Chapter 41

Standing outside the church, Jerry held hands with Jenny while they waited for his parents to arrive. It had been more than eighteen years since he had talked to them and he was dreading the moment. The last time he had seen them was a few weeks after he had graduated high school. After a huge fight with his father, Jerry had left home and cut all ties to his parents. He hadn’t even invited them to his first wedding.

Smiling over at Jerry, Jenny could see the tension in his expression. In a soft voice, she said, “Don’t be so worried.”

“You don’t know them the way that I do,” growled Jerry. Once his father had decided that Jerry was never going to stop fighting in school, he had given up on his son. They started fighting and the fights often got very heated. Jerry hadn’t hit him, but had come very close on a number of occasions. His father, a much smaller man than he, hadn’t had the same degree of restraint.

He glanced at his watch and wondered if they were going to show up. A car pulled up to the parking lot of the church and an elderly couple got out. Jerry glanced at them and turned back to look for his parents. Jenny squeezed his hand and said, “Jerry, I think that might be them.”

Jerry looked around, but didn’t see anyone except the elderly couple. He looked at them a second time. His stomach fluttered when he realized the old man and woman were his parents. Somehow, he had remembered his father as being much bigger than the man now approaching him was. His mother had been a vibrant woman and the gray haired woman on his father’s arm barely resembled the mother he remembered. Unable to help himself, he said, “My God, they’re old.”

His comment brought a smile to Jenny’s face. She knew that he had been dreading this moment ever since she told him about having sent them an invitation to the wedding. With a light caress of his hand, she said, “Let’s go meet them.”

Shocked at how small and frail his father looked, Jerry numbly walked to meet them halfway on their trek to the front door of the church. He stopped a few steps away and said, “Hello, Mom. Hello, Dad.”

His mother, glowing with happiness at seeing her son once again, immediately stepped to Jerry and hugged him. She stepped back, holding him at arm’s length and said, “It’s so good to see you again.”

Carl Smith looked at his son unable to believe that he was so large. Seeing Jerry reminded him of his father who had been just as big. The memories invoked were not entirely positive and he looked at his son with trepidation. With greater calm in his voice than he felt, Carl said, “Hello, Jerry.”

Turning to Jenny, Jerry said, “Mom. Dad. I’d like you to meet Jenny. Jenny these are my parents, Carl and Alice Smith.”

Smiling at the parents of the man she was about to marry, Jenny wanted to make a good impression. Nervous, she said, “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Alice turned to look at Jenny with a very large smile. She knew who was responsible for the invitation to the wedding. She went over and hugged the younger woman. Her voice cracked as she said, “Oh, you’re such a lovely young woman.”

As Alice and Jenny talked in soft voices, Carl and Jerry remained facing each other without moving an inch. Neither man spoke as they each sized up the other. Painful memories writhed in each man’s mind, forcing them to relive past tensions, fights, and words that should never have been said. Finally, one memory forced its way to Jerry’s attention. After taking a deep breath, he said, “My son and I go fishing occasionally. It reminds me of when you and I used to fish.”

His father faltered at the statement and then realized a key piece of information had been given him. Frowning in uncertainty that he had understood Jerry correctly, he asked, “I have a grandson?”

“And a granddaughter,” answered Jerry. “They are waiting inside the church to meet you.”

His father turned to Alice and, with real excitement in his voice, said, “Did you hear that? We have grandkids.”

“Really?” asked Alice with surprise.

Proud of the children as if they were hers, Jenny answered, “Yes. They are such great kids. I know you’re going to love them as much as I do. Bill is a strapping young man. I’m sure that he’ll grow up to be as big as his father is. Melissa is an attractive young woman.”

Relaxing a little, Jerry said, “Come in and meet them. They’re anxious to meet you.”

Inside the church, Bill and Melissa waited with trepidation. Both of the children were nervous about meeting their grandparents for the first time. Bill wondered if his new grandmother would be like his first grandmother. Nervous, Bill asked, “Are you ready to meet them?”

“How’s my hair look?” asked Melissa worried about making a good first impression.

After a slight pause, a grinning Bill answered, “It’s a perfect mess. Looks like you stuck your finger in a wall socket. All frizzed up and everything.”

Her hands flew to her hair to check it out. Frowning as she considered the cheerful timbre in his answer, Melissa looked at him and saw his smile. She ran her fingers through her hair trying to assure herself that her hair was in place.

She charged, “You’re kidding me, aren’t you?”

“You bet,” answered Bill with an unrepentant grin.

“You’ve been around Abe too much,” answered his sister with a roll of her eyes.

The opening of the door cut off his laughter. Together the kids stood to face the door. An elderly couple stepped through the door followed by Jenny and then Jerry. The children shifted nervously from one foot to the other as they studied their grandparents. They didn’t know what to say.

Jerry said, “Kids, I want you to meet your grandparents. This is my mother, Alice, and my father, Carl. Mom and Dad, these are your grandchildren, Melissa and Bill.”

Carl stepped forward and looked over Bill with a nod. Judging by the size of the young man, he wondered if he was just as much of a troublemaker as Jerry had been at that age. In a near whisper, he said, “You’re big like your father.”

“Yeah, I know,” said Bill looking over at his father with a grin. The idea of growing up as big and strong as his father was a source of pride, not dread, for the young man. Together, the two of them had come to accept their size. He flexed his arms to look even bigger without noticing the frown that flashed across his grandfather’s face.

There was a low rumbling noise from inside the chapel. After a moment, Henry’s laughter echoed through the vestibule. He stuck his head out the door and said, “Hey you guys, the preacher says it is time for the rehearsal.”

“We’re still waiting for Jenny’s parents to show up. Can’t have the rehearsal without her father to practice walking down the aisle with her,” replied Jerry with a grin.

Nodding his head, Henry asked, “Will I have to practice holding you up through the ceremony?”

“Probably,” replied Jerry. The laughter of the two big men echoed in the small room. Still laughing, Henry went back into the chapel to let the Reverend know that they had to wait a little longer.

Eyebrows raised in shock at the size of the big man, Carl wondered if Henry worked at the church or if he was a friend. He asked, “Who’s that?”

Gesturing in the direction of the chapel, Jerry answered, “Ah, that’s Henry. The little fella is my best friend and is the best man in our wedding.”

“He’s your best man?” asked Carl wondering if all of Jerry’s friends were that big. He had accepted a long time ago that his son was a violent man. It had been his hope that Jerry would change when he grew older, but after seeing Henry, he had a very good idea of what his son was doing for a living. All he knew was that it would scare the hell out of him if both of those guys were to show up at his house late at night.

“Yeah, we have a little business together,” said Jerry.

As far as Carl was concerned, that clinched it. There was no doubt in his mind that they were in the business of roughing up people. He glanced over at his wife to see if she was ready to leave.

Carl turned in time to see Jenny’s mother and father enter the church. The man was almost as big as Jerry and despite his age, looked as if he could tow a car without a truck. He decided the man had to be the ringleader of the gang with Jerry and Henry as the enforcers. He shook his head in disgust.

When her parents entered the room, an excited Jenny ran over to great them. She threw herself at her father. The man picked her up and spun her in the air with relative ease. She shouted, “Oh, Daddy. It’s so good to see you again. I want you to meet my fiancée.”

The fact that Jenny was going to introduce Jerry to her father puzzled Carl. He watched in confusion as the introductions were made. From the way that everyone acted, it was clear that Jerry had never met his future father-in-law prior to that day.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Coltrain.”

“Call me Tom, Jerry,” replied the big man in a friendly voice. He was impressed with the size of the man standing across from him. His little girl had always brought home big men, but Jerry had to be the biggest of them all. He was also a little older than he had expected.

Jenny’s mother said, “You can call me Sherry.”

“All right, Tom, Sherry” said Jerry liking the big guy immediately. He hadn’t really believed Jenny when she had said that her father was a big man. He gestured to his mother and father performed the introductions.

Carl shuffled forward half-afraid of shaking hands with the man. He figured that the guy would crush his hand. The firm handshake was a surprise in the sense that it wasn’t overly strong. He mumbled, “Nice to meet you.”

Tom compared the two men standing before him and wondered how Jerry could be the son of such an average sized man. He turned to Jerry and said, “So you’re marrying my little girl.”

“Yes, Sir,” answered Jerry. “I’m still trying to figure out why she agreed to it. She’s the most beautiful woman that I’ve ever seen. She’s got a gentle soul and a caring nature. And smart. She’s the smartest person I’ve ever met. Yep, it’s a real mystery to me why she’s marrying me.”

Pushing against him with little effect, Jenny said, “Ah, come on. Aren’t we supposed to be practicing getting married?”

Bill was about to pipe up with a comment about them already practicing the honeymoon, but Melissa hit him in the shoulder before he was able to say a word. He’d already made that joke too many times for it to be funny anymore.

Jerry said, “Mom and Dad, the kids wanted a chance to get to know you. I hope you don’t mind.”

Giving her son a big smile, Alice replied, “That would be lovely.”

Before going into the chapel with Jenny and her parents, Jerry suggested, “Why don’t you go somewhere with the kids and talk with them in private while we are practicing? We can meet up at the buffet for the recital dinner at seven.”

“Sounds like a plan,” replied Carl. He figured that with the kids away from their father, he’d find out the truth about his son. So far, he was convinced that his son was some sort of enforcer for a crime family.

Brightening at the idea of going somewhere, Melissa suggested, “Why don’t we go to our big house?”

“Your big house?” asked Alice.

“Yeah. We’ve got two houses. The big house and then the house in the slums,” answered Bill.

“The slums?” asked Carl wondering what they were talking about.

“Well, that was the house that Dad moved into when he left the bitch,” answered Bill. There was real venom in his voice when he mentioned his mother.

“Dad bought the house after it was proved that the landlord was selling drugs and using the houses that he owned in a money laundering scheme,” said Melissa.

“Your Dad is mixed up with drugs?” asked Carl horrified at the idea of what his son had become.

“Dad? Mixed up in drugs? Nope. Mr. Atkins went down the street to tell the drug dealers to move out of our neighborhood. Dad went with him and ended up getting shot four times. He nearly died, but he protected Mr. Atkins. He killed a couple of the drug dealers and put the rest in the hospital,” answered Bill somewhat confused by his grandfather’s question.

“You do know what your Dad does for a living, don’t you?” asked Carl seeking further proof that his son was some sort of underworld enforcer.

“Sure. He’s the manager of the Auto Parts House on Main Street,” answered Bill.

“He’s the manager of an Auto Parts store,” echoed Carl nodding his head sagely. He decided that an auto parts store would be a perfect front company for a criminal organization. He figured they sold parts that had been stripped off of stolen cars. He asked, “So Henry is a partner in that business?”

“No. We have a small company that makes indoor waterfalls,” answered Bill.

“They are interior water sculptures,” corrected Melissa shooting a look of feminine superiority in his direction.

Bill shrugged off his sister’s correction and added, “We just got an order for one that is going to be eight feet tall and twelve feet long. We’re getting paid fifty thousand dollars for it. They’re purchasing it for some office building up in Chicago.”