Tiramisu After Midnight
Page 21
I can’t leave Tata and Papà? Enrico replied almost instantly.
Fabrizio is there with them.
Fabrizio is the adventurer, not me. I’m just a simple lake boy.
We have lots of beautiful lakes in America. I live just south of Lake Ontario!
There was a pause. Owen waited. After about a minute a message appeared.
It’s hard to explain. You’re from a big, sophisticated American city, but I was born in the tiny town of Castelveccana. Lago Maggiore is more than my home, it’s who I am.
Owen jabbed at the keys. But I want to be with you! I want us to be together. I want to try!
Remember that silly story I told you about the princess in the tower?
Yes. Owen felt his throat grow tight.
Please don’t ask me to leave. My heart would shatter like glass.
Owen stared at the message, not knowing how to respond.
A moment later a message followed. Good night, sweet prince.
Owen placed his phone on the nightstand and tried to swallow the lump in his throat.
Two minutes later Owen’s phone beeped. He snatched it up off the table. Maybe Enrico had changed his mind. Owen punched the WhatsApp icon.
Jessy?
He opened the message.
Hey buddy, sorry for not answering back, but California is like a black widow. She makes love to you, then eats you whole. We’ve been working day and night on the script and it’s a go! I’ve decided to transfer here permanently. You’d love it! California has it all, except for one thing. You. And I miss you like my runaway shadow. Come out here and move in with me? The Jessy-Owen duo forever!
IT WAS well after midnight when Big Eddy and Owen walked into the all-night coffee shop on West Fayette Street. “Hey, are you hungry? They got some muffins and cakes and things.”
“Yeah, maybe I’ll have some tiramisu,” Owen said.
“Make that two and two coffees,” Big Eddy said to the tired-looking woman behind the counter.
They went over and sat down at the table in front of the window that looked out onto the street.
“So, you’re wearing a piece of the Italian guy’s heart around your neck and this other guy in California wants you to be his shadow, right?” Big Eddy sat down.
“Yeah, that’s more or less it,” Owen said as he sat down across from Big Eddy.
“Now that’s what I call karma. Let me see that chunk of glass again.”
Owen slipped the chain over his head and handed it to Big Eddy. “You don’t really believe life works like that, do you?” Owen said.
“Listen, motherfucker, for most of my life I believed in nothing and no one. And that’s exactly what life gave me. Nothing!” Big Eddy held the blob of glass up to the light and stared at it like it had magical powers. “Then one day I looked at myself lying there, dirty and miserable and I said, Big Eddy, with nothing, you got nothing else to lose. So—Allah, God, Fate, and Karma—call it what you want.” Big Eddy handed the pendant back to Owen. “Why not believe in it all?”
The woman came over and placed two cups of coffee and two bowls of tiramisu on the table.
Owen looked at the dessert.
“What’s wrong?” Big Eddy hunched over his bowl and shoveled a spoonful into his mouth.
“Whipped cream with a cherry on top?”
“Eat up. It’s good.”
Owen pushed aside the whipped cream until he could see a piece of sponge cake buried below. He raised his spoon to his mouth and tasted it cautiously. “Yuck! Instant coffee.” He made a sour face and put his spoon down.
“Tastes good to me,” Big Eddy said as he shoveled the last spoonful into his mouth, then looked over at Owen’s bowl. “Hey, if you ain’t gonna eat that, give it to me.”
“Be my guest.” Owen slid the bowl over to Big Eddy.
Big Eddy dug his spoon in and shoveled a mound of whipped cream into his mouth. “In the army you learn to take what they give you,” he said as he swallowed.
“It’s just, once you’ve had a taste of the real thing.” Owen shrugged. “It kind of ruins you for the rest.”
Big Eddy looked up from his bowl. “Are we still taking about the dessert or something else, here?”
Owen let out a breath. “I don’t know.”
“Listen up.” Big Eddy licked the last of the whipped cream off his spoon. “I got a question for you. What kind of gambling man are you?”
Owen frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I mean are you the type of man who goes with the odds, pulls the arm of that same old slot machine one more time, and heads out to California, or do you change games, risk it all, and go over to Italy and see if you can hit the jackpot?”
“I’ve never even been to a casino,” Owen said.
“Oh, but wait! There’s a third game.” Big Eddy held his fat finger in the air.
“What’s that?”
“Do nothing.” Big Eddy swept his hand. “Look around you. Your happily-ever-after is right here with me and the rest of us fools who are too frightened to ever gamble on the real thing.”
Owen glanced back at the woman behind the bar, the man in the old trench coat holding his cup with both hands, and the boy sitting in the booth peeling the label off his bottle of Bud. “I’m not much of a gambling man,” Owen said.
“Sure you are.” Big Eddy nodded. “That white powder you so happily sucked up your nose was probably smuggled into the country inside someone’s butthole, then cut with baking soda and maybe some laundry soap and who knows what else.” Big Eddy hunched his massive shoulders. “So you’ve already proven you like to gamble against the odds, haven’t you?”
“I thought you were supposed to be helping me?”
“Look, motherfucker, I got way too much hair on my back to be your fairy godmother, so you’re gonna have to figure this one out on your own.”
With the pendant held tightly in his fist, Owen looked out the grungy window onto the dark empty street. The full moon painted the pavement and buildings with a silvery hue. He opened his fist and stared down at the piece of glass. Suddenly his face burst into a smile. “Give me a ride to the airport?” Owen didn’t wait for an answer as he sprang to his feet. “Got to stop by the house and pick up my stuff first.” Owen paused and looked at Big Eddy. “How did you get so wise?”
“In the army.”
“The army?”
“Yeah, after the shit I saw in Iraq….” Big Eddy stood up, scraping his chair loudly against the floor. “If you’re not already brain-dead, the army will eventually wise you up.”
Chapter Fifty-Four
“CIAO, LITTLE brother,” that familiar voice dripped over the line.
“Ciao, Francesca.” Fabrizio’s tone was steady and guarded. “How are you?”
“Not good, not good at all.” Francesca’s voice was heavy and throaty. “I suppose you’ve heard the awful news.”
“That depends on what you’re referring to.” Fabrizio tried to hold back any tone of anger from his voice.
“Oh, yes. I’m sure you have enough worries of your own without concerning yourselves about me.”
Fabrizio said nothing.
“Well, I just wanted to call. I haven’t heard from you in so long.” Francesca paused. “How is Tata and your papà?”
“Everyone is fine, thank you,” Fabrizio said coldly.
Francesca took in a large breath of air. “Listen, dear brother, do you remember when you and Enrico asked to borrow money from me?” She made a nervous little laugh. “Well, it seems that Pietro and I have run into a little financial problem and, well….” She paused again. “I need to ask you for a small loan,” she said, rushing out the words. “Fifty thousand should be fine.”
“Ahhh,” Fabrizio started. “Francesca, you are the only sister we have—”
“Just a short-term loan,” she interrupted.
“Of course, we would help you if—”
She cut him off again. “Oh, I knew I could count
on you, little brother.”
“But we don’t have any money either. Right now, we are living off Papà’s pension and hopefully in the spring, the B&B will get going.”
“Well, what about me!” She slurred out the words like she’d been drinking.
“I’m really sorry, Francesca,” Fabrizio said.
Suddenly Francesca’s voice became hostile. “That cretino, Pietro, got caught for trying to hide money in Switzerland. The revenue police have frozen our bank accounts and repossessed the BMW.” She made a little gasp. “I don’t even have enough money to pay the condominium fees!”
“I wish we could help, but as you know our bank account has been frozen, too, until the revenue police have finished their investigation, so as I said we only have Papà’s pension and….”
“This is all your fault!” she screeched. “You and your brother and your frocio father killed my mother!” The phone went dead.
Chapter Fifty-Five
OWEN STORMED into the house. “Maggie!” he hollered.
“What’s wrong!” Maggie burst out of her bedroom.
“Nothing.” He scooped her up in his arms and swung her around.
“Put me down.” Maggie’s tone was serious. “Before you say anything more, there’s something you need to see first.”
Owen lowered Maggie to the floor. He furrowed his brow. “What’s happened? What’s wrong?”
“Come with me.” She took his hand and led him into her bedroom.
“Read this,” she said, pointing to her screen.
“What is it?”
Maggie’s hand trembled as she scrolled down her email page. “I need to know what you think.”
A feeling of dread swept over Owen as he pulled out the chair, sat down, and read.
Dear Maggie,
We do not know each other for a long time but I can’t stop thinking about you and I want you to come to Italy and marry with me. My brother told me to phone you and tell you how I feel but I’m too frightened you will say no, so I write you an email, instead.
Love Fabrizio
P.S. This is not a bullshit. I want to be your man.
“Oh, honey.” Owen voice was filled with tenderness. He looked up at Maggie and smiled. “So, are you going to go to Italy?”
“I can’t! I just started my apprenticeship with Chef Neri. I’ll never get a chance like this again as long as I live!” She looked as if she were on the edge of tears.
“And you’ll never find a man like Fabrizio as long as you live.”
“What am I going to do?” She broke into sobs.
Owen lifted her chin and looked her directly in the eyes. “Easy, you’re going to write him back and tell him to get a visa, hop on the next flight, and come here.”
Maggie’s chest heaved and she sniffled. “You really think he’d do that?”
“If he’s smart enough to know how lucky he is, he will.”
Maggie nodded and continued to sniffle.
“Now dry your eyes and blow your nose. Big Eddy’s waiting outside in the car. I just came home to get my toothbrush and a change of socks and underwear.”
Maggie eyed Owen suspiciously. “You’re not going to do what I think you’re going to do, are you?”
“Do you remember that twenty-foot diving tower at the pool where Jessy used to lifeguard?”
“Yeah, of course. Norman Elgin pushed me off. I did a massive belly flop and was red for a week after.”
“Well, I can’t tell you the number of times I stood on the end of that board with Jessy coaxing me to dive off, and when I finally did, I almost drowned myself.” Owen nodded.
“And?”
“Massive belly flop or not, I’m about to dive off the end of that tower headfirst, once again!” Now Owen was having trouble holding back the tears.
“So, you still haven’t told me, is that tower facing west toward California or east toward Italy?”
“Honey, do you really need to ask?” Owen beamed.
Maggie smiled back at him. “You know,” she said. “You’re the only person who’s ever made me wonder what it would be like if I had been a gay guy.”
“And you’re the only person who’s ever made me regret I wasn’t born straight.” He wrapped her in his arms and held her tight against his chest.
Chapter Fifty-Six
“THEY’RE HERE!” Enrico ran up to open the gate.
A red Fiat 500 ran over the stone at the edge of the garden, flattening the hydrangea as it pulled in and drove down the lane. It jerked to a halt and stalled. Fabrizio got out of the driver’s side and stood leaning against his open door, with a smile as wide as the lake. Enrico ran down the lane and the two boys embraced.
The passenger door flew open and Maggie stepped out. She was wearing a knee-length khaki skirt, tan pumps, and a beige cotton blouse. Her black hair glistened down to her shoulders.
“Who is that breathtaking woman standing in our driveway?” Owen called out as he ran up, wrapped his arms around her, and swung her in the air. “Sous-chef. Wow! Big promotion. Congratulations.”
“What happened?” Enrico said as he held his brother back and looked him up and down. Fabrizio was wearing a pair of Levis, cowboy boots, and a Ralph Lauren plaid shirt. “Were you kidnapped by cowboys?”
“Hey, it’s American style.” Fabrizio held up his thumbs. “I start business school at Syracuse U as soon as we get back, and I want to make a good impression.”
“Oh, my heavens!” Maggie said. “The house looks gorgeous! Even better than the photos!”
“Ahh, we’ve still got a mountain of work to do, but just wait till you see the tower,” Owen said as he took Maggie’s hands in his. “Hey, you better be careful or you’ll dislocate your shoulder wearing a rock like that on your finger.” He held up her hand and examined her engagement ring.
“Oh, by the way, Big Eddy sends his love,” Maggie said. “We went to his graduation just before we left. Top of his class at Law Enforcement and Security Guard College.” Maggie shook her head. “You know, that was the first time I’ve heard a valedictorian speech start out with the phrase, ‘Listen up, motherfuckers.’”
“Oh, I heard from Jessy!” Owen said. “They’ve just finished a script treatment and they’re pitching it to George at his place on Lake Como, so Jessy will be spending a few days with us afterwards.”
On the other side of the car it was as if Enrico and Fabrizio had never parted. “What about Grazia’s baby?”
“Well it turns out Maria is unable to have children of her own, and so she and Luigi have adopted Grazia’s baby. Funny how things work out, eh?”
Fabrizio’s face became serious. “What about Papà?”
Enrico shrugged and nodded. “He’s the same. He asks about you. You were always his favorite boy, you know.”
Fabrizio held Enrico’s face in his hands, and they touched foreheads the way they always used to do. “And you will always be my favorite boy, little brother.”
“I know.” Enrico shot a glance over at Owen and winked. “Just don’t tell my husband. Now c’mon, there’s a little old Sicilian lady in the kitchen whose been cooking for three days straight, and she’s dying to see you.”
A long-distance romance never works, so some say. It will rob you of your sanity and drain you of your money. In 1997, MARK DAVID CAMPBELL met Piero Salvioni on a rock in Mykonos, where they spent less than forty-eight hours together but stayed in touch. After a four-year long-distance relationship between Toronto and Milan, Mark finally moved to Italy, and more than twenty years later, they are still together, dividing their time between their apartment in Milan and the house at Lago Maggiore.
By Mark David Campbell
Tiramisu After Midnight
Published by DREAMSPINNER PRESS
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of author imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Tiramisu After Midnight
© 2020 Mark David Campbell
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Trade Paperback ISBN: 978-1-64405-824-4
Digital ISBN: 978-1-64405-823-7
Library of Congress Control Number: 2019957868
Digital published June 2020
v. 1.0
Printed in the United States of America