Gennie rang the buzzer to Ben’s apartment.
“Who is it?” he answered.
“It’s Gennie,” she said to the intercom.
“What are you doing here?”
“I’m having some problems with Page. I was wondering if I could stay the night at your place.”
“Sure, let me unlock the door for you.”
Gennie heard a buzz, then a click. She opened up the door to the apartment building and went inside. She climbed the four flights of stairs to Ben’s apartment and knocked on his door.
“Come on in,” he said, opening the door up.
He took her coat and purse and hung them up on the rack beside the door.
“Want some coffee?”
“Sure,” Gennie replied.
“Our bartender is from Italy and he knows how to make all these fancy coffees. During my lunch break, he showed me how he made a cappuccino. You want to try one?”
“Okay.”
They went into his kitchen where he put a tall, eight-sided coffee pot on the stove, along with a pan with a small amount of milk. When the coffee was ready, he poured in a slight amount of it into two coffee cups, then the foamy hot milk.
“It didn’t come out as good as Alfonzo’s did.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Gennie said. “It looks okay to me.”
He handed her the froth filled coffee cup and sat down across from her at the breakfast bar in the kitchen.
“So what bug is up Page’s ass now, you know, besides cockroaches and lice?”
“She’s mad at me.”
“For what?”
Gennie sighed and took a sip of the coffee. It was strong but good. “Well, she has a crush on Rory Fox, the guy that was with me at the restaurant. I knew she would be upset, but she would have found out anyway, so I figured it was best just to let her know right off the bat that he took me out to dinner. That was not a good idea.”
“What a stupid reason to be mad at someone. Did you tell her that he asked you out?”
“Yes, but she was still angry. She threw her book at me and was screaming at me to get out.”
“Let me tell you something,” Ben said matter-of-factly. “You may not like it, but it’s true. Page Goodman is a space cadet and honestly, you’re better off without her.”
“But she’s my only friend,” Gennie said. “Yeah, she’s weird, but she accepts me for who I am.”
“But she’s still a nutcase, Gen. It’s time you dumped her and went on to better things and people.”
“I feel so guilty, though. She never had any interest in boys until Rory came along and I took him away from her.”
“She had no chance in hell of dating that guy. He seems like a normal decent person and she’s homely and insane. Even if he didn’t ask you out, she would have gotten pissed at you when another guy did. And one more thing, if she was a real friend, she’d be happy for you right now, even if she liked the guy first.”
“I guess you’re right,” Gennie said.
“Don’t dump him just because of Page. Just focus on making yourself happy. If she doesn’t like it, then screw her.”
“Gee, I never thought you would be giving me advice,” Gennie replied. “Well, if Rory asks me out again, I’ll say yes. I like him and I think he likes me. I just hope Page will get over it.”
“Whether she gets over it or not, it’s not your problem.”
“You’re getting so wise in your old age,” Gennie said jokingly. “By the way, where’s the wife?”
“Uh, she’s out with some friends,” Ben replied a little too quickly.
“Oh,” Gennie said, not thinking much of it. “So, are you guys working on making me an aunt?”
Ben had an odd look on his face, as if he was trying to hide something embarrassing.
“We’ve been too busy,” Ben said.
“You? Too busy for that? Come on!”
Ben looked very uncomfortable, like it was something he didn’t want to talk about, so Gennie changed the subject.
“I think I’m going to go to bed,” she said, then yawned. “Where am I sleeping tonight?”
“Well, I bought a bed for the spare bedroom,” Ben said. “It’s nothing fancy, but it does the job.”
“You know me,” Gennie said. “I don’t care as long as it’s comfortable.”
Ben led her into the spare bedroom. The bed had a simple white square headboard with a gray duvet.
“This is great,” Gennie replied. She jumped on the bed. “I might stay here for good after all.”
“Hey, stay as long as you want,” Ben said. “I’m hardly ever home, so I don’t care.”
“I’ll see how it goes. Goodnight, Ben.”
“Goodnight. See you in the morning.”
Chapter 40: October 7, 1967
What They Left Behind Page 39
