by Adam Pepper
Nicole said, “Aren’t you going to kiss me goodbye?”
I didn’t respond. I was frozen, looking at Mario. Mario stood still. Mike took out a cigarette and lit it, still glaring at me with a sneer that would send most people from my neighborhood into the witness protection program. Mario took a cigar out from the breast pocket of his suit. He took out his cigar clipper and snapped at the air a few times, then he snipped the top off the cigar and immediately started chewing on it. I think Mike and Mario exchanged a few words.
“See you later,” Nicole said sounding somewhat deflated. She kissed my cheek, as I looked straight ahead. Then she got out of the car.
Just before she shut the door, I said, “See you tomorrow at the pizza place.”
“Yup,” she said and slammed the door.
Mario continued chewing on his cigar, but he didn’t light it. Gucci Mike smoked his cigarette and said something to Nicole. She looked over and nodded while continuing towards the house. Mario didn’t move. He didn’t talk to Nicole. His expression didn’t change. Other than his jaw chomping at the butt of the thick cigar, he was completely and totally still.
With the Cadillac blocking my path, I put the car in reverse and slowly backed out. When I took one last look back, I saw Mario spit a giant gob of tobacco into the middle of the driveway.
* *
Later that night I was sitting on the couch at home, watching some television when the phone rang.
“Hello.”
“Shamrock, what’s up?”
“Hey, Vinny.”
“You comin’ down?”
“Where, to the shop?”
“Yeah, the shop.”
“I thought I was off tonight. I was just watching some TV.”
“Nah, change of plans. I thought I told you that.”
“No, you didn’t.”
“Well, I’m telling you now. Come down.”
“Okay. I’ll get dressed and be over in a few.”
“Cool.”
I got dressed, hopped in Nicole’s car and drove to Hunts Point. When I pulled up to Vinny’s shop, it was dark. I parked the car out front and walked to the bay doors. With my hands cupped around my eyes, I looked in through the window. I didn’t see anything.
I walked around the side and tapped the door lightly. Then I knocked firmly. I tried the knob, and the door opened.
“Hey, Vinny,” I called out as I walked into the shop. “Are you crazy, leaving the door unlocked in this neighborhood?”
The shop was empty except for a car sitting in the middle of the floor. I walked up to it and looked in. It was a crummy, old Toyota Celica.
“Vinny?”
A light came on, and I heard a noise from the other side of the shop. Vinny was standing there with Jose behind him.
“Hi,” I said.
“It’s about time you got here,” Vinny said. “You and Jose get to work. I need the Celica stripped, tonight.
Jose got into the car and started it up. The starter motor pained and strained but wouldn’t turn over.
“Shamrock,” Jose said, “Just push me onto the lift.”
Jose put the car in neutral, and I pushed the car onto the lift. We hoisted the car into the air and went to work removing anything and everything of value from it.
Our work wasn’t done until late, probably three in the morning. Vinny was long gone, and me and Jose were cleaning up and putting tools away.
“You need a ride home?” I asked.
“Nah. I’m good.”
“You got your car fixed?” Jose’s Sentra was out of commission again.
“No, I’ll walk.”
“Serious? When are you gonna get rid of that piece of shit?”
“Never. I like it.”
I laughed as I said, “Come on. Let me give you a lift.”
“It’s cool. I like to walk.”
“At this hour?”
“Yeah, you know how it is.”
Jose washed the grease off his hands in the dirty corner sink and then left. I checked the bay doors to make sure they were closed and locked. Then I walked around to the side door, stepped outside, and I locked that, too.
My back was to the street as I slipped the key into the lock. I heard shuffling feet, so I tried to turn towards it.
I felt something cut me at the knees, and before I could react something hit me in the back. My mind flashed back to the yard at Riker’s Island. I felt a punch to my gut. My balance was wobbly, but I knew if I fell to the ground I would be totally fucked.
I managed to block a punch; then I threw one myself that landed in the side of a guy’s head. Finally facing my attackers, I saw three. They all wore hooded sweatshirts tied tightly. I couldn’t see faces. I threw another punch and hit the man closest to me. He fell back. But the other two advanced. We exchanged shots, but they came at me from both sides.
Punches hit my gut and my shoulder on my right side while the guy on my left grabbed my arm and we started wrestling. I was able to hold off the guy on my left, but the guy on my right was getting in free shots.
Somehow I shook free and nailed the guy to my right with one good shot. Unfortunately, the third guy was up, and he and the guy to my left rushed me, and this time they restrained me.
I shook violently trying to shake free, but they had me.
The man I’d hit flush recovered and slowly walked towards me, as I tried vainly to shake the other two off of me.
He said two words in a gruff voice. “Stay away.” Then he jacked me hard in my eye, and I fell to the ground.
The three men walked away.
* *
A sharp pain in my back woke me. I rolled over and looked at the red lights of the digital clock. It was after two in the afternoon. I struggled to my feet and dressed quickly. In the bathroom, I tried not to look at myself, but couldn’t help it. There was a red knot above my eye. I combed my hair downward to try and cover it, but it was no use. My bangs were too short.
I grabbed a pair of sunglasses along with the keys to the BMW and walked out to Nicole’s car. My Alfa Romeo was still sitting in front of the house. Despite the multiple cracks in the windshield and the busted windshield wipers, there was a parking ticket that had been strategically placed between the wipers and the windshield. I ignored the ticket and got into the red BMW.
A Mercedes Benz sedan was parked in front of Costa’s. The shine of a fresh wax job glistened off the jet-black exterior. The meter it was parked in front of was expired. I rolled in behind the Benz and pulled up the hand brake.
Nicole was reading a magazine and eating a slice at her usual table. I walked up and sat down across from her.
“Hi,” she said. She didn’t immediately look up, but when she did she said in a snide voice, “What’s with the shades, Hollywood?”
“Sunny day,” I said quickly, then I loudly called, “Gino, slice please.”
Gino nodded in acknowledgment and jumped into action.
“Sunny day, huh?” She pushed her magazine aside and looked at me closely. Her eyes squinted, and her head moved towards me.
“What?” I said, trying to play coy.
She pulled off the sunglasses and said, “Oh my god. What happened to you?”
“It’s nothing.”
“No, it’s not. You’re hurt. You poor baby, are you okay?”
“I’m fine. It’s nothing. Really.”
“What happened?”
I turned towards the counter, “Hey, Gino. Hurry it up. I’m starving.”
“Would you knock it off? Look at me.”
I kept my head turned towards Gino. He grabbed the slice from the pizza oven and ran it over.
“Sorry, man.” He smiled at Nicole.
“Thanks, Gino,” she said. Then she turned to me, grabbed my hands and held them inside hers and said, “Please tell me what happened.”
“I got jumped last night.”
“You got jumped!”
“Yeah. I told you it’s no big deal. They
stole my watch. It happens.”
“Where did this happen?”
“In Hunts Point.”
“Hunts Point?”
“Yeah, outside Vinny’s shop.”
“Vinny’s shop?”
“Yes. Vinny’s shop. Would you quit grilling me?” She would have made a great cop. “I got jumped. I was working late, and some guys must have seen me locking up and they jumped me. It’s a shitty neighborhood. These things happen.”
“These things don’t just happen. You know it, and I know it.”
“I don’t know anything. Some punks in hoodies stole my watch. That’s all I know.”
“Do you even own a watch?”
“I did.”
“I never saw you wear one.”
“Nicole, stop it.”
“My father was responsible for this.”
“Nicole. Please.”
“No, you please.” Her voice turned from angry to whiny and the pouty bottom lip popped out. “You could have been really hurt. This has to stop.”
“Nicole. Please stay out of this.”
“No. I can’t, and I won’t. How can I stay out of this? I’m in this. I am in this as much as you are.”
I took a bite of my slice and looked down.
“Don’t shut me out, Sean.”
“I’m not. I’m eating my lunch.”
“Sean. You said you’d stick by me. You said you were different. You said you wouldn’t cave in to my father at the first sign of pressure. Didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Did you mean it?”
“Yes.”
She stood up and walked around the table. Her hands gripped my neck and shoulders as she massaged me. The tension in my neck wasn’t going anywhere, but the gesture was nice.
“I love you, Sean.”
I turned. “I love you, too.”
“We’ll get through this. Together.”
“Okay.”
Her voice got higher and cutesy, and her nose twinkled as she said, “Let’s go back to your place.”
“How can I say no to that offer?” I whispered.
We could barely keep our hands off each other as we paid our check then walked outside. I peeled Nicole off of me and got into the BMW, and she followed me home in the Benz. We parked the cars and rejoined each other like hormone-filled magnets. My hands slipped under her tight-fitted shirt and ran down her belly while her hands reached around my Levi’s to grope my ass. Her lips were all over my face and the side of my cheek, then she nibbled at the back of my neck while I sucked at her ear and chewed softly.
We walked up to the front of the house, and I fumbled for my house key with one hand while my other was buried deep in the back of her tight designer jeans; they were so tight I thought I might rip them as my arm squeezed between her belt and panty line.
My palm was wrapped around her ass as I said, “Stop!” Her touch had my sides shivering with the tickles. She kept at me, nibbling my neck and pecking my cheek while her hands were all over my ribs and belly and chest. We both laughed as I dropped my keys to the floor of the front porch.
I slid my hands free and took a step back. She looked at me with a stern and somber look that almost fooled me. But she couldn’t hold it and burst into laughter which I quickly joined in. I bent over and picked up my keychain with my back to her, and I couldn’t help but jump and yelp when I felt her fingers slap my ass and goose me.
“Stop it,” I said; then I whirled around and pushed her shoulder.
“You bully!” she shouted, then pushed me back, twice as hard.
“Who’s the bully?” I fingered my house key and said, “Let me get the door.”
“Okay.”
When I slid my key into the door, it opened before I even turned the key.
“What the?” I said. I looked around. I felt someone watching me. After what happened at the shop, what an idiot I was for not being more on guard. “Wait here a second.”
“What?” she asked. “What is it?”
I walked inside the house, my fists clenched and eyes sharply peeled. Now I was sure someone was in my house waiting to jump me. I stepped into the front hallway and quietly opened the coat closet. There wasn’t much of a weapon in there, so I grabbed an umbrella.
“What is it?” Nicole asked from the porch.
I put my finger to my lips to silence her then slowly stepped forward. As I turned to the living room, I saw Mrs. Griffin sitting on my couch.
“Mrs. Griffin?”
“Oh, Sean. Thank goodness you’re home.”
I dropped the umbrella and walked quickly towards her. Nicole’s footsteps were loud behind me, and she was quickly by my side.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Sean, it’s your mother.”
“Is she okay? What happened?”
“Don’t panic. She’s okay.”
“I’m not panicking. What happened?”
“We don’t know exactly. She was working up at Morley’s Market today, and she was in great pain. She was just wailing and screaming, and you know your mother. She is strong as an ox, that woman. For her to be carrying on like that, she must have been in great pain.”
“So where is she?”
“They took her to Jacobi Hospital. My husband went with her. I would have gone, but I thought someone should wait here for you.”
“Let’s go,” I said.
“We can take my car,” Nicole said.
The three of us dashed outside, and I ripped the keys from Nicole and said, “I’ll drive.”
I shot through traffic; I was waving my hands and yelling at other drivers. I barely slowed for stop signs and ran through several red lights. At one point, I looked behind me at Mrs. Griffin, clutching to the leather of the backseat.
“It’s okay, Sean,” Nicole said, rubbing my thigh lightly. “It’s going to be okay.”
A sense of urgency coursed through my veins. I had to get to Jacobi.
“It’s going to be okay, Sean,” Nicole continued.
I peered into the rearview mirror and made eye contact with Mrs. Griffin. I saw terror in her eyes. Undaunted, I ran another stop sign and the heel of my palm stayed firmly planted on the blaring horn.
* *
Nobody likes a hospital. There just isn’t much to like. Everyone inside is either sick or visiting someone who’s sick. I guess if you’re there to have a baby or something, maybe that’s an exception, but by and large, you don’t want to be there.
I can count on one hand the times I’d been inside a hospital prior to that day. Not counting the day I was born, I’d been once to visit my sick grandmother, and once I visited the emergency room as a kid. I jumped a fence and landed on some glass and had to have some stitches. It wasn’t a big deal, just kid stuff. So you total it up, I’d barely been to a hospital, and certainly nothing prepared me for what I’d encounter on that day.
We burst into the hospital. Mrs. Griffin had this look in her eyes: I could tell she was scared. Something was just so off. For her to be acting this way was unheard of. The entranceway to the ER was cluttered with a stretcher and two empty wheelchairs, and we just pushed through.
The waiting area was packed. There was a guy with his hand wrapped in gauze, the gauze so red with blood you could hardly tell it was once white. There was a woman whose face was so peaked, it was probably the color of the gauze before the man bloodied it up. There was another guy dry heaving and a woman rubbing his back trying to comfort him. I wasn’t there thirty seconds, and I was ready to turn and run.
To this day, I still don’t like hospitals. It doesn’t make me unique. Nobody likes hospitals.
I was gassed from running in. Nicole was breathing heavily, too. Mrs. Griffin’s round face was red as she trailed in behind us. We looked around the room. Then I heard an absolutely awful noise.
Screaming. Loud, piercing, shrieking. The noises split the drums of my ears. I ran towards them, with Nicole right behind me. Mrs. Griffin trailed s
lightly behind.
Sitting upright on a hard plastic chair was Mr. Griffin. As I got closer, slumped over in the corner of the waiting room, I saw my mother. Her head was between her legs, and the noises were coming from her.
She hollered out and then her stomach turned, and I saw her vomit into a plastic bag she was clutching. Then she screamed again.
I’d never heard my mother so much as whimper in my entire life, but here she was crying, screaming and puking all at once.
Tears spilled from my eyes, and I almost threw up myself. I ran to her side and knelt down next to her.
“Mom? Are you okay?” What a stupid question. It was clear that she was far from okay.
And yet, she tried to put forward a strong face. “I’ll be alright,” she said, but the words were gurgled. Saliva dribbled from her mouth and she turned away from me, then gagged and heaved into the bag. No matter how strong a woman she was, she couldn’t keep her strong face up any longer. “Ahh!” she yelled out. And the yelling got louder, and louder still. Once she swallowed her pride, the pain just leaped from her mouth and echoed around the room.
I turned to Mr. Griffin and shouted, “Why aren’t they helping her?” I looked around the room, searching for something: a doctor, a nurse, a sympathetic face somewhere amongst the crowd. But I found nothing.
“They told us they’d be along soon,” he said. “We just have to hang in a bit longer.”
“How long have you been here?” Nicole asked.
Mr. Griffin had this simple way about him. He swayed back and forth and pushed back the gold rims of his glasses when he spoke. He didn’t mean to sound callous, but he wasn’t capable of much emotion. “Oh, a while, I’d say.”
Mrs. Griffin, meanwhile looked almost as bad as my mother. The blue makeup she wore on her eyelids was running in smears down her face. Her lip quivered, and she looked like she wanted to speak, but no words came out of her mouth.
Nicole, too, began to water in the eyes as she said, “We have to get some help.”
My mother groaned and tried to sit up. “I’ll be fine, kids. Just give me a moment.” Then she grabbed at her side and cried out.
“Oh, this is just awful,” Nicole said and walked quickly towards the nurse’s desk. I followed her. “Excuse me,” she said.