Carlita thanked Annie for the information and reminded her friend about the upcoming party before heading home. She was almost to the back door when a movement from across the alley caught her eye.
It was Dernice. “Hey, Carlita. You got a minute?”
“Sure.” Carlita changed direction and joined Dernice. “Is Elvira feeling better?”
“No. I’m worried about her.”
“Maybe you should take her to the hospital,” Carlita suggested.
“She won’t listen to me. I was hoping maybe you could talk some sense into her.”
“Isn’t she contagious?” Carlita asked. “I thought you said she had some sort of plague.”
“I lied. Elvira made me promise not to tell anyone.”
“Tell anyone what?”
“I…” Dernice’s lower lip trembled, and she looked as if she was going to burst into tears.
Carlita reached out and grasped her arm. “What’s going on?”
“You need to come inside and see for yourself.”
Chapter 8
The first thing Carlita noticed when she walked inside Elvira’s apartment was the rancid smell, a combination of grease mingled with dirty socks. Her eyes started to water, and she plugged her nose.
“The smell is nasty,” Dernice said.
“It’s making my eyes burn.”
“She’s in here.”
Carlita followed Dernice through the dining room and into the living room. At first, she didn’t recognize the woman curled up on the sofa, a thick layer of blankets covering her body.
The only thing visible was Elvira’s pale face which was almost translucent. Matted to her forehead were sparse patches of gray hair.
“Elvira?”
The woman didn’t acknowledge Carlita’s presence, her eyes blank as she stared straight ahead.
Carlita took a step closer. “Elvira. It’s me…Carlita. Can you hear me?”
“She can hear you,” Dernice said. “Elvira, Carlita is here to see if she can talk some sense into you. You need to get up off the couch. You’re destroying yourself.”
“Is she eating or drinking?”
“Only her nasty natto.” Dernice pointed to a stack of dirty bowls and spoons piled up on the nearby coffee table. “Natto and blue Gatorade.”
“Ma?” A voice echoed from the rear of the apartment.
“It sounds like Mercedes.”
“I’ll go get her.” Dernice hurried out of the room while Carlita dropped to her knees so that she was eye level with the woman.
Their eyes met, and there was an empty look in Elvira’s, a look Carlita had never seen before. It was the look of utter defeat. For whatever reason, the impossible, annoying, overbearing woman who had created more than her share of problems for Carlita was gone.
“Is there anything I can do to help?” Carlita asked softly. “I hate to see you like this. Where’s the old Elvira - the one who drives me crazy?”
She could’ve sworn she saw a flicker in Elvira’s eyes. It quickly vanished. The blank look returned.
“Dernice is worried sick about you. I’m…concerned to see you like this.” Carlita continued talking. She rambled on about the past, about the time Elvira had set her apartment on fire. The time she camped out at Fort Pulaski and Carlita and her children had to rescue her. The time Elvira was trapped upstairs after the fire escape fell and Carlita had once again come to her rescue.
There was zero reaction from the woman on the sofa.
Dernice returned to the room with Mercedes trailing behind, her arm flung across her nose and mouth. “What is that disgusting smell?”
“Natto,” Dernice and Carlita said in unison.
“What’s going on?” Mercedes asked.
“An intervention,” Carlita said. “Elvira needs help.”
“I would need help, too, if I had to breathe in that horrible smell for very long.” Mercedes made a gagging sound and began heaving. “It’s making me sick.”
“Not in here!” Dernice grabbed Mercedes’ arm and dragged her out of the room.
“See? You even got Mercedes going.” Carlita shifted to a sitting position, crossing her legs as she peered at the woman. There had to be some way to reach her.
Dernice was alone when she returned to the living room. “She made it outside before losing her cookies.” She motioned to her sister. “Any luck?”
“No. What happened to cause her to become like this?”
Dernice sucked in a breath. “I promised Elvira I wouldn’t tell anyone.”
“I have to say the nasty smell would depress me. Maybe it would help if it didn’t smell so bad in here.”
“I figured if I left it there, eventually she would get tired of it, drag her butt off the couch and take care of it herself. So far, it hasn’t worked.”
“Did something happen recently to trigger Elvira’s depression?”
“Let’s talk out here.” Dernice gave Carlita a hand up and led her from the room. “It was last week.”
Carlita cast a concerned look toward the living room. “Does it involve family?”
Dernice gave the tiniest of nods.
“I see. I know you mentioned promising not to say anything, but there has to be a way to reach her.” Carlita raised her voice. “I’m gonna head home, Elvira. I’ll be back to check on you later.”
Carlita waited until she and Dernice were in the alley. “Something happened with a family member…something awful and it caused Elvira to fall into a deep funk.”
“Yeah. It was bad. Even worse than in the past.”
“Does it have to do with Elvira’s daughter?” Eons ago, she remembered Elvira mentioning a daughter. Now that Carlita thought about it, she’d never met the woman or heard that Elvira had visited her or vice versa.
She told Dernice as much, and judging by the woman’s reaction, she was on the right track. “Something happened between Elvira and her daughter, and now Elvira is in a deep depression.”
“I gotta respect my sister’s wishes,” Dernice replied. “Let’s just say Elvira’s built this fortress around
