“I don’t have to elaborate on what you handle as a police detective. As one of the board members overseeing the community center, we really appreciate you taking your time to work with the kids.”
“It’s my pleasure, considering it’s how I stay in shape and is a great stress reliever.”
He gave Marion and then Chase a high five. “You guys did great. See you next week.”
He headed down the hall toward the men’s locker room. Not all the kids the police volunteers worked with were as cooperative and innocent as Marion and Chase. The officers strived to help turn around the lives of the troubled kids that frequented the center.
A quick swim in the pool would cool him down and he’d shower when he was done. He didn’t mind working twelve hour shifts four days in a row. Other than his Dad, there wasn’t anyone to welcome him home. It was something he didn’t think about. On his days off, he worked with his father.
He entered the pool area and his skin immediately felt clammy from the change in the atmosphere. Only three people occupied the pool and he offered them a friendly waive, recognizing them as his father’s plumbing and heating customers. He dove off the deep end and the instant chill of the water to his hot skin was refreshing. He shot toward the surface and regrouped the strength to his arms and legs, plowing through the water. At the end of his five laps, he felt invigorated.
After a quick shower, he thought about dinner. Stopping by Scannelli’s for a few slices of pizza would suffice.
The spring evening was mild when he walked outside the building. Cherry trees in full bloom and the green lawn in the front of the building, was a sure sign winter was over. He headed for the parking lot on the side of the building. His car was currently at the service station so he was driving one of his father’s commercial vans. Hollis Plumbing and Heating.
Personally he thought his father had a sick sense of humor when he’d added a stenciled logo on the side of all their trucks. Plumbers do it best at the crack of dawn. He unzipped his lightweight jacket that bore the same logo before making himself comfortable on the cushioned seat and pulled out of the parking lot.
At seven-thirty on a Tuesday evening, it wasn’t unusual to encounter a full parking lot at Scannelli’s. The locals knew a good thing so it was always busy.
The place was started seventy years ago by Rocco Scannelli, Sr., who occasionally kept his hand in the dough. Now his son and grandson, the next Rocco’s, ran the place, still retaining the 50’s style theme.
Dean pulled open the glass-paneled front door. The smell of freshly-baked, brick oven pizza blended with the aroma of Italian spices and freshly grated cheeses seduced your taste buds. The old-fashioned jukebox that commanded one corner was blasting Bill Haley & His Comets’ “Rock Around the Clock.”
The well-trod black and white tile floor sported a recently waxed gleam. All but one of the square tables with plain wooden chairs was filled. Getting to sit in one of the padded black booths that lined the walls was an unexpected pleasure.
The owners spared no expense advertising their menu. On the wall behind the counter where you placed your order, a sign read: Scannelli’s Pizza. Plain Cheese; Pepperoni; Sausage, Peppers and Onions; Meatball; Garbage. No-a-changes. Drinks came in only two sizes, small and large and you helped yourself from an ice and soda machine.
Two people were taking orders from the customers. The woman wore jeans with a red T-shirt with “Scannelli’s Pizza,” silk screened across the front. She secured her pony tail with a red scarf and enhanced to the 50’s era by wearing cat’s eye framed glasses decorated with rhinestones.
He recognized Lorenzo Scannelli from the community center. The seventeen year old was a pitcher on the Beacon Pointe PAL baseball team. The good looking kid with Italian heritage was currently flirting with two female customers close to his own age. Typical.
He’d debated eating the pizza in the restaurant because he enjoyed the atmosphere, but the one unoccupied table was close to the front entrance and he decided to place his order to go.
“What can I getcha, honey?”
He was about to give the woman his order when a female voice in back of him spoke up.
“I’ll have my usual, Dee Dee. A slice of meatball and sausage, peppers and onions. Could you add a slice of plain cheese for Merlin? It’s to go.”
Dean shifted around and was about to say something to the woman in back of him who rudely called out her order before him, but she suddenly realized what she’d done and quickly blurted.
“Oh, my bad. She meant you.”
“Yes me. If you didn’t have your nose in your phone you’d know what’s going on in front of your face. Look around.” He gave her his back and ordered his food. “I’ll have the same and it’s to go.”
“The plain piece, too?” Dee Dee asked, scrawling the order across an order pad on the counter.
“Yes.”
“Rocco just put a meatball pizza in the oven. Wait time will be twenty minutes. Have a seat and I’ll call you up when it’s ready.”
One table was still unoccupied, so he sat down, regretting his snippy comment. Cynicism wasn’t part of his nature. She made an honest mistake.
He rested his arms on his jean-clad legs and looked around. He was rarely out of cop mode and focused his attention on what was going on around him. Three-quarters of the customers were occupied with their phones, while they were eating.
He hated cell phones. The personal hell he suffered was fed by never ending guilt. Eyes the color of the Caribbean Sea and a sweet smile filled his head. An innocent soul taken before she had a chance to experience life and love. If only he’d responded to the message she’d left on his phone sooner, maybe…
Dean sat up when the woman who’d been in back of him set her tent-size purse on the table. It landed with a clunk and he wondered what the hell she was carrying around.
“Watch,” she boldly announced and placed her phone inside and closed the zipper. She sat down in a chair on the opposite side of the table and politely folded her hands. She gave him a pointed stare and opened up.
“You didn’t have to be so rude! Your snide remark implied my life revolves around my phone, well it doesn’t. I don’t owe you an explanation, but I got a text from my neighbor letting me know that the smoke detectors went off in my apartment. She went inside and double checked, but it was just Merlin.”
Was this babbling woman for real? The only Merlin he knew was a magician. Truth be told, she was cute, chatty, but it was the unusual color of her amber eyes that held his attention. A hint of shimmering iridescence appeared from annoyance. And she was definitely annoyed.
“If he’s that bad a magician, maybe he should change professions or is he just a bad cook?”
“Magician! Oh, no,” she said with a short laugh. “Merlin is a parrot. He mimics every sound he hears. Sherry, my landlord is the bad cook and sets off the smoke detectors.”
“A talking bird. Must make for an exciting life.”
“No, I have a boring life,” she added with a heavy sigh.
Dean noticed Dee Dee set two small pizza boxes on the counter and waved in their direction. “Our food is ready. You can go first. Mustn’t keep Merlin waiting.”
She slipped her arm through the handles of her purse and took him by surprise when she moved to stand in front of him. Her lovely eyes shifted from right to left before she leaned in close. “There are enough hard asses in the world. Your face wouldn’t crack if you smiled once in a while. Enjoy your dinner.”