Chapter 17
Angie’s heart raced as she pushed her cart down the hall as fast as she could, holding back tears.
I am so humiliated that Ralph saw me. She parked the cart outside the women’s restroom, then took the yellow plastic CLOSED TEMPORARILY FOR CLEANING sign and put it in the doorway.
She checked to make sure no one was in there and closed the door.
Sobs trapped in her throat, she found the closest stall, locked the door, sat down, and started to cry.
“I’m exactly the kind of loser my father and my first husband said I was. I was just fooling myself when I was with Vinnie.” She allowed herself to let it all out, and then a switch clicked in her head.
“No, no. I am not that old Angie! I am not!” she said, fighting the sobs that persisted.
She blew her nose, wiped her tears, splashed cold water on her face, and cleaned the bathroom with newfound energy. I’ll show them.
Angie was determined to get what was due to her, one way or another.
She checked her watch; it was close to quitting time, but she needed to finish her last office.
She wheeled Hazel—as she now endearingly called her cart—to the HR department; Bud was gone and the door was locked.
She unlocked the door with her master key and started cleaning the reception area, then moved to the offices behind closed doors.
Angie headed straight to Cookie’s office, dusted off the plants, then the perimeter of the desk, and came to a halt when she saw a thick file with Vinnie’s name on it.
Her eyes darting around, her heart racing, she frantically took it to the copy area and made copies of everything.
She put them under the paper towels lying atop Hazel and returned the original to Cookie’s desk.
Her palms were sweating as she quickly finished cleaning the rest of the areas in HR and took Hazel down to the basement.
On the way out, she decided she would hail a cab.
It wasn’t in her budget, but she had to get that file home and read what was inside as soon as possible.
Fortunately, Thad and Gina weren’t home when Angie locked herself in her bedroom and started to read Vinnie’s file. It was thick, but she found a section labeled “Retirement,” and she quickly flipped to that section.
And there it was, in black and white; the beneficiary of Vinnie’s pension was Mario.
“What?” she yelled out. “What the hell?” This can’t be right, she thought, as she quickly flipped each page and read the highlights. But no, it was crystal clear. Mario would be getting Vinnie’s entire pension. How could this be?
Her fingers suddenly weak, the papers fell to the floor and Angie lay down on Gina’s bed trying to make sense of everything.
She picked up the remote control for Gina’s TV and hit the on button.
The Wizard of Oz, one of her favorite movies in the world, was playing.
It was one of the last scenes where the characters were sending Dorothy off, and Glinda, the good witch, looked at Dorothy and said, “You’ve always had the power, my dear. You just had to learn it for yourself.”
Angie stood up, all the muscles in her body tightened, and she screamed, “I’m not letting anyone take that pension away from me!” She slammed her hand on Gina’s dresser. Her cell phone rang. She took a deep breath so she wouldn’t sound like a maniac answering the phone. “Hello.”
“Well, it’s about damn time you answered your phone. I’ve been leaving you messages for days. Didn’t anyone tell you it’s rude not to return calls?”
“I’m done taking your shit, Beatrice. Do you ever think about anything else besides yourself and your money?
Vinnie always said you were the most selfish person he knew, and he was spot-on.
When I have something to tell you about whatever is in that storage unit, I will call you.
If you call me one more time, you won’t ever hear from me again.
Do I make myself clear?” Angie was stunned by the power in her voice.
She’d always buckled under intimidation.
And Beatrice was nothing if not intimidating.
Angie felt herself puff up with her newfound forcefulness.
“I want what’s rightfully mine, and you don’t intimidate me for a minute. You were nothing before you married Vinnie, and you’re nothing now. You better get your ass over to that storage unit sooner than later or I’ll—”
Angie cut her off, “Or what? You’ll come after me in your electric scooter with that rat dog of yours?
Please, save your bad breath threats for someone else, you waste of space.
No wonder you’ve been single all your life.
Who could stand to be around you? I will call you when and if I’m good and ready.
If you bother me one more time, I’ll sue you for harassment.
I work at City Hall now; I have friends there.
And stop calling Connie because that’s not going to get you anywhere either.
Too bad you weren’t really dead like Vinnie told us.
” Angie ended the call, let out a huge breath and smiled.
Man, that felt good. She went into the bathroom and washed her face and neck with cool water.
Wait until Ralph hears about these pension papers.
Angie called Ralph next, her heart still racing. When he answered, she said, “Ralph, are you sitting down? You’re not going to believe this.”
“Yes, I’m sitting down. You sound upset. What’s going on?”
“Is this a secure line?” For all she knew, someone could be bugging his phone.
He laughed. “I think so, but I’m not a hundred percent sure. Do you want me to go find a pay phone?”
“That’s not necessary. I just got off a call with Beatrice so my engines are running hot right now,” Angie said.
“You okay? What’s going on, Angie?”
She could hear his concern.
“I am just fine. After I saw you, I cleaned the HR offices and found Vinnie’s file on Cookie’s desk.
” Angie laid out what she had discovered and her rush to photocopy the file.
“Mario is the beneficiary. He’s going to get all Vinnie’s money.
I need your help, Ralph. I know we’re just getting to know each other, but I didn’t know who else to call.
I don’t want to bring Ben into this; it could jeopardize his pension at City Hall. ”
“Wow, no wonder you’re all riled up. I would be too. Do you have any evidence that can prove that Mario did this?” Ralph asked.
“No, I just found this all today. It appears like it was always Mario if you look at the paperwork. I know for sure that Vinnie would not have done this. Who else would have but Mario?” Angie walked into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of wine.
“Well, I’m no attorney, but if we can’t prove that your name was on there first, then changed, I’m not sure if we can do anything. Did Cookie ever tell you that your name was on the pension papers?”
“She led me to believe that it was when I met with her. She said things take time at City Hall. Maybe I can wear a wire and go into her office and ask her point-blank. Or I could corner Mario and get him to confess,” Angie said.
Ralph laughed. “I think you’re watching too many detective movies.
It’s an idea, but we’ll have to figure out another way to get to the bottom of this.
When I saw Cookie on Friday and asked her about how your pension paperwork was going, she all but bit off my head and told me to mind my own business.
She also demanded I stop asking questions about Vinnie’s replacement.
I’m walking a tightrope at City Hall right now.
They’re shutting down all my jobs, so I need to stay in Cookie’s good graces. ”
“I’m so sorry to hear about that. Will your company be okay?” Angie finished her wine in a gulp.
“Honestly, I don’t know. The majority of my jobs are with City Hall.
I have several others outside, but things with those could go south too if word gets out.
Don’t you worry about me, Angie. I’ll land on my feet.
I do think you should destroy the copies you made from Cookie’s file.
That’s a criminal offense that could get you into serious trouble if someone finds them. ”
“Right now, the only people who know about them are you and me. Thanks for the heads-up on that. I’ll hide them in a place where no one would think to look.” My underwear drawer, she thought, grinning to herself. “I’ll see you for dinner on Monday night. I’m looking forward to it.”
“Me too, Angie. Have a good weekend.”