by William Cain
Addie nods in agreement and begins to return to Frank.
“I guess you said yes,” the nurse asks.
She looks over her shoulder, smiling, laughing, “You’re damn right I did,” and she holds her left hand up to show the nurse her new ring.
Addie returns to the room and the nurse tells the other desk nurse to monitor the vitals of 302c; they both share a knowing moment.
Addie enters the room, locks the door, and his eyes widen, “What are you doing?”
Stepping ever closer to the bed, Addie begins to unbutton her blouse.
Chapter 11 Frank and Addie
Three days later
I wish I had done everything on Earth with you. The Great Gatsby
Frank is recovering, seated in a chair beside his bed, performing some light stretches, as he’s been taught. His nurse is in the room with him discussing his vitals and his recovery. He’s to report to physical therapy on Monday. The nurse discusses the planned rehabilitation so that Frank is aware and on board with what he needs to do. She makes it clear that the recovery is largely based on his rehabilitation, which they’re starting quickly in order to prevent his shoulder from seizing.
Addie walks into room 302c and sees Frank sitting in the chair, walks over to him, and kisses him. Her eyes are twinkling and she’s wearing a smart new outfit. She tells him it came from Saks and that Daphne helped pick it out, “You like?” He nods in agreement. New York seems to suit her.
Addie looks around the room and sees Frannie. He’s there with a young lady. Looking at the two of them, she makes a guess, “This must be your fiancé, Frannie.” He steps forward to give Addie a short embrace. Afterward, she turns to the young girl, “I’m Adelaide Henson, Frank’s fiancé. I’m still trying to get over the novelty of saying it. Let me congratulate you on your engagement to Frannie. Do you think we should have a double wedding?” and, laughingly, feeling goofy, she adds, “Just kidding. Frank and I haven’t even begun to make our plans.”
Frannie introduces her, “This is my special someone, Agatha Winslow,” and the pretty girl steps forward, holding out her hand.
“Hi, Ms. Henson, I mean Detective. Pleased to finally meet you.”
Addie takes her hand and pulls her closer, embracing her, “I’m not really a handshake type of girl.” And when they separate, each feels the other is at ease, the way it should be.
Frank is taking all this in, privately thinking, so far so good, and suggests to Adelaide, “Maybe we should begin to make plans for my post-rehab stint. I’d like to come down to Asheville in April for an extended visit. I could stay with my mother if you don’t have the room.”
Addie turns from her embrace with Agatha, looks at Frank judgingly, then turns back to her again and pans, “You sure you really want one of these guys? I’m having second thoughts myself.” They laugh a little. Frank and Frannie are all grins.
Frédérica soon arrives, and with her is Reggi, who is trying to take over Frank’s care like any mother, but she’s getting shot down and has stepped aside for Adelaide. Frank calls out to them, “Hi, girls. I think it’s time for my discharge, I’m ready.” The nurse that’s been working in the room brings a wheelchair closer to where Frank is seated and points to it while eyeing Frank. Frank gets the idea fully and he transfers over to it. Everyone gathers up what they can carry, and they follow Frank, with Addie walking alongside the nurse behind him.
The nurse, while pushing the chair along, speaks to Addie, “He’s a strong man, and his recovery will be quick since he exercises a lot and he’s in shape. Still, everyone recovers at their own pace, and it is February. We’re in the middle of a polar vortex, so it’s really cold out. He needs to make sure he doesn’t catch a cold, and especially the flu. So, no matter how strong he is, something like that is decimating. He may feel fine, but he has to be careful. Last words,” and she smiles without lecturing.
When they’re finished wheeling him through the hospital, they arrive at the limousine, and, even though they’re in a sheltered exit, it’s bitterly cold. So cold the snow won’t stick to any surface. But the sun is out, and there’s no wind. Frank is told to enter first, and, reluctantly, he awkwardly steps over the door sill and slides inside. The rest of them, ladies first, follow quickly to escape the cold, and when Frannie enters, he looks like an ice cube. His hair is blown around, and his eyes are wet and wide.
In the limo, and as they drive to his brownstone, Frank thanks Frédérica for caring. He’s humbled. She replies, “We were married. Despite all our history, I think we still care for each other.” Then, looking over at Addie, she pauses and tells her, “Good luck.” They all find themselves laughing, but it’s the relief from potential tragedy that guarantees the release, the laughing, so easy. Frank Thomas was lucky.
After they arrive at Frank and Frannie’s home, they bring all his belongings in; the medicine, the therapy gear, the brace, the pulley and cable works for exercising. Frédérica bids farewell, and Addie tells her driver to take Frédérica where she needs to go. The driver tells her, “I’ll return after, ok?” and she nods. Looking over at Frank, she tells him the driver won’t go home and is always within earshot when she needs him. “I can’t get rid of him. He’s probably got a hotel room nearby. Daphne took care of it, I’m sure. He usually knocks off around ten, unless I ask him to remain, but he won’t go until then, no matter what I say.”
Frank suggests Addie look around while he settles in and makes a few calls. Addie raises a brow and warns him, “Nothing too much. Don’t raise your blood pressure.”
Frannie assures her, “I’ll stay with him. Since he’s been sidelined, I’ve been running things. I’ll just bring dad up to date and make sure he takes it easy.”
“I’ll show you around, Addie,” Agatha says, and the two girls leave their company after Addie shoots Frank her “behave yourself” look.
Walking through the three-story home, to Addie, or anyone, it’s really something. The brownstone sits off Central Park on the Upper West Side. Each floor sports high ceilings with ornate copper tiles and panels. Facing forward on each floor are large, bowed, blown-glass windows overlooking the street below, sunlight filling them. One, a master bedroom on the third floor, the other, a living room on the second floor, the last, a den on the first. The rear of each floor overlooks a private courtyard. In the basement is an apartment that’s self-contained with its own entrance. Frank keeps a home office there also, and its walls are lined with bookcases.
“Impressive?” Agatha asks.
Addie says, simply, “Yes. I think I fell in love with the right guy.”
Smiling, Agatha concurs, “Me, too.”
“Where do you think you’ll live after you’re married?” Addie asks.
“Here. Frank gave us the apartment in the basement. We can save for a place of our own that way.” Then quickly, she asks, “We’re not intruding are we? On you and Frank?”
Addie responds in kind, “Of course not. I’m not the pretentious female I look like. I’m a detective, not much bothers me. Except for Frank,” she playfully adds. “We don’t even know where we’re going to make our home. We haven’t discussed it. I just said yes three days ago. Look, I’m wearing an engagement ring made from a bandage!”
After heading upstairs, they find the boys. Frannie tells Addie and his dad that he and Agatha need to step out for a while, and they make their farewell embraces. After they’ve left, Frank proposes, “Let’s go out for a walk tomorrow. It’ll be warmer, and exercise will be good for me.”
Addie looks him over, “But not too much. Now I’ve read the rehab instructions, your shoulder brace, and your daily exercise routine, and we’ve got some work to do, but first this.” She leans toward him with a warm embrace and kiss, and he remembers the monitors beeping loudly that certain early, early morning in the hospital.
It’s his move.
◆◆◆
The next day, Addie looks over at Frank while they’re sharing a light breakfast
of fruit and yogurt. “Today, let’s start with a sponge bath,” and they head upstairs later, towards the bath. She draws the water and he removes his brace tenderly. There’s still a little blood seepage from the incision, and she applies antiseptic and helps him ease into the water. After a few moments, while soaping his back and moving to the front, she teasingly asks, “Francis, are you shy? You devil.”
“I haven’t had one of these since I was six,” he sheepishly replies, snickering.
Afterward, she helps him dress, and when she herself is also ready, they go out for a walk mid-morning. Even though it’s February, the sunlight is bright and warm. Addie takes in all she sees. At street level is a theater or two, retail shopping, restaurants, corner markets and delis. The street is crowded with cars and buses, taxis, and private car services. Subway entrances are nearby, and the scene is loud at times. “It gets quiet later,” Frank says, reading her mind.
As they walk, Frank asks Addie, “I need to tell you something, and ask you something. Would it be ok?”
Keenly interested, she nods her head, and he inquires, “What’s your big casework about?”
She looks at him and hesitates before answering, then tells him, “I can’t discuss it, but I can tell you that it’s an investigation into a crime in Heritage Hills last July.”
Frank explains his elderly mother’s fragile circumstances, “And you have my mother helping you with this? She’s a witness?”
“Yes, she saw something on the day the crime was committed. I’m not sure, but she may be helpful. We have to follow all our leads to solve the case. It’s a big case. It’s a big deal.”
He dwells on this a moment and mentions his deceased father, to Alzheimer’s, “You’re aware of how my dad died a while ago? Then there’s her own age. She’s easily upset.”
“I am aware. I’m really careful when I engage Reggi,” she says reassuringly.
Then Frank drops a bomb, “She recently became engaged to some guy named Ken Jones. I haven’t met him yet. It’s happening quickly. I think they want to marry in the fall.”
Addie stops dead in her tracks. Frank stops too, and, facing her, puts his hands on her hips and says with an air of bewilderment, “I know. Me, too. Everyone’s getting married, and the least likely are these two senior citizens. It’s a crazy world.” Then, gauging Adelaide’s reaction, he curiously asks, “What is it?”
“I’m just surprised, that’s all,” Addie replies after regrouping, and her mind is coming to some awful conclusions.
Detective Henson concludes Jones (he was away) and possibly Reggi (she wasn’t away, but the idea is ridiculous) killed his wife—as they’re having an affair. This is crazy.
Because of the timeline, and after what Edwin told him, Frank believes Henson is investigating Mrs. Jones’s murder and that she’s holding back.
But for now, they both leave it be.
◆◆◆
The next day is warmer, and Addie’s driver takes them to 47th St. and Broadway. Addie’s still wearing the bandage ring and she tells Frank, “I’ll never take it off.” They’re laughing and holding hands, walking slowly because of his injuries, to the shops between 6th and 5th—jewelry row, the Diamond District. He suggested they go early to avoid crowds. He doesn’t want to physically bump shoulders with anyone. She’ll pick out her setting and stone today.
They’re enjoying shopping around and are both excited over their engagement. After looking over the inventory at a number of dealers, Frank suggests they go to a high floor where specialty dealers are, inside a building across the street. She selects a setting at a dealer Frank has known for a number of years.
The dealer, Samuel his name, suggests they interweave the cloth inside yellow 24k gold. The couple will be able to see the outlines and imperfections the bandage introduces to the setting, and there will never be another like it. It will last forever. It’s a very compelling design to go with a likewise compelling story behind it. They instantly warm to the idea, smiling broadly, and the dealer imagines he’s with a couple of teenagers.
The setting they choose is a high mount, and the stone is a three carat, near perfect, teardrop, pear shape. It’s just right. The dealer tells them the price, one hundred thousand dollars. Disappointed, Addie suggests to Frank they downsize. Frank looks at Adelaide and tells her, “I’m not buying another one ever, ever. Let me see what we can work out.” Looking over to the dealer, he asks, “What’s it really worth, Samuel?”
Addie takes this as her cue and tells the two of them she needs to go to the powder room. After the door closes, Frank begins the bargaining, the dance, “I think forty.”
Samuel looks hurt, “This is artisanship, you can’t just buy that. This will be art!”
“Sixty,” Frank says.
“Ninety,” the dealer says.
“I’ll meet you in the middle.”
“Done.”
After Addie returns, Frank asks her to remove the bandage ring she has on, and she does. Looking at her finger now, she feels somewhat lost without the ring of cotton on her left hand. Frank slyly notices her expression.
Frank shakes hands with Samuel and they leave the dealer, bidding farewell to him. He told them the ring will be ready in a month, with papers. Leaving the Diamond District, they walk over to have lunch at Rockefeller Center, in the restaurant that looks out at the skating rink, the Rock Center Café. It’s very romantic, having a light lunch and watching couples skating, laughing. Every once in awhile, someone will lose their footing and slip, landing on their rear end. Conspiratorially, they look at each other, amused.
After lunch, Frank takes Addie to the Peninsula Hotel on 55th, where they take a private elevator to the top, to the rooftop lounge. Here they can look over the city, over Fifth Avenue. Frank tells her, “This is one of my favorite places. Where else would you find these views and thirty-dollar beers.” They share an amusing, muted laugh that only couples in love can, looking into each other’s eyes.
He takes her to the side of the roof, looking north, up Fifth Avenue. The street scene is very busy. This is the media area of Manhattan, and you’ll find every cable group, news media, every station, right there. Anything that deals with reaching the public; political figures, foreign powers. It’s a big deal, and today is a work day. From the twenty-second floor, the view reaches to Central Park and down to the Empire State Building. It’s impressive.
He knows she misses her ring. “I have something for you. I brought you here so we’d remember this,” and he brings out a small box from his pocket and gets down on one knee. The other people nearby stop and watch as she slowly opens the box. She stares at the contents and brings her other hand to her mouth, trying not to cry. Inside is another cloth ring, made from his bandage. “I made this for you last night, Adelaide, while you were sleeping. Will you marry me?”
The tears begin to flow, “Yes, I will marry you.” She leans down closer to him and whispers into his ear, as loudly as one can without being heard by anyone else, “Now get up, ya stud, you’re embarrassing me.”
The rooftop lounge of the Peninsula Hotel erupts in applause and celebration.
◆◆◆
They wake up the next morning well rested. She’s looking at him, “g’morning Frank.” He turns toward her, and she brushes the hair from his eyes, “I love you.”
They have breakfast together. Addie returns to work that day. He tells her he’ll be there in April. “We’ll talk every night.”
Addie looks him over, “Just finish healing.”
Frank sees the detective in Adelaide has returned. She’s all business as she packs and then marches out to meet Daphne and the waiting limousine.
Chapter 12 Revelations
March
If I’d observed all the rules, I’d never got anywhere. Marilyn Monroe
Daphne’s making a light lunch on the way back to Asheville. When they left New York, a gentle rain had begun to fall, as an unusual warm front had enveloped the metropolis in cont
rast to the stark, harsh cold weather earlier in the week. Addie found herself liking New York City, and her mind wandered to thoughts of living there with Frank, as her husband, in his home on the West Side. Despite the busy, crowded streets, it held an allure for her that she didn’t expect. It’s more than just an appeal, it’s a temptation.
Still, Asheville is where she calls home, and her life is there. She built it, and it wasn’t easy. With Frank, things will be different, and she knows there will be changes and compromises they’ll both make, readily. She’s in line for promotion to Captain. Closing this case will seal that likelihood. Does she really want to abandon that? Would she make that sacrifice? Where’s the middle of the road? It’s going to be a bridge they’ll cross or build as they go along, but a little guidance can’t hurt. They have a lot to talk about. Addie begins to smile as she thinks about their future together.
Looking down at her hand, she spies her ring; a piece of thin, dirty woven bandage wrapped around her finger. What’s happened over the last week replays in her mind as Daphne sets the table. First, she lost Frank, then she found Frank alive, then she said yes to marry him. She met his ex-wife Frédérica, and their son Frannie and his fiancé Agatha. She even made love to Frank in the hospital. It was beautiful. “What the hell is happening me?” Addie mulls, “I never…” She silently, meekly lets herself express what might look like a smile, but it’s more like a contentment, and Daphne looks at her in the knowing way that one woman has for another.
“Lunch time,” Daphne announces, and they both sit down to have a bite together. As they dig into the food before them, the jet continues onward, white, full, almost weightless clouds beneath them, clear skies above. Even with the turbines growling, the journey is serene, and the soothing calm of a week spent in peace and happiness settles in around them. As they share the meal, they begin to learn more about each other, and Daphne’s not concerned Addie the Detective will insert herself into the conversation; she’s comfortable.
