CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

CHARLIE

 

I drove down the highway on the way to Strawberry Fields with Emma in the passenger seat of my car. If there was one thing that could be said about Emma it was that she was persistent. And since I got drunk and dumb at the bar and told her about Fergie, I had to see things through with her, even though I wasn’t sure if I could trust her.

“Can I ask you something?” Emma asked digging into her purse. “It’s kind of private.”

“Sure,” I shrugged. “What is it?”

She retrieved a pack of gum and leaned it toward me. I shook my head indicating I didn’t want one. “When did you know that you were interested in men?”

I looked over at her. “Why, Miss Emma, if I wasn’t sure I would say that the gay life fascinates you. Am I correct?”

I could see her blushing and she tried to get it together by looking out of her window. “It’s not that. What fascinates me is the unordinary.”

“And you think being gay is uncommon?”

“Not anymore, I guess. But at one point it was. If it were not true nobody would have a problem with it. Shit, I would go further and say in about fifty years nobody is going to care at all. But it always amazes me in this day and age when young men like yourself jump out there and do what your heart tells you even though it could backfire on you.”

“I guess….for me anyway…I don’t have a choice.”

“Explain.”

I sighed. “I’m not attracted to women at all, Emma. Just the idea of being with one makes me feel sick…that food poisoning kind of sick you know? I need a man to hold me and to make me feel safe. If I had to offer the same thing to a woman we would have a serious problem. Don’t get me wrong, I respect the lesbians but it ain’t for me.”

She giggled. “I think I’m getting it.” She paused. “So are you saying if you can’t be with a man you can’t survive?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

“I used to feel that way about one man in particular.” She gazed out her window again. “It was Fergie’s father and I think that’s one of the reasons I couldn’t deal with my son being gay at first. He looks so much like him that it’s crazy.”

I laughed.

“What’s funny?” she asked.

“Nothing really. It’s just that I always saw Fergie in drag and to me he resembled Dionne Warwick. So now I’m having to imagine Dionne Warwick as his father.”

She laughed harder. “Well even Dionne had a father right?”

I shrugged. “You’re right.”

The car was silent for a moment.

“Charlie, when are you going to tell me what happened with my son. If he’s buried and you are able to take me to him, it’s obvious that you know more. Understand that the only reason I’m not scratching your eyes out right now is because I know your heart. And from being around you I am positive that you aren’t capable of something like this. So what happened to my boy? Just tell me now so I can have closure.”

I told Emma about the injections procedure and how everything went down. I told her how Dixie allowed Fergie to die and how angry I was with him. As the story continued I saw Emma’s expression grow darker and darker.

“That Dixie is a monster isn’t he?” she asked.

I nodded yes.

“What did he do to you?” she continued. “To make you so angry?”

“I think the situation with Fergie is what sent me over the edge. Fergie didn’t have to die, you know? He was still alive and had we called 911 he would be with you to this day. I hate Dixie the most because of that.”

She shook her head. “I’m so angry right now but as long as I can bury my son, I’m going to put it away. I’m going to leave Dixie alone but it’s not because I’m letting him have the upper hand. I’ve prayed long and hard and I need peace. I don’t want to be angry or violent anymore because it has damaged my soul.”

“What about me? Are you going to leave me alone too?”

“Well I had hoped that you would think of me as a friend instead of a bother.”

I smiled. “You know what, Emma,” I paused, “the strange thing is that I do consider you to be a friend.” She placed her hand on my leg and smiled.

When we made it to Strawberry Fields I parked and we both got out of the car. The moment we climbed the hill I saw two piles of dirt in the place Fergie and Gi-Gi’s bodies were buried. I knew immediately that something was up.

“Something is wrong,” I said running toward the place where Fergie was buried. Emma followed behind me. “Something is really wrong.”

“What is it?” Emma asked frantically.

I approached the hole and knew immediately what happened. Dixie had beaten us to the punch. She unearthed both bodies. “He’s not here,” I yelled looking into the brown hole that was once Fergie’s home. “His body is not here.”

Emma threw herself into the hole as if she was about to save him. While she was inside my phone rang and confused at what was going on, I answered. “Hello.”

“Charlie, it’s Belize! You have to come to my house now! It’s an emergency!”