Second Time Around

Chapter 22 - Benson's Back in Town!

By Arli J

Edited by Radio Rancher
Based on Characters from Pinochle, by E Walk

It was getting so hot and muggy that Gregg and I decided we were in the right place and doing the right thing; we were sitting in the shade in the back yard, enjoying the breeze from the lake. That seemed like a good way to spend the afternoon, so we just sat and chatted. Gregg is easy to talk to, and our conversation wandered like sheep grazing, stopping here and there to grab onto a new topic and then just chewing on it, getting all the good we could from it, before moving on.

We were so involved that we didn't notice that the sun was going down, and we were surprised to find that the shadows were getting longer. Gregg gave me a long, thoughtful look. "It's past dinner time, and someone promised me that we would go to the State Diner." He grinned.

"I don't remember that. When did that come up in our conversation?"

"Before you tried to drown me and freeze me to death at the same time."

"I had nothing to do with that! You were warned, and you didn't listen."

"You never warned me! You just said it was cold."

"Well, wasn't it?"

"Oh, yeah! I'm just finally recovering now!"

"Well, next time I try to warn you about something, please pay attention!" We were both grinning by this time. He gave me the most pitiful look.

"Well, do we get to go to the State Diner? You promised me meat loaf!"

"Well, I don't remember that part of the conversation, but if it means that much to you, I suppose we could go get you some." By this time we were getting almost silly. I sighed (a bit melodramatically, I must admit!) and stood up.

"Well, if you're going to whine, I guess I'll have to take you and get you meat loaf." His grin almost split his face.

"That's what I'm talking about!" I just shook my head and walked around the house, fishing the car keys out of my pocket. I was doing almost all the driving now; Gregg seemed to be content with that arrangement, and I noticed that his limp wasn't as pronounced as it had been when we got back from Nebraska.

Our favorite waitress was coming out of the kitchen, as we walked into the diner. "Hi, guys!" She looked at Gregg, then at me. "One meat loaf dinner, and what will you be having this evening, sir?" She was giggling.

Gregg gave her a stern look. "And just what makes you assume that I want meat loaf? I might want something else, you know!"

"I'm sorry, sir! Do you know what you want, or would you like to check today's specials?" She picked up two menus and started to hand them to us. Gregg couldn't keep his serious look any longer. He started to laugh.

"Of course, I want meat loaf! I just didn't want you to be too confident!"

She was laughing now, too. "Oh, you're good! I'm used to the students pulling that kind of stuff on me, but I never expected it from you."

We sat down in a booth close to the door. The diner was just about empty, as it had been for the last few days. I looked at the waitress and shook my head. "If this keeps up much longer, it's really going to hurt your business here."

"Actually, we're doing better than we expected. People still have to eat, and a lot of our regular customers still come in. We don't have the crowds we normally have, but we're holding on. The boss was afraid for a couple of days that he'd have to close, but it's been picking up a little, so he's going to try to hang on. We really need the Commons back in business to get things back to normal in Ithaca. So, what did you want this evening, or would you like a little time to decide?"

"You guys serve breakfast any time, don't you? I'm just in a mood to have breakfast for dinner."

She laughed. "We serve more breakfasts after the bars close than during the normal breakfast hours!"

"Well, I really don't want to have to wait until the bars close. Could I get an order of pancakes and eggs? And I'd like a side dish of applesauce, too."

"You got it! And do you guys want coffee, as usual, or is it too hot for coffee?"

Gregg looked up from the menu he was studying. "I'm not sure that hell would be too hot to enjoy a cup of coffee!"

The waitress laughed. "Two coffees coming up, and your dinners will be here in just a few minutes." She jotted a few notes on her pad and went to get our coffee.

Gregg was still poring over the menu. I was a bit curious.

"You've already ordered your dinner. Why are you checking out the menu?"

"Just looking for something to tempt Beau and Becca to come here for dinner tomorrow evening." He grinned. "Beau's easy; just say 'steak,' and you've got his attention. But Becca's a little harder to judge. She liked the chops she had here before, but I can't be sure that she'll want them again, so I've got to find something that might strike her fancy!" He was wearing a decidedly devilish expression, like a kid planning a Halloween trick. I just shook my head and sighed.

"And all so you can have meatloaf again tomorrow!"

"And your problem with that is …?"

"Not a thing!" I threw my hands up in a gesture of surrender. He laughed.

"Well, then,..."

The waitress returned with our coffee and set the cups in front of us. She smiled and went back to the kitchen. We sat and sipped our coffee. Gregg was still studying the menu, so I just stared out the window. My seat faced west, so I watched the sun sinking behind West Hill. It was a very colorful sunset, and the colors tinted buildings, cars and trees with shades that could never be duplicated by an artist.

The waitress returned with our dinners. Gregg handed her the menu he had been reading, and we ate quietly, each of us wrapped in his own thoughts. My mind was filled with memories, little events that stretched back over forty years. The pain was less now, but there was a sense of melancholy and nostalgia. Gregg was right; there's a big hole in my life now. I'll just have to learn to walk around it.

When we finished our dinners, Gregg looked over at me with a little-boy hopeful expression on his face. "Do you think they might have any of that strawberry-rhubarb pie left?"

"I wouldn't be surprised."

"I was thinking, a piece of that might taste really good, right now. How about you?"

I'm not sure about rhubarb on top of what I ate, but a piece of apple pie sounds good!" Our waitress was standing at the cash register, talking to another waitress. I signaled to her, and she came right over to our table.

"Can I get you guys something else?"

Gregg spoke up. "If you have any of that wonderful strawberry-rhubarb pie left, I'd really like a piece. I never had it before today, but I really, really like it!"

The waitress grinned. I'm sure she was thinking the same thing that I was. He looked so much like a little boy that you just wanted to hug him.

"We sure do, sweetie! I'll get you a piece right away. And how about you? The same?"

"Uh, no, I think I'll have apple, instead."

"OK, guys, coming right up." She went back behind the counter and was back quickly with two pieces of pie. She set them in front of us and patted Gregg on the shoulder. "There you go, sweetie! Enjoy yourself!" She went back to the cash register and resumed her conversation with her co-worker.

Gregg's face was a study in silly, as he ate his pie, slowly and obviously enjoying himself immensely. I had to keep my eyes on my plate to keep from laughing out loud.

When we finished, and Gregg had all but licked his pie plate, I went to the cash register to pay for our dinners, while he left a tip, folded and tucked under his plate, for the waitress.

It was beginning to get dark when we got home. The mosquitoes were out in full force, so we decided to go inside and see what was on TV. The house was really warm, and I knew from experience that it could stay that way for hours. I flipped on the A/C. "It'll take a few minutes to cool this place off, but then we should be more comfortable."

We sat down on the couch, but not as close together as we usually sat. It was just too warm. Gregg picked up the remote and flipped through the channels until he found one of our favorite sitcoms. We settled back to watch. He had to turn the volume up a little; the hum of the A/C was making it difficult to hear the dialogue. But the room was getting cooler.

By the time the program ended, the house was more comfortable. We walked out on the front porch for a few minutes, where the breeze from the lake was cooling the outside air. It would be pleasant for sleeping tonight. When we went back inside, I turned off the A/C. I opened a few windows, and we decided, since we would be having a busy day tomorrow, that we might as well call it a night.

The bedroom was cool enough so that we were comfortable covered by a sheet. I leaned over to Gregg and kissed him on the cheek. "Good night."

"Good night, Harley. Sleep tight." We drifted off to sleep quickly.

The sun was shining in the window, already bright at five-thirty in the morning. I eased out of bed and went into the bathroom. When I returned, Gregg was sitting on the edge of the bed. I could tell at a glance that he was back to his normal morning mode, so I patted him on the shoulder and went out to the kitchen to get coffee started. I was about halfway through my first cup of coffee when he came shuffling out to the kitchen and sat down at the table. I got up and brought him a cup of coffee. He stared at it for a bit, then looked up and grunted. Yes, things were back to normal now.

I kept our cups refilled, and gradually Gregg rejoined the living. When he had finally regained the power of speech, we decided on what we wanted for breakfast. It was already getting warm in the house, so we settled on a bowl of cold cereal and a fruit cup. And another pot of coffee, of course!

We finished breakfast, and Gregg picked up the dishes and stacked them in the sink. He brought the pot to refill our cups, before he sat down, giving me a long, intense look. I couldn't figure out what was on his mind.

"Do you like watermelon?"

That was the deep thought that was occupying him? Watermelon?

"Yes, why do you ask?"

"Just wondering." He retreated into some inner part of his mind for a few minutes.

"Me, too."

This conversation was going to take a while to come to a point, if there was one! I waited, but he didn't add anything to his last statement. Now I was a little curious.

"What brought watermelon to your mind this morning?"

"I like it."

"Well, so do I, but why are we discussing it over the breakfast table?"

"I didn't think about it last night."

"Oh. OK! But what made you think of it at all?"

"I saw some of those little melons at the grocery store, when we were shopping, and I meant to ask you if you liked them, because I thought it might be nice to have one in the fridge, if we wanted a cool snack."

"Well, we've got time today, before we have to go to the airport, so we could pick one up and have it chilling in the fridge, the next time this comes to your mind."

"Are you teasing me? Don't you ever think about watermelons?"

"About as often as I think about the back of my neck."

"What?" He looked distinctly puzzled. "You think about the back of your neck?"

"Not often."

"You're making fun of me, aren't you?" He was grinning now.

"No, Gregg, I'm not making fun of you. But you really had me confused, when you started asking about watermelons."

"Well, I like to mention things, when I think of them. Otherwise I forget to say anything."

"Gregg, you're too young to be having senior moments!"

"I'm not sure age has anything to do with it, and, anyway, I think I'm technically a 'senior' now, wouldn't you say?"

"I don't think I want to take this train of thought any farther; I'll be getting depressed. If you're a 'senior,' what does that make me? And, please, don't answer that question!"

"Well, since you brought it up, I can only say that I don't think of either one of us as a 'senior.' I don't know about you, but I don't feel any older than I did twenty-five or thirty years ago!"

"You know, I don't either. I don't think that 'I' have gotten older, but the body doesn't always agree with me."

"I sure understand that!" We sat and sipped our coffee in silence for a few minutes. Then Gregg looked up from his cup.

"Do you really want to go to the grocery store this morning? I've been in the mood for some fresh, seasonal fruits, and they had a big display when we were there. We could get some strawberries and some peaches. Those would make good snacks or side dishes for dinner, and I'd love to just sit in the back yard with a big slice of cold watermelon and just let the juice drip off my chin. I haven't done that in years!"

"How would you feel about home made strawberry shortcake?"

"With whipped cream?"

"If that's what you want. Personally, I prefer sour cream on shortcake. It's rich and creamy, and it cuts the sweetness of the berries just enough!"

"That does sound good!"

"Well, then, let's get our act together and hit the grocery store!"

We got ready and drove to the grocery store. We really didn't need a lot of things, except for the fresh fruit that Gregg wanted, so it didn't take us long to finish our shopping. On the way home, Gregg sat there proudly, with a watermelon in his lap. He was patting it and smiling. If I didn't know that he was a pretty stable character, I might have begun to worry. Every few minutes he would turn slightly to check the other watermelon lying on the back seat. He caught me checking him out and grinned.

"Well, I'd hate to have it fall and crack. They're really quite delicate, you know!"

"OK! No problem here!" I concentrated on my driving, fighting a grin.

When we got home, we put the melon he had been carrying in the fridge. As I went to set the other on the back porch, he was watching me with a worried expression.

"Are you sure it will be all right there? Do you have cats or dogs in the neighborhood? What about raccoons? They like watermelon, I think!"

"Gregg, cats and dogs won't bother the melon there on the porch, and I haven't seen a raccoon in this neighborhood since I bought the house. I think the melon will be safe."

"Couldn't it freeze out there?"

"In case you hadn't noticed, daytime temperatures lately have been in the 90's, and if it cools off to 70 at night, we can sleep. I really don't think your melon is going to freeze, before we have a chance to eat it."

"Well, if you're sure..."

"Gregg, it's August, not January! Your melon is safe!" We stored the other fruit we had bought in the bottom drawer of the fridge, then poured ourselves another cup of coffee and sat down. He grinned at me.

"You probably think I'm being silly about that melon."

"Well, I realize you're concerned about its safety."

"Do you know what those are? They're Sugar Babies, seedless and just dripping with sweet juice."

"Well, we're definitely going to eat them in the back yard, then!"

"When I was a kid, my Mom used to make me strip to my underwear and sit on the back porch to eat watermelon."

"Now, that's a bit of information I really didn't need to know. I hope you realize that we have neighbors here who might object, if you did that now."

"I really do like watermelon."

"Fine, but we'll have to find some other way of letting you eat it without giving the neighbors a strip-tease." We were both grinning now.

The day was definitely getting warmer, so I turned on the A/C. We sat in the kitchen and just grinned at each other over our coffee cups. By noon, we decided to have a really light lunch, so we made cheese sandwiches and sliced up some peaches, sprinkled them with sugar, and—surprise!—made another pot of coffee. We took our lunch out under the trees in the back yard, so that we could enjoy the breeze from the lake. It was really fun, just relaxing and chatting; I learned a lot about Gregg's early life, and I suppose he learned something of mine. I would have been content to spend the rest of the day there, but I looked at my watch and realized it was almost 3:00. We had to get moving, if we were going to get to the airport and rent a car before Beau and Becca arrived at 4:00. I remembered how prompt he had been the last time.

As we drove up the hill toward the airport, Gregg was watching for the malls. When we passed the turn-off, he looked over at me.

"Do you think we could come up here again, sometime soon? I really had a lot of fun, just mall-crawling."

"Any time you want to go. I'm not much of a shopper. Guess I wasn't meant to be gay. But I really enjoy watching you shopping!"

"Yeah, Jerry always said I was like a little kid in the malls." He mentioned Jerry's name without any apparent sadness.

We got to the airport and headed for the car-rental counter. It only took a couple of minutes to sign the papers, pay for the rental and pick up the keys. Then we wandered over to the big windows looking out on the landing strip. It was rather quiet today, but I realized that it was Sunday, and there probably wouldn't be so much air traffic.

Beau's corporate jet came gliding in for a landing and taxied up to the building, almost in front of us. I glanced at the clock on the wall. 4:00 on the nose! That's our Beau!

We moved closer to the door and watched them emerge from the plane and come down the steps. Becca was a little ahead, and as she came through the doors to the waiting room, she spotted us.

"Gregg, Harley! How are you guys?" She hurried over to us and greeted each of us with a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. Beau was right behind her. He shook hands with both of us.

"Did you have a chance to get us a car, Harley?" I handed him the paperwork and the keys. "Thanks. I'll settle with you later on this." He looked around and spotted a porter with a cart full of luggage.

He went over, picked their bags out of the pile and gave the porter a tip. Then we went outside, found his rental car and carried the bags out to store in the trunk. He grinned at me.

"I think I know the way to the Statler from here, but I'll follow you, just in case." We got into our cars and started down the hill. When we reached the Statler, we parked behind it, and Beau went in. He was back in about five minutes with a bellhop. The bellhop took the luggage, and Beau and Becca followed him into the hotel. Gregg and I stood in the shade by our car and just enjoyed the slight breeze that was stirring the hot August air around us.

When they returned, Beau was suddenly all business. "Harley, did you get the list of tenants on the Commons?"

"Yes, I picked it up Friday. It's on my desk at home."

"Why don't we go to your place and take a look at it? Then we can set up a plan of action." Gregg and Becca were looking at each other, smiling and shaking their heads. Beau was on the move.

When we got to my house, the A/C had cooled it to a very comfortable 70 degrees. We settled in the living room, and Beau looked over the list of businesses on the Commons. He studied it for a few minutes, then looked up at me.

"There aren't as many businesses on the Commons as I would have expected."

"No, there are quite a few empty stores. Mr. Petrillo was a tough landlord. He charged outrageous rents, and ignored the tenants' complaints about problems, like wiring, heat, and the fact that some of the stores had no bathroom facilities. The store owners had to close their stores and go upstairs to the second floor."

Becca was shocked. "You're kidding, aren't you? That's ridiculous! How can you operate a business that way?"

"Apparently, you can't! That's why so many new businesses gave up. And that's why there are so many empty stores."

Beau had a frown. "We're going to have to meet with the Business Owners' Association again! They've got to make some radical changes, and I understand that they have the money now to make those changes. Let's get our heads together here, and see if we can't come up with some reasonable solutions to the problems on the Commons. We've only been here a short time, and it's obvious to me that, without the Commons, this town is dying."

We spent the next couple of hours bouncing ideas around. Becca was taking notes, as we talked. Suddenly Beau looked at me.

"I just realized that I skipped lunch today, because I was trying to get things together to be able to spend a few days here. Is anyone else hungry?" He got three rather eager nods. I glanced at Gregg. He looked as if he was holding his breath. Beau grinned.

"I know we're scheduled to have dinner with Kate Dolan tomorrow, but I'm thinking about that steak I had at the diner we went to, the first time we came here." Gregg was grinning now. The grin got wider when Becca chimed in.

"Yes, I think those were the best chops I ever had in a restaurant. You've got my vote to go there again." If Gregg had grinned any wider, he might have been in danger of having the top of his head fall off. He gave me a really smug look.

"That's fine with me," I said. "There's no reason to take two cars. I'll drive, and we can all ride together." As we got up and prepared to leave, I managed to get close enough to Gregg to whisper in his ear, "Do you practice some kind of mind control? And just to have meat loaf twice in a row! I'm going to have to be very careful around you, I guess!" He just grinned and winked at me.

Sunday evenings are usually quiet in town, but the streets were almost deserted. When we walked into the State Diner, we doubled the number of customers there. Beau just shook his head. He leaned toward me and said softly, "Looks like we've got a lot of work ahead of us, doesn't it?"

We sat down in a booth and looked around. A waitress came to the table with glasses of water and menus. When she left, we looked over the specials for the day. A rather somber mood seemed to settle over our table.