Homeless – CHAPTER 11

“Like what, Amber?”

(He had a bunch of deputies working on his reelection campaign while they were on duty and he required all of them to donate $200 each to his campaign. Both of them are felonies involving election law. The story has been all over the news for the past week. He’s out on $500,000 bail and word is he’s hoping for a plea bargain.)

“Any idea when? I’d love to be there when he goes down.”

(Hold on…let me check the paper.)

Jennie asked me if we could go, knowing that I couldn’t deny her. A few seconds later her friend Amber was back on the phone.

(Okay, Jess I knew I saw it earlier today. He’s scheduled to appear before Judge Pepper on June 13th.)

“That’s great, Amber—Pepper hates that bastard. I have other news. I’m pregnant. Doug and I are going to have a baby! Doug says we can go to Iowa so I’ll be there when he goes down. I just hope he goes to prison. It would serve him right after everything he’s done.”

(The paper says he’s looking at ten years, minimum. Isn’t that great?”)

“It is. I can’t wait to see the expression on his face when I show up. I guess I can tell you where I am now…New York City in a beautiful suite at the Plaza Hotel. Doug brought me here on a charter flight to buy me engagement and wedding rings and a whole new wardrobe.”

(Wow!)

“’Wow’ is right! Doug is thirty-four and—catch this—he’s retired. He gave me two million dollars for pocket money—two million! Can you believe that? He’s the most wonderful man alive, but he’s sitting right here so I have to be careful so he doesn’t get a swelled head.” All of a sudden Jennie shrieked.

(What the hell was that, Jess?)

“That was my husband squeezing my tit. It’s a good thing his arm is injured or he would have gotten both of them. Doesn’t matter, though—he’ll get them both tonight.” She was still talking when I left the room to take a leak. I was struggling to dress when Jennie walked up to me and gave me the sweetest kiss. “I love you so much, Doug. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I’ll be so happy to see Amber again. She’s been such a good friend—the only one I’ve had for the past five years.”

“Let’s get ready to go out for dinner. Can you help me? My arm is really bothering me.” Jennie was a big help—pulling my shirt up my arm without touching the bandage and tying my shoes. I took Lady across to the park and we grabbed a cab south to Chinatown.

I loved Chinese food, but it was the only kind of restaurant lacking in our area at home. There were any number of Chinese restaurants, but most of them were just terrible. I couldn’t come to New York without splurging on a good Chinese meal.

Our cab stopped in front of Oriental Garden, my favorite place in Chinatown. To keep things simple for Jennie I ordered only three dishes—General Chow’s Chicken, Sweet and Sour Pork, and Roast Pork Fried Rice. Knowing that we’d had a huge lunch I skipped another favorite—their barbequed spare ribs. Instead, I asked for crispy noodles and several sauces—spicy mustard, sweet and sour, and soy. We nibbled on them and drank our Cokes—no Tsingtao beer for Jennie–until our entrée’s arrived. I picked up each noodle with chop sticks. Jennie tried three times before laughing and giving up, using her fingers instead.

We loved the food. It was delicious, so much so that we both had seconds and Jennie even had thirds of the pork. Oriental Garden will never be recognized for its décor or for its service, but the food makes up for the negatives. It was also, by far, the cheapest meal we’d had in the city so far.

Our cab dropped us off around 11:30 and I was more than ready to turn in. Jennie insisted on washing me, my arm straight up in the air above the shower head so it would remain dry. Once dry and in bed she reminded me of her earlier proclamation—“I’ll be doing the doing; you’re going to lie still.” I followed her orders to a degree. I couldn’t help but drive into her as she rode me like a woman possessed. Her earlier prediction came true. I did get both of her tits—one with my left hand and the other with my mouth. I fell asleep shortly after, making it through to the morning without once waking even though my arm ached the entire time.

“What’s on tap for today, my wonderful husband?”

“I’d like to visit my mother, but I’ll have to call first because I refuse to have anything to do with her husband. I’ll make arrangements to meet her in Port Jefferson.” A minute later I had spoken to Mom. It was brief, just like all of our communications when my father was nearby.

We caught a cab to Penn Station where I bought round-trip tickets to Port Jefferson. Unfortunately, all trains require a change at Huntington which wastes a lot of time. I even bought a ticket for Lady even though I knew it wasn’t necessary. This way we were assured we’d have plenty of room. “Be ready for a long day,” I told Jennie. “We’ll spend two hours just getting there and another two getting back. That will leave us about three hours with my mother.”

“What should I call her?”

“I’d start with Mrs. Preston and let her react. I’m sure she’ll tell you if she wants to be called ‘Mom’ or ‘Mother,’ or whatever.”

We had no trouble finding a seat. The first train eastbound leaves Penn Station at 10:38, getting into Port Jefferson Station around 1:00 then a short cab ride down the hill into Port Jefferson. I’d told Mom I would meet her at the Elk. No such place existed now, but in years past there was an Elk Hotel and Restaurant just one block from the harbor.

It was a long and boring ride for me. I’d done it many times, but Jennie was like a kid in a candy shop. She must have asked me a hundred questions about my childhood and what it was like growing up way out in the suburbs. I told her about what I called my “nerdhood”—growing up a nerd.

I was always described as a “brain” who spent much more time studying than playing, even as a kid in the primary grades. I was Valedictorian of my high school class and—as far as I knew—I’d had the highest academic average in the history of the school, taking enough advanced placement classes to cover an entire year of college. Finally, we slowed and reached the end of the line—Port Jefferson Station.

“There was a time when the train ran all the way out to Orient Point,” I told Jennie. “In fact, I think I recall that they loaded the trains onto barges that took them across the Sound to New London and from there to Boston. I’ve seen and even walked on the old unused train trestle out in Shoreham less than a mile from where Nicola Tesla built a huge hundred-foot high tower in an effort to transmit electrical energy through the air. Even though Marconi transmitted a radio wave first, Tesla was later credited with the invention and awarded the patents,” I told Jennie as part of my explanation.

“Tesla? Isn’t that an electrical car?”

“Yeah, the car is named for him, but he’s the person who invented AC—alternating current. There was a huge battle between him and Thomas Edison who was a champion for DC. Good thing Tesla won that battle. If not, we’d have so many electrical transmitting stations you wouldn’t be able to walk without tripping over one of them. There would have to be one every mile or so wherever you wanted to have transmission lines. We have transformers on some poles, but they’re much smaller and much fewer. Tesla’s life story is quite interesting.”

“I’ll bet he was a lot like you.”

“No…he was a true genius. I’m just lucky.” I stood and pulled Jennie with me, taking the time for a quick kiss before we stepped down from the train. Actually, Jennie stepped off first with Lady and she helped me. I held the railing with my good arm as my injured arm, still in the sling, was virtually useless.

We grabbed a cab and five minutes later we stood in front of what was once the Original Elk Hotel. It wasn’t long before I spied my mother walking from the parking lot behind the old building. I greeted her with a hug even as she asked about my arm. “That’s not really important, Mom, but this is. I want you to meet Jennifer…Jennie, my wife.”

If Mom was shocked she hid it well. “Why don’t we grab a bite and you can tell me all about everything. I’d suggest Village Way, but it closed last October.” Too bad—Village Way was one of my favorites. Then Mom suggested La Parilla, a Spanish restaurant just down the block.

Jennie agreed for both of us, saying how pleased she was at last to meet my mother. We had missed the noon rush so we were able to get a table easily. We had just ordered drinks—iced teas all around—when Mom asked me to explain about everything, including since when did I need a service dog.

Jennie took the lead, explaining about our meeting, how I had taken care of her and how we had fallen in love. She even told Mom about her head lice. “He’d noticed that I had head lice so he bought shampoo to treat them and after the shower he had me sit on a stool while he combed my hair with a special comb.”

“Yes, I had to do that to him when he was in fourth grade. One of the other kids brought them to school. They can go through an entire school in no time.”

“That’s when I realized what a wonderful man Doug was. He took me to dinner and that night I slept in his guest room. I convinced him the following day that the real reason he was being so nice was that he wanted to…that he wanted sex with me. I’d obviously had sex with other men, but that was the first time I’d ever made love. I knew a week later that I was hopelessly in love with Doug. Unfortunately, it was months later before I could get him to admit it.”

“That sounds like Douglas. He can be obtuse at times.”

Jennie and I laughed. “That’s exactly what I said. Anyway, he asked me to marry him and I did the following day. We had lived together pretty much as man and wife for more than four months so why wait? We flew into LaGuardia last Friday and checked into the Plaza Hotel. Doug took me to Harry Winston’s for an engagement ring and wedding rings. Then he went a little overboard, spending a fortune on me.” She held out her diamond bracelet and earrings for Mom’s inspection. “I think I should also tell you, Mrs. Preston that you’re going to be a grandmother sometime around Christmas.” Jennie was beaming when I leaned over to kiss her.