"Hiya Joe." Marya greeted him as he pulled the Packard into the backyard one evening after a long day of collecting. A snow white crocheted shawl was draped over one shoulder of her crimson dress, as she walked over to his car. "How about a ride, cousin?"
"No dice, Marya. I'm beat, and the family is coming over for supper. Aren't you gonna visit with Uncle Feliks and the girls?" Joe took off his hat and wiped the sweat from his brow.
"And sit here all night absolutely bo-o-o-ored to death? Not on your life! Come on, just drop me at the Kibitzer Club, will ya sweetie pie? Marya flashed her eyes at Joe and smiled demurely.
"Now you're flirting with your cousin, Marya? Can you crawl any lower?" Joe asked disgustedly. "Besides, that's one of the Purples' juice joints, and I told you not to hang out near the gang." Marya let the shawl drop off her other shoulder revealing much cleavage. "Geez, Marya, the sun's still out! Cover up. Are you looking for trouble?"
"Always Joey boy," she replied.
A shiny Cadillac Victoria pulled into the alley as Marya started heading back toward the house. She stopped on the steps to see the visitor's identity. Cappie stepped out of the elegant car and waved at Joe. Joe sprinted over and shook his hand. "Cappie! It's been months since I've seen your ugly mug."
"Got a weekend pass ,and I thought I'd stop in and see how you're faring in our fair city."
"Arent ya gonna introduce me to your friend, Joey?" Marya called, descending from the stairs.
"Well, I would but you've already had the pleasure, Marya. Cappie carried your spifflicated ass home the night I pulled you out of the Powhatan." Marya blushed slightly and held her hand out for Cappie to take.
"My apologies, Mr. Cappie. I must thank you for helping me home then. It seems I'd forgotten to eat that evening, and the champagne went to my little ole head. It was kind of you to assist me home." She batting her eyelashes. "Won't you join us for supper?"
"I thought you were leaving, Marya."
"Why I never said such a thing, Joe. I just wanted to have a quick cocktail before supper is all. How about you, Mr. Cappie? Are you thirsty?"
"It's just Cappie, Miss Marya, and sure I'd be happy to take you for a drink if Joe here don't mind. You are as pretty as a little baby dove, Miss Marya, if you don't mind me saying. Whadda ya say, Joe?"
"Oh, I don't care—but it's your funeral, Cappie. Have fun."
Cappie helped Marya into the Cadillac and darted to the other side. "I won't have her out late, Joe. I'll keep a good eye on her."
"That had better be all you keep on her."
But Cappie had already shut the door and was pulling away. What could Joe do? Marya was a grown woman, and if she was going to go out with anybody, Joe couldn't be too upset it was Cappie. He was a good man and had always treated Joe like a son or at least a brother. And Marya was going to do what Marya was going to do anyhow.
Uncle Feliks made raspberry fizzes after supper for Matka and Jenney, and he and Joe drank beer as they sat on the front porch shooting the breeze. Katalina had learned English remarkably fast and she could chant the sing-song rhymes as well as her stepsisters as they jumped rope on the sidewalk. Emma twirled the rope with one of Jenney's daughters on the other end, as Katalina skipped and hopped merrily through the twirling line.
"She's adjusted well, Uncle Feliks."
"We all have, Joe. Seems like this is the life I was meant to live. Jenney is a wonderful woman, and the girls are a joy. Katalina still cries for her mother at night, but not as often as she used to. And Jenney just pulls her into bed with us and cuddles her till she falls asleep. She's going to start school in the fall."
"I hope she doesn't get Sister Mary Monica for a teacher. She used to scare the living hell out of me."
"We're not sending her to St. Josaphat, Joe. We want to send all three of the girls to the same school, and Jenney's girls don't know Polish."
"Oh, of course… well, I'm sure she'll do great. Maybe she'll go to Marygrove College someday, like Pauline."
Pauline was living at Marygrove College, studying to become a teacher—an education partially financed by Joe. Joe hadn't thought of Katalina attending another school besides St. Josaphat, but his uncle's rationale made sense. He waved to his old neighbor Sam as he exited his house across the street and got in his Model T.
"Sam's doing well, I hear—got himself a job at the Chrysler plant in Hamtramck. I wonder if he's ever gonna leave his mama's house and get married?"
"I've heard he's a bit of a gambler…" Feliks looked uncomfortable bringing up a reference to his not so distant past.
"Really? Hope he's a better one than you were!" Joe laughed and hit his uncle in the arm. Feliks chuckled in spite of himself.
"Me too."
Joe looked at his uncle, and a slight pang of jealousy struck him; envious of his quiet, simple life and loving family.
"Katalina! Emma! Josie and Julie! Come inside. I have a treat for you girls," Matka called out the kitchen window. Joe's mother adored spoiling her nieces and would bake for days before the family got together so she could dole out sugary sweets to her heart's content.
"Where'd your brothers take off to after dinner, by the way?" Feliks asked.
"I'm sure Stephan is at the baseball diamond, and Matka told me Frank has a little girlfriend he meets at Sanders on Saturday evenings. She says they sit at a table for hours and share one milkshake."
"How about you, Joe? You gotta girl you haven't let on about?"
"Oh, I've been seeing this one kinda steady. She's a real firecracker, but we're just having fun." Joe had been dating the mulatto girl he had met at the Powhatan for a few months but didn't want anything serious. Adelaide was a transplant from New Orleans. Each of her parents was half black and half white. She passed for white in the north and held a job as a salesgirl in an upscale women's boutique. Joe took her out dancing a couple nights a week, but they mostly wrestled around in the back of his car.
"Well, be careful Joe. When you play with firecrackers there's a chance you'll get burned," Uncle Feliks said.
Just then Joe and his uncle heard the sound of sirens a few streets over. Uncle Alexy and Aunt Hattie came out onto the porch to investigate.
"That's an awful lot of fire engines," Alexy said. "Hope it's not a big fire."
"No. I think its police sirens," Joe said. He knew it was the police but didn't want to let on how many times he'd heard that sound coming in his direction. The sirens died down, and Matka brought out three more beers for the men. Aunt Hattie went in after her to gossip in the kitchen, and the men sat companionably on the porch. Joe sat on the top step leaning against the brick pillar, sipping his beer and listening to his uncles. He tried not to think how much he wished his father was there. Of course, if Ojciec was here, Joe probably wouldn't have started running for the Sugar House, and his uncle might not have gambled all his money away and slept with married women, and Joe wouldn't have sent him to Poland, and Katalina would still be there living as an orphan. But maybe not… only God knew what was meant to be.
A fly buzzed near Joe's ear and he swatted at it, spilling his beer in the process. His uncles laughed, and he got up to grab another from inside the house. A long sedan sped down the street, and Joe turned to yell. "Slow down! There's kids playing here. " The car screeched to a stop in front of the walk. A driver opened the door, and Charlie Leiter got out of the back seat. Joe could tell by Charlie's eyes he was there with bad news.
Leiter walked up to the porch and stopped at the foot of the stairs. "Joey, its Cappie. Those dagos hit the Kibitzer. Shot it all to hell. Didn't hit no one inside, but Cappie had just walked out the front door when they started shooting. I'm sorry, Joe. I know he was a good friend to you."
Cappie. It couldn't be Cappie. "It can't be Cappie," Joe said in disbelief. "He's too big. He's an ox. No bullet could take him down. Not Cappie."
"They used Tommy guns, Joey. He didn't stand a chance. Threw himself in front of some dame trying to protect her." Charlie looked up apologetically at Joe's uncles, who were standing uncomfortably on the porch, not wanting to leave Joe yet not wanting to be part of the gangster underworld. Joe looked frantically at his Uncle Alexy and back at Charlie.
"Some dame?" Joe dropped the empty bottle onto the porch. Marya! "Where's the girl?" he demanded. Charlie looked confused. "Where's the dame Cappie stood in front of, Charlie?" Joe yelled bounding down the steps.
"She's in the car. We're taking her to the hospital now… I wanted to get her out of there before the cops showed up." Joe pushed past Charlie and flung the back door of the car open. Marya was cowered in the corner of the backseat covered in blood. Cappie's blood? Her blood? Joe scooped her up and started toward the house. Uncle Alexy's eyes grew wild with fury, and he bellowed a raw, animal-like growl and jumped off the stoop. He stormed toward Joe but stopped short as he reached Charlie; bringing his arm back, he slugged the gangster, knocking him down. The driver and Charlie's bodyguard were on Alexy in a second, holding his arms behind his back as he hung his head and wailed.
Charlie picked himself off the ground and pulled his gun on Alexy. He looked at Joe holding Marya. "You know this dame?" he asked, trying to put it all together, never taking his gun off of Joe's uncle.
"Marya's my cousin, and this is her father," Joe replied, nodding at his Uncle Alexy.
"Let him go, boys," Charlie said to his thugs. He lowered his weapon. "It's just a flesh wound, Joey. She'll be all right. She's just in shock." Alexy walked over to Joe, who transferred Marya to her father's arms. A weeping Aunt Hattie opened the door for him, and he carried her inside.
"Thanks for not leaving her on the street, Charlie," Joe said.
"Sure. I didn't know she was your cousin, Joey. If I had I would've…"
"You couldn't have known, Charlie, Sorry about your mouth. I think my Uncle thought she was dead when I pulled her out of the car."
Charlie wiped some blood from the corner of his mouth with his handkerchief. "Understandable. Well, I'll see you later. Glad your cousin's gonna be all right." Charlie's driver opened the car door and he got in. Joe sat down on the steps as the long sedan drove slowly away. He looked down at his white shirt covered with blood. Cappie, he thought. A large tear raced down his cheek.