A Kiss and Tale
Part 30.2

By Scott Stoffel,

(Reprinted from DB Touch Of Everything November 7, 2025.)

Note: This is part of “The Death-Blind Derby” series.

Just then, Jimmy Marshall’s Southern drawl interrupted the conversation. “Hey, y’all! Congrats on the win. I watched it on TV. The green car was on the screen an awful lot.”

“They love the psychos,” Raf joked.

Lady rolled with it, “Aw, I thought it was ‘cause of my looks.”

“Did they show much of the Heartbreaker on television?” Marcel asked the mechanic. It figured, since Maria and Bidziil were the only drivers he had a stake in.

“Not so much of the white car. Just near the end, when she done took off like a rocket.”

The talk about Los Angeles made Bob think of Mandy. “Can I borrow your phone, Cliff? I want to call Mandy.”

“Sure, I’ve got her number. Here, it’s ringing.”

Bob held the phone and waited for her to answer. After a dozen rings, he gave it back to Cliff. “She’s not answering, probably mad at me again.”

“About what, the thing with Bloody?” asked Lady.

“Yeah.”

“She may have just gone to bed, Bob,” Marcel told him. “She and her mother generally don’t stay up late. Try her again in the morning.”

“I will.” Bob tried to keep his tone and face neutral. But he had a bad feeling that Mandy was upset again.

“Stuff happens out there, Bobby,” Lady waved it away. “She’ll get over it.” Obviously, she’d seen through his mask.

“All’s fair in love and the Death Derby, amigo,” Raf added.

The others were in good moods, especially Lady. But Bob felt an ache in the pit of his stomach. Why did Mandy have to become jealous so easily? It wasn’t like he was cheating on her. This relationship kept getting more complicated!

“The trouble with bein’ a star in this game is that camera-clickers are always watchin’ you. They don’t let you have any (expletive) privacy.”

“That’s for sure,” Maria muttered. “Look over there. That guy’s been taking pictures of us.”

Lady clicked her tongue reproachfully. “I just spent, like, an hour posin’ for pics! They wanted me flex, stand with their kids, flash big smiles…. Give it a (expletive) rest, pal!”

“You’re certainly a fan-favorite,” Marcel commented. “I was surprised that Maria didn’t get as much attention.”

“She’s not psycho enough,” Lady suggested.

“Should I scream and slash people?” Maria’s mood had deteriorated to the point where she sounded frustrated.

“Yeah, they’d love that.”

“That might be extreme,” Dan interjected. “Let’s limit the violence to car-bashing.”

“That’s the thing: the fans wanna see violence. If you wanna be a star in this (expletive) sport, you gotta have the rage, as Bobby calls it.”

“I disagree,” Marcel argued. “Maria has talent, and she’s an attractive woman. I can see her becoming a big star.”

“Then you need new glasses,” Lady clashed with him. “Oh, she’s got looks. The camera-clickers love it when she wears her Bloodshedda dress. But that’s not how you become a star. Women In this game gotta prove their just as tough as the men. Look at Violet. She’s no beauty queen. But she’s the toughest woman on the planet, and everybody knows it. The soft and pretty girls are just the cheerleaders, somethin’ to look at.”

“Well, we’ll just have to agree to disagree on that,” Marcel stated firmly. “I’m behind Maria 100%.”

Lady blew air through her teeth.

She was being bluntly honest, with no concern for niceness. Bob mostly agreed, though he wouldn’t have said those things in front of Maria. The scathing words made him want to say something conciliatory.

“It’s not easy to earn respect in this sport,” he said, more to Maria than anyone else. “It took me years.”

“Yeah, you bein’ blind,” Lady picked up the train of thought. “I didn’t know what to think when I met you last year. But when I saw the rage you’ve got inside, I knew you were the real thing.”

“When I first met you, I said some rude things, and you gave me a look—yeah, just like that,” Maria said. “You’re never going to forgive and forget, are you?”

“Forgive, yes. Forget, no.”

“Why not?”

Bob smiled. “Because it fuels the rage.”

Lady cracked up.

Maria didn’t seem to understand. “Being mad at me helps you win?”

“Not being mad at you,” Bob tried to explain. “Remembering things like that helps stoke the fire. It’s a fight out there on the track, a real fight. I’ve got to be in the mood to fight.”

“That’s the rage?”

“Yeah. Burning feelings that drive the killer instinct you need to win in combative sports.”

“Si,” Raf agreed. “The fires keep us hot on the track, and the Coronas cool us off afterwards.”

Everyone laughed.

The tension finally eased. Peaceable conversation ensued for a while.

When the bartender announced that the bar would be closing in 30 minutes, Maria touched Bob’s arm. “Can I talk to you privately for a few minutes?”

The request caught him off-guard. During the weeks since she’d joined the team, they’d never engaged in a private talk. And it was very late. He was tired but didn’t want to disappoint her. “Uh, sure.” He rose. “See you all in the morning. Where do you want to go?”

“I don’t know…. We can go upstairs.”

“Mind if I hold your arm?”

She hesitated for just a beat. “Okay, that’s fine.”

He took her elbow and followed her through the maze of tables.

“You’re goin’ with the wrong guy, honeybuns,” a man called from one of the tables.

Maria ignored him, and Bob left it alone. He still didn’t know where they were going or what she wanted to talk about.

When they were alone in an elevator, she said, “Let’s go to my room. I want to change.”

He already knew she had a room to herself. So did Lady. The two women weren’t compatible. He shared a room with Cliff to save money. After opening the door, she guided him to the small table.

“You can sit here. I’ll be with you in just a minute.” He heard her open a drawer and then the closet. “Can you see anything at all?”

“Zero. I’ve been totally blind since birth.”

He heard a zipper and the sticky sound of tight leather being pulled on or off. Then there was a pause before this continued. Next, he heard water running in the bathroom.

It astounded him that she’d undressed in front of him. That was rude, really, even if he was blind. He thought about telling her so but knew he wouldn’t.

When she came out of the bathroom five minutes later, she went to the dresser for a moment and then sat across the table from him. He clearly detected the scent of her fragrance. Was she toying with him? If so, why?

“Sorry to keep you waiting. I had to get out of that suit. it’s like wearing a python!”

“Destiny of Danger,” he said for lack of anything else to say.

“It’s lotion, not the perfume. Makes my skin feel better after wearing that thing for hours. I have their bodywash, too.”

She was definitely toying with him, he decided. “So, what did you want to talk about?”

“Why are you mad?”

“I’m not. I’m just asking.”

“Well, your rage is showing. Lady isn’t the only one that can see it.”

“Maybe I’m just tired. But I’m here, if you want to talk.”

“Okay…. I just wanted you to know that I was very impressed with how you handled things out there tonight. It was a great experience for me. I learned a lot. And I really want to be on this team. I know we can be successful together.”

“I’m sure we’ll do more Quad-Rods. Like Dan said, it all depends on who’s available.”

“I know, but Lady doesn’t want me on the Quad-Rod team. Rafael likes me, but he doesn’t really take me seriously. But I did what you said. I helped us win. And I know I can get better. I just need a fair chance.”

“Don’t worry about Lady. It’s not her call who’s on the roster. She’d rather do a championship than a Quad-Rod, if she had a choice. You’ll get opportunities.”

She sighed. “She’s the big deal on the team. Dan knows it. I think she has a lot of influence on him. If she pushes him hard enough, he might dump me.”

“Dan’s not going to dump you. Just relax. Tonight was a good start.”

“But they all think it was because of you, not me.”

“Well… you’re the new kid on the block. The rest of us are used to working together. You’ll get there. Marcel really wants you to be on the team.”

Maria groomed. “Please don’t talk about him.”

“Is he bothering you that much?”

She was quiet for a moment. “He’s more interested in my looks than anything else. I really don’t want to get involved with that man. He bought into my contract, but he acts like he bought me. I’m not for sale.”

“Don’t be.” Bob wasn’t sure what else to say on that subject. Marcel was also Mandy’s father, which made things even more complicated.

“Lady and ‘Kondi don’t respect me. Rafael just wants my body. You’re the only one who treats me like I’m a professional driver on the team.”

“I had to earn their respect, too. It’s not easy. You can do it, but it will take time and hard work. There is no shortcut.”

She laughed softly. “There you go again! You’re always analyzing things…. Tell me honestly, Bob: do you want me on the team?”

He grimaced but tried to hide it. On the one hand, she wasn’t as good a driver as the rest of them. On the other, she had followed instructions and had the potential to get better. This private talk with her had the effect of making her more of a real person to him. He began to think of her as a work-in-progress that he played a role in developing.

“Yeah, I do. I think you can be a legit contributor to the team. It’s going to be tough. Lady’s going to keep pounding you in the gym. I’m going to give you lots of homework. But if you keep at it, you’ll get better. You can be a star. That’s my honest opinion.”

He heard a muffled sound. At first, he thought she was trying to stifle laughter. Then he realized she was crying.

Then she did laugh weakly. “Heh, now I’m being a baby…. None of the others would say something like that about me.”

“Why do you want to be a Death Derby driver?”

“Why do you?”

“Okay, fair question. I’m the blind guy that drives. Crazy, right? I do it because I love the sport. And then there’s the rage. No matter what I do, I’m always having to prove myself. Sometimes, I just want to go out there and take a more direct approach.”

“By wrecking people that can see?”

“People that don’t think I’m good enough to compete with them. People that take advantage of me because I’m blind. People that hurt me before, really bad, and never took responsibility for it, like a hit-and-run driver that killed my guide dog.” Just thinking about Rageous after the hit and feeling so helpless brought the anger to the surface.

“You control it well,” she said quietly. “I have rage, too. It’s not about dogs. It’s about… it’s about Bloodshedda.”

“Your nickname?”

“The reason I chose it. It’s why I can’t stand Marcel. He reminds me of Ramone.”

He waited for her to continue. They sat in silence for over a minute.

“I really don’t like talking about this… but I made you curious. Can you keep this to yourself? It’s very personal.”

“I don’t blab other people’s secrets.”

“Well, not all of it’s a secret. There’s a police record…. In high school, I liked sports. I was a pretty good runner. I played soccer, but I quit after breaking my ankle. After high school, I didn’t really have a plan. But my dad did. He introduced me to the guy that owned the company he worked for. That’s Ramone. He was divorced and twice my age, but he had money. He liked me and took me to dinner at a ritzy club. We dated a few times, and then Ramone proposed. I wasn’t ready for that, but Dad wanted me to accept. He thought he might get promoted. My mom liked the idea, too.”

She paused to get a drink of water. “Anyway, Ramone took me to his place after dinner one night. He insisted that I make a decision. I told him I wasn’t ready for marriage. He got upset. He forced himself on me and told me I was ready.”

The tremor in her voice conveyed some of the past fright. Then it changed to anger.

“We were in his living room. All the household staff just disappeared. He had a bunch of swords and knives on the wall. When he let me go, I grabbed one and slashed him with it. I don’t know how many times, but there was blood everywhere. Somebody called the police. They took him to the hospital. He survived. I got arrested but was later released. They charged him with date rape, and the assault charges against me were dropped.”

Another pause. “And you know what? My dad threw me out of the house. He ended up getting fired. My parents still don’t talk to me.”

“That nightmare led you to the Death Derby?”

“Sort of. I tried working as a model and waitress to support myself. It was hard. I thought maybe I could get rich in the Death Derby. I got a car from a guy I was dating. I kind of liked the action. I imagined Ramone was in the other cars, and I wanted to smash him so bad!”

“I understand. When someone hurts you that badly, the rage never totally goes away. And I understand why you don’t like Marcel.”

She heaved a sigh. “I didn’t know he was like that until he came to Las Vegas. But I like your team. I want to be here. This is my big chance to be somebody.”

“You’re getting that chance. Just keep working hard and don’t overreact to Lady’s criticism. She was abused before, too.”

“I know all about her father and the thug she lived with for a while. I feel like we should get along better than we do.”

“Maybe you will. Give it some time. She and Mukondi clashed at first.”

“Okay, I will…. Thanks for having this talk with me. I appreciate it.”

“No problem, Wing. That’s what Leaders are for.” Bob stood.

He felt the breeze from Maria’s movement, as she headed for the door. He heard it open and then close quickly. Confused, he reached out to see if she had gone through the door. The next thing he knew, he was holding her. The deep kiss made his head spin. She only wore a nighty. His mind definitely wasn’t on smashing cars anymore. She stoked a very different kind of fire.

“Well, goodnight, Leader,” she said after pulling away and opening the door.

Bob left but part of him didn’t want to.

About the author…

Scott Stoffel is DeafBlind and a retired Systems Engineer. He is the creator of the Tactile Carnival, author of numerous books (mostly by S. M. Stoffel) and editor of DB Touch Of Everything free ezine available via email or Facebook.

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