Chapter 4 The Downhill Slide

     Rosa DeLeon was a working-class goddess. Believe me, I spent a lot of time thinking about what word to put in front of that term goddess. I didn't want anyone to compare her to those bottle-blonde, store-bought females that lived up in the hills around Hollywood, you know, someone like Jean Harlow for example. When I first told Rosa, I thought of her being like a goddess, she scoffed and held up her right elbow and pointed to a scabbed over wound, and almost screamed, "Damn it all, Errol, do all the goddesses in your world have scars like this?"

    I silenced her anger by nodding and saying, "Yeah, they do. Mrs. Cohen, for example, she's a goddess too, and Miss Mildred, another one. Fitz's wife Hortensia, big time goddess. Rosa, in my eyes, you're the most beautiful creature on this planet, but goddesses are never just pretty on the outside." So, instead of staying angry, she looked at me, mouth open in wonder, and struggled to fight back tears, and when she couldn't hold them back any longer, she turned and ran into the house, so I wouldn't see her sobbing.

     The night after I had the run-in with Giancarlo and his goons, I was still a little unnerved by the intensity of the incident, so after getting home, I walked up to the store and bought myself a six-pack of beer. I went home and took a nap, and when I awoke, I cooked myself a late breakfast of bacon, toast, and eggs, and afterwards took the beer and went and sat outside. I was thinking about things and watching the evening sky turn into a darkness lit up by the moon. I was three beers in, when Rosa's mom's car pulled up into the courtyard and dropped Rosa and her son Lennie off, probably bring Rosa home from work. Rosa took Lennie inside and after a few minutes, she came back outside and sat in one of the matching wooden chairs that flanked her door. She saw me sitting there, waved and called out, "How you doing tonight, Errol?"

     Instead of yelling across the courtyard, I got up and slowly walked toward where she was. Slowly, because I didn't want to trip over my own feet and look like an idiot. When I was almost there, I started talking, "Rosa, I want to. . . .  . I want to tell you something." 

       "It's not something bad is it? I'm not in the mood for bad."

        I got up to her to where I was in front of the small porch where she was sitting, so we were almost eye-to -eye. "I was thinking, on how you could tell a serious suitor from someone who is just playing around." 

       There was a little bit of an awkward pause before she answered, "Alright.You got my attention, Errol, but where are you going with this? And be careful because I'm dangerously close to asking you what business is it of yours, who I go out with."

      "No, no, don't get me wrong, Rosa. It's just that I watch you coming and going, and you always move with such grace no matter what you're doing, I find it amazing. I mean from, over there,...

        I got tongue-tied for a moment and Rosa got a little impatient and gestured for me to finish my thought.

       "I was thinking that if someone came and asked you out, you should take a pistol and aim it right between their eyes and ask them if they were willing to take a bullet for you."

        "Let's say, for the sake of argument, they tell me no. What would I do then."

        "Shoot 'em, of course." The answer made her smile briefly, but she reined it in immediately."

        "Seriously, I should shoot them? For asking me out?"  I nodded. she smiled again. "That's it? That's the best you got? How long did it take you to come up with that?"

          I shrugged, "I don't know. I don't wear a wristwatch, I'll just have to say three beers worth. But there was a lot of added pressure on me, you have to take into consideration."

         "What pressure?"

         "Like the three beers gave me a little more courage than usual, so I went for it. Don't get me wrong, I wanted to talk to you a lot of times, but didn't, because I was afraid of the rejection, so I knew that if I didn't go for it tonight, I'd probably wouldn't ever get another chance. So, it didn't leave me much time to think of something smarter to say."

         She held up her fingers like a gun and pointed,"And that gun thing, right between the eyes, Bam! That's what you came up with?"

         I gave her a sheepish grin, "Yeah, but only because, from where I'm sitting over there, I could see that you are not only pretty on the outside, you're just as pretty on the inside. I see how you help Mrs. Cohen, how you treat your son, and how you brought flowers to Miss Mildred on Mother's Day knowing that her daughter died last year. You always ask how I'm doing like you really want to know. I started thinking about things, like how anyone who was worthy of your affection should be willing to die for the privilege."

          "How 'bout you. Would you take a bullet for me, Errol?"

          I didn't hesitate, "You know, I think I would."

          "You have to admit, it's a little strange for you to say that because you barely know me, I mean, we've barely talked."

         "I know you better than you think." It got so very quiet, I couldn't handle it anymore, so I turned and started walking back to my beer. After a few agonizing steps, I hear a voice behind me.

           "Isn't this where you're supposed to say, I'd like a chance to get to know you better."

           I turned around and faced her, "Where I come from, saying you'd take a bullet for someone, pretty much kind of implied that you'd want to know more about the person."

             She smiled but this time a little sadly, "Where I come from, you become skeptical of people's intentions, especially men. Just so you know, I've watched you too, Errol, you know the way you're always there to help Miss Mildred take her groceries in like you know when she's going shopping and plan your day so that you're there, the way you manage to take time to have coffee with Mrs. Cohen every Tuesday before you go to work." She choked up a little, "And how you always ask my Lenny about his day like you really want to know." She paused again, " I was actually working up the nerve to ask you over for dinner even before you ever offered to take a bullet for me."

            "Is it too late to take that part back then?"

        "Hell, yeah! That's the deal breaker, What could be handier than having someone around willing to take a bullet for you?"

            "In that case, the offer still stands." Rosa laughed for the very first time that night, and it was like music to my ears.

           "You got any more beer?" I nodded and held up three fingers. "Let me check on Lennie and I'll have a beer with you."

           I swear on my mother, Rosa looked like an angel as she walked back toward her bungalow, and me being as totally confused as I have ever been in my life, I whispered softly to myself, "Damn, Errol, what have you gone and done."