Lena was driving Tommy back to the hospital in relative silence. He had withdrawn almost completely and Lena wasn't sure how to make him come out of his shell.
"Want me to walk you up?" Lena sat in front of the hospital with the car running. Tommy had already unbuckled his seatbelt and was halfway out of the car.
"No. S'OK. You get to class." He kissed her cheek and hopped out, heading straight in without looking back. Lena sat for a moment, feeling lost, until someone behind her honked and snapped her back into the moment.
"OK, fuck you too buddy." Lena sped off. If she drove how she normally did she would make it to class on time.
The rest of the day was annoyingly silent. Cal didn't have class that day so she didn't see him, just her friends from class that noticed she was out of it all day. Lena tried not to look at her phone every five minutes, but it was so hard.
Finally it was 2:15 and she was heading back to her car. She was due in work at 4:30 but she got ready and headed in early anyway. Tommy wasn't responding to any of her texts and she decided to give up and throw herself into work. Vince was in the back with Butch and they were getting trays together for a big party coming in at 6pm.
"Hey kid, c'mere and help us with this." Vince looked irritated.
"Yeah, we need a woman's touch." Butch was trying to make an antipasto tray look pretty but to Lena it looked like roadkill.
"What's all this for?"
"Fuckin' bridal shower. The bride's mom is a witch and she's drivin' me nuts!" Vince wiped sweat from his brow with the sleeve of his $250 shirt. "Goddamn parsley." He chucked the decorative sprigs down on the tray. Now it really looked like shit. "There, fuck it, how's that?"
Lena cracked up. "Oh yeah boss, looks awesome." She put on some gloves and started rearranging things, twisting the parsley sprigs together to make it look presentable. "Better?"
Vince and Butch were standing back, both of them nodding.
"Yeah. Much better."
Vince shook his head. "Where the fuck were you an hour ago kid?"
"I had class, Boss. I'm here an hour and a half early." Lena winked. "OK, what's next?"
Before she knew it Lena had arranged three more trays and then helped set up a wide corner of the restaurant for this bridal shower she had no prior knowledge of. She had to run down to Harold's flower shop for the table decorations, and then Prantl's bakery to get the mini-wedding cake cupcakes. When she returned, Lena could see for herself as Vince took a long phone call from the bride's mother that this whole ordeal was a complete pain in the ass. Vince set the phone down in the receiver, his face red.
"I can't believe this woman."
Lena laid the two receipts down on the desk. "Boss, why are you doing this?"
"Friend of a friend. You know how that shit is. I'll tell ya one thing, I ain't never doin' this kinda shit again!" Vince grabbed her by her shoulders and shook her a little. "Thank God for you kid. It's gonna get rough and I'm really glad you're here."
Lena laughed. "Yeah, I don't know that I'm as glad as you, but you know I got your back."
"Well, I mean…with Paddy in the hospital I didn't think you were comin' in-"
"No, I tried that. Tommy's not having any of it, he wants me to do my thing. I wanted to be there but he doesn't want me to put my life on hold."
Vince smiled a little. "He's a man's man. Whatever the case I appreciate it. As you can see I got my hands full with this shit." He clapped his hands together and glared at her. "Let's go kick some ass!"
Just as Vince said, the bride's mother was awful. Whenever she could get away from the beastly hag, Lena would check her phone, but still no word from Tommy, or anyone else for that matter. As it turned out she was running ragged, between the shower and the regular business it was hard to even have a drink of water or use the bathroom. By the end of the night Lena's crisp white dress shirt was stained with champagne and frosting, and her knee-length black pencil skirt was torn at the hem from getting caught on something behind the bar. Louis did not look very sorry as he watched her try to fix it and only make it worse- now it was split mid-thigh on the side.
"Wow."
Lena looked up at Louis' wistful gaze. "Wow what?"
He sighed heavily. "Tommy's a lucky guy, that's all I'm sayin'."
Lena smacked him with a bar towel. "Louis! Shut up will ya? Now I look like a tramp." Her long well-knit leg was exposed and she felt embarrassed going back onto the floor, but she had no choice.
After Vince finally shut and locked the front doors, he sat down at the bar with Louis, Butch and Lena to have a drink. It had been that kind of night. Louis mixed up some Galliano Vanilla, Limoncello, and Prosecco, and poured it on ice. It tasted so delicious, and well-earned, as everyone sat down for just a moment together.
After a long silence with everyone just sipping their drinks, Vince finally spoke.
"Jesus Christ what a night."
Everyone laughed softly. "Yeah boss, but we made it. Here's to you." Louis held his glass up and everyone but Vince toasted.
"Naw, here's to you guys, wouldn'ta made it without yous. Salute!" Vince toasted and knocked his drink back. "Gimme another, Lou!"
"It's called La Dolce Vita," Louis smiled, filling Vince's glass.
"That's great, kid, I don't care what it's called though, just happy to be guzzlin' it."
Lena had her phone on the bartop, and as she was finishing her second drink it finally started to buzz. It was just a text though, and it was from Brendan's phone.
'Hey, it's Tommy. My phone's dead. Call me when you can.'
Lena tried to stand up off her barstool and almost slid to the floor. Butch was helping her up, laughing loudly.
"Kid you OK?" Vince took her by the arm and they walked to the office together. The servers were about ready to bring in their tickets anyway.
"Yeah, I gotta call Tommy. Haven't heard from him all day, phone was dead I guess."
Vince sat her down in the office. Her head was swimming, and she felt sick.
"You drank that shit too fast, Lee."
"Holy shit, what was in there?" Lena tried to focus but her vision was a little blurry.
"Butch!" Vince called out. "Bring me somethin' to eat for Lena here!"
Next thing she knew Butch was waving a plate of leftover food from the trays that night. Lena smelled the olives and turned green.
"Not that shit Butch, what the hell you thinkin'? Get some bread, will ya?"
"Vinegar," was all Lena said.
"What?" Vince was staring at her incredulously.
"That vinegar smell…oh I thought I was gonna puke."
"Yeah, I know, I can't believe he brought that in here." Vince stood on the other side of the desk, his hands on his hips. Despite how she felt she smiled at him- he looked like he just walked off the set of Goodfellas,, slicked back hair, black slacks, white shirt and red tie, gold cufflinks and heavy gold watch.
"Don't be mad at him Uncle Vince, he's tryin' to help…" Lena dragged the office trash can towards her and looked down in it. "Goddammit I don't have time for this."
"You'll be awright, kid. You just drank too much on an empty stomach. You think you so tough, eh?" Vince chuckled.
"Just thirsty." Lena hunched in a ball and took a deep breath.
"So uh…you and Tommy gonna get married or what? Ya mom was tellin' me you two moved in together. Wassamatta, you can't tell your uncle Vince nuthin'?" But Vince was smiling at her.
"You know how it is…I been busy Unc. He's been busy."
"Yeah you got a lot goin' on. I just wanna make sure you still down for bein' my partner. "
"Course I am, boss." Lena burped and it tasted like Galliano. "Ugh."
Butch came in with a couple of sweet rolls for Lena. She very gingerly began to eat, and the servers brought their tickets in to Vince so he could start balancing. When they lingered too long, Vince shooed them out.
"Get outta here, I'll find you!"
In a little while Lena started feeling better and she reached for the tickets on the desk that Vince hadn't gotten to yet, and he about slapped her hand away.
"You feelin' better?" He peered at her from the top of his glasses.
"Yeah." But she really wasn't, not that much.
"OK good, now get the fuck outta here. Go to the hospital. Crazy Irish needs ya."
Lena stared at him for a moment. "I think I'm still a little drunk."
Vince shrugged. "Eat the rest of the bread and drive slow. G'bye!"
Lena got up and shuffled out, cussing under her breath. In the kitchen she saw Louis and Butch laughing and washing dishes. They stopped when they saw her, but Butch cracked up again watching her walk slowly towards the back door.
"Hey Lena, you gonna be OK?" Louis was at her side suddenly, his hand on the door. Lena looked at him suspiciously.
"You mix drinks like the devil would. I'll be fine. 'Night guys." She got down the stairs just fine but Louis stayed at the door and watched her anyway. She took her heels off and drove carefully to the hospital, calling Tommy on the way.
"Hey." He sounded relieved to hear from her. "You comin' down?"
"Yeah. I'm on my way. You doin' OK, Tommy?"
"Yeah. You doin' awright? Sound a little tired."
"Long night. Drank something wicked. But I'm OK. Be there in 20."
"Hey, you sure you can drive Lena?"
Lena hiccupped, then laughed a little. "It sounds worse than it actually is. Don't worry Tommy. I'll see ya in a few."
"OK. Love you." His gruff growl gave her a shiver.
"Love you too."
Twenty two minutes later she was pulling up to the hospital and Tommy was waiting outside, pacing back and forth in front, worried and impatient.
"Dammit, took you long enough. Where are your shoes?!" Tommy looked pissed.
"Oh. Yeah." She pulled them out of her purse and slipped them on. Tommy was shaking his head.
"Holy fuck." He started making his way towards her and she stood stock still. He stood in front of her with his hand out, his face a mask of irritation. "Gimme the keys. I'm drivin' you home, Lena, right now."
"The fuck you are. I drove out here, the least you could do is buy me a shitty coffee from the vending machine and gimme a goddamn update!"
Tommy looked pissed, but his voice was scary calm. "You're lucky you made it here in one piece, Lena. Y'smell like a goddamn bar. Gimme the keys."
"I work in a bar, Tommy! No, stop it, you can't have my keys!" She batted his hands away from her but he swiped the keys out of her grip anyway. "What the fuck, I never treated you like this all those times you got drunk and did stupid shit!"
Tommy grabbed her arm and started dragging her back to the car. "This ain't about me, Lena." His voice still so quiet and calm, but oh so menacing.
"I only had two drinks, Jesus Christ!"
"You're making a scene."
"No, you're pulling my fuckin' arm off! What the fuck Tommy?"
Tommy pressed her against the car, and Lena fought uselessly, cussing him. "Listen to me. LISTEN." His voice was deep and loud now. "Pop is better. He made it through the procedure. He has to wake up on his own now. When that happens the doctors can evaluate him better." He shook her hard for just a moment. "I don't need you gettin' in a fuckin' wreck, Lena, I can't lose you. Do you understand that?" He backed off her and his voice was cracking as he tried not to yell. "I can't lose you too!"
Lena reached out for him as he took a few steps backwards. "Tommy…"
"No. Don't you fuckin' touch me…" He stood still, pinching his eyebrows as tears spilled down his cheeks. "I'm sick of this shit, I'm starting to crack."
Lena stood by the car, waiting for the next moment, fight or flight, conflict or resolution. Tommy still had her keys either way.
Finally Tommy sighed and just looked at her. Lena stared back at him, perfectly sober and more than a little pissed. He approached her slowly, and she wasn't sure what he was going to say or do.
"I'm sorry. OK? Fuckin' losin' it here." He tossed her the keys. "Here. You can go home if you want."
Lena stared at him for a moment, then almost lost her temper again. "I came here to be with you. Be there for you. So what the fuck, you just gonna dismiss me now?"
Tommy put his hands up. "No. You can stay. Long as you want."
"Well fuck. I don't know what I wanna do now." Lena looked up at the moon and sighed heavily. She heard Tommy chuckle. "Really? What's so funny?"
Tommy shook his head. "I love you Lena. With all my heart." He had her up against the car again before she even had a chance to react, and he was kissing her neck, chewing her exposed collarbone. Lena had no choice but to give in, her entire body was reacting with joy and melting with desire for him.
"Damn you Tommy…"
He stopped eating her throat and looked in her eyes, breathing hot on her face. "What..?"
"How can you piss me off like that…please don't do that anymore…"
Tommy smiled his crooked toothy smile at her. "Not makin' promises I can't keep."
"Ah fuck you then," she breathed and kissed him like they weren't in a hospital parking lot and a security van wasn't rolling up on them.
"Ahem. Excuse me!"
Tommy pulled away from Lena and looked into the flashlight shining in his eyes. The female guard was barely visible in the glare.
"You guys got somewhere else to go or what?"
Lena laughed softly and Tommy waved her off. "We were just leaving."
"Good." The guard drove forward a little but not much. Lena looked at Tommy and they both cracked up.
"C'mon, let's go home."
"Yeah?" Lena was suddenly so excited.
"Yeah." Tommy kissed her cheek, and when she tried to pass him the keys he shoved them back at her. "No, you're drivin'. C'mon let's get the fuck outta here."
