The Car

“BMW 5 Series Grand Turismo.”

         Peering over the azalea bushes lining Riverfront Park, a hoodie shrouding his shaven and tattooed head, dark beady eyes darting back and forth like a cat watching a ping pong match,  Rico lets out a long, low whistle and says. “Sitting out there all by its sweet lonesome.”

         Tugging the draw strings of his hoodie tight, to ward off the chill of the rain, Rico slips back under the cover of darkness of the moonless night to the open entrance of the gray cinder block park restroom.

         “Cuz,” he says, shaking the rain from his arms. “That is one fine ride, one mighty  fine ride.”                    

         If there was one thing Rico Martinez knew, it was cars. He didn’t know much of anything else, but he knew cars. More importantly, he knew how much he could get for parts off the cars.

         “It’s a trap, man.”  Eddie Tamayo mutters, sitting balled up tightly like a ball of yarn, back against the wall of the bathroom, head buried between his knees to stifle the putrid smell of stale urine, wanting to be as far from Rico as possible. Wanting to be back at his house working on his paintings or maybe curled up on the sofa with Marcella, smoking on dat purple shit, miles away  from cousin Rico. But earlier,  Aunt Rosa had called. Said Rico was late getting home from work, and would he go downtown and get him before the coming storm. Eddie wondered if she meant the rain or Rico. There was one thing Eddie was sure of,  Rico Martinez was a trouble magnet. That’s what Grandma Izel use to call him. “Trouble, just has a way of latching on to the boy!” she would always say.

“Cuz, why you always down with the negative vibes!” Rico snaps back. Cocking his head sideways towards the car. “I can get a hundred for the ‘caps alone.” Smiling ear to ear, he bends down and takes the crowbar next to Eddie. “It’s a gift, cuz...nothing but a gift.”

Lifting his head,  Eddie grabs Rico’s firmly by the arm. “Yeah, a gift all right.  A free gift, to boot.  Right down the street to where they’re going to lock your ass up. Again!  And then I gotta fetch your Momma Rosa to come down and get your ass out. Again! Then she’s gonna kick both our asses. Again!”

Rico flinches at the thought of getting backhanded from his Momma Rosa. He’d been in  hundreds of fights in his short nineteen years of life and nobody ever hit him as hard as she did. He always thought that’s what they meant by “tough love”.

“Think about it, Cuz.” Eddie goes on, pulling Rico closer,  fingers digging deeper into the thin man’s bicep. Whispering into his right ear, “Who parks a ride like that in the middle of this park, in the middle of the night. I’ll tell you who, cops do”  Eddie draws a deep breath. “Can you smell it, cuz? Can you smell your ass being set up? It’s there man..it’s in the air.”

Rico jerks his arm away. “Maybe it is , maybe it ain’t. Maybe it’s one of them pussy college boys trying to get busy with his señorita!” he says,  in a sarcastic Spanish accent.

“Fool!” Eddie rises, towering over his shorter cousin, he shoves Rico out of his way. Sticking his head out the bathroom entrance he points towards the car. “You seen that car move since we been here? Have you? No, you haven’t. Now how you gonna get busy if the car ain’t moving?”

Rico’s mouth contorts and one eye closes as the tumblers in his head try to unrust and formulate an answer. Finally giving up,  he starts towards the bathroom entrance. “Makes no difference, cause I got a plan.”

Eddie reaches out and puts a hand on Rico’s chest.  “A plan? You got a plan. How bout you tell me about your plan.”

“Way I see it, there ain’t no law against walking in the park. I’m just going to walk out there and casually ease myself by the car. Scope things out. See if anyone is in it. There ain’t no law against that, fool.”

“There might be if you’re toting a crowbar, fool!”

Rico looks down at the crowbar like a scolded child then drops it to the floor. Clang! The sound of the crowbar hitting the brick floor reverberates loudly throughout the bathroom.

“Well, cuz. If they didn’t know your coming, they do now.”

Rico slaps Eddies hand away. “Like I said, cuz.” Laughing over hs shoulder as he disappears into the night. “There ain’t no law against walking in the park.”

Figuring he didn’t want to be anywhere near Rico when the shit hit the ceiling, Eddie reaches down and retrieves the crowbar. Tucking it under his black  Oakland Raider windbreaker,  he zips up and quickly makes a run for the Crockett Street Complex parking lot and safety of his car.

Suddenly, Eddie catches a darting figure out of the corner of his eye. Turning, he sees Rico, arms and legs flying every which way, barreling toward him like a scalded dog.

“What the...” Eddie starts.

Almost bowling Eddie over Rico flies by, eyes wild with terror as if they would pop right out of his head.“Run, Cuz! Run!” Rico screams as he passes,  hightailing towards  Pearl Street.

“Jesus Christ!” Eddie says. Quickly ripping open his jacket,  he takes the crowbar and hurls it towards the river, then takes off after Rico. “Trouble frickin magnet”