Authors: Patrick Abbruzzi
He got out of his car and spoke with Mike for a while, then went inside. Annette had the coffee on and welcomed him home with a good morning kiss then asked if wanted any breakfast. He declined food but read his paper while he enjoyed a fresh cup of coffee. After a while he decided to lie down but set his alarm for 12:00 noon. This was now the start of his swing and he just wanted to take the edge off his tired feeling. He would get up at noon, shower and start his projects.
He planned to make a trip to the local Home Depot and knew he could use the pay phone there to call Terry.
He made his way to the bedroom and Annette followed. When they entered their bedroom, she drew the shades for him as
usual. Charlie was always horny in the morning but he did not say anything about it and neither did Annette. After a while, he fell asleep and did not dream.
To Charlie, sleep was what death was all about. Death was probably just an endless, dreamless sleep. He thought about all the so called religious people who say they believe in God, yet he knew that when asked how they wanted to die, those same people would invariably say they wanted to die in their sleep. Whenever he would ask them why, he always got the same answer. They chose this way so they would not know they had died. He always loved to play the devil’s advocate with these holy rollers. He would argue that, if they believed in God and an afterlife, shouldn’t they wake up at the moment of death and realize they were dead?
He got up at noon and showered. Although he was still tired, he wanted to do some chores around the house. Surprisingly, he felt good.
He needed some paint and rollers so he got into his car and headed to the Home Depot on Forest Avenue, where he bought what he needed and headed back out to his car. He placed his material into the trunk then headed back to the front of the store. There he found a phone booth which had the accordion type doors that afforded privacy. He dialed Terry’s number and felt the nervousness coming back over him.
The phone rang and Terry answered.
“Hello?”
“Terry,
it’s Charlie. I hope I’m not disturbing you,” he said.
“Oh, Charlie! I knew I would hear from you today. Where are you?
”
she asked.
“I had to go to Home Depot so I decide to call you from there,” he answered.
“Charlie, I miss you. I can’t wait until Monday to see you. Do you think you might be able to come over to my house now? We could have a cup of coffee here,” she said quietly.
“Is anyone home with you?
”
Charlie asked.
“My mom is visiting some friends and will probably stay for dinner which means she won’t be home until later tonight. My son is in the living room watching his morning cartoons.”
Charlie thought about it and was a little hesitant about going. He really wanted to get started painting but it didn’t take him long to rationalize how one lousy cup of coffee could put a dent in anything.
“Sure, you know I would love to see you,” he said.
Terry gave him her address, which was in the confines of the 123
rd
precinct. He was glad about this because it meant he would not run into any guys on patrol in the 120
th
precinct.
He said goodbye, headed back out to his car and began the drive out to Terry’s place. He was on Forest Avenue already so all he had to do was head out to South Avenue and get on the West Shore Expressway. He got off at Bloomingdale Road and drove a few blocks to Foster Road. The drive took him all of fifteen minutes. It was a rural section of Staten Island and was probably farm land years before.
He spotted the house but did not want to park directly in front. Instead, he drove past it and found an empty curb about a block away. It was a beautiful day.
As he approached her residence he noted it was a small ranch with a neatly manicured lawn. It could use a paint job but it still wasn’t that bad. There was one car parked in the driveway and Charlie surmised it was Terry’s.
He rang the bell and, after a few seconds, she answered the door. She was wearing jeans and a white cashmere sweater that accentuated her breasts. She looked absolutely beautiful.
Charlie said hello and she welcomed him into her home. She led him into the living room where her son was quietly sitting on the couch watching television.
The living room had wall to wall carpeting and the color of the room had a blue motif. The couches were a deep sea blue while the rug was a light, pastel sky blue. The lamps seemed to be French provincial and matched the walls, which were painted in the hue of a robin’s egg. It was so clean that you could have eaten off of any table or even the carpeted floor itself.
Her son was a good looking boy with dark hair and blue eyes. He was still dressed in his pajamas, the top half of which had the Superman insignia on it. The young man looked up when they paused in the doorway and Terry introduced Charlie as a friend from
work. Her son politely said hello and quickly diverted his eyes back to his cartoons so Terry took Charlie by the hand and led him into the kitchen.
“I think we might have a little more privacy in here. I hope you don’t mind just sitting at the kitchen table, Charlie,” she said quietly.
“I’m just happy to see you, Terry,” he answered.
He had arrived at Terry’s place shortly after 2:00 P.M. and it was almost 5:00 P.M. when he left. While he was there they talked about everything and he enjoyed being with her so much that the time just flew by. When he did leave, Terry walked him to the door. Once there, they just seemed to stare at each other for the longest time before she finally spoke.
“Don’t you want to kiss me goodbye?
”
“Terry, I want to kiss you so much that I’m shaking,” he replied. Charlie was filled with desire. Without waiting for her response, he gently took Terry’s face in his hands and kissed her softly on her lips. They were soft and smooth and the aroma of her perfume drove him wild. Their first kiss lasted roughly three seconds and afterward, they looked at each other in silence, neither wanting to break the spell. He took her in his arms and kissed her again, fully and hard on the lips, and quivered as Terry inserted her tongue deep into his mouth. He heard her gently moan with pleasure as he sucked on it and, as he pulled her closer to him he felt her nipples harden as they shared multiple kisses. His excitement continued to build as he pressed his body toward her so she, too, could feel his growing desire for her.
Although they were both quite aroused, Terry pulled away first. After she caught her breath, she said it was not the time or place. Charlie agreed intellectually of course but would have taken her right there on the doorstep. After sharing a few more, less intense kisses, they said their goodbyes and he told her he would call her.
He walked to his car and took a long careful look around just to make sure no one familiar was nearby. When he was satisfied that no one saw him, he got into his car and started the drive back to his home on the south shore. As he drove away, he felt a sticky wetness near his crotch and looked down to find a stain in his trousers caused by his embrace with Terry.
He arrived home in time for dinner but avoided his wife, lying on his way to the bathroom as he explained he had met an old friend at the store and decided to stop for coffee with him. Once in the bathroom, he thoroughly washed Terry’s perfume off, quite relieved to know he had gotten away with his little rendezvous with her. Thankfully, the subject did not come up again and Charlie spent the next day painting.
Monday night finally rolled around and Charlie could not wait until he went into work so he could see Terry. Roll call came and went as usual then he and the lieutenant went out on patrol.
Lt. A. wanted coffee so Charlie decided to drive over to the Dunkin Donuts shop where Terry worked. Charlie wanted to go in but so did the lieutenant and he couldn’t very well tell his boss to stay in the car, so they both went inside. As they stared at the menu board over the horizontal racks of donuts and muffins, he realized Terry was not there and he wondered if she or her son were sick again.
This time he could not wait until morning or for the next night, for that matter, so he told the lieutenant he had to make a phone call and remained in the joint to use the pay phone in the back. With a nod, the lieutenant went out to the RMP with his coffee and donuts to wait.
Charlie felt funny and a little guilty about dialing the number Terry had given him, especially considering what time it was, but he had to do it for his own sanity. He dialed the number hesitantly and after a few rings, Terry finally answered the phone.
“Terry, are you okay?
”
he asked.
“Oh, Charlie. I have such a bad cold. I must have caught it from my son. He’s always bringing something home from school. I certainly hope you don’t catch it from me since we did get intimate in a nice kind of way the other day,” she said, almost purring like a cat.
“How could I forget?” Charlie asked in a reminiscent tone. “I would catch a cold from you any day of the week. You kiss so nice and your lips were so smooth, pretty lady.”
“What did you call me?
”
she asked.
“I called you pretty lady,” he repeated.
Silence followed for several long seconds.
“I like that,” she finally said. “I wish you were here right now. We could sit on my couch and just cuddle all night long.
”
He wanted so much to ask the lieutenant for some time off but he knew it was not just possible on such short notice.
“Well, maybe you could stop over in the morning. My mom will be leaving early and my son will be in school,” she hinted coyly.
Even though he was a little hesitant, his heart skipped a beat. He knew he probably could, but doing so would mean he would have to lie to Annette and concoct some story. He hoped he wouldn’t have to make a collar and go to court.
He also had no doubt that if he did go to Terry’s, they would very likely wind up making love.
“What time should I get there if I can?” he asked.
“How does 9:00 A.M. sound? Is that too late for you?
”
“9:00 A.M. it is.” His reply was quick, without hesitation.
They said their goodbyes and Charlie walked out to the RMP, where the lieutenant was just finishing up his coffee and French cruller, which was his favorite. Thankfully he didn’t ask Charlie for details about his phone call.
“Charlie, I would just like to take a ride and keep moving for a while, if you don’t mind. You can go anywhere you want but I just feel like going on patrol.”
“Are you catching tonight?
”
asked Lt. A.
“Not tonight, Lou, if it can be helped. If you run short, of course, I’ll be there for you, but I’d rather not tonight. Okay?
”
The lieutenant nodded and Charlie began to drive up Victory Boulevard. As he did, he felt relief wash over him. He had told Terry he would be there in the morning and he definitely didn’t want to take a chance winding up in court with a collar.
He continued his drive up Victory Boulevard passing Silver Lake Park and the Silver Lake reservoir. Although the reservoir was completely fenced to keep out swimmers, every summer at least one
poor family was notified that a son or daughter had been lost in its deep water.
Lt. A. was in a talkative mood. As they roamed through the streets, he started on another war story. Charlie was all ears.
“Charlie, you have two grown children, right?” asked Lt. A.
“Yeah, Lou, I have a boy and a girl. They’re both away at school.”
“I thought so. You know, I have a boy and girl, too. Mine are a little older of course, and I wouldn’t hurt them for the world,” Lt. A. said quietly.
At first, Charlie thought the boss was going to lecture him on the evils of adultery. Not that Charlie didn’t need lecturing but he did not want to
preached to, either.
“You know Charlie, it’s funny what we choose to remember or what we effectively block from our memories.
“I can remember even the smallest details about my kids from back when they were toddlers, and I can reach back into my memory and see when my daughter was just six years old. If I close my eyes, I can still see her wearing those little white dresses my wife used to make for her. I remember the little black satin shoes she wore and I can see so clearly the pink ribbons we lovingly tied into her golden, blond hair,” reminisced the lieutenant.
Charlie sensed that this next war story was going to be about either the lieutenant’s kids or someone else’s, so he decided to turn right on Clove Road and follow it all the way to Richmond Terrace before turning left and heading out to Mariner’s Harbor. The route was a fairly straight one and would afford Charlie greater concentration in listening to the boss tell his story. After a few seconds of silence, the lieutenant began.