I knew it was a bad idea when we left the hotel but the kid needed some air. I knew keeping her locked up during our trip wasn’t the answer but I couldn’t risk her being seen. Or at least I thought I could prevent her from being seen. Was I so wrong in wanting to keep her hidden? I had gotten so good at keeping her close when she was younger. As the years went by and I realized that she wasn’t going to be taken from me, I relaxed a bit. But that was when we were in Germany. No one knew us there. No one knew Bette and Angelica Porter. And they never would.

I watch as my fourteen year old daughter stuffs her face with fries and greedily reaches over to my plate for mine. She looks at me with pleading eyes and I nod my head.

“I thought you said you’ve never been here before,” she says between bites.

“Don’t chew with your mouth open.”

She swallows the contents and then gulps down some soda. Slamming the empty glass down, she waits for an answer.

“I haven’t,” I answer.

“I don’t mean here, Mom. I mean in California.”

“I haven’t,” I lie.

“Then how did you know it gets chilly here at night?”

I laugh thinking to myself that she got me.

“It gets chilly in every city at night,” I answer.

I wait to see if my explanation satisfies her. She goes back to eating.

“Done?” I ask wanting to get out of here and into the unseeing eyes of Hollywood.

“Yup,” she belches.

“Real mature, Darnell,” I say with a raised eyebrow.

“What do you expect? I’m a kid,” she shrugs.

“Yeah, my kid,” I laugh.

*****

“Gonna go to the bathroom,” she tells me.

“Ok. I’ll just wait out here.”

I watch her walk down the narrow aisle into the restroom. As I pull out my cell phone, I look around and see that the diner is nearly empty. I dial the familiar number and wait for the soft voice to answer.

“Bette?”

Not the voice I was expecting. I jump out the chair and turn around.

“Aa-lice.”

As if all the years of non-communication never passed, she quickly jumps into old conversation.

 

“How’s the sheet ‘em and street ‘em business going? Surpass Shane’s number yet?” she laughs.

“Shane’s record is safe,” I joke.

“I’ve missed you, porter,” sh declares wrapping her arms around me.

I instinctively turn her around keeping my eye on the bathroom door.

“I, uh, miss u, too, Alice.”

‘Don’t come out yet,’ I pray hoping that Darnell hears me.

Alice pulls out of the embrace. She continues to talk, a one-sided conversation mind you to which I try to get short before it dawns on her.

“Oh shit! Is she here?”

*****

“Alice, please don’t tell Tina you saw me,” I beg kinda changing the subject.

“Of course, Porter. You’re family but… you took her kid,” she reminds me.

“Please Al,” I beg looking into her eyes.

Out of the corner of mine, I see the bathroom door open. Alice turns following my line of sight.

“Ohmigod. Is that her?”

My slim 5’7″ look-a-like daughter walks through the door unaware of the bargain I’m making on her life. I see Alice’s face light up and quickly step in front of her.

“Alice, please, she doesn’t know.”

“What?” she asks trying to look over my shoulder at Darnell.

“She doesn’t know… what I did,” I add at the end.

“Are you serious?” she refocus’ her attention on me.

“Please,” I’m pleading seeing Darnell approach us.

“My number hasn’t changed Porter,” she says before turning and walking away.

I silently say thank you as I watch her go.

“Mom, who was that?”

*****

How do I void answering that question? I don’t.

“That was,” I say looking after the preoccupied spot, “an old acquaintance.”

Not a lie.

“Oh,” she says.

Simple response. No interest.

“Let’s get back,” I say taking her hand