“Us? No,” her father answered. “We have a ‘date’ with Maria for pizza and ice cream.”
Sin still looked confused and turned to Carmelita for an answer. “Every Friday we go to Island Pizza with Maria. It’s her favorite restaurant and,” she shrugged, “she likes it when we dress up.”
Sin eyed Troy. “I know you must have gone through a lot of trouble to get those reservations, but suddenly I having a craving for pizza.”
Troy’s grin was ear to ear, helping to dissipate Sin’s old memories of him a little more. “Then, Island Pizza it is,” he said.
Thomas stood, wobbled and regained his balance. “Darn chemo,” he said.
Sin went to help him, but he waved her off. When he looked at her, she felt a twinge of sadness.
“I’ll be fine,” her father whispered
“And I’ll make sure of it.” Carmelita said as she hooked arm with his.
Island Pizza was packed when they arrived, but a table was waiting for them. All eyes followed their small caravan as they headed to their seats.
“I think we’re a bit over dressed,” Sin whispered from the side of her mouth.
“I don’t think they’re staring at Tom and me,” Troy said, “You three ladies add a lot of class to this joint.”
Sin playfully hip checked him.
The pizza was great and they ate more than they should, but Maria insisted on ice cream for dessert. As they ate, Troy kept them entertained with stories of his days at the University of Miami and the humorous things he witnessed while working as a State trooper. It didn’t escape Sin that he didn’t mention why he left U.M. and joined the police force.
The best part of the night for Sin was getting to know Maria better. As the dinner went on, she became more animated and childlike. She really came out of her shell when Sin started speaking to her in her native dialect.
Before leaving, Carmelita excused herself to go to the ladies room and Sin accompanied her.
“How do you know such an unusual dialect?” Carmelita asked while reapplying her lipstick.
“I spent a lot of time in the mountains of Nicaragua. The more Maria spoke, the more I noticed her accent and use of certain words.”
Carmelita’s jovial expression turned serious as she turned from the mirror and looked directly at Sin. “Maria has never told me anything about where she came from or how she got here. Your knowledge of her culture is a godsend. He has sent you here for many reasons.”
Sin ignored the last comment and kissed Carmelita’s cheek. “I will see what I can do.”
When they walked out of the restroom, they saw Ezekiel Miller standing over the table talking to the men. When they arrived at the table, Maria practically threw herself into Carmelita’s arms.
Sin sensed her fear and took the cue.
“Chief Miller, nice to see you,” Sin said, “I hate to break up this conversation, but we need to get going. Maria is tired and I have an early meeting at the base tomorrow.”
Miller looked up with the bloodshot eyes of a man who had too much to drink and leered at the women. “We ain’t done.”
Sin didn’t appreciate his tone of voice and she definitely didn’t like the way he leered at Carmelita. He seemed to undress her with his stare. “I see you’re not in uniform, Chief. Are you on duty?”
“No, why you askin’?”
Sin stepped between Miller and the table. “Because, if you’re not on duty, this conversation can wait.”
Troy stood up and began to say something to diffuse the tension when Miller made the mistake of grabbing Sin by her shoulder and pulling one of the straps of her dress.
“You can dress up a whore, but you know it’s still a whore,” he slurred.
Before Troy could react, Sin grabbed Miller’s wrist, bent it back and spun under his arm, forcing his arm behind his back, causing him to scream from the pain. The screaming stopped suddenly as she drove his head forward with her free hand, slamming it down onto the table.
He flopped on the floor like an oversized lump of pizza dough.
Miller staggered for his off-duty weapon, but Troy kicked his hand away and removed the weapon from his ankle holster. He then removed the magazine and pocketed both pieces.
Sin looked around the restaurant at all the startled faces. “I’m sorry for the disturbance,” she said.
A big man stood up at the table next to them and hiked up his overalls. Sin could tell by his ruddy complexion and callused hands that he was a fisherman. She was about to say that she didn’t want any more trouble when the man began to clap. Within seconds, the entire restaurant was cheering and applauding.
Sin blushed as she took Troy’s hand and began walking out of the restaurant.
She stopped in front of the man and mouthed, “Thank you.”
He nodded and winked.
They were back on U.S. 1 and headed back toward Tumbleboat as an ambulance tore past them in the other direction.
“The EMS unit has been busy since you got home.”
Sin looked at Troy and saw the gleam in his eye. The two of them erupted in laughter breaking the palpable tension. Carmelita and Thomas joined in as they continued to drive.
Arriving back home, Carmelita carried a sleeping Maria into the house. “I’ll go put her to bed,” she mouthed. As soon as the words left her lips, she blushed.
Sin watched as she whispered something in her father’s ear. Thomas nodded in response.
“Sin,” he said, “since I was diagnosed, Carmelita and Maria have been spending the weekends with me to help out. I hope you don’t mind?”
Sin could see that Carmelita appeared embarrassed by the situation. She kissed the older woman on the forehead and thanked her for taking care of her father. “I think it’s wonderful,” she said. “I will sleep on the couch, believe me, it’s like the Ritz compared to most places I’ve lain my head in the past few years.”
Carmelita smiled and
