JUSTO LEYES

I looked at the time on my cell: 1:05 a.m. Who was knocking at this time in the morning? I hoped it wasn't Janie down the hall. I had neither the desire nor the dinero.

"Who is it?" I asked before unlocking the door and lifting the chain.

"Justo!"

He was standing disheveled in the hall. He gave me the impression that he had dressed hurriedly and hadn't looked at himself in the mirror.

"What's up?"

"Edna threw me out of the house. I'm down the hall in 39. May I come in? I need to catch my breath."

"Sure."

Justo must have followed my lead. I had been at the Cameron Motel for a month to scrutinize downtown in order to write a novel about decadence.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Edna and I haven't been talking for weeks except to snarl at each other. I was lying in the spare bedroom when she turned on the light and demanded $1000 or I could leave."

"Why did she want the money?"

"Beto qualified for nationals in Miami. The gymnastic club is covering the expenses for the athletes, but the parents are responsible for their own expenses. I told her I wasn't going to give her the money and she stomped down the hall."

"Did she expect you to give her the money?"

"She hasn't been fucking me for a variety of reasons, but the other night she relented and spread her legs if I promised to pay for the trip."

"Horny, you agreed to her demand?"

"I had no other choice since my dick was thinking for itself and the money wasn't coming out of its pocket, but once a man comes, his perspective radically changes. I told myself it would be a cold day in hell before I gave that bitch a goddamn cent."

I had a half of bottle of wine sitting on the bed stand. I poured a glass for each of us. It would help me sleep when Justo departed and I had a full day tomorrow.

"I've been living a nightmare. I have to beg for pussy and she says I can only screw her as long as I don't touch her. She never utters a kind word and she always has a frown on her face. When I try to hug her, she pushes me away."

"But what brought the moment to its crisis that convinced you to join me in the belly of the beast where the pussy is cheap, but the final cost can be expensive?"

"She came back into the room and told me that I bored her sexually and that among the many others even her ex had been better than me. 'You fuckin' puta!' I called her and she started throwing anything she could get her hands around at me. 'I'm going to call the police if you don't leave now,' she shouted as she started pounding my face and chest with her fists. I don't need an incident jeopardizing my position with the D.A.'s office, so here I am.

"It may not be too pretty downtown, but it's peaceful," I counseled my buddy. "Women do us a favor when they throw us out. Otherwise, we would never leave and we would be condemned to living in misery for the rest of our lives. Finish that wine and get a good night's sleep. I know it may take you a while to realize that you married a worthless cunt, but one morning you'll awake and you'll realize that you've been living in a prison and you're finally free."

We shared an abrazo and he left for his new quarters. He would return to her, but he was embarking on the beginning of the end