Plumber is behind the backyard, doing his daily routine of taking care of the small garden there. This is not part of his job. He just likes doing that; he always did. At the center of the garden, there is a willow tree. The tree is quite old, much older than the house. It seems like it has been standing on this land forever. After taking care of plants, he goes behind the willow tree. This is his usual spot to meditate for a few minutes and to remind himself of who he is.
As he is laid back against the tree, with his right hand, he digs a little to reach a leather bag. This was a great place to hide stuff from Lady since nobody except him would step into the garden.
He picks up the bag and takes out a native American Navajo bone knife in leather sheath. He puts the bone knife on the ground. He digs deeper into the bag to take out what he was actually looking for: a buffalo tooth necklace that was given to him by his grandmother. He holds up the necklace and intently watches it.
“Yep, that is Lady’s House,” Russell says to Dick. “It is about the time that Tatiana leaves for her routine walk.” Russell hands over to Dick the bouquet of Rose that he had earlier picked up after a funeral. “Remember what we practiced in the past week. Now go get some. Make daddy proud,” Russell says and pushes Dick forward.
Dick feels an erection in his pants already. He rearranges his penis to hide the erection. The bouquet in his hand, he approaches Lady’s House. The front door is wide open, and Dick is trying to peek inside as he is approaching the door.
Dick notices some woman in the dark, coming from the end of the corridor. As she gets closer, her face comes to light. She is a pretty, black woman with giant breasts. “That must be my Tatiana,” Dick thinks.
“That’s my boy,” Russell murmurs excitedly while watching from across the street. He feels the need to urinate, but cannot take his eyes off Lady’s House.
Tatiana has a revealing, cheap shirt on, with most of the buttons unbuttoned. The cleavage is so big that one would think the bouncing breasts might pop out any second. The erection in Dick’s pants gets harder. Dick covers his crotch with the bouquet. He is subconsciously biting his tongue. Perhaps he is imagining it to be Tatiana’s breasts. He takes firmer steps towards the entrance door.
Russel is urinating on the wall while watching from across the street. “Say my name. Say my name,” he murmurs.
Dick is at the doorway, and his eye is on Tatiana. Suddenly, he almost bumps into Starlet coming out. She is looking down at the washed clothes in her basket.
Dick’s look is turned from Tatiana to Starlet. She looks up. This is the first time that Dick is introduced to Starlet’s angel-like, green eyes. The door to a new world opens to Dick. Dick zooms into the pupil. There is a tornado inside the pupil, a tornado so powerful that would not let anything escape from it. Dick is sucked into the pupil as if it is a black hole.
He is flying through many objects, a giant shining star, a TV, a carpet, an MP3 player, a butterfly, a backpack, a key chain, a tricycle, some Barbie dolls, a kid’s milk bottle, and then nothing, absolute darkness.
For a few seconds, there is nothing but absolute darkness. Then, some object becomes visible from far away. Dick is pulled towards it quite fast. As he approaches it, his speed becomes less and less. It is a green flower with yellowish, withered leaves, and a single, half-open bud atop. The dried-out roots are floating in the space, desperately reaching for water. Dick has come to a full stop right above the flower. It is as if he is at the center of a black hole.
The bud turns up. Dick sees Starlet’s tearful eyes on the bud.
Dick raises his hand to clear the tears. Suddenly, Dick gets pushed away towards the opposite direction from which he was sucked in. Dick’s hands are still extended towards the flower. The flower appears smaller and smaller until Dick sees nothing but absolute darkness. Then, he sees some goldfishes, a lobster, a turtle, a TV, the homeless man, a half-eaten fried chicken, his own eyes, and then his entire face. It is as if he has exited the black hole through his own pupil.
He finds himself frozen, staring at Starlet. His mouth is half open. He is no longer biting his lips. The erection in his pants is entirely gone. He has no idea for how long he was staring at Starlet. He notices Starlet’s smile, and he snaps back to attention. He tries to swallow his spit, but his mouth is entirely dry.
“Excuse me,” Starlet says while keeping the smile.
Dick realizes that he was blocking the doorway. The mouth still half-open, he turns slightly, just enough for Starlet to squeeze through between him and the door frame. As she passes through, the wind blows her hair into Dick’s face. Dick breathes in all the scent, and that leaves him more astonished. Starlet goes towards the backyard, and Dick follows her with his eyes.
“Hey, good-looking. Looking for somebody?”
Dick turns to the voice and notices the owner of the voice, Tatiana, who now has arrived to the doorway.
“Who is the flower for?” she says while flirting with her eyes. Dick notices the flower in his hand and then hides it behind him. Tatiana gets offended. “Baby dick,” she says while pushes him out of her way.
Dick turns his look back to the backyard, where Starlet went to. He subconsciously starts walking towards it, first with slow, doubtful steps, and then firm, decisive strides. He reaches the corner and slowly sneaks from the side. He finds Starlet hanging some washed bed linens on a string.
Dick slowly approaches Starlet from behind the hung linens. Starlet, having kept the same smile, turns to him. It looks like she was expecting him. Her smile gives Dick the courage to get closer.
“Hi, I’m Starlet,” Starlet breaks the silence with an irresistible charm. “What’s your name?”
Dick remains silent. It is as he has lost his ability to speak. He is thinking very hard, but cannot remember his own name. The silence is getting too long. Dick finally remembers the flower bouquet. He brings it up with a wishful smile.
“Oh, that is for me. That is so sweet. Thank you. They look gorgeous.” Starlet closes her eyes and inhales deeply to feel the scent of the flowers. The scent brings peace to her heart, a feeling that was lost to her. She smiles and opens her eyes.
“Your eyes, gorgeous.” Dick finds himself saying that. This was not one of the lines that homeless Russell had taught him. He didn’t even know why he said it. This was something inspired by Starlet’s eyes and demanded by their beauty.
Starlet feels shy. She looks down.
Dick and Starlet are sitting on a bench, behind the hanged, white linens. Starlet, the flower bouquet in her hand, is talking, and Dick is just watching her intently. Lady has noticed the conversation and watches them from the window right above them.
“You have to tell me your secret that how you keep yours so soft. Mine is curly,” Starlet says while playing with her hair. “Not that I don’t like it, I do, but it isn’t the best celebrity look when I’ll become a star. What is your job you said? I am gonna be a movie star, for real.”
Plumber was watching the buffalo tooth necklace when he hears Starlet is chatting with somebody. He gets worried and hides behind the Willow tree. As he peeks from the side, he listens to their conversation.
“This casting director guy came here a few weeks ago,” Starlet continues, “looking for a star for the new Martin Scorsese movie, which is like the best director ever. DiCaprio will probably be my co-star. I am not exactly sure; the casting director wasn’t too clear about that. I was like, oh my god, can I do that? Grandma was suspicious at first, but the casting director convinced her at the end. I guess it is because the romantic scene involves performing real sex with DiCaprio, and not many actresses can do that.”
Dick is shocked. He looks deeply sad. “DiCaprio is going to love you?”
“Yeah. Him or some other star.”
A few drops of tears fall from Dick’s eyes. “But I want to love you.” Dick hangs his head, as his crying starts.
Starlet is moved by the tears. She is stunned. She hasn’t seen anything like that before. The flower in her hand, she subconsciously leans forward, and kisses him.
Plumber smiles as he is observing from behind the willow tree.
Dick feels Starlet on his lips, opens his eyes, finds her kissing him with closed eyes, and kisses her back, the only reaction made sense to him.
“That is him,” Lady shouts. “The sexual predator who is tearing apart my family.” Dick cannot hear anything while Starlet’s lips are on his. Starlet notices the shouting, opens her eyes, and slowly turns his face away. Dick at first reflexively follows her lips while his eyes remains closed. But, he opens his eyes eventually when his blind search for Starlet’s lips fails.
He sees a furious, short policeman shouting at him. “Stop that right away. Let the girl go, and put your hands in the air.”
Starlet is shocked, and the flower falls off her hand. Dick is petrified. Another police officer, who is like Andre the Giant, cautiously approaches Dick from the side while pointing his gun at him. Dick raises his hands immediately. Starlet, with open arms, throws herself in front of Dick, between him and the officers.
As his look is on Starlet, Plumber’s hand is searching for the bone knife. He finds it. Plumber takes the bone knife out of its sheath and holds it
tightly. Plumber is ready to interfere but sees Lady standing there
with a merciless look. That frightens him, it always did. His teeth start chattering. He suddenly loses his ability to move. The knife drops on the ground, and he crawls back behind the tree. He never hated himself more.
Starlet, while waving her hands, comes towards the loaded guns that are now pointing at her. “No, no, this is a misunderstanding. He is just my friend.” She is blocking the line of fire.
Lady grabs her and aggressively pulls her away. “Honey, they all first pose as a friend.”
The giant policeman approaches Dick, violently twists his arm, and makes him turn around, and bend over the bench. A crack is heard from Dick’s twisted arm. He screams in pain. The flower bouquet that had fallen on the ground is now torn into pieces by the giant officer’s boots. “Sir, you are under arrest for sexually assaulting a minor. You have the right to remain silent—”
“— I am not a minor,” Starlet screams. “I will be 18 next week.”
“And not a minute earlier,” the short officer says with a sneer.
Dick’s cry bursts out as he is being handcuffed. “I only loved her.”
“Save it, pretty pig. Save it for the court,” the giant policeman says. “I know what pig-love means. Do you have any weapons on you?” He starts inspecting Dick’s pockets.
The short policeman holsters his gun and turns to Starlet. “This is not the first time we deal with these sexual predators, Miss. They always pose as an innocent man who falls in love at first sight, but all they’re thinking is to find the right moment to have their way with you.”
“What is this?” the giant policeman says while holding up some condoms folded together. They unfold one by one to form a long chain. “This is how you wanted to love her, pig?”
Dick is confused by the condoms. He has no response. Shame is pouring down his eyes. He turns his face away.
Starlet gets closer to Lady and hugs her tightly. She is confused. She remembers the way Dick was looking at her. She doesn’t know whether to believe her own eyes or his.
The giant policeman takes Dick to the police car. The short one joins to help him, although his presence seems unnecessary. Starlet, with her confused and unbelieving eyes, watches them take Dick away. She is still hugging Lady.
Plumber is sitting on the ground behind the willow tree, with his knees pulled into his chest. The buffalo tooth necklace has fallen on the ground, and the bone knife has fallen next to it. He is shamefully staring at the necklace while crying silently. He hates himself for being weak, for not having the courage to take any action. He feels that he has betrayed the spirit that has carried over the years with the necklace.
When near the car, the short policeman spits on Dick’s face. “Fucking Mexicans. You filthy bastards think you can come here, to our country, and steal our girls.” The giant policeman pushes Dick’s neck inside the car quite violently. He shuts the door, then he himself goes towards the driver seat.
The short policeman heads to Lady and Starlet to receive some praise for their valorous act. The giant is in the driver seat already, waiting for his colleague. Starlet and Lady watch him approaching. His walk is long and dragging. He pulls up his pants, and tidy up as approaching Starlet. He reaches Starlet hugging Lady, finally.
“Don’t worry Miss. You are safe now. He is going to be locked up for a long time to come,” the short policeman says while opening his arms. Is he expecting a hug from Starlet?
Starlet doesn’t say a word. She just turns her face away towards Lady’s chest.
“Thanks a lot, officer for keeping our city safe,” Lady responds in place of Starlet. “Thank you for your honest service,”
“Just doing our job ma’am,” the short officer responds disappointedly. He seems a bit offended. He drops his arms and touches his gun. “Let me know anytime you need my service.”
“We’ll see you on Sunday?” Lady asks with a smile.
“As always,” the short officer responds as he is heading back to his car.
Russell, the homeless man, is absolutely puzzled. He had hidden behind the dumpster the moment he saw the police car. He knew prostitution was formally illegal, but he had never heard of it being enforced. Everybody knew that that was how the city works, even the cops knew that. He is worried about Dick, but he is too afraid of cops to do anything. He watches the police car drive away and leave its thick smoke on the street. “Where are you taking my boy, you pigs?” he murmurs.
The wind blows away the linen that is hung on the clothesline. Starlet is sitting behind it on the bench, the same bench on which Starlet and Dick had kissed a few hours ago. The torn-up flowers that Dick had brought are still scattered in front of the bench.
Plumber, wearing the buffalo tooth necklace, approaches Starlet.