by Wende Dikec
“That’s what Lifesaver Candy is for,” said Zoe, just as the doorbell rang. “And here he is now.”
Zoe opened the door, and Josh, Maura, and Jess trailed in, chatting happily. They fell into a completely stunned silence as soon as they saw me.
“Lily?” Maura blinked as she looked up and down my body. When I unzipped the jacket completely and opened it, she gasped. “No way.”
“That’s what I said,” Nick growled next to me. “But I think I meant it differently.”
“Cool,” said Josh, but he barely looked at me. His attention immediately went to Zoe. “You look nice.”
Zoe’s cheeks turned instantly pink. “You too. Of course. As always.” She sounded surlier than she probably intended, but Josh didn’t notice. He wore a black button down dress shirt that hugged his chest and biceps and a pair of jeans that fit tightly in all the right places. He grinned, giving her his megawatt smile. He appeared to enjoy Zoe, grumpiness and all.
Maura and Jess both wore black, as directed. Maura had on a tank top and a mini skirt. Jess chose a blouse that was almost completely see-through and very short shorts.
“Are you wearing a black bra, Jess?” Now it was my turn to act shocked.
Jess laughed. “At least I’m wearing a bra, Lily.”
“True.” I could never have fit a bra into this bustier. I could never have fit anything into this bustier. It was tighter than my actual skin.
Nick glanced at my boobs again, and swallowed hard. “Eyes on my face, mister,” I whispered.
He looked pained. “I can’t help it. They are so...out there.”
I looked down at my chest. “They are, aren’t they?”
Zoe gave me an exasperated frown. “Can you two stop talking about your boobs for a minute and help? Maura and Jess need more makeup.”
“What about Josh?” asked Jess.
Zoe and I answered in unison. “Josh is perfect,” we said, and then giggled.
We piled into my car and drove to The Zone just as the sun began to set. Josh followed in his own car. On the way, Zoe gave us pointers.
“Don’t put your drink down. Someone might put something in it. Don’t go to the restroom alone. Actually, don’t go anywhere alone. Try to look casual. Try to act like you fit in.”
“What kind of music is there?” asked Maura. “I love pop and hip hop.”
Zoe looked pained. “There will be none of that. Tonight is ’80s retro night.”
“You like ’80s music?” I asked, a little surprised.
“I like good music, and the venue is pretty cool. It’s owned by Johnny and Danny Fortuna.” We all gave her a blank stare. “As in the Fortuna Brothers....as in major rockers from the ’80s...”
“Oh. A band.” Jess looked so proud of herself.
Zoe winced, like she might be getting a migraine. “Yes. They had a big hit called ‘Lucky One’ about thirty years ago. Now they own The Zone, and they do a lot of other stuff too. They’ll be playing tonight.”
“Can we dance?” I asked. “I love dancing.”
“If you must.” Zoe looked less than thrilled, and Nick didn’t look very happy either. “But if any of you start to do the Macarena, I will kill you myself. We’re here.”
The Zone was much nicer than I expected. Loud and crowded and dark, but relatively clean. We got our “Under Twenty One” stamps and made our way to a table in the corner of the room.
“This is so cool.” Maura gave a little finger wave to some scary looking bikers who were sitting at the bar.
Zoe grabbed her hand and pushed it down. “Are you looking for trouble? Don’t bring any attention to yourself. We need to be subtle and get some answers.”
Too late for subtle. One of the bikers, missing several of his teeth, smiled back at her. He made a move like he might come and join us, but Zoe gave him a look that froze him in his tracks. He went sheepishly back to his stool at the bar.
“Who needs Josh?” I whispered to Nick and he gave me a preoccupied smile as he looked around the bar. I could tell he desperately wanted to find something he recognized.
“Are you okay?” I asked, and Nick shook his head.
“This feels familiar, but I don’t recognize anyone.”
We decided to split up and ask around to see if anyone knew Nick or a woman named Bambi. Josh and Zoe talked to people on one side of the room, and Maura, Jess, Nick and I went to the other. After half an hour or so, we met up again at our table.
“Anything?” I looked at Zoe hopefully. We’d completely struck out. No one had heard of a boy named Nick, and they all looked confused when I asked about a girl named Bambi. I did have several people stare openly at my boobs, two guys asked me out, and one wanted to show me his tattoo. I had a feeling it was somewhere I really didn’t need to see, so I declined the offer. I felt completely dejected, and had gotten extremely warm in my leather jacket. The bar, loud and crowded, would get even louder when the Fortuna Brothers started to play.
Zoe and Josh shared a little smile. “Not about Nick,” she said, “but we did find out who tends bar here. His name is Lou Bambini, but he goes by Bambi. He should be coming in pretty soon.”
I looked at Nick and he shrugged. “Bartender? It doesn’t ring any bells.”
I glanced at my watch. It was getting late, but we still had time. “Let’s wait for Bambi, and we’ll go home after we talk to him.” Everyone nodded in agreement. Nick didn’t say anything. He sat next to me, looking devastated, like a person on the verge of giving up.
I was trying to think of something to say to him when the lights in the bar dimmed and a bright spotlight came on the stage. The crowd grew silent for a moment and then erupted into cheers and whistles.
The Fortuna Brothers were not what I expected. Five guys, close in age to my dad, came onstage with long, dark, curly hair. They dressed in ripped up t-shirts and jeans. I tried to picture my dad with that hair, or in those clothes, and failed miserably.
One of the brothers took the microphone. “Good evening ladies and gentlemen. I’m Johnny Fortuna, and we’re the Fortuna Brothers. Get ready to rock this house!”
Johnny Fortuna’s last words were almost muffled by the deafening roar of the crowd, and as soon as they started to play, I understood. These guys were really good. Zoe jumped up and pulled Josh into the crowd, and Maura and Jess got up to join them. I looked at Nick with a smile, hoping this would take his mind off our failure to come up with any leads here.
“Zoe dances, and I think I just saw her smile. That’s unexpected,” I said, but Nick wasn’t listening. He’d risen to his feet, his eyes on the stage.
I stood next to him, watching as a gamut of emotions flew across his face. “Is everything okay?” I almost had to scream it into his ear.
Nick turned to me and grinned, the widest, happiest grin I’d ever seen. “It’s more than okay. That’s my Uncle Johnny on stage. I’m a Fortuna.”
“A cloth is not woven from a single thread.”
Chinese Proverb
Chapter Thirteen
“Are you sure?” I stared at Johnny Fortuna as he performed on the stage, belting out a tune and playing bass. He looked a little like Nick, but I never would have guessed he was his uncle.
Nick’s grin widened even more. “I’m sure. And that’s my Uncle Danny on lead guitar, and Uncle Tony on keyboard, Uncle Frank on drums, and Uncle Beetle on backup vocals and tambourine.”
“Uncle Beetle?”
Nick nodded. “He used to play football, and ran really fast—like a beetle. I know them, Lil. I remember.”
I never wanted to hug Nick as much as I did that moment, but I couldn’t. I just stood by his side as he watched his uncles play song after song. A big, burly guy came up to me just as the Fortuna Brothers finished.
“You looking for me?”
Nick winked at me. “It’s Bambi.”
I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing at all the time I wasted worrying that Bambi, a chubby guy in a Hawaiian shirt, m
ight be Nick’s girlfriend. Definitely not the dark, sexy vixen I’d been imagining.
“Bambi?” I asked, and he nodded. “I need to ask you about Nick.”
Bambi’s significant eyebrows drew together as he frowned. The amount of hair Bambi had on his eyebrows, forearms, and peeking out of the buttons at the neck of his shirt amazed me, especially since he had nothing at all on his head.
“I don’t know anyone named Nick.” Bambi looked around the bar, growing impatient.
Nick shook his head. “He knows me. He plays jokes on me all the time. His wife is Loretta and he has a daughter named Doreen.”
“Nick knows you, Mr....uh...Bambi. He knows your wife and your daughter too.”
“Look, I don’t know who you’re talking about, kid. I have to get back to work.”
Bambi turned to go just as Zoe, Josh, Maura, and Jess came back to the table, laughing and looking very hot and sweaty after dancing. They became serious as soon as they saw the look on my face.
I grabbed onto the sleeve of Bambi’s Hawaiian shirt. “He’s Johnny Fortuna’s nephew.”
Bambi paused. “Do you mean Dominick?”
Nick’s eyes grew large and dark in the dim light of the bar. “That’s me. I’m Dominick Fortuna. My uncles call me Little Dom. I was named after my grandfather. I know who I am. Lily, I need to talk to my uncles. Now.”
I could barely contain my excitement. “Yes, and I need to talk to Johnny and his brothers about him right away.”
Bambi didn’t look very happy about that. “Is this some kind of a joke?”
“No. I need to talk to them about Dominick. It’s important.”
Bambi wagged a finger at me. “I’ll take you back there, but if this is a trick, I’m kicking you and your friends out of here, and I won’t let you back in.”
“Understood, sir.” I tried to look as respectful and honest as possible, hard to pull off when dressed like a porn star. Bambi didn’t look convinced, but he agreed to take us backstage right after he sorted things out at the bar.
“Lily, I think Jess and I had better go.” Maura frowned as she looked at her phone. “We’re way past curfew and my parents are starting to send me hostile texts.”
“Of course. I’m sorry, guys.”
“I can take them home.” Josh glanced up at Zoe. “How about you?” he asked, his expression puppy-dog hopeful.
I nudged Zoe. “It’s okay if you want to go.”
She shook her head. “I’ll stay. You might need my help.”
I pulled Josh aside as Maura and Jess gathered their things. “Thanks for coming tonight.”
He grinned. “It was a blast.”
I took a deep breath. “I can’t go to prom with you, Josh. I’m so sorry.”
My mom would be sorry too. She’d probably already planned out my entire ensemble and may have even scheduled times to get my hair and make-up done.
“Is this about Nick?” Josh’s blue eyes, so full of compassion, almost made me cry. I nodded.
“It might be hopeless, but I can’t help myself.”
Josh looked at Zoe. Her dark hair fell like a river of black silk and sparkled in the lights from the dance floor. “I know what you mean.”
Her eyes met Josh’s at that moment, and it seemed like they were the only two people in the room. Two frozen statues, one dark and one light, two opposites, and yet somehow just right for each other.
“That is far from hopeless,” I said.
“I’m going to ask her out,” he said, his eyes still on Zoe. “Do you think she’ll beat me up?”
I laughed and gave him a punch on the arm. “I think she’ll say yes. Go for it big guy.”
He walked up to Zoe and whispered something in her ear. Her eyes got really big in her porcelain white face, two giant pools of pale blue. She nodded, blushing, and gave him a sweet smile. Josh leaned forward to kiss very her softly on the lips. I almost squealed.
“You’re quite the matchmaker.” Nick raised a dark eyebrow at me.
I nodded. “I’m good. I found you, didn’t I?”
He chuckled. “I beg to differ. I think I found you.”
Nick looked more at ease and happier than I’d ever seen him as his eyes scanned the bar, stopping at faces and things he recognized. He acted like a weight had been lifted from his broad shoulders. He knew who he was; we just needed to find out what had happened to him.
“I told Josh. About prom.” I watched the play of emotions on Nick’s face as he digested this information. I knew every nuance of his expressions at this point. He was glad, but he also felt guilty. He folded his arms across his chest, about to argue with me. I held up a hand to stop him. “It’s done. Moot point. Move on.”
Nick ran a hand through his dark hair in exasperation. “Fine.” Then he gave me a long, simmering look. “But I need to know something. If I get...back to myself or whatever...will you go with me?”
I was about to make a joke, something pertaining to the idea of Nick in a tux, but then I saw the seriousness in his eyes. “Yes. Of course.”
“Good answer,” he said, and I grinned.
Bambi waved at me, trying to get my attention. It was time to face the music, or the musicians, as the case may be.
I grabbed Zoe’s arm. “I think Bambi’s ready. Let’s go.”
The dressing room, large and messy, contained only two of the Fortuna brothers at this point. Johnny and Danny. They talked and laughed as I came in with Nick by my side. Zoe hovered in the background.
Bambi cleared his throat. “This girl said she needs to talk to you about Dominick.” Bambi used his thumb to point at me.
The room became completely silent. I looked around, not sure where to begin. I’d abandoned the leather jacket at our table, and now felt very exposed.
“Hi, I’m Lily.” I gave them a little wave and got no response. “Where are the other brothers?”
“They have day jobs.” Uncle Johnny studied me closely, trying to figure me out.
“And wives,” said Uncle Danny with a laugh. He shook his hair out of his eyes in an absentminded gesture.
“What do you know about Dominick?” Johnny Fortuna walked to the center of the room and folded his arms across his chest. About my height, he was burly and muscular. He didn’t look happy to have me around. I straightened my spine.
“He told me his name was Nick. That’s why there was some confusion initially with Mr. Bambi.”
Uncle Danny chuckled. “Mr. Bambi. That’s funny.”
Uncle Johnny put a hand on his forehead and winced. “Oh, God. Are you pregnant?”
Nick and I answered in unison. “No.” I looked at Nick in shock, and he rolled his eyes. I pointed down to my very flat stomach encased in the leather pants and bustier. “Do I look pregnant?”
“No, but I’m trying to figure out why you’re here.” Gone was the laughing performer I’d seen on stage. Uncle Johnny had turned completely serious.
“I’m here because I want to help him.” I swallowed a lump in my throat, getting close to tears.
Uncle Johnny and Uncle Danny exchanged looks. “How long have you known him?” asked Uncle Danny.
“Two weeks.”
Uncle Johnny laughed, but there was no humor in it. He looked up at the ceiling, shaking his head. His long, dark curls hung well past his shoulders. His hair was actually quite shiny and bouncy. Under better circumstances, I would have been asking him about hair products, but this was not the time. “Not possible.”
“Why?” I asked. I was failing here. I could feel it. And I was failing Nick too.
Uncle Johnny moved a step closer to me. “Why are you doing this? Are you some kind of sicko?”
I stared up at him, unafraid. I didn’t have time to be afraid. I had to do this for Nick. “I’m telling the truth and I can prove it.”
“How are you going to do that?” Uncle Johnny looked ready to leave. I had to stop him, so I stepped in front of him.
“Ask me any question you want,
something only Nick would know, and I’ll answer it.”
“Oh. This sounds like a game,” said Uncle Danny with a smile. “It’ll be fun.”
No one else smiled. “And why would we do that?” Uncle Johnny’s dark eyes, so much like Nick’s, bored into me. My own filled with tears.
“Because he needs your help, and so do I.”
Uncle Johnny took a deep breath, looked around the room, and sighed. “Okay, Red. I’ll give you five minutes. And I’ll start the questions.”
He sat down on a low couch near the wall, crossing an ankle over one knee, and indicated a chair for me. Zoe stayed back against the wall with Blobby by her side. I sat on the edge of my seat, hands folded neatly on my lap, with Nick right next to me. Uncle Johnny brushed his hair off his shoulders in an impatient gesture and then glued his eyes on me.
“Why kind of underwear does Bambi like to wear?” he asked.
“Hey,” said Bambi. Uncle Danny collapsed into a fit of giggles. I looked at Nick, and he smiled.
“Red satin boxers. He doesn’t like chaffing. He buys them from a catalogue. I found it behind the bar once.”
I repeated what he said, and everyone froze. After a few more questions, mostly about undergarments, the Fortunas started to believe I might be telling the truth.
“How do you know all this stuff?” Uncle Johnny had a spark of excitement in his eye. He didn’t quite trust me yet, but he was getting close.
I looked at each of them, and I could tell how much they cared about Nick. They were his family and obviously loved him as much as he loved them.
“I’m going to tell you a story, but you have to keep an open mind.”
Uncle Danny clapped his hands together. “We opened for Van Halen in the ’80s. We are all about open minds, sweetie.”
“Good,” I said, “You’ll need it.”
It took about twenty minutes for me to get the story out. Zoe, a little star struck by the Fortuna brothers at first, relaxed and told her part of the story too. Blobby floated above our heads, looking happy and oblivious as always.
Uncle Danny had a lot of questions for me. “So you thought Little Dom was a ghost? Does he look like a ghost? Is he here right now?”