Chapter 36
Elijah parked outside the hotel and killed the engine. The building was one of the nicer ones in the 7th District not the kind that people from Tier 1 or Tier 2 cities would look at twice, but clean, well kept. His mother managed the front desk here.
He grabbed the bag from the passenger seat food from the restaurant on 4th, the one she liked and walked through the front doors.
The lobby was quiet, A few guests sat in the chairs by the window, a woman was checking in at the desk.
Stella stood behind the counter, her uniform pressed, her hair pulled back, her smile fixed in place as she handed a key card across the counter.
She looked up when Elijah entered, and for a moment, the professional mask slipped.
She finished with the guest, nodded to the woman at the desk beside her, and walked around the counter to meet him.
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
He held up the bag. "Brought you food. The place on 4th."
She took the bag and led him to the small staff room behind the desk.
The room was cramped, a table in the center, a few chairs, a coffee maker in the corner that had been there longer than Elijah had been alive. She sat down and opened the containers.
"You didn't have to do this," she said.
"I wanted to."
She pulled out the containers rice, stew, plantains and pushed half toward him. "Eat."
"I already ate."
"Eat again."
He sat across from her and took a fork. They ate in silence for a few minutes, the sounds of the hotel filtering through the walls.
"How's work?" he asked.
She shrugged. "New manager starts next week. They're talking about changing the shift schedules. Nothing I can't handle."
"If they cut your hours—"
"Elijah." She set her fork down. "I've been doing this job for years. I can handle a new manager. I don't need you worrying about my hours."
He nodded,
She studied him for a moment, her eyes moving over his face. He waited.
"You look tired," she said.
"I've been working."
"Working where? Kai called those two days you were away and said you were helping him with something. Didn't say what."
Elijah took a bite of rice. "Just some work. Helping him fix up a building."
"In the 9th District?"
He looked up. "How did you know that?"
"Amy went with you, there remember, and She mentioned it." Stella's voice was calm, but her eyes were sharp. "What are you doing in the 9th District, Elijah?"
"Helping Kai with his project. That's all."
She watched him for a long moment. Then she picked up her fork again. "Be careful there, That place isn't like the 7th."
"I know."
They ate the rest of the meal without talking. When the containers were empty, she gathered them and put them back in the bag. Elijah checked his phone. 10:30.
"I have to go," he said.
She nodded.
She walked him to the door. At the threshold, she stopped him, her hand on his arm.
"Come home tonight," she said. "Not too late."
He kissed her forehead. "I will."
He walked through the lobby and out to his car. The night had settled in, the streetlights glowing orange against the dark.
He got in and drove toward the 9th District.
The park was small, tucked between two apartment buildings on the 7th District.
A few benches, a patch of grass, a single tree that had been there longer than anyone could remember.
Kai sat on the bench closest to the street, his legs stretched out, his hands in his jacket pockets.
Mai sat beside him, her legs tucked under her, a half eaten sandwich in her hands.
Rena sat on the other side, a cup of coffee between her palms, her eyes on the street.
They had been here for an hour. Kai had brought food from the market, sandwiches and fruit and the sweet pastries Mai liked.
They had eaten in the afternoon light, watching the children play in the grass, the parents sitting on benches, the old men walking their dogs.
Mai finished her sandwich and wiped her hands on a napkin. "This is good. Where did you get it?"
"The place on 5th, the one with the yellow awning."
She nodded, her eyes on the children running across the grass. She was wearing a sweater that was too big for her one of his, he realized, that she had taken from his apartment.
Her hair was loose, falling past her shoulders, and in the afternoon light, the purple was almost black. Her face was calm.
Rena sat quietly beside her. She was wearing a dress that was too thin for the weather, her arms bare, her hair pulled back in a loose bun. She was sitting in the park, drinking coffee, watching her daughter eat.
Kai watched them both.
"I have to go soon," he said.
Mai turned to him. "Where?"
"Meeting Elijah, At the bar."
She nodded slowly. "The gang stuff."
"Yeah."
She was quiet for a moment. Then she said, "I want to help."
Kai blinked. "What?"
"I want to help. With the gang, Whatever you're building." Her voice was steady, her eyes on his. "I'm not a fighter. I know that, but I can do things. I can manage the bar, keep the books, handle the money side. I'm not useless."
Kai looked at Rena. His aunt's face was unreadable, her eyes on her daughter.
"Mai," he said, "it's dangerous. The 9th District, the gangs, the people we're going to be dealing with—"
"I know." She didn't look away. "I was in that van, I know what's out there. And I'm not going to sit in your apartment for the rest of my life waiting for someone to come for me again."
The words hung in the air. Kai looked at Rena again. She met his eyes and nodded, just once.
"Your mother?" he said.
Mai turned to Rena. "I talked to her already. She agrees."
Kai looked at his aunt. "You're okay with this?"
Rena set her coffee down. Her hands were steady. "I'm not okay with any of this. I'm not okay with my husband being dead. I'm not okay with my daughter being taken. I'm not okay with sitting in an apartment while the people who did this walk free."
She looked at him, and there was something in her eyes that he had never seen before. Something hard. "But I'm not going to let fear decide what we do anymore. Your uncle wouldn't have wanted that."
Kai sat back on the bench. He thought about Elijah, about the conversation they had today, about the future they were trying to build.
"You'd be managing the bar," he said. "The books, the money, the day-to-day. Nothing dangerous. Not at first."
Mai nodded. "I can do that."
"And you," he said, looking at Rena. "The financial side. The accounts, the payments, the people we need to pay off."
Rena nodded slowly. "I can do that."
Kai looked at both of them. "I'll talk to Elijah tonight. I think he'll agree."
Mai smiled. It was small, Rena reached over and took her daughter's hand.
Kai stood up. "I have to go. I'll be back late, don't wait up."
Mai stood too. "Be careful."
"I'm always careful."
She snorted. "You're never careful."
He smiled and turned to Rena. She was still sitting on the bench, her coffee in her hands. He leaned down and kissed her cheek.
"I'll see you tomorrow," he said.
She nodded. "Come home safe."
He walked toward the street, his hands in his pockets, the evening settling around him.
Rena watched him go until he disappeared around the corner. Then she turned to her daughter.
Mai was looking at the children on the grass again, her face soft.
"Are you okay?" Rena asked.
Mai was quiet for a moment. Then she said, "I was thinking about Dad. How he used to bring us to the park. You and me and Kai, He would push us on the swings, remember?"
Rena remembered. Her husband's hands on the chains, pushing higher, higher, until Mai was laughing so hard she could barely breathe.
Kai pretending he was too old for swings but getting on anyway. The four of them, in this similar park.
"I remember," she said.
Mai leaned her head against her mother's shoulder. "I'm glad we're here, Today and Together."
Rena put her arm around her daughter. The park was emptying now, the families gathering their things, the children running for the gates.
The light was fading, the streetlights coming on, the day turning to evening.
"I'm glad too," Rena said.
They sat there for a long time, watching the night settle over the park.
The sandwiches were finished, the coffee was cold, the pastries were gone.
But they were there, together, alive another day. And for now, that was enough.