Secret Agent Man

"Of course. Can't do one without doing the other. We'll have the coolest car in the faculty parking lot. Well, the '57 is the coolest car... we'll have the second coolest car in the parking lot, I'm not bringing the '57 to the school."

*****

Two weeks later, Sandra had her party; her grandparents, the Spattafinos, from New Jersey had flown in courtesy of Jim. Jim and Mary gave up their bedroom to the old couple and were sleeping on the living room floor on an inflatable mattress.

"I thought this was going to kill my back but it's not bad at all. How are your folks doing?"

"They're very happy. It's been years since they've been to California. Thank you. I can't tell you that enough."

"Well, they're special to me, too. I'm glad they were able to make the trip. Airplanes definitely make things easier. I'd hate to have to drive it unless I wanted to see the country. Maybe we'll do that sometime... you know, travel across the country. That's the only problem with living in Southern California, everything else is so far away, you have to cross the desert to get anywhere."

"I love you," she said, hugging him to her, kissing him once, twice, three times. "What do you want to do today?"

"I thought we'd take the old folks to the pier for dinner or Lucille's, whichever they want. Probably Lucille's; there's plenty of fish places in Jersey."

"They really like you. I'm glad; we got married so quickly..."

"I like them, too. They're easygoing and haven't asked me how many people I've killed."

"You're never going to let that drop, are you? Sandra was just a kid and you were the big hero on a white horse, just what she needed."

"What about you? Was I just what you needed?"

"You know it." Mary kissed him again and touched him under the covers.

That afternoon, people began to arrive for the party, entering the backyard by the side gate and finding a place to sit down at the patio tables. The chicken was delivered an hour later, the large aluminum serving dishes full of food and the hungry guests got up to get their dinner. Sandra was very happy that so many of her friends had come to her party to celebrate her graduation from high school. By the time the party was over, very little food was left and the Marie Callender's pies were all gone.

Jim was cleaning up what little there was still to be thrown out when Sandra kissed his cheek and said, quietly, "Thank you."

*****

The next day, the five of them were driving south to Lucille's for an early dinner. "Have you thought about moving here to Southern California? I have a rental property that you could stay at for free, it's not that far from our house and has a nice yard."

"Well, I have been getting tired of the winters," said the grandfather, looking out the window at the passing palm trees. "What do you think?" he asked his wife.

"Yes, I'd like that. Thank you."

"Great. Let's do that. Do you think your house will sell quickly?"

"We could price it so that it does and donate the furniture so that we could just fly back and buy all new stuff."

"OK, we've got that settled. Now, for the best bar-be-que you've ever had. The beef ribs are incredible."

*****

Mary flew back East with her folks to sell the house and it sold three weeks later to a young couple who gratefully accepted the furniture. The three returned a month later as everything went through escrow and Jim once again prepared the house for guests while they looked for furniture.

"I'm so glad we're doing this," Mary said.

"You need your family with you and Sandra needs her grandparents. Who knows what tomorrow brings?"

"I love you," she said. "You've been so good to me." She wiped a grateful tear away.

"I love you, too. Don't worry about it; it'll be fun. Your father is funny, always making jokes."

"You miss your parents, don't you? I'm sorry they're gone."

"So am I. Let's talk about something else, OK? When's the furniture going to be delivered?"

"Next week and then we'll go grocery shopping. Their car is going to be delivered in a couple of days. I thought they were going to sell it but they decided to keep it and have it shipped. They piled their record collection in it; Dad loves Jimi Hendrix and couldn't part with those records."

"Something about classic 60s music that stays with you, I guess. Spaghetti for dinner?"

"Sure. I see that you bought some sausages. I'll be glad when they're in their own house again and we don't have to sleep on the floor. The summer went by quickly for me, being back in the old neighborhood."

"I'm going to sleep some more, wake me in time for dinner," he said, heading for the living room.

*****

Dinner that night was boisterous, the wine flowing freely and the Italian food passing back and forth across the table. Jim was enjoying the garlic bread Mary's mother had prepared, sopping up the sauce.

"Thank you so much for what you've done, Jim; we really appreciate it."

"What's family for, anyways," he answered, taking another piece of bread. "I'm sorry you never got a chance to meet my folks."

"We're sorry about that, too." Changing the subject, "Well, Sandra, tell us about your plans for UCLA."

"I'm getting my degree in Biology and I'm going to specialize in Marine Biology and get a job here on the coast. Bill was a year ahead of me but I took night and summer classes and caught up and now we're even, so we should graduate at the same time."

"Wonderful," said her grandmother, taking a sip of wine. "If you take Italian, we can speak it together, your mother and me and you."

"That's got to be easier than that French I took in high school." It still bothered her that her French grades were only Bs.

The women got up to clear the table and brought a cake and dessert dishes down. "I made cake," said Mary, "chocolate on chocolate."

"You always were a good baker," said her mother, slicing generous portions for everyone. "Ice cream?"

"Not for me," answered Jim, "I going to be stuffed."

"I see that you got a Corvette."

"I always wanted one and the opportunity arose to get one so I did. I gave the Malibu to Sandra so she had something to drive to UCLA. I think she's taking turns with Bill so that's good, isn't that right, Sandra?"

"Yes, Dad, we're taking turns. We're taking the same classes so we're together all day and it's really working out nicely for us come September. We don't have too far to walk from where we hope to park. There's a class in Field Biology that we're looking forward to; it's all field trips on the weekends."

"That's great. I remember when I was taking classes like that. I did my Senior paper on the Venice canals and their ecology but I had to work around my job."

"That explains why you knew so much about the breakwaters."

"Yes, I spent many a day down there taking pictures of the birds and plants. It wasn't as built up as it is today. Now there's nothing but McMansions where the Grand Canal is."

"Another piece of cake?" the grandmother interjected, lifting the chocolate dessert up.

"Yes, I do believe that I will," answered Jim, passing his plate over.

"Make room for this," Mary said, taking a Trader Joe's Belgian chocolate bar from the cupboard.

"Can't beat this," said the grandfather, breaking off a piece from the bar and biting into it. In the background, "Stop in the name of love," was playing on the radio and the grandmother chimed in, singing along with the old tune, swaying with the music.

"This weekend is the monthly meeting for LA Classics and I'm taking the '57; do you want to come along?"

"That would be fun," said the old man.

"We have a meeting and then go somewhere else to have good food, usually a Fifties' diner."

"Great. The weather in Jersey was never good enough to keep old cars around for long. The East Coast and the Midwest are hard on cars."

"You can't beat the weather here, that's for sure; makes up for the high cost of living."

*****

The meeting went well. After the usual "kicking the tires" in the parking lot, the meeting took place, telling the members about car meets, other clubs, the raffle for Fifties' stuff and model kits and finally the drive to Ruby's Diner in Redondo Beach where parking spaces had been set aside for the old cars. The restaurant appreciated the attraction the old cars had for business. It didn't take long for everyone to get a table, ordering their burgers, fries and shakes while watching their cars through the large windows.

"How long have you been coming here?" Mary's father asked.

"Ever since I was a kid. My parents joined when the club started back in the mid-eighties and I've known these people most of my life. It's hard to imagine that these cars are more than sixty years old now... and my Challenger is positively ancient. That's amazing."

Soon, it was time to leave, the food enjoyed and paid for, and one by one the old cars took to the road, everyone promising to meet again the following month.

"There's another car meet that happens on Friday at Fudrucker's in Lakewood. Maybe we'll go to that one, too. They have more cars, not just Chevrolets and the burgers there are really good."

Jim drove them all home and parked the old car in the garage, having watched that they weren't followed home. A friend of his had been followed home and the car stolen after a Sunday drive.

*****

The day finally arrived for the older couple to move to their new home; all the furniture had been delivered and the kitchen was fully stocked with food and the utilities were all on.

"Congratulations on your new home," Jim said, shaking the older man's hand.

"You'll be glad to get off the floor, won't you?"

Jim laughed and patted his father-in-law on the back. He was amazed at how his life had changed so much in just a few years. He took Mary's hand and walked back to his car, starting the Corvette to drive home.

"Happy?" he asked.

"Very much," she replied, watching her parents wave goodbye as she and Jim drove away. "It was a lot smoother than I thought it would be. I think Sandra had a lot to do with it."

"A grandchild is very important to people, a touching of the future."

After returning home, the two worked to put away the inflatable mattress and change the sheets on their bed. "Oh, bed, am I glad to see you." He plopped on the bed, his legs falling off the side.

Mary went to the door and locked it, dropping her dress to the floor as she returned to where he was laying. "Well, Mr. FBI Man, aren't you going to arrest me?"

*****

Mary and Jim entered their forties in good spirits. Enthusiasm for the high school continued, Mary's parents were living nearby and in good health and Sandra was doing well at the university.

Bill was spending more and more time at their house and Jim was glad to see the care that the young man had for Sandra. He felt that it wouldn't be long before the two were married. He was glad that they didn't have to work while going to college; he remembered doing that years ago and the toll it had taken on him. Working full time and going to school full time was difficult, especially with a science major.

"Want to go for a ride in the '57?" Jim asked Bill, watching the young man's eyes widen in surprise.

"Oh, yeah! You bet!"

The two walked out of the house and to the garage. Jim pushed the remote and the door slowly lifted, showing the big blue car in all its glory. Bill carefully opened the door and slid into the car, pulling the door closed behind him. Jim started the car, the engine cranking over and then the exhaust rumbling through the Flowmasters. The car pulled forward and the garage door came down; soon they were going down the street, maintaining a steady twenty-five miles an hour in the neighborhood, Jim watching for children.

The car handled smoothly, the racing tires giving a smooth ride and soon they were heading toward the beach, acknowledging the honks given by other drivers as they headed north past the airport along the beach road.

Soon they were heading toward Culver City and the cemetery. "I'm going to stop here for a minute," Jim said, reaching for his wallet and getting out his credit card to buy some flowers. He visited the grave sites of his parents and Mary's first husband, putting down the bouquets. After saying a prayer, Jim handed Bill the keys to the car and said, "You take it back."

Looking like the cat that ate the canary, Bill took the keys and carefully moved toward the car, opening the door and then getting in. He started the car and after seeing that Jim was settled in the car, pulled away from the curb and eventually left the cemetery and headed back toward the beach, bypassing the airport traffic on Sepulveda.

By the time they arrived back at the house, Bill was in love with the old car. "Thanks so much," he said excitedly. "This has been great."

They put the old car away and closed the garage, walking into the house and sitting in the living room. "Oh, there you are," said Mary. "I wondered where you had gone."

"We drove to the cemetery."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, the car needed to be driven so we went along the beach."

"We're going to have steak for dinner."

"I'll help," said Bill, getting up and looking for Sandra who was outside, heating up the grill. He went to her, telling her excitedly about driving the Chevy.

Mary was preparing a green salad, cutting tomatoes and avocados. Jim got the box of croutons and kissed her. "I love you," he said, "more than ever. I bought flowers."

The doorbell rang and Jim went to the door, opening it to let Mary's parents in. "Hi," he said, "nice to see you."

The Spattafinos came into the house, the older man carrying a box that he handed to Jim. "This is for you," he said.

"Thanks," Jim answered, a puzzled look on his face. "What is it?"

"Just a little something for you."

Jim took the box into the den and opened it. Inside were coin after coin after coin; silver dollars, silver halves, quarters, dimes... all in great shape and protected in pocket albums. "Oh, my God," he whispered to himself.

He heard movement behind him and turned. "I thought you'd like them," explained the old man.

"You didn't have to do this."

"Sure I did. You're my son, now, and I'm very happy how you've taken care of Mary and Sandra... and us. You've been very generous."

"Well, thanks." Jim put the box on the den's couch and went with his father-in-law to the dining room where dinner was ready. He kissed his mother-in-law and said 'thank you' to her, receiving a smile in return.

"Here's the steaks," Sandra said, bringing in a heaping platter of meat, "and yes, I have the A-1." The dish went down onto the table and dishes were passed around, each getting a steak and a baked potato.

Mary split her potato and spooned sour cream onto it, letting Sandra be the hostess for the day. The juicy meat was soon eaten and the salad was passed around. "Very delicious, Sandra. You did a good job."

Sandra gave a bow and accepted the accolades. "Thank you, thank you, thank you."

"The old car is handling well and we got a lot of honks," Jim stated, "and the beach road is really the only way around the airport traffic."

"Most of these older cars have gone the way of rust, thanks to the salt on the roads where we used to live," said the grandfather before taking another bite of potato. "We had a '64 Nova for many years but then drove Volkswagens for the longest time." He thought back to the time when he was a mail carrier, fighting the weather for many years until his retirement.

Mary pulled out a piece of paper and a pen. "Time for pie, later. Tomorrow, I'm going to Martini's Deli to get some cold cuts and wine. Anything else you want?"

"Stella D'Oro cookies," replied Jim, "and some capacolla."

"OK, I can do that. Anything else?"

"Not for me. Are you going to the UCLA-SC game or watch it on TV?"

"I'd like to watch it on TV, it's more comfortable and I don't feel like driving out to Pasadena." Bill looked at Sandra.

"Then we better get our menu set for the game. Do your parents want to come over? We can make a party of it."

"I'll ask but I'm pretty sure they'd appreciate the invite."

"Great, let's make it a date, then. What're we going to eat? We could go Mexican with enchiladas and rice and guacamole. What do you think?"

"That would be good," replied the grandmother, "and I'm sure that we could make some pies with ice cream."

"My folks could bring nachos and Coronas; let me give them a call," added Bill. He took out his cell phone and placed the call, quickly explaining what had taken place and getting his mother's approval for the party.

*****

The heavy guitar riffs of Cream's "Sunshine of Your Love" blasted out of the Challenger as Jim drove Mary to the high school. Parking in the faculty lot, they got out of the muscle car and walked into the faculty room where a board with football scores was posted for the college game.

"Going to place a bet on the game?" asked Philip, the French teacher.

"No, thanks," replied Jim. He felt that his good luck was all tied up in his family and surviving his FBI years.

It was Friday and that meant test day for Jim's sophomore classes. He had thought of moving test day to Monday but found that his students didn't study on the weekend, anyway. His tests repeated questions from earlier in the course, so that information was constantly being quizzed, not once but many times.

He walked Mary to the library and then went down the hallway to his own classroom, making sure that the test was locked in his desk and then opened the windows to the warm California November air. The emphasis on today's test would be the evolution of fish. His computer played "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" as he waited for his first period students to arrive. The warning bell rang and students began to quietly file into the room, anxious for the test to begin. This was his best class and their enthusiasm was tangible as they worked to best their classmates.

The class bell rang again and announcements came on, starting with the Pledge of Allegiance and then the morning prayer. His students put their books away and took out their pencils to take the multiple choice test and quickly set to work as the test was passed out, row by row. Jim stood by the windows, taking in the room at a glance, and then sat down at his desk, looking at his new book on cactus. The fifty minute class went by faster than anyone could remember and the one hundred question test was over, bringing the period to an end.

Each period had a different test which covered the same material but in random sequences to keep his students honest.

The day finally came to an end and Jim went to the faculty room to correct the tests on the Scantron machine. The lack of "machine-gun" fire showed that the students had learned the material.

He walked back to the library to get his wife and the two of them then went home, the Challenger making quick work of the seven miles to the house.

*****

Everyone was enjoying the food as kick-off took place, the ball heading toward the end zone. It wasn't long before the game turned into a battle of wits between the two quarterbacks and finally ended with a two point difference.

"I can't believe it," said Mr. Fullerton, as the game came to an end and the announcer read of the stats for the game, giving the winning team credit for the last minute win.

"Well, time for pie," said Grandmother Spattafino, as she brought out two large apple pies to the living room low table. Sandra followed with dessert plates while Mary had forks and napkins.

"Oh, my," said Mr. Fullerton, patting his stomach. "I'm stuffed."

"Well, then, just a little piece." The grandmother used the spatula to generously serve the pie all around.

Jim turned off the television and attacked his pie with gusto. "Boy, this is really good," he said between bites.