The Heavenly Fugitive

by Gilbert, Morris

  Moving back to his seat, he waited until the ceremony was finished. He marched out to the sound of the band playing loudly, and all of the graduates then blended into smiling, happy, laughing groups of relatives and friends.

  “Phillip, I was never so proud of anyone in my life.” Lola’s eyes were bright as she embraced him. She clung to him and whispered in his ear, “Your grandfather would have been so proud of you, and I know your parents are. I just wish they could have been here.”

  Phil felt a tug on his arm and turned, and Amelia threw herself against him, squeezing him fiercely. “I’m so happy I could scream!” she said.

  “Go ahead and scream,” Phil said. “I feel a little bit like hollering myself.”

  Amelia was wearing a subdued light gray summer dress, and her smile trembled a little as she said, “I wish the folks could have been here.”

  “Too far to come back for just a little thing like this.”

  “It’s not a little thing!”

  Phil turned to see Rosa running toward him with her arms out. He hugged her, and she clung to him, pressing against him and whispering, “You were the best, Phil. Summa cum laude. That means the very top, doesn’t it?”

  Phil was acutely aware of Rosa’s softness as she held him close, and it stirred him in a way that was disturbing. He cleared his throat and stepped back. As she reluctantly released him, he reached out and took her hand. “It’s just a piece of paper.”

  “No, it’s not. It means you were right up there with the best in your whole class.”

  “I think it’s time for a little ceremony,” Lola said.

  Phil noticed she had a peculiar smile on her face, and he looked at her closely. “A ceremony? We just had a ceremony.”

  “Come along, Phillip,” Lola said firmly. She was wearing a pale yellow dress that shone in the sunlight, with a matching hat and veil. She seemed to be happier than Phil had seen her in a long time.

  “What’s this all about, Grandmother?”

  “You always want to know so much. Now, come along and don’t ask questions.”

  Lola clung to Phil’s arm, and Amelia and Rosa followed them through the milling crowd. They left the field where the ceremony had been held, and Lola firmly grasped his arm, saying, “Down this way.”

  Mystified, Phil moved along, glancing over his shoulder to see both Rosa and Amelia smiling broadly. “What’s this all about?” he said suspiciously.

  Rosa laughed aloud, and her dark eyes danced with delight. “You’ll see.”

  They made their way to the street that bordered the college, and Phil looked around for his grandmother’s car and driver. He assumed they had come in the big Oldsmobile. “Are we going out to eat?”

  “Yes, we are, but not right now.” Lola stopped suddenly and turned to him. “You’ve never asked your grandfather or me for anything, Phillip, so we wanted to give you something, and we saved it until your graduation. There it is.”

  Puzzled, Phil turned, seeing nothing but a line of cars parked along the street. People were beginning to get in them now and leave the campus, but he shook his head. “What is it, Grandmother?”

  “Oh, Phil, you’re so slow!” Rosa cried. “It’s that car! It’s yours!”

  Phil blinked with surprise, stared at Rosa, then wheeled to look at the vehicle she was pointing at.

  “Why, that can’t be!”

  “Yes it can,” Lola said. “Your grandfather always knew you’d go to college someday, and we agreed that on your graduation day you should have a beautiful car. He looked forward to that day, but when he knew he wouldn’t live to see it, he put it into the will to make sure you’d get it for graduation. Do you like it?”

  Phil was stunned. He moved forward like a man in a dream and approached the vehicle. It was white and the top was down. Large balloon tires held the body of the car high off the ground. It gleamed with chrome-and-nickel plating and sported drum headlights. The chrome radiator shone like silver. Everything about it shouted speed, and he laid one hand on the front fender, then turned and said, “Grandmother, it’s a Hupmobile series R!”

  “I don’t know what it is. Amelia and Rosa helped pick it out for you.”

  “We did, and I knew this would be just the one you’d want!” Rosa could restrain herself no longer. “C’mon, Phil. Take us all for a ride.”

  Phil was still unable to speak clearly. His throat was tight as he said, “I don’t know how to thank you, Grandmother . . . and Grandfather too.”

  “I thought you had better manners, Phillip. You just say, ‘Thank you, Grandmother,’ and I say, ‘You’re welcome.’ ”

  “I should do more than that.”

  “You can take me for a ride, then. Come along, and don’t pile us up on our maiden voyage.”

  And then Phil Winslow spent one of the most wonderful hours of his life. First he made sure the women were safely seated, Rosa and Amelia in back and his grandmother in front. He started the engine and shook his head. “Listen to that power!”

  “It sounds awfully loud to me.” Lola spoke above the roar.

  “It’s supposed to sound loud, Mrs. Winslow.” Rosa laughed. “People have to look when they hear you coming.”

  Phil laughed too and pulled the automobile out into the street. He had long been partial to the Hupmobile, and now he asked, “How did you know this was the one I wanted?”

  “You told Rosa, and Rosa told Amelia, and Amelia told me. So here it is.”

  “Get out of the city where you can open it up,” Amelia ordered. “Let’s have some speed.”

  The ride was delightful. The wind blew their hair, and the women had to remove their hats to keep from losing them. Once they were out of the city on the open road, Phil grasped the wheel and leaned forward, his heart singing. He took the curves a little fast, throwing the women to one side, and when his grandmother lurched over against him, he put his arm around her and said, “You sit close to me, Miss Lola Montez. You’re the Union Belle again, and I love you.”

  Lola had not felt well for some time, but with Phillip’s arm around her holding her close, she knew a moment of perfect delight. This is what money is for, she thought. It doesn’t do any good stuck in an old bank or in a bond. It should be giving someone happiness and joy. She glanced up and saw in Phil’s auburn hair, green eyes, and clean-cut features her husband as he had been in his youth, strong and vigorous and daring. She prayed then, God, give this young man your very best, for he’s Mark all over again.

  Phil let Amelia drive the car and even put Rosa behind the wheel, although both girls had trouble getting out of first gear. Rosa fumed and pouted at her difficulty, but Phil said, “Your father would probably horsewhip me if he knew I was letting you drive at all.”

  “You treat me like a child!”

  “Well, you are. A pretty child but still just an infant.”

  “That’s what you think, Phillip Winslow,” Rosa said dauntingly. She turned her dark eyes on him, a challenge in her features. “I’m not a baby, and I won’t be treated like one.”

  Phil suddenly reached over and grabbed the wheel. “Well, baby or not, you’re about to run us off the road. That’s enough. Pull over, and we’ll go celebrate.”

  They all went to a restaurant that Lola had frequented with Mark, and the maître d’ greeted her warmly and spoke of their many visits. Lola smiled at him gracefully and then later, as they were eating, said, “Your grandfather and I loved to come here. It was his favorite restaurant.”

  Amelia looked at her grandmother as she spoke about her husband, noting her faraway gaze. There was something ethereal about the woman now—even a sense of eternity in her. Amelia could not explain it, but she somehow understood that Lola’s heart and mind were in the next world far more than they were in this one.

  After the meal Phil thought Lola looked tired, and he said firmly, “I’m taking you home, Grandmother. You’ve had enough excitement.”

  He drove to his grandmother’s house and escorted her in
. He stopped at the door, and when she turned to him, he put his arms around her. “I can’t thank you enough, Grandmother,” he whispered huskily, kissing her cheek.

  She held him at arm’s length and said, “God bless you, dear boy. You’ve got your grandfather and your father in you, and a man with the blood of Mark Winslow and Andrew Winslow can’t go wrong. Good night. It’s been a wonderful day.”

  Phil went back to the car and pulled out of the driveway. He drove to Amelia’s apartment, and when he started to get out to open her door, she said, “Don’t bother, Phil. I’m so happy for you and so proud of you.” She got out of the car, went to the driver’s side, kissed him, and ruffled his hair. “Now you need another world to conquer.”

  “One world at a time.” Phil smiled. “Thanks so much, sis. You’ve made it a great day for me.”

  Amelia moved toward the building, and Phil eased the car away from the curb. It was growing dark now, and he drove rather rapidly. “I’ve got to get you home, Rosa. What’s your curfew?”

  “Daddy’s gone to Chicago on business,” Rosa said. “Mom didn’t tell me what time to be in. She trusts me.”

  “She didn’t see you nearly put us in the ditch.”

  “You made me do that making fun of me!” Rosa said. She was sitting in the front seat now and edged over until she was touching him, her arm against his. “Come on, Phil, it’s too early to go in. Let’s go somewhere and get something to eat.”

  “You’ve already eaten.”

  “That was ages ago. I’m hungry again.”

  Phil argued, but she took his arm and said, “Come on, Phil, don’t be such a stick-in-the-mud.”

  “Well, all right, but it’ll have to be quick.”

  He drove her to a diner, where they ordered hamburgers and french fries. Rosa downed them as if she hadn’t eaten all day, and he shook his head. “You know, for a baby you’ve got a good appetite. You’ve got mustard there on the side of your mouth.”

  Rosa’s tongue darted out. “Is that it?” she said.

  “No, let me get it.” Phil picked up a napkin and wiped off the mustard. He leaned back, smiling and thinking about his new car. “I don’t think I’ve ever been so surprised, Rosa.”

  “I knew you would be. You remember the time we saw that Hupmobile, and you remember what you said?”

  “No, I don’t remember.”

  “You said, ‘I’d like to have a car like that, but I never will.’ Well, I decided right then that somehow you’d have one.”

  Phil was touched. “Did you, Rosa? That was sweet of you. I would never have thought of asking Grandmother for anything like that.”

  “No, I knew you wouldn’t, but I didn’t mind asking for you.”

  “So you and Amelia got together and begged Grandmother out of it.”

  “We didn’t have to beg. She told you the truth. Your grandfather had already put it in his will to give you a car, and Amelia knew about it. They just didn’t know what kind to get, but I did. Oh, Phil, it’s such a beautiful car! You’ve got to take me places in it all the time.”

  “I’ve got to make a living,” he protested. “Otherwise I won’t even be able to pay for the gas.”

  “Oh, yes you will. You’ll do wonderful things, Phil. You’re a summa cum laude.”

  “With this diploma and a nickel, I can buy a cup of coffee just about anywhere.”

  The two sat there making light talk, but finally Phil said, “Time to go.” He paid for the food, and they left. He helped her into the car and then started the engine. The stars were already out, and he drove through the dusk with the powerful headlights searching the road before them. He was pulling up the long drive to her house when she said, “Look, Phil, turn off there!”

  “What’s the matter?”

  “Look at the river, how pretty it is.”

  Phil pulled the car over to the left where a stream meandered across the property, a river of silver in the moonlight. The air was warm, and she suddenly reached over and shut off the key. “Don’t be in such a hurry!” she scolded. “Life goes by too fast.”

  Phil leaned back in the car and ran his hand over the steering wheel. His heart was still full of gratitude at the magnificent gift, and he sighed. “She’s a wonderful woman, my grandmother.”

  “She is and so beautiful.”

  They sat quietly, listening to the frogs croak out a symphony down by the stream. He said, “It reminds me of Africa. Frogs in the rivers there grow to be almost a foot across. Huge things!”

  “Tell me about Africa, Phil.”

  Phil began to speak of the land that was so dear to him, and as he did, he grew almost lonely. “I miss it at times,” he said, turning to her. She sat very still, her face outlined by the bright moonlight. In the shadows her eyes seemed even darker than usual.

  She said, “Phil, I have something to tell you.”

  “What is it, Rosa?” he said, giving her his full attention.

  “I don’t want you to call me a baby anymore. I’m almost seventeen years old.”

  “Not for a few more months you’re not,” he teased. “Why are you so all-fired anxious to grow up? Enjoy your girlhood.”

  Suddenly she leaned over and reached her hand up to his neck. Phil was shocked at how warm and soft and vibrant the touch of her hand was, and how it stirred him. “I’m a woman, Phil, not a little girl.” She pulled his head down then and pressed her lips to his. They trembled under Phil’s, and an inexpressible rush pulsed through him. He put his arm around her and drew her close, lost in the softness of her lips and of her body as she leaned against him. He felt the pressure of her hands encouraging him, but it was Phil who drew back. His hands were unsteady as he placed them firmly on her shoulders. He could not think what to say, for he had not thought of her like this, or at least had tried not to.

  “Phil, I think I’m falling in love with you.”

  Rosa’s whisper struck Phil with a force he could not have described. For a moment he could neither think nor speak, and then he sat back, shaking his head. “No, Rosa, you’re too young.”

  “But you like me too. I could tell by the way you kissed me.”

  “Well . . . of course I like you. I always have, you remember. You have a sweetness in you that I’ve always admired, but there can never be anything between us, Rosa.”

  “Why not?” Rosa cried. “Why not, Phil? What’s wrong with me?”

  Phil’s stomach wrenched at the heartbroken quality in her voice. “Nothing is wrong with you, Rosa. You’re a beautiful, desirable young woman—not an infant. I see that now, and I have to be more careful. But we’re different. You’re going one way, and I’m going another.”

  Rosa stiffened and turned away from him, her hands clenched into fists. “I know what it is. It’s my father. That’s why you won’t ever love me.”

  Phil knew there was truth in what she was saying. “You’re not your father, Rosa, but you’re a member of your family. Your family and mine are very different. You must see that.”

  Rosa bowed her head, and he sensed that her shoulders were shaking. He put his hand on her shoulder, but she wrenched away and got out of the car.

  “Rosa—” he cried out. “Don’t leave!”

  “Good night, Phil. I’m glad you got such a nice car.”

  He watched her march across the field in the moonlight toward the house, and he sat there feeling miserable, for he truly did have an affection for Rosa Morino. He had not thought of her as a woman he might love, for he knew the truth in what he had told her. Their ways were so different. He had nothing, and she was wealthy. Despite her innocence, she was tied into the Morino family, whose wealth was founded on bootlegging and violence. That could not be ignored, Phil knew, yet still he was miserable.

  With a wrench he turned the car around and jammed his foot down on the accelerator. “Why do things like this have to happen?” he grunted and shook his head. The day, which had begun so beautifully, had ended in misery for him and Rosa.

&n
bsp; ****

  Phil went to his job at the washing-machine factory the Monday following graduation, but he found himself unhappy and dissatisfied. The job offered no challenge, and he knew he was merely marking time there. As soon as his shift ended he went home and fixed a meal on the hot plate his landlady allowed him to keep in his room. He had just sat down to it when he heard a knock on his door. “Yes, who is it?”

  “Phil, there’s a phone call for you.”

  “Thanks, I’ll come and take it.”

  Phil followed his landlady downstairs, and when he picked up the phone and gave his name, he heard a voice say, “This is Lee Novak, Phil.”

  “Hey, Lee, good to hear from you.”

  “Can you come down to my office tomorrow?”

  “Well, I’m working—”

  “I mean after work.”

  “Will you still be there? I get off at six.”

  “I’m here all the time, Phil. Come right over as soon as you’re done. I need to talk to you right away.”

  “All right, Lee, I can do that. I’ll see you then.”

  Phil hung up the phone, nodded his thanks to his landlady, and then went back to his room. As he ate he thought, Something funny about this. Why would Lee want to see me, and why is it so urgent? He liked Novak very much, and the two had met twice since their first encounter at the Christmas dinner a year and a half ago. Novak seemed interested in him, and Phil looked forward to the meeting.

  ****

  “Congratulate me, Phil, I’ve got a new title.”

  Phil was seated in Novak’s office. He had noticed the fresh gold paint on the door. “The sign says Director of Special Agents. What does that mean? Is it a big promotion?”

  Novak sat back in his chair. He looked hard and capable and younger than his fifty-seven years. “It means I’ll do more work and get precious little more money.” He laughed. “I’m still risking my neck hauling in the big crime bosses, but now that I’m in charge of things, I’ll not only get shot at, I’ll get all the blame if anything goes wrong!”

  Phil grinned. “Sounds like you needed a demotion more than a promotion.”