by Jim Wygand
Charlie smiled to himself. Meeting Gina had been a stroke of luck that Charlie had not planned on. Maybe my “chilling out” days are over, he thought. He acknowledged to himself that he had grown tired of the “singles scene”, weekends in Atlantic City or Cape May (if he wanted some peace and quiet) and wondered if he had not let himself get caught in a rut.
His reverie was interrupted by the arrival of his subordinates, so he sat up in his chair, directed his attention to the papers on his desk and got back to work. But he was sure that somehow his life was about to change.
VII
Charlie’s week dragged by even more slowly than usual. He was anxious to see Gina again, especially after his conversation with Joey Esposito. He figured Joey was right about simply taking it easy and appreciating his relationship with Gina for what it was – a pleasant and relaxing experience that might or might not turn into something.
Fred Perkins had been his usual irascible self the entire week but Charlie barely paid attention.
Saturday morning he went to softball practice with his team. They were headed for the finals and everybody wanted to get in some practice. Twice Charlie had let a good pitch slip by. Tony Mazza launched a friendly barb, “Hey Charlie, that was a double you just missed there! You could have knocked that one way out in the middle of center field. Ya dreamin’ or what?” Charlie had been concentrating on Gina and his plans for the evening and the pitch had gone by without so much as Charlie even seeing it.
“Sorry Tony, I read the pitch wrong” Charlie yelled back. He hit the next pitch well into left field just to prove he could still hit and that he wasn’t dreaming. But he was, in fact, daydreaming. When practice was over, the team went out for pizza and beer. Charlie said he would catch up later but he had some stuff to do immediately. That was not Charlie’s usual habit and the team commented later. “What’s buggin’ Charlie?” Art Samuels asked. “He usually hangs around after practice. Today he’s got somethin’ to do? What the hell is there to do in Shoreville on a Saturday afternoon? Anybody know what’s goin’ on?”
Bill Gallagher was the first to chime in, “I think it was just the divorce, guys. Sharon says he needs to get married again. Maybe she’s right. She sure talks about it enough. Let the poor guy work it out. He’s our buddy and maybe he just needs to be by himself for a while.”
The team all agreed and the matter was closed over a few pitchers of beer and some pizza.
When he got home Charlie took a shower and then wandered around the house trying to find something to do before heading off to Philly. He reorganized his book shelves, moved pictures from one side of a credenza to another, tried to read a magazine. He tried to read a book then watched some TV, but his mind was already in Philly and the evening awaiting him. He went back into the bathroom and shaved. He checked his closet for what he was going to wear. He hadn’t done that in years. “Mullins, you’re acting like a fool you know” he thought “this isn’t the first time you’ve been on a date. Snap out of it!” He smiled to himself and decided to take a short nap. That, too, didn’t work and he just laid there, half awake until it was time to get ready to go to Philly.
He dressed. He put on a blue blazer with a light blue Oxford cloth shirt, moccasins, and khaki pants. He looked in the mirror and said to himself, “Ivy League as hell! Well, it’s standard fare and it can’t offend anyone or make me look silly. Besides, it’s my style. Esposito was right, just be myself!”
The only thing different Charlie did this time was to splash on a little cologne. He had purchased a bottle of an expensive Armani cologne. That was way beyond his usual behavior. He was usually content to buy the Aqua Velva at Rexall’s. If he really wanted to put on a smell, he would buy some Old Spice, his father’s favorite. He didn’t know if Gina would even notice, but he just thought that he should use something a little more sophisticated and expensive than the usual fare. “Jeez, I hope I don’t smell like a French whore!” He thought. He also secretly hoped that he had not purchased a scent that was designed for the homosexual market. He didn’t know much about men’s perfumes or colognes and the sales girl had told him that women liked this fragrance. He felt like a high school kid who had purchased his first bottle of English Leather.
So, with the fragrance of Armani on his face, Charlie drove to Philly. He pulled up to the parking garage instead of leaving his car on the street and walked into the trattoria. It was almost 9 on the dot and he was surprised to see Gina already there with a few friends. She saw Charlie coming through the door and waved to him to join her table. Charlie was elated to see her again but a bit disappointed that she was with a crowd. He walked over to her table and she got up and gave him a kiss on the cheek. He wasn’t ready for that and he turned crimson. “Hmmm, don’t you smell good! I hope that’s for me!” He turned even a brighter red for just a moment.
“Charlie, let me introduce my friends. This is Bob and his wife Emily. Bob is an architect and is working on a project for the municipal housing authority. They want a higher quality housing unit for the projects and Bob has some interesting designs. Emily is a painter still waiting for her first big exposition. But I like her style. The guy sitting across from you is Frankie. He’s a banker but he coaches one of the CYO league teams at the school where I volunteer, so, don’t hold it against him that he works for a bank.” Charlie laughed, “Nice to meet all of you. I look forward to our evening.”
“Whoa, Charlie” Gina said, “You better talk to everybody fast because you and I are going out for dinner – alone, unless you would rather sit here and talk.”
“Jeez, you put me in a tight spot Gina. I have to choose? Your friends look like great people but how can I refuse to go out with you alone?”
“Nice going, Charlie” Gina said “You got through that one OK.” She laughed. She turned to Emily, “Emily, I have to powder my nose before I leave, let’s hit the powder room.” Gina and Emily got up and headed for the ladies’ room.
“So you are the guy Gina has been telling us about, huh?” Bob said. “You wiggled out of that dilemma pretty well. You an attorney?”
“No, I work in finance for the Shaw Corporation. But thanks anyway. Gina gave me a real Hobson’s choice there.”
“Well I thought you handled it pretty well. Gina said a lot of nice things about you. She’s a very special person you know. I don’t think she has a mean bone in her body. I’ve never seen anyone who does volunteer work do as much as she does. You’d think she was getting paid for it!”
“Well, maybe she is.” said Charlie. “Money is not the only way we get paid in life. Sometimes knowing that we helped someone is a form of payment.”
“Well said” added Frankie, “I think Gina is that kind of person. Besides, the one thing she doesn’t need is money.”
Bob shot Frankie a quick glance that said “Shut up, Frankie.” Charlie saw it but did not react. He wouldn’t have followed up on the comment anyway, but Bob could not have known that. He was impressed by Bob’s loyalty to Gina.
Frankie quickly changed the subject and said, “Yeah, Gina spoke well of you. She thinks you are a nice guy – which is pretty important in Gina’s lexicon.”
Charlie was flattered. He had not expected Gina to be talking about him to her friends but then he remembered that he had talked about Gina to Joey Esposito. “Thanks, Frankie. I will try to keep it that way.”
“Good idea” said Bob and then laughed.
Emily and Gina returned from the ladies’ room. It didn’t look like either had powdered her nose and Charlie figured there was some girl talk going on. When Charlie stood to pull Gina’s chair she said, “OK, Charlie Mullins, you had your chance to hold a conversation. Now you belong to me. Let’s have some dinner!”
Charlie did not want to seem rude so he said, much against his real feelings, “Why don’t you guys join us? You’re Gina’s friends and it will be a nice evening.” He stood there hoping that no one would accept the invitation. To his relief Emily said, “Thanks Char
lie, that’s generous of you, but we have already made plans. We were only here to have a quick cocktail with Gina. We’re on our way now, so you guys enjoy yourselves! Nice to meet you, Charlie.”
Relieved that he would have Gina to himself for the evening, Charlie responded, “Same here, have a good evening.” as he and Gina headed for the door to flag a cab.
* * * * *
Over dinner Gina and Charlie continued the “getting-to-know-you” phase of their relationship. Gina talked about her volunteer work and Charlie about his job. They were now beyond the preliminary stuff and were learning about what each believes to be important. They discussed values, attitudes, things they liked, things they didn’t like, people they thought were interesting, people they thought were boring. Gina laughed easily at Charlie’s stories about Fred Perkins. “Poor man,” she said, “he must be really frustrated and angry, not to mention insecure.” She complimented Charlie on how he handled Fred and laughed at the incidents he described. She told Charlie about the children she worked with and the community projects she was putting together. Charlie was amazed at her tremendous energy and drive. She was planning an exhibition for Emily and was waiting only for her to have enough paintings to put on display. Next week she was promoting a book signing for a photographer who had put together an anthology of photos of Philadelphia landmarks. “Why don’t you come to the signing, Charlie? You’ll enjoy the people who will be there. The photographer, Jerry, is really talented and has an encyclopedic knowledge of Philly.” The evening passed far more quickly than Charlie wished. They were the last couple to leave the restaurant and the waiters stood patiently by while they finished their espressos. Charlie noticed that none of the waiters started clearing off tables as they tended to do when they wanted to tell you it was time to leave. Gina appeared to have an almost hypnotic effect on people and as long as she was around, no one wanted her to leave, so the waiters just stood there until Charlie finally settled the bill and they left the restaurant.
“That was a great evening, Gina. You are really a wonderful person to be around” Charlie said.
“Thank you, Charlie. The feeling is mutual. Why not come up for the book signing next Saturday? We can go out for cocktails before and dinner after. Jerry is a very talented guy and you will like the group that will be there.”
“Of course,” said Charlie, “you have a fantastic group of friends – at least those I have met so far. I’ll be there.” Charlie felt emboldened by Gina’s invitation and asked, “Gina, sometimes I feel like giving you a call just to see how you are doing and talk a little. Would you give me your telephone number?”
“Why don’t you give me your number, Charlie? I’ll call you and we can talk to your heart’s content.”
That caught Charlie by surprise until he remembered that he had told Gina he was divorced. “I’ll bet a lot of married guys tell her they are divorced just to try to get her into bed.” he thought. “She’s right to protect her privacy until she can verify the things I have told her.”
“OK,” said Charlie as he pulled out a leather-bound pocket notebook and wrote down his number. “I’m almost always at home by about 7 pm except Wednesdays when I bowl with the guys starting at 8-o-clock.
“What do I do if a woman answers at your home phone, Charlie?” Gina laughed.
“Call the cops, somebody has broken into my house!” he laughed back.
“You can bet I will, Charlie!” He was sure she meant it.
They left the restaurant to go through the usual departure ritual – back to the trattoria where Charlie had left the car and Gina continuing home in the taxi. When they got back to the trattoria, Charlie noticed that Johnny the waiter was standing outside near the alley next to the trattoria, smoking a cigarette. He waved to Johnny who waved back. He felt like he almost knew the guy. Gina smiled and said, “Good night, Charlie. You’ll be here Saturday, right?”
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world” said Charlie. Gina moved to kiss him on the cheek as she had done last week and Charlie leaned toward her. She surprised him with a quick kiss on the lips. “See you next week, Charlie Mullins. You’re a great guy and a lot of fun!”
“Good night, Gina. Until Saturday. It was a great evening!”
Charlie walked to his car and noticed that Johnny was still standing in the entrance to the alley as he entered the parking garage.
“I think I like that cologne” Charlie thought as he exited the parking garage “I hadn’t expected that kiss on the lips!” It occurred to Charlie that up to now he had been considering Gina as an interesting, beautiful, and unattainable woman. He relished being with her the same way one would be like being around a work of art – admiring from a respectful distance and in the abstract. Now he realized that he desired Gina. He imagined her naked on a bed. He wondered what it would be like to make love to her. He imagined her long legs wrapped around him and the two of them panting and reaching climax together. He imagined her raking her long nails down his back in a fit of pleasure. He did not just feel deep friendship for this woman. He wanted her. He felt passion. “Oh man” he thought “I’m getting hooked on this woman. Take it easy, Mullins, you’ve only known her a few weeks. Don’t go messing around with her. She’s not the kind you come on strong with.”
* * * * *
Sunday morning Charlie slept in until around 10, showered, dressed and went grocery shopping. When he returned from the supermarket he spent some time organizing the house, doing his laundry, and then went out for lunch. He ran into Tony Mazza at the sandwich shop. “Hey Charlie, what happened to you last night. You said you would catch up to the group and just disappeared. You fall asleep or what?”
“No, Tony, I just went out for a while. I drove around and wound up going up to Philly.”
“You got something going in Philly, Charlie? You hittin’ the discos looking for snatch or somethin’?”
Charlie laughed “C’mon Tony, get your mind out of the gutter. I was just in the mood to drive around. You know I can’t deal with that singles hustle. You see some available broad and the first thing she says is ‘What’s your sign?’ Jesus! The next day you are in a motel with her and she wants to go for breakfast and says she wants to see you again. She asks ‘Was it good for you?’ and you have to say yes, even it was the worst you ever had! No, Tony, I was not doing the singles scene. Just relaxing, that’s all.”
“Jesus – first guy I ever saw drive up to Philly to relax! You’re a real trip Charlie.” They both laughed.
After lunch with Tony, Charlie drove out to the cemetery to visit his parents’ gravesite. As usual, he sat on the grass and talked to the headstones. “Mom, Dad, the woman I met is really a wonderful person. We had dinner again last night. She is really a beautiful, warm person. I think I am getting serious about her.” Charlie sat at the gravesite in silent meditation. He said a prayer for his parents and just sat there for a while thinking about his youth, his parents at home, the day his father died, his mother’s illness and her sadness after his father passed away. Every time he came home on furlough he could see that she had wasted away further and it hurt him to see her alone. She would never have thought of marrying again. Her life with her husband had filled her completely and no one would be able to occupy that space.
Charlie’s mother had not been terribly fond of Mary Jo. She commented once that she thought Mary Jo a bit too ambitious and demanding for her own good. But she was Charlie’s wife and that meant she would respect Charlie’s choice and say no more. Charlie would either handle Mary Jo or he would not. Charlie said another prayer and got up to return to his car and drive home.
When he got home he changed into a pair of shorts, gym shoes, and a cut-off sweat shirt. He got a basketball from the closet and walked down to the park on his street to shoot some baskets. His mind was on Gina and last night’s kiss and he didn’t want to sit around the house. He got into a short pick-up game with some other guys on the court and that temporarily took his mind off Gina. He worked up
a good sweat.
After the game which ended as the sun was going down, he walked back home, showered, and then fixed some dinner. Since getting divorced Charlie decided to learn to cook, at least some rudimentary stuff. He quickly grew tired of going out to local restaurants where the locals would look at him with a mix of pity and anger at Mary Jo. He didn’t need that. Besides, constantly eating in restaurants and sandwich shops was both expensive and hard on the waistline. He found that he was having to work out more often and harder to keep from loosening his belt a notch or two. He had purchased a mini-oven and he could fix up a roast chicken breast wrapped in aluminum foil that left him with no pots or pans to clean. He cooked up the chicken breast with a pat of butter and a bay leaf. It came out tasty and healthy. He would fix a side dish of rice in a microwaveable package and he had a dinner. No fuss, no mess – just the way a bachelor likes it.
As he ate, his mind wandered again back to Gina. He had not realized before meeting her just how alone he had been since Mary Jo left. His softball games and bowling league activities always ended with him going home alone while the rest of the guys went back to wives and kids. The guys thought he had the perfect life. “Ain’t you the lucky guy, Charlie. I gotta go home to hear the wife complain that I am never home and to bitch about how dirty my uniform is and that she will have to wash it. You’re free, man. You can do whatever you damned well please – throw your socks around the room, drop your pants wherever you feel like, open a beer, belch, fart, do whatever you want!”
Charlie laughed at their comments. “You think I live in a pigpen, guys? At least you have someone to wash your uniform. I have to wash my own or take it to the laundry. There’s no one at home to even complain about me. And I don’t toss my socks around the room either! I don’t think belching and farting is much compensation for coming home to an empty house!”