Until I Saw Your Smile (38 page)

“I don't
whip
up anything, Matthew,” Angela said.

“Could you
create
some then?” Matthew asked.

“Yes, Matthew,” Angela said.

“See you in a few minutes.”

Matthew called Dr. Penn and told him the news.

“He told you my old nickname,” Dr. Penn said. “I didn't know if he'd remember me. I was only a corpsman.”

“Did Wick have a nickname?” Matthew asked.

“Oh, we called him ‘Tricky Wicky,' ” Dr. Penn said. “That man got us out of so many scrapes. He knew all the tricks.”

“Can you celebrate with us at Angela's shop in the next hour or so?” Matthew asked.

“I wouldn't miss it,” Dr. Penn said. “Does she still bake those chocolate chip toffee cookies?”

I haven't seen them in the case.
“I'll have her make you a fresh batch.”

“Wonderful,” Dr. Penn said. “See you there.”

He called Angela.

“They're in the oven,” Angela said before Matthew could speak.

“The turnovers, right?” Matthew asked.

“No, the chocolate chip toffee cookies Dr. Penn likes,” Angela said.

I shouldn't ask this, but...
“How did you know?”

“I know all of my customers, Matthew,” Angela said.

I knew that.
“Are you busy?”

“Steady.”

“Will you be able to join us?” Matthew asked.

“I'll try.”

In the old days, Matthew would celebrate a multimillion-dollar judgment in the upstairs party room at Peter Luger's, located on the south side of the Williamsburg Bridge. He'd have several bottles of Krug Grande Cuvee, a porterhouse steak, and warm apple strudel drowned in homemade whipped cream.

Chapter 29

T
he celebration, though low-key and contained mainly in Matthew's booth, was full of smiles and laughter.

Timothy and Gloria sat on one side holding hands and eating apple turnovers, while Angela refilled cups and covered the table with plates of pastries, turnovers, and cookies. Timothy quietly followed the conversations with wide eyes. Dr. Penn, who sat beside Matthew, ate half a dozen chocolate chip toffee cookies as he regaled the table with the life of a hospital corpsman in Vietnam.

“Believe it or not,” Dr. Penn said, “a Bengal tiger once crossed our path while we were on patrol near Khe Sanh. It was a magnificent animal nearly ten feet long. We stared at it, it stared at us, and it slinked off into the jungle. Tricky Wicky turned to me and said, ‘That tiger is a long way from Detroit!' And you know what? It was 1968. The Detroit Tigers won the World Series that year. I'll never forget it.”

“Matthew,” Gloria said during a lull, “we need to discuss payment.”

“Buy me breakfast sometime,” Matthew said. “That will square us.” He held out his cup to Angela, and she filled it to the top.
We may have a long night ahead of us. That's my third cup in the last hour.

“Oh no,” Gloria said. “We have to do more than that.”

Matthew looked at Timothy. “Just get better, okay? That will be my payment. A full recovery will be payment in full. You'll have to come here often, okay?”

“I'll try,” Timothy said. “Thank you, Mr. McConnell.”

Matthew followed Angela to the counter to help carry the next round of sweets.

“What would you have normally charged them?” Angela asked.

“It's not important,” Matthew said.

“How much?” Angela whispered.

“I spent maybe ten hours on the case, at four hundred an hour, about four grand,” Matthew said.

Angela shook her head slightly. “They have to buy you breakfast for the next three years.”

“I feel good about this, Angela.” He rubbed her shoulders. “I actually feel great about this.”

“I know you do,” Angela said. “But couldn't you use that money?”

“They're barely making it on her salary,” Matthew whispered. “All that money I made before only meant I made money. Today I made a difference.” He looked behind him. “What a nice coincidence. Ace reporter Felisa Vecchi is here.”

Felisa walked up to the counter. “Hello.”

“Hi,” Matthew said.

Felisa looked around the shop. “Business looks good.”

“It is,” Angela said. “How may I help you?”

Was that an icy edge to Angela's voice? I think it was. I think I shall fade back to my celebration.
“Good to see you again,” he said to Felisa, and he returned to the booth with a plate of cookies.

Felisa soon glided over to the booth with her coffee. “If I didn't know better, I'd say this was a celebration of some kind.”

“Oh, it is,” Gloria said. “Mr. McConnell won a case for us today.”

“I didn't win a case,” Matthew said. “All of us got some justice for Timothy today.”

“Oh?” Felisa said. “May I join you?”

It's getting a little crowded in my office.
“Sure,” Matthew said, and he and Dr. Penn slid over a few inches.

Felisa sat mere millimeters from Matthew. “What was the case?” she asked.

“It wasn't a court case,” Matthew said.

Felisa took out her notepad. “What was it then?”

Matthew looked at Timothy. “I'll let Timothy tell it.”

Timothy, though hesitant and halting at first, eventually told his tale, Felisa taking copious notes and seldom interrupting.

The man can really talk,
Matthew thought
. He's been dying to tell his story for so long, and now all of Brooklyn will read about it.

As Gloria described their marriage, Matthew excused himself to use the bathroom. On the way back to the booth, he stopped at the counter.

“What is
she
doing here?” Angela whispered.

Brr. Her words are hypothermic.
“I think Felisa came in for some great coffee, and she will leave us with a great story. More free advertising for us.”

“And you didn't call her,” Angela said.

“No,” Matthew said. “I don't even have her number.”

“Uh huh.”

He leaned across the counter and kissed her cheek. “Really, Angela. This is a happy coincidence.”

Felisa stood, stretched, and came to the counter with her notepad. “You're getting a fantastic reputation, Mr. McConnell. You're the coffeehouse lawyer who gives hope to the hopeless. Was your fee really the cost of breakfast?”

“Felisa, if you print that,” Matthew said, “I will never be able to pay my bills.”

“It
was,
” Felisa said, writing it down
.

“Please don't put that in the paper,” Matthew said.

“It's too good
not
to,” Felisa said. “A winning lawyer who isn't after the money.”

Felisa tapped her pen on the counter. “First XS and now Timothy.”

“What miracle will you perform next?” Felisa asked.

“It wasn't a miracle,” Matthew said. “Timothy had a strong case without me. Dr. Penn's assessment was key. I just pushed the right buttons on a telephone to get everybody together.”

“You made it happen, Matthew,” Felisa said.

“No, I didn't,” Matthew said. “I really didn't. Angela deserves a lot of the credit, too. She pushed me in all the right directions.”

Felisa smiled at Angela. “He's so humble. Is it true you two are dating?”

“Yes,” Angela said, glaring at Matthew.

Felisa sighed. “I'm always too late. If he weren't taken . . .” She winked at Matthew. “Great coffee as usual, Angela.” She pulled out her cell phone. “Do you mind if I take a picture?”

Matthew nodded at the booth. “There's your picture.”

“No, no,” Felisa said. “I want you in the picture, too.”

“Not me,” Matthew said. “Timothy and Gloria are the story, not me.”

Felisa took several pictures of Gloria and Timothy holding hands in the booth. As Felisa turned, she took a picture of Matthew. “You could have smiled,” she said.

“You could have warned me,” Matthew said.

“Why don't you want your picture in the paper?” Felisa asked. “Most lawyers would kill for this kind of publicity.”

“I'm not that kind of lawyer anymore,” Matthew said. “Please don't use it for the story.”

Felisa smiled. “I won't use it for the story, I promise.”

“When will the story run?” Matthew asked.

“As soon as I can write it,” Felisa said. “Gloria, I have your number. I may be calling for more information if they let me expand on this.”

“That's wonderful,” Gloria said.

Felisa raised her bushy eyebrows. “I may have to hang out here more often. There are so many interesting stories waiting to be told here. Bye.”

Dr. Penn slid out of the booth, shaking Timothy's hand. “I should be going. If there's anything you ever need, give me a call.”

“I will,” Timothy said.

“I have your number, Dr. Penn,” Gloria said. “Thank you so much for all you've done.”

Matthew walked Dr. Penn to the door. “I have a feeling you have replaced me,” Dr. Penn said, looking back at Angela.

“She'll still need you,” Matthew said. “
I'll
still need you.”

“Don't hesitate to call.” He smiled. “Is it love now?”

Is it?
“I think so.”

“Good,” Dr. Penn said. “Good.”

Angela was unusually quiet for the rest of the day, and after they cleaned up, she headed quickly to the kitchen.

“Want to go for a walk?” Matthew asked.

“Not tonight.” She opened the stairway door.

Matthew followed her up the stairs. “Want to beat me at Sorry! again?”

She opened the apartment door. “No.”

He entered the apartment. “Do we have any laundry to do?”

“No.”

“Anything on TV?” Matthew asked.

Angela sighed. “It's Tuesday night.” She went through the kitchen into the bedroom.

Matthew stood in the bedroom doorway. “Is everything okay?”

She turned and half smiled. “Yes. I'm going to turn in early tonight. I'm really tired.” She pulled back the covers and took off her shoes, socks, and pants. “Good night.” She slipped under the covers and pulled the comforter to her shoulders.

Matthew sat on the edge of the bed. “Is there something wrong?”

“Nothing's wrong,” Angela said. “I'm tired. It's been a long day. Good night.”

Something is definitely wrong.
He rubbed her back. “Angela.”

She turned sharply and said, “What?”

Something tells me I should leave her alone, but I can't.
“What's wrong?”

“You really want to know?” she asked.

It's going to be bad, and from the look in her eyes, it's going to be very bad. I'm not so sure I want to know now.
“Yes.”

She sat up against the headboard and crossed her arms deliberately. “It goes something like this. He's
so
humble. I'm
always
too late. If
he
weren't taken. I may have to hang out here
more
often. There are
so
many interesting stories here.”

Angela has a very good memory.
“I don't understand.”

“She was flirting her ass off,” Angela said, her eyes turning into dark brown dots. “Right in front of me.”

“She knows we're a couple,” Matthew said. “You told her we were.”

“She took your picture for no good reason,” Angela said.

I'm sure Felisa had a reason. Whether it was good or not, I'll never know.
“But without my permission.”

“And she practically sat in your lap,” Angela said.

There's some truth there.
“The booth was crowded. I may need to expand my office.”

“I saw how you were looking at her,” Angela said.

“How could I not look at her?” Matthew said. “Felisa sat
next
to me. I was looking across the table at Timothy and Gloria.”

“I saw you,” Angela said. “Whenever you drank your coffee, you sneaked looks at her. You had your eyes all over her.”

“I didn't,” Matthew said. “I had my eyes on your cookies.”

“You drank
three
cups of coffee, Matthew,” Angela said. “You kept drinking your coffee so you could look at her.”

What does that have to do with anything?
“You kept refilling my cup.”

“I saw you looking at her tits and her ass,” Angela said. “You want her, don't you?”

Wow. Who is this person in this bed with me?
“Angela, no, of course not. She's not my type at all. You are.”

Angela's right arm shot out, and she pointed at him. “You're lying. You like perky and mixed and light-skinned and tall and thin and green-eyed and obviously open for business.”

“No, I—”

“You would have let her
do
you right there in that booth if you could have,” Angela interrupted.

“Angela, there is no way—”

“I saw her perky tits hanging out,” Angela interrupted, “so I know you saw them, too. I saw her shaking her ass for you. You saw that, didn't you?”

“I didn't notice it, Angela, and I have absolutely
no
desire—”

“Liar!” she shouted. “I know you want to hit that in every position all night long! Don't try to deny it!”

“I have to deny it because it
isn't
true,” Matthew said.

She folded her arms again. “So I'm seeing things?”

If I say yes, she'll say she's crazy. If I say no, I'll be lying.
“You are misinterpreting things. I can't see what you see, Angela. All I know is that I only have eyes for you, and I have made it very clear that I
only
want to be with you. You have me here right now, don't you?”

Angela looked away. “You'd be crazy not to run away from me and get with that nice piece of educated ass. I'll bet she went to Columbia or some other Ivy League school. I'll bet she has a two hundred IQ. You two can make smart light-skinned babies with long legs.”

“Angela,” Matthew said softly, “you are easily the smartest woman I've ever met.”

“
Bullshit!
” she shouted. “I don't have a college degree.”

“You don't need a college degree to be smart,” Matthew said. “Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Ted Turner all dropped out of college.”

“At least they had a
chance
to go to college,” Angela said. “I didn't.”

“Oh, and you and Felisa can go on really
long
walks together,” Angela said. “Her legs are long enough. She could wrap them
twice
around you. You could ride the subway with
her.
You could go to Yankees games with
her
. You could go anywhere in the world with
her
while I can't leave this
fucking
apartment for more than two or three blocks at a time!”