Authors: Patrick Abbruzzi
As they drove, he wondered if the lieutenant noticed how they passed the coffee shop on Victory Boulevard and was relieved when nothing was said about it. When they arrived at the coffee shop in Stapleton, Charlie went inside without asking the boss what he wanted. When it was his turn to order, he asked for a large coffee, light and sweet with half and half, and a large cinnamon bun for the lieutenant and a French Cruller for himself.
Back in the car, they drove over to Parkhill Avenue along Bay Street, passing BayleySeto
n
Hospital which formerly was called Marine Hospital.
Bayley Seton was named after Elizabeth Anne BayleySeton. She was the first American bor
n
Roman Catholic saint. She used to spend summers on Staten Island at he
r
father’s residence in Saint George, and her grandfather was Rector of Sain
t
Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Richmond Town in the confines of the 122
nd
precinct. Elizabeth Anne converted to Catholicism in 1805, after the death of he
r
husband, and later founded the Sisters of Charity of Saint Joseph i
n
Baltimore, Maryland. Her order was responsible for opening numerous Catholic hospitals and orphanages and she is considered the Patroness o
f
the parochial school system in America.
Charlie was amazed that his head held such an array of trivia about the precinct but it had been almost a hobby for him. Too many people took for granted wher
e
they lived or how the street on which they lived got its name.
He pulled up to the entrance of 180
ParkhillAvenue and put the car in park. After taking a large sip of his coffee, the boss got out and walked over to Lieutenant Moor who was standing outside o
f
his own RMP. After a brief conversation, Lt. Moor and his driver were soon on their way bac
k
to the 120
th
. There was one sector car on the scene from the 4X12 tour an
d
they were waiting to be relieved by a 12X8 unit.
Lt. A. got back in the car with Charlie, took another si
p
of coffee and lit a cigarette.
“Looks like it’s all cleaned up here,” the lieutenant explained as he exhaled a line of smoke out the window. “We just have to wait for ESU to conduc
t
their search for the record and then we’re out of here.”
Charlie was relieved to hear this but didn’t know whether t
o
start his tale of woe right then or wait until a later time. After several long seconds, he finally decided now might be better.
“Lou, do you mind if I ask you a personal question?
”
The lieutenant looked at Charlie in a quizzical way and it made him feel as if Lt. A. knew what he was going to ask.
“First, are you okay?
”
asked the lieutenant.
“Yeah, I’m alright, but I really need to talk to somebody and it can’t be just anybody. I know how you are with everyone. It’s no secret that you do the guys’ write ups when they want a medal for a collar. They are always talking about how you spend your own meal hours in the back room at th
e
word processor doing their paperwork for them,” said Charlie.
“Well, I enjoy doing it for them. No one else will and no one di
d
it for me when I was a junior cop,” explained Lt. A.
“I know that, Lou. That’s why I want to speak to you about a problem tha
t
I have at home.”
“Okay, go ahead,” Lt. A. said with a nod.
Charlie told the lieutenant how he had met Terry at the donut shop then explained how he and his wife had been slowly drifting apart, stressing how it never seemed to be as bad as it was now between them. He told Lt. A. his wife had a boyfriend and was planning to go away for a few day
s
to Puerto Rico then admitted how he had made an ass of himself when h
e
began questioning her.
The lieutenant did not once interrupt and allowed Charlie to vent his frustrations for on
e
complete hour.
“Well that’s it, Lou. I guess it all comes down to one thing; I’m going to lose my wife,” Charlie finally said, half expecting the lieutenant to speak to him like a father and maybe even preach to him a little.
“Charlie, do you love Annette? Can you tell me the feelings you have when you are with either one of them?” asked the lieutenant.
“Well, when I’m with Terry I think of my wife and have feelings of guilt, yet when I’m with Annette, I daydream about Terry.
”
“Charlie, I can’t tell you what to do – no one can – but I do believe it’s human nature fo
r
men to think and feel that sometimes the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. Right now, the physical intimacy you have with Terry is fresh, ne
w
and exciting. It makes you feel like a young stud again. Unfortunately, it comes with a high price of broken hearts and shattered dreams.
“I am not goin
g
to preach to you but believe me when I say I speak from experience. It comes down to this; you must simply decide want you want. How did you feel when you
r
wife told you about Puerto Rico? How did you feel when she prepared you
r
favorite meal? Did you perk up after that? Do you think you have
a
shot at saving your marriage?
“I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that too many guys think with the hea
d
between their legs and not the one on their shoulders. Surely you must realize that, just as you are speaking to me now, Annette must b
e
talking to someone close to her also. She, too, must be seeking out advice. If you want to truly save your marriage, and all that it means to you, you must do whatever it takes. Don’t pla
y
games. Be honest, both with yourself and your wife. From what yo
u
are telling me she seems to be very honest with you, as painful as it may be.”
The lieutenant took a drink of his coffee then added, “She hasn’t actually said that she’s going away, has she?”
Charlie nodded.
“Well first I think you should try to feel inside of you. Go somewhere quiet and do your best to listen to the little voices that seem to come out of nowhere and direc
t
us. I truly believe we are guided by these voices, these
guardian angels
, if yo
u
wish. Take your time with your decision and just try to live your dail
y
life without any negative vibes. Refrain from anything that you fee
l
or think might be harmful to your life. I truly believe doing positive things and living in a positive way will help you make the right decisio
n
for yourself, Charlie, no matter what the outcome is.”
When he looked over at Charlie, Charlie nodded.
“If you like, you can talk to me anytime you want. And of course, you know that whatever is said in this car stays in this car. Okay?”
“Thanks, lieutenant. I really appreciate this and I do feel a little better already,” said Charlie.
“Is there any particular place you want to go to after we get relieved?
”
asked Lt. A.
“No, Lou. To tell you the truth, I was kind of hoping that it would be
a
quiet night so maybe you could tell me more of your experience
s
here in the precinct.”
“Good!” the lieutenant said as his eyes lit up. “I did want to tell you about another incident that my partner Frank and I handled back in the seventies, but I want you in good shap
e
to hear it.”
Lt. A. raised his eyebrows and looked at Charlie with feigned doubt, then they both laughed.
Charlie glanced at his watch and saw that he had been speaking for much longer than he’d suspected he would. He was happy to feel a weight lifted off his shoulders and his head had cleared.
As he lit anothe
r
cigarette, he noticed another radio car pull alongside them. It was Sergeant Scott; she had finished whatever it was she’d ha
d
to do. She saluted Lt. A. and thanked him for covering for her. He nodded at her in return then motioned for Charlie t
o
resume patrol. As they pulled away, Lt. A. notified central radio that they were back o
n
the clock and available for assignments.
“You can drive around or you can park somewhere if you’re not u
p
to it, Charlie,” Lt. A. said quietly. “I don’t really have any preferences tonight.
”
“If it’s all the same to you, Lou, I think I’ll just drive around fo
r
a little while,” Charlie answered.
They headed back to the station house with the intention of heading out to Mariner’s Harbor along Richmond Terrace. Although Charlie had no particular plac
e
in mind, it was an easy enough drive at 1:30 A.M. so he took them dow
n
Vanderbilt Avenue and made a left turn onto Tompkins Avenue.
“Lou, do you know how Tompkins Avenue got its name?
”
“I don’t have the foggiest idea,” the lieutenant admitted with a chuckle.
“It was named after Daniel D. Tompkins, who was Vice President of the United States under President James Monroe,” explained Charlie. “He lived in Saint George and died on Staten Island.”
The lieutenant smiled and nodded, obviously impressed with Charlie’s knowledge of Staten Island.
They drove the entire length of Tompkins Avenue and headed down t
o
Bay Street passing the ferry terminal and station house on their way ou
t
to the harbor.
“You know, Charlie, driving through Tompkinsville reminded me of when Fran
k
and I handled a job on TargeeStreet right at Broad Street, just tw
o
blocks up from Tompkins Avenue,” Lt. A. said wistfully. “Frank and I were assigned to sector E
,
as you already know. We worked a twenty squad chart back then and jus
t
happened to be in our late tour week. It was Christmas Eve and we wer
e
working with a skeleton crew, which afforded more men to be off for th
e
holiday.
“Frank didn’t have any kids yet and I was damn glad I was doing lat
e
tours because it meant I could be home during the day to be with m
y
family. I would get home in time to see my kids open their gifts that old Saint Nick had delivered during the night, and I was also looking forward to having Christmas dinner with the family. I had planned to spend some time with the kids early then get a few hours of sleep in order t
o
be rested enough to get up and enjoy my wife’s famous ravioli dinner.”
The lieutenant smiled at the memory then continued.
“Frank and I turned out and got our coffee at the all night diner on Bay St. Back in those days we didn’t have any Dunkin Donut shops around. We got our coffe
e and drove up Broad Street and parked on the NE corner of Broad and Targee Sts. facing Van Duzer Street and Demyan’s Hofbrau, which was a famou
s
German style restaurant. Demyanwas proud that he was th
e
only restaurateur who provided all the food that was used and catered for the filming of the motion picture,
The Godfather
. It was filme
d
right here on Staten Island. Did you know that Charlie?” asked Lt. A.
“I knew it was filmed on Staten Island but I didn’t know about th
e
restaurant catering it,” Charlie replied.
“Well, I can’t blame you.
Demyan’s is long gone but I bet you young guys have been to the bar called ‘the caves’,” said Lt. A.
“Oh, yeah,” Charlie said. “I’ve stopped there a few times. As a matter of fact, the 120
th
has held some of their parties there.
”
“That ugly bar used to house some of the best aged steaks and German bee
r
this side of Bavaria,” Lt. A. said. “Anyway, Frank and I parked and started to drink our coffee. It started to snow around 8:00 P.M. but it was
a
beautiful night. The falling sno
w
looked like innocent, glittering crystals but it was dangerously cold. The air wa
s
frigid with the temperature hovering around 8 degrees and every flake stuck to the ground. Before long, about 4” or 5” of snow covered the ground.