he is so handsome. He is old fashioned, too. Nothing but respectful!” She got up to refill her coffee cup. “I’m not ready to leave home, if that’s what you two are worried about. I like it here. I love my room; I love the security of being here. I don’t think twenty-six is that old to be at home.” She took her coffee up to her room. “I have to make some calls,” she hollered as she went up the steps. Jacob glared at his wife.
“You must have a death wish. Why’d you put words in my mouth?” Marianne knew that no matter what she said, he’d get angry with her.
“Whether you like it or not, I’m her parent, too. I carried her for nine months. I gave birth to her. I nursed her for a year.” This she said glaring back at him. Say something about that, why don’t you, she thought to herself, remembering the supplemental bottles she prepared because her perverted husband insisted on nursing along with his baby and drinking milk meant for her. He made a show of reading the paper, worried that his wife would bring it up with Gretchen in the house. They never fought while she was around.
“Right, you are her parent, too. Think of a way we can get her to stop seeing that grease ball, will you please? Make yourself useful. And while you’re at it, I’m ready for breakfast.” Marianne got up and started pulling things out of the refrigerator. As much as she hated to admit it, she liked taking care of her family, cooking and cleaning for them. She wasn’t about to let Jacob’s mean streak steal her joy. He could go straight to hell.
Chapter 13
Albert Wong left Detroit and headed for Dearborn. Mike Ahmed lived a block from the city limits. Albert knew the area well; his grandmother lived off Tireman and Grand River. He would stop in and see her on his way home. Talking to suspects didn’t faze Albert. He rarely thought of the conversation about to take place when he was going to an interview and unlike Jill, didn’t need any preparation. The windows were down in his car and the radio was on full blast. The Supremes were singing Where Did Our Love Go ? His thick black hair, pulled back into a tight ponytail flew in the wind. He loved Detroit, and was never happier than when he tooled around town in his unmarked car. When he was with friends and family who moved west, some time was always spent defending why he stayed in town. He loved being close to the water, the grittiness of the city, the huge mansions that were slowly being reclaimed. He loved the Eastern Market, Greektown, the Wayne State campus. His dream of buying a vacation home on the west side of the state didn’t mean he didn’t love the city.
The people were also a big draw. Detroit had a mix of ethnicities that made its vibrancy palpable. You could get any kind of food at any time of the day or night. A big complaint was that there were no grocery stores. Who needed them? You could get a hot, home-cooked breakfast for two dollars at almost any corner store, hot soup and bread or a hot dog with sauerkraut from a street vendor for lunch or delicious dinners at restaurants all over town. However, Albert was in a relationship with no children. The city was full of single parents raising children on the lowest incomes in the county. A discount grocery store might mean the difference between a meal and hunger.
He pulled off Interstate 94. The area was a no-man’s land of cracked concrete parking lots surrounding vacant factories and retail stores, burned out gas stations, and abandoned cars. It never recovered from the ‘67 riots. As he drove toward Dearborn City Limits, the terrain abruptly changed. Here the houses were well maintained, even spiffy. Mike Ahmed lived in a lovely brick three-story pre-war, with a landscaped front yard and perfectly manicured gardens. It may have been the manor house for the area before the housing boom of the 1920’s, shortly after Henry Ford rolled the first Model T off the assembly line. Now,
“You must have a death wish. Why’d you put words in my mouth?” Marianne knew that no matter what she said, he’d get angry with her.
“Whether you like it or not, I’m her parent, too. I carried her for nine months. I gave birth to her. I nursed her for a year.” This she said glaring back at him. Say something about that, why don’t you, she thought to herself, remembering the supplemental bottles she prepared because her perverted husband insisted on nursing along with his baby and drinking milk meant for her. He made a show of reading the paper, worried that his wife would bring it up with Gretchen in the house. They never fought while she was around.
“Right, you are her parent, too. Think of a way we can get her to stop seeing that grease ball, will you please? Make yourself useful. And while you’re at it, I’m ready for breakfast.” Marianne got up and started pulling things out of the refrigerator. As much as she hated to admit it, she liked taking care of her family, cooking and cleaning for them. She wasn’t about to let Jacob’s mean streak steal her joy. He could go straight to hell.
Chapter 13
Albert Wong left Detroit and headed for Dearborn. Mike Ahmed lived a block from the city limits. Albert knew the area well; his grandmother lived off Tireman and Grand River. He would stop in and see her on his way home. Talking to suspects didn’t faze Albert. He rarely thought of the conversation about to take place when he was going to an interview and unlike Jill, didn’t need any preparation. The windows were down in his car and the radio was on full blast. The Supremes were singing Where Did Our Love Go ? His thick black hair, pulled back into a tight ponytail flew in the wind. He loved Detroit, and was never happier than when he tooled around town in his unmarked car. When he was with friends and family who moved west, some time was always spent defending why he stayed in town. He loved being close to the water, the grittiness of the city, the huge mansions that were slowly being reclaimed. He loved the Eastern Market, Greektown, the Wayne State campus. His dream of buying a vacation home on the west side of the state didn’t mean he didn’t love the city.
The people were also a big draw. Detroit had a mix of ethnicities that made its vibrancy palpable. You could get any kind of food at any time of the day or night. A big complaint was that there were no grocery stores. Who needed them? You could get a hot, home-cooked breakfast for two dollars at almost any corner store, hot soup and bread or a hot dog with sauerkraut from a street vendor for lunch or delicious dinners at restaurants all over town. However, Albert was in a relationship with no children. The city was full of single parents raising children on the lowest incomes in the county. A discount grocery store might mean the difference between a meal and hunger.
He pulled off Interstate 94. The area was a no-man’s land of cracked concrete parking lots surrounding vacant factories and retail stores, burned out gas stations, and abandoned cars. It never recovered from the ‘67 riots. As he drove toward Dearborn City Limits, the terrain abruptly changed. Here the houses were well maintained, even spiffy. Mike Ahmed lived in a lovely brick three-story pre-war, with a landscaped front yard and perfectly manicured gardens. It may have been the manor house for the area before the housing boom of the 1920’s, shortly after Henry Ford rolled the first Model T off the assembly line. Now,
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