by Jim Wygand
He talked things over with Gina every time they were together and she, too, was at a loss for options.
Friday night he sat with Gina and told her, “Baby, I have to go to softball practice again on Saturday. I’ll go early because I want to stop by the cemetery to visit Mom and Dad’s gravesite. I’ll probably hang around for the pizza and beer after practice just to hear if anyone has been poking around my private life. Don’t bother to fix any lunch for me. Let’s go out Saturday night for some good Italian food. That OK with you?”
“That’s fine, Charlie. Don’t worry too much about what’s happening at Shoreville. If those women are watching you they still have to link you to me and that won’t be so easy. I know it’s a pain in the neck, but as long as we can keep them from putting it all together, we’re not going to have any problems from that quarter. I’m really more concerned about what will happen on your job.”
“Yeah, I know. I talked to Laura today and she told me I am due for my next security clearance review about 9 months from now. A lot could happen in that time so I have to be prepared for the possibility that our situation could become public before then. If it does, there goes the security clearance.”
“Charlie, I’m sure we will get this worked out. Maybe we should talk again to my Uncle Carlo. He might have some ideas.”
“You’re right, Gina. Give me another week to see how things are going and we’ll visit your uncle and talk it over with him. As far as I am concerned, the security clearance issue is dead. If it doesn’t happen in the next review, it will happen later anyway. I definitely have no future in the Shaw Corporation.”
“Are you saddened by that, Charlie?”
“Oh, hell no, Gina, after we met I had a chance to see just how empty my life and my career had become. I had fallen into a rut and was just going through the motions. I was being promoted simply because I had nothing to occupy my thoughts except my work and my activities in Shoreville. But, like I said, I had no one to share all that with. It was a vacuum. You know, people can get used to almost anything and I just got used to being Shoreville’s eligible bachelor. I played that role and perhaps even reveled a bit in the backwash of anger at Mary Jo. I became even more popular when she left because my friends wanted to gather round. It was a comfortable niche and I allowed myself to be seduced by the support. Meeting you changed all that and it has been for the better. I’m happy. My life has a direction and a purpose beyond the job and the bowling and softball. I have a person who can share things with me, talk to me when I get home, fix a dinner for us, go out with me and come home with me, a person who doesn’t have to leave in the morning from some motel close to the Turnpike.”
“So, Charlie Mullins, we have to figure something out soon, right?”
“Right Gina.”
* * * * *
Charlie woke up early on Saturday morning. Gina padded to the kitchen to fix breakfast in spite of Charlie’s insistence that she stay in bed and let him fix the coffee. “No Charlie, I’m going to get up because I just don’t feel like lying in this morning. I want to keep busy. It helps me think.”
They had breakfast together and Charlie left for Shoreville and his Saturday softball ritual.
Before going to his house to pick up his gear and change clothes, Charlie drove to the cemetery, parked, and walked out to his parents’ gravesite. He said a short prayer and then held his “conversation” with his parents. “Mom, Dad, I missed a trip out here last week. I was in Philly with Gina, the girl I told you about. I’m going to marry her. I really love her and she loves me. She makes your son very happy. We have some problems because Gina is the niece of Carlo Rizzo, the guy who is reported as being the head of the Philly mafia. I’ve kept our relationship a secret so far, but if we get married, and we will, things are going to change a lot in my life. I will most certainly lose my job at Shaw and I know how proud Dad would have been about my joining the company. Dad, I have to say that my job at Shaw is probably one that a lot of guys would like to have. I make good money, but it doesn’t fill the void in my emotional life. I want a wife. Gina’s family situation is nothing more than an accident of geography and biology. We don’t choose the family we are born into. She is a wonderful woman and I won’t lose her and risk my own happiness just because she happened to have the “wrong” uncle. I am pretty sure I am going to have to do some things that might go against what you have taught me over the years. I ask you to understand and forgive me. I am thinking through my options and they are few, at least so far. Maybe things will clear a bit as I think some more. But, I have to concede that much of what you taught me and much of what I believed have been challenged. I won’t sacrifice my happiness to convention. I just won’t, and that is something you taught me too. I continue to pray for both of you and hope you will pray for me, too.” He said a prayer, crossed himself, and walked back to his car and drove home.
At softball practice he did not hear anything that would cause him to think that his ruse had been discovered. Bill Gallagher and Bob Simms were there and in good spirits. Practice went well and everybody went off for pizza and beer as usual. Charlie joined in the joking and planning for the league competitions. Everybody endured Artie Samuels’ bad jokes, groaning appropriately when they were really bad. When they had finished the post-practice ritual the group broke up and all went home. Charlie decided to cut his lawn so everyone could see him in the yard. It wouldn’t take long because he had a small yard but his neighbors would see him pushing his power mower and that would add to his “legend”.
While he was cutting the grass he noticed that Diane Simms drove by. Charlie looked up and Diane waved. He waved back. “Checking on me, bitch?” Charlie said to himself. “Be sure to tell your nosy partner that you saw me!” Charlie finished cutting the lawn and put the mower in the garage. He went back into the house and checked the timers. He would leave for Philly in a little while, as soon as he thought the word had spread that he was at home and doing his normal chores.
Charlie was right about the news spreading. No sooner had Diane Simms got home than she called Sharon. “Sharon, I just saw Charlie. He was mowing his lawn. He’s home.”
“Not for long I bet, Diane. He’s up to something and we’re going to find out what it is. I want to know who that girlfriend of his is. I don’t think that was a one-night stand we saw him with. She just didn’t look the type. We got time. Thanks for the info. I’ll talk to you later.” Sharon rang off.
Charlie grabbed a beer from his refrigerator and sat down to think a bit about how he was going to work things out. After finishing his beer, he got up and put his softball uniform in the wash, turned on the machine, and went to the shower. He got ready to drive back to Philly.
Leaving the house he checked again for any possible surveillance. He decided that since he had some time, he would take the Jersey Turnpike up to the Camden exit and cross over to Philly on the Ben Franklin Bridge. He was not being followed as far as he could determine and he arrived to Gina’s place without incident. “Well, so far so good”, he thought as he pulled into his parking place in the garage. He entered the apartment and kissed Gina. “Hey sweets, I’m back from the ballpark!”
“Hey, big man, you think you might get a job playing for the Phillies?”
“I’m not so sure the Phillies play softball, Gina”, Charlie laughed.
“Charlie, I called Johnny and asked him if he could arrange for us to have a table at Positano’s tonight. He said not to worry, he’d work it out. Is Positano’s OK for dinner?”
“Just right, Gina. Let’s get out, have a nice romantic dinner and relax.”
They dressed for dinner and called for a cab to take them to the restaurant. Tonight was the night that they would be seen by one of Diane Simms’ friends.
Charlie and Gina went to Positano’s where they had their Italian meal and relaxed with a good wine. They finished with the requisite espresso and sambuca. When they finished and Charlie had settled the bill they stepped outside t
o flag a cab on Walnut Street. They were holding hands while Charlie searched the street for an empty cab. They didn’t see Diane Simms’ friend, Nancy Pagano, watching them. “Hey”, she said to her husband, “I think that’s Charlie Mullins flagging down that cab.”
“So?” said her husband.
“So, Diane Simms said he had some secret girlfriend up here in Philly. I’ll bet that’s her! Boy, she looks awfully young for Charlie Mullins!”
“What the hell do you care, Nancy? It doesn’t look like such a big secret to me. Hell, the guy’s holding hands with her. He’s sure not making a secret of her that way.”
“Exactly! Maybe he thinks no one from Shoreville is around to see him. Boy will Diane be surprised.”
“Jeez, Nancy, why don’t you stay out of this? Diane is a damned gossip and she is always hanging around with Sharon Gallagher who has the sharpest tongue in Shoreville. Just forget you saw the guy, OK? He’s minding his own business and we should too. Let’s just go home, for Chrissake!”
“OK, hon.” But Nancy Pagano was not going to let this “Charlie sighting” go by. The next day she was on the phone to Diane Simms. “Diane, guess what?”
“What’s up Nancy?”
“Donnie and I went up to Philly last night for pizza. I have a favorite place on Second Street and when we were coming out of the pizzeria, who do you think I saw?”
“Are you going to tell me you saw Charlie Mullins?”
“You bet. That’s exactly who I saw, and he was with a woman, or maybe a girl. I swear she didn’t look a day over 18!”
“Describe her, Nancy, I’ll bet it’s the same girl Bill and Sharon Gallagher saw him with at Bookbinder’s last week.”
“Well, besides looking like Charlie’s daughter, she was really a pretty girl. She has wavy black hair down to her shoulders. She was wearing a light brown dress that looked expensive. She has a very pretty face and a marvelous figure. She looks like a model or a movie star.”
“I’m sure that’s her!” Diane exclaimed, “The description matches the one that Bill and Sharon gave me; young, pretty, well dressed. It’s her, I know it is! I’ve got to tell Sharon about this. Bye, Nancy.”
Diane immediately called Sharon. “Sharon, you’re not going to believe this. Nancy Pagano just called me and she said she saw Charlie last night. He was coming out of Positano’s, holding hands with what Nancy said was a girl who didn’t look a day over 18. She described her and the description matches the one you and Bill gave. I’m sure it’s the same girl. We’re getting close, Sharon. That’s twice now that he has been seen with the same woman or girl, whatever.”
“We’re getting close, Diane. We can take our time now, Charlie might be getting careless. I noticed that his lights were on again last night and Nancy saw him at Positano’s. He can’t be in two places at once and I am inclined to believe Nancy’s information. Charlie Mullins has a secret! We’re gonna catch him! Thanks, Diane. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
* * * * *
Charlie and Gina spent a quiet Sunday at home. They read the Sunday papers and sat on the sofa to watch some TV. Charlie had his arm around Gina and neither cared what was on the TV. He smelled the perfume in her hair and felt her warm body against his. “How could I want anything else besides this?” he thought. Gina cuddled against him and dozed off for an hour. Charlie just sat there, happier than he ever remembered being.
At dinner time, they went down to a small bakery on Gina’s street and had sandwiches and a soft drink. They walked a little along the street and then went back to the apartment. They went to bed early. Charlie made love to Gina, and they both fell asleep.
Charlie would not have to go back to Shoreville until Wednesday night for bowling league. He was apprehensive about whether the timers were doing their job but he had little choice other than to leave the house dark and that would certainly give away his absence. He had to hope the timers would be sufficient to keep the busybodies at bay. Since no one had said anything at softball practice, he had to assume the ruse was working. It never occurred to him that Sharon Gallagher and Diane Simms would be curious and daring enough to stand watch on his place.
Sharon and Diane met at aerobics class on Monday morning. “Did he leave this morning?” Sharon asked. “I didn’t see him leave,” Diane answered, “I can’t swear that he didn’t because I couldn’t stand around too long, but while I was there, there was no sign of life in the house and no car pulled out of the garage.”
“He wasn’t there, Diane. But the lights went on again last night. Let’s see if he shows up for league night on Wednesday. I’m going to give Bill the third degree when he gets home.”
* * * * *
At the Shaw Corporation, Fred Perkins was poring over the budget reviews of the operating departments. He was almost frantically looking for something in each report that would allow him to browbeat the department heads. He loved the exercise of trying to find mistakes. He couldn’t care less if the budgets were accurate or if they advanced the fortunes of the Shaw Corporation. This was his personal moment. It was his opportunity to bully those who were hierarchically his equals on the organization chart but which Perkins considered his subordinates. He was the guy with the money and they all needed him. He didn’t need them. At least that was how Fred Perkins saw it.
Charlie watched Fred going through the documents and laughed to himself. “Go at it, you silly bastard. You’ll find something I’m sure, but you won’t be able to turn any of the projects down. The guys will be ready for you once again.”
Wednesday morning Charlie got up to go to work, had breakfast with Gina, and said, “Bowling night tonight, Gina. I have to go to Shoreville again.”
“Ah, bowlers of the world unite, you have nothing to lose but your balls!” Gina laughed.
Charlie laughed with her, “This is really a drag in some ways, Gina. I really don’t feel like going bowling tonight. I’ll have to go by the house again, check the timers, turn them off while I am there and turn them back on when I leave.”
“Something will change, Charlie. I can feel it. Something will change to help us.”
“I’d love nothing better than to just sell that house, move over here to Philly, and get on with our life, you know?”
“Me too, Charlie, but nothing stays the same forever, and something will pop up. An opportunity will appear and we can grab it by the neck and move forward. Just be patient and careful. Nothing as beautiful as what we have together can perish. OK?”
“I love you Gina, but how can you be so sure?”
“It’s simple, Charlie. Didn’t I suffer a tragedy as a child when my parents died? Didn’t my mother’s brother step in to give me a good life and a good education? Didn’t I make good friends in spite of the pressures on me? Didn’t you come into my life just when I thought it would never happen? It’s not blind optimism, Charlie. Things change and things happen. You just have to be watching. We are watching, and things will change for us. I suspect it won’t be long. It’s just a hunch I have, maybe woman’s intuition, but I can feel it Charlie.”
“Well, I’m glad you can. I’m concerned but I guess my little scheme in Shoreville is working. Nobody has said anything and I haven’t seen anybody following me or hanging around my street in a car.”
“Don’t drop your guard, Charlie. I know women and I can promise you those two busybodies are just biding their time. They’re probably confused. Maybe they have bought into your scheme, I don’t know. But sooner or later they will come back. They’ve got nothing else to do, remember that!”
“OK, sweets. I’m off. Maybe I will stay in Shoreville tonight. I’ll see what happens at the bowling alley. If I have to stay, I’ll call.”
“Not to worry, Charlie. I’ll be home. Oh, by the way. I got a call yesterday from a friend of mine. She’s going to have a poetry reading at the Ritz-Carlton Saturday night. She’s one of the few girls at Bryn Mawr who would hang around with me. She has come out with a book of her own poetry and h
as rented a meeting room at the hotel for a reading for a few friends. Can we go? I owe it to her and it might be different.”
“Sure, baby, we’ll go. We can go out afterward for dinner or drinks or whatever.”
“Hmmmm, I like the ‘whatever’, it’s replete with possibilities.”
“Hussy!” laughed Charlie, “I’ll call you if I have to stay in Shoreville” he kissed Gina and headed off for work in Wilmington to be followed by a night of bowling, pizza and beer, and a chance to hear if there was any gossip about him.
* * * * *
At the end of his work day Charlie trudged back over the bridge to Shoreville. His heart was not really in the evening that lay ahead. He would much rather have been watching TV with Gina, discussing politics, or whatever. He laughed to himself at the “whatever”. When he got to Shoreville he merged into the local traffic coming out of the Shaw Corporation’s plant in New Jersey. He drove home, waving to a few drivers as always. He went into his house and disconnected the various timers. He had seen no one that appeared to be watching or following him. He got his bowling gear, changed into his league uniform and drove to the bowling alley. He arrived a bit early and only a few of the guys were there. Bill Gallagher and Bob Simms were talking together as always. They clammed up when Charlie approached. “Hey, Charlie, you’re early tonight.”
