by Joe Corso
Iris thought a moment. “No, I didn’t see that picture, but my girlfriend did and she liked it. I planned on seeing it this weekend, but here I am with you.”
“You girls are leaving tomorrow. I’m sending you to California. My man there will pick you up and you both can stay at Swifty’s house in Hollywood Hills.”
“Don’t be silly. Why would we want to go to California?”
“I’ll tell you why. I’m sending you to California because I’ve scheduled a screen test for the both of you for next week. You see … I need a female lead for my pictures and I thought of you girls. That is if you pass the screen test. Do you want to accept my offer?”
The girls couldn’t believe what Red just told them. They were speechless. “Is that why you asked us to come to New York? To have a screen test?”
“It was important to have Larry Bernstein see you. I wanted his opinion. I had to know what he thought of your looks, your voices, and whether, in his opinion, I should schedule you for a screen test. I guess you two passed his litmus test because you two will have a screen test at Columbia Pictures early next week. If you pass the test, which I’m pretty sure you will, then I’ll sign you to a contract at a salary far above what you’re making now. Oh! And I have a little gift for each of you” Red reached into his drawer and pulled out two small boxes and gave each girl a box. “Go ahead. Open them.” The girls opened the boxes and were speechless. The beauty of the bracelets stunned them. They couldn’t believe their eyes. They were looking at the most beautiful diamond bracelets they had ever seen. They looked at the bracelets and then at Red. Then, both of them rushed over to him and gave him a big hug and many kisses on his face. He pulled them off of him, laughing. “Hey, I couldn’t send you for a screen test looking like paupers, so enough with the kisses. Now go inside and relax. Go back to the table, and get yourselves a drink. I think the both of you could use a stiff one. Oh, I forgot something.” He opened his desk drawer, pulled out two envelopes, and handed one to each girl. “Put those envelopes in your pocketbooks.”
“What’s in the envelope, Red?” Tiffany asked.
“There’s $2500.00 in each envelope. I want you to have a little walking around money when you’re in California.” The girls left Red’s office and walked back into the ballroom giddy as a new bride on her wedding night, while Red reserved the first class airline tickets to LAX for them.
EPILOGUE
Present
“You did it again, Dad. You left me breathless, waiting for more.”
“Listen, Lynn, I explained how Red became involved with Marilyn Monroe. I told you about the three fighters and how they were all going to be champion fighters and famous movie stars and I told you about the new Starlight Club. What more is there to say, Lynn?”
“Dad, you left me with a lot of unanswered questions. For example, did Swifty ever win the Middleweight Championship of the World? Did Iris and Tiffany pass their screen test? And, did they ever become actresses? You explained in one of your stories that when Red and Jimmy the Hat took that trip to Florida, they had a relationship. Did Red and Iris ever resume their relationship?”
Bobby smiled. “There’s more to tell, Lynn, that’s for sure. The question is, can my old memory recollect the events without distorting them? I was in a fortunate position. I delivered meat and poultry to both Tufaro’s restaurant and the Starlight Club. But the Starlight Club was the only customer I handled myself and I used to hang around there. I got along well with all the wise guys and I know they really liked me. I know they trusted me and weren’t afraid to talk in front of me, even though I tried to distance myself from them whenever they started talking about the shady side of their business. Don’t forget, in the beginning, most of Red’s money came from his illicit activities. His truck hijacking and the Wednesday races, plus the money lending and the protection racket that evolved into his security company. From what I could see, he was making about twenty-five thousand dollars a week and his men socked away six thousand, maybe sixty-five hundred a week. A lot of the guys blew the easy money they were making, but not Red, he socked his money away. He had a secret place where he hid his money where no one would ever find it. At times, there were two or three million stashed there. That’s when he started buying legitimate businesses. Greed was getting the best of some of the other mob bosses. They started looking for more ways to make easy money and that’s when they started to venture into grey areas, like drugs. Red stayed away from drugs like it was poison. Instead, as his money accumulated, he started to invest it in car dealerships and restaurants. Red was doing all right, and don’t forget they were making this kind of money back in the sixties. Then, when the moment was right and the opportunity presented itself, he began to move more of his money into other legitimate businesses. Like Al Capone, Red’s money is still earning him money today and it will continue to earn money, even though he’s dead.”
“But, Dad, you haven’t answered any of my questions.”
Bobby smiled. It wasn’t one of his hearty smiles, but a thin ghost of a smile, and he answered his daughter cryptically. “The questions you just asked me, Lynn. Why, they’ll have to be answered in another story, at another time.”
