Six
weeks later.
“You
fucking what!?” Mandy yells. Everybody
in the shop turns to look at her.
Tonya
is so excited, her hands are flapping up and down like a bird. “I’m pregnant!”
“Oh
my god, oh my god, oh my god… I’m dizzy, I have to sit…” Mandy slowly sits down.
“Aren’t
you happy for me?”
“Happy!?”
Mandy’s eyes are as big as two headlights.
“Happy? Are you out of your damn mind? How can you be happy?”
“I
know you don’t like him, but give him a chance.
You’ll like him. Remember your
first day in this city? You said you
hated it, but it grows on you, right?”
“He’s
growing on you, that I’m sure.” Mandy looks at Tonya’s belly. “How can you let him…”
“Mandy!”
“Tonya,
you don’t even know him!”
“I
know him!” Tonya is irritated. “He’s a
nice policeman who loves me to death.”
Mandy
rubs her forehead and sighs 3 times.
“Your mom and dad know?”
“We’re
going to tell them tomorrow; Frank is meeting my parents…they’ll be thrilled to
meet Frank!”
“Yea,
I’ll bet; that’s a thriller alright.”
Frank
comes in to the shop. “Hi honey,” Tonya
and Frank kiss. “I told Mandy,” Tonya
says, looking at Mandy. Mandy struggles,
but finally manages to say it between her teeth: “Congratulations.”
“Thanks.”
Frank smiles.
Mandy
looks away. Tonya looks at Frank.
“Say…
Mandy, I heard you’re buying a car?” Frank asks.
“Mm-hmm.”
“What’s
your budget?”
“Well,
like $16,000, if the car is real good.”
“Is
there a particular brand you’re looking for?”
“I
like Toyota…”
“Toyota? Hey, no problem! I’ve got some connections, a brand new Toyota
Camry for $15,000, how about that?”
“$15,000?”
Mandy narrows her eyes in suspicion.
“If
you want hybrid, that’ll be like $18,000.”
“Really?”
“Of
course; c’mon, I’m a cop, I know all the car dealers! And I’m not talking about compound cars,
believe me. You give me $5,000 as down
payment, two weeks later I’ll give you a new Toyota.”
“That’ll
be nice,” Tonya holds his hand and gives him a kiss. “Wouldn’t that be nice, Mandy?”
“Yea…
yea, ok, I’ll give you the money.”
“Two
weeks later you’ll have a brand new car, I guarantee.” Frank takes a glass of
water on the table and gulps down the whole thing.
Frank
and Tonya stand in front of Tonya’s house.
He’s wearing his best deep blue suit and light blue shirt; his black
shoes are shining like mirrors. He spent
$60 to have his hair well-trimmed.
“You
smell so good,” Tonya says. “This is new
cologne, no?”
“Yea,
new one.” Frank forces a smile. His
hands are holding a bottle of champagne—and they are shaking.
“Honey,
are you nervous?” Tonya looks at him.
Frank
laughs uneasily.
“Don’t
be; you’ll be fine. My mom and dad are
going to love you.”
The
door opens. Tonya’s mom is short and
chubby, her black hair is mingled with some grey. She’s smiling. Tonya’s dad is a big man, bald, beer belly,
and big grey beard. He is not smiling.
“Frank? Tonya tells me so much about you,” mom goes
to Frank and hugs him. “Call me Lea.”
“Nice
to meet you, Lea. Tonya always talks
about you.”
“Call
me Tom.” Dad sticks his hand out, Frank shakes his hand. “Frank.
Nice to meet you, Tom. Hope you
guys like the champagne.”
“It’s
alright.” Tom waves his hands and goes into the house. Frank looks at Tonya for a second. She’s busy talking to her mom.
“Dinner
is ready, come sit at the table.” Lea says.
Everybody sits. “It smells so
good, Lea.” Frank says.
“We’re
so glad to finally see you,” Lea says.
“Thanks,
Lea. You have a very lovely house. I really like the décor.”
“Mom’s
spent a lot of time on that.” Tonya says.
“Thank
you, Frank. I have nothing else to do at
home anyway, especially in these hot days.
My, it’s getting warmer, isn’t it?”
“Indeed
it is. It’s just too warm.”
“Right. Even Tom sometimes complains it’s too hot to
go for his morning walk. Right honey?”
Tom is quietly eating his corn. Tonya bites her lips and looks at Lea.
“Dad,
Frank likes watching football too. He’s
a Green Bays fan like you.”
Tom
raises his right eyebrow, shrugs: “Green Bay alright.”
“I
really like McCarthy; I think he’s a good coach.” Frank says.
“Hmm.”
Tom keeps his eyes on his corn.
“This
corn is so good, Lea.” Frank says.
“I
cooked them.” Tom says.
“Oh,
sorry… they are real good. Real good.”
Silence. Frank twists his feet.
“So,
what do you do?” Tom asks.
“I
told you he’s a police officer; a captain.” Tonya says.
“I’m
asking him; let him talk.” Tom puts down the corn in his hand.
“You
like chicken? Hope you like it.” Lea
says.
“Yes,
thanks. I love chicken. Your chicken is just amazing.” Frank grasps another
big piece of fried chicken and turns to Tom.
“Yes sir, I’m a cop. I’ve worked
in this department for 5 years now. Oh,
by the way, I heard Tonya says you are the deep-sea fishing champion?”
“You
bet I am.”
“People
say that’s the most brutal fight on this planet. It’s the ultimate challenge; only a real man
can stand up to the challenge.”
Tom’s
frowned eyebrows smoothed. “I won two
years in a row.”
“That’s
awesome! That’s like twice of a real
man.”
Tom
sniffs. “You won’t believe how many
people there don’t know a shit. That’s a
real sport if you ask me. You see this
scar here?” Tom rolls up his sleeve and starts talking.
Lea and Tonya exchange a smile.
Three
days later, a wedding date is set: exactly one month from now.
“Dad,
can you help me with this question?” Luke walks into the study. Frank hastily puts away things on the
desk. “Yes?”
“I
don’t understand this question.” Luke points at his math homework.
“Where’s
your mom?”
“She’s
not home. She went to grandma’s.”
“I’m
in the middle of something, come back later.”
“But…”
“Go
now!” Frank waves his hand.
Luke
bows his head and slowly walks out of the door.
Frank sighs: “Oh, for Pete’s sake!
What’s the question?”
Luke
comes back. “This,” he points at one
question.
“Wait…
“ Frank looks at the red on the homework, “you got 38% for this homework?! How did that happen? What’s going on?”
“I
just don’t get it… I’m no good at math.”
“Nonsense! You’re my kid and you should be good at math!”
“But
I have nobody to ask! Mom’s always busy
and you’re not home.”
“I’m
home! Ok, maybe I’ve been a bit busy
lately; but you should have told me earlier!
What on earth is your mom doing?
She’s supposed to take care of your homework, now look at this!” Frank
waves the paper in his hand.
Luke
becomes quiet and looks down.
Frank
shakes his head. “Ok, ok, sit down. This question: An unknown number plus 386 equals
580, what’s the unknown number? Think
something simple: there’s a number, when I add this number with 2 that equals
3, what is the number?”
“…one?”
“How
did you figure that out?”
“Three
takes away 2?”
“So
this question is the same, right? What would
you do?”
“You
mean 580 takes away 386?”
“Right. Get it?”
“Yea.”
“Good. Next.”
After
they’ve gone through all the questions, Frank asks: “You get all that?”
“I
think so.”
“Ok.”
Frank is about to dismiss Luke.
“Dad,
where have you been lately?”
Frank
flushes. “Well, I’ve been busy.”
“Busy
for what?”
“It’s
an adults’ thing.”
“If
I have questions I don’t understand, can I come ask you?”
Frank
flushes again. “Why don’t you ask your
mom?”
“I
want to ask you. She’ll get mad if I
don’t understand. Besides, I think you
explain better.”
Frank
sighs and nods.
“Thanks.”
Luke smiles and walks out of the room.
Frank
looks at the door for a while. Then he
takes out something from the drawer.
It’s a piece of paper with some designs of wedding invitations. He stares at it for a long time.
Frank
is watching TV when the phone rings.
“Hello?”
“Frank? This is Mandy.”
Frank
looks at Marie at the far corner. She’s
not looking. “What? I can’t hear you,” he stands up and walks
outside.
“Can
you hear me now?” Mandy asks.
“Yes. Go ahead.”
“I’m
calling to ask about the car. You said
you can give me the car today.”
“Yes,
yes; I’m sorry, something came up, I was totally swamped, and I couldn’t even
find a time to call you, it’s just outrageous.”
“So,
now…how do I get my car?”
“Your
car, of course. You know, I’m kind of in
the middle of something right now... how about this? Let me call you; I’ll call in a day or two. Just wait for my call.”
“Wait
for your call?” Mandy raises her voice.
“Alright,
alright; how about Thursday then?”
“That’s
3 days away; I thought you said you have the car already.”
“Yes,
yes, don’t worry; I just…these days we’re very busy, we’ve got some big things
going on, you know? Cop things.”
Mandy
gives an annoyed sigh. “Ok, what time?”
“What
time? Let me see… damn, I really don’t
know. How about morning? I’ll call you first thing in the morning on
Thursday. I hope that’s ok. I promise you’ll get the car by
Thursday. It’s just… you know, being a
cop, I don’t know when I’ll be where, surely you understand, don’t you?”
Mandy
pauses for a long time. “Thursday. By Thursday I need to see my car, or else.”
“Definitely,
definitely.”
“I
feel so happy.” Tonya is holding Frank’s arm.
They’re walking in a park. It’s a
sunny afternoon, some ducks are swimming on the pond, birds are chirping,
breezes are rustling the tree leaves. Dandelions
carpet the meadows.
“I
hope I can live this moment forever.” Tonya smiles.
“Me
too.”
“You
want a boy or a girl?”
“I’d
like a boy.”
“So
you can play baseball or football together?
Father-and-son time?”
“That’s
right.” Frank grins.
“How
many kids do you want?”
“How
many do you want?”
“At
least 2.”
“A
boy and a girl?”
“That’ll
be perfect.”
“We’ll
make it happen.”
Pause
for a while, Tonya holds tighter.
“Honey, you have to promise me: always come home to me and the kids.”
“What?”
“I’m
not saying you should not do your job, but… when things get dangerous, I want
you to think about your family. I want
you to come back instead of being a hero.”
“Sure,
sure thing, honey.” Frank kisses her forehead.
“No problem.”
“I
can’t wait to marry you… I can’t wait to start a family of our own.”
“Me
too.”
“The
wedding invitations are lovely! My mom
says she loves them. Have you mailed
them yet?”
“Yes,
100 copies of them.” He pats her hands.
Tonya
leans her head against his arm.
Frank
is having lunch when his phone rings. He
picks it up. Shit, Mandy again. It’s Thursday already? Shit. “Hi,
Mandy.”
“Frank? It’s Thursday noon already, you said you’d
call in the morning.”
“Yes,
I’m sorry, I really apologize. I’m just
way too busy, you won’t believe it.”
“Well?”
“Yes,
the car. Listen, the car dealer says there’s
a tiny problem…not the car itself, it’s just some paperwork. It won’t be today.”
“What? Why?”
“I
know you’re upset; I’m sorry. Just
another couple days. I promise.”
“Another
couple days?”
“It’s…
it’s an accident. But don’t worry, the
car is great; I’ve seen it myself. It’s
ready for you, just need some more paperwork.
A couple days later it’ll be yours.
I swear. Trust me.”
Frank
can hear Mandy’s breaths. Finally she
says: “I want my car Saturday morning.
If I don’t see the car…”
“I
promise. Seriously.”
Hanging
up the phone, Frank shakes his head and let go a long breath. Maybe I
shouldn’t have put my foot in my mouth. I
just want to impress her, but gee, this gal is a damn tough cookie. Will she report me? Then he laughs: how could she? She thinks I am a
cop.
Mandy
throws the phone on the sofa, then goes into the kitchen and smashes some pots
and pans. “I don’t believe it, I don’t
believe it.” She whispers to herself. “This
is shit. I don’t believe it.” She opens
the fridge, fixes herself an icy drink, and sit on the sofa to cool down.
“This
is not right; fucking not right. I’ve
got to do something.” She grasps the phone book, finds a number, then dials her
phone. “Hello? Is this police station? I have a question…”
When
Frank comes home, Marie and Luke are playing a board game. “Dad,” Luke smiles.
“Where
have you been these days?” Marie out of the blue asks. Frank is caught off guard: “I…uh, I’ve been
busy.”
“Busy?”
“Friends
invited me for a drink.”
Marie
shrugs. She obviously isn’t buying. Frank steals away into the study.
Three
minutes later, there’s a knock on the door.
Marie is at the door with a cup of tea and some cookies in her
hands. “Cookies?”
“I’m
a bit tired…”
“Please.”
Marie stares into his eyes.
Frank
lets her in. She puts the tea and
cookies on the table. “Look, Frank, we’ve
been fighting for like months now. This
can’t go on; it just can’t. If not for
ourselves, at least for Luke... you know what I’m saying?”
Frank
is quietly looking down at the cookies.
He’s got a little moist on his forehead.
“I
don’t care what you’ve been doing right now, as long as it doesn’t involve
another woman. I care about this
family. I care about Luke. And our marriage. It’s not that I don’t support you and your
work, ok? You’ve been bringing home
bread and I see that. I’m a bit
quick-tempered, I know. Sometimes I got
frustrated, that’s all.”
Frank
slowly sits on his chair. Marie is
waiting for him to say something, but he’s not even looking at her. She finally frowns and takes a deep breath.
“I’m
not saying we should pretend there’s no problem between us. We know we do; a heck of a lot of them. But we might as well try, don’t you
think? At least for Luke’s sake. We’re a family.”
The
last sentence pokes him like a needle.
He’s almost startled.
“So,
what do you say?”
Suddenly
his cellphone rings. Frank picks up the
phone. “Hello?”
“This
is Mandy.”
Frank
almost falls out of the chair. He
quickly stands up: “Sorry, I can’t hear you, hold on a minute…” and walks straight
out of the house.
“I
thought I told you to wait for my call?” Frank lowers his voice.
“I
need to see you. Tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?”
“Six
o’clock at the Starbucks, a couple blocks away from the coffee shop. You know where it is?”
“I
know. But I told you you’ll get the car
soon, is that necessary…”
“Yes. We just have to talk things through. Please.”
“…Ok.”
She
hangs up.
Frank
walks into the house. Marie is playing
with Luke. “Look, I’m a bit tired; about
the things you said…”
Marie
and Luke look at him.
“This
is some serious thing, but I just got a call from work… they, uh, they want me
to do some extra work… I mean, right now I can’t totally concentrate, you
know? Let’s have a good talk when I come
back from work tomorrow.”
Marie
sighs. “Sure.”
Frank
nods sheepishly.
The
next day, Frank goes to pick Tonya up at her place after work. “Hi, honey,” he kisses her. “So, where are we going tonight?” Tonya gives
him a hug.
Frank
looks at her beautiful face beaming in the sunlight while feels her warm arms
pressuring around his body. Her smile is
so full of hope, like she’s on top of the world and is not afraid to fly.
Frank
kisses her again. God, she smells so good. This is
the love I want. This is the life I’ve
always wanted. I don’t care what’s gonna
happen, I want it.
“Oh,
it’s 5:20 already. I have to see Mandy
at 6, so why don’t we go get some drinks or sweets first? After Mandy we can go see a movie.”
“You’re
meeting Mandy at 6? Why?”
“She
wants to talk about the car she bought.”
“I
see. Oh by the way, my dad wants me to
ask you if you have mailed the invitations.
I told him you mailed them a while ago already, didn’t you?”
“Yes,
I did. Why?”
“It’s
just none of our relatives have received them yet.”
“Must
be the post office. I’ll go ask them
tomorrow.”
“Ok.”
They
go to a mall for ice cream, then head toward Starbuck.
Frank
can’t take his eyes off Tonya. She’s so beautiful. And I feel like a superman whenever I’m with
her. It’s so nice to have someone loves
you and trusts you so much. We’ve
finally found each other. I want to be
with you, Tonya; I can’t live without you…just can’t.
“Honey,
I’ve made an appointment with the doctor for the ultra sound next Tuesday. Can you come with me?”
“What
time?”
“Seven.”
“Sure.”
“Do
you want to find out the sex?”
“Do
I want to find out? Well,” Frank smiles,
“I don’t know. Do you?”
“Yea,
I want to.”
“You
don’t like surprises?”
“Actually,
I don’t mind. If you want to wait I can
wait.”
Frank
holds her hand. “Let’s find out.”
Tonya
leans her head on his shoulder. “Here is
the Starbucks…” she frowns, “what happened?
What are those cops doing here?
Must be roadblocks?”
Mandy is behind those police
officers. When she sees Tonya, she
covers her mouth: “Oh no, poor Tonya…”
One police officer waves at Frank to
stop the car. Looking at the cops and
Mandy behind them, his eyes wide open, his mouth is dry like fire, his heart
sinks to the bottom, and he feels his knees weak and trembling. No,
this is not happening…
“Did we do anything wrong? Why don’t you tell them you’re the captain so
they’ll let us go?” Tonya says.
The police office approaches. Frank rolls down the window.
“Are you Frank Stone?”
“Yes.” Frank’s throat hurts.
“Step out of the car, please.”
On the other side, a cop knocks on
Tonya’s window. “Ma’am, may I ask what’s
your relationship with this man?”
“He’s my fiancé, and a police
captain.”
“Your fiancé, ma’am?”
“Yes. What’s going on?”
An
officer handcuffs Frank: “You have the right to remain silent…”
“Hey! What are you doing!?” Tonya shouts and pushes
open the door. “Honey, tell them you’re
a captain!”
Mandy
comes and holds Tonya. “Tonya honey, I
have to tell you something…”
Some
officers search the car. One of them
pulls out a bunch of wedding invitations from the trunk. Tonya gasps.
“You didn’t mail them? Why? What’s going on? What’s happening here? Frank?”
Frank
lowers his head. He’s pale like all his
blood is drained.
Mandy
says with tearing eyes: “I’m sorry, Tonya; I wanted to tell you, but… it’s
just… he kept on making all the excuses about the car he promised, so I called
the cops… I just want to make sure about… you know? And they told me he’s no cop; they ran his
name in the system…”
“What
are you talking about?”
“Tonya…
he’s not a cop… and he has a record of medical fraud.”
“What?”
Tonya starts shaking.
“He’s not a cop… and he’s married. He has a son.”
Tonya
covers her wide open mouth. For a long
minute she can’t utter any sound. Then
she bursts: “No! No! Frank,” she runs to him and tries to look at
his face. “Frank honey, tell me it isn’t
true, please… tell me you’re a cop, tell me…”
He
looks away.
“…you
lied to me?” Tears start pouring down her cheeks. “You lied to me? What am I gonna do? What am I gonna do?”
“Tonya,
I’m sorry…but they’re taking him in for his fraud and my case… please don’t
hate me…” Mandy hugs her.
“Why
did you lie to me!?” Tonya shrieks. “Why!? What should I do with our baby!? What will happen to our baby!? How am I gonna face my mom!? My dad!?
Everyone!?” She collapses and wails.
An
officer pushes Frank into the car. Frank
looks behind at Tonya, who’s sitting on the ground weeping. Her image is getting smaller and fainter till
it disappears. Like a tiny bird falls
into the sea, her fragile body is slowly swallowed by darkness.
“I
ain’t lying. I’m going to get her a car. I’m working on it.”
“You
are.” The officer sitting next to him raises his eyebrows. “What about the $5,000?”
“What
about it?”
“You
still have it?”
He
didn’t answer. He’s shaking, looking out
the windows. The streets are packed with
people and cars. They’re all moving on
their own lives indifferently. They look
so unreal.
“Mom,
what happened? Where’s dad?” Luke is
puzzled and scared.
Marie
wipes away tears on her face. “He won’t
come back. He lied to a lot of people
and now will go to prison.”
“Prison? Who did he lie to?”
“A
lot of people. You and me.”
“What
did he lie about?”
Marie
sighs. “He has a baby with another
woman. And he took someone’s money.”
“Why
did he do that?” Luke is in tears. “Who’s
gonna teach me math? He promised he’ll
teach me math. He promised.”
Marie
holds him in her arms. “Mom will teach
you. I won’t get mad. I promise.”
“My
god! Did you hear about Frank?” It’s
lunch time, Steve and Cecil are gossiping.
“Remember
what I said about him?” Cecil’s face is glowing with wisdom and pride, it has
“I told you so” written all over.
“What
was he thinking? That’s just stupid if
you ask me!” Steve shakes his head like it’s about to fall. “Was he really gonna marry that poor girl?”
“That
was one stupid girl,” Cecil sniffs.
“That’s
not a nice thing to say.”
“I
say what I say. What would you call her
then?”
“Naïve
maybe. But love is irrational, you
know? There’s no logic about love. Everybody is somebody’s fool.”
Cecil
shrugs. “Whatever. I’m nobody’s damn fool.”
In
jail, Frank crouches at the corner while staring at the floor. A police officer comes near him.
“Your
girlfriend…well, x-girlfriend, is suing you for $50,000.”
Frank
gives out a long sigh. “Must be her
dad.”
“You
called your family?”
“They
weren’t there.”
“You
shouldn’t be surprised.”
“I
didn’t mean to lie to her.”
“To
your wife or your girlfriend?”
Frank
pauses. “I wanted to get a divorce and
marry her. I swear.”
“Why
did you lie?”
“Look
at me: I’m 260 pounds. She worships
cops. I had to maximize my chance. I love her.
She must hate me now… what am I gonna do? How should I make it up to her? How should I make it up to her?”
The
officer smiles and shakes his head.
“I…I
just wanted a new life, you know? I wanted
to marry her. I swear I wasn’t lying…”
“You
better rest.” The policeman knocks on the iron bar several times then leaves.
“I
just wanted a new life, to start all over again…I deserve it…I deserve it…” Frank
whispers, buries his head in his hands. (The end)
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