The Garbage Prince Ch. 02

"The grandchild?" Donald demanded, cutting off any retort Kelly may have had.

Donna remembered why she'd called Gordon and stepped aside. Looking around at the meager furniture, at the horrible condition of the flooring, the paneling, Gordon shuddered.

"Just got her down, but hang on," Donna said and waddled away.

"Oh, dear God," Gordon shivered.

"And SHE left YOU?" Donald whispered. "She? Left you?"

"I don't pay you to be funny," Gordon whispered in reply.

"Yeah, we'll call it a benefit," Donald said.

"Maw-maw, I was sleeping," the little girl whined.

"I know, Sweetheart, but your Grandpa and Grandma come see you," Donna said cheerfully.

Gordon almost fainted when Donna entered, carrying Nicole in her sagging arms. The child looked exactly like Nicole had looked at four years old.

"Looks just like her, don't she?" Donna said, reading Gordon's face.

"What's her name? Hi Sweetheart, what's your name?" Gordon managed to ask the small girl.

"Mia Donna King," Donna said.

"Well, Mia Donna King, I've been waiting my whole life see you," Gordon said.

"And I been waiting my whole life see you," Kelly smiled. "Can I hold you? Just for a minute?"

"Go on, Sweetheart. She's been waiting her whole life hold you," Donna urged.

"What the fuck's going on here?" Gary demanded, entering the living room, dressed in only a pair of yellowed briefs.

"Good God man, go get dressed," Donald ordered.

"Huh? What the fuck? Uh, hey, uh, ain't no n*gger going come up in here tell me what do," Gary snarled.

"Gary, just do it," Donna snapped.

"Huh? What'd you say, bitch?" Gary yelled at her.

"I'll take her outside; she doesn't need hear any of this, "Kelly said, cradling Mia in her arms.

Over Gary's protests, Kelly did carry Mia outside. Gordon and Donald cleared off a space on the wobbly kitchen table and Donna signed the papers. She did this, again over Gary's protests.

"We'll see 'bout this," Gary snapped, marching toward the door.

"Sir? You and Donna King are not married," Donald said forcefully. "Therefore, you are of no relation to the minor child, one Mia Donna King. Touch her? Try take her from her grandfather? I will have your ass, in those nasty ass untidy unwhiteys in jail before you know what the fuck just happened. Feel me, dog?"

"You uh, you need anything?" Gordon softly asked Donna.

"Couple bucks?" Donna asked.

Gordon pulled out his money clip and peeled off five twenties. Donna snatched them and stuffed the crisp bills into her filthy bra cup.

"Any clothing? Any toys?" Donald asked Donna.

"Uh, yeah, here, kind of hoped y'all was coming," Donna said and handed a garbage bag to the attorney.

"She uh, she didn't ask about Todd," Donald observed as they stepped out into the dark night.

"Think she was afraid to know," Gordon said quietly.

Chapter 19

Todd continued to pray fervently. He begged God, please let it not be the cancer. At one point, he thought he had died; he saw Nicole in his room. He looked around for Bonita but didn't see her.

"Mia! Get out of there!" he heard someone demand before he fell into blackness again.

"I need learn how to drive," Kerry said after getting Mia out of Todd's room.

"Oh my God; what happened?" Kelly asked, taking Mia from Kerry's arms. "I tried to teach you last year and you didn't want any part of it."

"Todd was real sick and we was all the way up in Hardington Acres and if Amelia hadn't been there? We'd still be there," Kerry said, tears springing to her eyes.

"Okay, which one?" Gordon smiled. "The 'Vette? Oh, my Mustang? The James Bond car?"

"Gordon, the Mercedes is fine," Kelly smiled. "Now, who thinks it's time for animal crackers?"

"And apple juice?" Mia asked, delighted.

Mia had fussed mightily when these strangers put her into a child seat. They were strangers and Maw-maw and Paw-paw said she wasn't supposed go with strangers.

But Grandma found her new toy car and her giraffe and told Mia a story about how the first giraffe drove the very first car way back when.

And when Mia woke up, she was with her Aunt Kerry; she didn't even know she had an Aunt Kerry. But Aunt Kerry loved her, and Mia loved being loved.

"And I suppose its animal cracker time?" Mrs. Greene asked in her flat voice as Mia and Kelly entered the kitchen.

"Yes, it is," Kelly said.

"Apple juice?" Mrs. Greene asked, placing the box of animal crackers in front of the chair with Mia's booster seat.

"Yes, please," Kelly coached Mia.

"Yes, please," Mia parroted.

"Well, since you said please," Mrs. Greene smiled and placed a sippy cup in front of the child. "Now, I need you to name those animals as they come out that box, okay?"

"Now, don't tell Aunt Kerry, but we're having zucchini boats for supper," Mrs. Greene said as she returned to her duties.

"What's zoo, zoo, what's that?" Mia asked.

"Zoo. Key. Nee," Kelly coached. "Zucchini. Zucchini boats."

"Zucchini boats? They're the best," Kerry smiled.

"Oh well, guess it's not a surprise anymore," Mrs. Greene said.

Gordon did teach Kerry the basics of driving, but he could tell that he made her too nervous. DeGarde High School did have a driving program and Gordon hired the instructor to come and teach Kerry.

While Kerry was on her third driving lesson, Todd finally felt strong enough to venture from his room. He was unsteady on his feet and felt quite weak as he stepped into the hall.

"Who you?" Nicole demanded.

"I, I'm..." Todd stammered, sure he was hallucinating as he looked at his sister.

"Mia, this is your Uncle Todd," Kelly came up, smiling.

Kelly hugged Todd tightly, putting a motherly hand to his forehead to check for fever. Then she turned and picked up the small girl.

"Todd? This is Mia Donna King. Nicole's daughter," Kelly said softly.

"Nicole? But she, she's dead," Todd said, head swimming.

"No, she's not! She's in Heaven with the angels and she's not dead," Mia declared.

"Mr. Todd, are you hungry? Would you like some animal crackers and apple juice?" Mrs. Greene asked.

"Animal what?" Todd asked, surprised at such a bizarre question.

"I do!" Mia cried out.

"Yes, please," Kelly coached.

"Yes, please," Mia said.

"Mr. Todd, come; I have some vegetable beef soup," Mrs. Greene said.

"It has zoo, zoo, some stuff in it," Mia announced.

"Zoo. Key. Nee," Kelly said.

"You came into my room," Todd said as he sat at the kitchen table.

"Aunt Kerry said I had an Uncle Todd and I didn't believe her, I never heard of you," Mia explained.

"You, God, you look just like Nicole," Todd said, head still foggy.

"That's what your dad says," Kelly said.

"Mrs. Greene, who made this? It's almost edible," Todd said as he tasted the soup.

"Todd!" Kelly snapped.

"It is? Damn; I must have given you the wrong bowl," Mrs. Greene said.

"You got any toys?" Mia interrupted the banter.

"No, not really. I have a chess board; that's about it," Todd said, slurping the soup.

"I have a giraffe and a doll and a teddy bear, oh and I have some colors and some coloring books, and you want color?" Mia invited.

"Yeah!" Todd said. "Soon as I finish my soup, okay?"

They went to Mia's room, which had been a guest bedroom. Mia had a small table and four small chairs; Todd sat on the floor and he and Mia silently colored in their individual books.

"Todd's coloring?" Gordon asked Kelly when she called him. "Even as a kid I don't think he ever colored.

"No? Not even 'My Little Pony' coloring books?" Kelly teased.

After hanging up, Gordon stared blankly at the wall of his office. The guilt was overwhelming.

When Donna and Nicole had drained their bank accounts, run off, he had no money to surveil the pair. When Donna had called from Paradise Lounge, to let him know that their baby girl, his daughter had died, drug overdose, Gordon, King Sanitation was still struggling from month to month.

And, after the death of his daughter, after his divorce from Donna had been finalized, what need was there to keep tabs on his ex-wife? She was no longer important.

So, Gordon had not known of his granddaughter's existence. He had not known that Nicole had left behind a part of herself.

When Dr. Farbacher had examined Mia, as the kindly man put his hand onto Mia's bare shoulder, the child had shrieked, "I'll be good!"

Neither Kelly nor Dr. Farbacher could ascertain why the child had screamed that. Gordon had contacted Dr. Melanie Leblanc immediately; the child psychologist would be seeing Mia next Tuesday.

"All that money," Gordon murmured aloud. "All my money and my granddaughter was living in that, that trailer."

While Gordon again beat himself up over something he'd had no control over, Kerry returned to the King home, still shaking after her driving lesson. Mr. Gandolphy, the instructor assured Kelly that Kerry was doing fine; they'd driven on I-10 for a few miles, taken an off-ramp, merged into traffic; she was doing fine.

"Todd's up," Kelly told Kerry.

"He is? How's he doing?" Kerry asked, smiling happily.

"He and Mia are coloring in Mia's room," Kelly smiled, dismissing Mr. Gandolphy with a wave.

"No, they're not," Kerry called down a moment later. "She's up here beating Todd in chess."

"And you slide that queen this way and...oh no! Check mate!" Todd said.

"See, if he moves his king this way, your knight can get him," Kerry said.

"Uh huh, I know," Mia said.

"Oh? Oh, okay, little Miss Smarty Pants, what about if he moves here?" Kerry challenged.

"The queen gets him," Mia said. "And if he moves here, the bishop gets him."

"Huh," was Kerry's response.

"Maybe you can teach Aunt Kerry how to play," Todd smiled.

"Shut up, Todd," Kerry shrilled.

Returning to his bedroom, exhausted after teaching a four-year-old girl how to play chess, Todd found that Mrs. Greene had already changed the sheets on his bed. He smiled and selected a clean pair of pajamas.

When Kerry had entered the library, she had forgotten he did not like being touched. She had hugged him and kissed him on the cheek.

Todd wiped, again, at his cheek. But he could still feel her soft, warm lips on his flesh.

Then she had pulled her cell phone out of her bottomless purse and sent out a group text, letting Freyja, Paula, and Amelia know he was up, out of bed. Within moments, her cell phone had dinged repeatedly. Todd, and Mia had demanded that she either turn it off or leave the library.

Mia. He had a niece. A beautiful, intelligent part of his sister.

A chime from his cell phone alerted him that he had a text message. Looking at the screen, he saw that he had several text messages. From Paula, wanting to know if he was all right, if he was feeling better. From Amelia, wanting to know if he was all right, if he was feeling better. From Freyja, demanding that he call her. From Freyja, declaring her love for him.

"Bonita? I still love you, love you so much," Todd thought as he drifted into sleep.

The End of 'The Garbage Prince pt 2.'

**Author's Notes: I write these stories for my pleasure; I post them here for your enjoyment. I thank you sincerely for reading my stories.

I especially thank those that take the time to leave comments, good and bad. I also thank those that take the time to rate my stories and those that 'Favorite' my words. My appreciation goes to Bebop3 for his assistance.

I do not read emails.

And, it will be a while before 'The Garbage Queens' will be ready for posting.

Have a swell day. And some of you? Have a swollen day.