Hi, my name is Joni. My husband and I, along with our two kids, have lived in a trailer park near the intersection of Hwy 61 and Hwy 49 in Clarksdale, Ms. for a little over eight months. It’s not by choice, but the economy has dictated that it be by necessity. My husband, Joe, lost his job working as an electrician in a Louisiana oil refinery about a year ago, and we have moved to find work ever since. He is now doing oil changes and selling tires at the local Wal-Mart. I work as a waitress at a local truck stop. We hope to save enough to afford a small house soon, though. I hate living in such close quarters with some of these people.
A couple months ago, I had a run in with two of my neighbors…a mother and daughter disaster in waiting named Debra and Kelly. The encounter led to a fistfight with the eighteen year old Kelly. She managed to break her hand on my hard head. Her mother came looking for revenge later that night. Debra, Kelly’s mother, beat the crap out of me, but I managed to win the fight after I hit her in her hard head with a brick. We both had to go to the hospital, me to a private room, and Debra to the county detention ward because she was on probation when she assaulted me. Two months later, Debra is in prison, but Kelly is still around. The strange thing is that Kelly and I have kind of begun a weird friendship. Her mother is a domineering type who totally dominated Kelly and her siblings. Now that Debra is gone for a few years, Kelly has had to grow up. She’s actually not a bad kid now that she has nothing to rebel against. I still wouldn’t trust her to baby-sit my children, but she is fun to have a glass of tea with.
The night I was in the hospital a deputy sheriff informed me that Debra has a twin sister named Donna. He said that Donna had told everyone in the trailer park that she would kill me for sending her sister to jail. I’ve looked over my shoulder for the last two months but I have yet to see anyone who resembles Debra coming for me. One day, while watching a movie on TNT with Kelly, I asked her about Donna. “Oh, she lives here in the trailer park in that big white double wide in back with the black trim. That’s hers. I hardly ever see her. Her and mom didn’t get along.”
Now this is odd. “If they didn’t get along, why would Donna want revenge?” I inquired.
“Well, you see….Aunt Donna is a little different. Her and mom look alike, but that’s about it. Aunt Donna don’t smoke, use drugs, nor drink. But she’s mean. She loves to beat people up. She’s the manager at that strip joint out on 49 in Clarksdale. The one the bikers like. She has an image to keep up. How would it look if she let an outsider come in and whip her sister, and she lets her get away with it? No, she’ll have to do something.”
A little perplexed, I ask, “Why hasn’t she done anything yet?”
“She’s just waiting for the right moment. But don’t worry. She won’t kill you. That was just talk. She’ll make you wish you were dead.”
“Do you get along with her?”
“Not really. But she’s taken care of me since mom went away. I tried to get a job, but she wouldn’t let me.”
“Why not?”
“She didn’t want me dancing’ on no poles. Said it wasn’t ‘lady-like.’”
“She works in a strip club, though….”
“No, she manages one. She’s a businesswoman. She keeps them girls in line. No drug dealing and no blowjobs under the tables. If they cross her, she kicks their asses.”
“You tried to get a job in a strip club?”
“Yep, she kicked my ass and jammed my wadded up application in my mouth.”
“Really? She sounds nice.” I say rolling my eyes.
”Oh, she’s lovely. Remember that black eye I had a few weeks ago? A door didn’t hit me like I told you. I got it for applying in her club.”
I told Kelly that I don’t ever remember seeing Donna. She said that Donna looks just like Debra except she is healthy and doesn’t look like a crack whore. She even told me what kind of car Donna drives, but I don’t remember seeing it. That may be because Donna works at night, and I usually don’t go out late. A few nights later, I virtually forgot about our conversation.
Early one morning, I was returning home after walking my kids to the school bus stop. Kelly greeted me as I walked onto my porch and announced it was “visiting day at the pen.” She was on her way to drop off some cigarette money to dear ole’ mom. I wished her well and went inside to clean. I was off work that particular day, and I had washing to do. I changed into a pair of cutoff blue jean shorts and a red tank top and soon I lost myself in my housework for an hour, or so, when I heard a knock on the door. I looked out the window as I walked to the door. I noticed a small red convertible in the driveway. I thought it was most likely someone selling Avon, insurance, or drugs. Oh well, I opened the door and came face to face with a beautiful raven haired woman of about thirty five. I know I’ve never seen her before, but she looks vaguely familiar. She greets me with a warm smile and says, “Hi! I live in the neighborhood and I just wanted to drop by and introduce myself. You must be Joni! I’ve heard quite a bit about you.”
Any apprehension I had about this woman went out the window almost immediately. She had such a friendly smile and charming demeanor that she couldn’t possibly be a threat. Both Debra and Kelly were natural blondes. Debra is in her mid-forties. There is no way this could be her twin sister. This woman is easily in her early to mid thirties. There is nothing to be alarmed about. Plus, she’s not exactly dressed for a fight. Not in white shorts, a red button-up blouse and sandals. I relaxed a bit and asked her to come in for a glass of tea.
“You have a lovely home,” the woman said as she crossed the threshold into our trailer, “Much nicer than most of the others. You obviously take pride in appearances.”
“Yes. I like to keep things clean,” I reply with a blush.
“Indeed. How are your children adapting to the area?”
“They are doing wonderful. Much better than Joe and me. We’ve had our ups and downs.”
“I heard about some unpleasantness you had a few months back. Is everything okay with that?”
Of course she knows about that! Everyone in this burg knows about it. “As far as I’m concerned, it’s over. I wish it had never happened. I’m actually friends with the teenager now.”
“Really? I hear she can be quite a handful.” The woman says with a smile.
“Yes, yes she can,” I reply with a laugh, “But she can be sweet when she wants to be.”
We chat for a few more minutes, and then I remember that I didn’t catch the woman’s name when we first met. Just as I start to apologize for being so rude, the phone rings. I sigh and excuse myself with an apology.
“Hello?” I say into the cordless phone and realize it’s Kelly on the other line. “Oh, hi Kelly. What’s up?”
“Not much, just wanted to tell you my Aunt Donna’s out and about. She has a new car, so you better be careful.”
“Oh really? What is it?”
“It’s a small red convertible. She must have got it yesterday because I saw her driving her old car a couple days ago. It looked like she dyed her hair again, though. I don’t know why. I like her hair. It’s blonde like mine, but it looks like she dyed it black….”
I heard Kelly still talking, but I understood nothing after the part about the red convertible. Just as it dawned on me who was standing in my living room, the phone was gently taken away from me and hung up.
Now I’m completely shocked, and I’m a little scared. I turn and face the woman standing in my house and for the first time, I take a good look at her. She seemed familiar to me because she does, in fact, look just like Debra and Kelly….except she far more beautiful than either. She’s the same height as Debra (around 5’6”) but she’s heavier. It’s obvious she likes to take care of herself. That’s why she looks ten years younger.
“I don’t think I introduced myself when I first arrived. My name is Donna. It’s very nice to finally meet you, Joni.”
I am absolutely speechless! I let a woman who has declared she is going to kill me into my house. Hell, I welcomed her with open arms!
“I…I….didn’t think you and Debra got along…..” I stammer.
“Oh Hun, we hate each other. But I’ve got to keep up appearances. If I don’t do something about you then I’ll lose face with the people who matter.”
“The people who matter?”
“Not anyone you should be concerned with. They aren’t in the trailer park. But you managed to shut down one of the most productive dealers in this area. Some powerful people are pretty angry with you.”
What the hell is this crazy woman going on about? Dealers? “You….you….mean drugs?”
“Of course I mean drugs. She only peddled her own ass to get drugs for herself. She’s not in jail for assaulting you. She’s in because she had five grams of meth on her when the sheriff got here.”
“Oh my God! How is that my fault?!!! She started it!”
“Well, you’re probably right. But business is business. And right now I’m being paid to take the cost of five grams of meth from you. You can either pay me what it’s worth or I can find other ways to make you pay.”
“I…I don’t have any money. We live here out of necessity. If we had extra money, we wouldn’t be here.”
This was true. I don’t know how much five grams of meth costs, but I couldn’t come up with the money for a pack of cigarettes right now. I’m really starting to get scared.
“Well, then. I guess I’ll just have to take it out in trade then,” Donna says with a evil smile.
Her alarming smile sends shivers racing down my spine and I say, “Wha…What does that mean?”
She never stops smiling as she says, “Well, Hun. It means this.” She drives her fist so deep into my stomach that I’m pretty sure she touched my spine.
Pain shoots through my lower torso and I fear I may pee on myself, but luckily, I control myself. I double over and drop to my knees. I can see Donna step back and slip her sandals off her perfectly pedicured feet. Fortunately for me, she isn’t wearing cowboy boots like her sister had on when we fought. Unfortunately for me, she still kicks hard.
Her first kick hits me in the side like a hammer. Her second lands square in the middle of my back as I roll onto my stomach for protection. I feel her hands clasp deep in my blonde hair and I’m roughly pulled to my feet.
Now I’ve never claimed to be a fighter, but I could usually hold my own. I probably lost more than I won, but I never gave up. I’m not planning on giving up now. As a matter of fact, I’m pretty pissed off because this bitch is in my house! As soon as I’m on my feet facing my opponent, I drive the heel of my barefoot down on top of hers. She quickly releases my hair and stumbles backwards howling in pain.
Donna has a pretty big advantage over me in size and weight. She is at least four inches taller than me and I only weigh around 115. She has be at least, 20 lbs heavier, and she’s solid. I have to press whatever advantages I can, or she will annihilate me! As she stumbles away from me, I move to her left and hit her as hard as I can in the face. Unfortunately, as hard as I can isn’t quite hard enough. The blow addles her but she launches one of her own that hits me in the chest, knocking the air from my lungs. I fall back on my butt, and she is on me in an instant.
Once again, she wraps her hands deep in my hair and yanks my head forward into her onrushing knee. The impact hits me on the forehead, but I’m immediately thankful the blow didn’t break my nose. My mother had hers broken one time in a play fight with my brother, and she looked like a linebacker the rest of her life. That’s a fate I wouldn’t wish on anyone.
Donna releases one hand and starts punching me in the face. Once again I fear for my pert little nose. Although I’m still foggy from the blow from her knee, I start punching wildly. Apparently one of those blows lands hard, because she grunts and releases my hair. She backs away clutching her own nose.
I take a moment to regain my senses, and just as I prepare to attack, Donna raises her head and looks at me. She still has her hand clutched to her face and blood is streaming from her nose between her fingers. With an evil look that chills me to the bone, she says, “You are a feisty one, aren’t you. I see now how you beat Kelly and Debra. But you’re going to pay dearly for this, Hun.”
At that moment, I decide that discretion is the better part of valor. I stagger to my feet and rush towards the front door screaming for help. I get the door open, but I see no one out front. Just as I run onto my redwood deck, a football tackle so well done, “Bear” Bryant would have been proud, hits me from behind.
We fall onto the porch, roll down the steps and into the yard in a jumble of hair, clothing, dirt and flailing limbs. I manage to get my knee between Donna’s legs and I drive my knee into her privates. This buys me just enough time to stagger to my feet and try again to flee, but a hand grabs my ankle and I fall back to the ground with a ‘thud.’
Donna tries to drag me toward her, but I kick her in the shoulder with my free foot. She relaxes her grip and I again try to squirt away. But this time she tackles me from behind again and manages to get all of her weight onto my back. I feel her straddle me as I lay face down in the dirt. Now I’m in trouble, I think to myself.
My hair is violently yanked from behind and my exposed face starts taking punches and slaps from her free hand. I scream and yell for help, but it seems as if time has stopped and Donna and I are the only people in the trailer park. Her blows mercilessly rain down on my exposed face, and I feel myself fading with each blow. In a last ditch effort to avoid being beaten unconscious, I try to twist my body and flail away with my free hand. Donna tries to pin my arm with her knee, but before she can, I luckily land a glancing blow to her swelling nose. She releases my hair and falls away in another shower of blood and screaming curses.
Now, I’m hurt. And I’m hurt pretty badly. One of my earrings has been torn from my ear and one eye is swollen almost shut. I’m pretty sure I have at least one broken rib and a couple broken fingers from rolling off the porch. Donna isn’t faring much better, but I have to remember she’s a brawler. She’s used to taking punishment. Each time I’ve tried to escape, it hasn’t worked. She may be trying to sucker me into fleeing again.
I stand up and turn as if to run. Donna was indeed playing a little game of possum. She lunges forward to stop me again, but I have stopped by this point and as she comes off the ground, she runs face first into my knee. The impact is so great that I’m knocked onto my butt. Donna’s head snaps back and she crumples to the ground seemingly unconscious. But I’m not taking any chances. I stagger to my feet and drive the heel of my foot into her chin. Her head snaps back and the back of it strikes the ground with a solid ‘thunk.’
I straighten up just as the sheriff’s department arrives (late, as usual). An ambulance is called for both of us and I get another trip to the hospital. Just before the ambulance closes its doors, I see Kelly run up yelling, “She’s my aunt!” To my surprise, she comes to my ambulance and asks if I’m okay. I ask her how Donna is, and she replies, “I don’t give a damn about her. You’re more like family to me than she ever was.” The deputies allow her to ride to the hospital with her.
After my broken fingers were set and my other wounds attended to, a deputy came by for my statement. I ask her if I’m going to jail, and she says no. But Donna certainly is. When the officers inventoried her car, they found ten grams of meth. Ignorance must run in some families.
A few days after my encounter with Donna, Kelly and I were sitting on my front porch swing. We chatted as the sun went down, and for the first time, I really felt I had a friend in this dreary place. We certainly got off on the wrong foot, but we have found a kinship born out of that initial conflict. I even got a little teary-eyed when Kelly hugged me and told me that I was more of a mother to her than Debra has ever been.
Author's Note: Thanks again to my inspiration for this story,
justine_cat. I got the underscore in this time....don't beat me up!
I hope everyone enjoys reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it!
Jonica
xoxo
