The Trouble Boys

by E. R. FALLON

  Colin wasn’t going to ask him to elaborate. He concluded, as he sat on the sand-and-rock ground with shards of old broken glass, Johnny wasn’t going to give him much else. They had been boyhood friends, great friends, but that didn’t mean they were friends now.

  Instead, Colin remarked, “Isn’t this peculiar? Here we are, both in suits, and we’re sitting in the dirt.”

  Johnny smiled. “How’ve you been?” he asked after a moment.

  “I’m all right. I’m not married.”

  “I remember when we were younger how you were always after older women. Remember Lucille?”

  “I can’t believe you remember her name.”

  “She helped us that night so it’s not like I’ll ever forget her.”

  “That stays between us.” Colin used a serious tone.

  Johnny nodded. “Of course.”

  “I appreciate that.”

  “Have you spoken to her since your release? She married a cop.”

  “I have,” Colin said. “The guy’s now the chief of police where they live. They have a daughter.”

  Johnny whistled.

  “I’ve spoken to her only a little,” Colin said. “She doesn’t really want to talk to me. She said I should move on.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that. What about other women? Anything good to tell me?”

  There seemed to be a tinge of longing in Johnny’s voice, as if he wanted to live the unmarried life again, and not be tied down by a wife and child, no matter how pretty and adoring his wife was and how sweet his child.

  “There’s this one, she works as a cigarette girl at one of the nightclubs we do business with…” Colin stopped when he realized it wouldn’t be appropriate to brag about a particular woman’s assets, because if he told Johnny then Johnny might tell someone else, and so on. “She’s very sweet. Cute, you know.”

  “She’s sweet? Cute? That’s all you’re going to tell me? You know who you’re talking to, right?”

  “I sure do. All right. I’ll tell you. But don’t go spreading it around to everyone.”

  Johnny crossed his fingers. “Scout’s honor.”

  Colin smiled and crossed his fingers. Scout’s honor. Like when they were boys. Colin hadn’t said that in a long time. He hadn’t been making many innocent promises lately.

  Colin told Johnny about some of the women he’d been with in the past year.

  “I’d like to try that sometime.” Johnny grinned.

  “But don’t you have a pretty wife now? I heard she’s very pretty.”

  “She is. But it’s hard to be with the same woman every night. That’s not something you would understand.”

  Colin laughed a little then became somber. “We never got to know each other again after I got out.”

  “You regret it?”

  “I do. You?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Are you happy? I mean, not just with your lady, but do you like the way things are shaping up with Bernal?” Colin asked delicately.

  “Of course I’m happy. I make good money, and I’m respected. It’s what I’ve wanted forever, and what I deserve.”

  Johnny’s tone surprised Colin but he admired his confidence. “I spent my youth ashamed of who I am. But now I’m—we, my people—are finally getting some of the respect we deserve around here.” Johnny held his head high.

  “You should come work with me,” Colin suggested. He feared that if Tom went to war with Tito Bernal, something could befall Johnny, and not something good. It’d be easier on Colin’s conscience for him to work with Johnny rather than spy on him. Johnny had helped him with Carmine, and Colin cared what happened to him. “It would be like the old times. Remember the enterprise we were going to start? With McPhalen, we can—”

  “Our enterprise was the dream of boys,” Johnny said. “It was a joke.”

  Colin hadn’t viewed their plans that way.

  “Anyway, I’m Cuban,” Johnny said. “You know I’ll get nowhere with the Irish.”

  “I’ll talk to Tom. I’ll see what I can do. You’re half Irish.”

  “The only difference is your Irish will never see me as Irish enough. It’s the same as you could never work for Tito.”

  “But I’m not Cuban.”

  “Well, I’m not Irish. At least, not Irish enough for Tom McPhalen. Don’t bother talking to him. Guys like him will never be convinced. My Cuban brothers have accepted me despite my Irish half. I am glad to see you seem to like working for McPhalen.”

  “I love working for Tom.”

  “Love. That’s a strong word.”

  Colin couldn’t tell if Johnny was trying to pick a fight. The gangster in him thought so, but the good friend wanted not to believe it.

  “I do love it.”

  “All right.”

  “You don’t believe me?”

  Johnny faced the river instead of Colin. “No, I believe you. But they’re not Northern Irish like you. And how happy can you be if you’re still living in our old building and you’re still drinking at Byrne’s? Yeah, I know these things, Colin.”

  “I like Byrne’s. I’m not married like you so I don’t mind living where I do. I like living in the Bowery. Anyway, I’m just one of Tom’s soldiers. There are other guys who work for him who are ranked higher than me. I’ll get promoted someday. You’re married to Bernal’s daughter, so of course you’re living better than me,” Colin challenged. “It must be fun living with your wife’s mother,” he joked.

  Colin didn’t want a fight, and Johnny must have sensed it because he laughed.

  Johnny shrugged. “She’s got nowhere else to go. I don’t want to talk business anymore. Do you want to come over to my place for dinner? You can meet my wife. Just keep your charm to yourself.” He grinned. “Her mother’s a mean bitch sometimes, but she’s also a mean cook.”

  Colin chuckled. “When am I invited?”

  “Tonight. You’re free?”

  “I’m always free to eat.”

  They got up to walk to Johnny’s place and passed by McShane’s bakery on the way. The McShanes didn’t own it anymore, the Santiagos did. The McShane family had sold the business to them last year. The Irish and the Italians in the Bowery were dispersing to places such as Long Island, Queens, and Staten Island.

  Johnny nudged Colin out of his daydream. “Do you remember Mrs. McShane?”

  “How could I forget her? She was beautiful. We were practically in love with her.”

  “You were in love with her. Remember being a boy? Seems like such a long time ago, doesn’t it? We had some hard times then, too, for sure, but less to worry about then.”

  Colin had a feeling Johnny meant their fathers, and Carmine. “Remember when we’d get beer and then sell it to the rich kids in Murray Hill for double the price?”

  Colin laughed. “I remember.” Then he said, “She moved away, didn’t she?”

  “Who did?”

  “Mrs. McShane.”

  “I think she and her husband moved to Staten Island.”

  “Lots of the Irish and Italians moved away.”

  “To make room for us.”

  Colin ignored his comment. “How’s your mother doing?”

  “She’s doing good. She still lives on the same street in the same apartment even though I gave her money so she could move into a nicer place. She likes things to stay the same, kind of like you.”

  Johnny smiled. “I know your family moved away. Sorry about that.”

  “Do you know what happened to them after I left?”

  “Danny helped them. And I pitched in when I could.”

  “Thanks, Johnny.”

  “But I think it was still hard for them. I think it was just easier for them to leave. Do you think you’ll visit them?”

  “I’ve thought about it, and I’d like to. I know Danny still lives in the States. But I’m so busy now. I’d like to send Maureen, Patrick, and my mother money.”

  “You can never be too busy for family, or for frie
nds.” Johnny glanced at him.

  “Sometimes I feel like an old man. I don’t even have a steady girl yet, but maybe I want to be a family man. I feel like I have to rush everything because I missed out on what could’ve been my best years. Did I ever tell you I wanted to be a policeman when I was little? Maybe I can get a job as a cop someday.”

  “So that Lucille might leave her husband for you?” Johnny had seen right through him. “What about her kid?”

  “I’d raise her child as my own.”

  “You’re not planning on killing her husband, are you?” Johnny said seriously.

  “No, of course not.” Then Colin grinned. “At least, I don’t think so.”

  Johnny shook his head and chuckled. “Anyway, you don’t want to rush into marriage. I know from experience. And with your murder conviction, you can’t be a cop. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. I got one for thieving.”

  “I don’t get what happened to Lucille. She’s a completely different person.”

  “I heard her husband introduced her to religion.”

  “I know plenty of people who are religious and they still drink.”

  “The difference is most of them can stop drinking when they want to, like us. It’s different for an alcoholic. She didn’t know when to stop. She couldn’t stop.”

  “Religion helped her stop?”

  “Something like that.”

  “I visited Lucille right after I got out of prison. She didn’t like seeing me.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that.”

  “She said she’d moved on. Did I already tell you that?”

  Johnny nodded. “Speaking of moving, I’ve been thinking about relocating. Lila wants to move to Long Island.”

  Had Johnny changed the subject to lighten the mood?

  “Do you really think it’s a good idea to move all the way out there? You’d be stuck out there. At least in the city you can escape once in a while.”

  “Women like houses. We’d still keep our apartment in the city.”

  Johnny must have been making more money than him. Colin kept talking as though he hadn’t heard Johnny. “When I visited Lucille on the Island, I felt trapped, and I was only there for a little while. It seems like it’d be hard to sneak out of the house to clear your head.”

  “I kind of am already trapped. She’s my wife. The mother of my child. She’s always going to be there. Anyway, she’s dead set on going.”

  Colin spoke more about his visit to Lucille.

  “Funny how she’s married to the chief of police, especially how she helped us with that thing with Carmine,” Johnny said.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Colin said.

  “It means she probably hasn’t been honest with her husband.”

  “Or she has and he stays silent to protect her.”

  “Because he loves her?”

  “Yeah, maybe he really does. I don’t think he knows about that night though.”

  “Why do you think that?”

  “Something she said. I hope he does love her.”

  “But not like you loved her, from what I remember.”

  “That was a long time ago.”

  “Some feelings don’t change.”

  As they got closer to Johnny’s apartment, Johnny seemed to hold his breath. Colin watched his childhood friend and wondered, when had he become such a man? When had they both become such men? Was it from hearing and seeing all that they had so early on in life? Or had the pollution from the river seeped into their blood over time and ruined them like it had ruined all the fish?

  Colin sighed.

  “What’s the matter?” Johnny asked.

  “Ah, nothing. I just need some escaping, that’s all.”

  Two pretty young women went by and their hips swayed as they strolled.

  “Is that what you need escaping from?” Johnny said.

  Colin smiled. “That’s it.” Johnny could always make him feel better.

  Johnny lived in a well-maintained red-brick building. Despite Colin’s past friendship with Johnny, he kept his fingers lightly touching the gun in his camel-hair coat’s pocket as they went upstairs to the third floor. After all, Johnny worked with Bernal.

  * * *

  Lila’s mother answered the door. It was then that Colin took his hand off his gun. The woman was small, a good foot shorter than him, with a neat bun of gray-brown hair. She looked younger than Colin had imagined, and she wore a plain housedress and flat black shoes. Her eyes were bright and kind.

  Lila didn’t surprise him. She was petite, sweet-natured and pretty, just the kind of girl he knew Johnny, who could be soft at heart, would eventually marry. She had short hair, cut almost all the way to her ears, and beautiful bone structure. Her skin glowed, and her large brown eyes were framed by very long lashes. She had a patient smile.

  Colin had thanked Lila’s mother for letting him have dinner with her family, but he spent a little more time speaking with Lila. “Johnny is a lucky man.” He looked at Johnny, and when his friend gave him permission he kissed Lila’s soft hand.

  She blushed. “It’s good to finally meet you. Johnny speaks fondly of you.”

  That surprised Colin. He couldn’t tell if she was being polite or if Johnny did talk about him at home.

  Lila stood on her toes and kissed Johnny in the doorway. She gestured for them to enter the home.

  “The baby’s asleep in the bedroom,” she whispered.

  Johnny told Colin that his daughter shared a name with her mother.

  The large, tidy apartment, a big upgrade from Johnny’s childhood home, smelled of food, and Colin’s nose went wild. He smelled spices he’d never come across before.

  Lila’s mother beckoned them to the table. “Please, have a seat.” She spoke English with a heavy accent.

  A colorful array of food had been set out on the kitchen table overcrowded with chairs. Yellow rice and chicken with what looked like red peppers.

  “The saffron makes it yellow,” Johnny explained. “Just take what I take and you’ll do fine.” He handed Colin a plate.

  When Lila’s mother sat it appeared as if there’d be no room for anyone to move even an inch. Colin watched as Johnny ladled chicken from the largest dish first, and he took a generous helping after Johnny. After Johnny scooped the yellow rice onto his plate, Colin followed.

  “Ready to eat?” Johnny said.

  Colin stared at his plate and nodded.

  “Drink?” Lila’s mother asked Colin. “Yeah, thanks.”

  “Rum or cola?”

  “I guess I’ll have rum, please.”

  Lila smiled at him. “Are you uncertain, Colin?”

  Colin couldn’t help but warm a little on the inside. It had been a long time since a girl had teased him.

  “He’s not used to rum,” Johnny said. “The Irish don’t drink it very much. Isn’t that right, Colin?”

  He laughed at his friend’s joke.

  Many glasses of rum were served. Colin drank his first glass, and had another, and another and then another, to prove he wasn’t ignorant. He lost count of how many glasses he’d had. Lila congratulated him on having such a high tolerance. Colin insisted the Irish were born with that. Johnny laughed and said if that was true, then he must have had only half of the tolerance. Before Colin knew it, he was joking with Lila’s mother.

  “Eat, handsome.” She put more chicken on his plate and patted his shoulder.

  Colin beamed at her. He hadn’t shared a meal with Johnny in forever, and he hadn’t been this complacent since they were boys. Perhaps it wasn’t a coincidence that the two events were occurring together.

  “Colin,” Lila said. “I thought I loved you.”

  The room spun around Colin. Had he really had that much rum? He laughed at her joke.

  “I’m not kidding. I thought I loved you,” she said, again.

  Colin laughed again. “That’s very funny. I don’t think Johnny will be very happy to hear that though.”
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br />   “I’m not joking,” she said, and he realized she wasn’t. Colin didn’t say anything and glanced at Johnny.

  “I don’t love you now, but when Johnny talked about you I loved you based on his description.” Lila’s eyes lit up, and she giggled and kissed Johnny’s face.

  Johnny seemed flushed with anger. He put his arm around his wife. “That’s enough, baby. You’ve had too much to drink. You should go to bed now.”

  Lila pushed Johnny off her. “Don’t touch me. Damn you. I didn’t want to marry you. I don’t even think of you as my husband. If you hadn’t gotten me pregnant, I wouldn’t have married you. Don’t boss me around, I don’t like it.”

  Without warning, and to the surprise of Colin, but not Lila’s mother, Johnny reached out and smacked Lila. In silence he rose from the table, trembling. Colin wondered if he would leave the apartment and slam the door. Lila put her hand to her face and cursed Johnny. Their child started crying in the bedroom.

  Colin sobered up quickly. He had never seen his old friend so angry at a woman, and he couldn’t help but feeling at fault. After all, the cause of the slap had been over something Lila had said to him.

  Colin got up and went over to Johnny. He lightly touched his shoulder. “I think I should leave now.”

  “No, stay. She always gets like this when she drinks. She says strange things.” His voice was higher than it had been, and he sounded like a boy again.

  Colin gave an excuse. “It’s getting late. I have to go to Brooklyn early tomorrow for business.”

  He thanked the women for hosting him. Johnny’s mother-in-law got up and went into the bedroom to check on the crying child. Then Colin looked at Johnny again. “You take care of yourself. If you ever need anything, or change your mind about what I suggested, come see me.” He hadn’t mentioned Tom again until then because he didn’t want to seem like he had ulterior motives for their reunion.

  Johnny nodded but didn’t say anything.

  Colin put on his hat and coat and walked out of the apartment. He went down the stairway without his hand on his gun. He remembered when they were boys but knew everything had changed. They were no longer carefree, wild boys but hardened men. If only they could start over.