A New York Romance
Page 21
“So, what are you doing tomorrow, Charlie Daniels?” Julie asked as they walked away.
“I have to go see a friend. He’s on his way to the hospital. Other than that, I’m free,” he replied with a smile.
“Sorry to hear about your friend,” she replied. “I hope he’s okay.”
“He knew it was coming,” Charlie said with a smile.
Chapter 34
The next morning, Jill woke to a knock on the door. She opened it to find a sharply dressed man. He reached into the inner coat pocket of his vest and pulled out a badge.
“Can I help you?”
“I’m detective Johnson. Are you Julie Lavine?”
“No, I’m her mother. May I ask what this is about?”
“Is she here?”
“No. What is this about?”
“I wanted to ask your daughter about a Mr. Charlie Daniels. Has she mentioned him to you?”
“Yes, is she okay?”
“You don’t know where your daughter is? She wouldn’t be with Mr. Daniels would she?” the detective asked. Jill could tell they didn’t know where she was either.
“No, she was with some friends last night,” she lied.
“Did she ever mention to you where Mr. Daniels is staying?”
“No, she hasn’t seen him in a long time. Doesn’t know what happened to him. Why are you asking?”
“Nothing for you to be concerned about?”
“What kind of trouble is he in? If it’s for that suicide attempt, I can tell you my daughter was there and it was a big misunderstanding. He wasn’t trying to kill himself.”
“It’s more than that, ma’am. He was checked into a hospital after an accident, but he left under suspicious circumstances. There was no trace of his fingerprints, no one knew who he was, and he never came to court for what he was liable for. You tell me why a man simply doesn’t exist on paper then tries to hide it, releasing himself from the hospital with broken bones and is never heard from again.”
“That does sound strange,” Jill admitted.
“And now…well, let’s leave it at that. Let’s just say we received a call from a very prominent lawyer who is now in the hospital. If you see him, could you please contact me?” the detective said as he held out his card. “I would advise your daughter to stay away from him if I were you. It would also be in your best interest to call me if he shows up.”
Jill slowly closed the door as the detective turned and walked away.
“I love you, Charlie Daniels,” Julie said as they woke up in the hotel overlooking the city.
“I love you, Juliet Lavine,” he replied.
While Charlie showered, Julie called her mother to let her know she was fine. She felt as if her mother would be worried because she did not come home last night.
“A detective came by this morning,” Jill told her.
“What did he want?”
As Charlie showered her mother told her the story. When Charlie was finished, Julie said, “The police are looking for you, Charlie. They’re suspicious that you had no records from the hospital and there’s something else, but they wouldn’t tell my mother what it is. Something about a lawyer. I know you won’t lie to me. So have you done anything else that I should know about?”
“Well, there is one other thing. It has to do with my ‘friend’ in the hospital,” Charlie confessed. “You should just come with me and you’ll understand.”
When they showed up at the hospital and started to walk into Mr. Costea’s room, Julie pulled Charlie back from the doorway and asked, “That’s Mr. Costea, isn’t it?” Charlie shook his head to confirm it was he. “What did you do to him?”
“He was kind of run over with a taxi, but don’t worry, he won’t be mad at me. At least I don’t think he will. Tragedy always has the power to turn someone’s perception around, especially when they almost lose what they love most. In Mr. Costea’s case, that would be himself,” Charlie said with sarcasm.
They walked into his room. Mr. Costea was lying in the hospital bed. His wife sat in a chair at his side holding his hand. When he saw Charlie walk in, he mumbled to his wife, “That’s Charlie Daniels. He’s the one who tried to kill me.”
“Him?” Theresa asked as she let go of his hand and walked toward Charlie. “I know you,” she said as she stared at him. Mr. Costea looked on in confusion. He expected his wife to slap him or something, but she simply stared at him.
“He’s the one who said he was going to kill me,” Mr. Costea repeated.
Theresa looked at Charlie closely and said, “No Michael, he wouldn’t kill you. He’s an angel.”
“What? He did kill me. My heart stopped for over 3 seconds in an ambulance,” Mr. Costea argued.
“I know who you are,” Theresa interrupted as she stared deep into Charlie’s eyes. “I’ve been waiting for you. I wrote you. I knew you would help.”
“Help? He tried to kill me! What is going on?” Mr. Costea asked, wondering why his wife was siding with his adversary. Perhaps she was in on it, too, for the insurance money.
The truth of the matter was that Mr. Costea had already called his son and told him how much he loved him. He then promised his wife that he would not let another day slip by without showing her how much he appreciated her. He already started thinking about getting out of the firm and taking another job where he might have more time to spend with his family, especially his son who was slipping away from him.
“Yes, I read your letter and I did what I could. The rest is up to him,” Charlie responded as they both turned to look at Mr. Costea, lying confused in his bed.
“It’s working,” Theresa replied. “How can we repay you?” She turned her attention back to Charlie.
“Repay him?” Mr. Costea wondered what that about.
“Actually, I may be in need of some legal assistance very soon,” Charle smiled, considering his growing rap sheet that may or may not include attempted murder now.
“You want me to help him?” Mr. Costea said to his wife.
“Give him a couple weeks and stop over,” Theresa replied.
“You’re inviting him over? He’s a menace!”
After Charlie left, Theresa told her husband about the letter she wrote and why she wrote it.
“You mean, that monster is Cupid?” he asked her in disbelief.
Over the next couple weeks, Mr. Costea was released from the hospital, but he spent his days lying in his bed, watching his wife take care of him, with nothing to do but think about all the things Charlie Daniels demanded an apology for. He remembered Charlie’s words more clearly with each meal his wife brought him…for all the meals you’ve eaten without appreciation, for all the kindness that has come your way that you were not thankful for.
…What you do to them you do to me, to your wife, your sons, and yourself.
One morning he woke to a spider crawling across his blanket and his first instinct was to kill it. However, he hesitated, remembering Charlie’s demand to apologize for being inconsiderate to the creatures upon the Earth. I want an apology for every spider you’ve harmed and mosquito you’ve smashed.
He looked at the creature again and was surprised to find kindness in his heart. This kindness he felt gave him the courage to get out bed on his own for the first time since the accident. He captured the spider in a cup and took her outside, finding a safe place to release her.
Then he felt the kindness in his heart expand into joy as Charlie’s words echoed in his heart, your time of redemption is at hand, Mr. Costea. As he stood up, the sun burst through the clouds and he felt the joy turn to love and flow out to every creature upon the Earth. As the wind blew he simply whispered, “I’m sorry.”
“What are we doing today?” Charlie asked as they woke with the morning sunlight beaming through their New York City apartment window.
Julie playfully wrestled him, easily pinned him down.
“I have a present for you.”
“What is it?” he asked.
“Now if I told you that, it would spoil the surprise. First we have to get you some new clothes,” she smiled.
The day passed swiftly, and evening came.
“Let’s go, we don’t want to be late for the concert.”
“A concert?” Charlie replied as they hailed a cab.
“Where to?” the Arabic driver asked.
“B.B. King Blues Club & Grill,” Julie replied as she pulled out two tickets from her purse and handed them to Charlie.
“Air Supply?” Charlie replied with excitement. “We’re going to see Air Supply?”
“Air Supply?” the cab driver repeated. “I love Air Supply.” He slid in the CD and started singing along with the music. As the cabdriver sang, Charlie noticed something familiar on the seat next to Julie. He reached over and lifted it up to Julie’s dismay, “Ah, there’s my brown corduroy jacket. I thought I lost it.”
Julie put her head on Charlie’s chest as the music swept them all away.
“I’m lost in love,
And I don’t know much
I’m thinking about
I fell out of touch…”