After the End
Millie saw a flaw in the way I’d finished my story. She asked about the one open issue. “What about Craig Whipple? What about him?”
I shrugged helplessly. “There isn’t anything anyone can do for him. His body was released to his family. From what I understand, they buried him after a small, private service in the family crypt in Villanova. When I killed Stan, I gave Craig the only justice he’s likely to get. What else can one do for the dead?”
Millie blinked and a tear slid down her cheek. She seemed to feel things very deeply, like my mother had before her. “The poor boy.” She raised her shining eyes toward me. “What about you?” She asked. “You had to shoot that man. He was a murderer, but he was still a person. How are you, brother?”
My sister’s question touched my heart. No one had ever asked me a question like that except Walt. I thought she was very sweet to think of my feelings on the matter. In truth, I didn’t give a damn about killing Stan, but I didn’t want to say that in front of Ted or my sisters. I tried to explain how I felt without sounding overly callous.
“I don’t like killing, but if someone had to shoot Stanley, I’d rather it be me than almost anyone else here. I had a reason to shoot him because he shot me. His was also not the first life I’d taken. I didn’t like to add another man to the list of people I’ve killed, but I reconcile myself with the idea that Stan didn’t give me a choice. I guess all that means I’m alright. Thanks for asking, Millie.”
Millie nodded and dabbed her eyes with her handkerchief.
Since that was the end of my story, I gave the audience a silly bow. A few folks applauded and a few more laughed at my ham acting. I ducked behind the bar to refresh my tonic and the group which was gathered to hear the story broke up and scattered. A few folks lingered and waited to have a word with me. Those who remained included Ted and Sunshine, Walt, and Ted’s father, Theo. Theo was the first to approach with something to say.
Theo Danton was a careworn Irishman with a ready smile and a face like a piece of sun-bleached leather. When the police telephoned him to come and identify his son, he dropped everything, including his job, and came as fast as he could. I was stunned to discover the man had driven all the way from Detroit in a twenty-year-old pick-up truck that was so rusty, it looked like Theo had found it at the bottom of a lake.
Theo stayed in Philadelphia while Ted went through the court system. To pass the time, he worked at Hank Kellerman’s shop. Kellerman was happy to have the help. Since he lost Ted and then Stan, he was overwhelmed with work. He asked Theo to stay on permanently, but Theo insisted that he had to get back to his wife in Detroit.
The Irishman moved up close to the bar and set his rough hands on the edge of it like he was afraid to leave fingerprints. “Mister Law, sir?” He said in a mild voice that was barely above a whisper.
I’d tried and tried to get Theo to call me ‘Law,’ but as many times as he agreed to do as I asked, he always referred to me as ‘Mister Law, sir.’ I finally gave up on correcting him and answered to whatever he called me. “Yes, Theo.” I replied.
“I just want to thank you again for what you done to help my son.” Theo said in his same, soft, careful voice. “I ain’t seen him since he left, and he never wrote no letters. I just about given him up for dead when the telephone rang and told me to come.
“I also ‘ppreciate you per..perj..ah, lyin’ to the court on his part. I don’t usually hold with lyin’ but I know Ted didn’t mean no harm. Me and his mama brought him up to help, and I guess that’s what he thought he was doing. Wouldn’t be right for him to serve no time for tryin’ ta help a friend, even if that friend was a no good crook.”
What Theo was talking about was a line of bullshit which had been created by Alex Scofield and sworn to by me in open court. Scofield came to see me in the hospital before the police even knew I was awake. I told him the whole story of the conversation I’d had with Ted. Scofield asked me how I thought he should handle the ginger young man. “Get him out of trouble if you can.” I said. “The boy is guilty of being gullible. Stan had him fooled. Make up whatever story you like, and I’ll swear to it.”
The story Scofield made up was that Ted tried to save me when he saw Stan’s gun. He said that Stan shouldered the truck door open so he could shoot me, but Ted yelled at him in time to throw off his aim. Scofield argued that the shot I took in the stomach would have likely been a chest or a head shot if Ted hadn’t shouted. I perjured myself to swear to those made-up facts and no one bothered to contradict me. Because of my lie, Ted was let off with probation and some community service.
When he was released from jail, Ted went back to work at Hank Kellerman’s shop. He liked working with his father, something he missed during the five years he’d drifted around the country. Hank liked having them both. He said the father / son team could turn out more work than he’d ever seen, and all of it expertly done. I was glad I’d been right about Ted and said as much.
“I was happy to do it, Theo.” I said to answer the man the way I always did when he thanked me. “I think Ted is a good man. He just got in with a bad crowd.”
Both Theo and I looked toward where Ted stood with Sunshine’s arm around him. Ted flashed a quick glance to me and his father, then lowered his eyes in embarrassment. I supposed he didn’t like being talked about. Neither Ted nor Sunshine said anything in response to my or Theo’s words. They seemed to be waiting for some time alone with me. Theo noticed his son’s uneasiness and excused himself.
With Theo gone, Ted and Sunshine moved up to the bar. Ted broke the silence. “Arthur and me, we’re gonna…we’re gonna…I mean, my dad has to go home, so Sunny, I mean Arthur, he’s gonna speak for me with the man in charge of my case. They wouldn’t let me out of jail without a…a, what’s it called Arthur?”
“A sponsor.” Sunshine reminded Ted. “They released Ted because of what you said, Mister Law, but they only did it because his father was here to stand for him. Mister Danton says he can’t stay anymore because his wife needs him at home. I’m going to stand for Ted.”
Sunshine stopped speaking, but he looked like he had more to say, so I waited. As I waited, I left my attention on the normally sullen man. To my surprise, he no longer seemed sullen. He seemed downright glad. I was happy to see him happy and said as much. Sunshine took my comment as his cue to explain his improved mood.
“Ted and me are gonna…we’re looking for a place to live together.” Sunshine explained. “I’ve never much thought about…you know, doing stuff with guys. At the same time, I’ve never much been interested in women, not like the other guys are. I remember back when Leo…I mean, Smokey, when he met his Harriet, she was all he could talk about. I never felt that way about anyone until I met Ted.”
“And…” Ted piped up, “I never met anyone I thought I could stay with until I met Arthur. No one was ever so nice to me as him. No one ever made me want to be good like he did…like he does.”
Sunshine leaned into Ted to let him know, through a physical action, that his comments were appreciated. He made some of his own. “My friends, my best friends, Smokey and Pig Pen, even Wiry have all been happy for me. None of them made fun. The Plow was happy for me too. He was happy for both of us. He said he wasn’t mad about nothin’ that happened. With all those folks behind me, I think it will be alright if I’m, you know, like Ted and you and The Plow.”
I smiled at Sunshine. I was glad he seemed to be alright as he figured out who he was. “People who accept you as you are, those are your true friends.” I explained to Sunshine and Ted. “Make sure you’re good to them because they’re rare. Be careful about others. There’s a lot out there who would be cruel. Also, don’t forget that the state says what you are or what you think you might be is illegal. Stay clear of the law. If you cause trouble and they don’t have anything else on you, they’ll use that.”
I pointed at Ted to emphasize my last statement. “You especially. You’re on probation. No more stolen cars. No more stolen anything. No more listening to con artists with smooth stories. Sunny seems like good people. If you stick with him, that’s great. If you don’t, be very careful about who you take up with next. And…” I paused to lean close to Ted so I could speak directly to him, “no more whoring it up. That kind of thing feels good for a while, but it’s no good in the long run. Everyone needs someone to come home to. Everyone needs love in their life.”
I waved to where Walt was still waiting for his turn to talk to me. I called for him to come behind the bar to stand with me. He practically danced to my side. I wrapped him in my arms and kissed his mouth. I planned to offer my husband a chaste pec on the lips, but Walt wanted more. He forced his searching tongue into my mouth and offered me a taste of the liquor he’d been drinking down.
I let Walt kiss me for a moment and pushed him away when he started to get handsy. “Alright!” I yelped. “Not in front of the children, dear.” I said like I was a housewife married to a randy husband.
Walt laughed at my teasing and stepped back. The space between us gave me room to finish my short preachment to Ted and Sunshine. “No matter what happens between you two, know that we’re always here for you. I think you’re good people and I like to help good people.”
“And so do I.” Walt interjected.
“And so does he.” I said to parrot Walt’s sentiment. “So, if you have trouble, come talk to us about it. If you have joy, come share it with us. Alright?”
Sunshine was the first to agree. He stood on the brass rail that ran around the bottom of the bar and shook my hand. “I promise, Mister Law.”
“So do I.” Ted agreed and shook like Sunshine had.
Both men shook hands with Walt, then moved away to return to the party. I was happy to see them together, happy for their happiness. Walt sidestepped closer to me so he could speak without being overheard by anyone else. “I wish I would have met you when we were young like them.” He said.
I shook my head and shrugged. “I wouldn’t have wanted what you offered then. I needed to grow up a lot before I was ready to be your husband. Sometimes I still wonder if I’m up to the task.”
Walt turned ninety degrees on his nimble feet and scowled at me with his hands on his hips. “I’m a task, am I?” He demanded.
I was caught flatfooted by his change in manner. “What?” I asked until my brain replayed what Walt had said. “No! I didn’t mean that at all. I would never…”
Walt’s scowl melted away and became a wise grin. “Kidding.” He said through his smirk.
“Fucker.” I accused.
Walt’s smirk dissolved as quickly as it had arrived. His face drew down into a pensive frown. “We need to talk.” He said. “Come into the kitchen with me where we won’t be overheard.”
I followed Walt through the swing door into the kitchen. My husband halted just inside the door and nodded toward the break table. Harrison Stiles had finished his dinner and fallen asleep in his chair. He looked like he’d turned the chair to lean against the wall so he could enjoy an after-dinner smoke. I guessed he finished his cigarette and shut his eyes for a moment, only to fall immediately to sleep. I mentally wished him ‘pleasant dreams.’ I also decided to send the kitchen staff home without letting them clean up if Harrison didn’t wake up by the time the party ended.
Walt poked my shoulder to get my attention and spoke to me in a whisper. He positioned himself to face both me, and the glass pane in the top of the swing door. I suspected that whatever he planned to say was serious, because he was being very careful to make sure we weren’t interrupted while he said it.
I wondered what the subject might be. I worried that Walt had received his Firestone letter, and it wasn’t favorable. Even worse, I worried something had come between us and he wanted to have it out. I was on the edge of my seat even though I was standing.
Walt folded his arms over his chest. He looked down at himself and realized his stance was one of opposition, then dropped his arms and shook them. He sucked a breath and blew it out. “I want to invite David upstairs.” Walt said softly.
I didn’t understand why that topic needed privacy to discuss. I admitted I was confused. “What are you talking about?” I asked. “David has already been upstairs. We’ve had him over for dinner every night when the restaurant was closed. When it’s open, David eats at the bar. Why call me in here for that?”
“No,” Walt shook his head, “I mean, I want to invite him into our room.”
I still didn’t understand Walt’s meaning. “David has seen our room.” I said. “He used the telephone in there to call his wife the day they let Larry out of jail.”
“No,” Walt shook his head again, “I mean, I want to invite him into our bed…with us.”
I heard what Walt said, but I didn’t understand it. I felt like my brain had blown a fuse. I was fairly certain my husband had just proposed that he and I offer to have sex with David. Since that was the last thing I ever expected Walt to suggest, I needed a minute to understand the words.
When my brain started to function again, it did some rapid arithmetic. It added Walt’s heavy drinking to his staring at David and multiplied by Walt scenting David’s suit jacket to arrive at a solution. The solution was that Walt had been working up the nerve to ask me the very question he just had.
I asked a question I felt I had to ask. “Are you sure?” Walt started to say that he was, but I stopped him. “Be careful, love.” I cautioned my husband while I used my thumb to turn the gold band on my left ring finger. “Not everyone can separate love from sex. If you want to do this, I would be happy to participate, but I want to make sure you’re not doing it for the wrong reasons. If you’re making this offer to please me, don’t. If you’re doing this to prove that you’re better than David, don’t.
“I love you. I will always choose you over anyone else. I admitted that I was infatuated with David, but I don’t love him, and I never did. You and I are not together just because I sent David away. You’re not my consolation prize. You’re the best thing that ever happened to me. Is that clear?”
Want seized me in a tight embrace. He kissed my ear and spoke into it. “I love you too.” He said sweetly. “I’m doing this because I want to.” Walt stepped out of the hug but kept his arms loosely around my body. “I think it will be fun. Besides, you and David already had some sexy fun together. It’s time I had mine.
“The other reason is that tomorrow morning, David is getting on a train to go back to his wife. There is no chance of me or you getting attached because he won’t be around. I’m doing this for me, and for you, and for David. It’s obvious that he loves his wife and that he couldn’t imagine life without his children, but he’s got this one chance. I think we should show him a good time while he’s here. What do you think?”
“Sure.” I agreed. “Do you want to invite him, or should I?”
“You do it.” Walt suggested. “Maybe wait another hour, until the party settles down and people start to leave.”
