Free Mad Girls In Love by Michael Lee West

could leave her at a church, a note pinned to her dress, instructing the priest to call Eunice.
    â€œIf you’re good, I’ll be good,” Alice Ann said, using her pigtail to swipe the back of my seat. “Do you understand?”
    â€œCompletely,” I said. “But I still can’t take you to the coast.”
    â€œYou have to.” She began pounding my seat. “I belong with my mama. I know what you’re thinking, and it’s a lie. My mama is NOT dead !” Alice Ann reached up to her face and brushed away tears. “She’s not! She’s not! ”
    â€œI never said she was. Eunice said it. Please don’t cry.”
    â€œShe’s more alive than you ,” Alice Ann yelled. “And lots prettier. You better take me to her or you’ll be sorry.”
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    Around noon the next day, I parked the Cadillac in front of a pink brick building. Flying Cups & Saucers Café was painted on the windows in yellow paint, embellished with spinning Fiestaware. “I smell the ocean,” said Alice Ann from the backseat. She yawned, stretching out her arms. Then her knees squeaked across the leather seat. “Is this Point Minette?”
    â€œMmmhum.” I glanced out the window. Across the street were old buildings with wrought-iron balconies and hanging ferns. They had shops filled with inflatable rafts, folding chairs, and beach towels. At the end of the block, The Poseidon Adventure was playing at the theater. Most of the shoppers were women in cotton dresses and white sandals. Their children trailed behind, licking lollipops, their sun-streaked hair brushed into ponytails. I couldn’t imagine a stripper picking this town. Not that I believed for one moment that Alice Ann’s mother was alive. I looked back at the café.
    â€œWell, let’s go find my mama,” said Alice Ann.
    â€œI thought we’d get a bite to eat first,” I said.
    â€œAll right, but make it snappy.”
    We got out of the car. I leaned over and lifted Jennifer into my arms. Alice Ann hopped onto the sidewalk, then she began taking exaggerated steps. I stopped in front of Flying Cups & Saucers and bought a newspaper, the Point Minette Tribune . Tucking it under my arm, I used my free hand to guide Alice Ann into the café. It was cool, smelling of fresh perked coffee, and ceiling fans stirred the green plants. A long counter was lined with glass domes—doughnuts, cookies, and pies. A grumpy-looking waitress sat on a stool there, drinking iced tea. She hopped down and seated us. Her dark hair was teased into a bouffant, and green eye shadow creased her lids. Pinned to her blouse was a name badge, Doris.
    She helped me fit Jennifer into a high chair. “Get you ladies something cool to drink?” she asked in a weary voice. Then she reluctantly pulled out a green pad and a pencil.
    â€œJust a Tab for me,” I said, unzipping the diaper bag and pulling out a bottle. “Could I trouble you to fill this with milk?”
    â€œSure thing, hon,” said Doris, taking the bottle. She winked at Jennifer, who was banging the high chair, then Doris turned her gaze on Alice Ann. “What for you, Red?”
    â€œI’ll have a cheeseburger, crinkle fries, chocolate milk.”
    â€œEverything on that cheeseburger?” Doris said without looking up from her pad.
    â€œNo lettuce, tomatoes, or onions,” Alice Ann said. “And you better not forget it, either.”
    â€œKids,” said Doris, shaking her head. “Like my mama used to say, they’re either a lump in your throat or a pain in your ass.”
    â€œYou said a bad word,” Alice Ann sang.
    While we waited for the food, I opened the Tribune and began reading the classifieds.
    â€œAre you looking for a job?” Alice Ann sat up on her knees, trying to read the paper upside-down.
    â€œNo. A cheap place to spend the night,” I said.
    â€œJust one night?”