Communicate This

Dani needs a cell phone. We spend too much time not at home and too much time apart, for her to not have one. Okay and plus I'm tired of all her friends calling me, for her. Dani's friend Kimani called yesterday morning, to ask if she wanted to go hang out in Chinatown and Little Italy for the day. I was at work, but in between people called Dani at Craig's house to tell her. Craig wasn't working yesterday, so he said she didn't need to mother's help.

Alex didn't want to be left out, and I said she could hang out with me. I was working until 12:30 and then meeting my friends in the city anyway. Alex is kind of cool to hang out with - she's old enough that she doesn't actually need anything from us other than to not be left behind, and young enough that she will do whatever we tell her, because she's so happy to be included at all. She's kind of like a short personal assistant.

The four of us (me, Al, & my two friends, these Russian sisters who do things like get shit-faced and then walk through glass doors and that's not even the biggest thing that happens to them on a Wednesday night) wandered around the Village all afternoon. We met Danielle and Kimani and headed home. Kimani bought Dani a slice of pizza for dinner but Alex hadn't eaten yet, and was sitting on the subway like a ragdoll, all slumped over with no energy. Her eyes were half closed, and when I walked past her to sit down I told her not to fall asleep, or we'd leave her on the train.

Danielle and I were sitting next to each other and Alex was by herself - we could kick her, but she wasn't right next to us, and there were empty seats next to her. An old drunk-ass guy with a beard and a cane was across from Alex, reeking of booze. It was dark, but he had dark sunglasses on anyway. Some drunk-ass guy was talking to him, and at first I thought they were friends, but I don't think they were.

The second drunk-ass guy sat down near Alex - leaving a seat between them. He said something to her I couldn't hear, and she shook her head no. He leaned over towards her, putting his elbow on the seat between them, and said something to her again. She scooted over in her seat away from him, and that's when I started paying attention.

Drunk-ass made a fist, and put it on Alex's leg, and she moved again, and was now half off her seat. Just as I said, "Dude, don't touch her," ZZ Top said, "Hey, leave the kid alone." Drunk-ass looked up at ZZ Top and moved his hand off Alex, and started yelling at her, me, and all of us.

I felt Danielle touching my pocket and when I looked down she had my phone, and already put in 911, with her finger over the Talk button. Drunk-ass gave me the finger, and yelled, "What are you gonna do, bitch? Fuck you!" I glared back at him and grabbed Alex's jacket and pulled her onto my lap.

ZZ Top stood up and held the pole, and then I saw his hand was over the emergency button.

At the next stop, Drunk-ass gave us all a big "FUCK YOU" and stumbled onto the platform. He stood by the side of the train and was yelling at it when we pulled away. I shoved Alex back onto her seat, and ZZ Top motioned to me to come over. When I went to sit next to him to hear him better, he shook my hand and told me not to worry about the other guy, that he was a Vietnam Veteran. Then he kept drunkenly yammering on about how what the other guy did was wrong but Alex is a pretty girl and she should do what she wants in life and fly like an angel despite whatever our mother tells her to do, and how she has pretty hair and his grandmother had long hair down to her ankles and she'd pin it up in a knot and he went on and on.

Look, I read all about Agent Orange. I don't care if you saved a million people in the 60's - that doesn't mean you get to scare girls on trains a few decades later. You just don't.