Second Time Around
Chapter 15 - What a Difference a Day Makes!
By Arli J
Edited by Radio Rancher
Based on Characters from Pinochle, by E Walk
I floated upward through a mist, from the depths of one of the best night's sleep I had had in years. As I gradually became more aware, I could feel a warm pressure along my side and on my shoulder, and a gentle, rhythmic warmth, like a tropical breeze on my neck. I opened my eyes to find Gregg pressed against me. I had gone to sleep cradling him in my arm, and he lay with his head on my shoulder. His hair was tousled, and his expression was that of a sleeping child.
The room seemed quite light; we had slept longer than I had planned. I wanted to reach for my watch on the table next to the bed, but I didn't want to disturb him by turning and reaching across him to get it, so I just relaxed and enjoyed the warmth and peacefulness of his presence. But all good things have to come to an end. I really needed to go to the bathroom.
Moving as slowly and gently as possible, I lifted his head and pulled my arm free. I laid his head on the pillow and slipped quietly out of bed.
When I came back, he was just waking. He smiled at me. "Good morning. I hope I didn't keep you awake last night."
"I don't think a herd of buffalo in the room would have kept me awake. How about you, did you sleep well?"
"Oh, yes." He stretched and yawned. "I haven't slept like that in twenty years." He was realizing how light the room was. "What time is it?"
"I don't know. My watch is on the table, and I didn't want to disturb you, reaching for it."
He turned and picked it up. "Oh, gee, it's 9:30. We should have been up and on the road a couple of hours ago."
"No, I think we both needed the sleep, and the extra two hours we drove last night put us ahead of schedule and closer to home. We'll get there early this evening."
He rolled over and sat up on the side of the bed. "I've really gotta go." He stood up and walked around the bed. It seemed that he was limping more than he had been when we started.
"How's the leg? Are you going to be all right?"
"It's a lot better than it was last night, I can tell you that! How are you doing this morning?"
"I'm fine. I got a really good night's sleep, and my hip is feeling a lot better than it was yesterday."
He went into the bathroom, and I picked up my clothes and got dressed. When he returned and got dressed, we packed up the few things we had taken from our suitcases the night before. While he was brushing his teeth and combing his hair, I carried our luggage out and stowed it in the car.
He was waiting for me when I came back in. "Are you hungry? I'm starved!"
"Me, too. Why don't we take the car and drive over to the office and then to the restaurant? That way, we're ready to take off, when we finish breakfast."
He had that grateful look again. "Well, I think I could make it without any problems, but I think I like your idea better."
We closed up the room and locked the door. I didn't say anything; I just went around and got into the driver's seat. He got in without much difficulty, but I had made up my mind that I would be doing the driving today. We were getting closer to a part of the country where I was familiar, and I didn't want him putting any more strain on his leg than necessary. We drove to the office, and he waited in the car, while I went in, paid the bill and left the key. Then we drove to the restaurant, and I found a parking place close to the front door.
After breakfast, we walked around in the parking lot for a few minutes, stretching the kinks out of our legs. When we got back into the car, I looked at him. "Well, Gregg, we're on our way home."
"Home." His smile was almost beatific. "Home, we're going home. Do you have any idea how good that feels to me? I've lived in the same town for forty years, but after the accident it never felt like home." He had a sober look on his face now, but as he turned and looked into my eyes, he smiled again. "Well, Harley, what are we waiting for? Let's go home!"
He was in a happy mood, one I hadn't yet seen. He had been so quiet, and he had seemed nervous and almost upset ever since we met, that this was a very pleasant surprise. We chatted about all sorts of things along the way, and I was learning more about him with every mile on the road. He has a very witty, dry sense of humor, and he had me laughing most of the way. I did notice, though, that he moved around a lot; he seemed to be trying to find a comfortable position to sit. We had been driving about an hour, when we came to a truck stop. I pulled in and parked. I admit it, I fibbed to him.
"Could you do with a cup of coffee? My hip's a little stiff this morning, and I'd like to stretch my legs."
He grinned at me. "Feeling the need for a donut, are we?"
"Well, yes, if you must know. And I need to get rid of some of the coffee I had for breakfast." We got out and walked around the parking lot. His limp was definitely more pronounced.
We went into the truckers' diner. I headed for the men's room. When I came out, he was seated at the counter with a cup of coffee and a cinnamon donut in front of him. At the place next to him was a cup of coffee and a plate with twocinnamon donuts. I just looked at him; he grinned and shrugged his shoulders. That man has a definite evil streak in his makeup.
When we left the diner, Gregg noticed a small clump of trees just to the side of the parking lot with benches scattered among them. He looked over at me. "Feel like just sitting and enjoying the breeze for a few minutes?" I nodded, and we strolled over and sat down in the shade. It was already getting rather warm in the sun. We sat in silence for a few minutes; then he spoke up. "Would you like me to drive for a while? This can't be too good on your hip."
"No, I'm good. If I get tired, I'll ask you to drive for a while."
"Be sure you do. I'm not an invalid, you know."
"I never thought you were. But we're getting to a part of the country that I'm more familiar with, and I'm getting excited about getting home."
We were almost out of Ohio, now, and I was even more excited when I saw the sign that read: "You've got a friend in Pennsylvania." We stopped for lunch just outside Erie. Then our route turned northward for a short distance, and I began seeing signs directing us toward Route 90, the New York State Thruway. When we were on the Thruway, I was more relaxed and happy than I had been on the entire trip. I'm almost home. Almost home! We still had about a three to four hour trip on the Thruway before we would reach the Finger Lakes district. Ithaca is in the middle of the Finger Lakes, almost the physical center of the state.
Gregg seemed to be catching my mood now. He talked more freely than he had since we met, and I was learning more about his sense of humor. He's really a funny guy!
The sunlight was beginning to slant from behind us, when we came to the intersection of Route 89 with the Thruway. I turned south, and pulled into the first diner I spotted along the highway. "Come on, Buddy! Last stop before we get to Ithaca." We both headed for the men's room and then sat at the counter with our last cup of coffee on the trip. I was getting more excited with every mile, and Gregg couldn't help but notice it. It wasn’t long before we spotted the lake. Cayuga is forty-three miles long, and Route 89 runs along it to the southern end—Ithaca. I had been getting a bit tired, but I couldn't ask him to drive. He kept shifting in his seat, when he thought I wasn't looking. But now, I was super-charged with adrenalin. I could have driven 500 miles more, if I had to, but we were almost home.
A little over an hour later, I was pulling into my driveway. "We're home, Buddy." Gregg looked at me for a few seconds, then unfastened his seat belt, leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. His eyes were full of tears.
"Yes, we're finally home, home." The tears overflowed his eyes and ran down his cheeks. "Do you have any idea what that means to me?"
I pulled him into a hug. "If it means anything to you like what it means to me, it's got to be a great feeling." He buried his face in my shoulder, nodding. We just sat there for a few minutes. I held him as he cried. I wasn't sure if the tears were happy, for being home, or sad, for what he had left behind him. But I wasn't going to ask.
When he had calmed down a little, he sat up and opened the glove compartment. He pulled out a small box of tissues. He wiped his eyes and his cheeks, then blew his nose. "There, now, that's over with!" He opened his door and turned in his seat, to get out. I unfastened my seat belt and got out, too. I fished my keys out of my pocket and hurried up the walk to unlock the door. The house was quite warm and had that odd smell that houses get when they're closed up for a while. I quickly went around and opened some windows. When I came back outside, Gregg was struggling with the luggage in the back seat. I hurried over to help him, and we quickly brought all the luggage in the house and stacked it in the corner of the living room. Then we just stood there, grinning at each other. Out of nowhere, he said, "Do you suppose we could have a cup of coffee? I haven't had any in hours!" His expression was so silly that I burst out laughing. His expression changed instantly into a pout. "I didn't think it was that funny!"
Then he laughed, too.
As we started for the kitchen, I noticed that we had left the front door wide open. I went and closed it, before I followed Gregg into the kitchen. He was just about to sit down at the table. "Oh, no, Buddy, that only works for guests. You're a member of the household now, so you get to share in the chores." I sat down at the table. "You know where everything is. I'd like a cup of coffee, please."
He looked as if he were in shock. But then he grinned. "You've got it, Buddy. Coffee coming up!" He set up the coffee pot as if he had been doing it for years. Then he joined me at the table. "Did I do OK, Boss?"
"You did just fine. You'll get your bonus in your paycheck next week."
"Do I have to wait that long?" His face was a tragic mask. "I hoped I'd get it sooner than that!" Then he chuckled. "Oh, by the way, since we're sharing everything equally, you get your bedroom back."
"Hey, you're not going to sleep on the couch."
"I wasn't planning to." He had that evil grin again. Somehow, it seemed that a lot of things had just been said, without a word being spoken about them. He smiled at me, that wonderful smile of his.
When the coffee was ready, he started to get up. I could see him wince, and I got up quickly. "You made it; I'll serve it." He didn't say anything, but I saw the grateful smile, as he settled back in his chair.
I got cups from the cupboard and poured our coffee. I set the cups on the table and sat down. "Oh, damn! I just realized that we're in the same fix here that we had when we got to Fremont—nothing to eat in the house. Looks like we're going out for dinner."
"That's fine with me. I have one small favor to ask, though. Could we go to that diner where we went with Beau and Becca , when we first got here. I really liked their meat loaf."
"I don't see any problem with that. We have your car, so we're all set."
We finished our coffee and went back into the living room. He stopped when he saw the pile of suitcases in the corner of the room. "I don't remember you being such a messy housekeeper. Let's get these where they belong." He picked up two of his suitcases and headed for the bedroom. Then he turned back toward me. "I'm not carrying all your stuff, too. We've got to get this stuff out of the living room, before we can go get something to eat."
"I don't remember you being this bossy before." I was amused that he just took over.
"I was a guest in the house before. You said I'm a member of the household now, remember?" I just shrugged, picked up the two suitcases I had used on the trip, and followed him into the bedroom. When I got there, he was standing in the middle of the floor, just looking around. "Where do you want me to put my things?"
"Well, the top two drawers are still empty. You can use them until we can get to one of the used furniture stores. We'll get a larger dresser or two smaller chests. I think we can fit them in without crowding the room."
He opened the top drawer and began to empty the two suitcases. When he had them both empty, he had pretty well filled the drawers. "Well, that's all I really need for right now. I'll just shove the other two suitcases under the bed, until I have a place to unload them." He went back to the living room and returned with his other suitcases. I got down on the floor and slid them under the bed. Then I stood up and opened my suitcases. It didn't take long to store what I had taken with me. Some of the things needed to be washed before I could put them away. I dumped them on the bed and stored the suitcases in the closet. Then I grabbed his empty suitcases and stored them next to mine. "Now, Boss, are you satisfied?"
"It's OK, but I don't give bonuses. You'll just have to be happy with my satisfaction in the good job you've done!" He was grinning again. We locked up the house and got into the car. I was still driving. Well, I knew the town, and he still needed to learn his way around. As we drove down State Street, it seemed to be almost empty. Monday isn't a big business day in Ithaca, but this was strange. I glanced over at Gregg. "Don't let me forget to go to the Journal office first thing in the morning." He nodded.
I parked in front of the diner. As we got out of the car, I noticed that there were only a couple of cars parked there. This seemed really strange to me. The State was a very popular place for townies to eat, and there were usually quite a number of students there, too. When we walked in, I stopped in amazement. There were two young fellows, probably students, sitting at the counter, and a young couple in one of the booths. Otherwise, the place was empty. A waitress came out of the kitchen and grinned at us. "Hi, fellas! Hope you can find a place to sit! I'll be right with you." She disappeared back into the kitchen, and we sat down in the booth nearest to the door.
The waitress came back with our water and menus. I stopped her, as she started to walk away. "Hey, what's going on here?"
"What planet are you from? It's been like this for about a week. Haven't you been reading the Journal?"
"As a matter of fact, no, I haven't. We just got back from Nebraska a couple of hours ago. I was planning to go to the Journal office tomorrow and pick up the back issues I missed while we were gone."
"Well, be prepared! Ithaca's in a big mess! We've had State Police and the FBI here, for God's sake! I'm not going to try to tell you everything that's been happening, but you'd better be ready for it, when you start reading the Journal!"
"Thanks for the warning. You're still open for regular business, aren't you?"
"I don't think the boss would close this place if they started bombing the city, as long as no bombs hit the diner. Do you know what you want, or should I give you a few minutes to look at the menu?"
Gregg spoke up. "I know what I want! Could I please get some of your great meat loaf?"
"Sure can, honey! And how about you?" She smiled at me.
"I'd like the macaroni and cheese, if you've got it," I said.
"OK, guys. I'll see if I can fit you into the mad rush." She was giggling as she went into the kitchen. I looked at Gregg.
"Boy, I'm really curious, now. I wish the Journal office were open now. I really don't want to wait until tomorrow to find out what's going on. I wonder if it had anything to do with Giulio Petrillo. Oh, wait, I can call Kate Dolan when we get back to the house. If anyone knows what's going on, she will!"
The waitress returned with our dinners, and we ate without conversation. The trip and all the curiosity had left us more hungry than conversational. When we finished, we didn't even have coffee. I went to the counter and paid our bill, while Gregg left a tip on the table. We hurried out to the car and went home.
I checked my little book and found Kate's number. I was hoping she hadn't moved yet. The phone rang several times, and I was about to give up, when she answered, "This is Kathryn Dolan."
"Kate, it's Harley Gordon. We just got back into town about three hours ago. What's going on here?"
"Hi, Harley! I'm so glad you boys are back. Welcome to the ghost town that used to be Ithaca."
"Yeah, I noticed that the town seemed awfully quiet when we went down to the State Diner to get something to eat. And we tripled the number of customers there when we walked in! I'm planning on going to the Journal office tomorrow morning to get the back issues of the paper, but I thought you might know what's going on."
"I don't want to spoil your fun, so I'm not going to give you a big story about what's been happening in our fair city. I'll just tell you that Friend Petrillo won't be a problem for you for the next twenty-five years, to life."
"He's in jail?"
"You might say that. But it's mostly for his own protection. He's not the most popular citizen of Ithaca at the moment. The Attorney General doesn't want anything to happen to him, until hegets a shot at him in court."
"Well, thanks for no information, Kate! I was counting on you to fill us in on what's happening."
"You'll have more fun reading about it. The President sent the FBI to investigate. And our lovely Mayor is practically running her office single-handed at the moment."
"Wow! Now you've really got me curious. I probably won't be able to sleep tonight."
"Oh, I think you'll sleep all right, after your long trip. Is Gregg there?"
"Yes, he's sitting right beside me."
"Could I just say hello to him? I've really missed you two, while you were gone. You've brought a lot of excitement into an old lady's dull life."
"Kate, the last thing that would come to mind when I think of you would be 'an old lady.' But here's Gregg." I handed him the phone and went out in the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee.
Gregg has a very soft speaking voice, so I couldn't hear any of the conversation. When he finished the call, he joined me in the kitchen. "Well, I feel a bit safer now."
"So Kate told you about Petrillo?"
"Just enough to arouse my curiosity. That woman can be really frustrating, can't she?"
"My thoughts, exactly. So, we'll just have to wait until tomorrow to find out what's going on. How would you feel about taking our coffee in the living room, so we can watch a little TV? I don't think I'm going to last very long. I'd like to last until it gets dark, before I go to bed, but I'm not sure I'm going to make it."
"I'm feeling the same way. We've had a rough week for two old codgers. I think I'd like to get a little rest."
"Watch who you're calling an old codger, fellah! But I do think a good night's sleep will do us both some good."
We took our coffee into the living room and sat down on the couch. Gregg didn't say anything, but he sat snuggled up to me. I was surprised, but he just smiled when I looked at him. I don't know what's going on here, but I'm going to go with it. I slipped my arm around his shoulders. He just smiled again and nestled closer to my side.
Neither one of us wanted to have to think about anything, so we settled on a rather mindless sitcom. When it was over, Gregg turned off the TV and struggled to his feet. "I guess I'm even more tired than I thought." He started toward the kitchen, but I caught up with him and took his cup.
"I'll shut off the coffee pot and turn the lights off. Why don't you just go ahead and get ready for bed?"
He grinned his appreciation and headed for the bathroom. By the time I had finished in the kitchen and living room, he was in the bedroom. I went to the bathroom, and then I joined him. He was already stripped down to his boxers. "Which side of the bed do you want?"
"It doesn't matter. I'm so used to this place that I can find my way anywhere in the house in the dark, and I have to go across the hall to the bathroom, if I need to get up in the night."
He pulled back the blanket and sheet and slipped into bed. I undressed and got in on the other side. Since the lamp on the bedside table was on my side, I reached over and turned it off.
He turned on his side, facing me. "Harley?"
"Hmmh?"
"I just want you to know that I'm awfully glad that I'm here with you." I could hear the smile in his voice. I smiled, too, as I turned, facing him.
"I'm awfully glad that you're here with me, too." I pulled him close and kissed him. He snuggled close and wrapped his arms around me. I hugged him and held him close, as we drifted off to sleep.
Editor's Notes:
So, it was not just a fluke after all; now they are sleeping together. I am so happy for them. I think they are really going to get along well together. I wonder what has been happening while they were gone. I can hardly wait to see what they find in the paper in the morning. I wonder if they will mind my looking over their shoulders, while they read the paper. Actually, I will just wait till they are finished, 'cause I have to get really close to the paper to be able to read it, and I would only be in their way.
Thank you, Arli, for writing this wonderful story. I just love these two guys.
Please don't take too long to bring us the next chapter.
Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher
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