Chapter 20 #2
Justine looked at Kenny. She wanted to tell him that she didn’t know anything about Larissa’s parents—where they lived, or what they did for a living.
And as much as she tried not to, she still found herself watching over Kenny as if he were a little boy.
He was eighteen, and she allowed him a lot more freedom than she had in the past; but unlike mother birds who would push their fledglings out of the nest when it came time for them to fly, Justine had found it more difficult for her.
“I’d like to talk to your parents before I give Kenny permission to join you.”
Larissa smiled. “Of course.” She beckoned to her father. “Dad, this is Kenny Russell’s mother and uncle.”
The tall, swarthy man wearing a three-piece tan linen suit extended his hand to Justine. “My pleasure, Mrs. Russell,” he said in slightly accented English. “I’m Matteo Rossi.”
Justine inclined her head. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Rossi.” She shared a glance with Frank. “And this is Kenny’s uncle,” she continued, with Kenny’s pronouncement that Frank was his uncle.
Frank offered his hand, smiling. “Franco D’Allesandro,” he said, introducing himself, using the Italian derivative of his first name.
Matteo’s sweeping black eyebrows lifted. “Un paisano?”
“Sì. My nephew said you’ve invited some of his classmates to your home,” he continued, speaking Italian. “I’d like to know where you live and what time I can come and pick him up.”
Justine’s gaze went from Frank to Kenny and then Larissa’s father, because she hadn’t understood a word they were saying. Frank turned to her. “The Rossis live in Riverdale, and he said they plan to end the gathering around eight. I have the address, so I’ll pick him up.”
She saw the expectant look on Kenny’s face. It was obvious he liked this girl, and she, in turn, liked him. “Okay.”
Kenny took off his cap and gown, handing it to Frank, then gave Justine the envelope with his diploma and Frank’s gift. “I’ll see you guys later,” he said, as he and Larissa went to join their classmates.
“Not to worry, Mrs. Russell. Your boy will be safe in my home,” Matteo said.
Frank put his arm around Justine’s waist. “He’s going to be all right,” he whispered in her ear. “Kenny is aware that we’re going to pick him up.”
“But you didn’t write down the address.”
Frank tapped his forehead. “It’s up here. I have what folks call a photographic memory, so there’s never a need for me to write down numbers.”
Justine wanted to tell him he was full of surprises, like confessing that he was in love with her. “Larissa is lovely.”
“That she is,” Frank agreed, “but Kenny will meet a lot more lovely girls before he decides to settle down.”
Justine hoped Kenny would wait until after he finished college before deciding to settle down. “I planned to take him out for dinner, but it looks as if he has more exciting plans.”
Frank tightened his hold at her waist. “That doesn’t mean we can’t go out for dinner.”
“I just realized something.”
“What’s that?” he asked.
“That we’ve known each other for five years, and we’ve never been out on a date.”
Frank angled his head. “That’s because you didn’t want to date.”
“It wasn’t because I didn’t want to date. I just wasn’t ready.”
“Are you ready now?”
“I’m working on it.”
Throwing back his head, Frank laughed with abandon. “While you’re working on it, I’m going to take you to Peter Luger Steak House in Brooklyn. But first I need to find a phone so I can call to make a reservation.”
Justine wasn’t given a chance to object when Frank took her hand. They stopped on Broadway, where there was a phone near the corner. She watched as he deposited coins in the slot and dialed a number. It was obvious he’d memorized it when he made a reservation for two for later that afternoon.
She waited until he hung up to ask Frank, “Do we have time to stop at my place to change my clothes?” She had selected a navy-blue linen gabardine pantsuit with a white silk blouse to wear to Kenny’s graduation ceremony, and with the rising temperatures and humidity, she needed something much cooler.
Frank reached for her free hand. “Of course. I made the reservation for five, so we have a lot of time to do whatever you want.”
She smiled. “Right now, I want to get out of this suit.”
“After we go to your place to change, we’ll go to mine so I can also change.”
Justine nodded. She’d known Francis D’Allesandro for five years, and during that time, she’d never been to his apartment—and, aside from his nephew and namesake, she’d never met anyone in his family.
He’d come to her apartment when she moved into public housing a few times, but after a while, he would call and tell her he was waiting downstairs when it came time for him to pick up Kenny for his cooking lessons.
And once Kenny entered high school, he’d stopped picking him up.
So many things had happened in five years that Justine felt as if it had passed by at warp speed.
She’d secured a better-paying job working at Bellevue Hospital in their billing department once her typing projects dwindled to less than three a year.
And she was able to finally get off welfare.
She’d also changed her attitude about living in public housing, because there was always heat and hot water, things that were occasionally missing when she lived in the tenement building.
The Amsterdam Houses weren’t the towering monstrosities housing tens of thousands of residents like so many public housing developments in New York City.
There were playgrounds, a nursery, gymnasium, and a community center for the residents, and if she hadn’t initially been so opposed to moving into the projects, the Amsterdam Houses would’ve been the perfect place to live and raise Kenny.
Frank led her to his car. It was a more updated model than the one he’d had when she first met him, but still not the latest model.
Frank opened the passenger door for Justine. He waited until she was seated, then rounded the vehicle and opened the driver’s door. He removed his suit jacket and placed it on the rear seats before getting in behind the wheel.
Putting the key into the ignition, he started the engine, then maneuvered away from the curb and into the flow of traffic.
When he’d gotten up that morning, he debated whether to attend Kenny’s graduation, then decided it was something he wanted to do.
There was nothing he wanted more than to stay in the boy’s life and his mother’s.
The boy was growing older and more independent, while Frank felt as if he and Justine were growing further and further apart.
They rarely saw each other over the past three years, and there were times when he believed he’d forgotten what she looked like.
He realized a lot of things had changed, and there were issues he knew upset her.
Kenny told him his mother was worried about the escalating war in North Vietnam, because at eighteen he would have to register for the draft.
Racial unrest had swept across the country like a lighted fuse attached to a stick of dynamite with riots in Watts, Newark, and Detroit.
The latter, known as the 12th Street Riots, decimated Black neighborhoods, and was eventually stopped when over twelve thousand federal troopers and National Guardsmen were called in.
Kenny said his mother couldn’t believe that their government had called for soldiers to round up American citizens as if they were the enemy.
Frank had found himself glued to the television after the news that civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had been assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, and then two months later, it was presidential candidate Robert F.
Kennedy in Los Angeles, California. It was now the middle of 1969, and he wondered if the civil rights and turmoil that had plagued the 1960s would spill over to the next decade.
If Kenny was apprehensive about being drafted, it was also the same with Frankie and Ray Torres.
They were eighteen and worried that their number would come up and they would have to report to their nearest draft office.
Frank had tried to allay their fears, because as college students, they could request a deferment.
“Now that Kenny is headed for college, are you ready to follow him?” Frank asked Justine.
“Yes. I submitted my application, sent in my high school transcript, and now after nearly eighteen years, I’ll find myself sitting in a classroom once again.”
“You’re good, doll, because I don’t think after being out of school for that length of time, I would have the patience to sit in a classroom or lecture hall again.”
“That’s because you’ve done it, Frank. College is very different from high school, where you attend classes every day.
I’m going to begin taking two courses this upcoming semester, then register for more during the spring.
Don’t forget, I have a day job, so I’m going to have to monitor my time wisely. ”
“Are you still typing papers?”
“Not as much as I did in the past. I’m lucky if I have three, and once I begin my classes, I’ll stop completely.”
“Don’t you need the extra money?” Frank asked her.
“Even though I could use it, I don’t need it as much now, because I’m making more money working at Bellevue than I did at St. Luke’s.”
Frank stared out the window when he came to a stop at a red light. “You know you could’ve always asked me for money if you needed it.”
Justine shook her head. “No, Frank. That’s something I would never do, because I’d rather go without than beholding to some man.”
He clenched his teeth to keep from spewing curses he knew would sever their friendship—forever.
“Since when did I become just some man to you, Justine? I don’t know who you dealt with in the past, or even now that we haven’t seen each other since Kenny went to high school, so please don’t lump me in with the other men who wanted to use you. ”
Shifting on her seat, Justine met his eyes for a brief second. “There were no others, Francis. You and my son have been the only men I’ve had to deal with, and that makes for a very uncomplicated existence. I’ve finally been able to cross off a number of things on my wish list and so far, so good.”
“Is companionship one of those things on your list?”
“It’s not written down, but I’ve been considering it.”
“Like having a male friend?”
“I already have that, Francis. I have you.”
Frank chuckled, the sound rumbling in his chest. “Damn, doll. I had to wait five long years for me to take you out on a date, because you wanted to wait for Kenny to graduate high school.”
“Something like that,” Justine said, smiling.
Frank’s hands tightened on the steering wheel, and he knew he had to tell Justine something he’d asked Kenny never to disclose to his mother. “If we’re going to continue to see each other, there’s something you should know about me.”