Mister Moneybags

by Vi Keeland

  “Maybe adventurous is a better term. I gave her what she needed. You really want me to spell out what that means?”

  “No. Spare me. Please.”

  “What we had was very passionate—sometimes volatile. In the end, she decided she wanted to save her marriage for the sake of her children. That was when things ended between us. But apparently, from what you’re telling me, that didn’t work out for her after all. I assume any trust that was broken couldn’t be repaired. I’m sorry for any part I played in disrupting her family structure, but I don’t regret our affair. It was one of the most memorable times of my life. I still think of her from time to time, and that’s rare for me.”

  “I don’t even know what to say. I want to be mad at you, but I suppose you couldn’t have known I would meet and fall for her daughter someday.”

  “I certainly didn’t.”

  “This is so bad. Bianca and I promised each other that there would be no more secrets. How am I supposed to tell her that her mother is not exactly the saint she thought she was? How do you tell someone that their entire view of their childhood is wrong?”

  My father seemed to ponder my question then said, “Okay, listen. Now you may not agree with what I’m about to say, but I’m going to say it anyway.”

  “What?”

  “I think sometimes in life there are exceptions to the ‘honesty is the best policy’ rule. In a case like this, no one stands to gain anything from your telling her what you know. Think about it, Dex. What happens if you tell her and Eleni denies it? What then?”

  I challenged him. “Or to the contrary, when Eleni finds out who I am…what if she confesses everything to her daughter anyway?”

  “Then you play dumb. No one needs to know we had this conversation. I’m certainly not going to tell anyone.”

  “I don’t know. I really don’t think I can keep this from her.”

  “It’s one thing to tell the truth when it’s for someone’s own good. But nothing good can come from this. All I’m saying is to think about it. Don’t rush into anything. There is no logical reason to drop this kind of a bomb now. It’s been so many years. Leave it alone. That’s my very strong suggestion. If Eleni wants to come clean, let her. But it’s not your responsibility to explain.”

  Staring up at a plane flying overhead, I said, “I am going to have to really think about this.”

  “Try not to stress yourself out. Life is too short. I’m learning that more and more every day as I see friends dropping dead from heart attacks left and right.” He stood up from the rock and kicked the sand off his feet. “Come on. How about a game of golf?”

  Carving the giraffe’s neck wasn’t easy. I followed as closely along as I could while Jelani demonstrated the correct movements of the knife as we sat under the lamplight in his basement. My mind just wasn’t in it today.

  After only one night in Florida, I’d flown back just in time for my weekly whittling session at his Brooklyn apartment. While Jelani’s lessons were always a quiet, meditative experience, spending time here also made me feel like I was contributing to society by looking after him.

  Jelani never complained, but I knew his cancer treatments were wearing on him. He mostly stayed home aside from setting up shop at the Brooklyn Flea on weekends. He also had very few family members who checked in on him. A nephew took him to his appointments but sometimes had to cancel. I insisted he call me the next time that happened. While he wouldn’t take any money from me, I was prepared to pay for whatever he needed if he’d let me.

  “How are you feeling?” I asked.

  “I have to push through. If I let myself dwell on it, I’ll feel sicker. It’s part of why I ask you to come here. Watching you attempt to carve is like pulling teeth, but it gets my mind off things. The mind has incredible power over the body. Speaking of which, tell me what’s on your mind.”

  “You can tell something is on my mind?”

  “You’ve whittled the giraffe’s neck so thin, it looks like a pencil. You’re not concentrating today.”

  I chuckled. “You got me.”

  “So, tell me. What is it? Does it have to do with the Greek goddess?”

  “How did you know?”

  “Wild guess. Tell me the problem.”

  I spent the next several minutes summing up my Florida trip, explaining the discovery about my father and Eleni.

  “So, now my father has me second-guessing whether telling Bianca the truth in this case is a good idea or not. He did have a point. Why put her through that pain if no one stands to gain anything?”

  Jelani shook his head. “Your father is wrong. Here’s why.” He took the giraffe from me then proceeded to walk over to a tool bench and grabbed a small saw. “This is you right now,” he said, displaying the pathetic animal. He then sliced the neck off slowly until the giraffe’s head and neck fell to the ground.

  What the?

  “Why did you do that?”

  “I’m putting him out of his misery. You couldn’t even concentrate today because this secret you are keeping has already begun to fester. It’s eating away at you faster than his neck was disappearing. Secrets and lies will always slowly do that until they eventually come out.”

  “Like the head falling off,” I said.

  He nodded. “Yes. There is never a reason to hide the truth about anything. The truth shall set you free. Ever hear that?”

  “Yeah.”

  “You can’t risk Bianca finding out you knew about this. Even if you don’t tell her, you have very honest eyes, Dex. She’ll be able to read you. And then that will be the end of you. You’ve already lied once. There is no second chance here. It’s not worth the risk. Never mind what your father said. From what you say, he’s a serial liar. It’s in his nature. Just tell her the goddamn truth, and don’t come back here to whittle unless your mind is with you.” He handed me a fresh piece of wood to start on a new giraffe. “Now, focus.”

  I took it. “Yes, sir.”

  Sometimes, the truth was hard to hear, but I appreciated the harsh reality check more than he knew.

  Later that afternoon, I still wasn’t completely sure about what to do.

  Bandit was ecstatic to see me. I’d picked him up from the high-end doggy day care, and we were both heading over to Bianca’s.

  Needing to talk it out in order to make a decision fast, I rubbed his head as I spoke to him in the backseat of the Town Car.

  “Okay, so my father says I’d be creating a mess by bringing up the past now, but Jelani thinks I’d be a fool to hide anything from Bianca at this point. You know, if you could talk, that would be really helpful. A third trusted opinion would be most appreciated right about now.”

  “Ruff!”

  I knew what I wanted to do, what my gut told me to do.

  “If you bark one more time, Bandit, I swear…I’m just going to have to tell her the truth.”

  “Ruff!”

  “Alright. If this blows up in my face, I’m gonna blame you.”

  I’d made up my mind; I was going to tell her tonight.

  A small, wooden giraffe was staring me in the face as I opened the door.

  “You’re getting better,” I said, taking the figurine.

  “You think?”

  “I’m going to have to clear some shelf space for all of them.” Bandit had bolted past me into my apartment. “He didn’t even give me a chance to greet him.” I said, watching the dog run into my bedroom.

  “Is he okay to go in there?”

  “It’s fine.” I smiled, looking the gorgeous man in front of me up and down.

  Dex was dressed casually in a pair of khakis and a white Polo. The shirt fit him like a glove. It was really hard not to slip my hands underneath the fabric and rub them along his muscles. His chunky watch completed the look—millionaire casual. Taking in a deep breath of his cologne, it really hit me how much I’d missed him. I could only imagine those women down in Florida ogling him.

  “You definitely look like s
omeone who just came back from Palm Beach.”

  “I didn’t have time to change. I landed, headed to Jelani’s, picked up Bandit, then came straight here.”

  It was really great to see him, but Dex seemed off; I wasn’t sure why. He definitely appeared preoccupied with something. I couldn’t help feeling a little self-conscious, because he hadn’t even hugged or kissed me yet. My body ached to touch him, but my pride kept me from making a move.

  “Is everything alright?” I asked.

  Scratching the scruff on his chin, he said, “There’s something I need to talk to you about.”

  My heart sank.

  Right after he’d said it, the doorbell rang.

  “Shit,” I said.

  “Are you expecting someone?”

  “Yes.”

  “Who?”

  “It’s my father.”

  Dex looked panicked. “Your father?”

  “Yes. I wasn’t sure if you were stopping by. He’s having dinner here.”

  “You haven’t told him about me, have you?”

  “No.”

  “What about your mother? Did you tell her yet?”

  “No. I haven’t gotten around to it yet.” I walked toward the door. “I’d better let him in.”

  As I was about to open up for my dad, Dex whispered behind me, “Bianca, do not tell him my identity, okay?”

  “So you own your own business? Is it something I’d be familiar with?” Dad was trying to strike up a conversation with Dex, who was being uncharacteristically quiet. Whatever he came to tell me was clearly weighing on his mind.

  “Probably not. It’s a financial firm. Nothing too flashy.”

  I hadn’t had a chance to tell Dex yet, but the article I’d written was green lit and had been moved up on the magazine’s schedule. It was originally slated for publication in the fall, but the editor-in-chief loved it so much, she moved it to next month. Dex had said he didn’t want my parents to know who he was when he walked in, but the article would take care of that for us sooner rather than later. I also didn’t want him to downright lie to my father. Looking between Dex and my dad, I thought to myself, lies were how so many things ruined my early relationship with both men.

  “Dex is being modest, Dad. He runs a very successful company. In fact, that’s how we met. I interviewed him for an article in Finance Times.” I looked over at Dex, who was staring off into space until I caught his eyes. “You’ll actually get to learn everything about him in two weeks. The magazine is running with my article as the cover story next month.”

  Dex’s eyes grew. “Next month? I thought it was coming out in the fall.”

  “They moved it up. Apparently, my editor thinks the world has waited long enough to get to know you. By this time in a few weeks, all your secrets will be told to the world.” I winked. Of course, I was kidding, but it looked like the thought made Dex pale.

  “Can you excuse me for a moment? I need to use the bathroom.”

  Dex was gone for a few minutes, so after I got my dad a beer, I went to check on him. I knocked lightly on the bathroom door. “Dex? Are you okay in there?”

  He opened the door. “I’m actually not feeling too well.”

  I felt his forehead. His naturally tanned skin was sallow and his skin was a little clammy. “Do you think you’re coming down with something? Maybe you should go to my room. Lie down for a bit.”

  “I should probably go. I don’t want to get you and your father sick.”

  I was definitely disappointed, but I really wanted to believe maybe Dex’s strange behavior was the result of him not feeling well. Although inside, my gut was twisting that his behavior was from something else entirely—something that didn’t bode well for us long term. I just had that bad feeling. “Okay. If you think you’d feel better in your own bed.”

  Dex’s eyes searched mine. I went to turn away and walk back to the living room when Dex grabbed my elbow and pulled me back. He cupped my cheeks with both hands. “Being in my own bed would never feel better than being in yours. Mine is lonely without you even though you haven’t been in it yet.”

  His words were so sweet, such a contradiction to his sad face. “Well, I hope you feel better.”

  He nodded. When we walked back to the living room together, we found Dad bonding with Bandit. The dog’s two hind legs were on the floor, but the rest of his body was sprawled across my dad’s lap on the couch.

  “Seems like you’ve made a friend.”

  Dad scratched behind Bandit’s ears. “I always wanted a dog. Is he a rescue dog, Dex?”

  “Yes. He is, actually.”

  “I didn’t know you always wanted a dog, Dad? How come we never had one growing up?”

  Dad’s voice was low, the same way he spoke whenever we were forced to discuss my mother. She was definitely a subject we both avoided, although sometimes it was inevitable. “Your mom never wanted one.”

  Bandit climbed off Dad’s lap and went to sit at Dex’s side. My father stood. “How about a beer, Dex?”

  I answered. “Dex was actually going to leave. He’s not feeling well.”

  “That’s a shame. My daughter so rarely allows me to meet anyone that she’s spending time with. Thought I might finally get a chance to put some of those embarrassing childhood stories to good use.”

  Dex raised an eyebrow. “Embarrassing stories?”

  My father walked to the kitchen as he spoke and grabbed a beer out of the refrigerator. “In kindergarten, my little princess had a crush on our neighbor’s oldest son—Tommy Moretti.”

  I turned to Dex. “You should probably get going since you don’t feel well.”

  Smiling, Dad twisted the beer cap off and extended it to Dex. Both men completely ignored me while Dex took the bottle from my Dad’s hand. He continued, “Anyway, Tommy was about eighteen or nineteen. Bianca was maybe seven. She befriended Tommy’s little sister so she spent a lot of time over at the Moretti house.”

  Dex turned to me and whispered, “Older men even back then, huh?”

  I rolled my eyes. My father continued, “Of course, Tommy was more interested in girls his own age than seven-year-olds, but that didn’t stop my little princess from crushing on him. A few times we found some of Tommy’s things at our house, and Bianca would just play it off as she must have brought it home by accident. There was a pair of his gloves, some aftershave once, a baseball hat. It wasn’t until Bianca’s mother cleaned her room one day that we caught on that she was starry-eyed for the boy.”

  “What did she find?” Dex asked.

  I closed my eyes, knowing what was coming next. Lord knows my older sister tortured me about it for years.

  “Bianca was apparently going into the bathroom after Tommy shaved and collecting all the little hair shavings from the sink. She had a baggy under her mattress with a year’s worth of stubble.” My father chuckled and took a swig from his beer. After that, Dex said he would stay for a bit. One beer turned into four, and by the time we were finished eating dinner, Dex had enough embarrassing stories about me to last a lifetime. I might have wanted to kill my father if I hadn’t found it oddly sweet how many crazy little things he remembered.

  As I packed away the leftovers in the kitchen, I watched my father and Dex bonding in the living room together. The two were really enjoying each other’s company. Over the last two hours, they found out they had quite a few things in common, other than their mutual enjoyment of embarrassing Bianca stories. Both men liked to fish, something I couldn’t picture Dex doing so easily. And they were both into old Chevy cars. Looking at them sitting together and laughing in the living room, it warmed my heart.

  “I should get going.” My father looked at his watch. “I have to stop at the pharmacy and pick up medicine before it closes,” Dad said.

  “Medicine? Are you sick?”

  Dad walked to me. “No, princess. Blood pressure is just a little high so they put me on some medicine. Pretty common at my age.”

  “Okay.” />
  Bandit was scratching at the front door. “Why don’t I walk out with you. Looks like Bandit needs a walk,” Dex said.

  “Let me grab a sweater, and I’ll go with you.”

  I walked to my bedroom and went into the closet. Before I could pull a sweater from the pile on the top shelf, Dex was shutting the bedroom door behind him.

  “Your dad’s a really nice guy.”

  I wished I didn’t feel the need to constantly put him down. Why did a compliment to him always feel like it was an insult to my mother? “He can be at times, yes.”

  Dex came up behind me as I was putting on the sweater and squeezed my shoulders. “I’d like to walk your father out alone, if you don’t mind.”

  I turned around. “Oh. Okay. I guess?”

  He kissed the top of my head. “Thank you. Perhaps you can just mention you just remembered a work call you needed to make or something?”

  “Okay. But you’re coming back after you walk Bandit, right?”

  Dex pulled his head back, the relaxed face he’d been wearing the last two hours was suddenly gone again. “Yes. We need to talk.”

  Just like Dex had requested, I feigned an important work call and excused myself from taking the dog for a walk. After saying goodbye to my dad, the two men left together. The last thing Dex said was. “I’ll be back in ten minutes.”

  I waited the ten minutes. But ten turned into twenty, and twenty turned into forty. Before I knew it, Dex had been gone more than an hour. Finally, feeling anxious, I sent him a text.

  Bianca: Are you coming back?

  “What’s on your mind, son?”

  I’d been lost in my head the last ten minutes, not knowing how to start the conversation I wanted to have. I had asked Bianca’s dad to join me for Bandit’s walk, then was nearly silent the entire five-block walk to the park. “Sorry. There is something that’s bothering me.”

  “Would you like to talk about it?”

  “I don’t know where to begin.”

  “How about at the beginning? I’m in no rush. The pharmacy can hold until the morning, if need be.”