Please enjoy my latest manipulation of JE's characters.
44. Restraint and Devastation
The next day raced by in a whirl of meetings and concentrated work. At 5:15, I grabbed my bag and started to head out. I was ½ way across the room when my desk phone rang. I hurried back and answered it to find out that there was a Detective down in reception waiting to talk to me. They said something about signing a statement.
I wondered what Detective Carter was doing here. I assumed it had something to do with what happened down in Miami. I hung up the phone and headed down to meet the Detective. The receptionist told me that the Detective was in the conference room so I walked in there.
The person in the room wasn't Detective Carter. It was Joe Morelli. I looked at him and said, "You're a Detective now?"
Joe shook his head and said, "No, I introduced myself and showed my badge. The receptionist just assumed and I didn't have a chance to correct her before she hung up. I didn't think it would be that big of a deal when you got down here."
He said that last part in a way that made me feel guilty. "Sorry Joe, I was just surprised. I thought you were Detective Carter. It was just a bit of a shock."
"No worries, Cupcacke."
Joe just stood there and stared at me. After about 2 minutes, I got uncomfortable and asked, "What are you doing here Joe? The receptionist said something about signing a statement?"
Joe nodded and said, "Yes, I have a printed copy of your statement. We have to go over it and then you need to sign it."
I moved towards the table and held my hand out, expecting Joe to hand me the printout. Instead, he shook his head and said, "I need to read it to you and then we can go through it point-by-point."
"Come on Joe, surely we don't need to do that. I have to be somewhere this evening and I need to get home to change beforehand."
"It won't take too long Cupcake. I'll give you a ride home afterward if you'd like."
I rolled my eyes and said, "It will take me less time to walk than it will for you to get out of the parking garage and through the traffic."
"Oh really? I didn't realise that you lived so close. Maybe I can walk you home afterward."
That's just what I needed. So far this summer, my mother knows that I'm living somewhere in Newark, but I've never told her exactly where. I didn't want Joe to know because he'd more than likely tell my mother. I'd have to figure out a polite way to tell Joe to mind his own business.
"Let's just get this done. I want to get to Carlos."
Joe's expression changed momentarily at the mention of Carlos' name. He hid it well, but I had seen it and I would not let Joe sabotage things with Carlos. Joe and I spent the next 20 minutes going over my statement. Joe tried to derail things a few times by starting an unrelated conversation but I refused to fall for his rouse. I kept on track and within 30 minutes of walking into that room, I was insisting on signing the document so I could leave.
"Joe, I have somewhere to be, so just let me sign so I can get out of here."
Joe frowned for a moment and said, "I'll let you sign if you let me walk you home."
"There is no need for that Joe. I live close enough and I have to meet Carlos."
"Cupcake, I'd feel better knowing you got home safely."
I picked up my bag and walked out of the room with Joe following me. He wouldn't take no for an answer so I would try and ditch him in one form or another. I didn't want him to know where I lived, so if that meant walking straight to the gym, that's just what I'd do. I could always return home after Joe left.
I walked out the door and almost ran smack dab into Ricardo. He looked at me and smiled and then the smile vanished as he saw who was over my shoulder. "Officer Morelli, how nice to see you again."
He stressed the officer part and the receptionist turned a bit red. He looked down at me and said, "I just spoke to Carlos. He's running a little late and asked me to bring you home with me. You can meet him there when he's done work."
I smiled at Ricardo and mouthed a "Thank You" as I walked away from Joe without a word. We got down to the parking garage and climbed into the car. "I'm pretty sure that Officer Morelli will follow us, so I'm not comfortable just dropping you off at home. Why don't we go to the gym and then I'll take you home after we're sure that Morelli has left."
I nodded, but that turned out not to be necessary. As Morelli walked to his car, he got a call. I heard him say, "I'll be right there. I'm about 20 minutes away."
Ricardo and I watched as Joe sped out of the garage. Just to make sure he had left, Ricardo circled the block a few times before he stopped in front of my building. I thanked Ricardo and went upstairs. I didn't have a lot of time so I quickly ate a sandwich and then changed. I wasn't sure if I should drive or not. I looked at the clock to see that I only had 20 minutes until my lesson with Carlos started. It took at least 20 minutes to walk, so I had little choice but to drive. It would mean we could get back more quickly after the class and would give us more time together. That alone was a good enough reason to drive.
When I got to the gym, Carlos seemed a bit preoccupied. "What's wrong Carlos?"
He shook his head and said, "Nothing is wrong really. I just spoke to Tom and he told me some interesting news."
Carlos didn't elaborate, so as a joke I said, "What is it? Don't tell me that the other guys have gone and signed up to join the army too?"
Carlos' mouth opened wide when he looked at me and said, "Did you know about this Babe? Why didn't you tell me?"
"Know what? I was kidding. Are you saying that the other guys joined the army?"
Carlos nodded and said, "Bobby, Lester and Vince will be joining us in 3 weeks when we leave for basic training. Jimmy didn't pass the physical for some reason. He's been sent to New York Presbyterian Hospital for some tests."
I was shocked. I knew that Bobby and Lester were thinking about joining, but I never would have guessed that Vince and Jimmy would do the same thing. I then thought about what could cause Jimmy to be rejected, and what would cause enough concern for him to be sent straight away to New York for tests.
I looked at Carlos and said, "Does Molly know?"
He nodded and said, "She took him to New York. She didn't know that he was going to join the army, so when she found out, she was understandably angry. However, when Jimmy told her why he was rejected and that they made him an appointment with a specialist in New York, she quickly forgave him."
"Poor Molly. I'm going to try and give her a call to see how she is doing."
I returned to the locker room and opened my locker looking for my phone. I called Molly and got her voice mail after a single ring. That meant that she was probably already on the phone or that it was turned off. Either way, I wanted to reassure her so I left a message for her to call me if she needed anything. Even if all she needed was someone to talk to.
I stuck my phone in my pocket and returned to Carlos. We then went on with our lesson as best as we could. My phone remained silent until we were winding down the lesson. I picked it up and saw that it was Molly.
"Hey Molly, how are you and Jimmy doing?"
"He's OK for now. He has a faulty valve in his heart that needs to be repaired. They want to wait a bit to do the surgery, so he'll be discharged in the morning and he'll just have to take things easy for a while. The doctor said that it was lucky that he tried to join the army because he could have gone on not knowing he had this problem and just not woken up one morning."
"I'm glad that he's OK for now. Do you need anything?"
"Can I stay with you tonight? It's much closer to Jimmy."
"Sure, that's not a problem. I will let Johnny know that you'll arrive a little late. He'll keep an eye out for you and let you in the garage when you pull up."
"Thanks Steph. I'm sorry if I'll be intruding on you and Carlos tonight."
"Don't worry about that Molly. I'll wait up as long as I can. I'll lay out some clothes so you have something fresh to wear to bed and tomorrow."
"Thanks Steph. I'll leave shortly, so I doubt I'll be much later than 10:30."
"Give Jimmy my love. See you soon."
I put down the phone and looked at Carlos. He hadn't heard the news yet so he was looking at me with impatient curiosity.
"Jimmy has a heart murmur caused by a faulty valve. They have run a few tests and want to run a few over the next few weeks, but it looks like he'll need surgery to replace the faulty valve. Molly says that if he hadn't tried to join the army, he may never have known that there was a problem with his heart. He would have just gone on with his life until it gave out."
Carlos rubbed his hands over his face and said, "I was so angry when I found out what the guys did, but now I'm grateful. Jimmy is the best of all of us, and if something had happened to him while we were away, I'd have regretted it for the rest of my life."
"So now you're OK that Bobby, Lester and Vince will join the Army with you?"
"I've come to realise that if that's what they want to do, then who am I to stop them? They're all good men."
I smiled at Carlos and said, "Yes, you're all good men and I'll miss you all very much."
Carlos smiled and then looked at his watch. He turned to me and said, "We have about 15 minutes before the class starts. Why don't we just move there and start warming up a little early?"
I nodded, grabbed my bag and followed him down the hall to the large room where the class would take place. We walked in and all of the students were already there. As soon as Carlos walked in the room, they started to clap and whistle.
Meg walked forward and handed Carlos a pile of cards and said, "Since tonight is our last lesson with you, we wanted to do something nice. We all arrived early so we could start the class a little early. Afterward, we have a cake and some punch."
Carlos looked around the room. He was shocked, but he smiled and said, "That was very nice of you all. Let's get things started so we have time for cake afterward."
Even though this was his final lesson, he didn't go easy. In fact, I think he worked us a little harder than normal. He even roped in a few of the other instructors to help out. Tom and Roger, one of the other trainers came in and took turns with Carlos putting each of us in various holds. We had to get out of one of each before we were allowed cake.
We were all sweating and breathless when Carlos called for us to start our cool down routine. I looked around and every single woman in the room was grinning from ear-to-ear. They obviously enjoyed their classes with Carlos and would miss him when he left.
After we were adequately cooled down, we gathered around the table at the back with a cake on it that said, 'Bon Voyage, Carlos.' There was also a picture of Uncle Sam like you saw in the old fashioned army recruitment posters, the one where he had his hand up in salute to the flag. Carlos was very touched and he hugged each woman in the class and had something special to say to each of them.
Before cutting the cake, Meg said, "Carlos, you've been a wonderful instructor over the past couple of years. You have taught us so much and we're sad to see you leave. However, we're proud of you as well, and support your decision to join the army. Good luck and all the best from everyone here."
Carlos looked around the room and said, "It has been a pleasure to teach each and every one of you. I have seen the progress you have made over the course of these classes and am confident that you will all walk the streets of this and any other city with confidence in your ability to protect yourselves. The key to success with self-defence is practice. When you are in a stressful situation, muscle memory will work in your favour if you are scared. Just because I'm leaving, don't give up on these lessons. You don't have to do them at the gym, you can practice anywhere. Keep in touch with each other and encourage yourselves to keep practicing."
Right at that moment, my stomach decided to growl. It was loud enough that everyone present heard it. Carlos looked at me and then said, "I guess that means that it's cake time."
Carlos proceeded in cutting and handing out pieces of cake to everyone present. He even had a very small piece himself. Everyone helped to clean up, and we were all out of there exactly on time. Carlos hugged everyone a second time and made his final goodbyes. While he was busy doing this, Meg pulled me aside and handed me an envelope.
I looked at her in confusion so she said, "It's my contact details, dear. I have a feeling that you might need someone to talk to after your dear Carlos leaves. Please feel free to contact me at any time. We could meet to practice our moves, or we could just have a coffee. Either way, I'd love to hear from you from time to time."
I smiled and hugged Meg. "Thanks. I will probably take you up on this. Most of my friends don't really know Carlos, and they'll probably be too busy in their own lives to want to talk about him."
Meg smile and said, "Just call and I'll be there for you. I've been through exactly what you're about to go through. My Robert joined the Navy just after we were married. I was left behind on a military base with other wives, but I had no friends. It was hard for me, but I got through it."
I thanked Meg for her offer and put her card in my handbag. I waved goodbye to the rest of the women and was left with Carlos and Tom. I hugged Tom and said goodbye and then I let Carlos drive us home.
We arrived home around 10:00, and after showering, I was making the spare room bed when Carlos called up to say that Molly just pulled in the parking garage. I rushed down and hugged her when she came in the room. We spent a few minutes talking and then I went back upstairs with Molly to finish getting the bed ready for her.
I also let her shop my closet for some clothes to wear the following day. She chose a basic pink t-shirt and a pair of capris jeans. She was at least 4 inches shorter than me, so these were the only option unless she wanted to wear a skirt. Equipped with clothes for the morning, I gave her the keys that Carlos normally carried and handed them to her.
Molly frowned and said, "What are these for?"
"I have to leave for work around 8 tomorrow morning. I figured you might want to have a bit of a sleep in to avoid the New York morning rush-hour traffic. You'll need those to lock up in the morning."
"Ah, I never really thought of that. I was planning on leaving early, but you're right. Visiting hours don't actually start till 10 and being stuck in traffic doesn't really appeal. I'll leave at 9:30 and hopefully avoid as much as possible. I will however, get up and have breakfast with you if you don't mind. I am normally up early anyway."
"Not a problem. Sleep well and see you in the morning."
I hugged Molly before I went downstairs and then found Carlos sitting on the sofa staring off into space. He looked up when I walked into the room and stood. "Let's go to bed, Babe. It's late and tomorrow is going to be a long day for me. I have the last session with several of my clients, and I'm sure it will be hard."
"Why is tomorrow your last session with these people? You are there next week too right?"
"I am, but next week will be the handover session with a new trainer. I will introduce the client to their new trainer and explain the progress we've made. I won't do the session, the new trainer will."
"Oh, OK."
I stood and reached out my hand and helped Carlos to his feet. We turned out the lights and went to bed. Carlos curled up behind me, pulling me towards him. We stayed this way and talked quietly for the next ½ hour or so, before falling asleep.
More to follow next week.