American Tropic Read Free

Joan strokes Luz’s short black hair and sings with a throaty purr, “In the jungle, the mighty jungle, my panther prowls for me.”
    Luz tilts her head back; her worried expression fades as her brown eyes gaze up at Joan.
    Joan’s hands caress Luz’s arched neck. “You want to fool around, panther?”
    “You know I can’t on a workday.”
    Joan leans over; her blond hair cascades around Luz as she whispers, “We could fool around and fool around and fall in love.”
    “We are in love, my darling.”
    Joan’s fingers deftly open the top buttons of Luz’s shirt; her hands slip onto Luz’s exposed skin.
    Luz grips Joan’s wrists, pulling Joan’s hands away. Joan’s jaw tightens; her lips draw into a tight line.
    Luz rebuttons her shirt and gazes with concern around the kitchen. “Why isn’t Nina here? Where’s Nina?”
    “Don’t be such a cop on the job all the time. Nina is fine. She wants to get herself ready for school. She needs to be independent.”
    Luz shoves her chair away from the table and leaves. She walks quickly down a hallway and pushes open a bedroom door. She looks inside.
    Nina sits in her wheelchair before a dresser with a large mirror. Her fourteen-year-old body is frail, her torso shrunken, her head bald from chemotherapy. She turns around to Luz, her large brown eyes still luminous. “Mom, I’m glad you’re here. I need your opinion.”
    “About what, baby?”
    Nina holds out two long wigs, one blond, one brunette. She studies the wigs critically. “Who should I look like today? Marilyn Monroe or Cleopatra?”
    “Show me both wigs so I can judge.”
    Nina puts on the blond wig and purses her lips in a sophisticated pout. “What about Marilyn? Am I as irresistible as her?”
    “Marilyn never looked so good. Maybe it’s a bit too much for school—but you look great.”
    Nina pulls off the blond wig and puts on the brunette. She gives a sassy stare. “Am I as powerful as Cleo?”
    “Yes, you’ve definitely got the Queen Cleo vibe going.”
    “Mom, you can’t be such a pushover and like both wigs. Help me. Which one?”
    Luz steps close to Nina in the wheelchair. She picks up the blond wig and pulls it on over her cropped black hair. She stares at her reflection in the dresser mirror. The light-colored wig contrasts sharply with the darkness of her face. Luz mugs a sultry expression. “Do you think I’m sexy?”
    “Mom, you’re such a goof.”
    Luz leaves the wig on. “Come on, do you think I’m sexy?”
    “No. I think you’re funny.”
    “I think I’m sexy.”
    Nina studies Luz in the blond wig. “Okay, yes, you’re crazy nutzoid sexy!” Nina’s frail body shakes with laughter.
    Luz pulls off the blond wig. “Baby, I’ve got to go to work.”
    “Which wig should I wear, Mom?”
    Luz wraps her arms around Nina and holds her tight, then strokes her smooth bald head. “I want my girl as she already is. Shining more beautiful than Marilyn on the silver screen. Braver than Cleopatra on her war boat.”

    F ar out on the ocean, the recorded beat of salsa music ends inside the pilothouse of Noah’s pirate-radio boat. He stops his dancing with an invisible partner. He sits back down on the worn chair in front of the makeshift broadcasting console.
    Noah speaks rapidly into the microphone. “I still don’t have any calls from my intrepid pilgrims out there. If you don’t want to show me the rage, let’s talk about the Powerboat Championship Race starting from Key West Harbor this morning. Those boats burn enough fuel in one race to fly a jumbo jet across the Atlantic. Hey, let’s not sweat the carbon emissions. Let’s disregard a monstrous guzzle of fossil fuel from the tit of Mother Earth when the scent of blood sport is in the air. Today, Key West’s native-son racer, Dandy Randy, is set to break his own speed record of more than ninety miles an hour. Problem is, Randy went missing after yesterday’s qualifying race. Where’s Randy? Holed up in a poker