by Roddy Wix
The Berettas arrived home from an impromptu pleasure cruise and found Billy “Billfish” Sawyer waiting on the dock, anxious to putter with the boat. That would leave Frank a little more free time to spend with Joey instead of hosing and scrubbing down the Belle.
“Doesn’t look like you caught much,” Billy said with a sly smile.
“Catch and release, Billy. We had a fine time.” Joey smirked in a response that confirmed any suspicions Billy had about how the two lovers spent the afternoon.
“So long as you two had a good time. That’s what’s important in life.”
“We always have a good time, Billy. You know that.”
“Yes ma’am, I certainly do.” Billy smiled and mopped the beads of sweat off his forehead then replaced his white cap embroidered with “Une Belle Femme” in dark blue lettering. He adjusted the mooring lines securing the yacht and busied himself with setting out the equipment he needed to start washing down the boat. Frank remained on board taking a call on his sat phone.
“Billy, when Frank comes out tell him I went up to the house to take a swim.”
“Sure thing.” The cheerful Bahamian waved as he poured a soap solution into a big bucket followed by a strong jet of water.
Joey jogged up the dock and across the public bicycle path running behind their house. On the other side she opened a gate and made a dash to the glistening pool.
Finished with his call Frank stepped off the boat then spoke quietly to Billy for a minute before striding purposefully up to the pool and jumping in. Moments later he surfaced with Joey riding piggy back on his shoulders.
“Hey, fellah. Are you a pool hopper or do you have an invitation?” She referred to the young locals who frequently roamed around the neighborhood randomly diving into available swimming pools. After all, the Palm Beach population dropped by half during the summer. Why should all that water go to waste?
“I've got a standing invitation from the beautiful woman who lives in this house.”
“Is that so?”
“Indeed. Would you please tell her I’m here?”
Frank laughed at his own joke while Joey slugged him square on the shoulder. He picked her up and carried her out of the pool. Uncharacteristically, he seemed a little out of breath when he put her down on a striped chaise lounge.
“Good thing my feelings aren’t easily hurt, Frank Beretta.”
“Yes, yes it is. But tell you what, how about I take you out for dinner to make up for my lack of consideration?”
“Sure. Where do you want to go?”
“How about Michelle Bernstein at Omphoy? The room has a wonderful ocean view.”
“OK. When?”
Frank checked his watch and said, “An hour and a half?”
“Cool. That gives me time to go back in the pool.” Most women would have been pressed for time, but Joey wasn’t ‘most women’. She could put herself together in less than a half hour, including a shower, and come out looking amazing.
While Joey dove back into the pool Frank picked up a towel and walked through the French doors leading into his small, cozy library. He lifted the phone and made a couple of calls, the first of which was to the restaurant to reserve a table and the second was to Legacy Aviation.
An hour and a half later they were seated at a table with an excellent view of the Atlantic. The waiter was cheerfully taking their drink orders.
“I’d like Smirnoff Silver on the rocks with a wedge of lime, please.” It was Joey’s signature drink though she was known to vary and order olives instead.
“Diet coke for me.”
“Not drinking booze tonight?”
“Well, about that, Joey. I have to make a trip later tonight and I don’t want alcohol in my system.”
“Oh. That kind of a trip.” It had been awhile since Frank had been called way like this. When he did it was always serious business. Deadly serious.
“Yeah. I got the call as we were coming back to the dock.”
“How long”
Frank gave her a sardonic smile. “As usual, I don’t know. A week. Maybe a little less to wrap things up.”
The waiter served the drinks and stepped away to allow them time to enjoy their cocktails and look at the menu.
“No apologies.” They clinked glasses.
“And no regrets.” Joey said returning what had become the couple’s signature toast. It perfectly captured the essence of their lives together. They touched their glasses together again gently and Frank hailed the waiter.
After an excellent dinner of tomato salads and curried snapper, they shared a large serving of vanilla ice cream. Frank paid the bill and moments later they were in his ’62 Rolls Royce convertible headed north on A1A. He considered the Rolls the “flagship” of his collection of convertibles and he and Joey loved cruising along under a warm starry sky. On their first anniversary Frank gave Joey a restored ’85 Porsche Turbo cabriolet for her twenty-fifth birthday. He put a card on the windshield saying, “When you were five this car was new and that’s how you make me feel. Happy Birthday!” Known as Silver Streak she had a hard time keeping the car within the speed limits and was on a first name basis with everyone on the Town of Palm Beach police force.
Joey reclined the seat a little and looked up at the darkening sky. A few stars were visible, but it looked like rain may be coming in.
“When do you have to leave?”
“About an hour from now.” Frank checked his watch. He was wearing his old Rolex GMT Master. It was his ‘lucky’ watch from his days in the Corps and he was always wearing it when he took one of these impromptu trips. Joey assumed that whatever he was doing was dangerous, but even after their ten years together she’d never asked. Her stoicism wasn’t unnoticed by Frank who loved her all the more for it.
“OK.” Joey found she was tearing up and bit her lip. Somehow this evening seemed different: like they were saying goodbye. She had a feeling that was hard to shake and she didn't like it.
Joey reached over and took Frank’s hand and held it as he drove home. She imagined being a teenager on the way home from a date knowing she'd soon have to say good night on the front porch. To someone else that may sound silly, but Joey’s childhood had been devoid of those kinds of normal experiences. Over time she had filled in the blanks with her own romantic notions. In the end, though, Frank more than made up for it. He was her whole family, boyfriend, lover and a lifetime of wonderful things all wrapped up into one person, and a damned good looking one. How lucky can you get?
Frank stopped the car in the drive near the front of the house.
“I’m taking the Audi to the airport. Would you put this car in the garage for me after I pull out?”
“What if I scratch it?”
“Then we’ll fix it.” Frank gave her his ‘kindest guy in the world’ smile.
“OK.” Joey jumped into Frank’s arms and stayed just a little longer than usual. Frank kissed her just a little longer than usual.
“Gotta go, baby. I’ll see you soon.”
“Not soon enough.”
Frank smiled and gave her a little salute as he got into the Audi and backed out of the garage.
Joey felt a tear run down her cheek as she watched him drive past the front gate and away. She gingerly eased the Rolls Royce into the garage and shut its powerful V8 off. The automatic garage light turned off and she just sat in the dark for a few minutes, alone with her random and disquieting thoughts.
An hour later Frank was at the controls of a Gulfstream V headed east over the Atlantic Ocean. In the right seat was a good and trusted friend whose deep, soothing Texas drawl was both welcome and familiar. Once more unto the breach!
By then Joey was sitting by the swimming pool sipping a Drambuie on the rocks and listening to Norah Jones singing The Nearness of You over the outdoor sound system. Though sentimental, maybe even a little hokey, the song perfectly suited her mood, as did the shimmering underwater l
ights casting flickering shadows on the walls of the house. A .32 automatic hid under a cloth napkin on the table beside her. She felt alone for the first time in a very long while.
26.
