Living Without
Part Five
"I did it for you, Michelle," Rick said, following after his sister, who had stormed up the staircase. "I was protecting you!"
"Honey, what's going on?" Abby asked as she rushed out of the kitchen with Drew following. "What happened?"
Rick had a hand to his head as he turned around to look at Abby and Drew. "It's just a little misunderstanding..."
"It doesn't sound little, Rick," Abby said, giving him a doubtful look. "What are you not telling me?" she asked just as Michelle rushed back down the stairs with a sloppily stuffed bag hanging from her shoulder.
Sighting her, Rick put out his hand to grab her, but she instantly retracted from him and towards the door.
"Don't do that," she warned.
"I was looking out for-"
"I don't want you protecting or looking out me anymore!" Michelle cried. "You are NOT my brother...!" she was saying as Drew dragged her further away from Rick to try to calm her down.
"I'm taking a shot in the dark here, but I'm guessing that this argument has something to do with Danny?" Abby said to Rick.
"Indeed," he replied, wanting to go over to Michelle, but his wife prevented him from going to her.
"Tell me why she's so upset with you. What did you do? I want to know."
"She thinks I kept her away from her kids," Rick said plainly, his eyes focused on his sister, who wasn't trying to listen to Drew's reasons for her to think out what she was about to do.
"How could you have done that?" Abby asked, confused. "The kids were taken to Spain a long time ago."
"Only for a few months," Rick let her know. "And then they came back."
"Came ba-" Abby stopped. "They've been in Springfield?!"
"I'm out of here," Michelle said to Drew and started unlocking the front door.
"Where are you going?" Rick asked, finally able to break away from Abby.
Michelle stared at her brother for the longest time, her tears starting to come back to her eyes and she immediately looked away from him and at Abby.
"Kiss the boys for me," she said to her. "I'll be back for the rest of my stuff tomorrow."
"Michelle, we're not done-"
"Good night," she said, still addressing Abby. "Come on, Drew. Let's get out of this place," she remarked and she dragged Drew out of the door with her.
***
The next day - Saturday
Danny sat comfortably on his big bed as he typed up responses to employee inquires at SanCorp. He was laying back on numerous pillows, had one leg resting on the bed and the other hanging off the side of it. His two children were also present in the room and they were making a ruckus of the place. Their noise often distracted Danny from what he was doing, occasionally requiring him to caution them. They would quiet down for a few hot seconds and then start back up again.
Why he preferred to have them there with him whenever he was handling important SanCorp issues was beyond anyone's comprehension. They were a major distraction and there was no way anyone could get anything done around them. Danny, however, found that this was the only time that he had to spend with them. SanCorp had been keeping him quite busy over the years and on days like today, the company was eating into his duty as a father.
"Daddy?" Michael called as he came over with a sheet of paper and a pencil. "Daddy?" he called again while patting Danny on his bare arm.
"Hold on, baby. Daddy's busy right now," Danny replied as he got a hold of Michael's little hand that had begun slapping him too hard.
"Draw me Goofy, Daddy!" he said, placing the paper and pencil on top of Danny's moving fingers.
"I can draw it, Mikey," Danielle told him as she attempted to take the paper.
"No!" the boy shrieked. "Daddy draw it. No, stop!"
"Dani," their father called in a tone of warning, without looking up from what he was doing.
"Gimme!" Michael was yelling as he chased Danielle around the room. "Daddy, Dani won't gimme my paper!"
"Danielle, give Michael the paper..."
"Gimme!!" he started to cry and he gave up on chasing after his sister. He collapsed on the floor in a fit of wails.
"Nani, nani, nah, nah," Danielle taunted him. "You can't catch me. You're a cry bay-beeee!" she sung and then stuck her tongue out at him, igniting louder cries from the boy.
"Dani!" Danny's voice came from across the room and his daughter jumped, immediately ceasing her song and dance. Michael shut his blow horn and Danielle remained still as she stared at her daddy, whose eyes were glaring at her.
"What's the matter with you? Didn't I tell you to give Michael the paper?" Danny asked, his voice harsher than intended.
His hard eyes softened when he saw that Danielle was about to cry. Danny got up from where he was positioned on the bed and before he could make it over to her, she had exploded into sobs of her own and was followed again by her brother.
Danny scooped up his son from the carpeted floor, whispering something to him to get him to stop crying as he cleaned off his wet face. Danny then approached Danielle and couched down to her level while standing Michael on his feet.
Danielle held her partially fisted hands over her eyes and Danny pulled away each one, only to have them returned defiantly to their previous positions.
"Just as stubborn as that other parent of hers," Danny thought to himself. "What are you upset about anyway?" he asked his daughter. "Daddy made you mad? Too bad. I've warned you before about teasing your brother, and you know better than that," he scolded her and Danielle continued to cry silently. "You're supposed to be the big girl," he continued as he pulled her to him. "Aren't you turning seven?"
"Six!" she hurled out.
"And you're still a cry baby."
"No, I'm not."
"Yes, you are."
"No, I'm not," Danielle responded steadfastly.
Danny took her hands away from her eyes again and this time she didn't put them back up.
"You know I love you," he spoke and smiled when she nodded. "I didn't mean to yell at you," he went on, wiping away her tears. "Just stop making your brother cry. It's not nice. You love Michael, don't you?"
"Yes..." Danielle replied in a barely audible voice.
"Say you're sorry."
"Sorry, Mikey."
"Don't do that again. Understand?" he asked and she nodded again. "Come here," Danny pulled her into his lap and pushed some of her dark hair behind her ears. He placed a kiss on her cheek and yet Danielle was still pouting. "Does princess hate me now?" he asked in jest, not expecting her to answer, but she did.
"No," she replied and then wrapped her arms around Danny's neck. "I love you, Daddy."
Danny frowned at his earlier grimness and lovingly stroked the back of his little girl's back. "I love you, too, sweetheart."
"Me love Daddy!" Michael chimed in and Danny got him into the group hug.
"Me love you!" Danny imitated and his children were sent into a cackling fit when he tickled their tummies. He finally let them alone and stood up. "I'll draw Goofy later. Is that okay, Michael?"
"Yes!" the child agreed and Danny returned to his bed and the laptop.
Finally some peace. The children soon returned to their post crying mode and resumed tearing up their father's bedroom. Alejandra came into the room, expecting to find them all ready for the amusement park and is disappointed when she sees that none of them are.
"Mommy!" Michael call out when he saw her and both children ran over to the door.
"Why aren't you two ready?" she asked as she stared down at them. "Have you been crying?" she asked Danielle, lifting her chin to look into her face.
"Dani make me cry," Michael was quick to say.
"I did not!"
"She take my paper me give Daddy to draw Goofy."
Alejandra glanced over at Danny and saw how into whatever he was doing he was. She was sure he hadn't even left that computer for anything.
"No, I didn't!" his sister continued to deny.
"Danielle," Danny called in that same warning tone and his daughter instantly reversed her story.
"I only wanted to draw it for him, but he wouldn't let me."
"Why were you crying?" Alejandra asked her.
"Daddy yelled at me," she replied in a miserable voice and Alejandra glanced over at Danny again.
"Um, why don't you two go out there with Pilar. I'll be there in a minute," she told them and they wasted no time in racing out of the room.
"Don't you even try to tell me how to discipline my kids," Danny spoke before Alejandra had even had the chance to think of what she was going to say along those lines.
"Fine. I won't," she said and decided to change the subject. "What happened to you last night?"
Danny glanced up at her too quickly for her to even notice that he had, and then continued with his typing. "Are we checking up on me now?"
"I was just worried, Danny," she replied. "Where'd you go?"
"Out," Danny said unsparingly and Alejandra sighed.
She was not going to get anywhere with him like this. "If you're still coming, we're leaving in ten minutes," she told him and then she pulled the door shut.
Just as the door closed, Danny looked up from his typing. He hit a few more keys and then turned off the laptop.
***
Saturday - 3pm
Michelle stepped out of her car and stared at the place she was planning on walking into. She must've been crazy to have come here alone. She must've been crazy to have come at all.
She looked up at the building, shielding her eyes from the sun. Not much of a change from what she remembered. She took a deep breath and shut the door of her car and then proceeded towards the house.
After leaving Rick's last night, she went to stay with Drew and Jesse. She barely got any sleep, for all she could think about was how her brother had betrayed her. How he had made her believe the lie of her children's whereabouts for so long. How he had lied about hiring an investigator who was supposedly looking for Danielle and Michael in Springfield, around the country, and overseas. How he had gotten some friend of his to pose as this detective.
Michelle didn't know what to think of Rick. He had an opportunity and he seized it, no matter how much it would hurt his sister in the end. For four years, he had fooled her. He had deceived and betrayed her. He knew how desperate she had been to find those children, who were her life. He knew how important it was for her to have them, and to also get the answers she had been looking for concerning whatever it was she had with Danny (if that would even be considered a marriage).
Rick saw how the whole ordeal had tore at her and how she had been struggling to make it without any sense of herself, but still, he didn't think to let her know. He said time and time again that he did it because he loved her. To protect her. To save her from the hands of that murdering family. To get her back to where she belonged. But Danny was where she belonged and he was all she wanted then, regardless of the bombs, shootings, and threats.
It seemed that Rick never came to accept that, and so he resulted to drastic measures to make sure that he got his way no matter what. If he was just a tad less masculine, a couple inches shorter, had darker hair, crooked teeth, spat vermin whenever he spoke, wore high heels, and had a bodyguard who always looked like he just killed someone, Michelle would've easily mistaken him for Carmen Santos.
Finally making it to the door, Michelle began to have doubts. Her body temperature jumped a couple dozen degrees and her heart rate sped up a great deal. Maybe this really wasn't a good idea, she thought to herself. She turned around to leave but stopped herself and turned back to the door.
"You can do this, Michelle," she whispered to herself as she straightened up her clothes.
She pulled a powder compact out of her purse and checked herself in the mirror. She made sure her hair was in place and her make-up hadn't....wait a minute. What was she doing? Who the fuck was she looking good for? If she had any sense she'd run the other way and pray that no one saw her.
"I'll get it, Mirabel!" a voice could be heard and the door opened. "Michelle?"
"Hi," she greeted as she apprehensively fidgeted with her fingers.
Pilar pulled her into the house and stepped outside to see if anyone was out there and then came back in and closed the door.
"What are you doing here??" she whispered scathingly, as she glanced around.
"To be honest, I don't....I don't know."
"Then go now before anyone sees you," Pilar told her.
"Wow," Michelle remarked, ignoring her words as she looked around the place. "Nice."
"Getting ready for the party tomorrow," Pilar told her, closing the door, although not certain if that was the right thing to do.
"For Danielle?" Michelle asked out of curiosity.
"Um, yes. They wanted to throw a little something for her."
A cloak of silence wrapped around them as they stood there by the door. During this non verbal mode, Michelle spotted something on the table as she allowed her eyes to drift. It looked like the Santos family was going to have a church service for the birthday girl at none other than the very parish where she and Danny were married and where both of their children were baptized.
"Since you opened the door, I take it that no one is here?" Michelle broke the silence as she strolled past Pilar.
"No. No one is here but me, abuela and the help."
"I haven't seen Maria in a long time. Maybe I should go say hello..."
"That's not a good idea," Pilar quickly stopped her. "What do you think you're doing? You disappear for years and then you come back and think everything will be fine??"
"No," Michelle replied, a bit taken aback by Pilar's abrasiveness. "I just want to see my kids."
"That can't happen..." Pilar was saying when she heard voices. "Oh no! They're back," she said as she pulled Michelle further into the house.
"Who's back?" Michelle wanted to know and then she too heard the voices. Children's voices. "Is that them?" she asked, trying to break free of Pilar's grip.
"No, Michelle! You can't!!" she whispered to her in the same manner. "Are you crazy?! You are going to get yourself killed."
"Think I care? I have to see them."
The help's greeting could be heard and the kids' noise was getting close, prompting Pilar to be more forceful and she tried again to haul Michelle out the back.
"Not now, please, Michelle. I am BEGGING you! You can't see them! Mama and Alejandra will soon be here and I don't think either of them will appreciate seeing you, let alone in the house. And neither will Danny! Mama will certainly have my head for even allowing you in! Michelle, PLEASE, let's go."
"No, that one's mine!" Michael could be heard yelling.
"Mommy, I want the blue one! The blue balloon! The one the clown made for me!" Danielle shouted after her brother, and it was obvious that both children were still excited from their time at the park.
"No fighting," Carmen's voice was heard, and that instantly unglued Michelle's feet from where she was.
Hesitantly, she allowed Pilar to take her out back. Once in a hidden area, Pilar tried to talk to Michelle again, but she wasn't listening. She was staring at the back door and all she could hear were the sweet innocent voices of...
"Was that them that I heard?" she asked, her eyes brimming with tears.
"Michelle..."
"Tell me, Pilar!" she ordered as she turned around to look at her. "Please, tell me. Was that Michael and Danielle?"
"You must really want to die today," Pilar remarked as she continuously looked around. "If anyone knew you were here-"
"Just tell me!"
Pilar sighed and looked up at Michelle. "Yes. Yes, Michelle. It was Danielle and Michael. And that is all I can tell you."
"Pilar?"
Pilar turned to look at the door and she panicked even more at the calling of her mother. "Please, go, Michelle. They are happy. Danny made sure of that. There's nothing you can do for them now." "I can't leave without them."
"You did it before," Pilar spat. "What would make it so hard for you to do it again?" she asked and Michelle was stunned by her accusation. "Turn your back on them and leave. I am going in the house and if Mama or anyone else sees you out here, you're on your own. I never saw you. I never spoke to you. How you got in here is your business," she told her and then she hurried back to the house.
***
Pilar stood by the window, trying to sneak a peak of Michelle leaving, but she couldn't sight her anywhere. She prayed that she was spotted by no one, especially her mother or Danny. As she kept searching, she didn't hear when someone came up to her, so when a hand touched her shoulder, she completely freaked.
"Don't do that!" she said to him through her teeth, her stomach having jumped into her stomach and then down to her feet. She returned her attention to the window, ignoring her guest.
"The Boss is back," Dietz informed her.
"I know."
"If you're looking for your little friend, she slipped out the side."
"You saw her?" Pilar asked, now worried.
"Your secret's safe with me," Dietz told her and Pilar exhaled.
"Thank you, Dietz. If Mama heard about Michelle being in the house, she'd raise hell. And we don't need her around, especially now that Danny has finally decided to remarry..."
"She was coming to see Danny?" Dietz knowingly asked.
"No, I don't think so. She was adamant about seeing the children. If I hadn't pulled her out of here, she would have! And Dietz, that would've been disaster," Pilar concluded and then she left to go meet up with her family.
"Oh, yes, Pilar. Disaster," Dietz said to himself, smiling wickedly to himself.
***
"Mama, you're home."
"Of course I am. Didn't you hear me calling you?"
"I was out back," Pilar replied, not looking anyone directly in the eye. When she glanced in Danny's direction, she could see that he was staring at her.
"The decorations are lovely," Alejandra remarked.
"Esta es...uh...muy bonita!" Danielle said proudly, smiling up at her aunt and everyone in the room laughed.
"Sí, mi sobrina hermosa. This is all for you. So you'll have a wonderful birthday."
"And lots of cake!" Danielle added.
"And a visit to the dentist, mi nieta, if you're not careful," Carmen included as she circled her desk to sit down. "Anything happen while I was gone, Pilar?"
Pilar raised her eyes at Danny and found that he was still looking at her and she quickly looked elsewhere.
"Why would you ask that, Mama?" she questioned, trying to keep her voice steady. "I've just been here decorating," she said just as she spotted Dietz in the corner of her eye.
"Let's go get you two cleaned up," Alejandra said to the children, directing them out of the room and she followed them.
Danny wasn't too far behind the noisy group, however, he wasn't going in their direction. He was going after Dietz. There was just something odd about how he barely came into the room and then left. Dietz was a strange man, but what made this unusual was that he didn't throw a line or even a glance over at 'The Boss.' For some reason, all of his attention on Pilar.
Something was definitely up. Dietz was acting weird and so was Pilar. What the hell had happened while they were gone? Danny could hear his sister's nervousness and uneasiness in her voice and see them in her movements. It wasn't like Pilar not to look at anyone while she was talking unless she was hiding something. What could that be? Did she sneak Bill Lewis in here again? No. She would be much calmer than she was at that moment.
On their way into the house, Danny had noticed a car out front that he didn't recognize as belonging to anyone he knew, and according to the help, there was no company. She did say that she had heard the door bell not too long ago and Pilar was the one who answered it. Now looking out the front window, Danny saw that the strange car was gone.
Maybe it was Bill. Maybe Danny was just overreacting because of the news that he got yesterday about Michelle being back in town. If he didn't know her any better, he'd say that she would try to come over to see the children. Yeah. Maybe it was Bill.
"She just left here like five minutes ago," Dietz rough voice spoke into his cell phone. "Nah, no one saw her but Pilar, and from the looks of it, I doubt Miss Santos will be telling anyone of our little visitor. The ex Mrs. Santos has to be taken care of tonight and no later. We can't risk having anyone else find out about this," he said, pausing to look behind him when he thought he heard something. Making sure that the coast was clear, he continued. "That's right. Eight o'clock. Dead is the key word here. No slip ups," Dietz concluded and slapped his phone closed.
Danny ducked back into his hiding area when Dietz passed and he finally went to speak with Carmen. Danny stepped out from where he was and looked around the area where Dietz had been speaking.
"Unbelievable!" he uttered in disbelief.
He wasn't sure if he was shocked that Michelle actually had the nerve to come there or that Dietz had known that Michelle was in town. For reasons unknown to him, Danny was troubled by Dietz's knowledge of Michelle's presence.
"He knows," he paced while his mind raced. "He knows and if Dietz knows, then...so does Mama," he came to the conclusion and he pulled out his phone and dialed fast. "Yeah. It's me. Look, I need you to do something for me. It's really big. It has to do with what that Southern bird flew in."
"I'm listening."
"I want you to take care of it. Tonight. Before eight. Remember the place?"
"It's already a part of my personal map."
"Good. You're going to have to..." Danny paused as he took in a deep breath. "You're going to have to make that bird vanish from existence before anyone else makes that happen."