Swirl Romance Stories
Page 17
“ To whom?” Asked immediately Charley, who had learned to take the woman´s omens seriously.
“I do not know him.”
“But you feel it is something that concerns us?”
“Oh, yes!” Nubia heaved that in a sigh. “ It’s a horrible feeling to be anxious without knowing why or for whom.”
Charley, who was sitting in the back row of seats put his hand on her shoulder. The old man had understood that Nubia had an indefinable magical connection with reality and felt respect for her hunches. In his native Mississippi he had met black women endowed with such powers. The events prove the wisdom of not disdaining those unknown and remote connections.
Chapter 8
The night before Vince had slept little after a very lively meeting with a Puerto Rican woman from El Barrio; for that reason he asked Leroy to drive the car that morning, while he curled up in the passenger seat and fell asleep almost immediately. The tour began calm and the different instructions received in the police radio were for remote locations, to which they could not arrive in time. At one point Leroy looked askance at the rearview mirror and saw a large black car with dark windows he thought he had already seen earlier; however, as it was an old American model quite common in the streets the detective decided to ignore it.
Following the usual route the police car still toured two streets and then turned right on an Avenue. Had he looked again the mirror Leroy would have seen that the black car also turned after them, but likely he would not have given importance to that fact either because it was a usual path.
When they reached the next corner Leroy heard the characteristic siren wail of the fire brigade, so he set on the flashing beacons and approached the edge of the sidewalk to give way to the public service, as is required by law. The sound of the siren woke Vince up so he moved in his seat while his partner watched him smiling.
“Hi Casanova! You have …”
The sentence was interrupted by a hellish burst of automatic weapons. Witnesses who wandered down the street at that time could see that the black car got side by side with the police vehicle, then it stopped by it and two black men with machine guns sprayed it with heavy fire for a few seconds. However, the statements of these witnesses differed on what happened afterwards, product certainly of the shock effect generated by the event.
Leroy Washington was killed instantly by the murderous bullets riddled; his body stayed in the same position on his seat held by the seat belt. Vince Caruso tried to open the passenger door but his body received multiple impacts and rolled leaving a bloody trail on the pavement. The car of the policemen, when the pressure on the brake was released continued on an automatic operation at low speed but just for a short drive, and was stopped by fire network hydrant, which covered the entire surrounding area with pressurized water.
After a few moments new sirens from police cars, ambulances and firefighters finally approached.
When Vince Caruso woke up three days later he found himself completely bandaged and immobilized on the bed, filled with monitoring devices that bothered him and restricted his movements. About three steps from his bed he saw a nurse and tried to talk to her
The veteran Sergeant Eric Murphy had the bitter task to give Vince Caruso the news about what had happened. Upon learning that his friend had died Vince´s grief had no limits. Murphy leaned his heavy hand on the boy’s shoulder leaving him to mourn inconsolably, while the nurse had her eyes put on the control devices to detect eventual out of the ordinary developments. The old sergeant stayed with the wounded man until he saw behind the glass of the room door a familiar figure. He pressed his hand tightly and told Vince.
“Now I’ll leave you in good company. I will return at the end of my shift.”
Murphy got out and met Loretta Washington behind the door. She was completely emaciated and the old policeman struggled to recognize the beautiful face of his partner’s widow.
“How is he?” Asked succinctly the woman.
“Inconsolable. He is still in shock.”
“Maybe it´ll be better if I come some other time.”
“Of course that´s up to you. But you’re the only person who can comfort Vince right now.”
Murphy left the doorframe and Loretta entered the room. The old policeman peered a moment and saw the two young merge into a hug; although he had had to play that role on numerous occasions, this time Murphy had to wipe away a tear. Both Washington and Caruso had been recruits under his command not so many years ago.
Loretta and Vince were silent hand in hand for a long time. In the minds of both circulated memories of happy times when the participants were always three, united by love and friendship. The woman always knew Vince loved her since high school, and he had suffered when she had preferred Leroy, after a process of complex decision making partly under the advice of her father, defender of the black family.
The decision did not affect however the friendship between the three, dating back to their early youth.
Laura Sandoval woke up startled by noises she heard from the entrance of her apartment. She glanced at the clock and saw it was just two in the morning. Silently the woman opened the drawer of her night table, drew her gun and cocked it.
“You can keep the weapon. It´s me.” Said a familiar voice.
“¡Paddy! What are you doing here and at this hour? You did not tell me you were coming.”
“Sheila threw me out of the house.” O’Halloran said in reply. He had already taken off his jacket, now pulled his pants and lay down on the bed forcing Laura to move aside. She noticed a strong alcoholic breath, but made no comment.
“You have still your tie on, and you´ve got to take off your socks.”
“Damn!” Answered the portly man. He clumsily tried to remove his tie, but it soon became clear that he was not going to get it done so Laura took over the task.
“Well, leave your damn socks on.” Finally exclaimed the woman. Anyway, what she had heard before was music to her ears.
“ You leaving home and Sheila … This time it’s serious?”
“You have heard me. I’m not leaving my wife. She has thrown me away from home this time. And yes, it is final.”
Laura did not ask the reasons, because she knew she was the first and principal. She soon felt the man’s rough hands sliding over her body and her Latin blood began to boil. Paddy then rode her in the missionary position and the woman opened her legs. Incredibly she loved to have his immense mass of pink flesh on her little body. The girl made some movements with her hips to allow him to penetrate more deeply and devoted herself to enjoy not only the sexual act that she knew Paddy always started rather awkwardly but then ended in glorious form. This time Laura finally celebrated her man had left his Irish wife for her; a triumph that she had obtained after three years of flirtation.
Eric Murphy turned on the engine of his small old Volkswagen and listened to its rhythm until he was convinced that was working fine. He always expressed his distrust for “these Germans knickknacks” but the truth was that he had already gotten tired of driving those bulky American police cars and enjoyed the agility of his own vehicle.
Eric was concerned about the tone of voice he noticed when the daughter of his old friend and colleague Mike Flynn, who was now in a hospital, called him earlier. If the girl had turned to her godfather Eric was because she was a serious problem, possibly linked to her abusive husband. Murphy had advised her a thousand times before to formally charge him and get a restraining order, but she had refused to do so ultimately seduced by the false promises of her spouse, not to mention his humiliating and permanent conjugal deceptions.
As he rang the girl´s house doorbell Eric noticed that there was some activity inside. After a while the door partially opened and his goddaughter´s face appeared. Murphy suspected something and entered directly the house even at the expense of pushing the girl with a little rude
ness. Then he saw what she was trying to hide.
Sheila Flynn O’Halloran´s face exhibited bruises undoubtedly produced by slapping. As he lifted the sleeves of the cardigan she was wearing the police noticed more welts.
“Is he here?” exclaimed angrily Murphy as he headed toward the stairs; in his right hand he had placed the brass knuckles with which in the past he had fought battles in the harsh New York streets.
“No, no! Please stop.” Said the girl. “He is gone forever. He carried part of his belongings and I sent the rest to a warehouse so he has no need to return to look for them anymore. He´s gone for good.”
A little calmer Eric began to interrogate her goddaughter following a well known police protocol, so that he soon had an overview of what had been her life in recent days. Without doubt the worst aspects of the personality of Paddy O’Halloran had emerged and the woman had paid the consequences.
After taking tea together Eric tenderly stroked her face and asked Sheila.
“I can stay tonight with you, or you can come to my apartment or I can take you to a hotel where you will be taken care by some of my friends.”
“No need Eric. I know that this time Paddy will not return. He is completely infatuated with the Puerto Rican policewoman I told you about who is apparently giving him what I cannot give.”
Murphy got in his car and beating his desire to stay with his goddaughter he departed. A dull hatred was born inside him.
Chapter 9
Marcos had moved most of his belongings to an attic on top of Charley´s store and house but still kept renting his own apartment. The small room had an old rickety bed and Charley had acquired a new mattress. When sitting on it the elastic springs creaked producing a real metal concert tune.
That afternoon, after closing the store the young man went to his attic and was putting in order some additional things he had brought on his last trip to his apartment when he heard footsteps on the wooden staircase leading from the house to the attic. The soft steps could only belong to one person, as Charley trudged due to some old wounds of war. The door opened indeed and Nubia appeared in the frame. The girl was wearing a dress made of cotton fabric printed with strong African folk reminiscences of bright and contrasting colors, tight to the body and a with long opening in the skirt showing her beautiful legs when walking. No doubt Charley had purchased it for her and Marcos wondered if he had done that to allow the woman to seduce him, since the old man seemed to have that purpose in mind.
With an absent look Nubia sat on the narrow bed, so that the skirt of her dress moved to one side leaving a provocative vision of her legs. Then she placed an object on her right thigh, which as Marcos approach turned out to be a short chocolate bar. Its color was exactly the same shade of the woman´s skin, so in the dim light of the only window in the small piece it was difficult to discern one from the other.
“You like chocolate? Come and eat.” She said with a neutral air.
The sudden hormonal discharge that Marcos experienced produced an instant erection that the boy did not try to conceal. He knelt on the floor by Nubia´s side and began to suck the bar that with the warmth of his breath began to melt dripping a viscous liquid on the girl’s thigh.
“Look what you’re doing!” Exclaimed Nubia in a tone between reproach and humorous. “Now you must clean the mess.”
Marcos questioningly raised his eyes to meet the girl´s.
“ … With your tongue, of course, and very gently.” She added.
A few weeks had passed since Vince´s arrival to the hospital and improvement in his injuries was evident. Every day the nurse accompanied him to walk with his crutches through the halls crowded with people and now he could do it with relative ease. The forecast was for a full recovery in six to nine weeks, mostly at home, and the doctors were even reducing the massive dose of painkillers and antibiotics with which Vince was being treated. Upon returning to his room that day he found the pleasant surprise that Loretta was waiting at its door. Marcos kissed the woman on the cheek and thanked the nurse who retired discreetly.
“I´ll be back in one hour to control the bandages.” Gently warned the lady before going away so as to set a limit to the meeting of the young couple.
Loretta sat on the edge of the bed and Vince put one hand between hers.
“Have the doctors confirmed when will you leave the hospital?” Asked the woman.
“Tentatively within three days, if the evolution of the wounds remains the same.”
“Have you thought about us?”
“I do not have anything to think about.” Answered the man. “I already made up my mind. The one who must make a decision is you.”
Loretta had visited the wounded man practically every day. The feelings that existed between them before her marriage with Leroy had emerged to the surface once more. After her wedding Vince had dedicated to sleep with white and black women in a foolish way but Loretta knew it was just a way in which his spite manifested. In an introspection the woman had to recognize that her feelings toward the attractive man were still intact, but were fighting with her closed religious education and respect for the forms by the still recent death of her husband. What both youngsters had agreed was to marry after a reasonable period.
“There is one thing I must tell you. This is a non-negotiable condition for us to stay together.” Expressed Loretta.
“What is it?” Asked Vince somewhat alarmed.
“You must leave the police force as soon as you leave the hospital.”
“Oh Loretta! You cannot ask me that! I have not been anything but a cop since I was a young boy. It is what I like and what I do. I have nothing else.”
Loretta pressed the hand she held between hers as tears appeared in her beautiful eyes.
“Vince. I cannot afford to lose another man in my life. Especially I cannot lose you. If you really love me you must satisfy my request and let us reshape our lives in other ways. I cannot spend every night sighing when you do not arrive on time.”
“But what will I do for a living? Since the academy I’ve never done anything else.”
“That’s the good news I bring you today. I talked to my father and he is sure he can get you a job in the administration of the City of New York.”
Philip Gardner, Loretta´s father, was one of the oldest and most respected members of the Manhattan City Council, and was re-elected periodically by a district populated mostly by African American citizens. Being also a prominent member of a Baptist congregation he was also a stronghold of the best Christian values in the neighborhood. At the time he had opposed the romance between his daughter Loretta, the apple of his eye, with a white and that was one of the factors that had led to the marriage with Leroy. None of the young people mentioned it but they both knew the fact.
“Do not you think he will oppose again to me?”
“He won´t. Everything evolves over time and also his opinions. Also he knows that this time I have already made my own decision and certainly will not want to oppose my wishes. For your peace of mind I should clarify that I have already spoken with him. Not only has he accepted my decision but is looking for a job well suited to your knowledge and experience profile. With your expertise in computer science it will not be difficult.”
Vince was moved by the resoluteness of the woman. He raised her hand to his lips and kissed it. Then he slid his right hand on the knees of the girl, who jerked away.
“With me you must learn to control your Italian genes.”
“Do you expect to impose me chastity?”
“Not a question of chastity but of opportunity.”
The girl got up from the bed because she had seen the nurse reappearing at the door of the room. She kissed Vince on his forehead as she whispered in his ear.
“I’m not made of iron. I desire you too.”
Chapter 10
In the moments previous to the planned meeting with his future father-in-law Vince realized he was nervous as a schoolboy. This made
him feel absurd.
“Councilor Gardner, Mr. Caruso is here.” Announced the secretary partially opening the office door.
“Please show him in, Toya. Thank you very much.”
Philip Gardner was an imposing figure. He had been a football player in his younger days. He now vacillated on how to receive the man chosen by his daughter, but when he saw Vince entering the office with his crutches the Councilor stood up immediately. In the corridors he had seen all his employees respectfully opening the way to a survivor of the Harlem massacres occurred a short time before.
Despite his usual aplomb and security the Councilor coughed to clear a knot that emotion had formed in his throat.
Gardner had on his desk the results of technical assessments that the area of human resources had made about his future son-in-law.
On a second thought, with his usual tendency to look on the bright side of things he comforted himself thinking that that desirable feature was to be transmitted to his future grandchildren. Beautiful as the mother and intelligent as the father; their undefined skin color would be only a detail.
The conversation lasted nearly an hour, in which Philip explained the characteristics of the job offered, reminded him that he would be working with African-American colleagues which would require full respect for certain standards. This forced Vince to say.
“With respect, Councilor…”
“Since you are going to be family, you can call me Philip.”
“Philip, let me remind you that since I joined the police academy I have worked in Harlem, my best friend was black and I’m going to marry your daughter.”
“I know.” Replied immediately Gardner. “But I am not referring to ethnic prejudice but to certain standards, beliefs and rites of our community … well, you know.”