Maria was on a train.
Meyer had left that morning without saying goodbye.
She knew he had no idea that she was catching her train at noon. He had been gone when she woke up and he had left a note on her bedside table. It had read "Business - sorry had to run". In return she posted a note on the outside of her door that read "Atlantic City - sorry had to run".
Maria hope it didn't come off as bitter. She meant it only as a joke. Besides, she'd be back in New York before she knew it, visiting the offices of Rothstein. She was bound to run into him sometime. It is a small world, after all.
"Torrio's coming down to A.C.," said Gino, one of the warehouse men.
"Yeah?" Gip's ears perked up a bit.
"Yeah, that's all I know, though. Guess it don't involve us if you don't know about it." Gino didn't look up from the small piece of wood he was carving with a pocket knife. Looked like he was making some sort of miniature of a horse.
"Yeah, it don't involve us." Gip got up from his desk and left the building, lighting a cigarette on his way out.
If Johnny Torrio's coming all the way to Atlantic City then something was definitely happening. And if something was happening, Gip wanted to know about it.
He stood outside the warehouse, leaning uncomfortably against the brick facade. There was a shipment due in the next couple of hours carrying heroin. And Thompson's shipment was right on time as always, with the liquor.
"Darmody!" Gip yelled out. He gestured for Jimmy to hop out.
"What's up, Gip?"
"Come on, come sit in my office," Gip said, walking back into the warehouse. Gino was still sitting in the corner. "Get the fuck out and start unloading trucks!"
"Okay! Jesus!"
"I didn't ask you to speak, Gino. Get the fuck out!"
Gino scrambled out of the room leaving his wood carving on the desk. Jimmy took a seat and picked up the small horse, looking at it closely.
"The detail in this is actually really good," Jimmy observed, running his fingers over the rough wood.
"Keep it. For your boy. Might want to sand it a bit, though."
"Thanks," Jimmy said, lighting a smoke, "So?"
"No small talk, eh Darmody? Am I a common whore?"
"More like the other way around. I'm the one giving you the goods."
"Nucky's giving me the goods. You calling Nucky a slut?" Gip did his best serious face.
"Come on, Gip."
The two men stared at each other over the desk. Gip looking genuinely mad, and Jimmy looking confused. Gip let the silence go for an uncomfortable amount of time before he smirked, and started laughing. Jimmy laughed nervously, lighting another cigarette.
"The fuck's Torrio doing in A.C?"
"He ain't here yet," Jimmy said, looking out the office window and watching the trucks being unloaded.
"You don't look at people when you speak to them? Your mother teach you any manners?"
"Look, Gip, all I know is that he's mediating something between Nucky and Rothstein. He ain't coming down for a few days yet."
"Alright, see? Wasn't that hard." Gip leaned back in his chair and took a drag from his cigarette. "I just like to know what's going on, you know? I'm new in this city. I need to get settled in."
"Well, I hear from my mother that you're doing a pretty good job of it."
"I wasn't visiting Gillian. It was that Luciano prick." Gip spat on the floor. "Stupid fucker. Tried getting involved with my sister."
Gip could tell Jimmy shared his distaste.
"He's gonna get what's coming to him, that's all I gotta say."
"You just gonna sit here and let him fuck your mother like a common broad? Or is there something that I'm missing?"
"My mother can do whatever the hell she wants, she ain't a common broad, Gip. You know that." Jimmy's chair squeaked against the wooden floorboards as he stood up. "I'm gonna go help the guys unload."
"See ya Jimmy. Good chat." Gip laughed and looked down at the table. "Forgot your horse, Darmody!"
Gip tossed the small wooden carving across the room. Jimmy caught it and smirked, placing it in his coat pocket.
"Giuseppe! Never have I seen a more beautiful sight!" Maria jumped up into Gip's arms as he spun her around. She'd never seen him smile so much.
"Ah, Maria! It's been a very busy few days without you," Gip said, placing her back down on the ground. He grabbed her bags for her and started walking out of the station.
"Anything you can share?" Maria asked, winking at her brother.
"Let's just say it isn't exactly easy starting up a business from the ground up. And making connections in a new city. But, like everything else, it takes time. You know that better than I do, sister."
"Are we going to speak in riddles now, Gip? What's gotten into you?" Maria let out a small, nervous laugh.
"Honestly, I'm feeling a little overworked. I spend all day at the warehouse doing inventory, looking at ledgers and dealing with fucking knuckleheads who can't use a watch. Or a calendar, at that." Gip seemed to release some anger when throwing Maria's luggage into the back of his car.
"Careful, Gip, Jesus!"
Maria got no response, just that look that Gip gets when he isn't happy. One eyebrow raised and no smile on his face is never a good omen. He opened the door for her and she hopped into the car.
"I got us a nice little place, Maria. You're gonna love it. Three bedrooms, right on the beach." Gip smiled and looked over at her.
"What do we need three bedrooms for?"
"I don't know, for fucks sake! Guests? Who gives a shit?" Gip scoffed and focussed on the road ahead of them. Maria shifted in her seat.
"Any job opportunities for me come up? Or shall I start my search?"
"I still gotta ask around for you. I'm sure Nucky could put you up someplace, he owns a chunk of pretty much every business in town. Next time I see him I'll ask him a favour, or you could go play up some sob story and ask him yourself, maybe. He's got offices in the Ritz on the boardwalk."
"Well, it's not like I have anything else to do," Maria said, trying to be nonchalant. This was the perfect opportunity. A private audience with Nucky would be a great start. If she played the right cards she might be able to get some interesting pieces of information out of him.
"I think it would be good for you. Go for a walk downtown, take in the sights. Get your bearings a bit, you know?"
"It does seem like a quite a nice area," Maria said, gazing out the window at the houses passing by.
"Here's our place just up here," Gip said, pointing up the road to a blue painted house. It was quite large with a covered deck going all the way around the house to the back, overlooking the beach. The grass was sparse and the ground was sandy, and Maria loved every detail about it.
"Oh, Gip!" Maria gushed, getting out of the car. Their new home couldn't have been more different than their tenement lifestyle in New York. "I knew you'd be able to help us out of the slums one day, Gip!"
"You're gonna make me blush. Go inside! Check it out, I'll grab your junk."
Maria walked in the front door of the house and was greeted with a huge kitchen. walking towards the back of the house there was a dining room and a sitting room with a huge fireplace. She was just excited to have more than two rooms, let alone a house with two floors!
She raced upstairs and came to the landing. There was four doors, one leading to a bathroom and the rest to the bedrooms. One bedroom was bare except for a desk and the other looked well lived in. Maria deduced which room was to be hers and opened the door.
A smile broke across her face. a small vanity table was in the corner, beside a large desk which was stocked with paper, notebooks, pens and pencils. She hopped on the bed and found an envelope full of money. She looked up to see Gip standing in the doorway.
"I figured I should give you some spending money. You could walk the boardwalk, maybe buy yourself some new dresses, whatever's in fashion."
And for the first time in a long time, Gip saw Maria genuinely happy.
Johnny Torrio stepped off the train in Atlantic City with two of the Capone brothers in tow. Frank had recently moved out to Chicago and Torrio wanted to see what he was made of. He got a good feeling from Frank, he wasn't much like Al at all. In fact, he didn't seem to inherit the same temperament that Al had.
The three Italian men were greeted at the station by none other than Nucky Thompson and Jimmy Darmody.
"Nucky! Always a pleasure to see you," Johnny said, shaking his hand, "I hope little Emily is feeling better. Poor girl."
"She can stand on her own now, Doc says the Polio shouldn't have any lasting effects on her mobility. But, on a brighter note, welcome to Atlantic City, boys!"
Nucky and Torrio settled into their own conversation while Jimmy fell into stride with Al.
"Jimmy, this here's my brother Frank. Frank this is Jimmy, you know, the guy I told you about," Al said, cackling loudly and smacking Jimmy on the back.
"Oh, yes. I heard all about you. Left Chicago just before I came out."
"I hope you heard nothing but good things, then," Jimmy chuckled, lighting a cigarette.
"He heard about the time I pretended to shoot you and scared the shit outta you and Pearl! Scared you more than her!" Al was laughing again, this time slapping his leg.
"Yeah," Jimmy said, hoping the subject would change.
"So what's there to do in Atlantic City?" Frank asked, noticing Jimmy get uncomfortable at the mention of Pearl, whoever that was.
"What Frank means to say is, where's the whores at?" Al cut in. Frank just chuckled.
"More like whiskey and card games, but close enough, Al."
"Angela's making dinner tonight if you guys want something homecooked. We just moved into our new place," Jimmy said, smiling with pride.
"Yeah, that could work." Al shrugged. He winked at Jimmy. "I'll try not to make any passes at your girl!"
"That was a lovely dinner, Mrs. Darmody," Frank said, sitting at the table and sipping at his coffee.
"Oh, just call me Angela. Mrs. Darmody makes me feel so old," She blushed, adjusting her hair.
Frank peered over into the sitting room and saw Al sitting on the floor with Tommy. They were playing with a toy truck.
"My truck goes the fastest!" Tommy said, getting up and pushing the truck around in circles.
"Yeah? Well my airplane goes faster!" Al said, picking Tommy up and swinging him in circles. Tommy held his arms out and pretended to be an airplane. Frank chuckled, but saw in that instant how unhappy Al was.
"Do you have a family back home, in Chicago?" Angela asked, snapping Frank out of his daydream.
"No. Al always called me the eternal bachelor."
"Well there's nothing wrong with that, going city to city and breaking girls hearts," Angela laughed before getting up and gathering plates from the table.
"It's okay Angela, I can grab that," Frank said, placing his hand over hers to stop her.
"It's fine Frank, I feel bad. Jimmy's been in there washing for ten minutes already"
Frank took his hand off hers and nodded. She cleared the dishes and disappeared into the kitchen where Jimmy was working away. Lighting a cigarette, Frank crossed the room to stand in the doorway and watch Al play with Tommy.
"Watcha starin' at Frank?" Al challenged.
"Just your ugly mug, Snork," Frank said as he took a drag from his cigarette. He smirked, knowing that Al was about to explode.
"You better put out that cigarette."
"Or what?"
"Put it out, Frank!" Al said, trying to sound menacing but there was a hint of playfulness.
Frank walked over to an ash tray sitting on the table and careful put out his cigarette, not once breaking eye contact with Al.
"Let's get him, Tommy!" Al yelled, charging at Frank and tackling him to the ground. The three boys wrestled on the carpet in the living room, laughter filling the house. "Jump on his back, Tom!"
"I got you, Frank!" Tommy yelled, crawling onto Frank's back and holding onto his shoulders. "Yeehaw!"
"You got me kid! You got me! I surrender!" Frank rolled over with his hands up in the air, out of breath. "It was an ambush, I didn't stand a chance."
Al got up and smirked at him, running a hand through his hair. Tommy went running away into the kitchen, babbling on about chocolate or some sort of sweet. Reaching down, Al grabbed Franks hand and helped him to his feet.
"You see what just happened tonight, Frank?" Al asked, seriously.
"What, Al?"
"This is what it's like to have everything."