"Looks like the Highway Department crew is here. You ready to head back?"
"More than ready. I know you did your best, but this hasn't been the most comfortable night of my life."
"Let's give them a little time to work past us."
I got out and stepped behind a tree to take care of a personal issue, and Emily did the same after I came back. We piled into the front seats and started the rest of the trip. When we were most of the way there she pulled out her cell phone and glanced at it.
"Lots of messages, probably people wondering where I am. Here goes a mass text."
She tapped at the thing for a while.
"Let me check yours."
She picked it up and fooled with it for a while.
"Not that many looking for you."
"Most of my friends were out at the beach with us. Is there something there from the City?"
"Yep."
"My boss. Will you call him and let him know why I'm not there?"
She did so in a highly polished and professional manner.
"He says to drive carefully and let him know when you're home safe."
"OK, thanks."
Eventually we made it to her apartment over the garage of someone's Lake Oswego mansion, and I helped her carry her stuff inside.
"I'd offer you a cup of coffee, but right now I really want to take a shower and get some sleep."
"Yeah, I need to get going too."
Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
"Look, I feel like I owe you a better dinner than some cold MREs. Can I call you after I finish these finals in a week or so?"
She smiled.
"I was just thinking about offering to cook you a good dinner when you finish, since you brought the first one."
"No reason we can't do both."
"True. Call me, definitely. Thanks for taking care of me out there."
"No problem. Thanks for being a good sport about the whole thing. I'm not sure it's been fun, but it could have been worse."
She shuddered.
"It could have been a whole lot worse. Thanks again, and good luck on your finals."
I turned to go, and turned back at the door.
"Hey, if I'm going to call you your phone number would make it a lot easier."
She winked.
"Just look in your phone for 'Emily O'Bannion'. You'll find it."
Ohhhkaayy. She gave me a quick hug and a small push toward the door.
"See you in a week or so."
I tried not to think too much about her the rest of the week, except for having to explain to my boss who the nice young lady using my cell phone was. I liked her, but I had way too much else going on. I did get one call from Karen.
"So, Manny, I try to set you up with a friend and you kidnap and molest her? What are we going to do with you?"
I sputtered.
"Damn it, Karen, is that what she told you? I really did my best with her!"
She laughed.
"She said that would get your goat. Actually, she said that you're an almost perfect gentleman and extremely competent in a bad situation and she'd go road tripping with you again any time. I don't need to know why she said to accuse you of groping her, but you probably figured out that she likes to pull people's legs."
"I don't have time for this right now, Karen, I have a final tomorrow. Emily's a sweetheart and I intend to take her on a date as soon as I have the time. That's all I have to say about it for now."
"Keep me posted."
"I won't, believe me."
I did get through finals with respectable grades, and rewarded myself by calling Emily and arranging to take her out for a nice dinner. She looked even better in a short dress than she did in her jeans and sweater. We went to a Mexican restaurant whose owners were friends of friends from LA. The owner greeted us and I had a long conversation with him in Spanish.
"What was that all about?"
"Mostly asking how his son is doing in Basic. He also asked who you were, and I told him you're a special lady that I'm trying to impress. He says you're very pretty, and he's going to make us a gourmet dinner that's not on the menu."
"Don't try to hide much, do you?"
"Why bother? You're a smart girl. Did you think I wasn't going to try to impress you on a first date?"
"True, but most guys don't admit it up front. Anyway, you already impressed me by saving my neck out in the woods. How were finals?"
"Went pretty well, I think. How's things at the library?"
"We're starting a new summer reading program. All this new electronic stuff calls for a lot of adjustments in how we do things."
My friend really outdid himself with dinner, as Emily and I both told him when we finished. He grinned with sheepish pride, squeezed her hand, and said something to me in Spanish again.
"What was that last comment?"
"He basically said that you're a charming girl and I better not blow this, since most girls go more for guys who look like Lorenzo Lamas instead of Pancho Villa."
"And what did you say?"
"I said that he had no room to talk, but I agreed with him about you."
"Again, you're pretty blunt. Nice of you to say that, though."
"I don't want you to think I'm trying to hide anything from you. It's pretty rude to talk about someone in front of them in a different language, but Jose there isn't comfortable speaking English."
"I wasn't offended. That offer to cook you dinner is still good, by the way."
Let's plan on it next weekend."
"You got it."
She offered me a nightcap when we got to her place, and I followed her up to her apartment. Just inside the door I pulled her into my arms, and she relaxed into me like she'd been waiting to do it all night. When our lips met I swear fireworks went off. She tasted sweet, smelled even better, and her body felt like it was specifically designed for my arms. My hands smoothed the wonderful curves of her back, and she made a happy noise. When they reached her rear end, though, she pulled back a little.
"Manny, I want to get something straight before this goes any further."
"It better not be that you're really a man."
She giggled.
"If you're still confused about that, I'm kicking you out of here for being too dumb to date. No, I'm 100% female, and 100% turned on. I'm kind of conservative about sex, though. Probably from being raised Catholic. It's not going to happen tonight."
"Well, I'm Catholic too. I like girls who like sex, but I'm not looking to date the town pump either."
"I like sex and I like you, but let's take this slow, OK?"
She disentangled herself and went into the tiny kitchen, and I pulled off my jacket and followed her, rolling up my sleeves. She turned and handed me a bottle of wine.
"Could you open that?"
She was quiet for a couple seconds.
"On second thought, I'm not feeling too well. Can we just call it a night?"
"If you want. You need anything?"
"Just a good night's sleep."
"So I'll call you later?"
"Sure, do that."
She followed me to the door, gave me a brief, light kiss, and locked the door behind me. Kind of a sudden end to the evening, but if she wasn't feeling well she wasn't feeling well.
I called her a couple days later. When I didn't get a call back I emailed her, and didn't get a response to that either. I kept trying for a couple weeks, never getting a response. Finally, when I was out near her library one day, I stopped in. Emily was behind the reference desk. Her eyes widened and dropped, and she refused to look me in the eye.
"Can I help you?"
"I'm researching why a pretty librarian won't return my calls after what I thought was a fairly successful date. You have anything that will help me with that?"
She glanced around. Her desk mate was watching me with great interest.
"Joan, I'm taking my break. Cover me for a few minutes, OK?"
She came out from behind the desk without waiting for a response and headed for the door, and I followed. She stopped on the far side of a rose bush outside where we were screened from the glass front door.
"Emily, I'm no damn stalker, OK? If you tell me you never want to see me again, you won't. I like you a lot, though, and I thought it was mutual. Just let me know where I stand!"
She sighed and was quiet for a few seconds.
"I guess I should, but I don't have time for it now. Can you meet me here when I get off work at 5:00?"
"Sure, I'll be here."
She came out the doors at 5:05, looked around, and saw me standing there. This time she gave me a tentative smile.
"Hi, Manny. Can we go for a walk?"
We strolled off into the park, in no particular hurry. She spoke after about fifty yards.
"Manny, you ever hear of the Winter Hill Gang?"
"The rappers? Some of the guys I served with liked that stuff but I never got into it. What's that got to do with anything?"
"No, you're thinking of the Sugar Hill Gang. The Winter Hill Gang is the Boston Irish Mob."
"Again, what's that got to do with why you don't want to see me?"
"I'm starting at the beginning. If you Google 'O'Bannion' and 'Winter Hill Gang' I'm related to most of the results. Some of them are in Leavenworth."
"Wow."
"Yeah, I don't talk about it much. My dad is a perfectly honest man who's worked in the same bank for thirty years, and he moved us out of Southie to get away from that life. We're Irish, though, and we don't turn our backs on family even if they do shady stuff. It turned out that it was harder to get away from than he thought."
"How's that?"
"It started with things like not getting invited to other girl's houses because their mothers didn't want to get involved with the O'Bannions. Not fun for a little girl in a new town. It got worse when the FBI cracked down on organized crime when I was a teenager."
"Yikes."
"It wasn't all bad. No one wanted to get on the wrong side of an O'Bannion. I remember one time Dad left the keys in his car and some junkie stole it. Word got out, and the next day it was back in the driveway with a full tank of gas and a note apologizing. Even crackheads didn't want to get my uncles mad at them."
"Still, it must have been hard."
"The FBI came to my high school one day and pulled me out of class to ask if I knew where one of my uncles was hiding out. You can imagine what kind of rumors went around the school."
"What did you tell them?"
"The truth- that I hadn't talked to him in months and wouldn't inform on family if I had."
"Why did they think you would know where he was?"
"They didn't, but they knew he would hear about it and feel the pressure. They play pretty dirty when they want results."
"That is pretty dirty. What's it got to do with me, though?"
"I'm getting there. When it came time for college, my parents encouraged me to go West where my name was just another name. It worked, too. I made new friends and a new life out here, and I'm working on getting my younger brothers to do the same before they get dragged into the mob life."
"So?"
"I may be a librarian, Manny, but I have some street smarts. I know what that '13' on your arm means. I like you, but I'm not going to get involved with you. There's no way I'm going to have anything to do with the gang life again."
"Can you hear me out now?"
"Sure."
It was getting dark, and we sat on a bench looking over the waters of Lake Oswego.
"I grew up in the barrio, I guess the Mexican-American equivalent of Southie. Everyone I knew identified with the Surenos. I thought it was just part of life. When I was in high school, guys I knew started dying in gang wars. I thought that was just the way life was, too."
"What happened?"
"One day one of my cousins got killed in a drive-by. At the funeral, my mother introduced me to an older guy I didn't know. 'Manny, you should listen to this man.' Even as a young dumbass, I could tell that this guy had it together. Smooth spoken, great suit, drove a BMW that looked like a spaceship. He took me for lunch at a private country club overlooking the Pacific."
I could still remember it like yesterday. All the waiters knew who he was and couldn't do enough for him.
"Manny, your mother tells me that you do pretty well in school when you're not out on the streets. She's worried about you."
"Who are you, anyway? Why do you care what I do?"
"Your father was a good friend of mine before he died. He asked me to look out for you. Maybe I haven't done that too well, but I'm trying now."
He took a drink of his iced tea.
"I used to be just another dumb cholo until I realized that I could do more with my life. I joined a real gang of tough guys."
He pushed back his sleeve and showed me a tattoo.
"What's that?"
"The Eagle, Globe, and Anchor. Symbol of the US Marine Corps. Earning it was the toughest thing I ever did, but the most valuable too. They taught me a trade and self respect and paid for my education when I got out. I took it from there and got to where I am now."
He replaced his cuff link.
"Manny, the road you're on now has only two ends. Either you're going to be the guy in the box at a funeral like this morning, or your momma's going to be taking the bus to see you on visiting days at Corcoran. That's not what your father wanted for you, and it's not what you should want for yourself."
I pulled up my sleeve to show the identical EGA on my forearm.
"I was at the recruiting office the next morning. As far as I'm concerned the only gang I belong to is the Corps, and I'm pretty much out of that now. I'm sure as hell no criminal. Doc's going to take that Surenos crap off as soon as we both have time."
"I guess I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions."
"You think?"
I stared out over the water.
"The more I think about this the more it pisses me off. I've never tried to hide anything about who I am, where I'm from or where I'm going. You know I have an honorable discharge from the Marines, a college degree, and a good job, and you don't even ask before you decide I'm some sort of gangbanger? Should I be ashamed to be Mexican? That's never going to happen. I was born what I am and I'll still be Mexican when I die, and if I'm not good enough for you, vete al diablo. I don't need this and I don't need you."
I walked off without responding to her calling my name.
Lydia called me a couple days later.
"Manny, what's going on with you and Emily? I asked her and she started crying."
I ignored the sick twist in my guts.
"Nothing happened, nothing's going to happen. Do you know any other single girls?"
"Not so fast. I thought you liked her a lot."
"I did before she jumped to the conclusion that I'm a gangbanging thug. I worked my way from the barrio to a professional career. Along the way I've sweated a lot, bled some, seen friends die and killed people myself, and worked my ass off. Just because I have brown skin and an old '13' tattoo she still assumes I'm a criminal. I've worked too hard and done too much to have to prove that again."
"Sounds like she hit a sensitive spot. Aren't you being a little hard on her?"
"Am I?"
"Did she tell you about her family?"
"Yeah, she did."
"We were friends for years before she said anything to me about the Winter Hill Gang. I think it's been a lot harder for her than she admits."
"Still, she could have asked me."
"True, but she's had some bad experiences with men who say one thing and do another. The most charming men she knew as a kid buried their competitors at sea tied to concrete blocks."
"And why should I work to convince her otherwise?"
"Are you trying to convince me or yourself? She's a heck of a girl, Manny, and whatever man she decides to trust is going to be very glad she did."
"She is a neat girl. I'm just not sure she's the neat girl for me."
"Give it some thought, OK?"
I tried to, but every time I did I got pissed off again. Why should I have to prove myself again? I just didn't need this. On the other hand, her cute smile, funny attitude, and mind-bending kissing technique kept popping up in the back of my head when I forgot that I was mad at her. One of the girls at work wore the same perfume she liked, and I found myself taking the long way around the office just so I wouldn't have to smell her and have a flashback to Emily happily snuggled in my arms.
When Doc and Al's baby was finally born, John and Dave's mother threw a big party to welcome the new addition. Caroline is an incredibly warm, friendly woman, and she tends to unofficially adopt all their friends as members of her family. Al and little Eric were fine, of course, and Doc couldn't stop smiling proudly. After congratulating them, I wandered out onto the terrace of Caroline's family mansion to get some fresh air. At the end, a small redheaded figure was leaning on the balustrade and looking out over the rose gardens. I started to turn to go back inside before she saw me and ran smack into Lydia and Karen.
"Not so fast, Manny. You have to talk to her sometime."
"Why?"
"Just do it, dumbass."
Even a former Marine knows when he's beaten. I took a deep breath, walked out, and leaned on the rail next to her.
"Hi, Emily."
"Manny. How are you?"
"Not too great, frankly. I did get that stupid tattoo removed, finally."
I showed her.
"Doc says it's going to fade more with time."
She was silent for a while.
"Manny, you're a real idiot, you know that?"
"That seems to be the general opinion. I was thinking about getting one of those take-a-number things for the line of people who want to tell me that."
"How the hell could you think I have a problem with you being Mexican? I didn't hesitate to go out with you, and I vaguely remember pretty seriously kissing a man who looked a lot like you. That wouldn't have happened if I didn't like your color."
"Maybe I shouldn't have taken it that way, but I've been through so much of that crap..."
"I've been there too, you jerk. Not everyone in Boston likes the Irish, even if they aren't related to the Winter Hill O'Bannions. This is my natural hair color. I've never tried to hide who I am or where I'm from, and I'm proud to be Irish. Vete al diablo, huh? If you think I'm racist you can pog ma thoin!"
"I can what?"
"Kiss my butt!"
The image, combined with all five feet of her spitting fire, brought a smile to my face before I could catch myself. She got even angrier.
"What's so funny, you eejit?"
"It's cute enough that I'm tempted, but I'd rather start somewhere else and work my way to it."
She tried to stay angry, but her face kept twitching and she finally gave up and started laughing. I extended my arms, and she stepped into them without hesitating. I just held her like that for a while, letting the laughter and relief wash over us.
"I'm sorry, Manny. I should have asked before I panicked about that damn tattoo."
"I'm sorry too, Emily. I overreacted."
The hug tightened.
"So where would you like to start, then?"
I kissed her temple.
"Here's a good start... and here... and here..."
When I got to her mouth her arms went around my neck. As I settled into the kiss I saw a curtain fall back into place inside the house. The Girls were still on the job. Eventually she rested her head on my shoulder.
"Manny, could I tell you something?"
"Sure."
"Even when we were stuck on that stupid road, I really liked having your arms around me. It made me feel safe and warm in a cold, scary situation. I hated the thought that I would never be in your arms again."
"Well, my truck's right around the corner if you want to try that again."
"Real charmer, aren't you? What would a girl have to do to rate an actual bed?"
"Uhh, grab her coat?"
"Meet you at your truck in two minutes."
Somehow all our stuff was ready and waiting as we headed out the door. It was almost as if someone anticipated that we might want to make a quick getaway together. We hit the door of my house at a run and didn't stop until we got to the bedroom, and barely left it again for the rest of the weekend.
At one point we were curled up in Emily's favorite spoon position, temporarily worn out. Emily naked was a huge improvement on her in the same position wearing three sweaters. She wasn't kidding about being a natural redhead, either.
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