THE FIRE WITHIN
Chapter Six
Jenny stared at Amsterdam.
Tonight was a dance, and they were all to meet there. Toward nightfall, Christa
had left with a few girls she had met, and Amsterdam, Tommy, and Johnny had
left together, dressed in their best.
Girls lined up. A man met all the
women. He looked for the prettiest one. He chose Jenny. Christa was not
surprised, either. The man gave her a mirror, lined up men, and told them to
look into the mirror. Each one stared into it. Last time, she had chosen Amsterdam.
She wondered if she should choose him again. When he looked into the mirror, he
mesmerized her. Christa saw the look. Amsterdam went on his way before she
could say, "That one."
He was amazed. She had chosen him
yet again.
She looked at Christa, but didn’t
look at her, really, just through her. When they began to dance, Christa looked
for Tommy.
"Care to dance?" she
asked.
"I would love to." He
took her hand and held her close. She felt comfortable in his arms. She always
had. She closed her eyes, not looking at anyone, just hearing the music.
"Christa," Tommy whispered.
"Yes, Tommy?" She
looked up at him.
"I think Amsterdam suspects
something." He could feel his eyes burning into him.
"Why do you say that?"
she asked.
"Because he keeps staring over
here." He parted from her slightly.
"I highly doubt that he is.
There’s no doubt that he and Jenny will do it tonight anyway," she told
him.
"Doesn’t that bother
you?" he asked.
"Why should it? We are not
married." Christa felt like she was being betrayed, and Jenny and
Amsterdam had not even done anything yet.
"Yeah, but you have been
together since you got here," Tommy pointed out.
"I don’t own him, Tommy.
Let’s get out of here." She took his hand and led him outside, not wanting
to hear about it anymore.
They walked together and wound up
near the shore.
"It’s so beautiful, isn’t
it?" She looked at him in the pale moonlight.
"Yes, it is." He looked
at her. She was glowing.
"Oh, Tommy, let’s sleep here
tonight." She lay her head on his shoulder.
"Together?" he asked.
"Yes, together." She
lay in his arms and closed her eyes.
It started to get cold, so he
picked her up and took her home.
*****
He tried to open the door, but he
had to kick it open.
Amsterdam was laying on the bed
and heard someone come in. He got up.
"Where did you go?" he
asked, getting up from the bed so Tommy could put Christa down.
"Christa got jealous of you
and Jenny, so we walked to the shore, and she fell asleep in my arms."
"When's she going to learn
that I don't want her?" he asked Tommy.
"I suppose when you stop
ogling her!" Tommy retorted.
"Ogling? I do nothing of the
sort." Amsterdam hadn’t realized it.
"Yes, you do. Look,
Amsterdam, if you want Christa, just tell her. Don't lead her on. If not, let
her go," Tommy said quietly.
"I can't. I love her."
He meant every word.
"You really love her?"
Tommy asked.
"I do." Amsterdam loved
Christa more than he realized.
"Good. Christa deserves it.
She lived such a hard life. When she was thirteen, she worked in a pub just to
get enough money to come here. She worked so hard." Tommy covered her and
she turned over, still asleep.
"You know, she's going to
have my baby," Amsterdam told him.
"You’re certain?" Tommy
was surprised. She had told him nothing about a child.
"Yeah. She told me earlier
today. She wants me to marry her." Amsterdam filled in the details.
"Are ya?" Tommy looked
at him, wondering if he was worthy of Christa’s heart.
"I want to," Amsterdam
began to say.
"But what?" Tommy
replied.
"But nothing. Nothing is
stopping me. I am just scared, I guess." He was afraid for her.
"Everyone is. Amsterdam, it
is not my place to say this, but I will. God help her, but if Bill finds out
she's with child, he might kill her," Tommy warned him.
"I know. That's why you’re
going to say it’s yours." Amsterdam was willing to give her up, no matter
how much he cared for her.
"Mine? How? She already
knows it’s yours." Tommy stared at him, wondering what he had in mind.
"I know, but I want you to
be with her, just until this is over." Amsterdam knew the road ahead was a
bumpy one, and he wanted to protect her in every way he could.
"All right. You’ve got
yourself a deal." Tommy shook hands with Amsterdam.
"Oh, and one more thing. Try
to get her to sleep with you in front of Bill," Amsterdam told him before
he left.
"All right." Tommy
wondered if Christa would ever love him like she loved Amsterdam.
"I am gonna go now. Night,
Tommy." Amsterdam closed the door and left.
"Night, Amsterdam,"
Tommy said, and lay by her side.