A New York Romance (22 page)

After the serviceman left, Charlie looked at the ticket and remembered the same headlines on the marquee he read last week. He looked back and forth at the ticket and the clock, which now read 5:10 and the play started at 5:00.
Why would the hotel give me a ticket to a play that has already started?
he thought to himself. He remembered the ticket that caught his eye blowing across Central Park on Tuesday, the girl who came crying out of playhouse, and the thoughts he had of love after reading the marquee.

Charlie, being a man of fate rather than coincidence, held the ticket as thoughts of Julie began to race through his mind. Then he rushed out of the room without a single bite of his food.

As the play was underway, Charlie grabbed his brown corduroy jacket, put it on over his vintage clothes, and ran down the long hallway to the staircase and into the lobby. Outside the hotel, the streets were filled with rush-hour traffic. The air smelled of fuel. The sidewalks were filled with tourists, businessmen and women, stockbrokers, and peddlers. He ran through the streets along the immobile cars, jammed together like metal sardines confined to concrete blocks. He was certain it would be faster to run than take a cab. He could barely fit between them crossing the street, catching glimpses of irritated looks and fingers from frustrated drivers, ready to collide into each other in slow motion. The words they yelled could hardly be heard above the honking horns and diesel engines that roared like impatient metal beasts.

Mr. Costea set his chair back under his desk more panicked by Charlie’s threat than the fire alarm still ringing.

“Are you alright?” his colleagues asked as they passed by, grabbing their jackets and briefcases. “They don’t know why the alarm is going off. There could be a fire. We gotta go.”

“Go ahead; I’ll be right behind you,” Mr. Costea said, afraid to leave the security of his office.

He paced back and forth from his desk to the door.
Should I stay, should I go? Is it the fire?
he panicked, picturing Charlie setting the fire outside his office.

“I’m not burning if it is,” he answered himself and proceeded to follow the others down the fire escape, the same door he had Charlie thrown out of so many times before. He exited the building and followed the crowd to the street in front of the main doors, smiling as if he escaped unharmed.

He looked around, paranoid through the crowd. He checked his watch again, “5:10,” he said as he tapped the cracked glass. “That can’t be right,” he said suddenly, remembering he had broken it in the office. He knew his time was almost up; it had to be close to 5:20 by now. He frantically turned to a stranger in the crowd, “What time is it?”

“5:18,” he replied.

When Mr. Costea saw the doorman he asked, “Have you seen Charlie Daniels?”

“No sir. Haven’t seen him in over a week,” he answered, a little concerned since he taught Charlie how to sneak in.

“I think he’s trying to kill me,” Mr. Costea said then stumbled through the crowd looking around in the chaos. The people were panicking as the fire trucks could be heard around the corner. “Is everybody out?” the crowd asked over and over again without a definite answer.

Mr. Costea looked across the crowd and saw a security guard reach for his gun. Panicking, he ran into the crowd shouting “Someone is trying to kill me,” but no one paid him any attention.

He made his way to the back of the crowd by the street, checked his watch again. 5:10 is what he saw through the cracked glass. Suddenly he remembered Charlie’s words,
it will seem as if time is standing still. I’m going to kill you at exactly 5:20 PM…don’t worry; it will be quick and painless.

The sun suddenly beamed off his office window, so bright it appeared as if it burst into flames. “It’s time,” he said to himself as he stepped backward onto the street, unaware of the yellow taxi speeding his way.

Meanwhile, Charlie was nearly out of breath and still several blocks away. When he noticed the traffic was moving quickly, he decided to hail a cab. He gave the driver the address, paid him upfront, then took off his jacket and placed it beside him on the seat. He sat back and caught his breath. By the time he arrived at the playhouse it was nearly 6 PM. He rushed out of the cab to the ticket booth. Then he searched himself while the cab sped away.

“My ticket,” he whispered to himself, realizing it was in his jacket, which was still in the taxi.

“I’m sorry sir. I can’t let you in without a ticket,” a female voice said from behind the booth. Charlie looked up and took a sudden step back as he noticed her heavily painted face. He had to shake off his confusion and realize where he was and what he was doing.

“I’d like to purchase a ticket please,” Charlie said, trying hard to look in her eyes rather than the green eye shadow, orange cheeks, and purple, sparkling lips.
She might even be a man,
the thought occurred to him.

“It’s all sold out. I’m sorry. I could sell you one for the Monday night show,” she pleasantly said, then stood up and looked at his clothes from toe to head. “Wait! Are you part of the show? The play started at five! You’re like an hour late!”

She, or he, looked around frantically and said, “You should go in the back entranceway. The maintenance man always forgets to shut it.”

“Thank you,” Charlie said, as he wished her or him health and happiness.

He ran around back and saw the maintenance man taking out some garbage. He turned to see Charlie but assumed he was an actor on a smoke break or getting fresh air. The door was still cracked open. Charlie slipped through and entered the building somewhere back stage. He looked at all the people in strange costumes, not unlike his own.
I knew this fashion would be popular again,
he thought to himself. Then he heard Julie’s voice from a distance. He could not make out the words but he knew it was her. He passed through another door, knocking over metal equipment which could be heard by the audience. Cattman immediately started to panic.

Cattman watched the play from one side of the stage and watched as someone fumbled through the curtains on the other side of the stage. “Who is that?” he mumbled under his breath, now biting his nails as the actors on stage began to recognize it also and stumble through their lines.

“I can’t live without you,” Jason said as Charlie broke through the curtains on stage and watched. “Let us run off together and be free of this place. I’ll give up everything for you.”

Charlie felt a rush of jealousy rush through his body as he pulled her close and she leaned in to kiss him. Julie noticed it was Charlie standing on the stage. Jason was waiting for her to kiss him.

Cattman watched and said under his breath, “KISS HIM!”

“No,” Julie said.

“What? That’s not the line,” Jason whispered to her. Time appeared to stop for her as she looked at Charlie. She didn’t know where she was or what she was doing. When she pulled her awareness back to the play, she could not remember any of her lines and spoke from the heart, “No, I won’t run off with you!”

Cattman slapped himself on the forehead and cried, “I’m finished! Damn you, Bob Arand, I’m finished!”

“Because I love him,” Julie said as she pointed to Charlie, suddenly noticing the strange clothes he was wearing. Charlie looked through the bright lights and noticed the large crowd before him.

Cattman looked up to see Charlie walk to the center of the stage. He cut in front of Jason who was at a loss to know what to do. Charlie grabbed Julie around the waist with one hand and slid his fingers through her hair until his hand rested on the back of her head and then he kissed her on the lips. The crowd began to applaud. Cattman saw the critics smiling and the crowd staring in excitement and anticipation, wondering who this mysterious gentleman was. They recognized the honest look of shock on the lead man’s face.

Suddenly Mary ran out on stage as Jason’s wife and slapped him across the face saying, “And I don’t want you, either.”

The crowd roared with excitement and Cattman looked out to see the rising standing ovation. Julie and Charlie continued to kiss as the curtain closed and the crowd roared to a deafening cheer.

As the rest of the cast came on stage, Mary let Jason have another slap, then she smiled delightfully as the curtain opened back up. Julie and Charlie were still kissing as the others bowed among them until the curtain closed again.

The critics immediately found Cattman backstage, “That was wonderful,” they praised him.

“And I thought it was going to be another boring ending where they run off together into the sunset. That was exciting and innovative, Cattman. You should be proud.”

“Well, I…ah.”

“How did you ever come up with that? I never have seen anything like that,” another critic raved as he waited to shake his hand.

“Well, you know…ah.”

“I bet you already have the second play written to explain who the mystery man is, don’t you?”

“You know Kirby. He’s always thinking about selling out the next show before the curtain falls on the current one,” they laughed as Cattman walked away, a little dizzy from all the praise and being called Kirby again.

When Julie and Charlie stopped kissing they looked into each other’s eyes without fear, hope, or any thought at all. It was as if they had always been, are, and forever will be one, with no thought of questioning there could be any other truth.

“So this is true love?” Julie whispered.

“Yes, Juliet.”

“What a strange blissful feeling,” she replied.

“Yes it is,” he agreed as he kissed her again with unconditional love, mixed with the passion of the human senses.

“There’s someone I want you to meet,” Julie said as she led him off stage to where her mother was waiting to congratulate her. “This is my mother, Jill” she said to him, “and this is Charlie Daniels,” she said to her.

“A pleasure to meet you. I heard a lot about you,” Jill said to him with a smile.

“The pleasure is all mine,” he replied.

“You didn’t tell me he was part of the show,” Jill said to her daughter as she looked over his clothes.

“Did you take my advice?” Julie asked, remembering what she told him about being himself.

“Yep,” he said.

“At least you got rid of that corduroy jacket,” she said with laughter as he thought about it roaming the city without him in the back of some strange cab.

“So, what are you doing tomorrow, Charlie Daniels?” Julie asked as they walked away.

“I have to go see a friend. He’s on his way to the hospital. Other than that, I’m free,” he replied with a smile.

“Sorry to hear about your friend,” she replied. “I hope he’s okay.”

“He knew it was coming,” Charlie said with a smile.

Chapter 34

The next morning, Jill woke to a knock on the door. She opened it to find a sharply dressed man. He reached into the inner coat pocket of his vest and pulled out a badge.

“Can I help you?”

“I’m detective Johnson. Are you Julie Lavine?”

“No, I’m her mother. May I ask what this is about?”

“Is she here?”

“No. What is this about?”

“I wanted to ask your daughter about a Mr. Charlie Daniels. Has she mentioned him to you?”

“Yes, is she okay?”

“You don’t know where your daughter is? She wouldn’t be with Mr. Daniels would she?” the detective asked. Jill could tell they didn’t know where she was either.

“No, she was with some friends last night,” she lied.

“Did she ever mention to you where Mr. Daniels is staying?”

“No, she hasn’t seen him in a long time. Doesn’t know what happened to him. Why are you asking?”

“Nothing for you to be concerned about?”

“What kind of trouble is he in? If it’s for that suicide attempt, I can tell you my daughter was there and it was a big misunderstanding. He wasn’t trying to kill himself.”

“It’s more than that, ma’am. He was checked into a hospital after an accident, but he left under suspicious circumstances. There was no trace of his fingerprints, no one knew who he was, and he never came to court for what he was liable for. You tell me why a man simply doesn’t exist on paper then tries to hide it, releasing himself from the hospital with broken bones and is never heard from again.”

“That does sound strange,” Jill admitted.

“And now…well, let’s leave it at that. Let’s just say we received a call from a very prominent lawyer who is now in the hospital. If you see him, could you please contact me?” the detective said as he held out his card. “I would advise your daughter to stay away from him if I were you. It would also be in your best interest to call me if he shows up.”

Jill slowly closed the door as the detective turned and walked away.

“I love you, Charlie Daniels,” Julie said as they woke up in the hotel overlooking the city.

“I love you, Juliet Lavine,” he replied.

While Charlie showered, Julie called her mother to let her know she was fine. She felt as if her mother would be worried because she did not come home last night.

“A detective came by this morning,” Jill told her.

“What did he want?”

As Charlie showered her mother told her the story. When Charlie was finished, Julie said, “The police are looking for you, Charlie. They’re suspicious that you had no records from the hospital and there’s something else, but they wouldn’t tell my mother what it is. Something about a lawyer. I know you won’t lie to me. So have you done anything else that I should know about?”

“Well, there is one other thing. It has to do with my ‘friend’ in the hospital,” Charlie confessed. “You should just come with me and you’ll understand.”

When they showed up at the hospital and started to walk into Mr. Costea’s room, Julie pulled Charlie back from the doorway and asked, “That’s Mr. Costea, isn’t it?” Charlie shook his head to confirm it was he. “What did you do to him?”

“He was kind of run over with a taxi, but don’t worry, he won’t be mad at me. At least I don’t think he will. Tragedy always has the power to turn someone’s perception around, especially when they almost lose what they love most. In Mr. Costea’s case, that would be himself,” Charlie said with sarcasm.

They walked into his room. Mr. Costea was lying in the hospital bed. His wife sat in a chair at his side holding his hand. When he saw Charlie walk in, he mumbled to his wife, “That’s Charlie Daniels. He’s the one who tried to kill me.”

“Him?” Theresa asked as she let go of his hand and walked toward Charlie. “I know you,” she said as she stared at him. Mr. Costea looked on in confusion. He expected his wife to slap him or something, but she simply stared at him.

“He’s the one who said he was going to kill me,” Mr. Costea repeated.

Theresa looked at Charlie closely and said, “No Michael, he wouldn’t kill you. He’s an angel.”

“What? He did kill me. My heart stopped for over 3 seconds in an ambulance,” Mr. Costea argued.

“I know who you are,” Theresa interrupted as she stared deep into Charlie’s eyes. “I’ve been waiting for you. I wrote you. I knew you would help.”

“Help? He tried to kill me! What is going on?” Mr. Costea asked, wondering why his wife was siding with his adversary. Perhaps she was in on it, too, for the insurance money.

The truth of the matter was that Mr. Costea had already called his son and told him how much he loved him. He then promised his wife that he would not let another day slip by without showing her how much he appreciated her. He already started thinking about getting out of the firm and taking another job where he might have more time to spend with his family, especially his son who was slipping away from him.

“Yes, I read your letter and I did what I could. The rest is up to him,” Charlie responded as they both turned to look at Mr. Costea, lying confused in his bed.

“It’s working,” Theresa replied. “How can we repay you?” She turned her attention back to Charlie.

“Repay him?” Mr. Costea wondered what that about.

“Actually, I may be in need of some legal assistance very soon,” Charle smiled, considering his growing rap sheet that may or may not include attempted murder now.

“You want me to help
him
?” Mr. Costea said to his wife.

“Give him a couple weeks and stop over,” Theresa replied.

“You’re inviting him over? He’s a menace!”

After Charlie left, Theresa told her husband about the letter she wrote and why she wrote it.

“You mean, that monster is Cupid?” he asked her in disbelief.

Over the next couple weeks, Mr. Costea was released from the hospital, but he spent his days lying in his bed, watching his wife take care of him, with nothing to do but think about all the things Charlie Daniels demanded an apology for. He remembered Charlie’s words more clearly with each meal his wife brought him…f
or all the meals you’ve eaten without appreciation, for all the kindness that has come your way that you were not thankful for.

…What you do to them you do to me, to your wife, your sons, and yourself.

One morning he woke to a spider crawling across his blanket and his first instinct was to kill it. However, he hesitated, remembering Charlie’s demand to apologize for being inconsiderate to the creatures upon the Earth.
I want an apology for every spider you’ve harmed and mosquito you’ve smashed.

He looked at the creature again and was surprised to find kindness in his heart. This kindness he felt gave him the courage to get out bed on his own for the first time since the accident. He captured the spider in a cup and took her outside, finding a safe place to release her.

Then he felt the kindness in his heart expand into joy as Charlie’s words echoed in his heart,
your time of redemption is at hand, Mr. Costea.
As he stood up, the sun burst through the clouds and he felt the joy turn to love and flow out to every creature upon the Earth. As the wind blew he simply whispered, “I’m sorry.”

“What are we doing today?” Charlie asked as they woke with the morning sunlight beaming through their New York City apartment window.

Julie playfully wrestled him, easily pinned him down.

“I have a present for you.”

“What is it?” he asked.

“Now if I told you that, it would spoil the surprise. First we have to get you some new clothes,” she smiled.

The day passed swiftly, and evening came.

“Let’s go, we don’t want to be late for the concert.”

“A concert?” Charlie replied as they hailed a cab.

“Where to?” the Arabic driver asked.

“B.B. King Blues Club & Grill,” Julie replied as she pulled out two tickets from her purse and handed them to Charlie.

“Air Supply?” Charlie replied with excitement. “We’re going to see Air Supply?”

“Air Supply?” the cab driver repeated. “I love Air Supply.” He slid in the CD and started singing along with the music. As the cabdriver sang, Charlie noticed something familiar on the seat next to Julie. He reached over and lifted it up to Julie’s dismay, “Ah, there’s my brown corduroy jacket. I thought I lost it.”