Uneducated 02

"Let their attorneys worry about all that," he said and wondered if he dared charge another lunch at Club Fantastic's to his office credit card.

"But, Mr. Prejean, Jack Kohl admitted he sprayed his own blood on the sheets. He set everything..."

"And? Not my problem," Kenneth said and decided he'd use an ATM instead, get about three hundred dollars out and see if that little Latin girl that wore an old St. Thomas Aquinas school uniform was out on the block yet.

An inspiration came to him and he checked the recent arrests records quickly. Her name was not among those arrested in the past four days, so Kenneth walked out of his office.

"Just left," Sarah tapped into her cell phone, extremely angered.

The man had stood up and walked out of the room, even though she was in mid-sentence.

At the Dead End, Angela nodded toward Harmony as the girl gyrated to The Red Hot Chili Peppers' 'Give It Away.'

"She still upset about her diabetes?" she asked.

It was plainly obvious Harmony was very distracted, just going through the motions

."No, like I told you; we just found out our dad and sister's still alive," Uni said.

After her set had finished, Mony came off the stage and just sat, still deep in thought.

"Uh, not going to work the floor?" Angela asked.

"Huh? Oh, oh shit, sorry," Mony said as Uni went out onto the small stage, Hall & Oates' 'Out Of Touch' booming out.

On the parking lot in front of Club Fantastic, Conchita Salazar listlessly smoked a cigarette, smiling for the occasional car that slowed down. She spotted a familiar black SUV slow down and flicked the cigarette to the ground and put a little wiggle into her walk.

"Hey, Baby, looking for me?" she cooed when Kenneth Prejean lowered the passenger window.

"Yeah, get in," Kenneth smiled.

Suddenly three police cruisers screeched to a halt, surrounding his SUV.

"Down! Down! Get the fuck down! Now!" the officers screamed.

Conchita sighed wearily but complied.

"You! In the car! Lower your window, reach out and open your door!" an officer screamed at Kenneth.

News of the District Attorney's arrest rippled through St. Elizabeth Parish. It would be another two weeks before anyone remembered about Donna Kohl and Joseph Bubba Watson.

When their workday was finished, Mony was still quiet. Uni actually felt Mony's forehead, see if she might be ill.

After they showered the stench of the bar off of themselves, Mony crawled into bed and feigned sleep when Uni came in a minute later.

"You're not sleeping, you're not snoring," Uni said.

"I do not snore," Harmony snapped.

Fuck you don't. Now, what's wrong?" Uni asked, hugging her sister from behind.

"I'll do it," Mony sighed.

"Do what?" Uni asked.

"I'll get an apartment for Momma and Bubba," Mony felt a tear begin.

"I can do it," Uni said, a little defensively.

True Mony made more money than she did, but Uni could still afford to rent an apartment.

"Uni, someone's going to have to live there with them," Mony said.

"Live... Why?" Uni asked. "They're both adults."

"Oh come on, Uni, when we moved in here, we know how to make a bed?" Mony spat. "Huh? We know how to clean a countertop?"

Uni had to shake her head no.

"And what was the best meal Momma could make?" Mony went on. "Huh? Where you think I got diabetes from? And you really think Bubba has a clue?"

"But we, I don't, Mony, I don't want to move, I like it here," Uni whined.

Mony patted her sister's arm.

"Uni, I know you like it here," she said.

She patted Uni's arm again. Some more tears joined the first one.

"I know you in love with Mr. George, she continued.

Uni did not say anything.

"But Momma and Bubba, good God, you seen the Section Eight houses; ain't no way they could live there," Mony said.

The following morning, George was a little perplexed by the soft, gentle kiss Harmony gave him when he sat down for breakfast.

"Um, good morning?" he asked.

"Mr. George, I'm moving out," she announced.

"You, what, why?" he asked and immediately looked at Uni.

Mony smiled sadly, gave him another soft kiss and sat down.

"No, Mr. George, she's not moving out," she said.

"But Mony," Uni started.

"No, Uni I said I'm moving out and his eyes went straight to you," Mony said.

She gripped her sister's hand.

"And you know you in love with him," she said.

Uni's face turned crimson and she looked away from George.

"Me? Yeah, I love him, but I'm not in love with him," Mony continued.

"But that still doesn't tell me why you're..." George said.

"Momma and Bubba, I mean, I don't know how long it takes but they'll be getting out soon and..." Mony said.

"And they are not coming here," George said firmly.

"Bingo," Mony said.

"Fuck, here, I'll chip in, what, two hundred a month," George said.

"And I'll chip in two hundred and you chip in two hundred, Mony that's six hundred a month; they ought to be fine on that," Uni pleaded.

"Uni, it's not just money," Mony said.

"Damn it, I don't want you to leave," George said, exasperated.

Mony smiled sadly at him, leaned over and gave him another soft kiss.

"I know," she whispered. "Think I want to?"

"Then why?" he asked.

"It's not about what I want or you want," Mony said. "It's about what my momma's going to need."

"Picked a real fine time to grow up, Harmony Ann Kohl," he snapped.

"And when should I grow up?" she laughed.

"When I'm dead, or my dick doesn't work, which will be when I'm dead," George said.

"But I'm breaking off half of me and leaving her here," Mony said, pointing at her sister.

When George left on a service call, Mony used his computer, located a few houses and apartments that were for rent.

"Damn, they want a lot," Uni said, reading over her shoulder.

"And I am not sharing a bathroom with Bubba; at least Mr. George cleans up after himself," Harmony said, eliminating another three apartments from her list.

"Mony, I really don't want..." Uni started.

"I know, Uni, I know, all right, I know!" Mony yelled. "You really think I want to?"

Uni went with her when Anita Sanchez of TAB Properties showed her three units that were for rent. The first one was a very nice half of a duplex in Baylor Lake which met two of Mony's criteria; two separate bathrooms and a quiet neighborhood. And, at nine hundred a month, it was reasonably priced.

"Now, this is not HUD," Anita did hasten to inform them.

"No ma'am, I would hope not," Mony agreed.

The second one also had two separate bathrooms but had neighbors that did not seem to care about their houses, their cars, or their neighbors.

This is perfect for Bubba," Mony said. "But I really don't want me or Momma living here," Mony said.

The third unit didn't look any better and Mony signed a six month lease for the first unit.

"Now, let's see what Johnson's got," Uni suggested.

"Johnson's? Really? I want to pay all that money on shit fall abort a month after I finish paying for it?" Mony yelled.

Unclaimed Furniture in Lafayette, Louisiana set up payment plans for the two beds, the couch and chair and dining table and chairs and even agreed to deliver the furniture on the third, the move in date

"Shit! We're going to be late!" Uni said, looking at her watch.

Mony called Rosy and let her know they were running late while Uni negotiated through Lafayette traffic.

"God damn; any of these mother fuckers know how to drive?" she snarled.

"Wow, you sound just like Mr. George," Mony said.

At his office, Parker Johnson was preparing to leave; his wife's parents were stopping by for dinner and to spend some time with their two granddaughters. Eric Greene pushed his wheelchair in, blocking his hasty retreat.

"Still haven't heard from the District Attorney's office," Eric said.

"Uh, because he's in jail," Parker said, frowning.

He did not say it, and would have been a little surprised if anyone pointed it out to him, but Parker Johnson was an egotistical ass. He knew he was egotistical; he just would have been a little surprised that it was not as well hidden as he believed it to be.

Parker held most of the world in contempt and especially regarded those with any infirmities to be substandard. He also felt that women served two purposes and both were to be of service to men.

"And Bubba Watson and Donna Kohl should have been released by now," Eric reminded him.

"First thing in the morning," Parker assured him, wishing Eric would either come into the office just two more feet so he could wiggle around him or back up four feet so Parker could pass him.

"Please put it in your phone," Eric smiled tightly. "You and I both know, if you don't, it'll never happen and I've got to be in court at eight tomorrow; the Romero case."

"And how'd you wind up with that?" Parker asked, thinking of Betty Romero's luscious body.

"Uh because she's guilty," Eric smiled and nodded in satisfaction as Parker did add the notes about Bubba and Donna into his cell phone.

"So uh, who's your Admin for tomorrow?" Parker asked, hoping it would not be Debbie Dees.

Parker didn't think the red head with pneumatic breasts had two brain cells to use, but she was a large breasted beauty and he enjoyed looking at her.

"Benson," Eric said, naming Jim Benson.

"Oh, good, good idea," Parker approved.

Parker approved this because selecting Jim Benson did not inconvenience Parker Johnson.

At the Dead End, just after nine o'clock, Mony watched three good looking; well-dressed men claim a large table. It was apparent that they were related; they looked nearly identical to each other.

She smiled as one of the blonde men playfully pinched another man's rear and claimed that a dancer had done it.

"Don't listen to him; this is a real girl's pinch," she laughed, pinching the victim's butt.

"He's blind," the pincher said. "Just go along with whatever I say, okay?"

Dr. Berkshire had told her that Diabetes was the leading cause of blindness in America. Mony stared in horrified shock, and then bolted for the rear of the building.

Uni held her as she sobbed. Then Angela bounded off the stage, announcing a bachelor party was in the bar.

By the time her set was up, Harmony had gotten her emotions under control and put on her 'Eighties outfit.

"Pause it at song number five," she asked Uni.

Just as Prince's 'Raspberry Beret' died down, Mony announced that she wanted someone to dance with her, and pulled the blind man onto the stage with her. He smiled, a little self-consciously, but did not shy away from her.

The bachelor party, she found out, was for his father and they obviously appreciated Mony pulling the blind man onto the stage; someone dropped a hundred dollar bill into the tip jar and his two brothers handed her twenties when she brought him back to his table.

And she brazenly let the blind man put his five dollar tip into the front of her thong.

While Sandra bounced and gyrated on the stage, Mony approached the table.

She asked the smiling young man about his blindness but it was everyone else at the table that gave her the answers.

Yes, Patrick Delacroix was blind, but he was independent, was gainfully employed, and was self-sufficient. Judging from his smile, Patrick seemed to be happy, well adjusted.

One of his brothers claimed that Patrick kept his apartment cleaner than most sighted people do.

"Well, Sugar, you're doing better than I am," she laughed, rubbing the man's arm affectionately. "My sister does most of the cooking and cleaning."

Patrick's father, Barry Delacroix wrote Patrick's phone number on the back of a business card and Mony stuffed it into her purse the moment she entered the back of the stage area.

At one thirty nine, Uni and Mony staggered outside to see a smiling George waiting for them.

Sunday morning, Harmony again gave George a soft kiss at the breakfast table.

"Just trying to get as many of those as I can before the third," she said

She squealed in shock when he picked her up and carried her, over his shoulder, like a sack of potatoes to his bedroom.

"Mr. George!" she protested, laughing, as he pulled her tee shirt up and off.

"Mr. George! You stop that!" Uni also protested, slapping his buttocks.

Ooh!" Mony moaned as George glued his mouth to her bald slit.

They were late eating their breakfast, so Uni and Mony only grabbed two dinners from Casa Ole to bring to the jail.

"When we getting out of here?" Bubba demanded again and again, Deputy Orville Jackson shrugged his shoulders.

"You're welcome, Bubba, happy you enjoying that taco there Bubba, no it was no trouble at all, Bubba," Mony snapped.

"And you said they rented that place?" Donna asked, scraping up the Spanish rice.

"Yeah," Uni agreed.

"They can't do that," Donna demanded.

"What? Why not?" Mony asked, ignoring Bubba's glare. "You ain't paying them rent, why they can't rent it out to someone else?"

"Because it ain't my fault I ain't paying rent," Donna whined.

"So, Mr. Ryan's supposed to just not get any money?" Mony asked.

"He's got plenty of money; he don't need..." Donna said.

"Taxes, utilities, upkeep," Uni counted off. "Yeah, he got money and it costs him money to make money."

"But don't worry, I got us a much better place anyway," Mony said. "We got a place out in Baylor Lake."

"They ain't no Section Eight housing out in Baylor Lake," Donna argued.

"And I ain't living in no Section Eight house neither," Mony said.

If Mony had expected any gratitude from Donna or Bubba, she would have been sorely disappointed. But she had expected none and had received none.

George looked up from the television; Cam Nuisance and the Carolina Panties were embarrassing the Taints in the Dome and he was beginning to feel just a little hoarse from screaming at the Taints to do something, anything right.

"Hi," Mony said, angry, but trying not to be angry.

She stormed into the bathroom and closed the door.

"Hi, what's her problem?" George asked as Uni grabbed a can of beer and flopped down next to him.

"That can't be the score, is that the score?" Uni asked.

"Answer me; what's her problem?" George asked, easily pulling Uni onto his lap. "You do not give a shit about football or the score, so answer me; what's her problem, huh?"

"Growing up sucks!" Mony answered for her sister, coming out of the bathroom.

She flopped down on the other side of George and leaned against him.

"Especially when you're dealing with a bunch of ungrateful children," she went on.

"Tell me about it; you have any idea what it was like with you two when y'all got here?" George said.

"But at least we're cute," Uni said, snuggling up against him.

"What? Says who?" George teased.

Epilogue.

"Wait a minute; why you get the bigger bedroom?" was Bubba's first question when Mony, Uni, and George showed them the new rental.

"Minute you start paying the rent, you can have the bigger bedroom," Mony said.

"Hey, where's my waterbed?" Donna called out.

"Got thrown out," Uni said.

"They can't do that!" Donna shrilled.

"What, Mother? They're supposed to just store it and wait for you to maybe possibly get out of jail?" Uni asked.

"Problem with handouts," George muttered, carrying the last box of Mony's into the master bedroom. "More you give them, the more they expect."

"And I had me a brand spanking new TV; anybody seen that?" Bubba demanded.

"Have no clue what happened to your shit," George admitted. "Know your car got impounded."

"Well, they better give me my car," Bubba snarled.

"Or what, Bubba? Huh? Or what?" Mony asked, already regretting her decision to leave the sanctity of George Papil's home.

"Sue them, that's or what," Bubba threatened.

"Karma's a mother fucker, ain't it?' George smirked.

"What? What you mean?" Bubba asked.

"Y'all fucked around when y'all knew Donna's married to a good man like Jack and y'all get popped for a murder never happened," George explained.

"Mony, we're going be late," Uni said, looking at her watch.

"Knew we should have asked for the late shift," Mony said. "Oh well, I'll finish unpacking later.

"What? Where y'all working?" Donna asked.

"Dead End," Mony said.

"Dead... Y'all are waitresses?" Donna asked.

"Get real," Uni scoffed.

"We're dancers," Mony said.

"Dance... Over my dead body!" Donna screamed.

"Whatever, Mother," Mony said. "We're both over twenty one and can do whatever we want."

"As long as you're living in my house..." Donna shrilled.

"Ha ha, oh my God! Look around, Mother! It's MY house. Mine!" Mony hooted.

"You!" Donna snarled hatefully at George as he carried the last of Mony's boxes to her bedroom. "I ask you watch my girls and next thing they're whores?"

"No ma'am," George said, not smiling. "They're dancers. Whores flop on their backs and fuck losers that almost played football, almost had a job, almost but never did. And the whole time they're married to a man that has a job and does the best he can for his family."

George looked around, determined he'd done his job and walked to the door of the duplex.

"Uni and Mony dance; it's hard work but it is honest work; and they're damned good at it," George said. "And it's nothing to be ashamed of."

"Bye, Mother," Mony said. "Bubba, stay out of my room, especially my bathroom."

"This ain't over; we going talk some more when you get home," Donna threatened.

"Uh huh," Mony said.

"And you! Why you ain't living here, huh?" Donna demanded.

"I'm living with my man," Uni said.

"Your... Who's your man? Why I ain't never heard..." Donna demanded.

"Bye Mother, see you," Uni said, not answering.

"Oh my God, I changed my mind, they can go back to jail," Harmony said as they backed out of the driveway.

"I don't think you get that choice," Uni smirked.

The day passed quickly, uneventfully. It passed a little too quickly for Mony. Uni declined Mony's urgent invitation to come home with her.

"Fine, bitch," Mony playfully shoved Uni out of the car when she pulled up in front of George's house.

"But what you doing tomorrow?" Uni asked; they had the day off.

"Recovering from killing Bubba; sure you don't want to come home with me?" Mony begged.

"Bye," Uni smirked at the two teenage boys that had been admiring her backside in the cut off shorts.

From the moment Mony walked in, to the moment she slammed and locked her bedroom door, Donna kept up a shrill barrage of questions and insults about Mony and Uni being dancers.

Freshly showered, Mony noted with some satisfaction, her bedroom and bathroom did seem undisturbed.

Reluctantly, Mony pulled on a bra before pulling on her Papillion Plumbing tee shirt and panties were wiggled into before she pulled on a pair of shorts.

It was her apartment; she should be able to walk around comfortably. And when it had been her and See and Uni and Jack and Mother, she could walk around in just tee shirt and loose shorts.

And when it had been her and Uni and George, she wore even less than that.

But Mony didn't want Bubba to get any ideas.

She sniffed the air as she came out of her bedroom.

"Now, what you mean y'all are dancers?" Donna again screamed.

"I mean we dance for money. What's for supper? You didn't cook anything? What've you been doing all day?" Mony snapped.

"We uh, we been unpacking," Donna lied.

"Three boxes still sitting here," Mony said, pointing to the three boxes on the kitchen counter.

"Unpacking in our bedroom," Bubba gave a leer.

"Fuck!" Mony snapped. "Been on my God damned feet all fucking day, got to come home and cook too?"

She located the skillet, fried up half a pound of bacon and made three BLT sandwiches.

"Hate tomatoes," Bubba complained.

"Good fucking God, then don't eat the fucking things Bubba," Mony snapped.