Chapter 16
Six weeks passed. Juliette found her ears tuned to every conversation in the office. It was a miracle she could keep up with her correspondence, the construction bids and Al’s complicated appointment book. Three times, she’d been able to catch brief glimpses of paperwork that passed through Marion’s office, but none of them revealed anything. She’d not seen another reference to kilos, although a few things Al had said on the telephone when he thought the door was tightly closed led her to believe he was talking about shipments. Those shipments almost certainly had to be drugs, she concluded.
Everything else passing through the yard or the job sites was well documented. So many pallets of block, a certain tonnage of steel, quantities of glass for the windows in a high-rise. The amounts and costs were staggering, but they all made sense. The hushed conversations held a different tone and quality. But each time she’d fished for more information Al treated her comments as nothing.
“Sure, we buy some of the materials in kilos,” he would say. “A lot of this stuff comes from Europe. You know that.” Or, “Don’t worry your pretty head about anything that doesn’t cross your desk, baby.”
Perhaps her mistake was that she always tried to catch him relaxed and talkative when she brought up those things. His response was always to distract her with a gift, an extra drink, or sex. He wasn’t taking her concerns seriously, but what did she expect?
The calls from New York worried her most. During those conversations, Al’s tone turned deferential. Whoever the man was, Al treated him as a boss. And yet, in every other aspect of his life, he was the leader, with no question who was in charge. Specifics were never given, nothing she could directly question. She wanted to be trusted, to share his burden, to offer advice and suggestions, but that was not happening.
Juliette finally quit posing her guarded questions. She couldn’t express doubt in her man. Surely he knew what he was doing. She took to watching Marion instead.
The bookkeeper, as usual, worked with her door closed and rarely exchanged more than basic pleasantries with the other women. When she did, Juliette found it suspicious, as on the day Marion had offered tea—a once-only thing. Marion was in and out of Al’s office quite a lot, but her official path rarely crossed Juliette’s so there were no excuses for dropping off something at the bookkeeper’s desk or handling her files. It was the most bizarre working environment Juliette had ever encountered.
She had lunch with Sheila a couple of times and tried to hint at her concerns. Sheila’s only comment had been, “I’ve learned that it’s best to do my own job, collect my paycheck and keep office life separate from personal.”
It might have been a way of telling Juliette that she disapproved of her affair with the boss. Maybe she was saying not to question or dig too deeply. Maybe Sheila simply had a philosophy that a job was a job and her real life took place at home. She was probably telling her young co-worker to get a life outside the office.
During a weekend when Al wasn’t around, Juliette resolved to do that. She called Carol Ann who, miraculously, was free.
“There’s a new Steve Martin movie out,” Carol Ann said. “Let’s go.”
The show was called The Jerk and Juliette couldn’t remember having laughed so much in ages. Maybe her Texas cornball humor was returning.
“Oh my god, there are some classic scenes in that movie, aren’t there?” Carol Ann said as they emerged from the theater.
“The one where he’s walking down the street …” Juliette caught herself giggling at the memory.
“‘All I need is this thermos’,” quoted Carol Ann, mimicking Martin’s doleful tone. She paused as they approached Juliette’s car. “Hey, let’s go grab some tacos. We haven’t done this in way too long.”
Juliette felt her heart lift.
They chose a little Mexican food stand where they’d frequently gone together and found a table under the palm-covered patio roof. With orders placed and margaritas in front of them, Carol Ann suddenly got a coy look.
“I’ve been meaning to call you for a week, Jules,” she said. “I have some big news.”
Before Juliette could ask, Carol Ann whipped her hand out from under the table and dangled it before Juliette’s face.
“I’m engaged! Tommy proposed last weekend and I accepted.”
Juliette took her friend’s hand and studied the plain gold band with its small diamond, feeling an unreasonable flash of envy. She quickly covered the emotion with a smile.
“Congratulations, you two—that’s great news!” She raised her glass, waited for Carol Ann to do the same, and they clinked them together. “To a happy marriage.”
Carol Ann blushed a little. “There’s actually a bit more. Tommy has been putting in applications all over the place for a better job. So, this one company accepted him, but they don’t have openings in their plant here. What they offered him is in Alabama. So … right after the wedding we’re moving to Birmingham.”
“What? I mean, my god, that’s sudden.” Juliette felt as if the floor had shifted beneath her.
“Yeah, kind of.”
A waitress walked up to them and placed plastic baskets with tacos in front of each place. An inquiry as to whether they needed drink refills or anything else. Asking if everything was all right.
Nothing is all right, Juliette thought. My best friend is moving away, my boyfriend hasn’t proposed, and I don’t even know what’s going on in our lives anymore.
But Carol Ann had smiled at the girl and said everything was just great.
“So, my big question for you is if you’ll be my attendant. Will you?” Carol Ann picked up her first taco and crunched into it.
Juliette suddenly couldn’t look at the food.
“It’s going to be a simple ceremony. I don’t know if my parents can even come on such short notice. Tommy has to start the new job June fifteenth, so we have less than a month to pull this off. We’re thinking of a small chapel or maybe even outdoors at a park or on the beach, or if we’re really pinched for time just a little ceremony with witnesses at a judge’s office.” Carol Ann took a breath, picked up her second taco, and noticed Juliette hadn’t taken a bite yet. “Aren’t you hungry?”
She picked up her first taco. “Oh, yeah, sure.” She took a bite for show but the food tasted like a ball of paper.
“And then I have to think about a dress. I’m thinking it’d be dumb to go for a long gown, even though I’ve always dreamed of one. But we need the money for moving—” Carol Ann set down her taco. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
Juliette took a deep breath. She could not dampen her friend’s big news with her own selfishness. She put on a bright smile. “I’m absolutely fine. I’m just so happy for you.”
“Then eat.”
“I guess it’s just a little PMS moodiness. Keep telling me about your plans.” She forced herself to finish two tacos while her friend went on with wedding details.
“I’ll let you know the minute we set the actual date and place. Meanwhile, do not stress over a dress.”
“But I want your day to be special. Tell me what kind of dress you’d like me to get. I want to do that.”
“You’re sure?”
“Positive.” Positively jealous that Al didn’t propose to me first. She masked her attitude by stuffing the third taco into her mouth and chasing it with the rest of her margarita.
They pooled their spare change for the tip and went back to the Camaro. All at once, Juliette couldn’t wait to drop off Carol Ann at her apartment so she could be alone. Wedding chatter filled the fifteen-minute drive and they said a quick goodbye at the curb.
Juliette barely contained herself until she got back to the condo. She rode the elevator alone, luckily, and entered her spacious quarters. Two dozen red roses from Al—apology for being away for the weekend—sat on the console near the front door. A wave of bitterness overtook her and she flung the vase across the room. She screamed as it shattered, flinging glass and water across the marble floor, and she sank to her knees in the foyer.
The room was in full darkness except for the lights beaming up from the street when her frustration finally played out. She hauled herself to her feet, reaching for the wall switch, telling herself how stupid to create such a mess, all for a ridiculous emotional rant. She edged to the kitchen and got out the broom and dustpan, sweeping broken glass, letting the motion of the broom act as a catharsis.
Maybe I’ve been focusing on the wrong things recently. Why would Al propose when I’m so off-and-on. At the office she’d been suspicious and spying; at home in the evenings she’d been no better than a whore, giving herself cheerfully in exchange for the gifts and pleasure of his lovemaking. If I want a husband, I’ve got to act like a wife—loving, caring, loyal and putting his needs first.
Okay, the feminists would have a field day with that one. She laughed at herself as she put the broom away. After a stern lecture on being true first to herself, she got ready for bed and fell into a sleep riddled with images of Carol Ann as a bride and herself as a dull, spinster bridesmaid.
For the next two days she performed her office duties by rote and ignored the fact that Al had not been around after hours. Something was up but she couldn’t bring herself to enter the intrigue of checking his files and spying. On Wednesday she spotted a sheriff’s department vehicle across the street from the office. She couldn’t tell if it was Elmer Reddick at the wheel but her suspicions were confirmed when, Thursday afternoon, she was shopping for something to prepare for dinner and the deputy stopped her in the aisle next to the potato chips.
“How are things, Miss Mason?” he asked, peering at a bag of Fritos.
“Just fine.” What do you want? There was no one else in sight. Had he followed her or was this a chance encounter?
As if he’d read her thoughts he turned and faced her squarely. “Just wondering if you’ve been following your boss’s activities lately.”
“No more than usual. I answer phones, I type letters, I schedule appointments.”
He seemed especially interested in that last bit. “What appointments does he have this week?”
“I’m not telling you that!” She hated his penetrating stare. “Business, that’s all. Nothing unusual.”
“Miss Mason, I’m not playing a game here. Al Proletti is a dangerous man, especially when he’s pushed. He started out small potatoes with drug shipments but he’s doing more and more of them all the time, directing airplanes to ditch in the swamps and offload big bundles of the stuff. It’s gone beyond bales of pot. Now there’s cocaine and heroin. It’s not only local law enforcement with an eye on him, and he’s handed out plenty of cash to get certain people to look the other way. He’s working for a guy out of New York, and that bunch plays rough.”
He glanced up the aisle, letting an elderly woman push her cart past them. Once she was out of sight, he continued. “Al has no loyalties.”
She started to protest. Al was very good to his workers and office staff. Look at the generous raises he’d given recently.
“You haven’t pissed him off yet. If he feels he’s been betrayed, he’ll stop at nothing. Ask Ronnie Delvecchio and Sal Oberman. Or, I should say, ask their widows. Both of those guys ended up in the swamp, pretty well chewed up by the gators, after doing some odd jobs for Al.”
She felt her mouth open and close.
“Look ’em up, hon. You don’t have to take my word for it. Those stories made the news—August, two years ago. All I’m saying is be careful. We’re building our case, little by little. You don’t want to be caught up in this thing.” He grabbed a bag of Fritos and strode away from her.
Juliette stared after the lawman. He was obviously trying to scare her, maybe hoping she’d quit her job or call him secretly with information on Al’s activities. He could make up anything about some guys being killed.
She steered her cart toward the dairy section. She would get the last items on her list and go home. Al was coming over tonight and she planned to make omelets for their late-night dinner, after she’d greeted him at the door in the black negligee from the little paper bag he’d dropped on her desk this afternoon. If the mood was right, she’d tell Al exactly what the deputy was up to. He wouldn’t like it when he learned the man had followed her into the supermarket.
* * *
The moment Al arrived he was clearly in a mood. He hardly noticed the skimpy black outfit. She made his favorite drink and pushed him to the couch, loosening his tie and crawling onto his lap. It wasn’t until she’d pressed her breasts right into his face that a smile appeared.
“Sorry, baby. I’ve been a grump, haven’t I?” He began toying with the ribbon tie at her cleavage. “I need to take better care of my girl.”
She dropped all thought of telling him about Reddick that night. They went to the bedroom almost immediately and she did everything she could think of to keep his mind off anything but her.
Later, she offered the omelets but he said he’d had a long day and his head was pounding. He’d better get home and get a full night’s sleep.
“Stay here. Call Ernestina and let her know you don’t need anything.”
His eyes flicked back to the bedroom but he shook his head. “Nah, I’d better get going.”
He’d picked up his jacket, kissed her forehead and was out the door before she knew it. She sighed, pulled her robe around her and went into the kitchen to make an omelet for herself. Well, at least it gave her an evening when she could catch up on her bills and maybe watch Johnny Carson. She sat on a barstool at the counter and pulled out her checkbook and the calendar she used to track bills and birthdays and such. She had the nagging feeling she’d forgotten to mail a card to someone back home.
Running her finger across the dates for the past few weeks she got a tingle in her belly. She’d missed her last period.
“Oh, no,” she said out loud.
She rechecked the dates. She’d always made a small mark on the date it began, usually for the purpose of being able to warn Al when the week was coming up next time. He didn’t want details, merely to be warned.
She ran to the bathroom, checked her supply of tampons. Yes, there were too many. She’d definitely not used any in more than a month. Her pills were off schedule too. How had she messed up her routine so badly? Well, the answer was obvious—she’d had her mind on too many other things.
She went to bed but stared at the ceiling most of the night. What to do? Of course she would tell Al the news right away. Well, maybe confirm it with her doctor before springing the surprise. She would plan a beautiful dinner and really make the moment right. He would be excited—wouldn’t he?—and they could make plans to be married. A traditional Italian man like Al Proletti, of course he would want them to be a family and be involved in his child’s life. She could hardly wait to tell Carol Ann. It was so romantic that the two longtime friends would both be getting married so close together.
Elmer Reddick’s face appeared in her mind, his warning about Al’s being involved in drugs. Ridiculous! She knew her Al and he wasn’t like that. And even if he was, he would change now, give up anything that would put the family in jeopardy. If there was even a hint of truth to Reddick’s story, Al would just tell that man from New York that he was no longer interested. She sighed and eventually fell asleep.
She chose Saturday night for the big announcement. The test at the doctor’s office had confirmed it. She was pregnant, due next April. She could hardly contain her excitement but she had to be sure Al was the first to know. When he agreed to spend the whole weekend together she said she would plan something special. They went to the arcade Saturday morning, then did a little shopping (she found herself glancing wistfully toward the baby department while he exchanged a shirt in menswear). They picked out steaks at the market and went back to the condo to lie around the pool for the afternoon. Soon, her body wouldn’t be in such great shape for a bikini but Juliette didn’t mind. She could hardly contain her secret until the right moment.
When Al brought the steaks in from the hibachi on the balcony she poured glasses of red wine (she would only drink half of hers—she’d read that alcohol was bad for the baby). She lit candles and dished up the baked potatoes and fresh asparagus.
“So, what’s up with you tonight, baby? You’ve got some kind of gleam in your eye,” he teased with a smile. “Got a sexy new outfit for me?”
She’d rehearsed what she wanted to say about the baby, upcoming parenthood and how wonderful marriage would be. She managed to deliver the little speech perfectly. What she’d not planned was his reaction.
“Babe, didn’t you know? I’m already married.”