mafia boss in hiding or something. Oh, but I forgot. It’s your husband, the mob boss, who’s realy the one in hiding.”
“Nobody’s in hiding,” Trina said, and looked up at her mother. “And Reno had nothing to do with what happened to me.”
“How could you fix your mouth to lie like that?” Earnestine asked her daughter and Cecil quickly placed his hand on his wife’s hand, to calm her down.
He, instead, looked at Trina. “Then why did it happen to you, baby girl?” he asked. “That’s what we’re trying to understand. Why did this happen to you?”
Trina exhaled. She looked at her father. Relatively speaking, she had always been far closer with him than she had ever been with her mother. And he, she felt, deserved an explanation. “Reno’s sister, MarBeth, was hanging out with the wrong crowd. There was some kind of drug shooting or something, and she was caught up in it.”
“His sister?” Earnestine asked. “So it’s not just him anymore. It’s his sister too. She’s a mob boss too now?”
Trina was shaking her head. “It’s nothing like that, Mama,” she said.
“Then you need to tel me more than what you’re teling. What does this sister’s connections to some drug shooting have to do with you? Why were they shooting at you?”
“They weren’t just shooting at me,” Trina tried to point out, although she knew she was, if that gunman was to be believed, the intended target. “They shot at everybody in the penthouse. I was the only one who wasn’t shot.”
“Thanks to that cousin of Reno’s, that Tommy person. If he wouldn’t have been there you would have been dead. That incredible fact may make you feel warm and cuddly at night, but it only makes me more enraged.”
Trina was getting a little enraged herself. “Enraged with who?” she frowningly asked her mother. “Me?”
“Reno!” her mother yeled. “For putting my baby girl in this position!” Tears were now in her mother’s eyes. “He should have never married you, Katrina. I’m sorry but it’s the truth. That man has put you in harm’s way for life.”
“Reno loves me.”
“We know he loves you,” her father said. “But love ain’t got nothing to do with this, Tree. His lifestyle has put you in danger. He has put you in danger, that’s just a fact. And we, your mama and me, think you need to consider leaving this marriage and coming back home to Dale with us.”
But Trina was already shaking her head.
“It’s Reno they realy want,” her father continued, despite her protestation. “After you leave the scene, and they realize the marriage is over, then they’l leave you alone.”
“No,” Trina said.
“He put blood on your hands, Katrina!” her father suddenly said with uncontroled explosiveness in his voice. “You kiled two people because of him, baby girl. Two of God’s children. How can you live with a thing like that over your head? How can you say no?”
Trina just sat there, clutching her coffee cup. She knew she had kiled two people. And she knew they were God’s creation. But they should not have come to her home, with guns, trying to kil her. It was awful, and she would have preferred it never happened. But she didn’t go to their homes with guns, they came to hers. She didn’t invite this fight, and she wasn’t about to lie around crying over something that wasn’t her fault to begin with.
“How can you say no, baby girl?” her father asked her again, calmer now.
“Because Reno loves me---”
“You said that already,” her mother said snidely.
“And I love him,” Trina continued, ignoring her mother. Then she looked at both of her parents. “I don’t think you guys understand,” she said. “If I didn’t have Reno, I wouldn’t wanna live. He left me seven months ago by listening to the same kind of advice you’re giving me this morning. He, too, believed that he was too good for me and was bringing me down and I was better off without him. And when he
“Nobody’s in hiding,” Trina said, and looked up at her mother. “And Reno had nothing to do with what happened to me.”
“How could you fix your mouth to lie like that?” Earnestine asked her daughter and Cecil quickly placed his hand on his wife’s hand, to calm her down.
He, instead, looked at Trina. “Then why did it happen to you, baby girl?” he asked. “That’s what we’re trying to understand. Why did this happen to you?”
Trina exhaled. She looked at her father. Relatively speaking, she had always been far closer with him than she had ever been with her mother. And he, she felt, deserved an explanation. “Reno’s sister, MarBeth, was hanging out with the wrong crowd. There was some kind of drug shooting or something, and she was caught up in it.”
“His sister?” Earnestine asked. “So it’s not just him anymore. It’s his sister too. She’s a mob boss too now?”
Trina was shaking her head. “It’s nothing like that, Mama,” she said.
“Then you need to tel me more than what you’re teling. What does this sister’s connections to some drug shooting have to do with you? Why were they shooting at you?”
“They weren’t just shooting at me,” Trina tried to point out, although she knew she was, if that gunman was to be believed, the intended target. “They shot at everybody in the penthouse. I was the only one who wasn’t shot.”
“Thanks to that cousin of Reno’s, that Tommy person. If he wouldn’t have been there you would have been dead. That incredible fact may make you feel warm and cuddly at night, but it only makes me more enraged.”
Trina was getting a little enraged herself. “Enraged with who?” she frowningly asked her mother. “Me?”
“Reno!” her mother yeled. “For putting my baby girl in this position!” Tears were now in her mother’s eyes. “He should have never married you, Katrina. I’m sorry but it’s the truth. That man has put you in harm’s way for life.”
“Reno loves me.”
“We know he loves you,” her father said. “But love ain’t got nothing to do with this, Tree. His lifestyle has put you in danger. He has put you in danger, that’s just a fact. And we, your mama and me, think you need to consider leaving this marriage and coming back home to Dale with us.”
But Trina was already shaking her head.
“It’s Reno they realy want,” her father continued, despite her protestation. “After you leave the scene, and they realize the marriage is over, then they’l leave you alone.”
“No,” Trina said.
“He put blood on your hands, Katrina!” her father suddenly said with uncontroled explosiveness in his voice. “You kiled two people because of him, baby girl. Two of God’s children. How can you live with a thing like that over your head? How can you say no?”
Trina just sat there, clutching her coffee cup. She knew she had kiled two people. And she knew they were God’s creation. But they should not have come to her home, with guns, trying to kil her. It was awful, and she would have preferred it never happened. But she didn’t go to their homes with guns, they came to hers. She didn’t invite this fight, and she wasn’t about to lie around crying over something that wasn’t her fault to begin with.
“How can you say no, baby girl?” her father asked her again, calmer now.
“Because Reno loves me---”
“You said that already,” her mother said snidely.
“And I love him,” Trina continued, ignoring her mother. Then she looked at both of her parents. “I don’t think you guys understand,” she said. “If I didn’t have Reno, I wouldn’t wanna live. He left me seven months ago by listening to the same kind of advice you’re giving me this morning. He, too, believed that he was too good for me and was bringing me down and I was better off without him. And when he
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