A.N- This was only ever meant to be a one shot. But then I got some really nice messages of support so I wrote chapter two. Then it was only supposed to be a two shot. But now I have writers block and am avoiding my original novel. So here it is, chapter three. And I won't say never to a chapter four.
Chapter Three
Calogero stood impatiently outside of the Chez Bippy, furiously smoking a cigarette and wishing Carmen, wherever the fuck he was, would show up soon.
He was still partially shaking from the scuffle with his father and had refused any invitations for a drink from the guys inside. He didn't want to make small talk with Jimmy Whispers or Tony Coffeecakes. The only person he wanted to see was Carmen.
"Yo, C. You're gonna catch your death out here. Come on inside, will ya?" It was Shadow, his huge frame leaning out of the open door, a beckoning look on his face, but Calogero only shook his head.
"I ain't cold but thanksanyway."
"Suit yaself." Shadow shrugged and let the door fall closed behind himself, talking loudly as he crossed the room about how the kid was 'always a little fucking crazy'.
Calogero didn't react to the comment, used to how the guys talked, how little time they had for etiquette. He understood that he was probably coming off as rude standing out here like the statue of fucking liberty, turning down free drinks and an invite into one of the most exclusive bars in the neighbourhood. Guys his age didn't get that sort of invitation every day but Calogero didn't feel proud. Instead he ached for the childhood he would never live again, and for the man that had taught him the ways of the street. Sonny was now rotting in a graveyard somewhere out in Throgg's Neck.
No, he couldn't go into that bar. No matter who the Chez Bippy belonged to, in Calogero's heart, it would always be Sonny's place.
The smooth rumble of Carmen's cadillac made him glance up, and despite the fact that Carmen spotted him straight away, like the boss he was, he finished a conversation with the heavy set guy riding shotgun and took his sweet time climbing out of the car.
Calogero tossed away his cigarette, his intense dark eyes seeking out Carmen's as he slowly approached.
"This a social visit?" Carmen was a short but commanding figure with animated eyes that could almost instantly turn menacing.
Calogero shook his head in response to the question and Carmen nodded.
"I didn't think so." He turned to the hulking gorilla beside him and indicated the door to the Chez Bippy. "I'll meet you inside. C, come on. Let's take a walk."
It felt good to walk in the crisp evening air, to put some space between himself and his apartment. Carmen made small talk for a while, something Sonny would never have done. 'What's eating you?' was a common greeting for Sonny. Abrupt, yes, but it didn't leave C awkwardly skating around the subject.
"I-er, was wondering-" After a lull in Carmen's conversation, Calogero said the words hesitantly. "If I could crash on your couch for a couple of days."
Carmen stopped in his tracks, his heavy eyebrows shooting up and a hint of a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
"Are you shitting me, Kid?"
"Naw." Calogero rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Me and my father ain't getting along so good. Think both of us need a couple of days to cool down."
Carmen studied him for a long time. Under his gaze, Calogero began to feel embarrassed, regretting ever coming to him for help. Sonny had chosen to be Calogero's friend but Carmen had kind of inherited him. Like a debt. No wonder he wasn't keen to put him up.
"Look, when I said you could come to me-"
"For anything." Calogero emphasised the last word irritably. Those had been Carmen's exact words at Sonny's funeral and Calogero hadn't asked him for a thing until now.
"Maybe I have a word with your father, straighten him out?" Carmen's voice was calm but Calogero knew exactly how these guys 'straightened' things out.
"No, he doesn't deserve that."
"Well, if he doesn't deserve it, surely you's can sort this thing out?" Carmen stopped to light a cigarette, his husky voice reverberating off the nearby tenements.
"It's complicated," Calogero sighed.
And by complicated, he meant personal. Not something he was willing to discuss with a guy he barely knew.
"So try explaining it. I'm a good listener."
Calogero considered the offer, missing Sonny in that moment more than he ever had. Sonny understood about Jane but that didn't mean Carmen and the guys would. Fuck it, he decided. What did he have to lose?
"It's about my girl. My Pops doesn't like her."
Carmen leaned his head back, blowing a stream of smoke towards the night's sky.
"Yeah, I seen you with her. Long legs, good smile. So what is it your old man is objecting to? Her table manners or her skin color?"
He should have guessed that Carmen had seen them together. Nothing got by the Boss of the neighbourhood and he and Jane weren't exactly hiding out.
"Color." C leaned back against a street light, his shoulders slumping against the cool metal, his eyes closing against the artificial glare it emitted. "I could go home and apologise but if I do that, it's like telling him it's okay to be against us, you know?"
"And what about everyone else?" Carmen looked at him head on. "Your neighbours, Kids at school. What they got to say about you dating a black chick?"
"They all got something to say alright. Mostly behind my back these days 'cause I don't stand for none of their shit."
"Good for you." It was praise but automatic praise, as though Carmen would expect nothing less.
"You got some good friends though, right?"
And that was the problem, Calogero thought. All four of his closest friends had been wiped out in their arson attack at the record store on Webster Avenue. Sure, he had people to borrow homework notes from, and pass the time of day with. Like Paolo, from across the street, who had invited him to the party tonight, but not real friends. Not like Mario, Slick and the guys. And of course, the man who had told him to 'fuck everybody else' when it came to liking Jane, was gone.
"I'm a little light on real friends these days."
There was a long uncomfortable silence in which Calogero wished he'd never opened his mouth before Carmen tapped his shoulder lightly.
"Alright, Kid. I got somewhere you can lay over at for a while. Come with me."
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Vito Santelli was Carmen's nephew. His sister's only child and a 'drain on his fucking resources' Carmen said. He was staying in an apartment just two blocks from the bar and from what Calogero could tell on arrival, he wasn't exactly house proud.
"Jesus Christ, Vito. Smells like someone died in here." Carmen walked in without invitation and left Calogero standing face to face with Vito, a tall, wiry guy with greased hair and a thin scar that ran across his right cheek.
"Hey. Good to meet you, I'm C."
"C?" Vito's face lit up. "C as in Sonny's boy? Good to meet you, man. Come on in. Excuse the mess."
"Mess? Is that what you call it? It's a fucking pit in here, get this place cleaned up." Carmen was striding around the apartment, picking up empty beer cans and tossing them at Vito who dodged them good naturedly.
Calogero threw a glance around the place but was non plussed by the pizza boxes, dirty laundry and assortment of cans and bottles. He'd seen worse.
"If I'd have known you was coming, Uncle Carm, I'd have had the place shining."
"Both your eyes will be shining in a minute, you little prick." Another badly aimed can came in Vito's direction, narrowly missing Calogero who was just closing the door behind himself.
"So what's the occasion?" Vito grinned maddeningly at his uncle. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"
Carmen crossed the room and slapped Vito sharply over the back of the head. If it hurt, which it sure as hell looked like it did, Vito didn't let on.
"C here needs somewhere to lay low for a few days. And by lay low I mean somewhere to sleep where he ain't gonna be hassled by no two bit punk like you. You hear me? Show him where the second room is and for fucks sake, open some windows!"
Calogero was watching the exchange with a mixture of confusion and amusement and when Carmen finally turned to him, he wasn't quite sure what to say.
"You need anything, you know where I am, okay? And don't take any shit from this little jerk-off. Ya' hear?"
Taken aback, Calogero tried to focus on Carmen and ignore Vito who was sniggering in the foreground.
"Uh-Sure. And thanks."
It wasn't until Carmen had slammed out of the apartment, that Vito and Calogero, virtually strangers, looked at each other and began to laugh uncontrollably.
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Calogero became extremely aware that time was creeping up on him after Carmen left. He'd promised to meet Jane at eight O' clock on the corner of East Fordham Street, some way between their neighbourhoods. He hated to leave her waiting alone in the dark so he explained to Vito he had a party to get to and hurried into the bathroom. After he'd showered, he'd stuck his head around the bathroom door.
"Hey, Vito. You mind if I use a little cologne?"
"Knock yourself out," Vito called back.
After liberally dousing himself with the borrowed fragrance, he felt fresh enough but he had no choice in putting his old clothes back on. He'd left his apartment with only the shirt on his back.
"So what'd you do, huh? Steal a car? Get in a brawl?"
Vito was leaning in the doorway of the cluttered bathroom while Calogero tried to tidy up his hair some in front of the mirror.
"Naw, nothing like that. Just having some trouble at home."
"Your mother's a pain in the ass too, huh?"
Calogero eyed Vito coldly through the wall mirror and Vito threw back his head and laughed.
"Your old man then? Gotta be one of them. For me, it was the old lady. My Pops croaked it before I could walk and I'm pretty sure Uncle Carm helped him into the grave."
Calogero forgot to be annoyed and stared at Vito in astonishment. This guy didn't talk like the nephew of a wise guy. He was spilling secrets less than an hour after them meeting and he seemed to have little if no respect for his Uncle, who was the boss of bosses.
"What can ya do?" Vito shrugged and grinned at his reflection. "From what I hear, my Pops was a rat anyway. I ain't ever needed him. And when the old lady got too heavy, she packed me off to Uncle Carm. I spent three months at his place. In that time, he broke my nose, my arm and slapped me silly on more than one occasion. Then he realised it was less hassle to rent me my own place. So here I am."
It made sense now, how reluctant Carmen had been to put Calogero up at his place. His last house guest had obviously left plenty to be desired.
"So this party you're going to? Any decent chicks going?"
"I guess so." Calogero straightened out his shirt, satisfied he wasn't gonna get his hair any neater. "I ain't on the market right now though."
"Ah, you got a lady. She going too?"
"Yeah." Calogero stepped away from the mirror. "What kind of time do you go to sleep? I don't wanna wake you when I get back here later."
"I'm a night owl." Vito shrugged. "You show up any time. Although if the action is any good at this party, I might swing by a little later. What'd you say?"
Calogero thought about it. It wasn't a small party by any means and he didn't think his pal Paolo would mind.
"Yeah, sure. Why not? It's on Belmont Street, the East Fordham Road side. You'll hear it before you see it."
Vito nodded and told him he might see him a little later. To which Calogero called goodbye, picked up his leather jacket and hurried out of the apartment.
As he stepped out onto the sidewalk of East 187th Street, he shook a pack of cigarettes out from the inside of his coat. Idling flipping open the carton lid, Calogero glanced up at the clock on the tower of Our Lady Mount Carmel Church. He realised with a start that it was already twelve minutes past eight. Knowing Jane she'd probably been there since ten minutes to. Shit. Pushing the cigarettes back into his jacket, Calogero broke into a run.
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