by Rich Amooi
Ellie sniffed and wiped her eyes. “You know it’s not about Derek. It’s Vlad. He won’t leave me alone.”
“That man was never good enough for you.”
“I know that now.”
“Just say the word and I’ll chop off his nuts and stuff them down his throat. You know I have Mafia connections.”
“Sure you do.” She cracked a tiny smile and wiped her eyes.
“I used to do Sunday barbecues with the Corleone family.”
Ellie grinned and sniffed again. “The Corleone family was fictional.”
“Oh.” He thought for a moment. “Did I say Corleone? I meant … Morleone. Yeah. Either way, Vlad’s testicles are history.”
“You always know how to make me smile, but that won’t be necessary. He’ll get what he deserves.”
Grandpa Frank smiled. “Karma?”
“Yeah. Karma is going to bite him in the ass.”
“That’s my girl. Well, I have a surprise for you.”
“What is it?”
“You may want to look up the meaning of ‘surprise’ in the dictionary. Can you come by the house?”
“Of course.”
“Great. See you soon.”
Grandpa Frank kissed Ellie and left. Ellie wiped down one of the counters and then picked up the envelope from Cedric again. She pulled out his business card, called the number on it, but it went straight to voicemail.
“Hi, this is Cedric Johnson and you’ve reached Papa George’s Heirloom Garlic. I’m not available at the moment, so please leave a message. Have a great day.”
“Hi, Cedric, this is Ellie. I found out you had nothing to do with what happened with Vlad at the funeral home. I’m sorry I kicked you out. Obviously, I’m a bit sensitive and … well, I don’t want to ramble on your voicemail. I just wanted to say thanks for the gardenias and the card. That was sweet of you. Can you call me? I want to clear some things up.”
Ellie left her number and disconnected, wondering if he would call back. Then she drove to Grandpa Frank’s house.
She leaned against the back of the couch in Grandpa Frank’s living room waiting for him to return from the bedroom with the surprise he’d mentioned at the memorial. She loved surprises but wasn’t exactly in the mood for one at the moment. She knew Grandpa Frank was probably just trying to make her feel better, and she felt grateful to have him in her life. But it would take time to get through what had happened to Derek.
He yelled from the other room. “There’s fresh squeezed lemonade in the fridge.”
“Thanks.” Ellie went to the kitchen.
She poured herself a glass and took a sip before spotting the box on the kitchen table filled with picture frames. She felt some tightness in her chest as she peeked in the box and saw pictures of Grandpa Frank with Grandma Esther. “I don’t understand. What are you doing with these?”
Grandpa Frank entered the kitchen with a small wooden box in his hand, carrying it as if something inside was very fragile. “I guess it’s time for some changes. I didn’t take all of the photos down.”
Ellie didn’t say anything. She just stood there with a dazed look.
Grandpa Frank rubbed her back. “I know what you’re thinking and no, I’m not going to forget your grandmother. She will always be a part of me. I’m just going to replace a few with something more current. Pictures of you, for example.”
Ellie pressed her palm to her heart. “You scared me for a moment.”
Grandpa Frank rubbed her back. “That was a beautiful memorial. You did well and we’ll always have those wonderful memories of your brother.”
Ellie nodded and felt her eyes burn. “He was always there for me, the best brother I could ask for.” She wiped her eyes. “I hope I was able to show him how much I appreciated him.”
“Believe me, he knew. He was always talking about how proud he was of you and how he always heard a smile in your voice when he talked with you on the phone. He loved you so much.”
Ellie cried and Grandpa Frank pulled her close. She sniffed a few times, pulled away from him, and let out a nervous laugh as she wiped her eyes. “Good thing I don’t wear a lot of makeup or I’d look like a monster right now.”
Grandpa Frank chuckled. “Never.”
Ellie sorted through a few of the frames and smiled when she saw the old photo of Grandpa Frank’s wedding day. “What year did you get married? I can’t remember.”
Grandpa Frank smiled. “1955. July 17th to be exact. Did you know I almost didn’t make it to the wedding?”
“Is this another one of your famous tales?”
He chuckled. “We were living in Anaheim at the time. It was one of the hottest days of the year, around one hundred and ten degrees. Some wise guy had the bright idea of opening a theme park a few blocks from the church.
“Disneyland?”
Grandpa Frank smiled, nodded, and set the wooden box on the table. “It was a big deal and Ronald Reagan was there to introduce Walt Disney to the thousands of people in attendance. The grand opening was the same day as our wedding and the traffic was bumper to bumper. They didn’t expect it, obviously. In fact, people were walking faster than the cars. So, that’s what I did. I walked to my wedding, in the heat.”
Ellie inspected the photo again. “That’s why you have tomato cheeks in this photo. How far did you walk?”
“Ten miles.”
“Come on.”
“Okay, maybe two. But it felt like ten.”
“How late were you?”
“Forty minutes.”
“Wow. Did Grandma freak out?”
“That would be an understatement. She called the police and tried to file a missing-persons report.”
Ellie laughed. “No way.”
“She even called the local AM radio station and asked if they could announce on the air that she was missing her fiancé.”
“Did they do it?”
“No. They asked her if she had a question about nuclear energy and she hung up on them.” He smiled. “She was something.”
“I miss Grandma.”
“There’s not a day that goes by I don’t think of her. I got her right here.” He patted his heart with his hand.
Ellie wiped her eyes. “So sweet.”
Grandpa Frank kissed her on the forehead. “Can’t help it if I’m an old sentimental fool.”
“Does this mean you’re going to start dating?”
“It means … I’m open to the possibility.”
“That’s wonderful.” She lost her smile when Grandpa Frank grabbed the wooden box from the table. “Please don’t tell me you have Grandma’s ashes in there.”
“Of course not.”
“Thank God.”
“I keep her in the closet underneath my loafers.” He winked. “This box did belong to her, though. I have something for you. I’ve always wanted to give it to you, but I wasn’t sure about the right time. Then I got to thinking, anytime is the right time.”
He opened the wooden box and set aside some cards and papers. Then he pulled out a velvety heart-shaped box and handed it to Ellie.
Ellie smiled at Grandpa Frank and slowly opened the box to reveal a silver necklace with a silver hummingbird pendant. “Oh my. It’s … beautiful.” She studied it for a moment. “Why does this seem so familiar to me? Did Grandma wear this often?”
“When you were a baby, she used to wear it when she watched you. It was her favorite necklace. But then you figured out how to grab things and put them in your mouth, so she put it away and forgot about it. I had it cleaned, just in case you felt like putting it in your mouth again.”
Ellie laughed and felt tears welling up. “You’re the best. And I love it. Thank you.” She kissed Grandpa Frank and hugged him.
“Allow me,” he said, undoing the clasp. Ellie turned around and Grandpa Frank wrapped the necklace around her neck, clasping it. She looked down to admire it and placed her palm over the hummingbird, as if she were protecting the bird.
/> She took a deep breath and then let it out slowly. “The hummingbird symbolizes joy and peace.”
“I’m not surprised you knew that.”
Ellie smiled. Grandpa Frank always knew how to make her feel better. The memorial for Derek was perfect, very touching. And seeing Cedric there was definitely a pleasant surprise; the gardenias and card were lovely. Ellie wondered about Cedric since he hadn’t returned her call yet. Hopefully he wasn’t mad at her for throwing him out of the funeral home. Or worse, hopefully Vlad didn’t scare him off. She felt bad blaming Cedric for the incident, but would apologize to him when they talked.
“So you like it?” asked Grandpa Frank.
“I love it. And as long as we’re in the gift-giving mood, I have something for you.” She opened her purse, pulled out a folded piece of paper, and handed it to him.
He squished his eyebrows together as he unfolded the piece of paper. Then his eyes lit up. “The list.”
Ellie shrugged. “I guess it’s time to try dating the Grandpa Frank way.”
“Very good. I’m proud of you.”
“Got any matches?”
“My granddaughter, the pyromaniac.” He pulled a lighter from one of the drawers and held the list over the sink.
“Too bad we don’t have any ceremonial music.”
“It would have been a nice touch.” Grandpa Frank flicked the switch on the lighter and moved the flame toward the list. “Hunk of burning love?”
“Come on baby, light my fire.”
They watched the list burn, and Ellie couldn’t help but think that everything was going to be fine.
“I still won’t tolerate tardiness, though.”
Grandpa Frank nodded. “One thing at a time.”
She took a deep breath and her thoughts drifted back to Cedric.
Of course.
Chapter Sixteen
Cedric had a light schedule for the rest of the day. First was a Skype videoconference with a company in San Diego that provided packaging materials for shipping. He wanted to find a more lightweight, cost-effective, and eco-friendly way to ship his garlic products around the country. After the meeting, he dropped off garlic samples to two Bay Area chefs who had heard wonderful things about his heirloom garlic and potentially wanted to use it in their restaurants exclusively.
He went home and changed, fed Tofu, and took him for a quick walk before meeting Owen for tennis. When Cedric arrived at the park, he found Owen lying on the grass, face up, in front of one of the tennis courts. “Holy crap, not again.”
He knew he didn’t have to do mouth-to-mouth, Owen had told him that much. But he didn’t tell Cedric what he should do. Cedric reached for Owen’s wrist to feel for a pulse.
Owen jumped up. “Mother Mary, you scared the bejesus out of me.”
Cedric let go of his wrist. “Sorry, I thought you passed out.”
“I was meditating.”
“I didn’t know people meditated with their mouth open.”
Owen shrugged. “Okay … there’s a possibility I fell asleep.”
Cedric laughed.
They stretched before they played, and the tennis game didn’t last long—a little over an hour. Cedric felt exhilarated, reconnecting with that passion he thought he’d lost over the years.
Owen wiped his forehead with a towel. “For someone who hasn’t played since high school I’m impressed. You did very well.”
Cedric was dripping with sweat. “I don’t think I’ve ever run so much in my entire life.”
“We’re almost at the same skill level, though. You just need a few more sessions to get back into the swing of things. I hope we can play again.”
“Absolutely. I’d love to.”
“You said you had something going on?”
“I’m interested in a woman, and it seems her ex is a psycho.”
Owen nodded. “I’ve had more than a few cases with psycho exes. What’s he doing?”
“Well, I don’t have any proof it’s him, but ever since he saw me with Ellie, I’ve received two tickets. He’s a cop and I’m pretty sure he had something to do with them. And someone slashed my tire right in the middle of the day. There’s no way this can be a coincidence. He drove by as I was changing the tire and the way he looked at me led me to believe he had something to do with it.”
“What’s his name?”
“Vlad Cunnings.”
“I don’t know him. Do you still have the tickets?”
“Yeah. In my car. Give me a minute.” Cedric went to his car and pulled the tickets out of his glove box. He returned and handed them to Owen.
Owen inspected the tickets and laughed. “That was easy.”
Cedric moved closer and inspected the ticket on top. “What?”
“Read the last name of the officer who gave you the ticket, next to the badge number.”
Cedric looked for the box with the officer’s name and his mouth fell open. “Cunnings. I knew it. I didn’t even think to look for his name there.”
“Be careful. If he’s bold enough to cut your tire in broad daylight, you need to watch out for that guy. I’ve seen his type before and it usually doesn’t end well.”
Cedric pulled his car into his driveway, hopped out, and jogged to the front door. The plan was to pick up Tofu and go straight to Michaels’s home for the barbecue. He opened the front door of his house, and Tofu made a beeline for Cedric.
“Arf. Arf, arf, arf.”
He smashed into Cedric’s legs, his tail spinning like a propeller, and his mouth wrapped around his favorite toy, the stuffed squirrel. Cedric closed the door behind him and scratched Tofu on the head.
“Hey, buddy, drop it, time to go for a walk. Then we’ll go see Michael and Veronica.”
Tofu dropped the toy and licked Cedric’s hand as he clipped the leash on the dog. He just wanted to do a quick loop around the block, hoping Tofu would poop before they got in the car.
Not this time. Tofu seemed more interested in getting in the car, and Cedric had to practically pull him down the street.
“I shouldn’t have told you about visiting Michael,” he told Tofu. “Okay, I give up. Let’s go back.”
“Arf.” Tofu agreed it was the best plan.
They returned back to the house, and Cedric grabbed a bottle of wine from the kitchen.
As Cedric drove, his cell rang. He hung the blue tooth on his ear and answered the phone. “Hey, Tony.”
“Hey. Have you been to the online auction website for the property recently?”
“No, why?”
“I just went to the website you gave me and Papa George’s old place has disappeared from the list.”
Cedric swallowed hard and waited for Tony to continue.
“Are you there?”
“Yeah. Please tell me this is just a screw-up that will be corrected.”
Tony let out a sigh. “I don’t know. I sent an email to the Webmaster and the County Tax Collector. We’ll find out soon enough. It could be just a glitch.”
“I hope so.”
Twenty minutes later, he pulled up to the house.
Cedric’s friends, Michael and Veronica Vela, lived in Monte Sereno, a quaint city just outside of San Jose, where the average home price was over two million dollars. Just a drop in the bucket for the psychologist and his restaurateur wife, who owned his and her Teslas.
Cedric pressed the button and grinned as the doorbell projected the chimes of Westminster throughout the house. Tofu sniffed the door and wagged his tail in anticipation, obviously happy to be there. And who could blame the dog? If Michael and Veronica gave Cedric half of the treats they gave Tofu, he would probably be sniffing the door too—and be about fifty pounds heavier.
Tofu barked again, waiting impatiently for someone to open.
“Don’t get your hairy panties in a bunch. You won’t go away hungry.” Cedric scratched the top of Tofu’s head. “You are a spoiled doggie, you know that, right?”
“Arf,” admitted Tofu.
The door swung open and Veronica smiled as Tofu ran right by her. “Hey, you.” She hugged Cedric. “You’re late.”
“You’re surprised?” Cedric handed her the bottle of wine. “Sorry. I was trying to get Tofu to take a crap before we got here.”
She laughed. “And were you successful?”
“Not at all. He was in sniff-mode and didn’t deliver the goods, but I brought one of these, just in case we get lucky.” Cedric pulled a plastic poop bag out of his pocket and waved it in the air.”
“You may not need that. The last time he took a poop in the backyard, he buried it so well, we have yet to find it.”
“Sorry.” Cedric followed Veronica through the house to the backyard.
“No worries.” Veronica stopped next to the granite island in the kitchen and grabbed Cedric’s arm. “By the way…” Veronica glanced through the screen door to the backyard, and then back to Cedric “…not sure if Michael told you but Sam and Lucie are here.”
Sam and Lucie were two of the coolest people and Cedric enjoyed their company. They were fun, positive, and passionate, and had no problem with public displays of affection. Cedric loved watching their connection.
“Yeah, he told me they’d be here. Why are you looking at me that way?”
She crinkled her nose.
“Crap.” Cedric tried to keep his voice low. “Soledad is here?”
Veronica nodded. “I guess Michael didn’t tell you that part.”
“No. The sneaky bastard failed to mention that important detail.”
Veronica laughed. “In his defense, he didn’t know until this afternoon she would be coming.”
“Guess he didn’t feel it was necessary to update me.”
“Probably afraid you would’ve canceled.”
“I would have.”
“Well, then.” She squeezed his arm. “I’m glad he didn’t tell you.”
Lucie and Sam had the best intentions in their effort to set-up Cedric with their friend, Soledad, but it just wasn’t going to happen. Cedric tried not to judge people, but sometimes you just don’t click with someone, no matter how hard you try.
“You think she’s pretty, right?” asked Veronica.
“Of course, even a blind man could see that, but I need more.”
