by Bill Sage
“Al…?” Ben said, trying to prod him into saying something.
“You know, I never completely bought his story about a guy calling him,” Roth said. “And he says the guy calling him used a voice changer…? I don’t think a normal person would have anything to do with it.”
“It never made sense to me either.”
“Bury him somewhere on your lot.”
48
ROTH KNEW ASHER felt lucky to be alive. He mentioned it every time they talked. Asher backed his feelings up by telling him that if any of his Detroit pals ever needed jobs or money, they could count on him.
From past experience, Roth knew he meant what he said.
Knowing how Asher felt, Al told Linda he wanted to invite him and Donna over for dinner. Linda agreed, saying she thought they all needed to take a little time to reflect on how thankful they were.
When Linda mentioned it to Asher, he said he’d like Jake and Lopez to be there too. He’d never met Lopez but knew he’d done a lot of work on getting him back.
Several days later, when Roth was talking to Jake on the phone, Jake mentioned that he’d be flying into LA in a few weeks. Al told Linda and she set the date. As usual, Jake was unable to pin down the exact time he’d arrive but said he wouldn’t miss it for world.
On the Saturday of the party, Asher and Donna arrived first.
This was the first time Asher hadn’t worn that black leather glove on his left hand. It bugged him when he caught people gawking at his missing finger, so he went to Neiman Marcus and bought a pair of gloves.
But of course, wearing one glove was just as bad as having a missing finger.
“How come you’re wearing just one glove?” was something he heard every day.
When Roth first saw him wearing it, he said, “You know, that’d be a good schtick for an entertainer. A rock star or blues singer.”
“I don’t think it’d work. Only one glove…?”
Remembering that Jake loved Lagavulin Distillers Edition single-malt, Asher brought over a bottle for him and another one for Lopez. Compared to all the things they’d done for him, it wasn’t much. But still, he wanted to show he hadn’t forgotten what they’d done.
A half hour after Asher and Donna arrived, Carlos and Alondra rang the doorbell. Asher stood up and waited by the couch. After Al introduced him and Donna to Lopez and Alondra, Asher took Lopez aside. “We finally meet.”
“Yeah, after all this time. Now I can associate a face with the name on your office buildings.”
Laughing, Asher said, “Yeah, I guess I sort of got carried away.”
Lopez laughed too.
“You’re former LAPD, aren’t you?” Asher asked.
“Yeah, that’s where I met Al. When he was a DA.”
“I’ve heard Al talk about you often over the years. I almost feel like I know you.”
Lopez said, “Yeah, we’ve been friends for a long time.”
“I know about all the groundwork you did and the maintenance gig with Jake and Hack at the loading dock. I’m sure I missed a lot of other things.”
“You’re Linda’s father. We didn’t want to leave any stone unturned.”
“I’m deeply grateful for—”
“Remember, keep to the story. You know, what Al and Jake…”
“Don’t worry,” Asher said, nodding.
Lopez smiled.
“But Carlos, I wanna tell you, don’t forget to call on me if you ever need anything in the future. And I mean anything.”
“Thank you, Ash. I don’t need anything, but I know who to call if I ever do.”
“I have a special treat for you,” Asher said, putting his hand on Lopez’s shoulder. “How about a taste of the special single-malt Scotch I brought over? Would Alondra want one too?”
“Hell, yes, on the Scotch. I was gonna fix her a martini…”
“Wait here. I’ll get both.”
As Lopez and Alondra were talking to Al, Asher returned with their drinks.
Lopez took a sip of the single-malt. “Now we’re more than even,” he said, smiling at Asher.
“Good. This bottle is for you,” Asher said, handing him a bottle of Lagavulin.
While they waited for Jake, Linda and Al served small slices of pizza they’d made with Spanish chorizo, mushrooms, mozzarella, and a little manchego.
Taking a bite, Lopez said, “This pizza’s terrific. Great combination.”
“Al’s the one who came up with it,” Linda said.
Later in the evening, when Linda was handing her mother another napkin, she spotted Jake getting out of a taxi.
“Jake’s here,” she said to Al.
Asher leapt from the couch and followed Al to the front door. As Jake was stepping inside, Asher said, “Jake, Jake, it’s so good to see you.”
They shook hands and walked into the living room where the others were waiting to greet Jake. After saying hello to everyone, Jake took a half step back and studied Asher for second. “There’s something different about you. It’s…I don’t know. I can’t exactly put my finger on it.”
Linda smiled and looked at her mother.
Asher’s laughter roared through the house.
Shaking his head, Al said, “I gotta hand it to you, Jake…”
Now even Donna was laughing. She was happy to see that her husband wasn’t bitter.
Holding his glass up in front of Jake, Lopez said, “You’re gonna have to do a lot of drinking to catch up to us.”
“I think I can handle it.”
Asher said, “Jake, I’m gonna get you a glass of Lagavulin. Anyone need a refill?”
Donna loved single-malts, so she asked for a little more. Everyone else stuck with what they had.
Al was thinking that after all the worry and uncertainty, life was great again. Everybody was drinking, laughing, and having a good time. Peering over at Linda, he could see how happy she was. That made him feel like a million dollars.
He listened as she was talking to Asher. “We could be having our best year ever,” she said proudly.
Smiling, Asher said, “I knew it. There’s no doubt I made the right choice.”
Later in the evening, Al grilled seven prime ribeye steaks Asher brought over. To get a nice crust, Al brushed them with olive oil before tossing them on the grill.
Linda made her renowned Caesar salad with a creamy parmesan dressing.
Jake loved grilled ciabatta, so when the steaks were nearly ready, he threw 10 slices of bread on the grill. A minute or two later, he took them off, rubbed a peeled garlic clove on one side, brushed it with olive oil, then sprinkled them with salt and pepper.
He ate two before putting them on the table.
Linda set up the long patio table with her usual meticulousness. A blue runner, five candles, and two small vases of flowers. Al smiled when he saw her using her grandmother’s Wedgwood dinnerware set. She loved the pattern.
When they were halfway through dinner, Al caught Asher glancing over at him and Jake, who was sitting on Al’s right. No matter what, Jake always sat next to Al. That’s the way it had always been.
Al thought Asher was thinking he’d gotten a second chance at life and wanted to enjoy every second of it. He didn’t want to let any of it slip through his fingers.
It was gratifying for Al to see him laughing and having so much fun. The ordeal was over. Now they could look back and maybe even laugh about it.
Jake must have been thinking the same thing. After looking around the table, he dabbed his mouth with his napkin, then raised his Bud in the air.
Al tapped the handle of his steak knife against his glass.
When it was quiet, Jake said, “To Ash, the great number nine.”
They all lifted their glasses, took drinks. Donna and Linda smiled at each other.
“I know this will sound funny,” Lopez said, looking around the table. “But all the stuff, the things we did to free Ash. Doing stakeouts, checking police records. All of us being at the park when they let As
h go. I look back at it now with some…some fondness. You know what I mean?”
“Yeah,” Al agreed. “Now that it’s over, it’s not so serious.”
“I always thought I should’ve gotten mileage pay,” Lopez said, laughing. “All the driving and stakeouts.”
“I’ll second that,” Alondra said, smiling.
Al and the other men laughed. Linda looked at her mother and shrugged.
“But it wasn’t until Jake got Claudio to help us that things started happening,” Al said, reminding everyone to stick to the story.
Nodding, Lopez added, “Yeah, he really came through for you guys.”
At about the same time, Ash said, “You know, you don’t really know how great it is to enjoy a meal with your family until you’ve gone through what I have.”
No one said anything, all thankful in their own way for his safe return.
Then, looking around the table as he spoke, Asher said, “I never said anything about this before, except to Al and Jake. But Miller told me he’d kill me no matter what happened. He said he’d drop me in the ocean. Give the sharks a feast.”
Donna gasped, eyes wide open.
Linda looked at Al.
“That’s how close I came to never having this kind of dinner again.” Asher’s voice started to crack at the end.
“I hope those animals get what’s coming to ’em,” Jake said, shooting Al a quick glance.
Al noticed that Asher was eyeing both of them, an almost undetectable smile on his lips.
“I have a feeling there’ll be justice,” Lopez said.
Al said, “We never lost hope. Now dinners like this are forever.”
As he was saying that, Al noticed Linda was staring at him. Turning to look at her, he saw a sublime glow in her eyes. A second later, she gently touched his hand and smiled.
I did it, Linda. I got your father back.
Then in a hushed voice, she said, “I know if it weren’t for you, my dad wouldn’t be alive today.”
Coming out of left field like that, Al wondered what she was referring to. How much did she know? He gave her a half-smile then shrugged.
She kissed him, pulled back, and just stared again.
Why is she giving me that Mona Lisa smile?
When he eyed her back, she whispered, “I know more than you think.”
THE END