Pamucklian for Chocolate

Chapter Twelve

231 twelve J osiah and Ariel walked—separately—back to the creek bed, where Bart and Bree were asleep in the sand, Bree’s head on Bart’s chest. It had begun, just lightly, to rain, and Bree, with sleep in her eyes, declared that they should just head back to the apartment, and Bart, with sleep in his eyes, asked her, “What about your Dad? You said he would look there,” and Bree answered that she had been stoned when she had said that and that Johnson Davis wouldn’t have any way of finding where Ariel lived and it would be fine, none of which Josiah listened to as he stared at Bree lying beside Bart in the sand. When Bree and Bart and Josiah and Ariel arrived back at Ariel ’s apartment complex, Johnson Davis was waiting for them, the headlights of Bart’s car landing on his figure standing in the middle of the driveway, directly in front of the stairs to Ariel’s apartment , his clothes and hair visibly soaked as he stared straight back into the headlights and lifted his hand in a recognizable signal for the vehicle to stop. “Oh, shit,” Bree said. “What should I do?” Bart said. “Stop,” Bree said. 232 • parnucklian for chocolate Once the car was completely stopped, Johnson Davis walked to the driver-side door. Bart rolled down the window and said, “Good evening, sir.” Johnson Davis leveled his head with the now open window and stared—one by one—into the faces of Bree and Ariel and Josiah, each of whom simply stared back. Johnson Davis then looked at Bart and said, “Get out of the car.” “Pardon me, sir?” Bart said. “Get out of the car,” Johnson Davis said again. “It’s raining,” Bart said. “Exactly,” Johnson Davis said. “Get out.” When Bart stepped out of the car and stood in the rain in front of Johnson Davis, Johnson Davis said, “All of you.” “Dad,” Bree said from the passenger seat. “All of you,” Johnson Davis said again. “Out.” Bree and Ariel and Josiah all got out of the car and stood in the rain. “Dad,” Bree said again. “No Dads,” Johnson Davis said. “Inside.” “Excuse me, sir?” Bart said. “Inside,” Johnson Davis said again. “Inside where?” Bree said. “Inside the apartment,” Johnson Davis said. “What apartment?” Bree said. “What apartment, sir?” Bart said. “Ariel’s Goddamn apartment,” Johnson Davis said. “Ariel doesn’t live here,” Bree said. “I don’t live here,” Ariel said. “Look,” Johnson Davis said, “I have been standing here in the Goddamn rain for two hours and I know Goddamn well that Ariel lives here in that Goddamn apartment right there and if someone doesn’t let me inside of it to have a discussion in out of this Goddamn rain about what happened tonight I’m going to call the police for grand theft auto and contributing to delinquency and statutory rape and whatever the hell else and then I’m going to have them search that Goddamn apartment and we know Goddamn well what they’re going to find.” b.h. james • 233 Once Bree and Bart and Josiah and Ariel and Johnson Davis were all inside Ariel’s apartment, Bart began to try to explain to Johnson Davis what was going on and what his involvement in it consisted of, but Johnson Davis silenced Bart by pointing his finger into Bart’s face, the tip of his finger only an inch from Bart’s nose, and Johnson Davis held the finger there as he turned to Bree and Josiah and said that they were coming with him, right now, and then turned to Ariel and said, “Never. Never again. No contact. Nothing,” and then turned back to Bree and said, “She does not exist,” and then continued, his face changing from one of anger to one of confused disappointment, to ask Bree what in the hell was going on, what in the hell, and then turned to Josiah and stared at him for several seconds with that same look of confused disappointment before turning back to Bart and lowering his finger as his face turned back to one of anger and Johnson Davis told Bart to wait for him, right there in that apartment, that they had some items they needed to discuss, and not to leave that apartment until he returned if he had any...