Manuel furrowed his brow as if Juan’s statement hurt his feelings. He shoved the rest of the eggroll into his mouth and looked like he swallowed it without chewing. “Whatever you say, cousin.”
Shouting erupted from the dining room. Every worker in the kitchen stopped what they were doing and craned their necks to see through the cloudy plastic windows in the swinging doors. Chinese shouting and arguing exploded, and what sounded to Juan like grunting.
Juan turned to share questionable looks with Manuel, but his cousin was too busy stuffing as much food into his mouth as he could while the others were diverted.
When the scream rang out, it got Manuel’s attention too.
KEEPING IT TOGETHER
As they cruised their assigned blocks, Jennings’s gaze kept creeping toward Lola’s thighs. She could feel the irises peeling back the fabric and taking in her flesh. It felt like maggots writhing and roiling over her, and she shifted uncomfortably so Jennings would hopefully get the idea and stop…but he didn’t.
His eyes, set deep in his fat covered face, rolled up her stomach and landed on her breasts, stayed there for a vacation. He did nothing to hide it, even smiled and ran his tongue over his teeth.
Will this fucking light ever turn?
It clicked to green and the cruiser shot forward, Jennings’s eyes finding the road again. Lola could have pulled her gun from her holster right then, cradled it between two of his chins, and emptied the whole fucking magazine. She stared out the passenger window and took deep, calming breaths.
“You hungry?” Jennings said.
“We just had lunch an hour ago.” Lola kept her eyes on the world outside of the vehicle. A man walking his dog waved, but she only glared back.
“I’m still hungry. Whattya say we make a quick stop, huh?”
Lola massaged her temples and ground her teeth. “Why don’t we do our jobs instead?”
Jennings snorted, pulled the car to the curb. He tried to turn to face her, but couldn’t get his body to turn that way, so he tilted his head and grinned, showing his crooked yellow teeth. “Our jobs? And who the fuck’re you to tell me what my job is, hm? Some fuckin’ spick broad gets in my cruiser and tells me what to do?”
“Excuse me?” The headache that she’d been concentrating on keeping at bay burst free and rammed against the inside of her skull.
“You heard me, bitch. What, did I hurt your feelings?”
As Lola glared at him, Jennings’s face swam in her vision and began contorting into her father’s. The bulges and rolls of unshaved fat melted into the sore-covered, glazed flesh of Daddy.
“Reach over here and rub Daddy’s tummy, baby. Daddy don’t feel good.”
Lola clenched her teeth and turned her gaze to the floorboard. She breathed in through her nose, catching the spoiled scent of her father’s bed sores, then out through her mouth. She grabbed her knees and squeezed, tried to force them to stop shaking.