Little Did I Know: A Novel (36 page)

“You know what else the Bible says about envy?” I asked.

“Never read it nor been to church, so I doubt I do.” He said that more as confession than as fact, and I found it winning in its openness.

“Well, it says something like ‘many people are motivated to find success because they are envious of their neighbors and that such pursuits are meaningless and tantamount to chasing the wind.’ You get the drift.”

He got up, stretched, and looked out at the ocean. He appeared younger than when we’d first met. He spoke to Doobie across the empty tables, asking for the round of free drinks he’d called off earlier. He then sat back at the table and looked at me for a long while without saying a word. The drinks arrived, and still nothing.

Finally, he said, “What motivates you?”

“Not envy. That’s one thing I am sure of. I think I want to make a difference. Make people think about their lives, where they’re heading. Try to do the right thing. Make others laugh or escape from a bad day. Hit a homer. Be liked. ‘Seek my bliss’ like Joseph Campbell said.”

“Who’s he?”

“A writer, philosopher.”

“You’re a smart guy. Maybe that’s why so many people like you.”

“Hey, man, we’re all smart about different things. And I am not so certain these days that too many people are liking me. You think my life is easy? That’s irony for you. I thought yours was and built you up in my head as an asshole. Right now, my life is getting the better of me. I feel I’m like running a race and trying to finish with a stitch in my side. I’ll cross the ribbon, but the chances of getting home first are fading.”

He considered this for a moment then said, “You know who I think are the best-looking girls at your place?”

“They’re all gorgeous. But everyone has their favorites.”

“Ellie and Katherine.”

“Everyone thinks Ellie’s a beauty, but Kat’s a little tough for me.”

“How about you?” he asked.

“Slam dunk. Veronica.”

“You don’t know everything about Veronica.”

“I don’t know everything about anything.”

“You don’t know everything about Lizzy Barrows either.”

I nodded. “Pay the bill. We’ll grab ASK on the way out. I want to introduce you to the best-looking girl at PBT. It would be good for her to meet a nice guy like you. On the way, we can talk about Veronica.”

I expected it would take a lot more time to talk about Veronica than our short ride to the Moondog would allow. Unfortunately, I was correct. Gary had known Veronica her whole life, and as he shared some history and I connected the dots, it became unsettling. Tonight I had no time for questions. They would have to wait till another day; some privacy and discretion.

The blue neon sign of the Moondog was blinking uneasily.
Funny
, I thought as we entered the place,
blue and uneasy both match my mood
.

The last time I had visited this local hangout, it ended with Secunda clocking Gary Golden. Tonight I entered with an unexpected ally. The bar was packed. It was the height of the summer season; the people were all pretty available and wanting. There was expectation in the smoky air, and, although festive, the room radiated a certain unsettling heat. The music was charged and there was a whole lot of bump and grind going. It was also hot, sweaty humid, and close. The temperature added a touch of danger and edge to the vibe. Anything could happen.

We pushed our way through the dense crowd and ordered three beers. It was wonderful how many people greeted us. We were almost famous, and even ASK, who was only a secondary player in our shows, was given the VIP treatment. Free drinks and arm candy. For the first time in his life women were throwing themselves at him, but he was unavailable and uninterested.

Gary, ASK, and I talked about sports and girls, and he queried ASK on how it felt to be in a show, wondering where he found the courage to perform in front of strangers and what was the best part of the gig.

“Sharing a dressing room with all the dancers,” ASK replied.

Gary’s eyes widened. He now wanted to be an actor.

I grabbed us another round and began looking for Ellie, hoping this was one of her stops. It didn’t take long to discover her sitting at a table with several people, all strangers but one. I only wished they had remained unknown.

“Gary, Ellie is over at that corner table. Do you know any of the guys she’s with?”

On recognition of Ellie’s escorts, his mood darkened. “Fuck, she’s hanging with Johnny Colon. He’s a punk. Shit. Let’s just fix this now.”

He started pushing his way across the room. We were right behind him, which was a good thing, because it was clear that Colon was not happy with the pending interruption.

“Hey, El,” ASK said as if she had been expecting to see him. “Introduce us to your friends. Wow, this is a great place, first time here for me.” He thrust out his hand to one of the men at the table. “Hi, I’m Alan. I work with Ellie at the theater.”

Ellie seemed both embarrassed and pissed off. She tentatively made introductions to Colon, Jake Strong, and Tim Morgan.

What the fuck is she doing with these guys?
I wondered. They were too old for her and looked like they ran guns or dope or were paid to provide muscle. They obviously knew Gary, and their reaction to meeting us was monosyllabic. I made an effort to bring the energy back to positive with a big show of how nice it was to see Colon again, which was rebuffed by another terse response.

“Been calling you for two days now, August, and not a word back. Don’t keep a lot of friends that way.”

“Sorry, Johnny. Been crazy. But I was going to reach out tomorrow for sure, or if you like we could talk now.”

“I have a date right now, pal, and she’s had just enough to drink where she could be a whole lotta fun. Not a good time for me.”

The guy was a pig. I felt ashamed for Ellie and frightened by the explosive potential of the situation.

“Ellie, we have an early day tomorrow. Why don’t we all finish our drinks and get home by one? We’ll go settle up at the bar and come back in a few to get you home all right.”

“I’ll get her home when I’m good and ready,” Colon said. “I helped you out before, August. Don’t make me regret it now. I think you guys should blow. There are plenty of girls here for you to take home. I’m in charge of Ellie at night. She only works for you during the day.”

Ellie looked stunned. She was silent. She didn’t look any of us in the eye. She had clearly had more to drink than was appropriate with this crowd.

“Colon, I think we’ll come back in a while and take her home,” Gary said. He was firm yet avoided being confrontational.

“You won’t be doing shit,” Colon replied. “Now get out of my face.”

“We’re going to leave you guys alone to say good night,” ASK said, trying to defuse the tension. “We’ll be at the bar, El, whenever you’re ready.”

Colon had the energy of a wounded animal. He was a forty-year-old gym rat who had put on too much weight, yet still thought he was twenty-five and fit. I would have clocked him, but that would surely have lead to an ugly result. Our collective goal was to get Ellie out of this safely and deal with the fallout tomorrow.

“Hey, twit,” Colon said to ASK, “don’t ruin my night. In return I won’t fuck with yours. See ya.” He grabbed Ellie’s arm, turned her away from her friends, and pulled her into the corner behind their table into harm’s way.

The music that had sounded so festive when we arrived was now the soundtrack of a scary thriller. The rest of the Moondog crowd hadn’t noticed the skirmish and continued on with their merriment. I was at a loss as to how to proceed.

Gary leaned in close so I could hear him over the din of the nightclub. “I’ll give this ten minutes and then I’m taking Colon outside and you take Ellie home. You stay away from any shit. It will be all right. Just stay out of it.”

He pushed me toward the bar. He clearly knew this milieu better than I. Behind us, I could hear Colon and Ellie arguing. Then I heard him slap her and tell her harshly to shut the fuck up.
Stay out of it my ass
, I thought. I turned to go after him, but Gary blocked my way.

Colon was stroking Ellie’s hair and comforting her now. “Sorry, babe. Drink your drink and we’ll go have some fun.”

I was sick to my stomach.

Out of nowhere, she pushed him away and bolted for the front door. Colon took a moment to save face with his cronies and muttered, “Bitch” as he chased after her. He kicked the door wide open and headed after his “date.”

Both Gary and I pushed across the room and through the ass-to-ass crowd to follow. I saw that Colon’s cohorts were about to pack up and head outside. ASK, proving that dynamite comes in small packages, threw himself fearlessly in their way, and Gary and I moved out through the crowd to the parking lot. It was hot and the air was heavy.

Off to the side, we heard shouting from Colon and a frightened whimper from Ellie. We found them both next to his black Eldorado convertible. He held her hair and was pulling her roughly into the passenger side of the car. I was grateful that Officer Richardson had alerted me to what my friend had gotten herself into. I was unfazed by a potential brawl, but I was afraid of what this guy might do to Ellie.

Gary didn’t hesitate. He ran full tilt toward Colon and shouted, “Let her go, you fuck—” He leapt without finishing and kicked Colon squarely in the side of the head. Colon released Ellie to keep his balance and moved toward Gary. Wounded animals are dangerous, and he had a head start. Gary circled around to his right and hit Colon three times to the face with quick left jabs. I felt he could have knocked him out with a good right cross, but that didn’t seem part of Gary’s agenda.

He backed away after each jab to give Colon a chance to regroup, and then hit him again with a trio of jabs. He then started shouting obscenities and baiting Colon so he’d come looking for more. Gary beat him until about a sixth round when he released his right cross then he grabbed him at the same time so Colon couldn’t go down. He slapped him repeatedly across the face, then grabbed his hair and pulled him over to Ellie, who had not moved since Gary took over.

“Apologize to your date, you fucker.” Gary demanded. “Now, you prick!” He pulled Colon’s head up by his hair so he was looking at Ellie.

Colon looked at Ellie and said in a barely audible voice, “I’m sorry.”

“Now ask
us
to make sure she gets home safely,” Gary said venomously. Colon had no option but to acquiesce. Gary rabbit-punched him so viciously I was surprised Colon’s neck didn’t snap. Colon ate dirt and gravel and ceased to move.

ASK, who had watched the whole thing from just outside the entrance, jumped five feet in the air shouting, “Holy fucking shit!” Ellie ran into my arms, and with tears running down her face she allowed me to offer some comfort. Gary knelt down next to Colon and in a calm and scarily serene voice said, “This is the last time you ever see her. Get it, fuckface?” Without giving Colon a chance to answer, Gary kicked him in the groin for good measure, to make sure he understood.

He looked at Ellie and said, “If it’s possible, you are better looking crying than when you smile. Give me a minute to wash up and then I’m going to get you a milkshake and then home safe and sound. Milkshakes are the best thing for making a bad situation sweet.”

At that moment, the neon sign stopped blinking and all the letters went out except M O O. Maybe Gary was on to something with this milkshake idea. We would just have to wait and see.

“Moo,” I said to myself, and then followed with a final word to the unconscious Colon. “You know, you didn’t have to have a cow.”

I
began the morning with a call to my dad, filling him in on recent events. Talking them over with him alleviated much of my anxiety; speaking with my father always relaxed me. It was a good place to visit. He told me that he and my mother were going to arrive in two weeks to see the close of
Funny Girl
and stay through the opening of
Company
. They would be bringing my aunt and uncle as well.

Then I shared a problem with him that I couldn’t find a solution for, and I was running out of time. Zach Rush was playing the romantic lead in
Funny Girl
and needed to wear a top hat in a particular scene. To our shock and chagrin, Rush’s hat size was 8½. He wasn’t the Elephant Man; he just had a freakishly large head. Mary was unable to make a hat that big in the shop, and we had scoured Boston.

“You know what they say about guys with big heads?” my dad asked.

“Dunno, big brains?”

“How about guys with big feet?”

“Big dick.” I knew that one.

“Nope, big socks,” he said and laughed. We had played this routine many times.

“You’re an idiot, Dad.”

“Sammy, I’ll find the kid with the enormous head the top hat and get it shipped to you in time for your tech. Love you, sweetie.”

“Love you too, Dad. See you soon.”

The hat arrived on Friday morning, and fit perfectly.

I then called Officer Scott Richardson to report on the Ellie situation and thank him for his concerns. I also offered apologies incase I had been disrespectful, but before I could explain, he said he understood that I was in uncharted waters. He suggested that Ellie file a police report to keep it on record. I thanked him again and hung up.