Ginger Fox Part 2

“No, don’t worry about it. I’m just taking care of a few things and then I have to pick up a package from Roy.” She hangs up the phone, smiling at me.
“Last night, after being shamelessly replaced by someone we know who it is, but I won’t throw it in his face that he’s ugly,” I laugh, shrugging my shoulders in embarrassment, “I was thinking about something while watching my son sleep beside me.”
She looks at Jon, who is fiddling with his phone and lifting his headphones. Baby turns back to me, her long lashes fluttering slowly.
“I’m going to invite Jon to move with me to Venice.” My heart doesn’t just race; it takes off, running wild as I smile.
“Oh my God! Are you going to tell him the truth?” Baby quickly covers my mouth, shaking her head negatively, checking if Jon is still distracted at the end of the pier. She releases my mouth, crossing her arms over her chest, staring blankly at the floor. “How are you going to invite him to live with you if you’re not going to tell him?”
“I was thinking of not saying anything yet, you know. Let Jon get used to me…”
“Are you going to lie? Is that what you want to do?” I look at her, knowing this is a terrible idea. “You’re going to bring him to live with you and continue being Aunt Baby. How do you plan to hide a penis for the rest of your life?”
“Oh! What the hell, Gim! I’m going to tell him eventually…” No, she isn’t. Baby is lying both to herself and to me. It’s not just fear of Jon rejecting her for having distanced herself and lied; I just don’t understand why she doesn’t tell me the truth. She can trust me; I would never harm her.
“Lies always get discovered, Baby, that’s a fact. It might take time, but they come back. Nothing built on lies is solid.” I love Jon and want them both to be happy together, with the truth. “Look at that idiot Tom, only God knows how long he was deceiving me. He thought I wouldn’t find out, but I did.” Baby looks away from me, lowering her glasses to hide her irises, her face turning red as she resumes stamping her foot on the ground.
She looks cornered, and I feel awful for making her feel this way; I don’t want to hurt her. It’s her choice, and if it’s going to give Jon a healthy life, even if it’s a dumb idea, it’s a valid dumb idea.
“I don’t like lying, I don’t like lies because they don’t bring anything good. Maybe that’s why I avoid calling my mom because if I talk to her, I’ll have to tell the truth. But I want you both to be happy and will support any decision you make.” Baby turns to me, looking at me and taking a step forward. Her fingers rise, smoothing my face.
“Gim, sometimes lying is a necessary evil to avoid hurting the people we love.” I smooth her hand, smiling at her with affection.
“I know and understand why you prefer to lie to Jon, even though I don’t think it’s right. But I understand.”
“Gim, it’s not just Jon… But damn it!” Baby cuts off what she was going to say. She looks above my head and growls in anger.
“What is it?” I turn immediately, searching for what is making her so upset.
“That devil of a man is still on the island!” I don’t need to look far. Across the street, Dexter is coming out of a store holding a disposable cup of juice. “He shouldn’t even be here! Jonathan wants to rip that second-rate detective’s artery out at the first chance he gets.”
“God, Baby! The man is just having a juice; it’s not the end of the world.” Baby gasps, pulling in air through her lungs and crushing her fingers at her sides as the detective raises his hand, waving at her in provocation.
“Son of a bitch! He’s following us!” Baby already passes me, shoving me aside. “I’ll rip his artery out myself, with my own teeth!”
“Oh, shit! Baby, come back…” I yell at her, waving my hand in the air, watching her take determined steps, her heel cracking loudly on the ground with each stride.
I become nervous, snapping my fingers, and quickly turn to call Jon before Baby does something. But I jump back in shock when I see the boy an inch away from me, with his hands in his pockets, staring at me in silence.
“God, Jon! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?” I rub my fingers on my chest, which is pounding rapidly.
He lowers his eyes, shrugging his shoulders, looking embarrassed, and shakes his head negatively.

“Aunt Baby left angry; I want to know what happened.” I forget about my scare, remembering Baby’s craziness.
She’s already arguing with Dexter, and just by the way her hands are moving in quick gestures, it’s clear that it’s a heated discussion.
“Oh my God, Baby!” I squeeze my fingers at my sides, unsure whether to go over there or stay with Jon. I don’t know what that man might say.
“He looks like a keychain next to Auntie,” Jon whispers, laughing, standing beside me.
Dexter, standing close to the sultry blonde, looks like a flea, his face at the height of her breasts, which rise and fall as she breathes nervously while arguing with him. Now that I look closely, Dexter isn’t even responding to Baby; his eyes remain glued to her white cleavage that almost spills out of her dress.
“What a creep!” I whisper, imagining Baby having a fit when I tell her about this.
I cross my arms, watching the scene more attentively. Dexter isn’t an unattractive man; on the contrary, he has a rugged look with his dark beard and broad shoulders, hidden under his jacket. He must be around thirty-eight or thirty-nine, maybe even younger. The beard gives him a manly appearance, even though he’s only a bit taller than me. I imagine Dexter having to stand on a stool to give the sultry blonde a big kiss, silencing her. I snap out of my daydream when I see her walking away from him. The creep still has his eyes fixed on Baby’s rear end squeezed into the red dress.
“Let’s go before I kill that ridiculous man!” She tosses her hair back, stopping in front of me.
Jon laughs, following her, who seems like a runaway tractor heading to the car. I turn back to Dexter, just to make sure of what I saw, and he keeps his gaze fixed on Baby, not looking away for a second.
“GINGER!” Her angry shout startles me and makes me look at her scowling face. “Get your ass in the car!”
I run over, laughing, still in disbelief at what I had seen. I need to tell her that the sleazy detective was checking her out with such boldness.