“Do you still drink it black and unsweetened?”
Sin nodded and took the cup from her hands. They drank in silence for a few minutes before Carmelita opened the conversation. “I must apologize for the condition of your home. Your father made me promise not to touch it until he returned.” Sin gave her a confused look. “He has been in the Naval Hospital in Key West for the last three weeks receiving chemotherapy treatment.”
“I didn’t know,” Sin said. “I didn’t know anything until four days ago when I received a letter telling me that he was sick.” She took another sip of espresso and continued. “After mom died, he swore he would never undergo radiation or chemo if he became sick. What made him change his mind?”
“You.”
“Me?”
Carmelita nodded. “He was told that he had two months to live if he refused treatment. Since you could not be found, he decided to undergo the treatment so he could live long enough to see you.”
Sin put her cup back on the tray, puffed out her cheeks, and slowly exhaled. “After my last conversation with my father, the one where he told me I was no longer his daughter, I’m a little confused why he would care if he ever saw me again.”
Carmelita reached out and held both of Sin’s hands in hers. “Things change, mi hija. People change.”
Sin’s insides heated up hearing Carmelita calling her ‘my daughter,’ but the warm fuzzies soon departed.
“I was reminded of that just a little while ago,” she said thinking of Troy, “but Thomas—my father—I don’t know. He was a head strong, egotistical bastard, and . . .”
“Stop!” Carmelita’s expression hardened with her words. “How dare you come back into his home and say these things without knowing the truth. You speak of your father in the same way all those boys spoke of you when you were in high school.” Carmelita rose and placed her hands on her hips. “They called you a whore and made up stories about you. They drove you from your home.”
Sin percolated with rage. She stood toe to toe with the only person she still loved and seethed, “And my father chose to believe them and not his own daughter! You want to know what drove me from my home. It wasn’t those losers, it was the loser who lived in this house with me, the loser who would rather believe others instead of his own daughter. The loser who cared more about his congregation than his own flesh and blood.”
Carmelita picked up her purse and kissed Sin goodnight. “Like I said, people change. I just hope you too can change, mi hija.”
Not knowing what else to do, Sin spent a good part of the evening cleaning the house. When she was done, she performed her own white glove inspection and went back over spots that didn’t pass.
It was just after eleven p.m. when she got out of the shower and settled down with a cup of coffee and a cigarette. As she settled in on the couch that looked out onto the waterfront, she couldn’t help but be surprised to see two large fishing boats about a hundred yards out, along the innermost reef. What caught her eye was the fact that the boats running lights turned on and off in a repetitive fashion. It was if they were communicating with each other. She went to her duffle bag and grabbed the binoculars that were near the bottom. She tried in vain to focus on the boats, unable to see them clearly as an evening fog settled over the bay.
She knew they must belong to locals because no one else would be able to navigate the reefs and swirling waters. She made a mental snapshot of what she had witnessed. This mission was so full of non-information, she needed a clear picture of everything she saw. She had no idea what was important and what wasn’t. She curled her bare legs up under her and thought about her next move. Her concentration was broken by the squeaking of the front door.
Who would be coming here this late at night?
Her heart raced. She slid her fingers down her side until they rested on top of her service pistol. Her pulse slowed as she heard Carmelita’s heels on the hardwood floors.
Sin was surprised to see a young girl standing next to the older woman.
Carmelita smiled. “Allow me to introduce Maria.”
The little girl seemed fragile, almost malnourished. She had long black hair and angular features. She pressed closer to the older woman when Sin approached as if trying to melt into the older woman for protection.
“Why are you here so late?” Sin asked.
“Maria couldn’t sleep and was asking questions about you, so I told her we would come say hello.”
“At this hour?”
Carmelita waved her off with a curl of her wrist. “You were always a night owl.” She then wrapped a loving, protective arm around the girl’s tiny frame. “It is okay,” she said in Spanish. “This is the lady I spoke of. You are safe with her.”
Sin squatted in front of the girl with a look of tenderness. She reached out and lightly took the girl’s hands. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Maria.”
Maria looked up at Carmelita with her big, vacant, brown eyes.
“She doesn’t speak English,” Carmelita said.
Sin repeated her words in Spanish.
Maria responded with a faint nod. Sin stood and looked at Carmelita for explanation.
“Maria was one of the girls who lived in the orphanage. She is now my foster child.”
“Orphanage? What orphanage?” Sin asked.
Carmelita took Maria by the hand and led her to the couch. “As I said earlier, my child, things change. We need to talk.”
Maria sat and ate the cookies that Sin brought out from the kitchen while she and Carmelita drank a cup of coffee and talked.
“Our home, Tumbleboat Key, is now owned by Reverend Jeremiah Heap and the
