All She Can Take

F I F T Y - T W O

This time when Sid walked into the chicken joint, Ahmed saw her and immediately went to the back to get Ahsan. Sid found it funny that Ahmed wanted no parts of her. It was like he saw a black churning cloud swirling above her head. Sid couldn't blame him. The uncertainty of someone living on the edge and testing their luck had to be something that other people could sense. We were creatures whose instincts were to survive, right? Sid wasn't sure whether she was trying to survive the present but she was certainly hoping to kill her past. Ahmed and Ahsan, he'd only ever seen her when she was carrying a heavy load but today she hoped to bring something to him that would lift the burden from all of them and free him for the rest of his life. She'd gotten a taste of what untangling webs could do and now she wanted to tackle the biggest one of them all.

"Hey, Sid." Even Ahsan's voice was laced with trepidation. She saw his eyes skim the leather backpack she wore. The same one that she wore when she came to drop off dirty money for them to launder. Not today, Sid thought. Today she was bringing a new beginning. If only they'd take it.

"Hi, Ahsan."

"There's a drop today?"

"Nah. I was hoping we could talk." Sid looked around the empty restaurant, and out through the thick clouded plexiglass to the street. Someone would be walking in any minute. The place stayed busy because no matter how much the neighborhood changed, everyone loved fresh fried chicken.

"Yeah. For sure." Ahsan called out to the back and his father appeared instantly. They exchanged a few quick words in Arabic before he took Ahsan's place at the register. He kept a keen eye on Sid as she stepped through the door Ahsan unlocked and follow him behind the counter and down a short hallway before they reached a plain wooden door. It was quiet back there. She could only hear the sound of her breathing and the jingling of Ahsan's keys as he tried to find the right one to unlock the door.

Once inside he motioned for Sid to sit on a beige Ikea couch that was shoved into one corner and covered with vibrant fabrics. It reminded Sidney of the beautiful folded, draped, and tied dresses women adorned at huge middle eastern weddings. The office was neat and tidy, much like both Ahsan and Ahmed. A few family photos hung in a straight line on the wall. Two women's soft brown faces smiled down at her while father and son flanked then proudly. Sid sat and felt something rise up through her and straighten her back a little. This is why she was doing all this. To restore families. Those already broken and those still in the grip of control.

Ahsan pulled a rolling chair from its place in front of the desk on the other wall and sat directly across from her. He leaned in and place his elbows, one on each knee, and gave her his undivided attention. She swallowed and started.

"You said you remembered me coming here a lot when we were younger. I liked this spot. It was great because if you sit at a table, from here you can see for blocks. Every corner. Every person has to pass here wherever they are going. It was great because I was looking for someone." Sid's hands were clasped in her lap and she wasn't looking at Ahsan as much as she was looking past him. Some void right over his shoulder where she could see herself. Angry—so angry— and falling apart and watching every face who passed on the sidewalk like her life depended on it. It broke her heart all over again to think of that girl.

"Just a couple of blocks from here, my father was pushed in front of a train and I saw the whole thing. Including the person who did it. So, I sat here every day after that hoping to see that man again and I didn't see him until a few weeks ago in front of my building. Kru. He killed my dad. Over a sour business deal. Because he couldn't control my father's dreams. The way he's controlling your father." Ahsan pulled back until he was upright and his spine was curving over the back of the chair. Like he was trying to put as much distance between him and Sidney's words as possible. But she pushed on.