Beards
Page 17
“Shit, Gina. I’m sorry.”
“It feels like I’m losing her, Early. I mean, what wouldn’t I understand? She’s happy at work—the Christian Academy is a good school. Stevie’s doing well. You and Steven are both steady as rocks. I’m trying to work less to be home more. I don’t get it.”
Early thought how to approach this honestly, but with sensitivity. “I definitely side with you on what happened earlier. Roni should have admitted who she is to Stevie. He’s going to visit other kids’ houses soon enough and learn that usually, mommies sleep with daddies. It’s better he hear it from us than on the school bus. But,” he paused dramatically, “I also know that Roni doesn’t want to deny any of us happiness. She’s the most considerate person I have ever met. When she found out I never had a sleepover as a kid, what did she do?”
“She bought you a sleeping bag and made us all sleep in the living room after we watched ridiculous horror movies and ate pizza.” During that evening, Steven and Gina mostly exchanged confused glances while Early had the time of his life braiding Roni’s hair and yelling at Jamie Lee Curtis.
“That generosity and spirit—that’s the essence of Roni,” Early concluded. “I think that she just doesn’t know how to adjust to change or surprises well.”
“She does like to plan,” Gina nodded her agreement. “But Early, it’s like she doesn’t want change. It’s like she wants it to be this way for the rest of our lives. It’s like... just as society is becoming more accepting, she wants to keep us all in the closet forever.” Her deepest feelings were so painful she could hardly voice them. “I don’t know if I can live like that.”
TEN MONTHS LATER, JUNE 2001
“I CAN’T BELIEVE HE’S SIX,” Gina muttered.
“I know. It seems like just yesterday Stevie was learning how to walk.” Roni watched her son catch a mock pop fly thrown by Steven. Stevie then threw a frozen rope back to Devin. Luckily, he had moved his blond bangs out of his eyes just in time. She shifted her attention back to their guests. “I’m glad you were able to stay a little longer. It really made Stevie’s day extra special.”
“Not a problem at all. With all the other kids here, they didn’t get to play like this,” remarked Becky.
“Devin’s little legs kept up well during tag,” Gretchen commented under her wide brim summer hat and large sunglasses. The sun was hell on her freckles. “I don’t know if we would have learned about any of his athletic talents so soon without Steven’s influence.”
“Hey, I’m athletic too!” Early defended. “It’s just that my coordination is best shown off in dance. One of these days when you come over, I’ll have to pop in one of my old performances for you to watch.” Early sighed wistfully, “Some days I miss the spotlight.”
“And by the spotlight, he means the men,” Gina joked.
Roni swatted her playfully and laughed. “Just don’t pull out the tape where I joined you on stage and did the entire routine with you. I may have been over-served that night,” she explained.
Gretchen lowered her sunglasses and waggled her eyebrows towards Gina. “I’m sure that made for an exciting performance after the show.”
Roni laughed harder and Gina bowed her head in embarrassment. “It would have, except this one gets emotional when she’s drunk. She started crying about how much she loved me so we ended up cuddling instead of me seducing her.”
“That’s one of the best stories ever I’ve ever heard,” Gretchen commented, while Becky chuckled into her lemonade.
It had taken two months of friendship between Stevie and Devin for Becky to feel a strong enough rapport with Roni to tell her that both she and Gretchen deduced the bearded arrangement. Initially, Roni had been more embarrassed than upset, but Becky assured her that they weren’t judging. The only reason Becky had said anything was so everyone could feel comfortable being themselves.
“You know,” Gretchen smirked, “speaking of dance. There’s a new club that just opened slightly outside the city. It’s called The Box and Whiskers.”
“Is it a gay club?” asked Gina.
“It’s called The Box and Whiskers,” Gretchen emphasized. “Of course, it’s a gay club. However, they mostly cater to lesbians. Gretchen and I were thinking that it could be fun to go out one night.”
“Hey, big man,” Early yelled to Steven. “If I wanted to go dancing some night with the ladies, could you watch Stevie and Devin?”
Steven came back to the table with his mitt under his arm. “Sure. I could take them to a baseball game.”
Gretchen didn’t see the level of interest that she had hoped in either Gina or Roni. “Apparently, there are also several pool tables.”
Gina’s eyes brightened. “That does sound like it could be fun.”
“You don’t dance,” Roni reminded Gina.
“No, but you do. I could watch you while I played a round of eight ball. Sounds perfect to me.”
“I don’t know. I think I’d rather go to the baseball game with the boys.”
Early’s mouth dropped in shock. Roni was choosing organized sports over dancing. “Who are you and what have you done to Roni?”
“Oh, come on,” Gina whined. “We should support our community.”
Roni gestured to the table. “Hello, gay community, right here.”
“I don’t think that’s quite what Gina’s referring to,” Becky tried to state diplomatically.
“I just can’t be out at a place like that so close to where I work.” Roni didn’t understand why it was so difficult for them to comprehend that. “It’s not unreasonable to think that if someone saw me there, I could get fired or be forced to resign. I have a morality clause in my contract.”
The morality clause. The surprising piece of information Roni neglected to tell Gina and the others when she was offered the job at the Christian Academy. It was almost enough to make her turn down the job, but Gina had been so adamant about her changing employers Roni felt like she had no choice but to accept. Ultimately, she chose what she felt would make everyone the happiest. Or so she thought.
“Okay, just to clarify.” Early shifted nervously. “You’re afraid that somebody who knows you from school and doesn’t approve of gayness will go into a gay bar, see you, and then report you to the non-authority anti-gay authorities?”
Roni nodded and then immediately saw several pairs of eyes with an identical look. “I’m not being paranoid. This shit,” she remembered the boys were within earshot playing catch, “stuff happens—there’s no law preventing discrimination based on sexual orientation. And since it’s a private school, they can dictate what they feel is moral or not.”
“She has a point.” Steven had heard his fair share of homophobic comments as a professional. “If they found out I was gay at work, I can’t even imagine the level of harassment. Underwood would probably fill my locker with pink undershirts and dildos. Finley would probably ask for a new partner. Then I’d get stuck with God knows who else...probably a good ol’ boy who’d arrange a beating.”
“I understand where both you and Roni are coming from. I do,” Gina sighed, “but I’d just like to be out, in public, if only for a night. I just want to feel free to be myself.”
***
“That was just about as much fun as getting fucked by tax audit files,” Early commented wryly as he came down the stairs to the basement living area.
Steven, comfortable in his recliner, looked away from the Phillies game to Early. “What happened?”
“I had yet another heart-to-heart with Roni about the love triangle she has with her contract and Gina. I would have talked to Gina too, but she left on a call.”
“Again?” Steven directed his attention back to the game. “That sucks.”
Early gritted his teeth and felt like pulling at his hair. He had wanted to say something to Steven for months, but hadn’t known how to start the conversation. After the afternoon’s drama, that was no longer an issue. “Steven, it’s getting bad.”
“How about something along the lines of, ‘I’m worried too’?”
Steven shrugged. “They’re having a fight. They’ll get over it. Now, could you please move so I can see the rest of the game?”
Early dramatically hovered his finger over the power button and swirled his finger before pressing it and turning off the television.
“Really? I expect more maturity from someone with such a handsome mustache.”
Even mustache compliments weren’t going to distract Early from this matter. “You’re not listening! This isn’t some little tiff over Roni not wanting to go to see Melissa Etheridge or Gina missing dinner because she worked too late. Gina clearly wants to be out and Roni is so paranoid about losing her job, she can’t even slip Gina a little tongue in the backyard.”
“They’ll,” Steven kicked his recliner in, stood, and walked to the television to manually turn the power on, “get over it.”
“But what if they don’t, Steven? I’m really worried about Stevie. He’s going to pick up on this.”
Steven sighed and massaged Early’s shoulders. “Stevie will be fine. He’s at that age where life is getting less ideal. He has responsibilities, consequences when he doesn’t behave appropriately, and parents that sometimes disagree with one another. But he’s also learning that conflicts have resolutions. I’m sure Roni will loosen up and Gina will start seeing things from Roni’s perspective. They’ll find the middle ground.” Steven kissed Early lightly and brought his strong arms around him for a hug. “They love each other too much not to.”
Early felt better by the contact, but was still uneasy. “I hope you’re right. One thing’s for sure, that new club in town is not going to make it easier.”
***
Gina ushered Stevie out the front door armed with his mitt and hoodie, ready to conquer his first week of baseball camp. Unfortunately, it was going to be played in very unseasonably cool weather.
Her cell phone emitted a shrill ring from her leather jacket. She locked the door to the house while she answered, “DiCarlo, here.”
“Hey, you didn’t hit the road yet, did you?” Jack, her partner, asked.
“Nope. Getting Stevie in the car now. What’s up?”
“About thirty minutes ago, there was an armed robbery at fifteen-ten Truman. Report there first instead of going to the station.”
She buckled herself in while listening to the summary of what was stolen and the current condition of the eyewitnesses. Stevie gave Gina two thumbs up to indicate he was safely buckled in. “Okay, I should be there in about twenty to thirty minutes. What’s the name of this place?”
“It’s new. It’s called The Box and Whiskers.”
Gina pulled into the sparse lot at the club and noticed the relatively plain exterior. It could have been mistaken for a paint store or tile company had the sign overhead not told her the name of the business. When she walked inside of the club, there were no neon signs or mirror balls that scattered bright lights. The overhead fluorescent lights illuminated the new pool tables and the highly reflective black tile that served as the dance floor. In each corner of the ceiling was a security camera that matched the one Gina had spotted outside. The bar itself was a large U-shape where service could be provided at any location. The strangest feature was a small room encased in glass that had a separate couch and several high-top tables inside.
Along with all of her observations of the club, she saw her partner. Jack Appleman had a youthful energy that was betrayed by his appearance. No one would guess that underneath his salt and pepper hair, simple gray suit, and bandage that covered a recent melanoma removal, that he still liked to box and take his Harley out on road trips. He had out his flip notepad and pen while he interviewed two women.
Gina guessed the taller of the two was in her early forties. She was dressed business casual, very light makeup, and her auburn hair was pulled up in a sloppy bun. A petite, twenty-something Latina woman comforted her by rubbing circles on her upper back. She was also dressed business casual with rolled up sleeves that showed a Marine Corps tattoo on one forearm and a crucifix on the other.
As Gina approached, she didn’t hear the shorter woman whisper through errant strands of cinnamon hair, “Looks like your day’s starting to improve, Jess.”
Jack detected a change in their focus and glanced over his shoulder. “Ah, Detective DiCarlo.” He gestured to the more emotional of the two women. “This is Jessica Higgins, she’s the owner and manager, and this is Chloe Espinosa, assistant manager and bartender.”
Jessica smiled nervously at Gina while Chloe brought two fingers to her forehead in a casual salute.
“Hello,” Gina said to both, but then asked Jessica, “Where would you feel the most comfortable speaking to me about what had happened?” Over the phone, Jack pointed out that she would take Jessica’s formal statement since she was the more sensitive of the pair and handled tears better. Gina knew when to offer the tissue and also when people were shedding crocodile tears.
“Let’s go in my office,” Jessica said with a small quiver to her voice. Although her tears were gone, she was still shocked by the experience of having a gun in her face.
Her office, while densely packed, wasn’t cluttered in the least. The walls were adorned with different framed nature photographs and three separate calendars showed different staff and delivery schedules. A television mounted in the corner displayed six views of the club, two outside and four of the interior. Most of the space in the office was taken by her sizable desk and full-length, leather sofa.
Jessica sat behind her desk and noticed Gina’s quirked eyebrow at the couch. “I pull a lot of all-nighters here. Please have a seat.”
Gina nodded her understanding and sat leaning forward to avoid getting too comfortable. She only slept five hours the night before and did not want to start yawning in front of the woman who recently had her life threatened. She removed the notepad that was tucked in her jacket’s interior pocket. “Ms. Higgins, I know you told the police officers that arrived on scene what happened, but I’d like you to go through it with me.”
“Please call me Jessica, Detective DiCarlo.” Jessica took a sip of water to cool her nerves before she rehashed what had happened. “I went to the rear of the club where our deliveries are made around nine a.m.” She described the rest of the events while Gina took thorough notes and asked the occasional follow-up question. Reliving the experience was almost worse than the actual moment for Jessica. At least then she had been so shocked she hadn’t comprehended the danger she was in.
“You’re safe now, Jessica,” she said in a calm voice. Gina had noticed Jessica’s hand start to tremble and the early stage of hyperventilation. “Do you need to take a break? Get some fresh air?”
“No. I’ll be okay.” Jessica willed herself to continue. “While the guy had the gun on me, the other two loaded up their van. Once they had the inventory, they left.” She blew out a large breathe of air. “I screamed for Chloe and she called the cops.”
Gina paused before asking her next question, finding her rhythm. “Why wasn’t Chloe out there to help bring in the deliveries?” She noticed Jessica blush slightly and look down at her desk. “It’s okay, Jessica. The more information we have to go on, the easier it will be to find out who did this.”
“Alright,” she said, but didn’t want to admit it. “I have a crush on the driver and Chloe wanted me to have alone time to maybe get her number.”
Gina smiled softly. “Maybe next time?”
Jessica was relieved by the reaction and noticed that Detective DiCarlo had the cutest dimple when she smiled. It softened her cool, tough mystique. Too bad she was also wearing a ring on her left hand.
After Gina recorded detailed descriptions
of voices, body types, and the van, Jessica handed over the security footage to Gina. When they returned to the main bar, Gina heard Jack and Chloe conversing about the chrome design on the new Harley model. Clearly, he was finished with his interview.
“It looks like you take serious precautions here,” Gina commented to Jessica on the way out.
“I do. I need my customers to feel safe. If they don’t feel safe, they won’t come. The bouncers I hire for the evenings help with that image too. They’re like this,” she used her hands to gesture how massive they were. “In general, it’s just good business.”
“Plus, you have that holding cell off the bar,” Gina joked.
“Holding cell?”
“Maybe it’s more of a human terrarium?”
Jessica furrowed her reddish brow and then laughed when Gina pointed to the glass room. “Oh, that! That’s the smokers’ lounge.”
“You don’t let people smoke in the rest of the bar? That explains why this place doesn’t smell like most.”
“Exactly. While safety is a top concern of my customers, discretion is another. There are patrons of mine who come in through my doors as a gay person, but they leave to go home to a different life. That’s difficult to do when you reek of smoke.” Jessica thought of the paradox between the ring on Gina’s finger and her general aura. “A lot of people feel the need to lead a double life.”
“Yeah. I’ve...I’ve heard of that.” Gina cleared her throat and gestured to the tapes, “Thank you for these. I’ll contact you if I have any more questions.”
Jessica removed a business card from her back pocket and took a pen from behind the bar. “This is my home number,” she said and smiled nervously. “In case you need me—In case you need me when I’m not here,” Jessica quickly added.
Gina accepted the card, oblivious to the insinuation.
***
Fascinating.
That’s what Gina thought, as she sat inside the AV room of the station and watched the black and white security tapes. Jessica and the delivery driver’s body language had amused Gina as they worked together unloading the boxes. She thought the driver shared a lot of her own features, but the person on screen had her short hair in styled spikes. Briefly, Gina contemplated what that style might look like on her.