Bonnie's Story by Stephanie Taylor

Author:Stephanie Taylor
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Stephanie Taylor

8

November 25, 2005

Christmas Key

“OPEN THIS GODDAMN DOOR!” A loud thudding and a screeching voice woke Bonnie from her post-Thanksgiving slumber. Her eyes felt glued shut, the product of a few glasses of wine with dinner and a late night of movie watching with Holly.

“I know you’re in there!” The pounding continued unabated.

“I’m coming, I’m coming,” Bonnie mumbled, dragging herself from her bed as she eyeballed the clock on her nightstand. It was only seven-thirty.

Holly was standing in the middle of the living room, hair tangled, eyes at half-mast. “I think it’s my mom,” she said tiredly, pulling a gray sweatshirt over her head and tugging it down so that it covered the front of her boxer shorts.

Bonnie tightened the robe of her belt and opened the door a crack. “Good morning,” she said in as pleasant a voice as she could muster. “What can I do for you, Coco?”

“Where is my daughter?” Her mascara was smeared, making her eyes appear raccoon-like in the early morning light. Dwayne was lounging behind the wheel of a golf cart as it idled at the end of Bonnie’s sandy driveway, one wrist resting on the steering wheel as he watched the scene with mild amusement.

“She’s right here,” Bonnie said amiably, opening the door wider so that Coco could see that Holly was just fine. “We were sleeping.”

“That’s exactly my problem,” Coco said too loudly. Bonnie glanced out at the street to see if any of her neighbors had come out to see what the commotion was. “Why isn’t she at home where she belongs? I entrust her to the care of my parents,” Coco said, sweeping a hand through her wild hair, “and she’s off sleeping at the house of some stranger. What are you, her new Mommy?” Coco spat.

I wish, Bonnie thought to herself as she felt Holly huddling behind her. But aloud, she cleared her throat and said: “I’m just a friend, Coco. Holly said the sleeping arrangements were a bit crowded at home and she asked to stay here for a few nights. No big deal.”

“It’s not a big deal to you, obviously,” Coco said, shifting her weight from one bare foot to the other. Bonnie glanced down and saw that one of her legs was caked with sand, as was one side of her hair. She’d clearly spent the night on the beach with Dwayne. “But I get home this morning and she’s not there—no trace of my child—and what am I supposed to think?” Coco swiped at her nose with the back of her hand. “My mom says she’s staying with Bonnie, and I’m all, ‘Who the hell is this Bonnie?’, you know?”

“Mom,” Holly said, finally stepping into the doorway and putting herself between Bonnie and Coco. “I just didn’t feel like sleeping on the couch, okay? And Bonnie and I are friends. I’m staying here. Now why don’t you go home and sleep it off and I’ll see you later.”

“Sleep it off?” Coco parroted back loudly. She turned to look at Dwayne to see whether he’d heard this.

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