Unexpected Angel (14 page)
Authors: Patrick McGhee
Gianni stumbled over his words, “We are both from Brockton, West Virginia. I have a house there. I don’t always live in it, but I do have one.”
“Yes, it’s really nice,” said Tony. Huge yard, swimming pool, six bedrooms, hot tub, and sauna . . . ”
The pitch of Gianni’s voice went two or three notes up the scale. “And of course, you feel the need to tell everyone about the house, and in great detail?”
Mercedes leaned forward with a twinkle in her eyes. “Yes, Tony, you described it like you have been there.”
Tony replied with enthusiasm, “Well, I have. Many times.”
Gianni looked at the folding screen, then his shoes, then into space. He wiped his brow again.
Tony continued, “I went to one of Gianni’s parties. All the nice young men of Brockton were there. He let me stay over because I had too much to drink.”
Gianni continued to stare just about everywhere, but not at Tony. Mercedes could see he was uncomfortable for some reason. She thought she knew why, but she would let Kirby handle that.
Mercedes had mischief in her smile as she turned to Kirby. “You have been so silent, Kirby dear. Let’s hear something from you.”
Gianni wanted to get the conversation away from Tony. He interrupted. “Yes, Kirby. A handsome young man like you must be honored to have a beautiful lady friend somewhere.”
“Well, I don’t have a girlfriend,” said Kirby. “I mean, I know some really nice girls. We often run around together. But, I’m gay. All of my dates are men.”
Gianni turned pale. His chin trembled. Tony looked away and gulped air. Kirby’s mouth flew open. He realized he had probably given too much information.
Mercedes batted her twinkling eyes and smiled. She knew that nothing of any value could be added to what had already been said. The three men had dug themselves into a hole they could never climb out of. Wasn’t it entertaining to have a time of confession just before dinner? Perhaps, I should have invited a priest, also, she thought.
At last, Mercedes remarked with a bit of sarcasm, “Well, well, Tony. It seems that you’ve had the honor of sleeping with my boyfriend
and
my son. If I hadn’t been busy playing mom to nurse you back to health, well . . . if I hadn’t been so busy, somebody could ask, ‘Who slept with Tony?’ and we could
all
raise our hands and show
everybody
our big smiles and our pretty teeth. It would be unanimous . . . Oh, darn. I should have tried harder.”
Tony chuckled, then Kirby, then Gianni. Mercedes went on, “Now that we have all been properly introduced and hung our laundry out to dry, let’s order some food. Nothing can be said to undo this mess, and we needn’t try.”
Chapter 22
The evening get-together, that could have been a jealous face-off, turned out, instead, to be a blast. Almost half an hour after they had finished dessert, the four were still talking and laughing. Gianni looked at his watch, “It’s nearly nine o’clock,” he said. “We all have quite a distance to drive. I guess we need to be on our way.”
Gianni and Mercedes led the way out of the dining room. Kirby and Tony followed close behind. They delayed going outside because Kirby had to make a stop at the men’s room. Tony waited in the lobby. He noticed some of the restaurant employees coming out of the doorway from the kitchen. He assumed that these might be ones who had been working since early afternoon and were finishing their shifts.
Tony heard the voice of a lady calling his name. “Tony?” It sounded like she didn’t know if the person she saw was really the Tony she remembered. She just thought he might be. And Tony thought that maybe it was another Tony, so he shouldn’t be so quick to answer. But the voice persisted, “Tony?” The lady came closer.
Tony turned to see someone he knew. “Juliana! Juliana Méndez. You haven’t changed. Still as dazzling as ever.” He smiled and threw his arms out to give her a hug. She did the same. They kissed each other on the cheeks. “Oh, Juliana. I never dreamed I would see you here.”
“Neither did I,” said Juliana as she hugged Tony once more. “That day in the hospital when Miguel was born . . . you signed the birth certificate and left. I haven’t seen you since. Miguel is three years old, now. He looks so much like you. He is such a darling . . . Oh, Tony, my Tony. I have missed you so much. But, I still have part of you to love–it’s Miguel, my sweet Miguel.”
Tony asked, “Why didn’t you go after me for child support? I didn’t want to stay here, but I expected to pay. I could have brought you and Miguel to West Virginia. But, I never heard from you after that day.”
“It was Papa’s idea. He didn’t have the proper papers to be living in the United States. He did not want to attract attention. He was afraid the authorities would send him back to Mexico. So, he said we would raise Miguel ourselves. People could ask questions later. Besides, we had a birth certificate to prove that Miguel’s father was an American, just in case.”
“Are you still living with your father?” quizzed Tony.
“No. Papa died last year. My brother, Pablo, is staying in Papa’s old house with Miguel and me. Pablo works in a furniture factory near Jeffersonville. Our Aunt María lives right next to us. She looks after Miguel when we both have to work. Life is good.”
While Tony and Juliana were still talking, Kirby came out of the men’s room. Tony introduced him to Juliana and told him about Miguel.
Kirby looked at Tony and asked, “Do you think you might like to go see your son? I mean, if it’s all right with Juliana.”
Juliana’s smile indicated that Kirby’s plan was fine with her. Looking at Tony, she said. “Why not tonight? You can ride over to Jeffersonville with me. You can stay over. You’ll get to see your son, tomorrow. Miguel will be so glad to see his daddy.”
Tony looked happy and a little puzzled. “Well, OK. I guess we can do this. But, my car is parked at Kirby’s cabin beside Lake Nansemond. How will I get back there tomorrow? I have to go to West Virginia to see about a job.”
Juliana shook her head. “My Tony, always worrying about things. I’ve got a plan for you to get back to the lake. I’ll tell you in the morning. It will be fine.”
The three walked out onto the veranda. It seemed to be a perfect summer evening. The humidity was uncomfortable, at first, but a slight breeze made things tolerable. Off in the distance, heat lightning flashed. It must have been far, far away, for the thunder never came. There was simply another flash.
At the end of the porch, was a different flash--not deadly at all–lightning bugs. Tony could recall catching one of them in his hands when he was a child. He could remember opening his hands slightly to take a peek. He loved to watch the firefly blink off and on. He was always concerned that the bug might get away, and he would have to find another.
Tony’s thoughts flashed back to one time when his attention had quickly shifted from the lightning bug to a tree frog hanging from a branch that dipped down, almost touching the roof of the porch. He could remember how the lightning bug got away when he opened his hand to catch the frog. He recollected how he examined the frog and became fascinated by its toes. They looked like they had tiny suction cups on them. This had delighted Tony so much that he stuffed the frog into his pants pocket, then forgot about it, because his attention flitted somewhere else. He couldn’t remember, now, what that attraction was.
Later, the frog had come back to mind, with a jolt, because his mother yelled when she found it. She wasn’t afraid of frogs. She was doing some laundry while Tony bathed. It was her custom to search pockets. She wanted to make certain that the clothing and her beloved appliances were protected from things that would punch holes or fade or melt. How could Tony know that the soft skin of her fingers touching the clammy skin of the frog would result in the pants flying in one direction, the frog hopping in another, and his mother disturbing the neighbors with a terrifying shriek?
Having his mind wander from one thought to another was exactly what had bothered Tony all too often. Only a few moments ago he had been concerned about going to visit his son. The next moment he was reminiscing about lightning bugs and tree frogs.
It took great effort for Tony to bring himself back to reality, but he did. He motioned for Kirby to go with him to see something at the end of the porch. They jumped off the edge like two children, giggling and carrying on, disappearing around the corner of the building, out of Juliana’s sight. Tony embraced Kirby. He gave him a passionate kiss. He held onto his newfound friend like they would never see each other again, this side of heaven. In a few seconds, they were back on the veranda.
Kirby got into his car. Tony and Juliana got into hers. They were off.
Chapter 23
It was after ten o’clock when Juliana pulled into the driveway at her house in Jeffersonville. She and Tony agreed that they would not attempt to wake Miguel. He might not be able to fall asleep again. They both knew if Miguel didn’t sleep, nobody would sleep.
Juliana was very tired and soon went to her room on the ground floor. Juliana’s brother, Pablo, led Tony to the second floor where the guestroom was. They were careful not to make any noise as Miguel’s room was just down the hall, next to Pablo’s.
Once in the extra room, Tony got undressed, slipped under the covers, and used his cell phone to call Wally’s landline. That way he could be sure Wally was at home and not running around.
Wally picked up on the second ring. “Hello.”
“Hey, Wally, it’s Tony. How are you?”
Wally remarked that work was wearing him out. He told Tony how much he missed him.
“I miss you, too, Wally. Hey, I am coming home tomorrow or the next day. I want to check on a job. Can I stay with you a few days?”
“Sure,” said Wally. “I would love to have you around the apartment in the evening, and at night. My, my, I would certainly like that.”
Tony chuckled. “So you’re hungry for a man, huh?”
Wally giggled. “It sure beats peanut butter crackers and diet cola.”
Tony changed the subject. “Wait till you see the pictures of me and my son.”
“Your son?”
“Yeah, it’s a long story . . . I’ll have to tell you all about it, one of these days, but not right now.” Tony paused. “I don’t have the pictures yet, but I’m sure his mother will take some tomorrow.”
Wally sighed, “Tony, you’re always so full of mystery. I didn’t even know you had a son.”
“Well, his mother and I had a thing going, a while back. Miguel, that’s my son, was born about three years ago. I lost touch with Juliana–that’s the mother’s name–so I didn’t talk much about them.”
Tony and Wally were both exhausted, so they ended the call after a short time. Tony promised to call when he was on his way back to West Virginia.
**********
Early the next morning, Tony awoke to the sound of a child giggling. He heard the bedroom door open, and the sound of padded footsteps dancing impatiently on the carpet. Pablo came through the door, a big smile on his face. Looking at the child, he said playfully, “There you are. You keep getting away from me this morning.” The child giggled some more. Pablo bent down, picked him up and placed him atop the blanket at the foot of Tony’s bed. Before Tony could move, Miguel had climbed upon his chest and was staring him in the face.
Tony smiled. “How are you doing, little stinker?” Miguel giggled. He placed his hand on Tony’s face and ran his fingers along the edge of Tony’s goatee. He looked Tony straight in the eye. He seemed to know that there was something strange and wonderful about this man.
Pablo said, “Miguel, this is Tony. He’s going to spend the morning with us. Come on. Let Tony get dressed. We’ll go have some cereal.”
The child hopped off the bed and went downstairs with his uncle.
Tony took a quick shower and dressed. It wasn’t like him to wear the same clothes two days in a row. But, this episode had not been planned ahead. There was no car outside with a suitcase and duffel bag in the trunk. He would have to make do with what he had. Today was a world apart from all the other days he had lived. He would be with his son.
Juliana met Tony at the foot of the stairs. “Tony,” she said in a pleasant voice, “Pablo and I have been talking. We would prefer to let Miguel call you Tony for the time being. Please don’t let him know you are his father, not until we make some decisions about going to West Virginia to stay with you. To get very close to him and then leave–that would break his heart.”
The look in Tony’s eyes showed that he understood the importance of her request. He smiled. “Don’t worry, Juliana, I am going to be just plain Tony this morning.” Then he said, “I am starved. Can you fix me some breakfast?”
Juliana replied, “It’s my pleasure. I already have it ready. Scrambled eggs, sausage, biscuits and gravy. Your favorite.”
Tony smiled, rubbed his stomach, and followed Juliana to the kitchen.
Miguel had already finished eating, so he had plenty of time to spend with Tony. Miguel would walk over to Tony and look up at him. Then he would run to the full-length mirror in the hallway near the front door and look at himself. He would smile. He would move his hands in an excited manner and run back to Tony.
Tony chuckled, “I wonder what on earth he is up to. Do you reckon he knows who I am?”
Juliana replied, “I don’t think so, but he seems to be trying to figure it out. Remember what we agreed. Please.”
“Sure, Juliana. It really is best for now. I am just plain Tony, like I said.”
“Oh, by the way,” said Juliana. I think I have it figured out how you will get back to Lake Nansemond.”
Tony smiled. “OK, run it by me.”
Juliana asked, “You do like to ride motorcycles, don’t you?”
“Like we were built for each other,” replied Tony. “I love motorcycles. There’s no better way to travel, except when the weather is nasty.”
