Free Beautiful Girls by Gary S. Griffin Page B

in California beer and wine are available in supermarkets. I bought a six pack of Corona and bottles of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Edie found some alcohol-free beer and white wine. While the ladies went on to the next aisle to stock up on bottled water and sodas, I doubled back to the produce section for a lime.
    Edie made sure she bought lots of dairy, pasta, bread, cereal, sauces and desserts. We looked at each other silently, sharing a knowing look that we didn’t know how long they would be in the desert.
    I said, “You’ll have the BMW, baby. You can always come back.”
    I surprised her. I then said, “I’m going to rent a car. I wouldn’t leave you guys stranded.”
    â€œOh, what was I thinking? Of course you wouldn’t.”
    Then she broke down, right in front of the ice cream.
    â€œI…don’t…want you…to leave…us!”
    I hugged her. Tawny looked at us. I winked at her. I motioned for her to join us, to make it a family hug.
    â€œBaby, I understand. I have to find your dad.”
    Edie said, “He ruined our lives. God, I hate him!”
    â€œI need to find him, to stop him.”
    â€œI know, I’m sorry, Stevie. I’m sorry, Tawny. It’s just too much. God!”
    â€œIt is. We’ll get you and Tawny some help to cope, when this is over. For now, I want you safe while I find him.”
    â€œI know. OK. I apologize.”
    â€œThere’s no need to. This has been very hard. We’ll get through this.”
    ***
    We had returned from shopping and unpacked the food and rental movies, and books from the bookstore. We ate lunch. Now, we were seated in the living room.
    Edie said, “Go see Sister Carrie.”
    â€œOK. She’s related to you, right?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œHow?”
    â€œShe’s my mother’s cousin, my first cousin once removed, I guess, besides being a friend of my dad.”
    â€œShe runs the soup kitchen in Tucson, right?”
    â€œIt’s more than that, Stevie, but, yeah, start there. I’m sure Sister Carrie will have seen him recently. Maybe she’ll have some ideas. Maybe she’ll know what he’s been doing.”
    I looked at her and thought, I know what Rob’s been doing, but maybe Sister Carrie would know about the time before he came to L.A.
    Our conversation went on for a while. I would check out Edie’s mountain cabin, of course. Edie also had an aunt, Natalie, in Tucson. Natalie was Rob’s sister. She didn’t believe her father and her aunt were close, but it was a lead to check.
    â€œStevie, call me twice a day. Let’s agree on 9 AM and 9 PM.”
    â€œSure, sounds good.”
    As we were talking, a knock came at the front door. Edie gasped, looked at Tawny watching the TV and said to me, “Stevie, can you get that?”
    We stood. I walked to the door. Edie moved so she was between the door and Tawny, acting like a human shield. I opened the door. An elderly, smiling couple stood there. The woman held a freshly baked cake.
    She said, “Hello, you must be Stevie?”
    â€œYes, yes, I’m Stevie Garrett.”
    â€œNice to meet you, Stevie, I’m Dot and this is my husband, Charlie. We’re the McHenrys.
    Suddenly, Edie was at my side. She touched my elbow and I moved so she could be seen.
    I said, “Dot and Charlie, this is my fiancée, Edie McCall.”
    Dot smiled, “Nice to meet you, too, Edie.”
    Edie said, “Dot and Charlie, Lieutenant Lomita told us to expect you. Please come in.”
    They did and we showed them to the living room couch. We introduced them to Tawny, and they insisted that she continue to watch her television program. Edie took the white iced cake to the kitchen. We both noticed the words in blue icing on top, Welcome Friends. We shared fresh coffee and slices of the cake. The cake was fantastic; buttercream frosting and white cake.
    The McHenrys were natives of