The second time I woke up was a little better. The shades were drawn to prevent the sun from creeping in, and it was not the echoing throbbing in my head that I woke up to. It was to the not quite gentle tapping noise of Percy banging away at the keyboard.
When I stretched myself into existence, Percy glanced over at me and said, "Good morning, moonshine. I set up your appointment with Bobby. You have to be over at Rock and Roll McDonalds at three."
I rubbed the cobwebs out of my eyes and asked, "What time is it now?"
Percy glanced at the clock on the computer screen and said, "It's a quarter to eleven."
Stifling a yawn, I said, "Is it really that early?"
Percy nodded and said, "You may even have time for a shower today."
Percy's tone said that he was making a point. I will admit that it was a valid point. I could smell myself, and it was not pleasant. I stood up, walked over to the coffee maker which was full and hot, I had to use a number of stationary objects for support. I don't usually wake up with the earth on a moderate angle. I poured myself a cup 'o' joe, and then poured into the cup 'o' joe, a double shot of Bailey's Irish Cream. After thanking Percy for making the coffee, and without further comment, I made my way back to my apartment, into the shower, and into a state of cleanliness that I hadn't known for several days.
Twenty minutes later, my jaw was smooth, my scent under the radar, and my hair slicked back to cover up the fact of my Sonny Bono bowl cut. I thought about wearing the colored contacts that my mother had gotten me for Christmas. They weren't really supposed to do much, just make my eyes a darker shade of blue. I'd never worn contacts before and was leery of putting my finger tip in my eyeball. It was certainly a week of firsts for me, so I decided, what's one more?
One more is one of the biggest pains in the ass that I have ever come across. It took me almost half an hour to get those damn things in. When I was done, my eyes were red and puffy like I'd just partied with Chong. They felt like no amount of saline would be able to remove the sting and burn. However, those little pieces of silicone certainly did their job. They made my eyes look a more natural shade of blue than my own natural shade. After that, I got dressed, and by twelve o'clock, I was out the door.
I went back to the office and poured myself another cup of coffee in my twenty-four ounce travel mug. This cup got no Bailey's; just straight cream and sugar. Coffee in hand, I cruised out the door and on down the street to Uncle Benny's. It was starting to snow as I walked. It felt good on my face. Again, my mind drifted back to the library; only for a moment though, just a brief respite from reality.
There were paper lamps still hanging across a couple of alleys, from the Chinese new year's parade; collecting snow on top like whipped cream on fruit. I took much comfort in the gentle warmth of my hot cup of coffee. It kept my teeth from chattering all the way from my front door to just twenty feet short of Uncle Benny's.
I walked inside and immediately felt much of my upper body loosen up for the warmth of the cozy interior of Uncle Benny's Irish Pub. There was a fire going in the fireplace behind the stage. Uncle Benny had the coffee machine and the cocoa machine running at full steam, churning out cup after cup for the ten members of the daytime club. I walked over to the bar and shook Benny's hand in greeting. Benny asked me how things were, how was Percy, would I like my flask filled? I did pull my flask out to see how much I had left. I shook it and it sounded maybe half empty. I decided that I would just try not to drink it all at once, and put my flask back in my pocket saying my no-thanks.
I asked Benny if he had time for a quick parlez. In answer, he grabbed the phone and called Tommy who was upstairs in his apartment on the second floor. Tommy came down wearing a green sweater and ripped jeans, with a pair of red and black checkered canvas tennis shoes. I know how he landed himself a law student, but sometimes you just have to wonder.
Uncle Benny led me through the door into the back hallway. We walked the length of the hall, passing doors on either side which led to the rooms that the waitresses used when "entertaining" patrons. At the end of the hall we came to a door on the left, which opened up to a dark stairwell. Several of the lights had burnt out and been replaced with colored bulbs for lack of soft whites. Pools of blue, red and yellow dimly gathered on the walls rather than illuminating much of anything. Up the stairs we went; passing by the hallway on the second floor, where Tommy kept his life, and Benny rented out the other half of the floor to an artist. I forget the guy's name, but I'm sure someone might recognize his stuff. He does a lot of album covers.
Up to the third floor, we went; into the tiger's lair. Don't get me wrong. I think that Uncle Benny is one of the best people that I know. It's just that Uncle Benny is the kind of person who will smile at you while shaking your hand with his left hand, just before jabbing you in the throat with his right. I have to respect a man like that.
Uncle Benny opened the door to his flat and we walked inside. The differences between the bar downstairs and Benny's flat were as numerous as they were stark. Uncle Benny's flat was a spacious twelve hundred square feet, featuring hard wood floors with sections done with white carpet. The kitchen was an open island in the middle of the space with a grill in the center of that, underneath a great big chrome hood. In the room off to the right of the door was Benny's entertaining room. There was a low long table half surrounded by four large lotus blossom shaped chairs done in purple petals and a green pedestal stems. Against the wall past the chairs and table sat an ornate hand carved Chinese styled couch like the kind you see in the front of a Chinese buffet, only real. In the far corner of the room on the right, sat a tall wooden armoire which I knew first hand was filled to the brim with dvds, cds, video games, and board games. In the middle of the wall to the right, sat a glass cabinet containing all of the various machines and gadgets which were used for the operating on all the technophilia. Uncle Benny has a lot of nephews and nieces who visit him sporadically through the year. He has eight brothers and two sisters. The crown jewel of the entertainment room was the sixty-seven inch hi-def plasma screen tv hanging on the wall above the glass cabinet.
Every room in Uncle Benny's flat was done in this modern art style. The kitchen was nothing but chrome. The bedroom looked like an ad in a travel brochure for Hong Kong. The bathrooms were scarlet and royal blue respectively, featuring tile work like that in the bar privs. There was much gold etching all around.
Benny's mistress was in the kitchen when we walked in, making a pot of tea. Benny never married; another reason that he's called Uncle Benny. He has no children of his own; he can't. He figures, "Why keep a woman trapped in a relationship where there is no hope for progeny?" Uncle Benny has had the same mistress since I met him. She is a lovely woman who hates children like I hate the French.
Mae smiled at us when we came in and said something about having expected me and making the poppy seed biscuits that I like. I waved and said, "Thanks Mae, I've been craving those things." She said something self-abasing, so I said, "Oh come on. You know they're the only reason I ever come here."
Uncle Benny smiled at me as he offered me one of the lotus blossom chairs. It's good policy complement a Chinese woman's cooking in front of her man. The woman is the soul of the household. I took the chair closest to me, and Benny took the one kitty-corner.
He said, "So you got caught up with another mob huh? You make that a habit and it will kill you a lot faster than booze."
Benny smiled. His humor lends a bit more to the macabre.
Mae walked in with a tray loaded down with biscuits, a tea pot, two cups, a dish with honey, and several lemon wedges. She set the tray down on the table, poured the tea, then walked away with a smile and a nod. She and Benny exchanged a private glance as she walked away. It was something pleasant to see with such a long standing couple.
I picked up a biscuit and began eating it. Benny poured honey into my tea and said, "What do you know about this Robert Malloy now?"
Between bites I said, "I know his address, his different phone numbers, he's got family ties, possibly on the political end as well as the criminal end, he and his sister are both conniving cunts, and he always smells kinda dry. Oh yeah, his dad's gonna kick it this year some time."
Benny sipped his tea then said, "What else do you need to know?"
I sipped my tea which was warm and tart, and sweet, just like white tea should be. I said, "I need everything that you can get for me. These people are more than just mafia. I'm not quite sure what is going on here, but I know it's deep. I know that people I care about are going to get wrapped up in it. I need to be prepared for what's going to happen next."
Benny smiled and said, "I notice you got those color contacts. Trying to hide?"
I took another sip of my tea and said, "Just trying to be cautious."
"You have a lot of things to do today?"
I glanced at my phone to check the time. It was half past noon. I put my phone away and said, "A couple of things. Nothing too pressing."
Benny grinned and said, "Got time to play an old man at checkers?"
I smiled. Benny and I made it a habit a long time ago to play a game of Chinese checkers whenever we got together. I'm not too bad at the game, but then neither is Benny. He's got three games on me right now. That's about as high as either of us has gotten on the other.
I nodded and said, "Sure. I got time."
Benny stood up and walked over to the armoire, and grabbed a box from the top shelf inside. It was a wooden box with the pitted star shape that is a Chinese checker board. Inside the box were marbles that we used for the game pieces. They weren't all the original pieces. We've lost a few over the years, but they always get replaced.
As he set up the board he said, "She must be very special to you."
I gave a disgusted look and said, "Who, the sister? She's a devious bitch. Her money on the other hand; that's pretty special to me."
Benny laughed and said, "The girl who makes you think that a half a flask of rum will see you through the day."
And I'm supposed to be the detective.
I smiled at Benny's intuition and said, "That's not something I'm prepared to talk about right now, Benny. Maybe in a few weeks. Let me see how things pan out."
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment