The Hedonist (7 page)

“Poppa,” Carlucci said to the old man. “These are a few friends of mine. You may remember Shawn. He’s here to purchase a nice supply.”

While Carlucci’s mother was quick to bring up nonchalant conversation, his father was strictly business-oriented.

“Pure cocaine…,” Poppa Giordano told them, “Price starts around $130 per gram. Cheaper than Norway and Finland.”

“He’s looking for kilos, Poppa.”

“Hmm…” the old man thought, “Then we offer good deal. A kilo, or one of these bricks, weighs 2.2 pounds. I weigh them myself. Given the quality of this White Pony, it would usually run $20,000.”

“But Shawn is a good friend, so he gets a good deal,” Carlucci told his father.

“Yes, let me finish. For normal deal we sell for $18,500. But you are friend, yes?” Poppa Giordano asked figuratively. “So then I give you a brick of white pony at $16,500.”

“Sounds good,” Shawn said, “But what kind of deal can I get for two?”

“Hmmm…” Poppa Giordano thought for a moment. “We do not usually have customers asking for more than one at a time! And even that is rare. What do you think, Carlucci?”

“Shawn,” Carlucci said rubbing his chin. “Two bricks…”

“I’ll give you $30,000 for two,” Shawn told him. “And remember, this is just a test run. If I’m successful, I’ll be back for much, much more.”

“Then I think we have a deal!”

Shawn told Lauren to hand him the backpack she was carrying. She did so and Shawn took out three stacks of bills, each worth $10,000. Carlucci passed the money to his father who counted it with lightning speed.

“It’s all there,” Poppa Giordano said. “Nice doing business with you, my friend.”

The old Italian man handed the two large brick-shaped packages to Shawn who placed them into the backpack, zipped it up, and gave it back to Lauren.

“Guard this with your life, Lauren,” he told her.

“I don’t know who you’re selling to,” Poppa Giordano pointed out, “But your customers will not be disappointed. You have my guarantee. They will be back to you which means you will be back to us.”

“Then make sure you’re ready,” Shawn smirked.

“Oh we will be!” the old man laughed, “We always are.”

Poppa Giordano went back to tending to his work after the exchange. Carlucci escorted them back up the stairs. When they went through the kitchen Momma Giordano waved bye as they walked into the public serving area of the restaurant. Carlucci stopped them just as they were getting ready to exit the building.

“One last thing,” Carlucci said. “As a ‘thank you’ for the business, I want to throw in a small gift.”

He pulled out a small tin case and handed it to Shawn.

“What’s in it?” Shawn asked.

“Your girls asked about the plants. There’s a purple kush joint for each of you in there,” he said pointing to the tin case.

“Thanks,” Shawn said as they shook hands.

“You girls enjoy that,” Carlucci smiled as he slapped Lauren and Jessica on the rears.

Carlucci disappeared into the restaurant as they got into Shawn’s car.

“Never experienced anything like that,” Lauren said as they got back onto the road. The backpack was in her lap.

“What about the beach?” Jessica asked.

“You two still want to go to the beach?” Shawn asked.

Jessica and Lauren said yes in unison.

“Alright, we’ll stop at Tybee Island for the beach. But only because it’s 10 minutes away from here.”

And sure enough, they arrived on the beach 10 minutes later after passing over a large bridge. Tybee Island was filled with hotels and bars on every corner. There were so many palm trees and tourists about that it reminded them of Miami.

“This place is awesome,” Jessica said.

“Yeah, I love it too,” Shawn told them. “Spent most of my college years here.”

After searching for a parking spot for nearly twenty minutes, they were on the beach. Lauren and Jessica were roaming around in their bikinis getting along quite well. As they went off, Shawn purchased a fold out chair and an umbrella to set up in the sand. Then he went to the closest outdoor bar and ordered a cocktail. With the backpack held tightly around his arm, he took his drink and lied back under his umbrella.

“This is a good life,” he said to himself before making a correction. “Nah… it’ll be the good life after I sell what’s in this bag and get my savings back.”

He downed his drink and fell asleep in the fold-out chair.

*

*

“Shawn, wake up, sleepy head!”

His eyes opened while Lauren was slightly shaking him awake. He yawned.

“How long have I been asleep?”

“Like two hours, it’s five o’clock now,” Lauren said.

“We got hungry so we got some hotdogs. Got one for you too,” Jessica said as she passed him a hotdog with relish on top.

“Great,” Shawn said while blinking his eyes open. “Thanks.”

He felt the backpack to make sure his items were still inside. Once he was sure they were, he took a bite of his hotdog. Jessica and Lauren helped him pack his umbrella and chair into his car as he continued to clutch the backpack.

“Did you two have a good time?” Shawn asked as they took off in the car.

“Yeah, it was awesome,” Lauren said.

“Loved every minute of it,” Jessica agreed.

“In fact,” Lauren continued, “We should do this every weekend.”

*

An hour later, they were driving back home along the scenic route and discussing everything that transpired from the great Italian desserts to the basement full of marijuana plants and large quantities of cocaine.

“I’ve never seen bricks of blow like that before in my life,” Jessica said.

“Me neither,” Lauren nodded.

“So how are you gonna make your money back?” Jessica asked Shawn.

“Well,” he thought for a moment. “I paid $30,000 for two kilos. The plan is for me to make back double.”

“How so?” Lauren asked.

“If Dr. Daniels knows what she’s talking about then our potential clients will pay twice as much. You heard Poppa Giordano. $130 per gram is the normal cost. Back in Ashmore, I’ll charge $260 per gram. If our clients are doctors, lawyers, and judges, they can afford it without thinking twice. So basically I’ll just overcharge them.”

Lauren and Jessica complimented Shawn over and over. They said he was genius, brilliant, unmatched. He devoured their every word.

With an hour left on their way back to Ashmore, they were still discussing their antics when Lauren asked about the gift Carlucci had given them.

“Can we smoke those joints that Italian guy gave us?” Lauren asked.

“You don’t want to save them for later?” Shawn asked.

“No, I want one now.”

“Yeah, me too,” Jessica agreed.

Shawn was about to pull the tin case out of his breast pocket when the tire on the driver’s rear side suddenly blew out.

“What’s that?” Lauren asked.

“I think the car is dying!” Jessica shrieked.

“No, I’m sure it’s just one of the tires,” Shawn assured them.

He pulled the car over to the side of the road and stepped out. He looked around and was able to confirm the back tire on the driver’s side faced a blowout. It was entirely flat so he opened the trunk and pulled out a spare along with a car-jack.

“No need to worry, girls. Just a flat tire.”

He looked closer and noticed a large nail was sticking out of the flat tire.

“Why’d the tire go flat?” Jessica asked.

“Maybe someone intentionally did it,” Lauren panicked.

“No, no one intentionally blew out our tire,” Shawn told them. “We just rode over a rusty nail. All I’ve got to do is change it. You two stay in the car while I do this.”

Shawn placed the car-jack under the car and started to crank it when suddenly a police car drove up behind them. An officer of the law stepped out of his patrol car as the sun continued to lower. Shawn stayed cool as always.

“Good evening. Can I assist you in any way?” the officer asked.

“Just fixing a flat,” Shawn told him.

“Oh, I can see that. I can help with that if you’d like.”

“No, it’s alright,” Shawn said, “I’ve got it just fine.”

“So, what brings you out here in these backwoods this evening?” the officer questioned him.

“Just on my way to another city with a few acquaintances. We decided to take the scenic route. Quite nice, isn’t it?”

“What city you headed to?” the officer continued to question him.

“Ah, Columbia,” Shawn lied.

The passenger car door opened and Lauren walked over to Shawn. She had a worried look on her face as Shawn attempted to mask a disgruntled attitude.

“What’s going on?” Lauren asked. The backpack containing cocaine was positioned over her shoulder.

“I told you,” Shawn said as coolly as possible, “I’m just fixing a flat.”

The officer looked at Lauren and his interest peaked. Jessica then jumped out of the backseat. Their revealing outfits caught the officer’s attention.

“How do you all know each other?” the officer asked.

“Lauren and I live together,” Jessica lied. “And Dr. Stevens is our neighbor. He’s just giving us a ride.”

“A doctor…,” the officer said, “I guess that explains the nice automobile.”

The two girls fully gained the officer’s attention when Jessica began pouting her lips. Lauren followed suit by batting her eyes.

“Please, let me assist you with that flat,” the officer spoke as if they were the ones changing the tire. He then turned to Shawn, “I insist.”

Shawn brushed his hands together as the officer used the car-jack to mount the vehicle. He bent over and rushed to remove the old tire and replace it with the spare. He did it in what Shawn thought was a record pace.

“Well, there you are, Doctor,” he said before turning to the girls. “I hope I was helpful, ladies.”

“Oh, you were terrific,” Jessica smiled in a manner that commanded his attention.

Minutes later, they were in their vehicle and back on the road after the officer waved and drove off.

“You two were great!” Shawn said as they continued their long drive.

“Who doesn’t love a pair of pretty young girls?” Jessica asked figuratively.

“A cop is no match for us!” said Lauren

“Now I know who I should always travel with,” Shawn laughed.

“So… Can we get smoke those joints now?” Lauren asked.

Shawn wasn’t sure he wanted them to be under the influence of any drugs after their last close call but he agreed when they continued to beg him. So half an hour later he decided to pop open the small tin cans.

After stopping at a convenience store to use the restroom and purchase an assortment of food, snacks, and candy, they got back into the car and each of them lit a marijuana joint of their own. Together, the three of them smoked, devoured snacks, and laughed all the way back to Ashmore.

CHAPTER 7

The day following their trip, Stevens kept the backpack of narcotics in a safe place in his home. He decided to lounge on his last day before returning to work. Lauren was with him enjoying cocktails, one after the other when Shawn informed her that Jessica would be returning. He told Lauren that he wanted to learn how well she would get along with Jessica. That was the purpose of allowing Jessica to go along with them on their trip to Giordano’s.

Lauren questioned Shawn further when he broke the news that Jessica would be moving in with them.

“What!?” Lauren said in a shocked tone.

“She’s on her way with her bags now,” Shawn told her.

“Are you joking?” she asked.

“But you two got along really well.”

“I thought we were special,” Lauren wailed.

“We are. But you should also understand that there are others who appreciate me as well.”

Lauren grunted angrily. She got along with Jessica but didn’t want to share Shawn with her. He told her that Jessica had gotten kicked out of her old apartment and he wanted to help Jessica just as he had helped her. Lauren had no choice but to consent to welcoming their newest roommate who arrived an hour later. Jessica went on to unpack her things in one of the three empty bedrooms in the house while Lauren forced herself to smile. It would take some time, but they eventually learned to get along.

             
***

Shawn returned to work the following Monday and was merrily greeted everywhere he went on-campus. In every classroom, office, and hallway he entered there were students and other faculty members there to shake the hand of Dr. Stevens. These were the moments he loved.

After his ten o’clock class concluded, Shawn took a few minutes to speak with several different students concerning an upcoming test and topics for their final exam papers. A few students were asking him what topics would be most appropriate for the end of term essay so he took the time to discuss it with them.

Shawn was mandated to require that his students write at least one paper. He had no interest in regularly grading 150 papers so he told his class that the only required essay was due at the end of the semester in place of their final exam. They could choose any topic they liked as long as it coincided with political science or any area of social sciences.

After a dozen or so students were finished speaking with him and done shaking his hands, he packed his briefcase, looked up, and noticed Lauren waiting for him several rows away.

“Hello Lauren,” he smiled modestly. “I hope you’re not angry.”

“No, I’m alright. I was kinda mad at first but everything’s cool.”

“Great,” he told her. “I’ve got to speak with Dr. Daniels but I’ll see you later today.”

“Okay,” she waved while walking away. “I’m going to hang out with a few friends, bye!”

After seeing Lauren out, Shawn left the classroom and headed to the building that housed the offices. He arrived minutes later and greeted the secretary of the Political Science Department.

“Hello, Dr. Stevens. Dr. Daniels has been expecting you this afternoon,” the secretary smiled.

“Terrific. That’s precisely why I’m here.”