Ablaze (2 page)

"Mac and cheese doesn't count."

"Ha! You love my mac and cheese."

"What can I say? I love cheese."

"Change the channel or I will make you,
my sweet bridesmaid, wear a horrid bright orange dress with a matching big
ribbon in your hair for my wedding."

"Fine." Finally, Bianca took pity on her and changed the
channel to NBC. "What about this
come-on-dumb-predators-and-show-your-face-on-television show?"

"Better." Before taking off her
gown, she looked at her reflection in the mirror one more time. "Do you
think I picked the perfect gown?" She smoothed the feathery soft material,
loving the feel of it against her skin.

"Yes! For the millionth time."

"I'm sure Willy will love this."

"If he loves you, he will marry you even when you're wearing
a potato sack."

"Whatever. Who's the stupid predator on
this show now?"

"Don't know. We'll see."

Angel remained standing in front of the
mirror, imagining herself walking down the aisle with three hundred guests
watching. The image that she projected made her feel queasy. Oh, dear. She'd
try to remember not to eat before the wedding. That way if she got sick, she
wouldn't throw up a bucket full of…ewww.

Her attention was diverted from the mirror
when the host of
To Catch a Predator
explained how they staged and lured
men to meet the decoy under the pretense of sexual contact. Men from all
walks-of-life had been caught in this show, he explained. Four different videos
of men going in through the open garage door appeared on the television screen
simultaneously. Two men carried a plastic bag, one with a shopping bag and the
other a bouquet of red roses.

"Oh, my God. Look at these maniacs
,
" Bi said. "Why in the world would they go online to
meet a young fourteen year old?"

"Like you said they are maniacs."

"Look at that one. Why does he look so
icky to me?"

"Because you know that he's got an icky
thing in mind. He kind of look disgusting."

"What idiots. I'm sure they'll find women
in singles bar to rub their itch, why do this? And how hard is it to pay a
hooker, man?"

"Bi, they want a virginal fourteen year old. Not hookers.
These men are sick. Creepers. Demons. They should be shot."

"God! They're evil predators."

"I know."

The video on the screen focused on a tall man with wavy dark brown
hair, wearing jeans and a blue long-sleeved shirt. The man walked tentatively
as if unsure whether he should go into the open garage or bolt. He looked to
his left and then to his right.

Angel stared. Had she met this man before?

"Check this one out. He looked hot in
those jeans and shopped at Victoria's Secret before he came. I wonder what's in
the bag. Edible panties?" Bianca laughed. "He must be desperate to
get laid. Dang, he's not bad looking and I bet he could get laid anytime he
wants and…is that…" Bianca moved closer to the television.

"Bi, I can't see."

"No way in hell. Noooo!" Bianca
dropped her Dibs container on the floor and then turned the TV off.

"What on earth? Pick up your Dibs. That's
horrible. And why did you turn it off? I want to know who that is and what's in
the bag."

"We should just talk about the--" Bianca
waved her hand in the air-- "weather or your new sculpture." Bianca's
words tumbled out of her mouth.

What the heck? Bianca suddenly looked pale.
She was chewing her lips and wringing her hands. "Bi, are you okay?"

"Of
course I'm okay. Why wouldn't I be?"

Something wasn't right, but Angel couldn't
tell what it was. "Who did you see? Turn the TV back on." Her mind
pointed to a direction she didn't want it go. Her heart, however, pumped as if
she already knew the answer to her question

"A creeper and we don't know him. You
shouldn't watch this. It's a crappy show. Should we check the glove. Maybe--"

"Bi…"

"Really, Angel. I wouldn't advise you
to watch this show."

"Why? Turn the damn TV on!" Angel
gripped the front of her gown to keep it from falling. Who did Bianca see?

"Angel…"

"Now, Bi."

Shaking her head, Bianca turned the TV on
without taking her gaze off Angel.

The camera focused on the man on the screen
who looked so much like her fiancé Willy. The swagger, the shirt and the way he
combed his long bangs back told her it was Willy. But what in the wide world was
he doing on a freaking sex-maniac-busting television show!

"I told you it's not a good idea to
watch this show."

"Bi, tell me that's not who I think he
is."

"Angel, I think he was lost. Didn't you say Willy is
directionally impaired? Yeah, that's it." Bianca looked at the television
again and then groaned. "Oh, my God. Please don't go in that house, dummy.
Crap, he's going inside the decoy's house!"

Angel could clearly see Willy's face, but
she refused to believe it was him. There were hundreds if not thousands of men
who walked with a lofty proud gait as if trying to impress someone and with a
face of an angel. The man on television could possibly be someone else. Feeling
as if her head would explode any minute, Angel stood beside Bianca
,
ignoring the cold melting chocolate-covered
Dibs ice cream beneath her feet. "Bi, please tell me that's not him."

"I
don't see
why that man could be Willy. He's an engineer and handsome and
―
"

"This man from Raleigh, North Carolina
who uses a fake name as
onehandlover
is a successful engineer and is
soon to be married. He came all the way from North Carolina to California just
to meet our decoy who is pretending to be a fourteen-year-old girl. This
onehandlover
is desperate, I say," said the host.

Oh, my God.
Angel couldn't believe what she just heard. There must
be a mistake.

Seconds after, the camera focused on Willy
again. This time, there was no denying it. Willy, who smiled big at the young
decoy wearing only a robe as she ushered him in the kitchen, was a predator.

"Uhm, there are hundreds of engineers from Raleigh. That
couldn't be Willy, Angel."

Blood began to pound in Angel's temples
,
giving her an instant headache. "Why?"
she whispered. "What have you done, Willy?" She stared at the face of
the man she loved and lived with for six months. They had made plans for their
future. Where they were going to live, how many children they'd have. Who was
that man who pledged his love on one knee? Definitely not this man.

The show continued.

"Do you mind waiting here for a sec. I
just have to put on my clothes," the decoy told Willy.

"Why bother, darling. I find you
attractive in that robe," Willy replied.

The decoy laughed. "I like you already.
Got fresh lemonade. Just help yourself. Be right back."

The decoy left the kitchen and the camera
focused on Willy who poured himself a glass of lemonade. He looked happy and,
even through the television screen, Angel could see anticipation in his eyes.
He wouldn't stop licking his lips either as if he was already salivating for
something that he expected to happen next--sex with a minor.

Anger, disappointment, betrayal and
humiliation mixed and churned inside her stomach as bile began to rise in her
throat. Angel covered her mouth. She bit her lip until it throbbed like her
wild pulse. She stared at Willy sitting on a kitchen stool, drinking lemonade until
his image began to blur. Angel blinked her tears away. A nightmare. This was
nothing but a nightmare. Or even a joke. Angel closed her eyes.

When I open my eyes, Willy will not be on
the screen but a cake chef.
Angel's
heart sank when she opened her eyes. Willy, tapping his fingers on the table,
was still there. Angel's sob escaped her mouth.

Leave, Willy. Run. Now!

Suddenly, a thought occurred to her. "Bi,
call Willy on his cell. Tell him to run."

"He's inside. Police are outside
waiting for him now. He's trapped."

"Oh, God. Come on, Willy. Get up and
go."

As if Willy heard her, he stood up. He must
have sensed that something was wrong. He grabbed the Victoria's Secret bag and
looked ready to leave. Too late. The show's host came out of his hiding. Cameramen
and two burly officers followed. Willy dropped the bag, his hands up in the
air. With his head shaking, he said, "Wait, I think I came to the wrong
house." He made an attempt to leave, but the show's host stopped him.

Angel's heart pounded hard and fast against
her chest as she listened to the conversation.

"Sit down, please."

"No. I have to go. This is a mistake." Willy looked
around as if trying to find a way out of his situation.

Despite the nauseating feeling that held her
immobile, Angel listened to the voice of a man who whispered sweet nothings to
her on many occasions. He didn't sound like a confident man anymore, but a
little scared kid caught doing something bad.

"A damn big mistake, Willy. You idiot!"
Bianca jabbed her finger on the television screen repeatedly.

Angel ignored her friend's rant. Bianca was doing what she wanted
to do except she didn't have the energy to do it.

The show's host motioned for Willy to sit down. To Angel's
surprise, Willy began crying and mumbled something about he had never done
anything like talking to a minor online, that he was engaged to be married and
an honest man. In between sobs, he swore that he chatted with the fourteen-year-old
only one time and wouldn't do it again. However, the transcript of Willy and
the decoy's online conversation showed the whole world that Willy was lying.

"You wrote to the decoy," the host began, "that you
will make her come multiple times if she goes all the way with you. Is that,
right?"

"I, I don't remember." Willy shook his head at
everybody. "I swear."

"Well, we have the transcript for people who are forgetful
like you. For three days now, you've been trying to convince our decoy to have
sex with you. You even sent her a picture of your penis. Then, when she finally
said yes, you flew in here to meet her.

Angel didn't want to hear what was written on the transcript, but
she couldn't make herself turn the television off. Her vision blurred. Her
heart ached. How could this man humiliate himself, humiliate her?

Willy, to her mortification, wasn't done bruising her name. When
the host asked the stupid question about what made him come to a fourteen-year-old
girl's house, Willy said, "I came here because I'll be married soon, which
means I would be stuck with a spoiled, nagging cold fish wife for the rest of
my life. A wife who doesn't even know when to stop talking. I just want to have
a bit of a fun."

Bianca grabbed the small decorative pillow and threw it at the
television. "I'm going to kill him if he survives in jail, Angel. I swear,
I will."

Angel ignored Bianca and the cellphone that
had been ringing constantly. W
iping the tears off
her cheeks, she threw her other glove on the television "I'm a spoiled
brat? Damn you! I hate you, Willy!"

Bianca went to her wrapping her slender arms
around Angel's neck. "Hey, you're not spoiled. A very opinionated person,
yes, but not a nagger at all. He's a dimwitted maniac who can't think of a
better excuse to get out of that, that hellhole. What a dick."

What Angel had in mind was worse than the
word dick. She felt her knees buckle.

"Angel!"

Bianca tried to support her weight. Instead,
both of them ended up on the floor.

 "Oh, God. How long had Willie been
doing this?" Angel wiped her dripping nose angrily with her. "He'd
been gone on a trip almost every weekend. Was this the trip he'd been telling me
about? To visit girls in their houses when they were alone? Goddamn him!"

"I bet. That's why he's got the guilty
look on his face all the time. I knew there's a reason why I dislike now. Now I
know what. My tarot cards didn't lie."

"I should have listened to you, Bi."

"Now,
now. Don't blame yourself."

Dear God. Anyone who thought about touching
a young girl was worse than Satan. And her fiancé must have thought about it a
hundred times. She let this monster touch her. Had William imagined she was a
young girl when he was with her? Jesus. She felt ice cold feeling spread
through her stomach. Angel rubbed her arm, feeling dirty. Her bedroom suddenly
felt confining, her unbuttoned gown too heavy. Angel began having a hard time
breathing. She flattened her hand on her stomach. This wasn't happening. No,
not to her. That man crying inside the trailer where the police officers took
him for investigation wasn't her fiancé.