Maria's Confession

            by James Barnett

 

As Maria walked out of church she pulled her shawl tighter around her, protection from the chilly fall evenings. She sighed as she looked across the quickly darkening street to where Eduardo waited for her in his car. She could tell that he had been there sometime from the pile of menthols outside the drivers window. She hated his smoking and yet no matter how many times she told him, he wouldn't quit. But then again he never really listened to any of the things that she wanted him to do.  Eduardo remained unconcerned and aloof to any of her suggestions or requests, caring only about himself and his feelings. Never staying in bed after they made love, and never surprising her with anything except a desire for more food. 

 

She thought about this as she walked across the darkened street to the idling Oldsmobile parked in a handicapped spot; she notes he had parked in the only puddle on the street, and in such a fashion that she would be forced to get wet. She understood that this was not a healthy relationship nor a healthy partnership for that matter. It was he who had all the control, and he who made all of the decisions, and yet it was she who took all the risk.  On the last job they pulled together all Eduardo had done was simply plan out the when she should break in and where she should do it from, and had then sat back and waited for her to bring the painting to him. He had not even bothered to be the getaway driver himself, but had hired some smelly sallow faced man who kept looking at her as if she were a just a piece of meat that needed to be tenderized. She had been able to do nothing when he stopped the car and moved his 250 pound bulk into the backseat next to her telling her it was time for her to pay him. Asking him what he meant, he simply began to unbuckle his dirty grease stained Levis and pull her head towards him. He raped her. Not once, but until he could no longer stand up, crushing the fight from within her with his huge body. He then threw her out of the car, and told her it was a pleasure to do business with her. He told her Eduardo had said it would be fine for him to take what he wanted from her in lieu of cash. Until then she had thought that he actually loved her, but she understood then that she was nothing more than a tool, good only it became to rusty to work or obsolete.

 

She had returned to their house silent, dress torn apart and unable to speak. When Eduardo saw her, he was unable to meet her eyes. Her face was a picture of complete shock that she could have been betrayed like that, almost as if a parent had told a child for years that Santa Clause was coming, and that he was going to give presents, building up the anticipation for months, and at the last minute telling the child that Santa wasn't coming because he hated him. All he said was that she needed a shower, and said nothing of the bruises, or the liquid  crusted to her legs. She had become cold that night, uncaring. She resolved then that she would kill him, no matter how long she had to wait, she would kill him and make sure he suffered like she had suffered. She pretended to still be in love with him, allowing him what he wanted from her, removing herself entirely when she was with him thinking only of the day when she could lash back at him. But until that day she would remain his little angel, never allowing him to suspect=anything was amiss.

 

As Eduardo glanced out of the window he saw Maria coming towards him. He felt his own desire building as he looked at the tall hourglass figure with long black hair. He was amused by the fact that desire was the only thing that kept this partnership together. He had no desire for a relationship of substance with anybody, wanting only the physical aspect of it. While she wanted the friendship and the cuddling and having someone to hold her late at night. We both use each other to achieve a specific goal he thought. As she came to the passengers side of the door he graciously leaned over and pushed the door open for her, throwing his last cigarette out the window, and replacing it with a few breath mints. “Hola Maria, how was confession?” He never understood why but for some reason she felt she always needed to confess right before leaving for a new job. This wouldn't have aggravated him so much were it not for the fact that she felt the need to confess in the same church in the same town that she grew up in in Madrid. This meant coming here at least three times a year, which was three time too often for Eduardo.

“It was good, my soul is clean once again, so now I can go get it dirty again”. She winked at him as she settled into her seat for the drive to the airport.

“Yes well, thats the beauty of Catholicism I guess. You always have a way out, and can almost never be sent to hell; as long as you give money, and give up your young boys.” He pulled out onto the street chuckling to himself, as he wound his way down the small road and onto one of the highways towards the airport.

“Hey, watch what your talking about! Don't make fun of my God, simply because you have none; and don't believe in anything aside from this.” She lightly hit him in the groin, causing him to swerve a little bit and sent a string of curses from his mouth, most of which seemed to be directed at her mother. As the two of them reached the airport Eduardo pulled onto a small road that led away from the commercial airlines and out towards the smaller airport that housed all of the private planes and helicopters.

“Hey Maria, you do the preflight check and I'll load the equipment on board. Sound good?”

“Yeah sure, as long as you're the one doing all of the heavy lifting then it's fine with me.” as she climbed on board the spacious aircraft she moved to the pilots seat and began flicking switches and warming up the engines. This was the one time she felt truly in control of herself around him. She was the one who could fly and not him, he needed her for this, this was one of the main reasons that Eduardo had become involved with her. She had something that he needed from her, and that was something that made her feel very good. Soon the two of them were winging their way from Madrid and began their long flight to California.

 

The lights of the Bay shone through the hazy evening as she steered the aircraft onto the runway. The pulled into a small hangar where they found the car they had ordered already waiting for them..  She got up and stretched, after twelve hours in the captains seat of a plane it was nice to be able to stretch ones knees. She got out of the plane and saw Eduardo loading bulky duffel bags into the trunk of the car.

They made their way from the airport and into Berkeley where they had they key to a friends house. This was usually when Maria began to get excited about the job. Eduardo would never tell her what they were stealing until the night before the job was to happen, just enough time for her to familiarize herself with what it looked like and how the best way to get it out was. As she looked over the pictures she was given by Eduardo she was a bit confused. “Thats it?” she asked with a puzzled look on her face.

“Thats it.” Eduardo repeated.

“But what is it? And why would someone want to pay us 50 million for it. It's just a cup.”

“Well you're obviously not the best Catholic in the world, and I'm surprised you don't know what it is offhand, but maybe it's better this way. Just be very gentle with it and make sure you get it.”

“Whatever, you and this whole job seem off, but I'm too tired to care.” She announced this as a small child would trying to pout but not actually mad enough to.

 

After having settled into their borrowed home and having gone over a few last minute details Maria went to bed. She did not immediately fall asleep, instead going over the plan once again in her head, making sure she knew every passageway, and every exit until she could navigate the halls blindfolded. One hundred and eighty three steps from the cup to first door. Twenty eight steps from the first door to the second. She went on like this until sleep overtook her. But not before she developed a plan of her own.

 The next morning after breakfast  Maria approached Eduardo,

“Eduardo, baby, I'm sorry but I can't be the one to break into the lab tonight. I slipped in the bathroom today and I twisted my wrist. I can hardly put any weight on it as it is. Let alone support myself from a rope with it.” She smiled sweetly at him, with the most innocent and concerned look she could muster.

“You slipped in the shower?” He looked at her incredulously. “You're a fucking gymnast, and you slipped in the shower?!” Incredulity turned to rage as he realized that it would be he who would have to risk his neck this time and not the other way around. He no longer felt in control, he lost his poise as he ran a hand through his oily hair, and sank into an armchair with a groan. She leaned over the back of the chair, her hair falling into his face as she rubbed his chest and sweetly whispered in his ear how hot he made her when he was taking risks, and stealing on his own. Seizing this rare opportunity to have Maria so close and so willing he quickly got up and moved towards her. She ran away giggling, “Not until after the job big boy.” As he cursed her he moved away and began collecting his tools with a speed that would have amazed the most dedicated of house cleaners.

 

Approaching the lab the two of them saw few people. It was already past midnight, and the drive up past the stadium and the botanical gardens was uneventful. Maria watched as Eduardo crept up to the back door of the Labs, and swiftly picked the lock. It was something she had always admired about him, he could open anything he wanted in almost no time at all. She had had to practice for years to get as good as he was at lock picking. Seems almost a shame to waste that talent, but such is life she thought. As she drove away she picked up her cellphone and called 911. 

 

As Eduardo emerged from the Lab he looked across the trees to where he thought Maria was supposed to be waiting for him. The job had gone very smoothly and he had gotten the cup almost as quickly as Maria would have, though he had become somewhat disoriented and had trouble on the way out. Still, he had manged to bypass the alarm system and retrieve the cup in under ten minutes. He now headed towards the car he saw waiting for him in the shadows. As he approached the car, he was suddenly blinded by lights and voices began shouting at him to remain still and put his hands on his head. He ran without knowing where he was going or how he was going to get out of this.  All of a sudden he heard Maria's voice calling him. “Eduardo, Mi, amor, this way, quickly!” He ran blindly towards the voice. She kept calling him, but he seemed to be getting no closer to her.

“Where are you!” He screamed in frustration as he almost hit a tree. 

            “I'm over the fence, I have a car waiting.” As she said this a fence seemed to materialize out of thin air. He hopped the barbed wire fence throwing his heavy jacket over the wire, and rolling onto the other side. As soon as he was on the other side, Maria emerged from behind a eucalyptus with a wicked smile on her face.

 

 It was at this point that he realized nobody was chasing him anymore. The night was completely still, the only sound coming from the crunching of leaves underfoot. Cup in hand he ventured forth taking stock of his surroundings. Suddenly a black shape ran past him almost knocking him down. Leaving a smell of decaying meat and feces. More shapes were around him now as he heard a mad cackle  followed by a prolonged howl. It was then he began to see twin sets of diamonds circling him in the pitch black. Heavy breathing and trotting feet following his every movement. More sounds from behind caused Eduardo to quickly turn and spin, losing his balance on the wet leaves beneath him. He ran then, madly, as heard crashing feet and cries that made his blood run cold. He hit the other side of the enclosure and realized he had nowhere to run.

“Oh Jesus help me, protect me from these demons. Protect me your servant and deliver me........” His voice trailed off as he was tackled into a water trough. He no longer could talk as the hyenas ripped out his vocal cords, and then his intestines. His hand holding the cup sank into the water, and but was then jerked out as another hyena tore into his bicep. Water splashed onto his face as his eyes closed.

 

“Too bad Eduardo, really I am. But you had that coming you bastard.” Maria was loading the plane for the flight back to Spain as she listened to the news. News of an attempted robbery at the Berkeley Labs, and how the culprit had run headlong into the hyena experiment in the hills. She flew then, back to Spain and then on the highway to her little village. Free at last of years of abuse, years of having to put up with him sweating on top of her and having to pretend like she enjoyed it, Years of not being able to live her own life.

 

 One year later she knelt at the same altar she always had and lit a candle for him. She then stood up hearing the door open, and then snuffed out the candle. It seemed a fitting ending for him, a fitting end for the type of man he was. She remembered him, his oily hair, sly attitude, small ladylike hands, and that perfect bone structure, the one that had won her heart so long ago, the one she had now disfigured forever. But what she remembered most of all was his smell. He always smelled like he had come from a vat of cologne. It was a pungent odor, one that assaulted the nostrils, and made ones lips pucker. As she thought this her nostrils twitched and she sneezed.

“Even with both feet in the grave he can still make sneeze.” She shook her head and began to leave when she was stopped by the sudden appearance of a man sitting in one of the pews. His face was pink and puffy, scar tissue. It seemed he only had half his face, and the other half was oozing a yellow pus, that gave off an odor of rotting flesh. He stood up moved towards her, a straight razor in one hand, a dripping wooden cup in the other.

“Only one Maria, only one.”