Chapter 12

Gallo sat down on his bed, listening to Madonna's "Like a Virgin". It was nine o'clock at night, and his suitcase lay at the foot of the bed. He felt a dull excitement in him about going down to Hawaii: it was, of course, going to be his first trip out of the state of California. Really cool idea actually.

He sat up, knowing that he had to bring the suitcase to Alice for safe-keeping. Gallo grabbed the phone and began dialing numbers.

"Hello?" Alice's voice came up.

"It's me." Gallo spoke.

"Oh hey, Tommy. I was just gonna call you. How's it going to work tomorrow?"

Gallo smiled at the coincidence, "I'm going to give you my suitcase and then someone's going to come and pick you up. A friend of Eddie's, you can trust him. You'll meet up with us at the airport, and we go to Hawaii."

Alice laughed, "Yeah it's great! I wanted to thank you for giving me this. This is going to be a great trip."

Gallo sighed, the guilt building up in him.

Suddenly Alice spoke again, "But Tommy, one thing before this happens. I need to go to the store tomorrow. I have to return something I bought there."

Gallo paused, "Oh. Well, can you make it soon as possible?"

"Oh yeah, of course."

"Great. The guy will just wait for you if he gets there early. But I'm going to give you my suitcase, okay? I'll be right there."

The trip was short. Gallo didn't notice anything around him. He was too busy with his thoughts. He didn't know how this was going to happen. He was nervous as though he was already there.

Alice opened the door, and Gallo brought in the suitcase. As always, he seemed to notice for the first time just how beautiful she was.

She smiled at Gallo, "You excited?"

Gallo nodded, staring into her eyes. The sincerity in her just enhanced her looks. There was such a pure goodness in her that he was astonished that she'd fallen for a guy like him.

Alice suddenly looked concerned, "Is your brother feeling better?"

Gallo almost said, 'Who?' before catching himself, "Oh he's lookin' forward to this thing too. He's getting a bunch of his buddies and our uncle is gonna be there, and our dad Joe. You'll like him, but he's a bit stern."

Alice rolled her eyes, "Tommy, baby, you're telling me this after seeing my uncle?"

Gallo suddenly remembered something that he hadn't told either Joe or Eddie.

Her uncle was a cop. He would be a bit suspicious if they went off just after a robbery had taken place. Would he suspect Gallo?

Even as he suspected this, he noticed Alice looked a bit concerned. Maybe she had been thinking of that too.

She spoke, "Tommy how many of Eddie's buddies are going to be there?"

Gallo realized what was bothering her and he relaxed, "Oh, there's going to be four guys there."

"Do you know them?"

Gallo paused, "You don't think my brother would associate with criminals, do you?"

Alice looked a bit embarrassed, "Well, I didn't mean it like that. I don't know. It's just that I'm not too sure about this whole thing."

Gallo suddenly feared that she would figure it out, "Alice, would I do anything to hurt you?" He meant that when he said it. He would never have done any of this if he had thought she would get hurt. That there was a small chance only meant he had to overcome the chance.

Alice looked at him, "I never thought you would mean to hurt me."

Gallo held her hands, "Come on, this isn't anything bad. It's just a family outing, and I want you to come with me. Please."

Alice still looked uncertain for a moment, then her doubt melted away, "Sure."

Gallo kissed her in his happiness. She was coming! It was as good as done!

Alice broke off the kiss, "When do you have to meet up with those guys?"

"Eight o' clock." Gallo answered breathlessly.

Alice looked upstairs, "It's still pretty early."

Gallo was suddenly filled with lust as he and Alice began hurrying up the stairs, holding her hand as though he would never let go.