by Edwin Dasso
What would her response be when she learned he’d been screwing his dead event planner for months, and before Cindy, his secretary, a woman older than Loretta was? And what if Paul came forward? Cindy was dead; it was an accident, his employee Paul trying to retrieve the video from her. The senseless death of a young, vibrant woman, those would be the words used to describe her and more: a lovely, devoted girl, taken advantage of by her aging boss. Realizing he wouldn’t be able to face the embarrassment, he leaned to the side, fumbling under the passenger seat of his car for a small gun safe he kept there. He got it out and unlocked it with a key from his car key ring and, without giving it more thought except for the mess it would make in his rented Mercedes, put the gun up to his head and fired.
31
“I’m not prepared for Christmas morning,” Jill said, handing Mark a cup of coffee. They were working on their second cups, both in sweatpants, covered with hand-crocheted afghans that her grandmother had made when Jill was a child.
“You’re doing fine,” Mark replied. “What else do we need?”
“There’s nothing to eat here,” she said. “And I’m starving.”
“Do you want to go to my place? I have food for an army. If I’d been thinking, I would have brought the makings of breakfast with me.”
Jill sat on the opposite end of the couch. It was dark in the apartment in spite of the shades being open. It was a dreary day; the snow had stopped falling for the time being, only gray clouds hanging close to the ground. Her thoughts shifted to Belle Isle, to a crime scene now devoid of the layers of frozen snow hiding evidence from view.
She was going to say, “Yes, let’s go,” when her phone beeped. Reaching for it, she saw it was the precinct number.
“Jill, Maxine Delacorda here. Sorry to bother you on Christmas Day.”
“No, that’s fine,” Jill replied. “What’s going on? Why are you there?”
“I couldn’t relax yesterday with the snow melting and everything, so as soon as it stopped raining, I went back to Belle Isle. I felt we’d done a good job combing the murder scene, so I went to where you’d had your first encounter with Parker. And guess what I found?”
Stymied, Jill responded, “I have no idea.”
“A non-lethal,” Maxine said.
Jill’s mind whirled around the words. “A rubber bullet? Where was it?”
Mark leaned forward, listening to the conversation.
“About five feet from where I expect you were hit. In a court of law, I’d say that fucker was trying to kill you.”
Jill sat back on the couch. “Wow, I’m at a loss.”
“Get someone to take a picture of your back. I’m looking at the photos that they took on Monday, and there’s nothing here but red skin. If you have any burst capillaries, it may have taken this long for the blood to reach the surface.” They talked a bit longer and hung up.
“What’s going on?” Mark asked.
Jill repeated what Maxine said. “It makes sense,” she said. “You said it yourself.”
“Pull your shirt up,” Mark said.
Jill frowned at him.
“Pull the back of your shirt up, please. I’ll try extra hard not to peek.”
Jill turned away from him and pulled her T-shirt up in back.
“Woah!” He leaned forward and pulled it up further. “No wonder you’ve been in pain. This is extensive.”
She tried to twist to see it, getting up to look in the bathroom mirror.
“Oh my God,” she exclaimed. “When did this show up?” She had a black-and-blue area that covered one side of her back from her armpit to almost her waist.
“Didn’t anyone look at your back yesterday?”
“I’m sure someone must have,” she answered. “Maybe they thought I knew about the bruise.”
He stood up. “Let’s go into the precinct,” he said. “The attack yesterday, the rubber bullet, and now this; we need to do some additional documentation.”
“Can we get breakfast afterward?” Jill asked.
“You really do have a one-track mind. Yes, of course.” Mark washed up coffee cups while Jill showered for the trip into the precinct to have photos taken of her bruises. Their peaceful Christmas morning was over.
After his talk with Gus, Andy’s mind turned to food.
“Oh my, I guess I won’t worry about my calorie count today,” Nicole said, sniffing the air.
Laughing, Andy agreed. “No, today is not for moderation. I’ll be right beside you.”
He had his arm casually draped over her shoulder when they left the den, and Anna just happened to look up as they walked through the doorway. She turned back to setting the table, and Andy didn’t miss it; his mother—always his champion in the past, doing whatever she could to make his life easier—was being rude! It threw him. Helping Nicole take her coat off, he turned his back to Anna, hoping he’d be able to find the strength to ignore her. Nicole didn’t seem to notice, for which he was grateful. It didn’t seem like he could count on any of the old standbys if even his mother was turning against him. The thought came to him that he might have to marry Nicole in order to be alone with her, that his parents were never going to accept her unless they could get to know her, to see how different she was from Dana. His focus shifted from getting to know her to making her his wife. He wouldn’t tell anyone right away, least of all Nicole because he didn’t want to scare her away, but it would be the point of departure he needed.
“Do you want to eat with the boys?”
Nicole looked over at the two, motherless little boys, and her heart melted. She nodded her head. “Yes, let’s eat Christmas breakfast with your sons.”
32
By the time Liz drove into the city limits, she and Jim Pappas had been laughing over ridiculous stories, probably family myth handed down over the years. They were loose and relaxed, comfortable with each other and happy to be in Greektown by the time they pulled into the alley behind the grocery store. Their chatter continued as they climbed the staircase together. Maria heard a familiar voice in the stairwell as she set the table for dinner, and when there was a knock and the door opened, she said later she almost fainted.
“Without waiting for the door to be answered, in walks my husband, looking as handsome as he did on our wedding day, if I may say so, and behind him, Liz Zannos!”
“Liz looked gorgeous, too,” Anna said. “I was so confused because, no offense, I didn’t recognize Jim. I haven’t seen him since your wedding.”
Maria looked at her with a sneer. “Anna, it hasn’t been that long, for Christ’s sake. Pull it together.”
“Oh yes, it has! I was recovering from Andy’s birth when the famous family reunion in Saugatuck took place, and that’s the only time anyone else saw him at a family function.” Anna put her nose in the air and walked away.
“So that’s your husband!” Estelle said. “Frankly, I’m shocked.”
Maria looked at Estelle with derision. “And why is that, almost sister-in-law?”
Estelle got close to Maria so Gus wouldn’t hear. “For one thing, he’s so tall.” Dido snorted loud enough that Estelle looked up. “And handsome. I don’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t that.”
Maria couldn’t help herself; she chuckled, pleased that someone else found him as handsome as she did.
“It’s strange having Jim here at the apartment,” Gus said.
Maria smiled and nodded her head. “Strange because he’s here, but stranger because he walked in with Liz. I guess I better try to find out what it’s all about.” She walked up to her husband, pleased he seemed happy to see her.
“You look nice,” he said.
“Do I?” Maria looked down at her clothes and then back up to his face. “What’s going on? I didn’t realize you knew my brother’s wife.”
“I didn’t,” he said. “The car broke down, and there’s no mechanic on duty because of Christmas. I remembered John lived nearby, so I just had the tow truck take me there.
I’d forgotten he wasn’t living there, or I’d have thought of something else.”
“Where were you going when the car broke down?” She was confused; where were her grandchildren and kids going to spend Christmas? Were they behind him on their way to Greektown?
“I was coming here,” he said softly. “The kids dodged me at the last minute. I didn’t want to go to Chicago alone.” The idea that she left him at home with no dinner, no family coming, made her feel sad and guilty.
“Why didn’t you go into the city?”
“It wouldn’t be the same without my family. Everyone would have someone, and I’d be there alone. No. I’d rather be at home. Or here, in Greektown.”
“God forbid, Greektown,” Maria said, but chuckling. “Why’d the kids cancel?”
He explained that their son’s partner didn’t feel well, and their daughter’s children wanted to stay home and play with their gifts.
“They could’ve let you know yesterday,” she said.
He tried not to look sheepish, glancing over at Liz, who was trying to talk to John. “They did,” he said, quickly changing the topic. “I hope you don’t mind that I showed up unannounced.”
“Not at all. I’m glad Liz brought you. Is that what happened? You asked her to bring you here?”
“Yes, she didn’t really want to come, but there didn’t seem to be much choice. I thought about getting a rental car, but you can forget about that on Christmas Day. She probably thought this was the lesser of two evils: coming to Greektown or me being at the house until you could pick me up.”
Marie nodded her head. “I gotcha. So that thought did cross your mind. That I’d come to get you.”
“Yep. That was my original idea.”
Maria smelled a rat, but she wasn’t going to have Jim’s first appearance in Greektown be marred by a fight. He was so handsome, she knew her station in the eyes of all of those people had been elevated, and she’d enjoy the fame while it lasted. Not so lucky for her sister-in-law, Liz, who stood by her husband, trying to engage him but losing the battle.
“Don’t look now, but Liz isn’t having too much luck with John.”
“She said they are divorcing,” Jim said, looking over at her.
Maria heard that rat chewing again. Is Jim interested in Liz? “What did she say about John?” she asked, suddenly worried he might have said something. “I hope you kept your opinion to yourself.”
Jim looked at his wife, and she could tell right away he’d opened his mouth. “It just slipped out,” he said.
“Oh no,” Maria said. “We work at denial in this family. When will you get that through your head?”
He had a world of experience in denial after living with her for all these years but didn’t say it out loud. “I’m sorry,” he said.
Gus was coming over to Maria, so they stopped talking about John.
“It looks like everything’s ready. Should we sit down?”
“Your daughter isn’t here yet,” Maria said impatiently, and Gus picked up the phone to call her. Then the door opened, and Jill walked through with Mark. “Never mind, Gus. Here she is.”
“Dinner is served!” Maria called out.
Jim noticed Jill and winced. “What happened to your niece’s face?”
“She was attacked,” Maria replied. “Go say hi.”
Jill was one of the few people in the family who saw Jim because she stayed at their house in Saugatuck from time to time. Jim went to Jill to say hello, and they embraced. She introduced him to Mark, and the three sat together at the dinner table while everyone filled in the seats around them.
This dinner was over the top, with a crown rib roast, a whole lamb, pans of spinach pie, pastitsio, moussaka, chicken souvlaki, pan-roasted potatoes, green beans, Greek salad and bread. As in every meal, the wine and retsina were flowing freely. Jim was watching Maria out of the corner of his eye, and she knew it, trying to be careful about how much she poured. But it seemed like the more she tried to curtail her drinking, the more she wanted it, and before long, as her anger increased with his scrutiny, she was more determined than ever to get drunk.
Anna and Big Andy Zannos were not having a good time, either. Anna was fussing over the boys, pushing her son out of the way when he tried to cut up Greg’s food. Finally, he’d had enough. “Mom, please. Go enjoy your meal with everyone. Nicole and I are going to eat with the boys.”
Nicole couldn’t be sure, but she thought Anna stamped her foot before she walked away.
“I think this might be our last holiday in Greektown,” Anna whispered.
Her husband, Andy, frowned. “Just relax, okay? Everything is good. He’s moving on. She’s a nice Greek girl. Let’s not shut her out because of Dana.”
“Dana was awful,” Anna said.
“But this isn’t Dana,” Big Andy replied. “The boy said he’d been miserable for a long time. We saw it ourselves right after Danny was born. We know it couldn’t have been easy. So why are you fighting him now?”
Anna didn’t know why, except she was afraid. What if Nicole resented her like Dana did? She wouldn’t let anyone shut her out of her son’s life again.
“I’m afraid I’ll lose him,” she said.
“Well, you need to tell them both using those very words. As soon as dinner is over. When he asks your help to put the boys to bed, you’ll have an opportunity.”
She nodded her head. “Okay. I’ll do it. I’ll tell my son.” She was fighting back the tears.
The only chair left for Paula was between Nick and Estelle. She’d later say that if God wanted to punish her, he’d picked the right seating arrangement. While she was straining to hear what Liz and John were saying to each other, Paula was getting an etiquette lesson from Estelle Nickopolos. At the same time, she was trying to see what Nick was texting his new girlfriend. Paula managed to peep over his arm and catch a few of them: asinine dialogue between an aging man and a girl young enough to be his granddaughter. She almost hoped the kid wasn’t of age so he’d be charged with statutory rape.
A large platter of marinated vegetables was making the rounds when suddenly the table jarred as Liz stood up with a scream. “I knew it! You liar. I wasted my whole life waiting for your dead ass to come out of the closet.”
She pushed away from the table, and at that same moment, Paula stood up to go console her when her elbow hit the edge of the platter Estelle held. This platter was at least twenty-four inches across and weighed ten pounds once the vegetables were piled on. Later, Paula said she swore Estelle gave it a little flip, because it hardly seemed possible that a mere tap with her elbow could have sent the thing spinning in the air, carrots and green beans and Kalamata olives flying in an arc over the Christmas garb of twenty-five men and women. The children were transfixed as the platter cartwheeled across the room, raining vegetables down upon them and landing in a clatter up against the sepia portrait of the Evzone guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
33
“Welcome to my family,” Jill said, laughing as they started walking toward home.
He chuckled, amused by how alike all families were. “Think how boring a normal family would be.”
“I’d like to try it for just one holiday meal,” Jill replied.
“Hey! Guess what?” he asked, looking up at the sky. The night was clear and bright, the promised snow holding off until after midnight.
“What?” She looked up, trying to see what he was gawking at.
“Tonight is our one week anniversary,” Mark said, looking down at her with love.
“It is? It doesn’t seem possible,” she said. “You’ve tolerated me and my insane family for an entire week!”
“If you come to my grandmother’s tonight, you might see more of the same. My aunts and uncles all have something to say.”
“Yes, we can’t leave your grandmother alone on Christmas.”
“Oh, she won’t be alone. She’d probably wish she was alone for a bit, but I want her to meet you.
I’m sure dinner is nowhere ready to eat, and we can say you’re tired and need to be taken home and tucked into bed.”
Jill giggled, thinking about being tucked in by those arms. “I can’t wait,” she whispered, squeezing his hand.
“To meet my family?” he asked, frowning.
“To be taken home and tucked into bed,” she whispered.
“You can’t?” he asked. Stopping, he pulled her over to the side so they weren’t blocking the sidewalk.
“Nope.” She smiled up at him, and Mark took her in his arms and gently held her against him, kissing her black-and-blue face.
“Get a room!” someone yelled, a carload of teens cruising through Greektown. Jill and Mark parted, laughing. They resumed walking toward her apartment.
“I’m trying to let things simply happen between us, but it’s my nature to define things,” she said.
“Mine, too! See, we’re a perfect match.”
“I think so, too,” she said.
“I know this is fast, but I want to marry you,” Mark said, pulling her over to him again.
Jill gasped. This was insane. “I want to marry you, too,” she answered. “How long do we have to wait so people don’t think we’ve lost our minds?”
“I don’t care about that, do you? Do you care? Let them think what they want.” He took her hand, and they walked quickly toward her apartment, Jill trying hard not to skip along with joy. It was turning out to be the best Christmas she’d ever had.
