by E. R. FALLON
She reminded Colin of his daughter back in the city with Sheila and, again, he felt guilty that he was leaving for such a long time without them. He considered calling Sheila now from the airport to see how things were at home. But that call could wait a few more hours.
Max went up to Colin and Violet and stood in front of them out of breath. “Hey, big guy, you could’ve given me a hand,” he said with sarcasm but not anger. “I had to check all that luggage in by myself.”
Colin grinned at Max and shrugged. “You said you didn’t want help.”
“Maybe I’m too proud sometimes.” Max chuckled. “Where’s Cathy?”
“She went to use the ladies room.”
Then Catherine strode toward them, and Colin couldn’t focus on anything else.
Max noticed Colin’s admiration. “Ah, I see. She’s beautiful, isn’t she?”
“My mommy’s going to be an actress,” Violet said. Colin smiled at her.
“Be careful,” Max told Colin. “She’s like fire, pretty to look at, but cruel if you touch it. There are repercussions.”
Colin frowned, and before he could ask Max what he meant by the remark, Catherine stood in front of them.
“Hello, you fellows,” Catherine said in her sensuous, clear voice. A voice that was noticed and admired as much as the beauty of its speaker. Colin felt proud to be standing with her.
“Hi, sweetheart,” Max said.
Catherine smiled at him and took Violet’s hand. “Thanks for watching her, Colin.”
“Was she in there a long time?” Max whispered to Colin. His voice had a serious tone, and his eyes darkened.
“No. Not for too long.” Colin wondered if he had done something wrong and what. It seemed from the look on Max’s face he had.
“You didn’t check on her?”
“No. She went to the ladies room. She asked me to stay here and watch Violet.”
Catherine attempted to intervene but Max cut her short. “Didn’t Sean tell you to keep an eye on her at all times?” Max said to Colin.
“I assumed there are exceptions. I mean, she was in the ladies bathroom.”
“You didn’t keep an eye on her at all times?”
“Not at that time, no. I wasn’t going to follow her into the ladies room.”
Max waved him off. “Not inside. You should’ve waited outside for her with Violet.”
Colin still thought Max was joking, so he said, “I don’t think it would’ve been appropriate for me to loiter outside the ladies room.”
Max eyed him closely. His face looked like stone. “I might have to report back to Sean on this one. I might have to give him a call right now, before we leave. He might have to send another guy over here who’s going to do his job right.” His face flushed and then he began to walk over to the phone booths behind them.
“What the—” Colin raced after him. He grabbed Max’s arm from outside the booth and prevented him from picking up the phone.
“Don’t,” Colin said. “I need this opportunity so much, more than you can imagine. My wife just had a baby. Please.”
Max backed out of the phone booth and stared at Colin in a welcoming way. He put his arm halfway around Colin and patted his shoulder. “Relax, Colin.” Max led him to where Catherine stood with Violet. “I was only fooling you.” He winked. “But don’t get too interested in Catherine. You’re married, after all, and she is the boss’s daughter.”
Colin looked at him stunned. “What the fuck, Max?”
“Consider it your initiation. Now that I scared the shit out of you, you really are one of us.”
Colin shook his head.
Max removed his arm and shrugged. “We’ve all gone through one.”
“Right, an initiation.” Colin spoke like he understood but he couldn’t disguise how much he sweated, and his heart beat faster than it ever had before. He had been scared, and now he was outraged. He didn’t like anyone frightening him even if it was a joke. Sean McCarthy had weird moods. If Max had called him to complain that Colin had done something wrong, Colin knew Sean was capable of killing him in a heartbeat.
They arrived where Catherine and Violet stood. Colin took his handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped his forehead.
Catherine, seeing that everything now appeared fine between the two men, smiled at Colin and gestured at Max. “Was he joking around again?”
“Yeah,” Colin said. “A joke, that’s all it was.”
Catherine laughed and looked so beautiful that he pretended not to have noticed her cold sense of humor. Her deep blue eyes glistened and her teeth shone, and Colin forgot all about before for a moment.
Violet hummed, sweetly and off-key; it was a Connie Francis song Colin recognized.
“Come on, let’s get on the plane,” Catherine broke in.
They boarded the commercial airplane and Catherine sat next to Colin, and Max sat with Violet.
“I made sure you’d sit with me,” Catherine said to Colin.
“You didn’t want to sit next to Max?”
“I don’t mind Max, but you’re much more pleasant to look at. I wonder what they’re going to serve for lunch.”
“Whatever it is, it probably won’t taste very good.”
“Yes, airplane food is notoriously unpleasant. Have you ever been on a plane?”
Colin shook his head.
Catherine smiled at him like that amused her. She squeezed his hand. “How exciting for you. The last time I was on an airplane was when I toured Europe a few years ago with my mother.”
“Did you enjoy it?”
“Yes, very much, especially Rome.”
“You’re well-spoken,” he said. “Did you go to college?”
“I completed a year of college when I was married. We had a nanny. I took classes at night.”
“How did you like it?” Colin figured he could learn from Catherine.
“I loved it. It helped me stay sane. I loved my husband, and I love my daughter, but it can get boring being just a wife.”
He wondered whether Sheila would get bored now that she no longer worked and what that would mean for their daughter and him. “I didn’t make it that far. I didn’t even make it to high school. It’s good you did.”
“Most of the fellows who work for my father didn’t. My father is the exception. He graduated from college. My husband, he went even farther, college and then graduate school.”
There was a sadness in her voice, but Colin didn’t think it was only for the loss of her husband. For her youth maybe, that she had ended it so soon by marrying young. Catherine lowered her gaze and he put his hand over hers in a tender way. He wasn’t trying to put the moves on her and he sensed she knew that.
A stewardess caught them off guard. “Would you like a drink?” She had short, blonde hair and brown eyes.
“I’d love a martini,” Colin said. “Gin. Two olives.”
The smooth fabric of her uniform brushed his hand. “Great choice.” She smiled and seemed to notice Catherine only then. “What would you like, ma’am?”
“I’ll have the same.” If Catherine was the least bit jealous of the stewardess’s flirting with Colin, it wasn’t obvious. Colin was a little disappointed. But then again, maybe Catherine was one of those women who didn’t get sore over that.
“Is that your favorite drink?” Colin asked her when the stewardess stepped away.
“It is.”
“Same here, currently. Most of the fellows I know, all they drink is whiskey or Guinness. Now that I’m getting on in my years, I have to be careful about my health.”
“You aren’t that old.” Catherine laughed a little. “I can’t stand whiskey myself. Too much bite, not enough smooth flavor.”
He smiled at her. He didn’t think whiskey tasted like that, but the way she said ‘smooth’ had turned him on.
The stewardess arrived with their martinis. She handed Catherine hers first. She took more time with Colin’s drink and gave him a wink. Then she passe
d to each of them a cocktail napkin with the airline’s logo. Colin half expected to find the girl’s phone number written on his napkin. He thanked her for his drink but focused on Catherine.
“So, you’re going to be in the movies?”
Catherine sipped her martini. “Hopefully. A friend of my father’s friend says I have the talent.”
“And the looks.” Colin smiled. “Your old man knows someone in the movie business?”
“Yes, a producer. My father’s friend sent them a reel of me.”
“You’re going to shine up on the big screen.”
Catherine blushed. “Do you really think so?”
“I know so.”
“Then when the heck do we get to Los Angeles? I can’t wait.”
“Relax. Let’s have another drink.”
“All right, but you’re paying.”
“A gentleman always pays.” He smiled.
16
Los Angeles
“It’s me.” Colin was surprised to find Lucille still had the same phone number and that she hadn’t moved.
“Who?” she said.
“Lucille, it’s me.”
“Colin, I asked you not to—”
“I know, but it’s been a while, so I thought I’d try again.”
“I heard about Johnny. Why, Colin?”
“It became McPhalen and us against Bernal and his men. They’d take us out if we didn’t take them out first. We took them out before they could get us.”
“What happened to you? You sound just like a gangster.”
“You know what happened to me.”
“How can you be so selfish? Johnny had a family.”
“I’m giving his family money every month.”
“Every month?” Lucille laughed bitterly. “That makes what you did all right?”
“It doesn’t, but that’s what I’m doing.”
Lucille sighed.
“How is your family doing?” he asked.
“Please don’t… I’m going to hang up now.”
“I know we can’t be together, but I still care about you.”
“Christ, why are you still trying to be in my life? It can never be the same as it once was. I haven’t changed my mind about that.”
“I care about you. That’s the only answer I have. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking since I got out here.”
“Where are you?”
“Los Angeles.”
“What are you doing all the way out there?”
“I’m on business.”
“My brother told me you’re working for those other guys now.”
“Yeah.”
“I hope you believe you made the right decision. McCarthy went to church with McPhalen and look how he treated him. What makes you think he’s not going to treat you the same someday?”
“He won’t.”
“You’re sure?”
“He won’t. Why, did you hear something?”
“No. I just care about you.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” Colin smiled. “I have to tell you something.”
“I know, you care about me,” Lucille said.
“Yeah, I care about you, but I need to tell you something else.”
“If it’s one of your gangster stories, I don’t want to hear it.”
“Of course not. I realize now that I shouldn’t have done it, and I’m sorry I got you involved.”
“What do you mean?” Lucille sounded exasperated.
“I shouldn’t have killed Carmine. I could’ve stopped him but not killed him. I should’ve just scared him and kicked him out so that he’d be too afraid to return. Carmine—he didn’t just beat Maureen. He forced himself on her. I never told anyone the whole story. It was kept a family secret for her sake. You know how people can talk. My family went along with my plan.”
“My God. That’s why you… You went to jail to protect her. You gave up your life.”
“But I should’ve had more self-control. If I had just hurt him enough to scare him, then I could’ve been with you, and maybe I’d be married to you and we’d be living where the weather was warm and beautiful. Then I could’ve been the father of your children. I loved you.”
“Please… you don’t know how difficult it was for me.” Lucille got quieter. “Every day I’d think about you in prison. But I didn’t plan for your return. I moved on, and so should you. My brother told me you got married and have a child. You are a father. Congratulations.”
Lucille had been his secret from Sheila—he’d kept the rosary beads hidden from her—and he’d clung to Lucille because she’d reminded him of the old times, but now it was time for him to let her go.
“Thank you, Lucille. I’m not going to bother you any more so you don’t have to worry. I just wanted to hear your voice one last time and let you know I’m sorry for everything.”
The sunlight hurt his eyes as he stood outside on the balcony of his extravagant hotel room in Beverly Hills. In a few days he’d have a deep tan. Catherine had hurried into her red two-piece bathing suit with white polka dots and jumped into the blue pool with Violet immediately when they arrived.
Colin liked Los Angeles. The days were warm and filled with sun, and there were vibrant people and film stars everywhere he turned. He dined next to Marlon Brando his first night there, and he could have sworn he saw Ava Gardner a day later. He thought he could get used to living in a place like that. In Los Angeles, everyone was treated like a star, it didn’t matter if you were once a poor boy from Kilrea. As long as you wore an expensive suit and had a beautiful woman on your arm, you were accepted as one of them.
He started sleeping with Catherine the first night they arrived. She didn’t take things slowly. She simply asked him, “Do you want to go to bed with me? I’ve never slept with someone who worked for my father.”
Colin loved his daughter, but he didn’t love Sheila, although he was fond of her. He’d married her for Camille’s sake. He felt guilty about Sheila and their daughter back at home, but he still went to bed with Catherine. They were careful to keep it a secret from Max.
“How are things going with my daughter?” Sean asked him on the telephone four days after they arrived.
“Things are going very well.”
“You two aren’t getting comfortable, are you?”
Colin could tell Sean wasn’t kidding. “Of course not, Mr. McCarthy. I’m just here doing my job with Catherine and Violet. I’m keeping them safe.”
“Good.” Sean cleared his throat on the other end of the line. “Put Max on the phone. I want to speak to him.”
“Max is out at the moment.”
“It’s you two alone, eh? You and Cathy in the hotel? Is she in her own room? Is she in your room? Where is she?”
Max, Colin, and Catherine and Violet had adjoining rooms.
Colin nodded, except Sean couldn’t hear him. “Colin, are you there?” Sean sound irritated.
“Yeah, sorry.”
“Where is she?”
“She’s in her room with Violet.”
“Tell Max to give me a call as soon as he returns.” Had Sean believed him?
“Sure thing, boss.” Colin hung up.
“Who was that?” Catherine had just stepped in from the outdoor pool and into Colin’s room wearing only her bathing suit and a towel. Her long, dark hair dripped water on the plush cream carpet. Her firm skin was also kissed with water, like dewdrops on the grass at dawn. Max had taken Violet for a drive to see the ocean.
“It was your father.”
“What did he want?”
“He wanted to know how things were, and why I was alone with you.”
“You told him I was alone with you?”
“Not exactly, but I told him Max was out. He wanted to speak with Max. What was I supposed to do, imitate Max’s voice?”
“You could’ve told him Max was in the bathroom. You could’ve lied. You didn’t have to say he left the hotel.” She dried her hair with a th
ick, white towel.
“Come on, Cathy, you know your father. He would’ve made me drag Max right off the toilet or out of the shower.” Colin felt comfortable enough to use her nickname.
Catherine couldn’t stop laughing. “Yeah, you’re right.”
Colin smiled. “Come here.”
“You want some loving?” She stopped drying her hair. He nodded.
Catherine stepped close, and he sighed as she pressed her lips to his.
“I think I’m in love with you,” Colin said.
She smiled but didn’t say anything. He draped her over his shoulder and set her on the bed.
“I’m nervous,” Catherine said outside of the studio door.
They had been in Los Angeles for a week relaxing and shopping, and today they headed out to the movie studio where Catherine said she had been promised a screen test and maybe even a small part in a film. She’d hired a sitter to watch Violet at the hotel.
“You’re going to do terrific,” Colin said.
“Are you sure you like this dress?” Catherine stroked the red fabric.
“You look like a star!” Colin nudged Max’s shoulder. “Doesn’t she?”
“She sure does. She looks like a success.”
Catherine hugged both men, and Colin noticed Max blushing. “When are you supposed to go inside?” Colin asked.
“In two minutes.”
“That’s soon,” Max said.
“You’re making me more nervous.”
“All right, Cathy, you better go in now. You don’t want to be late.” Colin put his hand to Catherine’s back and gently pushed her toward the door. He started to follow her but Max held him back.
“Sean said she could go in by herself. He trusts them.”
“Really?”
Max nodded.
Catherine knocked on the studio door and gave her name, and was let inside by an older woman with blonde hair and cat-eye glasses.
“Do you want to get a drink?” Max asked Colin after the red door had shut.
“Shouldn’t we wait here for her?”
“She’ll be fine. Her father knows them.”
“Maybe we should check on Violet.”
