The Existence of Reconcilable Differences

Chapter Four

Dani walked out of the room, out of breath, and trembling. Instead of shedding tears, she went downstairs to question Mary. Her weak legs shuffled to the kitchen and Dani leaned on the archway in silence.

Mary glanced back. "Hey, honey."

With dry lips, she uttered, "...Klu Klux Klan, huh?"

Mary's movement ceased and she stilled herself like a mannequin. After a long, aching pause, Mary finally opened her mouth.

"Yup." She turned to her.

Dani nodded with curls jiggling as well.

"...I've got to show you something."

Driving in silence was not normal for them. But, Dani held her tongue to ensure that Mary was comfortable with telling her everything. At last, they made it to the cemetery. With joined hands, they gradually walked to Gregory's gravesite all the while, captivating the peaceful scenery in their eyes. The evidence caused Dani to sober up faster than she expected.

Gregory Shane Monroe
1978 - 2009
Loving Son, Brother, Lover.
Never Gone

A rush of tears dripped out of her eyes.

"I know... I've got some explaining to do." Mary gently chewed on the inside of her mouth, thinking of what to say.

"According to the witnesses, Gregory had been drinking at a bar a few blocks away from his apartment. He finished a beer, grabbed his coat, and left. Two blocks down, a group of boys who were black, came behind him. They followed him, shouting horrible things at him... he refused to give them his wallet, so they struck him in the face and..." The wall collapsed and a stream of tears effortlessly fell out of her eyes. Through the breaking of her utterance, she gathered herself to continue telling the story.

"...They beat my son to a bloody pulp... they beat him to death. Now, I have an empty room where he's supposed to be, a divorce, and a racist son. All because they wanted a wallet. A fucking wallet."

Dani had no words.

"I blame just them. No one else. Ever since Gregory died, Gunner spiraled out of control. He became hooked on... meth. For a year, he went to rehab and graduated. He cleaned up, sure, but his hatred for black people grew rapidly. As soon as he came back home he joined the KKK."

"Have you met any of his friends?"

"Yes. Two of them. They're respectful to me but... the things they say... are so vile... I told him they can't come to the house anymore." Mary's expression showed they left a horrible impression on her.

Dani generously comforted Mary as she held her close and soothed her back.

"I'll help him." Dani declared.

Mary's sobbing slowed and she gazed into Danica's anguished face.

"Dani, I don't think anything can help him. He's so far gone."

"He just needs to be reminded is all..." Despite the circumstances, she tried to remain positive. And for Dani, that's the way she was taught to approach life.

"Dani... you're only going to hurt yourself," Mary warned with cautious eyes.

"He's family. Gunner isn't that person and... having me around should be a good thing, right?" She tried to make light of her words but deep down, in the pit of her pits, she knew this was going to be one hell of a task.

Gunner swung the door of his mother's bedroom open like a category five hurricane in Florida. 

 "She's taking too long in the bathroom." He said with redded and flaring nostrils.

 "We have three bathrooms in this house and they're all fixed, finally. Take your pick." Mary's stiff eyes stayed crazy glued to the Macbook screen as she continued typing. 

 "That's my bathroom! I shouldn't have to fucking accommodate for her!" Gunner's resonance bounced off the walls and penetrated Mary's force field. 

 Mary snapped her glasses off her face, "I'm trying to type up this report and you're complaining about the damn bathroom?!"

Gunner stopped himself from throwing another complaint; he heard a distant calling from upstairs.

With her jaw dropping, Mary said, "Oh, I forgot to give her a towel..."

A kind of, "oh-no" silence ensued and Gunner raised his hands in defense.

"No, I'm no–"

"You will." She hopped off her elevated bed and walked to the closet, pulling out a lavish towel that was the color of sapphire. 

"Give it to her." She ordered.

They stared each other down and finally Gunner snatched it from her hand.

"Thank you!" She called.

"Mary! Mary! Shit..." Dani sucked her teeth and called out once more before Gunner barged into the bathroom.

The silence was perplexing and Dani wiped the water that trickled down her brow off as fast as her shaky legs were moving. The condensation that filled up the bathroom had been covering her body behind the shower door, yet he could still see the outline of her sensuous hips.

His visible Adam's apple made it apparent his gulp was grim.

"Uh..." Gunner grew closer to her, with a speed of 3mph, like he had been driving down the highway and she was his slippery slope.

Dani stuck out her moist and pruned hand.

He met her halfway.

She pulled the towel but he held a firm grip on the other end. She was mystified.

"Thanks." Her gratitude didn't add up to how stumped her face looked.

"...Yeah." Gunner dropped his grasp on the towel and marched out, slamming the door behind him.

She replayed that incident more than 25 times in her head that night.