First Class Stamp (6 page)

Ben chuckled. “Yep. Send him up.”

He opened the door the second the doorbell rang. “Come in,”
he grinned. “Do you not actually have a phone?”

“You know, grandpa is always going on and on about us kids
always have our heads down looking at computers and smart phones and that we’re
losing the art of conversation. So I thought I’d just stop by.”

Ben couldn’t help but give the kid props. “So what brings
you here?”

“Mom says you want to take me to another game. I’m glad that
I didn’t annoy you. Sometimes my dad tells me I can be annoying. But it’d be
awesome to go again.”

“It would be awesome,” Ben replied. “And you are not
annoying. Far from it. So when do you wanna go? Did you look at the schedule?”

“Course! I’m thinking this Wednesday. The game against
Philly. That’s gonna be a nail biter I think.”

“’K,” Ben nodded. “Wednesday it is.”

Over the next two weeks, Ben took Alex to three baseball
games. His wardrobe increased by three t-shirts and a jacket too. Alex had also
shown up at Ben’s apartment a couple of times now…all under the pretense of
thanking him for taking him to the games. Surprisingly to Ben, he didn’t mind
in the least.

The last time he’d rang the doorbell, Ben was just about to
go grab something to eat. He’d thought about just calling and having some
Chinese delivered, but he’d been stuck in meetings all day and wanted to get
out and walk. After all, he lived in the perfect city for walking to dinner.
He’d invited Alex to go with him and, after he’d run back and checked with his
mom, they went to a diner and ate breakfast for dinner.

Now, as Ben ordered Thai from one of his favorite
restaurants, he added several extra items…just in case he had company. Thirty
minutes later the food arrived and still no Alex. As it was a Friday night, and
Alex had shown up the last two Friday nights, Ben began to wonder if he was
okay. Instead of sitting down, turning on a game and eating, he rode the elevator
down to the lobby, exited the high-rise and crossed the street to Aldo’s
Market.

“Is Alex okay?” he asked Aldo as he strode to the counter.

“Sure he is…I think. Why?”

“Oh, no reason,” Ben shrugged, feeling really stupid.
What
was I thinking?

“He’s with his dad this weekend,” Aldo added. “Left a couple
of hours ago. Should be back on Sunday evening. At least he’d better be. School
starts Monday.”

Ben sighed and turned to leave when he heard Sophia call out
to her father. “Dad? Do you want something to eat?” She came to a halt when she
saw Ben.

“Nah,” Aldo replied. “I had all that leftover ravioli at
lunch. I’ll just grab some toast or something after I close up. Whatcha
making?”

“Haven’t made anything. Mom just had some soup so I figured
I’d just make something for you and me,” Sophia said trying not to look in
Ben’s direction.

“You know,” Ben said, “I just had some Thai delivered and
there’s more than enough to share. You’re welcome to come eat with me.”

“What are you doing here then?” Sophia asked, her voice
laced with suspicion.

“Um…well…just to grab some beer,” he stuttered. “Root beer,”
he added. He didn’t want her thinking he sat alone and drank beer. That would
be pathetic even if it was true. He swung around and ran back to the cooler,
yanked the glass door open and grabbed four bottles of Barq’s. He ran back to
the counter and placed them on the counter with a thud. One fell, rolled to
edge and fell on the floor.

“I wouldn’t open that any time soon,” Aldo chuckled. He
turned to Sophia. “I’ll see you later then. Go on.” He looked at Ben and nodded
his head in the direction of the door.

“Great!” smiled Ben. “I’ll lead the way.” He didn’t see the
scathing look she sent her father. Aldo just chuckled.

Sophia was immediately intimidated by her surroundings as
she entered Ben’s apartment. This was the residence of a man who knew extreme
wealth intimately. “Wow,” she whispered.

Sleek, modern yet comfortable and tasteful was the
description she formed in her head. Spacious and expensive was the next byline.
The massive windows in front of her allowed an amazing view of the Brooklyn
Bridge and in just a couple of hours, she was sure, the image would be lit up
and stunning.

“Make yourself at home,” Ben smiled as he ushered her inside
and closed the door behind them. He led her to the dining table, glass and
massive, and pulled out a chair for her. “I’ll get plates and napkins,” he said
as he placed the grocery sack on the table next to her.

The rustling of the plastic broke the mesmerizing spell of
sophistication and Sophia watched Ben walk away. She opened the bag and pulled
a couple of bottles of root beer out and placed them on the table. He returned
with placemats, napkins and a fork and quickly set the table for dinner. The
brown paper bag, with the order ticket still stapled to the outside was sitting
on the massive island that separated the dining area from the kitchen. Ben
grabbed it and began emptying the boxes of food before her.

She didn’t hear him tell her what was in each of the boxes.
She was still taking in her surroundings. There was a show on television years
ago called ‘Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous’ and Sophia knew this apartment
would definitely fit the qualifications to be a featured segment.

“Sophia?” Ben said again.

“Hmm?”

Ben was holding a box for her to scoop some noodles onto her
plate. “Sorry,” she smiled.

“Fork or chopsticks?”

“Fork,” she answered. “Please.”

“I always eat with chopsticks, even though whenever I’ve
been in Thailand I’ve never been given them to use. They have these big spoon
things…nothing like chopsticks at all.”

By the time Sophia had taken a scoop of each of the boxes,
her plate was full. She had no idea how she was going to finish it but it
smelled divine so she began on the right side and worked her way left. Chicken,
shrimp, tofu, noodles, rice, spice, heat, vegetables. It was all in front of
her and all delicious.

They chatted away about the Yankees mainly, and how much
Alex loved them and how happy he was that he’d gotten to see a couple of games,
sitting in a box right behind home plate.

“It’s my brother’s box,” Ben shrugged. “He said it was after
he’d secured that box for a season that he knew he’d never have to worry about
money again. I was still in college and didn’t get it. I had no clue what life
was all about back then and just enjoyed going to the games.”

“Just like Alex,” she nodded.

“Yeah,” he grinned. “Just like Alex. It isn’t lost on me
that I have the opportunity to do some good.”

The statement hit Sophia like she’d just been punched in the
gut. “We are nobody’s charity case,” she snarled and put her fork down.

“No! No!” Ben exclaimed. “That’s not what I meant. Not at
all.” He was desperate to make her understand. “Alex is a great kid and I enjoy
going to games with him, but I’ve never thought of it as charity. It never even
entered my mind. Really. You have no idea how much joy it gave me watching him
have fun at the game. I guess I take it for granted that I can go to a game
whenever I want to. He’s reminded me how very fortunate I am. What I was
talking about was donating the box for a couple of games a year to the Big
Brothers program so that some kids who would enjoy it can go. Alex is the one
who reminded me that boys and baseball go together like…like root beer and ice
cream,” he grinned as he lifted the bottle in front of him and took a swig.

“Oh,” Sophia said, picking up her fork again. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Ben smiled. “Don’t be upset.”
Why the hell
do I care if she’s upset?

When their plates were empty, Sophia shocked that she’d
eaten everything off hers, she helped Ben clean up and then she said thank you
and goodbye.

“You don’t think I’m letting you walk home in the dark alone,
do you?”

She was shocked. “It’s just across the street. I think I’ll
be fine.”

“Well of course you will cuz I’ll make sure of it,” and he
followed her out the front door and down the hall to the elevator.

“You really don’t have to,” Sophia protested.

“What did you tell Alex fifty times before we went to the
Red Sox game? Stay close to Ben. Don’t leave Ben. I’m just affording the same
protection for his mother,” he grinned.
How can she argue with that?
he
thought smugly.
Why do I even care?
the thought shot right back.

As promised, Ben saw her to the safety of the rear entrance
to the store. She unlocked the door, said goodnight, opened the door, went
inside and closed it behind her. Ben could hear the locks clicking as he turned
and headed home.

*****

Maria left the management suite at Crystal Towers and
punched in the alarm code as she pulled the heavy wooden door shut. Waiting for
the elevator she gazed through the lobby and down the street. The protestors
were getting close. Most of the American companies had now broken their leases
and vacated the building. She figured by the end of the month, if the
demonstrations continued, they’d have less than a quarter of the building
rented. Then New York would have to make a decision whether or not to keep her
on. She was paid a handsome salary, but that was to manage a full building. Sane
business owners like the Lathem brothers would not be wasting money on her
salary for twenty-five percent occupancy.

Slipping into the driver’s seat of her car, Maria drove out
of the parking lot and turned left. She’d only gone maybe a couple of hundred
yards when out of nowhere a brick came hurtling toward her. She swerved the car
to the left and the brick made contact on the rear passenger window, shattering
it completely. How she managed, she wasn’t quite sure, but Maria was able to
make a U-turn and speed away before any more flying objects made direct hits.
Shaking most of the way home, she held herself together until she turned into
her driveway and cut the engine. Then, and only then, did she lose it.

The tears flowed and she cried aloud, and when her allotted
two minutes was up, she pulled herself together, gathered her things, climbed
from the car and went into her house. They would not get the better of her.
They would not scare her. She had a job to do and she
would
do it.

The next morning, before Luca awoke, Maria took the dustpan
and a paper bag and attempted to clean up all the glass that was scattered
throughout the car. Then she found some plastic and some duct tape and taped up
the window. It wasn’t pretty but it would have to do until Monday and she could
get someone to fix it. She didn’t have a lot of extra cash, as half of
everything she earned went into a savings account for Luca’s college in the
United States. But she obviously had to get it fixed. Now she just needed a
small white lie to tell Luca when he asked what happened to the window.

*****

Matt had been more than happy to offer the box suite at
Yankee Stadium to Big Brothers for a game or two. In fact, he got together with
a few of his CEO buddies and talked to the Yankees front office about getting a
suite for the entire next season for the purpose of letting non-profit agencies
that worked with underprivileged, at risk, and disabled youth use it for the
benefit of the children they served. Ben took a little pride in being the
catalyst for such a worthy venture. Ben also took Alex to a couple more games
and for one of them they convinced Aldo to come with them. They all had a great
time.

Since Alex was back in school now, his evening trips over to
say hi had come to a halt. In some ways, Ben kind of missed them and found
himself walking over to the store to buy stupid stuff, like peanut butter
chocolates and salt. Most of the time it was just Aldo in the store, but
occasionally Alex was there and sometimes even Sophia.

Ben was also getting ready for the first ever conference for
the upper management teams of MEL Holdings. It had been Mark’s idea to pull the
heads of the teams from around the world into one place for four days and give
them specialized training in management, team building and leadership. Matt
wasn’t overly thrilled with the idea, but Ben had been all for it, seeing as
though his executive team were the ones who worked with these people on a daily
basis. Reservations at the hotel had been made and the travel department had
reserved all the plane tickets. One more week and everyone would converge on
New York City for the inaugural annual event.

When Ben checked his mail as he entered his apartment
building he was happy to see a letter from Luca. It always brightened his day
to find the hand-written envelope in his box. Once upstairs, changed from a
suit to shorts and a t-shirt, he ripped it open and began reading.

Hello Ben,
I made the soccer team. I was very excited because I didn’t think I’d make it,
but I did. Mama is proud of me and said I am the best player on the team but she
doesn’t know because we are still only practicing. Our first game isn’t for a
few weeks. It will be after we get back from America. I am very excited to come
and I think mama is too. She says that we will see the Statue of Liberty and I
told her that you would take me to a Yankees game. My friends here don’t
believe that I am going even though I told them I was.

Mama had to put
two new windows in the car. She said that she accidently got too close to the
ticket box in the parking garage. She must be a very bad driver because the
ticket boxes are on the driver’s side and the broken windows were on the other
side.

I will see you
soon in America. I’m glad I will get to see you because I don’t remember what
you look like.  

Goodbye,
Luca

As Ben folded the letter a deep concern for Maria’s safety
almost drowned him. He sat down with his laptop and sent her an email telling
her to stay away from Crystal Towers and to tell all her employees to do the
same. On Monday, he would have to decide what to do.