The Minnesota Candidate (14 page)

For most of the afternoon, and as much as he
hated to admit it, Tom had been thinking the same thing. What was
inside the big house? Why was Shari so ready to sell their vehicles
and her jewelry, but never made mention of anything inside her
parent’s house? He had been tempted to bring it up, but he had been
waiting for her to broach the subject. “Shari’s parents lived
there,” he said. “She’s very sentimental about it.”

“Oh bullshit,” grunted Marie. “You’re her
husband and she’s keeping a secret from you. Ain’t that right,
Doris?”

“That’s the way I see it.”

“And what kind of man let’s his new wife keep
secrets from him? Your old man never would have stood for that kind
of crap, would he, Doris?”

“Not for a minute.”

“So, what kind of man are you? No offense, but
from where I’m sitting you look like a schmuck.”

“My boy… the village idiot.”

Tom sipped his wine and felt the tips of his
ears burning. “I’m glad you both have such high opinions of me.
Don’t forget, whatever is inside that house is half mine. Go ahead
and call me a schmuck and an idiot, I don’t care what you think of
me.”

Marie belched and she covered her mouth and
giggled. “We meant that in a good way, didn’t we, Doris?”

“Oh yes, we certainly did. We just think it’s
time for you to show that woman who wears the pants in this
family.”

“You got that right, sister. Your mom and I only
want what’s best for you.”

Tom stared down at the table and knew he was
fighting a battle that he would never win. Looking back, he had
been fighting this same battle with these women since his father
had died. He finished his wine and stood up from the table. “I have
to get up early,” he said. “Goodnight… ladies.”

“Oh Tommy,” said his mom. “Please don’t go to
bed angry. I’m sorry if we upset you.”

“He’s still got that thin skin,” said Marie.
“Just like his father. Goodnight Tommy. Just think about what we
said, okay? It ain’t too late for you to grow a pair.”

The women laughed at that and Tom left them
cackling out on the patio.

The following morning, Shari complained of a
headache and said she would meet Tom out at the construction site.
After showering, Tom cleaned up the mess on the patio. His mother
and Marie had cooked themselves a frozen pizza while he slept;
burning it to a blackened crisp, but not enough to stop them from
picking off the toppings. Cigarette butts stood where the sausage
and pepperoni had been.

Tom listened to the news on his way to his
mother’s house. The markets were taking something called an
emergency holiday. The talking heads all agreed that this was a
good idea. They would let the dust settle over the weekend and see
what happened on Monday. The traffic was very light, and as he
passed the first gas station, Tom could see why. It seemed like
everybody and his brother were waiting in line at the pumps. Tom
checked his gas gauge and was happy to see that it was half full.
Later, he would wish that he had seen it as being half empty.

Tom arrived at the construction site and saw
that many of the contractors had pulled up stakes. The roofers and
siding guys were long gone, replaced by painters and landscapers
and floor installers. Tom walked inside and saw Sam doing trim work
in the kitchen. He was his jovial self, cracking jokes and telling
his little stories, never losing a beat when it came to his work.
Tom told him that Marie was out at the house and Sam got a good
laugh out of it. “I know she’s your aunt, Fat Tommy,” he said, “but
she’s just an old war horse and I hate her guts. You keep an eye on
her. I wouldn’t trust her alone in my house.”

Tom thought about that as he went to find Chona.
He found her in one of the upstairs bedrooms, measuring a door and
shaking her head. “We’ll never get a queen-sized box spring in
here,” she said. “We’re going to have to go with a twin.”

Tom shrugged. “Whatever works,” he said. “Shari
won’t be out until this afternoon. She’s not feeling well.”

“Join the club. I lost my ass yesterday.”

Tom followed Chona around for the next twenty
minutes, approving last minute changes, amazed at how much had been
done in such a short amount of time. The house was beautiful. What
he knew about interior designing would fit into a thimble, but he
could see that Chona and Shari had created a masterpiece. The house
had great character, but would his mother see it? Tom hoped so.

Outside, Tom watched as young men and women
worked in the yard. Plants and bushes were being planted and black
dirt was being raked into place. As men worked on the automatic
sprinkler system, pallets of sod were being unloaded from a truck.
Tom wanted to be happy, but he just wasn’t feeling it.

“Hey Fat Tommy,” called a familiar voice.
“Hey!”

Tom turned to see his two cousins, Lumpy and
Crazy Steve Calizzi. The brothers stood on the sidewalk behind the
yellow tape and motioned for him to walk over. Both men wore clean
white t-shirts over dirty blue jeans. Under his breath, Tom
groaned, but he put on a smile and walked over to them.

“Oh my God,” said Lumpy. “Will you just look at
that place? You know, Fat Tommy, you’re making the rest of us look
bad. Ma wants to know when me and Steve are gonna build her a
mansion.”

“Yeah,” agreed Steve, “she’s crazier than I
am.”

“That sure is some crib,” continued Lumpy. “It
must have set you back a few bucks, huh?”

Tom scratched his head, knowing full-well where
this was going. “Yeah, it sure did.”

Crazy Steve nodded. “You’re a good man, Tommy.
Just like your old man, you’re the best.”

The two brothers were nearly identical, except
in size. Lumpy was tall with a pot-belly, where Steve was short and
skinny as a rail. Both men had wavy, jet-black hair and both wore
their toothiest of smiles. Like sharks, thought Tom. “So, try to
keep it quiet. Ma doesn’t know that we rebuilt her house. We want
it to be a surprise.”

Lumpy nodded his head, vigorously. “Oh, we’ll
keep it a secret, won’t we, Stevie?”

“Our lips are sealed.”

“So Tommy,” said Lumpy, putting a long arm over
Tom’s shoulder, “I been trying to call you, but you never answer
the phone. What’s up with that?”

“Yeah,” agreed Steve, “what’s up with that? You
too busy to talk with your own family?”

“Look around you. Does it look like I’ve been
busy?”

The brothers looked around and both of them
shrugged. “I guess so,” said Lumpy. “But you should never be too
busy to talk to your family. Did you see what happened on the news,
yesterday? That hit us hard, man. Stevie and I both lost our
jobs.”

“Oh yeah?” asked Tom. “I didn’t know you guys
were working?”

“It was only a temporary job, but it was the
only jobs we had.”

Steve crossed his arms. “That’s right,” he said.
“And seeing how you seem to be rolling in money, we were hoping to
hit you up for a loan. You know us, Tommy, we’re good for it.”

Lumpy turned to glare at Steve; he then returned
his attention to Tom. “We’re in a really tight spot. Mom doesn’t
know how she’s going to be able to afford the house payment. Her
lumbago is really bad, the poor woman, and she can’t hardly work no
more. And the electric company is threatening to shut off the
power. She sent us out here to talk to you. I know you’ll do the
right thing.”

“That’s right,” said Steve. “Because we’re
family and families look out for each other.”

“How much are we talking about?”

Lumpy stared up at the new roof. “I dunno, ten,
maybe twenty grand?”

Tom laughed at that, remembering the last thing
that Marie had said to him, last night. “Even if I did have the
money,” he began, “which I don’t, do you think I’d borrow it to
either of you? I’ve loaned both of you guys money and you never pay
me back.”

“But this is different,” said Lumpy.

“Yeah,” said Steve, “this is for our ma.”

“How is it different? I’d never get my money
back. Guys, we spent all we had on this place. I’m sorry, but my
answer is no. We don’t have any money.”

“How about just a grand?” asked Lumpy,
undeterred. “Don’t try and tell us that you ain’t got that
much.”

Steve raised his chin to Tom. “Yeah, I bet you
carry that much around in your wallet for walkin’ around
money.”

“I’m sorry, but you’re wrong. I just haven’t got
it.”

Lumpy lowered his voice. “How about a hundred
bucks?”

Tom shook his head.

“What the hell is going on out here?” asked Sam,
who suddenly appeared behind Tom. “Why, you worthless bums, I ought
to punch the both of ya in the mouth. You both been spongin’ off
your poor ma for your whole lives. Go out and get a damn job and
leave Tommy alone. Now, get the hell outta here.”

“But Uncle Sammy,” said Lumpy.

“Don’t you Uncle Sammy me. You’re both grown
men. Why don’t you start acting like it? Go on, leave Tommy alone.
He’s got big enough problems without you two goons shakin’ him
down. Go, now, before I wipe the street with ya.”

“Twenty bucks?” asked Lumpy. “Stevie’s car is on
empty.”

Sam reached into his back pocket and pulled out
his wallet. He fished out two twenties and he flung them down onto
the sidewalk. He then grabbed Tom by the shoulder. “Chona sent me
out to find you. Come on.”

“Thanks, Uncle Sammy,” said Crazy Steve.

“You stay away from those guys,” said Sam,
leading Tom into the house. “They’re no good and they ain’t ever
been any good.”

Tom nodded and snuck a look over his shoulder,
but his cousins were gone. He was happy that Sam had bailed him
out. His wallet was empty, except for the charge cards, and he knew
that Lumpy and Steve never would have believed that. When he was
younger, his older cousins had beaten him up on several occasions.
That threat still hung in the air, and the Calizzi brothers never
let him forget it.

Chona was in the living room. She pointed at the
fireplace as Sam went back to trimming out the windows. “Do you see
that?” she asked.

Tom stepped in for a closer look. “I don’t know
what I’m supposed to be looking for.”

Chona shook her head and gave him an exasperated
look. “The brickwork, it’s crooked. I warned those guys that this
would happen. They were working too fast.”

Tom now saw what Chona meant by that, but he
hardly thought it was noticeable. “They were doing the best they
could,” he said. “Just let it go. I’ll sign off on it.”

Chona let out a big breath and smiled. “Thank
you,” she said. “Most of my clients would throw a fit over
something like this. I’m glad you understand how things work when
you’re under the gun. If we had more time, I’d have them rip this
thing down and start over.”

Tom rested his hand on the mantle. “Chona,” he
said, “I think you’ve done a wonderful job. The house is absolutely
beautiful.”

Chona’s smile widened. “Thank you, Tom. I just
love it. I’ll bet your mom is going to be so happy.”

“She had better be.”

“Come on, there’s one more little flub in the
master bath. There’s a gap in the tile and we filled it with grout.
I just want you to be aware of it.”

Tom followed along, noticing how Sam’s eyes
followed Chona as they left the room. He smiled to himself. Chona
was single and perhaps ten years younger than Sam. He found that he
could picture them, together.

Upstairs, they found themselves alone. The rooms
were finished and they were only waiting for furniture. Chona
quickly showed Tom the spot in question and he shook his head. He
could see nothing and he said as much. “Seriously,” he said,
“everything looks great.”

Chona popped her head out the bathroom door and
she then she ducked back inside. She gave him an odd look and
suddenly he was sure she was going to try and kiss him. Tom backed
up a step. “Tell me about your uncle. I know that he’s made
mistakes and that he’s paid the price for them. I just need to
know, can he be trusted?”

Tom had been right and he smiled. Sam wasn’t his
uncle, but over the past week he had started seeing him as one.
“Absolutely,” said Tom, I’d trust him with my life. “Sam is a great
guy and he’s put his past behind him. He says that he’s found God
and I happen to believe him. He’s a changed man.”

Chona smiled and nodded her head. “He spent the
night over at my house, last night. I’ve never met a man like
him.”

Tom laughed at that. “Why, that old dog,” he
said.

“Old dog? That’s a laugh. I practically had to
beg him to come over. And then I practically had to beg him to go
to sleep. The man just keeps going and going and going.”

Tom held up his hands. “Hey, I don’t want to
hear any of that personal stuff. So, you two had a nice time,
huh?”

Chona held her hands to her chest and spun
around. “I can’t remember having a better night. I’m just a little
worried about his past. You understand where I’m coming from, don’t
you?”

“I do understand, but I’m telling you that he’s
on the straight and narrow. He really is a great guy and my guess
is that he’ll make you very happy.”

“He’s already done that. Thanks Tommy, can I
call you that? You should know that Sam thinks the world of
you.”

Tom smiled and nodded his head. “The feeling is
mutual. I’m happy for you both.”

“Thank you. I’m trying to get him to come with
me down to Rochester. I have a lot of work lined up down there and
would like to get started on it. He said he’s thinking about it,
but I think he was waiting for me to talk to you.”

“Hey, you both have my approval, if it
matters.”

Chona grinned and she wrapped her arms around
Tom and gave him a big squeeze. They continued on with the tour and
Tom found that he couldn’t stop smiling. Whatever happened in the
outside world, he was in love and nothing could change that. He
hoped that Sam and Chona could experience that same sense of
ultimate security. Their match seemed to have been made in heaven
and Tom found himself praying that everything worked out.