by Charles Ayer
“Well, at least he did that,” said Kenny.
“Kenny,” I said, “I know you’re probably not ready to hear this yet, but David Chandler is not as bad a man as he’s made himself look today.”
“I don’t know about that,” said Kenny. “All I know is that he might be my biological father, but he’s not my Dad. I already have a Dad. I don’t need another one. And Mom?”
Allie looked up. Her eyes were glazed, but I knew she’d listen to her son.
“Yes?”
“I don’t want Dad to know about any of this. I don’t know what you’re going to do, but you have to do it without letting him know the real reason why. It would kill him.”
“Don’t worry, Kenny. I’m never going to speak to David Chandler again,” said Allie, her eyes spilling over with tears. “Oh, God, Kenny, I’m so sorry.”
“Maybe we can all try harder, you know?”
“Maybe we can,” she said, her eyes lightening. “Maybe we can.”
I rose to leave, and so did Doreen.
“I think it’s time for us to get out of your hair,” I said. Kenny walked over to me and held out his hand.
“Thanks, Mr. Hunter,” he said. “I’ve been living with this by myself for way too long.”
“I’m glad I could help,” I said. I pulled him to me and gave him a hug. “I’ll be around, okay?”
Kenny nodded, then went and sat down with his mother.
Doreen and I quietly slipped out the door.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
I’LL BE LIVING IN THE DUPLEX FOR A WHILE.
Doreen and David are already divorced, but we don’t think the kids need to see another man in the house right away. They’ve got another year in high school before they head off to college, and they don’t need that kind of distraction. Doreen and I are still young. There’s time.
David behaved as I’d hoped he wouldn’t. When he found out just how much Doreen was worth during the divorce proceedings, he immediately tried to claim half. But Doreen let him know that there was a price for her silence. She offered him a million bucks, and he took it. He also lost his job at the bank shortly after the divorce. It had nothing to do with anything, I found out from Lacey, who knows everything. The bank just decided that nobody was really impressed with an aging high school football star anymore; and since he had no actual banking talents, they had no reason to keep him. From what I’ve heard, he’s now selling overpriced term life insurance to retirees in Poughkeepsie. Who knows? Maybe he’s found his calling.
The one who surprised me was Kenny, Senior.
I’d gone up to the Latitude Pub a few weeks after the big confrontation and ordered a Jupiler and stuffed baked potato skins without being prompted.
“My man,” said Richie Glazier, beaming his approval. He must have seen me looking around the place, because he said, “If you’re looking for Kenny, you’re not going to find him here.”
“What, has he finally moved on to other haunts?”
“Nah. From what I can tell, he’s not going out at all anymore. Maybe the cooking’s improved at home, if you know what I mean.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” I said.
“I hear the cooking’s not so bad at your place these days, either.”
“Not bad at all,”
“Not even my stuffed baked potato skins can compete with that cooking.”
“No,” I said, polishing off my last bite, “but they’re a damn fine runner-up.”
We’d both laughed, and I shook his hand before I left. Richie Glazier is good people.
A few weeks later I’d driven up to the high school on a whim. Kenny’s office door was open, and he was sitting at his desk. He looked great. He looked like he’d lost about twenty pounds; his face was tanned, and it had lost a lot of the bloat.
The first thing I noticed besides Kenny’s appearance was that the giant reproduction of The Picture was no longer on the wall.
“So, Kenny, I see you decided to change the décor.”
“I thought it was time to move on, Matt.”
“I couldn’t agree with you more,” I said. “You’re looking great, Kenny. It looks like you could suit up again.”
“I’m getting there. I made it a mile around the track this morning without stopping, and I didn’t even have to puke when I was done.”
“That’s fantastic. I hope you can keep it up.”
“Oh, I will. And Matt?”
“Yeah, Kenny?”
“I know. I know everything.”
“Jesus, Kenny. How did you find out?”
“Aw, I guess I’ve known all along, but I just had a hard time admitting it to myself. Kenny Junior’s my son, you know? I’ve loved him since the second I saw him, and nothing can change that. Genetics is one thing; being a Dad is another.”
“No argument there,” I said, thinking of my own kids, who I was visiting every weekend, despite the fact that a chinless orthodontist from Beacon was now occupying my side of Marianne’s bed. I hadn’t been impressed, and I guessed Marianne would have him out on the curb with the rest of the recycling before long. “So how did you actually find out for sure?”
“You know, after David left town things started to get better between Allie and me. She started asking me to stay home at night, and the three of us starting having our dinners together. It was nice. And she actually started, you know, to be interested in, you know, stuff.”
“You always had a way with words, Kenny.”
“So, anyway, one night we were lying in bed together, and I just blurted it out. I said, ‘Allie, I think it’s time we talked.’ And we did.”
“Does Kenny Junior know?”
“Yeah, he does. Is he a great kid or what?”
“He’s an amazing kid, Kenny. You should be proud of him, and you should be proud of yourself. You raised a fine son.”
“I don’t know how good a father I’ve been, Matt, but I’m trying as hard as I can to change all that.”
“So, I don’t mean to be nosey, but how about you and Allie?”
“I don’t know, Matt. There’s a lot of hurt between us, but we’re going to try. We’re going to stick it out until Kenny Junior goes off to college, and then we’ll see where we stand.”
“I wish you the best, Kenny. Let’s not be strangers, okay?” I said, as I rose to leave.
“Sounds like a plan.”
“And Kenny?”
“Yeah?”
“I don’t miss that damn picture. Not one bit.”
“Neither do I, Matt. Neither do I.”
******
The other big event was, of course, my sister’s marriage.
Anthony Fornaio had looked almost handsome in a dark suit, although the aroma of rising dough still clung to him. He couldn’t stop smiling. Lacey had bowed to the occasion and worn a dress. It was simple design made of unbleached cotton that Doreen had helped her pick out at a second-hand store, but it was a dress.
It had been a tiny affair, but Kenny and Allie had come, and they looked comfortable with each other.
Tommassino Fornaio had also attended along with his stunning wife, Christina. The reception was held in Anthony’s tiny pizzeria behind his restaurant, and as I was diving into my second slice, Tommy took me aside.
“Matt,” he’d said, “I’d like to congratulate you on a fine job.”
“Thank you, Sir.”
“Aw, c’mon, Matt. It’s Tommy, okay? We’re family now.”
That kind of sent a chill up my spine, but I managed a smile and said, “Thanks, Tommy.”
“It felt good, right?” he said.
“It felt better than anything’s felt in a long time, Tommy.”
“And now you have a beautiful woman in your life.”
“Beautiful in more ways than I can think of,” I said, “and I owe it to you.”
“You did it yourself Matt,” said my friend, the thug, looking at me with those piercing blue eyes of his. “Don’t ever forget that.”
“I won’t,” I said.
“And Matt?”
“Yes, Tommy?”
“You can stop worrying about that unfortunate business at the Halfmoon Diner. I’m on excellent terms with the local law enforcement authorities, and the owner of the diner is an old friend of mine. You’re welcome in Halfmoon, and the diner, anytime.”
“Thank you, Tommy,” I said, meaning it. I’d been waiting for the second shoe to fall on that incident since the day it happened, and I was relieved to know that I could stop worrying. I wanted to know if Boiko had at least survived, but I knew well enough not to ask. I’d give Lieutenant Hudson a call and find out at some point. I thought briefly of liver and onions, and cherry pie.
We shook hands, and Tommy went back to rejoin his dazzling wife, leaving me alone, but not alone.
I was home now. I looked around the room. This was where I wanted to live out my life, and these were the people I wanted to spend it with. I’d wandered far, and I’d taken the long way back, but I’d finally made it.
My eyes came to rest on Doreen, the woman I’d loved long before I understood what love was. She was chatting happily with Lacey, and she gave me one of her patented smiles when she saw me looking at her. She had dressed simply, not to outshine the bride.
But, oh my, she looked good.
THE END