Part Ten

Sharki clutched the steering wheel as they slowly made their way down the snowy city road. "This is taking forever. Maybe we should have walked."

"We'll be there shortly." Delaney put her hand on Sharki's thigh. "Esta is okay. You know better than anyone that she can handle anyone."

"I know," the taller woman sighed. "It's just after all these years why are they here?"

Delaney knew the answer to the question, but didn't want to voice her opinion. "We'll find out when we get there."

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Esta leaned against the counter watching her daughter and son in law. She noticed couldn't help but notice that since she last saw them they still look pretty much the same. Just a few gray hairs and some wrinkles showed that some time had passed.

"Can I have a refill?" Clark asked softly.

Esta grabbed the coffeepot and filled up her son in laws cup. "You two gonna give me a hint at all?"

"Maybe we just stopped by to say hi." Susan remarked calmly.

"Sure you did." Esta placed the coffeepot on the table. "Just like I might like to go around wearing a purple thong with Captain crunch on the front."

"Mother please." Susan sat her cup down.

Esta grinned, "my house I can say and do whatever I like."

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After an hour of fighting the streets Sharki and Delaney finally pulled up in front of Esta's house.

"You ready to meet Godzilla and Mothra?" Sharki opened her door.

Delaney couldn't help but laugh. "Now that's an image."

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Esta heard the sound of two car doors closing and hurriedly walked to the front door. She spotted Sharki helping Delaney over a snowdrift. She nearly snorted out a mouth full of coffee when the two almost all most fell down.

She opened the door and yelled out. "Careful you two. I don't want to have to come out there and dig your asses out of three feet of snow."

"Ha ha Grandma," Sharki waved at the older woman in the doorway. When she stepped up the stairs she lowered her voice. "Frick and Frack still here?"

"Unfortunately yes," Esta grabbed the girl's coats. "They're in the kitchen."

"Well, lets get this over with." The tall woman headed down the hallway.

Delaney wrapped her arm around Esta. "How are you doing?"

Esta smiled. "I'm doing okay. Just hope they don't hurt my baby anymore that they already have."

"We will just have to make sure they don't." Delaney guided Esta towards the kitchen.

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Sharki stopped in the kitchen door before she took a deep breath. She could see her parents sitting around the table talking softly. She wished she could hear what they were saying to give her some clue why they suddenly showed up. "Well, I'm here now. What do you want?"

Susan and Clark turned to face their daughter. "Thought I taught you better manners than that."

"What you taught me makes no difference now." Sharki snapped back. "I will ask this one more time. What do you want?"

Delaney and Esta walked in at the moment. Susan spied the young blonde and pointed, "who is that? This is family business and she's not family."

Esta glared at her daughter. "She is more family than you will ever be. So I suggest you shut up and spill it why you are here."

Sharki held out her hand for Delaney to take it. "This is my girlfriend and like Grandma said, she is family." She squeezed the smaller hand that had slipped in hers.

"Fine, we're here to talk to you about some unfortunate circumstances Clark and I have come upon." Susan looked down to the floor then back up to met her daughter's cold eyes. "We're gonna lose everything if we don't pay some guy one hundred and fifty thousand dollars."

"What do you mean? Some guy?" Sharki leaned back against the wall.

"I've been gambling and I lost big." Clark mumbled. "I've tried to quit but I can't."

"So you owe some bookie and if you don't pay what will happen?" Esta questioned as she poured herself some more coffee.

"He'll kill Clark." Susan started to cry. When she reached into her purse to pull out a tissue a brochure dropped to the floor. On it was a picture of a tropical beach.

"What's that?" Sharki asked as she quickly grabbed at the folded paper. "Nice vacation spot." She flipped through the bright colored brochure.

"That was to be our anniversary present to each other, but now it is impossible to go." Susan twisted the kleenex with her fingers. "I know we don't deserve your help. Especially after the way we treated you, but you have to help us."

"So the worms have come up from the ground to grab a piece of the money train." Sharki spat out. "You toss me out without a second thought. You take away my future by making me quit college. Something both of you knew I loved. You didn't care that I had no money. No place to live. No food." She slammed her hand on the table. "You toss me out like I was garbage, but I wasn't garbage. I was your daughter."

"You're right and for that I'm sorry." Clark tried to rest his hand on top of his daughter's but it was quickly pulled away.

"Don't," Sharki brought her hand up to make a fist. "Just don't."

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Delaney watched Sharki pace back and forth in front of her. She could tell that the woman was trying her hardest not to totally lose it. She was unsure what to do to help, but when Sharki stopped to look out the window of the front room she stood up and walked behind the taller woman and wrapped her arms tightly around the trim waist. "I'm here for you."

Sharki lowered her head and let a few tears fall. "I know I shouldn't help them. They may have stopped loving me, but the little girl inside still loves them."

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