First Class Stamp

by Aj Harmon

  One day when he’d come home and asked Maria what a whore was, she’d dropped the glass she’d been holding and it smashed all over the floor. She never did answer his question. Luca guessed it must be a bad word that meant something not very nice so he didn’t ask her again.

  He finished up his letter to Ben informing him that he did indeed now have a passport and that his mom was hoping to have enough money to bring him to New York City when she came for the conference. Then he put it in an envelope and licked it closed. As promised, he pulled out the clothes he would wear to school the next morning and laid them on the chair next to his bed. The he brushed his teeth, and changed into his pajamas. After saying prayers with his mother, Luca climbed into bed and fell asleep.

  *****

  Lindsey Lathem, David’s wife and Ben’s sister-in-law, left the dining table for the second time. Maureen, Ben’s mother, stood up and followed her up two flights of stairs to a bathroom off one of the guest rooms.

  “Honey?” she called through the door. “Are you okay?” After a moment or two, Maureen heard the door being unlocked but it didn’t open. “I’m coming in Lindsey.”

  Opening the door, Maureen was greeted with Lindsey, lying on the floor, head lying on the toilet seat, looking positively green.

  “Oh my,” Maureen said. “That look says food poisoning or pregnant.”

  “Pregnant, I think,” sighed Lindsey. “But please don’t say a word. I haven’t told David yet.”

  Maureen nodded and stepped over Lindsey’s body to sit on the edge of the tub. She pulled a wash cloth from the basket on the shelf above the Jacuzzi tub and soaked it under the faucet. Wringing it out, she gathered Lindsey’s long hair and placed the cool cloth on the back of her neck. Then she pulled off a strip of toilet paper and handed it to Lindsey to wipe her mouth.

  “I don’t want him to be disappointed like last time,” Lindsey finally spoke. “He was devastated when we lost the baby.”

  “So were you,” Maureen added.

  “I know, but he felt so…so…I don’t know.”

  “Shhh,” Maureen soothed. “I know.”

  David and Lindsey had announced they were expecting a baby in seven months on a Sunday at their weekly family dinner just like today. The following weekend she’d miscarried. It took her several weeks before she could come back to the house for dinner. Now, eight months later, Maureen could see the fear in her daughter-in-law’s eyes.

  “You need to tell him, sweetheart,” Maureen stroked her hair and pulled the cloth to re-wet it, this time gently wiping her forehead. “You need him. He needs to be with here with you.”

  “I know,” she sighed.

  “Go and lie down. I’m going to go and get him, okay?”

  “Okay,” she smiled. “Maureen?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Thank you.”

  Half an hour later, Janie asked where Lindsey and David had gone.

  “They had to go. Lindsey had a crisis to attend do,” Maureen said.

  “Now she has four restaurants there’s always gonna be a crisis somewhere,” Rory added.

  Maureen dished up dessert, apple pie with ice cream, and thought about her daughter-in-law, praying silently that this time all would be well.

  Ben took seconds and Maureen was shocked. “You hardly ever even eat dessert let alone have second helpings!”

  “Yeah well,” he shrugged.

  “What is it?” asked Nic, Paul’s wife. “I always go for sugar when I’m depressed, but you can’t be depressed. You’re Ben Lathem! International symbol for happy bachelors.”

  Most of the family chuckled at her spot-on assessment. Ben, however, was not amused.

  “Ha ha,” he muttered while shoveling pie into his mouth.

  He drove home, thinking about Nic’s words. What a croc they were! He enjoyed being a bachelor, that was true, but he certainly wasn’t any poster boy. Maybe I am depressed.

  He’d only been home for a few minutes when his doorman buzzed. “There’s a young man here by the name of Alex. Says he’s a friend of yours.”

  Ben chuckled. “Yep. Send him up.”

  He opened the door the second the doorbell rang. “Come in,” he grinned. “Do you not actually have a phone?”

  “You know, grandpa is always going on and on about us kids always have our heads down looking at computers and smart phones and that we’re losing the art of conversation. So I thought I’d just stop by.”

  Ben couldn’t help but give the kid props. “So what brings you here?”

  “Mom says you want to take me to another game. I’m glad that I didn’t annoy you. Sometimes my dad tells me I can be annoying. But it’d be awesome to go again.”

  “It would be awesome,” Ben replied. “And you are not annoying. Far from it. So when do you wanna go? Did you look at the schedule?”

  “Course! I’m thinking this Wednesday. The game against Philly. That’s gonna be a nail biter I think.”

  “’K,” Ben nodded. “Wednesday it is.”

  6.

  Over the next two weeks, Ben took Alex to three baseball games. His wardrobe increased by three t-shirts and a jacket too. Alex had also shown up at Ben’s apartment a couple of times now…all under the pretense of thanking him for taking him to the games. Surprisingly to Ben, he didn’t mind in the least.

  The last time he’d rang the doorbell, Ben was just about to go grab something to eat. He’d thought about just calling and having some Chinese delivered, but he’d been stuck in meetings all day and wanted to get out and walk. After all, he lived in the perfect city for walking to dinner. He’d invited Alex to go with him and, after he’d run back and checked with his mom, they went to a diner and ate breakfast for dinner.

  Now, as Ben ordered Thai from one of his favorite restaurants, he added several extra items…just in case he had company. Thirty minutes later the food arrived and still no Alex. As it was a Friday night, and Alex had shown up the last two Friday nights, Ben began to wonder if he was okay. Instead of sitting down, turning on a game and eating, he rode the elevator down to the lobby, exited the high-rise and crossed the street to Aldo’s Market.

  “Is Alex okay?” he asked Aldo as he strode to the counter.

  “Sure he is…I think. Why?”

  “Oh, no reason,” Ben shrugged, feeling really stupid. What was I thinking?

  “He’s with his dad this weekend,” Aldo added. “Left a couple of hours ago. Should be back on Sunday evening. At least he’d better be. School starts Monday.”

  Ben sighed and turned to leave when he heard Sophia call out to her father. “Dad? Do you want something to eat?” She came to a halt when she saw Ben.

  “Nah,” Aldo replied. “I had all that leftover ravioli at lunch. I’ll just grab some toast or something after I close up. Whatcha making?”

  “Haven’t made anything. Mom just had some soup so I figured I’d just make something for you and me,” Sophia said trying not to look in Ben’s direction.

  “You know,” Ben said, “I just had some Thai delivered and there’s more than enough to share. You’re welcome to come eat with me.”

  “What are you doing here then?” Sophia asked, her voice laced with suspicion.

  “Um…well…just to grab some beer,” he stuttered. “Root beer,” he added. He didn’t want her thinking he sat alone and drank beer. That would be pathetic even if it was true. He swung around and ran back to the cooler, yanked the glass door open and grabbed four bottles of Barq’s. He ran back to the counter and placed them on the counter with a thud. One fell, rolled to edge and fell on the floor.

  “I wouldn’t open that any time soon,” Aldo chuckled. He turned to Sophia. “I’ll see you later then. Go on.” He looked at Ben and nodded his head in the direction of the door.

  “Great!” smiled Ben. “I’ll lead the way.” He didn’t see the scathing look she sent her father. Aldo just chuckled.

  Sophia was immediately intimidated by her surroundings as she entered Be
n’s apartment. This was the residence of a man who knew extreme wealth intimately. “Wow,” she whispered.

  Sleek, modern yet comfortable and tasteful was the description she formed in her head. Spacious and expensive was the next byline. The massive windows in front of her allowed an amazing view of the Brooklyn Bridge and in just a couple of hours, she was sure, the image would be lit up and stunning.

  “Make yourself at home,” Ben smiled as he ushered her inside and closed the door behind them. He led her to the dining table, glass and massive, and pulled out a chair for her. “I’ll get plates and napkins,” he said as he placed the grocery sack on the table next to her.

  The rustling of the plastic broke the mesmerizing spell of sophistication and Sophia watched Ben walk away. She opened the bag and pulled a couple of bottles of root beer out and placed them on the table. He returned with placemats, napkins and a fork and quickly set the table for dinner. The brown paper bag, with the order ticket still stapled to the outside was sitting on the massive island that separated the dining area from the kitchen. Ben grabbed it and began emptying the boxes of food before her.

  She didn’t hear him tell her what was in each of the boxes. She was still taking in her surroundings. There was a show on television years ago called ‘Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous’ and Sophia knew this apartment would definitely fit the qualifications to be a featured segment.

  “Sophia?” Ben said again.

  “Hmm?”

  Ben was holding a box for her to scoop some noodles onto her plate. “Sorry,” she smiled.

  “Fork or chopsticks?”

  “Fork,” she answered. “Please.”

  “I always eat with chopsticks, even though whenever I’ve been in Thailand I’ve never been given them to use. They have these big spoon things…nothing like chopsticks at all.”

  By the time Sophia had taken a scoop of each of the boxes, her plate was full. She had no idea how she was going to finish it but it smelled divine so she began on the right side and worked her way left. Chicken, shrimp, tofu, noodles, rice, spice, heat, vegetables. It was all in front of her and all delicious.

  They chatted away about the Yankees mainly, and how much Alex loved them and how happy he was that he’d gotten to see a couple of games, sitting in a box right behind home plate.

  “It’s my brother’s box,” Ben shrugged. “He said it was after he’d secured that box for a season that he knew he’d never have to worry about money again. I was still in college and didn’t get it. I had no clue what life was all about back then and just enjoyed going to the games.”

  “Just like Alex,” she nodded.

  “Yeah,” he grinned. “Just like Alex. It isn’t lost on me that I have the opportunity to do some good.”

  The statement hit Sophia like she’d just been punched in the gut. “We are nobody’s charity case,” she snarled and put her fork down.

  “No! No!” Ben exclaimed. “That’s not what I meant. Not at all.” He was desperate to make her understand. “Alex is a great kid and I enjoy going to games with him, but I’ve never thought of it as charity. It never even entered my mind. Really. You have no idea how much joy it gave me watching him have fun at the game. I guess I take it for granted that I can go to a game whenever I want to. He’s reminded me how very fortunate I am. What I was talking about was donating the box for a couple of games a year to the Big Brothers program so that some kids who would enjoy it can go. Alex is the one who reminded me that boys and baseball go together like…like root beer and ice cream,” he grinned as he lifted the bottle in front of him and took a swig.

  “Oh,” Sophia said, picking up her fork again. “Sorry.”

  “It’s fine,” Ben smiled. “Don’t be upset.” Why the hell do I care if she’s upset?

  When their plates were empty, Sophia shocked that she’d eaten everything off hers, she helped Ben clean up and then she said thank you and goodbye.

  “You don’t think I’m letting you walk home in the dark alone, do you?”

  She was shocked. “It’s just across the street. I think I’ll be fine.”

  “Well of course you will cuz I’ll make sure of it,” and he followed her out the front door and down the hall to the elevator.

  “You really don’t have to,” Sophia protested.

  “What did you tell Alex fifty times before we went to the Red Sox game? Stay close to Ben. Don’t leave Ben. I’m just affording the same protection for his mother,” he grinned. How can she argue with that? he thought smugly. Why do I even care? the thought shot right back.

  As promised, Ben saw her to the safety of the rear entrance to the store. She unlocked the door, said goodnight, opened the door, went inside and closed it behind her. Ben could hear the locks clicking as he turned and headed home.

  *****

  Maria left the management suite at Crystal Towers and punched in the alarm code as she pulled the heavy wooden door shut. Waiting for the elevator she gazed through the lobby and down the street. The protestors were getting close. Most of the American companies had now broken their leases and vacated the building. She figured by the end of the month, if the demonstrations continued, they’d have less than a quarter of the building rented. Then New York would have to make a decision whether or not to keep her on. She was paid a handsome salary, but that was to manage a full building. Sane business owners like the Lathem brothers would not be wasting money on her salary for twenty-five percent occupancy.

  Slipping into the driver’s seat of her car, Maria drove out of the parking lot and turned left. She’d only gone maybe a couple of hundred yards when out of nowhere a brick came hurtling toward her. She swerved the car to the left and the brick made contact on the rear passenger window, shattering it completely. How she managed, she wasn’t quite sure, but Maria was able to make a U-turn and speed away before any more flying objects made direct hits. Shaking most of the way home, she held herself together until she turned into her driveway and cut the engine. Then, and only then, did she lose it.

  The tears flowed and she cried aloud, and when her allotted two minutes was up, she pulled herself together, gathered her things, climbed from the car and went into her house. They would not get the better of her. They would not scare her. She had a job to do and she would do it.

  The next morning, before Luca awoke, Maria took the dustpan and a paper bag and attempted to clean up all the glass that was scattered throughout the car. Then she found some plastic and some duct tape and taped up the window. It wasn’t pretty but it would have to do until Monday and she could get someone to fix it. She didn’t have a lot of extra cash, as half of everything she earned went into a savings account for Luca’s college in the United States. But she obviously had to get it fixed. Now she just needed a small white lie to tell Luca when he asked what happened to the window.

  *****

  Matt had been more than happy to offer the box suite at Yankee Stadium to Big Brothers for a game or two. In fact, he got together with a few of his CEO buddies and talked to the Yankees front office about getting a suite for the entire next season for the purpose of letting non-profit agencies that worked with underprivileged, at risk, and disabled youth use it for the benefit of the children they served. Ben took a little pride in being the catalyst for such a worthy venture. Ben also took Alex to a couple more games and for one of them they convinced Aldo to come with them. They all had a great time.

  Since Alex was back in school now, his evening trips over to say hi had come to a halt. In some ways, Ben kind of missed them and found himself walking over to the store to buy stupid stuff, like peanut butter chocolates and salt. Most of the time it was just Aldo in the store, but occasionally Alex was there and sometimes even Sophia.

  Ben was also getting ready for the first ever conference for the upper management teams of MEL Holdings. It had been Mark’s idea to pull the heads of the teams from around the world into one place for four days and give them specialized training in management, team building and le
adership. Matt wasn’t overly thrilled with the idea, but Ben had been all for it, seeing as though his executive team were the ones who worked with these people on a daily basis. Reservations at the hotel had been made and the travel department had reserved all the plane tickets. One more week and everyone would converge on New York City for the inaugural annual event.

  When Ben checked his mail as he entered his apartment building he was happy to see a letter from Luca. It always brightened his day to find the hand-written envelope in his box. Once upstairs, changed from a suit to shorts and a t-shirt, he ripped it open and began reading.

  Hello Ben,

  I made the soccer team. I was very excited because I didn’t think I’d make it, but I did. Mama is proud of me and said I am the best player on the team but she doesn’t know because we are still only practicing. Our first game isn’t for a few weeks. It will be after we get back from America. I am very excited to come and I think mama is too. She says that we will see the Statue of Liberty and I told her that you would take me to a Yankees game. My friends here don’t believe that I am going even though I told them I was.

  Mama had to put two new windows in the car. She said that she accidently got too close to the ticket box in the parking garage. She must be a very bad driver because the ticket boxes are on the driver’s side and the broken windows were on the other side.

  I will see you soon in America. I’m glad I will get to see you because I don’t remember what you look like.

  Goodbye,

  Luca

  As Ben folded the letter a deep concern for Maria’s safety almost drowned him. He sat down with his laptop and sent her an email telling her to stay away from Crystal Towers and to tell all her employees to do the same. On Monday, he would have to decide what to do.

  7.

  Although she’d read Ben’s email, and called and instructed her staff not to come to work, Maria sat at her desk in Crystal Towers and reviewed her calendar. There were still things to be done like paying the utility bills and representing MEL Holdings with a brave face and strong backbone. These protestors would not get the better of her…not today or any day!