Chapter 20
Gina looked over. “Good morning, sunshine. We’ve been going since seven this morning and we are ready for our official tasters.”
Kim handed Angie a cup of coffee. “Ben will be here in a little bit. You take your time getting ready. We’re so excited.”
Angie smiled and said, “You two are so cute and full of energy. Thanks for the coffee, Kim, it’s perfect. I’ll shower. Can’t wait to taste everything.”
“We need you to be brutally honest about everything. Don’t hold back, you won’t hurt our feelings. We really want to get this right, and we’ll do anything to make it happen,” Gina said.
Angie gave them a thumbs-up and headed to the bathroom. She finished getting ready and checked her phone before heading into the official tasting room, still hoping to see a text from Vinnie with his usual daily greeting: Good morning, my love. I hope you have a wonderful day. See you for dinner.
The lack of a message from him was just another reminder that she would never get one again.
Angie had kept Vinnie’s old texts and a few voicemails so that she could hear his voice and attempted to conjure up his presence.
But no matter how hard she tried, she knew the reality: You think everything is perfect one minute, then things turn on a dime, and someone you thought would be here forever is just gone.
When she walked into the living room, Ben was sitting at the table, smiling. “Aren’t we the lucky ones, a private tasting.” He stood up and pulled Angie’s chair out for her. “Please, allow me.”
As they sat across from each other, Angie gently touched Ben’s hand. He was the one and only person Vinnie had trusted unconditionally. “So good to see you. How have you been?”
Before he could answer, Kim was standing in front of them.
“Thank you both for bringing your taste buds and brutal honesty. We will be sampling the menu for an Italian funeral. We’re serving this at the funeral directors’ meeting on Monday.
I’ve placed a pad of paper with each item listed on a scale of one to five.
After you have tasted each item, we kindly request that you don’t speak to or make eye contact with each other.
One means the food is horrible; five means you ask the caterer for the recipe.
We are setting a two-minute timer after you taste each item so you can quickly write down your answer and notes.
What’s important is that we get your immediate response; that’s when folks register their likes and dislikes more accurately. ”
Angie glanced at Kim and winked. “This is some serious business.”
“This is our future. We want to make any course corrections after we get your thoughts,” Kim said.
“You will both go a long way with that can-do attitude,” Ben said.
Ben and Angie quietly tasted each item as it was served. She tried hard not to look at Ben, but on a couple occasions, she heard him moaning and looked over when he was eating the roasted peppers and sautéed mushrooms. “Oh, yeah,” he said. Angie chuckled.
After he tasted the pesto crostini, he couldn’t help himself.
“Can I get a few more of these, please? This is bank; you should serve this at every event. It’s going to take you all the way to the top.
” He handed his evaluation paper over to Kim, then wiped his face and put the folded napkin on the table.
“Would you two start-up chefs please sit down.”
They pulled up two chairs to the table.
“After tasting this amazing food and seeing how dedicated you are, I’ve decided to invest some of my retirement money in your enterprise. How much do you need?”
Angie watched Kim and Gina stare at each other, their mouths agape. Gina finally spoke. “Like, for real, Uncle Ben?” Gina had called him that since she was young and hanging out at Uncle Vinnie’s place.
“How much do you need?”
After a long silence, Gina looked at Uncle Ben. “We need about five thousand more. My mom is giving us some money, and Kim has savings she’s going to use.”
Without hesitation, Ben reached into his pocket.
“I always have my checkbook. Some people call me old-fashioned. I’m going to write you a check right here.
We’ll figure out the rest later.” Ben handed it to Gina, stood up, and looked over at Angie.
“About time we go to that storage unit, don’t you think? ”
Angie clasped her hands over her chest. “You’re the best.”
“I never expected this, Uncle Ben. You won’t be sorry, I promise.” Gina hugged him.
“I believe in what you’re both doing, and I know your uncle Vinnie would be so damn proud of you.”
Angie had a lump in her throat as she stood up. “This is all delicious, girls. But I’m feeling a little itchy to get down to that storage unit, if you don’t mind. I’ll get my purse.”
En route to the storage unit, Ben glanced over at Angie and asked, “Vinnie never told you he had a storage unit?”
“First I heard of it was at his funeral. Beatrice has been insane about getting her hands on whatever is in there. I gave it to her yesterday, so she won’t be calling me a million times now.
” Why does he keep looking in the rearview mirror?
she wondered. She glanced in her side mirror and didn’t see anything suspicious, so she figured maybe Ben was just a little jumpy.
“Good for you,” Ben said as he parked at the location.
Angie followed him to the storage unit, where he pulled out a small piece of paper with a code written in Vinnie’s hand and entered the numbers.
A musty smell greeted them as Ben pulled up the heavy door.
He looked to see if anyone was standing on either side of them, then motioned Angie inside.
“Why do you keep looking around? Is someone following us?” Angie asked.
“Not that I can tell, but from what little Vinnie did share with me, there are sensitive documents inside, and I don’t want to take any chances with your safety.”
The storage unit had boxes neatly lined up on each side all the way to the ceiling. Toward the back were piles of large black trash bags stacked high, stuffed with who knew what.
“What is all this about?” Angie asked.
Ben wrapped his long arm around her shoulders. “Vinnie was always thinking ahead; you know how he was. Over the years, he learned a lot about city politics and shenanigans.”
“Uh-oh, the last thing I need to do is get arrested. I got bills to pay, a job at City Hall, and a business to launch. Maybe I shouldn’t be here, Ben.
Sometimes it’s better not to know things.
Don’t forget I worked in enough Italian restaurants, watching the comings and goings, and sometimes some folks were never seen again. ” Angie stayed at the entrance.
“It’s okay, Ang, I won’t let anything happen to you. You’ll be fine, better than fine.” He pulled out two black folding chairs from behind the boxes and set them up in the back near the black bags. “Sit down and let me explain what this is all about.”
Angie swallowed and gingerly walked to the back and sat down, clutching her purse. “Why do I have a feeling this is going to be a doozy?”
Ben grinned. “You’re right, it is, but you of all people will understand. Let’s start with all these bags. Want to take a wild guess at what’s inside?”
Angie walked over to the bags and pushed down. Her hand sank in fairly deep. “Feels like clothes or blankets … am I close?”
“Yes, there’s lots of clothes—and hats too.”
Angie searched her memory. When had Vinnie ever bought lots of clothes? Never. He hated shopping. She bought all his clothes—from underwear to shirts. The only thing he would buy was shoes and always bought two to three pairs so he wouldn’t have to go back. “I have no idea.”
“Remember when the Cubs almost won the National Division? Or the time they almost went on to the World Series?” Ben started to open one of the bags.
“I remember it well. There were some sad days and nights after we lost. I tried everything to cheer him up. He didn’t even want to go to Vegas. My poor guy.”
“Well, Vinnie was a loyal fan to a fault. He was so sure they were going to win that he ordered hundreds of T-shirts and hats. He was going to sell some and bring them to all his buddies as gifts.”
Angie’s eyes scanned all the stuffed bags—there had to be at least twenty. “So you’re telling me he bought all of these each time? We didn’t have that kind of money.” Angie looked over at Ben who was gazing down.
“That’s where Beatrice comes in; she lent him money each time. He promised she would double her money if they won. And if they didn’t, he would still pay her double.”
“Sounds like a dumb bet; I’m surprised she lent him anything. She can make the buffalo on a nickel squeal. He never said a thing to me, but then I wasn’t the breadwinner. It was his money.”
“You really understood him, and he loved you for that. His backup plan was to sell the sports T-shirts and caps to a third-world country vendor, so at least they would find a home. No one in Haiti knows who won the World Series or National Division, but they can always use new T-shirts and caps. Unfortunately, our boy pissed off the guy who was shipping the stuff overseas. Vinnie jacked up the price and they told him where he could shove his sports clothes.”
“So that’s why Beatrice never got her money back?”
“That’s only a part of it. Vinnie borrowed money from her when he went to Vegas. Most of the time, he paid her back with interest, but then the last couple times he stiffed her. And that’s when the shit hit the fan.”
“I could always tell when he owed someone money; he got real fidgety and crabby. When Connie would call with a cheap Vegas deal, if money was tight, he’d say, ‘It’s not a good time, Connie.
’ But then time would pass, and he would go back to being his sweet Vinnie self, so I always assumed he had taken care of things.
And since he was the breadwinner, I didn’t think it was my place to pry. ”
“So you knew about that?” Ben winced.