Getting Old Can Hurt You

by Rita Lakin

  Dix stares at his running target. When he looks around, he sees the cops are coming at him from all sides. They’re gaining on him! He finally realizes he’s outnumbered. With a frustrated last glance at his prey, he and Dockson reverse pattern and rush back down the steps, trying to evade the cops getting closer to them.

  Hicks merely plants himself on the nearest seat to await his fate, head in his hands. He’s done.

  Tori shouts to Morrie and Jack. ‘Hurry! Catch them!’

  The cops reverse their order.

  Dix and Dockson fight their way back down the steps, arriving where the scattered bettors stand, leaning on the rail. The racetrack aficionados turn, seeing a confusing sight. The cops are almost where they are. And so are three men trying to avoid them.

  There is nowhere for Dix to turn. Except to try to escape through the infield. And the only way to get there …

  … Dix, pushing people out of his way, leaps over the fence and onto the racetrack. Dockson stops a moment, then, fearfully, he jumps over as well. People scream, horrified. What on earth is going on? Don’t those guys know that there are ten heavyweight horses that will be bearing down on them any minute?

  The starting buzzer is heard. The horses, with their jockeys holding tight to the reins, are coming their way, full speed; jockeys using their whips, urging their mounts to run faster, kicking up sand and dust. Making the turn in record time.

  With inches to spare from the hooves of the thundering herd, Dix takes a desperate leap over the infield fence, where racetrack staffers watch in horror. Dockson tries to escape the onrush of horses’ hooves and is too late. He is knocked down by the first two horses, racing neck and neck, edging their way toward win and place. People in the stands scream some more.

  The diehards cheer as their Panorama Stables horse goes past the finish line. However, there’s another horse with him, neck and neck.

  Tori, Fred and the Woodleys watch the capture, fascinated. But, thank God, Tori is relieved. Her daddy is safe. They are all safe.

  Dix lands over the infield fence, head first into a bougainvillea trellis, only to peer up to see a gun in his face and the smiling cop holding it.

  Dockson never makes it to the infield fence; he ends up with a broken leg. No horses were injured.

  It’s a photo finish. The winner is Morning Glory! Pays $9.20 to win.

  Izzy does get to speak to his son, once they are both back at police headquarters. Izzy hopes to share a cell. His request is denied.

  Dix rudely ignores his father. ‘Who the hell are you, anyway?’

  ‘If you came home more often, you’d know. I’m you’re father, Chaz, my boy. By the way, did you like living in my house? And where’s my Edsel?’

  Dix walks away, totally uninterested. ‘Get lost.’

  Izzy, a closet intellectual and basically upbeat guy, chooses a Shakespearean quotation to make himself feel better. He shrugs his shoulders and quotes, ‘How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a thankless child.’

  ‘Right on, King Lear,’ he says as he’s shown back to his cell. The guard couldn’t care less as he turns the key in the lock.

  FORTY-NINE

  Long Distance

  The girls are gathered in my tiny kitchen where my phone lives. They sit crowded at my equally small kitchen table, chomping away on bagels slathered with lox, cream cheese, tomatoes and red onion. With coleslaw on the side. Hold the capers. Decaf coffee ‘to wash it down with.’ Bella insists the food will give them strength.

  Strength for what? To listen? She and Sophie have been quite odd lately.

  I stand near the window, waiting. I repeat the rules I set down. ‘No talking when we talk or I won’t be able to hear what she’s saying.’ It’s been arranged. Ida will call promptly at noon; nine a.m. our time in Florida. Tori, Ida and Fred have been gone for two weeks. We are all excited, waiting to hear the news from the other coast.

  Everyone stares at the clock on my wall, watching the second hand going round.

  The phone rings on the dot. As planned, I answer on the speaker-phone, so they will hear everything as well. Saves me having to repeat myself.

  The phone call:

  Me, ‘Hello Ida.’

  Ida, ‘Hello, everybody. Hello, Gladdy. Hello, Evvie. Hello Sophie and Bella.’ (One unit, twins as usual.) This is the sound of a happy person. Grumpy Ida is no more?

  The girls shout at the phone, ‘Hello. Hello. Hello.’

  Me (making small talk), How’s the weather out there?

  Sophie, ‘Who cares about the weather? It’s sunny there. It’s sunny here. It’s sunny everywhere. So, what happened with Tori?’

  Me, ‘Sophie, I said keep out!’

  Sophie, ‘Well you’re too slow getting to the point.’

  Evvie, ‘Sophie. Shut up. Let Gladdy do it her way.’

  Me (glaring at Sophie), ‘So, Ida, what’s going on?’

  Ida, ‘It’s been incredible. Tori and I and Fred went to visit Helen in prison.’

  Bella (confused as usual), ‘You mean they went to see him go to jail, too?

  Me, ‘Bella. Shh … listen.’

  Ida, ‘It’s amazing and everything’s happened so fast. When Fred escaped and arrived at Fort Lauderdale and met up with the Woodleys, they got him to a great lawyer who worked along with his LA lawyer, with orders not to reveal who he is or where he is. Something to do with lawyer-client privilege about privacy. Between them, Fred sent back all the stolen money.’

  Bella, ‘Fred didn’t drown? The money didn’t get wet. He didn’t spend it?’

  Evvie comforts her. ‘We’ll explain it to you later. Okay? Get some more coffee and relax.’ Bella gratefully heads for the coffee pot.

  Sophie, ‘He sent the money back?’

  Me (to Sophie), ‘Can’t you wait a minute? Must you always jump the gun? I was getting there.’

  Sophie and Bella shake hands. They giggle. Evvie and I exchange a glance. Those two are weird. If I didn’t know better, I’d think they’re on drugs. Nah, not them …

  Ida, ‘The bank didn’t want to press charges, relieved that they got their money back. And the DA didn’t intend to press charges either, because it had passed the statute of limitations. I don’t really understand, but it’s good news, isn’t it?’

  Sophie and Bella yell out in unison. ‘Great!’

  Bella is about to refill her coffee and drops the ceramic cup on the floor. Crash. Loud whispering follows – Bella in an argument with Sophie. I shake my fist at them to be quiet. Sophie is warning Bella about something purple that she ate? Huh? I try to ignore them.

  Me, ‘Ida, that’s wonderful news.’

  Ida, ‘More legal stuff. I don’t understand any of it, but here’s the scoop. Dix and guys didn’t get arrested for the bank job, but they couldn’t escape the kidnapping charge. Hicks made a deal with the cops, telling them all about the kidnapping, so he wouldn’t have to go to jail, or maybe he’ll just serve a short term, I don’t know. But he’s all right, because he turned something called state’s evidence on Dix and Dockson. There’s no statute of limitation for kidnapping; Dix will be in prison forever. Dix is toast.

  ‘And more great news, their lawyer who has been working on it for years is close to getting Helen out of prison soon.’

  Evvie cheers.

  Ida. ‘That’s when we went to prison to visit Helen to tell her the big news. And you should have seen their faces – Fred and Helen. Like fifteen years never happened. They weren’t allowed to touch, but they were sending air-kisses like crazy. Tori and I were eating it up. A reunion, just like in the movies.’

  Bella, the sentimental one. ‘Ahh, that’s sweet.’

  Sophie (furious), ‘He dumps her, nine months pregnant, and runs away with all the stolen money. She rots in jail and he becomes a millionaire and Helen forgives him!’

  Evvie, ‘They made that pact.’

  Bella yells, ‘Hooray!’

  Me, ‘Bella, don’t step on the glass.’ Bella
is still on her knees searching the floor.

  Sophie goes to help her pick up the coffee-cup pieces. They are making so much noise in that tiny space, that I have to hold my ear to the phone in order to listen to Ida.

  Ida, ‘And you know what else is wonderful? I’ve met with Shirley and Marilyn, my beautiful granddaughters.’

  I can hear her telling me this, all choked up. ‘They are such lovely women. And I got to hold my adorable great-grandchildren. And, hopefully, my daughter will be released soon. Everything is good. What? Hold on. Gladdy, I’m being called. Gotta go. We’re all going out to someplace special, Solly’s deli for breakfast. Love to all and Tori says hi.’

  She hangs up and so do I.

  Wow! Silence for a few moments as we respond emotionally to all that news.

  The door opens and Jack enters, carrying today’s newspaper. He announces, ‘Have you seen what’s going on outside?’

  ‘No, we’ve been on the phone with Ida. I can’t wait to fill you in.’

  Evvie asks Jack, looking toward the door, ‘What’s happening?’

  ‘Selma is banging on Sophie’s door, yelling something about suing her next-door neighbor for a broken wall.’

  Sophie takes Bella’s hand and they skulk toward the door. They offer up no information as they tiptoe out. But they look anxious.

  I wonder what that’s about. ‘Jack, sit down. Want lunch?’

  Evvie says, ‘Gladdy, did you hear the last thing Ida said?’

  ‘Goodbye?’

  ‘No, after that. She said, ‘Gloria says hi.’

  I think on it. ‘Gloria? Not Tori? Hmmm. That’s a really good omen. I think.’

  Evvie adds, ‘A happy ending.’

  Jack turns to me. He’s at the open refrigerator. ‘Who ate all the bagels? A guy can starve around this place.’

  Evvie and I laugh. Life is back to normal.

  Acknowledgements

  To my best fans; my sister, Judy and my granddaughter Alison and my good friends.

  To Nancy Yost and all the gang at NY Literary.

  To my critique gang: For their appreciation for the Gladdy books: Peggy Lucke, the two Lambs-Bette and JJ, Nicola Trwst, Gwen Kauffman, Judith Yamamoto and Ken Gwin.

  To Camille Minichino, Kelli Stanley and Priscilla Royal who read all the Gladdy books. Wonderful friends and writers that they are.

  And to the many wonderful fans who keep writing; asking when the next Gladdy books will be available. Thank you for your loyalty. And here they are.

  And thanks to my faithful special readers Sandy Carp and Lois Leonard.