Chapter 5

Tommy called eleven straight up.

“I’ll get it!!!!!!!!!”

She cut the corner, racing in from their bedroom. She was wearing those hundred dollar jeans and a gorgeous top I’d not seen before.

“You have to be out of your fuckin’ mind, Dale.” To-my-self.

“Sure, come ahead, Tommy. We’re waiting for you, sweetheart. Hurry, hurry, hurry, Tommy! I can’t wait to see you.”

She looked thru the portal twixt the two rooms. She pursed her made-up lips once in my direction.

Dropped the decibel and her face: “Yes, me too.”

That voice---in a whisper, a thousand times into the original Castleberry homestead phone line: 243-1723.

And then for a moment, I recalled the clicks of that trigger that I’d heard thru the report by girl reporter Girl.

The hairs on my arms stood up. As did the echo of that morning’s sunrise:

“I can’t be sure he’ll live if you don’t.”

The call had ended.

“What am I forgetting, Cully-boy? You look so sweet, darling.”

“Thank you.” I did look good.

“Don’t forget, Cully, to thank Tommy for your presents.”

“I won’t forget.”

Honestly, I could not wait to get on that patio by myself, break the seal on that cigar box and fire up my first Black Watch. Girl had assured me that Tommy did not smoke.

“I’m so nervous, Cully.”

“You look gorgeous, angel. Oh, and just some advice, Girl: When he gets here, don’t run out the door. Let him get into the house and wait till the door is closed behind him before you embrace him. Please, Girl. Our life is not a neighbor’s business. What goes on in our home is our business. They can believe whatever they want, but don’t throw it in their faces. Okay, baby?”

“Because Tommy is black, right?”

“That and because you’re a married woman. White, or black, we have to bear that reality.”

“You know what?”

“What?”

“Tommy told me the same darn thing last night on the phone.”

What’d Tommy do as soon as he got inside the door? Closed it behind him and lifted Girl into the air. Her squealing to beat the band.

“Honey, we were just kidding you.”

We’d not had a handful of people in that mobile home since we’d moved in. To have as large a man, a black man no less standing in it was shock-blast.

“Culburn? Haven’t seen you since, well, since forever, but, I am so grateful to be here with you and the missus.”

We grasped hands in the traditional power shake of the circa.

“I mean it, man, I’ll never be able to thank you enough for that night and well, I.” Tommy choked up.

Girl interceded.

“It’s okay, sweetheart.”

Girl grasped his hands in hers and tried to comfort the man. I was a bit rattled but held still. She saved the moment.

“Cully, can you retrieve Tommy’s bags from his Jeep? I’ll show him around, okay?”

It sounded good. Tommy going back out there in broad daylight and hauling his stuff back in was only slightly worse than me doing it.

“Got it, Girl.” “Thank you, Culburn.” He patted my shoulder as I went past him and thru the door, pulling it to as I stepped outside.

It sounds ridiculous, but I felt like every eye in that trailer park was on me. Our trailer sat at the end and was arranged side-to-side, not in and out. We were broadside to the opposite side of the street.

By the looks of the Jeep, Tommy was planning for a long siege. Two large cardboard boxes and three suitcases. She’d said he’d be keeping his apartment:

“You know, just in case, Cully.”

I left Tommy’s belongings twixt the washer and dryer, fit right in there, then retreated to the living room and took station in my chair.

I figured they wouldn’t do it right off, and I was correct. Girl was talking a mile a minute down there, laughing adorably. Tommy was laughing along with her.

“They’re probably laughing at you.”

“Probably,” I answered.

“Tommy, look, your stuff! I’ll help you unpack, and we’ll hang your uniforms so that they don’t get wrinkled. I have a great iron just in case.”

Then she lowered her voice.

“I’ll go down and thank Cully, see if he’s okay.”

Girl bounded on in and nearly missed me as she was headed for the back bedroom.

“Oh, there you are! Thank you, darling, for unloading that. Did you get everything?”

“Yep, I checked it.”

She hopped into my lap.

“Are you okay? Tommy won’t come down here. You won’t go down there. You’re both so cute. That’s okay though, we have lots of time to get acquainted. Rome was not built in a day. We’re going to put all his clothes away and his gear, organize his uniforms and whatnot. Then he and I will fix lunch, well, a late lunch. Then we’ll relax this evening, okay?”

She was all lit up.

Lowered her voice:

“He said he had a bit of a bad night, without me to watch over him, Cully.” Like I was to blame. I’d told her to let him come over last night.

“He feels better now, right?”

“Oh, yeah, he’s heartened.”

“Why does he call me Culburn?”

“Does it bother you? I could make him stop.”

“No, no, don’t mention it to him. I was just wondering.”

“Cully, he’s trying to be respectful and kind. He wants to be accepted. He needs us, both of us. He’s made his cry for help, and we’ve answered that call. Now we have to see it on thru, both of us.”

She looked right into my eyes:

“You’re okay, right? I’m counting on you, but if there’s a problem, I need to know so that we can get that baby ironed out, pronto, uh, Tonto.”

“I’m fine. I’m going to duck out for a bit and have a cigar if you think that would be okay.”

“Sure, go ahead, we’re going be a while organizing the bedroom. And you can drop by anytime, sweetheart. Remember, no closed doors.”

That was the one hard and fast rule so far. [No closed doors.] Even bathroom doors.

“If we see a closed-door, it will stunt our growth as the nucleus, remember Cully? It will have a negative connotation. We’re not going to be doing anything behind a closed door that can’t be displayed in an open setting, even going to the bathroom. We’re going to be intimate with and around one each other we can certainly pee in front of one another.”

“Boy, to prove my point, I’m going down there right now, lower my jeans and knickers and pee with the door open. You enjoy your cigar, boy. Now, hug my neck and kiss me, I’m off to settle our Tommy-boy, Cully-boy.”

The “late lunch” finally turned into dinner take-out.

“Cully, I’m so sorry, it’s just taken a lot longer getting Tommy’s belongings put away and that bedroom in an organized state.”

I was out on the patio, smoking my second Black Watch.

“It’d be a great favor if you’d perhaps go for some take out. Would that be okay? We’d finish up, then all sit down together. We’ve been snacking on some popcorn, but we all need a warm meal.”

I-was-miffed. For I sensed a wild goose chase so they could, well, fornicate in my absence.

She slid the patio door closed behind her.

“What’s wrong, hon?”

“You’re not trying to get rid of me on the first night, are you, Girl?”

“Cullyyyyyyy, noooooo! Oh, that’s why you’re upset.”

“And I’m starving and promised a home-cooked meal.” To-my-self.

Rule #2: They did the cooking and baking. I did the housework, all of it.

Rule #1: No closed doors. Rule #2: as stated above.

“We just want to get the bedroom and bathroom squared away from the start, so it’s comfortable, and so Tommy feels at home.”

She lowered her voice.

“Tommy brought a lot of stuff, bless his heart. But, Cully, no way. There is no sneaking around like that. Uh, uh. We just haven’t had time to lay all the groundwork and rules down, but, you know he just got here and, let’s face it, I wasn’t exactly sure he’d show up for positive, or that you wouldn’t change your mind at the last minute and call the whole thing off. We need to sit down, all of us, and agree on how those relations will occur. I’ll chair that meeting if you’d like, no problem. I know it will be difficult for you guys, but once we sit down, we’ll get it done. But, until that takes place, there is going to be no behind your back hanky panky, that I promise you. Hey, I swear to God.”

She sat down in her lounge chair. Which reminded me I’d need to fetch a third out of the shed sometime tomorrow.

She took my hand.

“But we haven’t been chaste. We have kissed some, numerous times in truth, and hugged the same amount, numerous times. Honey, Tommy needs to be hugged. And touched, not in a sexual way, no, but, in a kind and loving way, the human touch is vital for a person’s mental and physical well being.”

“Bend over. I’ll fuckin’ human touch ya.” To-my-self.

“He’s moving into a strange home with the husband of the girl he’s having a relationship with, in the husband’s bedroom, in that husband’s bed!”

I wasn’t positive at that instant, but Girl could bust a ball with a poker face at the most diabolical of instances.

“Yeah, I know that. It was my bed.” To-my-self.

“Put yourself in his place. He is nervous-he is scared. He’s less than a week past from the most traumatic event of his life. So, I have taken the liberty of hugging and kissing him, but, I thought, I believed that would be fine with you. And I’m excited to have him here, sure, I want to kiss him, he’s such a sweetheart, but that’s as far it goes till we have our little sit-down and discussion. Is that okay, Cul?”

“Yes, that’s fine, Girl. I overreacted. And you’re right, Tommy needs affection and lots of it. You’re right on that, Girl. Bless-your-heart.”

“You do recall them going at it asses and elbows over at his place, don’t you?” To-my-self.

“But, that’s different, and you know it. To-my-self.

“Debatable.” To-my-self.

“Thank you, Cully. Now, I’d better scoot back in there. He may wonder what became of me. I put his buns to work, by Godfrey Cambridge. He’s so happy, Cully. Oh, and he’s put some money in the house money can (empty coffee can where we put a few dollars to cover light expenses). He insists on pulling his weight. Isn’t that sweet?”

“[By Godfrey Cambridge]? What the...” To-my-self.

Though the (money) perked me up considerably and at once, I was going to inquire as to his pitching in on the monthly house payment sooner than later, but I knew that was not going to happen.

“Cully, noooooo.” She’d say.

“We can’t take his money like that. It’s costing us no more with him here as not. No, Cully. No.”

I was just grateful to get the stipend in that can. I made a mental notation to check that can first chance. Tommy gave great presents, chances were he’d do likewise on the can.

“So, take the money out of there for the food and just get whatever strikes your fancy. We’ll keep nibbling’ on the popcorn till you get back. And no hurry, I’m going to brew us a nice pot of tea as soon as you leave and talk to Tommy a bit at the kitchen table. Settle him down for the evening so he has a good night’s slumber. As I said, there will be no hanky and no panky.”

Whatever Girl talked to him about? It-did-not-work.

A weight had been lifted. And admittedly, a bit of disappointment lodged at the same juncture, as I’d a been angered and put upon had they’d done said hanky and panky in my absence---I’d have also been sexually charged, even supercharged. I knew that at once, without a shadow of a doubt. It was a balancing act that initiated that evening and one I have endured thru the following decades; one-after-another.

I was thrilled to find over $400 in that coffee can! Plus, our nineteen dollars seed money. I wanted to take the entire wad but resisted that urge taking it back out of my pants pocket and returning it to the coffee can. I took two twenties and tempted to count the whole thing out and write it down to keep tabs knowing that Girl would be rooting thru it with her ass scratchers and helping herself to the proceeds, but I did not want to get caught counting that damn thing in front of her, or, especially him! I made another mental note to count it late that night when everyone was asleep, and no hanky, and certainly no panky would be afoot. And as it turned out, there would be no hanky nor panky that night. There’d be much more serious issues to address.

I was so thrilled about the four hundred plus clams that I peeked in and found Tommy storing items under what used to be my bed.

“Tommy, thank you, for the funds, guy. I appreciate it. Where’s Girl?”

He pointed into the bathroom.

“You are most welcome, Culburn. The least I can do. Hey, that girl is a slave driver. I haven’t worked this hard in a long time, Culburn.” All smiles.

“Here I am.” She was back on the pot, door wide open.

“I had to take another pee, but the door is open. Tommy took a leak as well. And I watched him. It’s my right!”

“I’ll be back---with the grub.”

“Culburn, give my Jeep a try. You’ll love it. The keys are on the kitchen table.” Tommy ducked back under the bed.

“Thanks, Tommy. I will indeed.”

I’d always wanted to drive one of those damn things. Everyone driving around in them, Lording it over everybody. Now I’d do so some Lordin’.

“Cully, be careful. No speeding! You shouldn’t a done that, To...”

Got out there, fired his Jeep up, And it suddenly dawned on me what he’d said about Girl working him: “Hey, that girl is a slave driver.”

Tommy Gentile was chock full of surprises.

[Arthur Treacher’s Fish & Chips] Got the full spread. Rarely did Girl and I splurge for Treacher’s, but, with Tommy coming through as he had, it was no problem.

Tommy regaled us with tales of the police, mostly up north when his beat was Ames Avenue, as we worked thru the Fish and the Chips and the battered hot dogs I so loved. He could tell a story by God. It’s a knack, one I haven’t got, but Tommy held, even to a case that turned out to be close to home:

“Had one, Girl, not too long ago in Pap.” (He’d go short for Papillion).

“At night, real late.”

Girl was listening in rapt attention. Her father? Forget it. He would try and tell the stories of his Cleveland PD work, and it would always be a bitter disappointment. Made your ass want to eat your britches listening to him. Ugh.

“A dangerous moment, Culburn. I lit him up, pulled him over. Guy and his missus, busting 115.”

“Cully, that’s you!!!” Girl laughing and pointing to beat the band.

Tommy got me. Girl hopped up and hugged his neck.

“You are so cute!”

Girl had fallen for him. And vice versa. To watch them interact over that table that first night was both alarming and well, beautiful. The alarm was bound to trigger. But, the beauty, the satisfaction outweighed alarm. They talked to one another like old friends, even though our age difference was considerable. Girl was a puzzle. She had multiple sides. She could work whether at the house or the office with such dedication to quality. Then in the next setting, be a muse of sorts or a spoiled child and an interminable cock tease. She was like that when I hit her with that snowball in Junior High and had changed very little in the interim.

I’d just made a pot of tea when the phone went off.

Girl grabbed it off the wall.

“Hello.”

“Yes.”

“Yes, sir.” Girl pointed at Tommy.

“Of course, sir, Sergeant Gentile is sitting right here.”

“Oh, yes, sir, it is Girl. Oh, I’m fine, we’re having tea and well, here’s Tommy, I mean Sergeant Gentile.”

“What the...” To-my-self.

She placed the flat of her hand over the mouthpiece.

“Tommy, it’s your Captain, honey.” In a whisper.

“Good evening, Captain.”

“Of course I can, sir. Not a problem whatsoever.”

“Well, yes, I’m sure they would be most interested. Very kind of you, Captain.”

Girl’s brow furrowed at once.

“No, sir, no. Thank you for thinking of me. Yes, sir. No problem. Good night, Captain.”

Girl took the phone from Tommy and replaced it on the wall.

“Tommy, what? I don’t want you to go. It’s our special time now. Don’t go, Tommy. Make him stay, Cully.”

“No, Girl, listen. Ssshhh.”

She’d already started vibrating in place. Tommy would have to hustle, or she’d start crying.

“Remember, you were going to take me shopping first thing in the morning.”

“Honey, listen: I have good news and even better news. I have to pull a shift tomorrow evening, yes. And the better news? Who’s up for a drive-along?”

“What is that, Tommy?”

I knew, but I let the cop tell her. It was Tommy’s news. They were both so happy I thought he was going to pick her up again, but they settled for a hug.

“Wow, I don’t believe it. Do I get to sit in the front seat with you, Tommy? Cully, you’ll sit in the back. Right, Tommy?”

I thought of the last time she’d sat in the front seat in a police cruiser with him, but I kept my mouth shut tight. That would dawn on them sooner or later.

He sat as she immediately hopped into his lap.

“No, you’ll both be in the back seat, and if something should go down, I’d put you out and continue. Back-up would be along shortly, or, I’d return.”

“No, I don’t like the sound of that, Tommy. Just take the easy calls, that way, you don’t have to put us out, and we can all stay together.”

Girl was way ahead of everybody.

I played it cool because big mouth Girl played it large. She worked him over as to the merits of the drive-along and her quest for front-seat privileges. I steeped the tea, set out the cookies, and watched not them, but over them. I’d interject once-in-awhile, but I just liked to, well watch.

And it was amazing how we’d become so comfortable around one another so rapidly. I thought nothing of the fact that Girl perched on his lap like that. It seemed so natural, even though the sight was striking. There was a beauty there, the contrast in color and size? Yes, but there was more. It would take time, and we had that time. Time to look at them, consider them, and make umpteen appraisals, judgments, and decisions, nearly all to-my-self. Tommy had set me at ease. There was no act with Tommy, but honesty that was graveling. He was a regular “Joe.” More like an extraordinary “Joe.” Yes, that was it. I secretly admired him right out of the box. He was an accomplished man, no denying that.