The Choice

Chapter 6, The Choice

Chapter Six

Jesse returned shortly after Marcie finished with a quick bath. Her mind was full of questions regarding Sam's wife, because it was obvious that she remained a ghost in this apartment and still had a prominent place in his life.

Jesse dumped three plastic bags on the kitchen counter, and Sam put away enough food to keep them fed for a few days. Burgers and greasy fries tempted Marcie's stomach, which grumbled from the savory aroma.

They gathered around the living room coffee table, downing burgers, fries, and soda. Well, the soda was for Marcie; Sam and Jesse opted for beer.

"Drinking on the job, or are you off shift?"

Jesse took a deep swig from a bottle of beer. "You've been away too long. You know things are done a little different down here. Besides, it's just one." Jesse belched. "Oh, pardon me, ma'am."

Marcie offered a shy smile and shoved more fries into her mouth.

"So what're you doing back, Sam? Last I heard, you were running some high-profile case, nailing some big-time drug dealer."

Sam said nothing but leaned back and downed the rest of his beer. Jesse frowned, deep lines cutting around his eyes. Sam got up and helped himself to another beer from the fridge.

"You know, ever since we were boys and I found you with that busted lip your daddy gave you, I knew that when you clammed up this tight, something bad had happened. You'd get moody, didn't want to talk. You haven't changed," Jesse said.

"What the fuck? Are you my shrink now?"

Marcie bit into her burger while her heart kicked up a bit, watching with large eyes, first Jesse and then Sam. So Sam was a cop, too.

"Marcie, you're looking kind of pale." Sam wandered back, sinking down into the worn, narrow couch.

"I'm fine, just hungry." To prove it, she took another bite of her burger, wondering why she felt so unsettled.

"I noticed you still got her things everywhere. She's been gone for two years. Don't you think it's time you got rid of everything?" Jesse leaned back in the soft easy chair, nursing his beer. "It's been six years, Sam, since you busted my nose for sticking it into your business. Don't you think it's time we cleared the air?

Sam splayed his hands in acquiescence, spilling a few drops of beer on the brown, dingy cushion.

"I shouldn't have called her a lying piece of whore trash before you married her," Jesse said.

Sam's gaze darted over to him, and Marcie wondered for a moment if he'd follow. Positive she must look agog, she shrank back, trying to make herself invisible. So Sam's wife hadn't been a nice lady. Now she really wondered what happened to her.

"Look," Jesse jabbed an extended index finger toward Sam, "we grew up together through the worst of times. Your, piece-of-shit daddy, using you and your mama as punching bags, and mine was no better. How many days and nights did you and me camp out at Mama's, talking up our dreams? Then in comes Elise, some perky, blond bombshell of a teen, with a black eye and major attitude. Never knew why Mama Reine let her come around."

"Why? Because Mama was a saint of a woman who opened up her home to all us local beggars every and any time we needed a safe place to hide." Sam leaned forward and whispered the last part: "She said every child deserved a chance. But it was still our own choice how we wanted to turn out."

"But you tumbled head over heels in love with her, just a kid tailing her like a love-starved mangy puppy. She was wild, and what she did, she always did for Elise. No one else mattered, whether you'll admit it or not. How many times did she lie to you? She would show up wearing some fancy trinket only a rich man could afford, always said she found it or that it was given to her. Don't even try to deny it. You know as well as I do that she'd steal anything not nailed down." Jesse leaned forward and dumped his empty bottle on the table.