. Susan and Eli both excelled in the Mexican language, after taking lessons in order to broaden the scope of Eli’s clients. Susan looked at Eli and both agreed the mother-son team could work for them as domestic help. Maria took to their new accommodations like a fish takes to water. The Bank’s provided them with equally nice salaries and guest quarters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

She didn’t want to draw attention to the Garza’s, because of the ramifications of employing and boarding illegal’s carries with the American government. Susan provided a private tutor for Manuel in order to teach him the English language as well as an American level of education. Manuel outwardly resented the constant "hiding". Many nights Susan and Eli overheard the two arguing in Spanish about the situation. Maria’s argument was that, they were very fortunate to have such a blessing to not only be living but, working in America. Manuel’s rebuttal was that, his mother deserved much better and that he was destined to be much more than just the pool boy for the rich and famous, Bank’s Family.

 

Eli decides that, maybe, if he offers Manuel a position at his company, that his strong Mexican pride will return, making him feel better about his current arrangements. Manuel takes Eli’s offer, learning the in’s and out’s of the music industry. Manuel mixes well with Eli’s other employees, far exceeding everyone’s expectations. He eventually becomes Eli’s right hand man. He works diligently, making The bank’s and his Ma-ma very proud. Until one day, when a rival company’s representative approaches Manuel with an offer he simply could not refuse.

 

The rep offers him three times his current salary, a corporate suite in a luxury high rise and the holy grail of perks; the legal documents and passport making him a legal American citizen, at least on paper. This is something Eli has been unable to do for Manuel and Maria, for fear of imprisonment. Manuel informs his Ma-ma about the offer. Maria is visibly upset and not impressed with this sudden offer.

 

She begins screaming at Manuel, proclaiming the offer ‘stabs’ the Bank’s in the back and throws in their faces all they have done for the both of them. Her words anger Manuel, causing him to strike his Ma-ma with a hard slap across her face. Maria falls to her knees, praying to God. In her next breath, she begins swearing that, Manuel is no longer her son and hexes his career for the remainder of his miserable life. Manuel storms out, with only the crucifix that he received from his father, for his Holy Confirmation, right before they left Mexico. From that moment on, neither Maria or the Bank’s have anything to do with Manuel. . . until now.

 

Susan knows, via the music industry’s grapevine, that Manuel hangs with and is employed by some very scary people. The type of people that got what they sought after, one way or another. She also knows that, if she asks a favor of Manuel, it will cost her a pretty penny and quite possibly, a lot more. She battles within herself, whether or not the truth was actually worth the price she would inevitably have to pay. "What could he possibly want from me other than money?" she asks herself, naively.

 

The next day, after sending the triplets off to school, Eli was headed to Las Vegas for a 2 day trip to sign yet another, up and coming star. He kisses Susan goodbye and says he’ll call her later on. She smiles and wishes him a safe trip. She closes the front door, watching Eli’s driver pull out of the drive. She grabs her Gucci purse, keys and her cell phone and heads out to find Manuel.  

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

Author's Note

tried to fix format, hope it's right this time :)

Reviews

[Celtic Cat]

Ack....it got jumbled, too. I think there's a big chunk missing cuz it goes from Maria to the middle of Eli's thoughts!! You may want to try reposting this one...maybe WC's glitches are fixed by now???
And...I was right. I did forget where this is going...and now here I am....stuck on chapter two again. I'll get you for this!!!! ; ) just kidding! An excellent story....I do hope you continue, and let me know when you do!!

[Mystic Dreams]

This is even better than the first chapter, especially the first paragraphs involving Eli and his family.

How many novels are you writing at the one time? I have two on the go and that's confusing enough!!

Great write

Hugs, Mystic

[Jayne Ann Saporito]

I hope you are still working on this - I am hooked!