Another Shot: A Modern-Day Ruth and Boaz Story (4 page)

"I really appreciate the opportunity."

"No moving on, all right? Come to me if you want a new situation, don't go somewhere else."

I smiled and bowed a little. "I'm thankful to be here."

He used a finger to tilt my chin, forcing me to make eye contact. "Thank you for helping Lu," he said. "She's family and it means a lot that you're helping her."

"We're helping each other," I said.

Chapter 4

"Why don't you let people call you Lulu?" was the first thing I asked when I walked into the apartment after work that day.

The conversation I had with Dominic earlier was still fresh in my mind, and I could still hear him calling her that. He sounded so natural saying it and it was a good name for her.

"Gianni never called me that," she said, drawing me out of my thoughts. "He was pretty much the only one around here who didn't. Anyway, when we went out to Arizona, Vinny was the only one who ever called me that anymore, and little by little he just sort of switched over to calling me Laura. I don't know why I didn't want them saying Lulu. It just struck me wrong when I heard it. It's just because it's a happy name, I think."

"I thought it sounded good when people said it. It fits you."

"It used to."

"It will again one day."

She put her hand on mine. "I don't think I would have made it without you."

"It should be me who's saying that," I said. "You have all these people over here who love you. I talked to Dominic today, and he seemed willing to bend over backwards to make me comfortable at Nic's."

"You talked to Dominic? I was wondering when you'd meet him. He was such a precious little boy."

Laura knew he was wealthy, and I'd told her about his business, but she still had no concept of just how successful he was. She hadn't been to the store, and I could tell she wasn't processing the magnitude of his empire.

"I told him I wanted to learn how to take pictures and he said his love for photography was what got him started."

"Yeah he's been doing that since he was a little boy. His mom used to mail me some of the pictures he took. I think he won some kind of art show or a scholarship, or maybe both. He's always been special."

"It's nice to have people like him on your side, you know. He told me he'd do anything to make me comfortable there. You're lucky to have people like that looking out for you." I said.

"What did he tell you?"

"He just said for me to stay working for Nic's no matter what—said if I got tired of working in receiving he'd give me another job. He seemed like he wanted to do whatever to make me comfortable."

She smiled at me and squeezed my hand. "It makes my heart happy that you've found favor with him. This makes me feel so much better about dragging you all the way out here."

"I came because I wanted to."

"I know, sweetheart, but you knew deep down I needed you, and it makes me feel good that my people are looking after you."

"I needed you just as much," I said.

She smiled at me but I could tell she thought I was just being nice.

"I'm glad they're looking after me too," I said. "It's a good feeling, having someone like him on your side. He just seems so powerful, like he could help you out of any bind you got yourself in."

"He is powerful," she said. "He was powerful before the business, so you can just imagine."

"How so?" I asked.

"What do you mean?"

"You said he was powerful before he started his business. How so?"

"Oh, because he comes from a powerful family," she said. "The Russos are well-known around here. His dad is Big Willy Russo, and his uncles and granddad go way back on these streets."

I wanted to come out and ask if these guys were part of the mafia, but everything she'd said was vague enough that I'd feel bad if I assumed that and was wrong. I was in the middle of having that thought when someone pounded on the door with a heavy fist. I gasped and jumped and Laura looked at me with a curious expression as to who it could be. I shrugged.

"It must have been someone with the code because we didn't buzz anyone up," she said.

The mafia thoughts were fresh in my mind and I tried to think if I'd done anything wrong.

"I got a delivery for you Ms. Laura," we heard a man's voice say as we approached the door.

I reached up and peered through the peephole. "It's Mike," I said, reaching for the doorknob.

"Hi ya Ms. Rae," he said coming to stand in the apartment. "Ms. Laura," he added, nodding at her. "Sorry your box got a little wet," he said, handing me the package he was holding. The box was barely wet, like it had just started to sprinkle outside.

He took off his fedora and checked the top of it, smiling when he saw that it was barely wet too. He extended the hat in the direction of the box I was holding. "I knew the delivery guy down stairs. He was about to ring you, but I told him I had the code. I was coming up to tell you Frankie and Viv want to have you over for dinner tomorrow night."

I glanced at Laura and we both nodded. "Tell them we'll be there," she said.

"All right, that's good." He pointed at the package I was holding. "Enjoy."

I absentmindedly wondered if he somehow knew what was in it, but didn't think that was the case. Mike tipped his hat to us both before he left.

"What is it?" She asked as the door closed behind him.

"I was gonna ask you the same thing," I said.

"Well, what's it say?" she asked.

I turned the box around, inspecting it. I was perplexed to find that there were absolutely no markings on the thing—not a name, or address, or any clue of what was inside or who it was from.

I took it to the table where I set it down before using a key to cut the tape that was holding it closed. I started to open it, but then stopped and looked at her. "You don't think it's sketchy that it's not marked, do you?"

"No, Mike said he knew the guy carrying it."

I smiled as I continued opening the box. It was packaged with the same brown paper I often saw when I opened a box at work. My first thought when I saw it was that it might have come from Nic's, but I quickly passed that off. We both looked in curiously as I pulled out the top layer of brown paper.

There were a bunch of boxes that I instantly recognized from work. I wasn't a mathematician, but one glance into the box and I knew there was a lot of money involved. There was an envelope on top that was marked with my name.

Rae Milano

I stared down at it before glancing at Laura with a bewildered expression.

"Did someone send you a camera? Is that what this is?"

There were three boxes that were visible, and based on the size of the container, they were stacked two deep. I'd done enough research recently to know the level of equipment I was staring at.

"It seems that's the case, but I'm almost scared to investigate, because I'm already looking at a ton of money right here."

Her eyes got big. "Well, what are you waiting for? Open the letter and see what it's all about."

I was extremely skeptical that this was all for me. It was just too much. There had to be another explanation.

"It's got your name on it," she said, handing me the envelope. I opened the letter cautiously and read it out loud.

Rae, I'm glad we had the chance to meet today. Here are a few things to get you started taking pictures. I've included an assortment of my favorite lenses and look forward to finding out which one you like best. I think you'll really enjoy this set-up.

The letter wasn't over, but I paused and looked up at Laura. "Why would he do this?" I asked.

She shrugged. "Did you mention wanting it?"

"I mean, I might have casually said I'd like to get into it, but my goodness, I certainly didn't say I wanted him to do
this
." I sighed and focused my attention on the letter.

I've also included phones for yourself and Lulu
.

I glanced up at her with wide eyes and put the letter down so I could dig in the box. I carefully took one of the lenses out and set it on the table. I peered into the box as I took a second lens off the top layer. I set it on the table as I looked into the box again. Sure enough, there were two small boxes that contained the latest, greatest smartphone. I took one out and turned it over. "What's going on?" I asked.

"Just read the letter," she said.

I focused on the piece of paper, which was now shaking slightly.

I added the two of you to the same plan I provide for my managers at work. Calls, texting, and data are unlimited so don't worry about overages.

I glanced up at her in disbelief, but then focused on the letter again.

The phones have been activated, but you need to use them to call the service provider and confirm a few things. I get a good price on the service with my group plan. It's my pleasure to take care of this, so please let me. I'm sure you'll be a manager soon enough, anyway. I am going to London for a couple of weeks, but my mom says she wants to do dinner with you and Lulu soon. Get ready for my mom. She's a hugger.

I laughed and glanced at Laura. She smiled. "Maria Russo will squeeze the living daylights out of you," she said.

Oh, and by the way, tell Lu she doesn't have to worry about you while you're at work. I already warned every man in the building that you're off limits. I told the guys at the deli too, just for good measure. Tell her everyone loves you and is keeping their eye out for you over here. Enjoy your new toys. My number has already been programed into your phones if you need anything.

Take care,

Dominic

"This is an unbelievably generous gift," I said. Taking the boxes out one by one. There were two photography books on the bottom, and I thumbed through them distractedly.

"You must have really made an impression on him today."

"I don't know how," I said. "I was just sitting on a curb in my work uniform."

"Well you must have made an impression somehow. What'd you guys talk about?"

"I'm trying to remember our conversation. I told him I wanted to get into taking pictures but I just barely mentioned it. I also barely mentioned the fact that I didn't have a phone. I can't believe he sent these.  You see the red ring around these lenses?" I asked, pointing at the picture of the lens that was printed on the box.

She nodded.

"This basically means that this baby takes amazing pictures. This camera will take pictures by itself. All I have to do is strap it on my shoulder and walk by something and I've got quality photos."

She watched me excitedly inspect everything with great pride that part of her family had done something so thoughtful for me.

"I wonder why he's going to London," she said.

"He's looking at opening a store there," I said. "A guy I work with named Matt told me that earlier today after he saw me talking to Dominic. He didn't tell me Dominic was planning a trip, but he must have known it because he told me about the new store. He talked my ear off about Dominic for about an hour while we broke down boxes this afternoon."

"I'll have to call Maria and tell her what a doll her son is."

"You can call her from your new phone."

"I need to get her number programmed into it," she said.

Both of us shut off our cellphone service before we left Arizona. She bought a prepaid phone for our trip, but we only used it to talk to her family on the way up here and had it for emergencies, of course.

She and I spent the remainder of the evening programming our new phones and checking them out. We took about a hundred selfies together before she settled on one that she'd send to Dominic as a thank you.

I still hadn't decided what I'd do to thank him. I wasn't used to this type of no-strings-attached generosity, and I kept feeling like I should get on some kind of payment plan to reimburse him. Laura assured me a hundred times that I should just accept the gift for what it was, and I did my best to take her advice.

She had a conversation with Dominic's mom later that evening, but I could only hear half of it, so I went to my nook to crack into the camera and lenses now that I had time to really inspect everything and read the instructions. Laura went into her room at 10PM, and I stayed up till 2AM playing with my camera. I skimmed through the books he included and used my new phone to watch YouTube videos about the camera and how to use it.

I went to bed still feeling amazed at the generosity of her family.

Chapter 5

Laura and I went to Frankie and Vivian's for dinner the following evening. Their apartment was only three blocks from ours, but was on a whole other level. I'd been there one time with Laura when she went to clean while Frankie and Vivian weren't home.

Tonight would be the first time I'd meet Vivian, and I felt somewhat nervous. Laura said we'd get along fine, and I knew that was true, but it seemed like I was meeting new people every time I turned around, and I still got a little anxious.

The doorman recognized us and sent us upstairs with a warm greeting. Our building didn't have a doorman, and I smiled at the fanciness of being welcomed by a uniformed representative.

A woman I assumed was Vivian smiled broadly when she opened the door and instantly reached out to bring Laura into her arms. "I can't believe I'm just now getting to see you and you're right down the street!" she said. "We should have already had a party."

"Oh, definitely no parties," Laura said, hugging her back as we came to stand in the entryway.

"You must be Rae. I'm Aunt Viv, you precious love. I've heard so many great things about you!" She pulled me into her arms and gave me a tight hug, and then she pulled back and regarded me sweetly before pinching my cheek. "What an absolute stunner!" she said, looking at Laura with wide eyes. "Frankie told me she was a little blonde angel, but she is just a sight! Who'd she belong to?" she asked, taking me into her arms for another squeeze.

"Tony," Laura said. I looked at Laura to see if the candid question would affect her, but she seemed unruffled. "She's as good to me as she was to my boy," she said, stoically.

"You're lucky for that," Vivian said. She was extremely touchy feely. She had her hands all over us, giving us both pats and rubs, but somehow it wasn't intrusive. "I know it's been hard, honey, I can't imagine what you've been through, but you have a little angel with you, don't you?"

"I sure do," Laura said. "I don't know what I'd do if—"

"What's taking you broads so long?" we heard a man's voice yell.

"We're coming!" Viv shouted. "Give me a second! I haven't seen Lu in a million years!" Viv focused her attention on Laura again and rubbed her shoulder. "You look absolutely beautiful by the way. You haven’t changed a bit, honey. I should have told you that when you first came in." Viv was on the verge of tears as she stared at Laura, and it was obvious that she loved and missed her very much. I couldn't help but take note that it was the first time Laura let someone call her Lu.

"Are you ladies just gonna stand by the door all night?" Frankie asked, coming around the corner with his arms out expecting hugs.

"Hey Frankie," Laura said, hugging him.

"Hey gorgeous," he said. He looked at Vivian as he took me into his arms. "And how's about this one, huh?"

"I know, right?" Vivian said. "Tony knew how to pick 'em."

"Yes he did," Laura said, smiling sweetly at me.

All three of them stood there and stared at me. Laura and Vivian both looked like they were on the verge of tearing up, but thankfully it didn't seem like it was out of sadness, but rather happiness caused by the reunion.

"Where'd you get that light hair?" he asked, reaching up to gently tug on a lock of my hair.

I had dirty blonde hair that was just curly enough for me not to fight it. I usually let it dry naturally and the curls hung in loose waves. "My dad, I think," I said smiling.

"Whatta ya mean you think?" Frankie asked, confused.

Laura reached up and backhanded him on the arm. It made a loud slapping sound, and he gave her an injured expression. "She didn't know her father," Laura said.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," he said, shamefaced. "I didn't know."

"It's fine," I said, giving him a reassuring smile. "I never met him, but apparently I have his hair…" I hesitated. "…and his name. My grandma raised me, but my mom made her promise to name me Rae after my dad—only his was spelled R-A-Y like guy's spell it."

"Well your grandma must have done something right. Lu goes on and on about you, and she has good taste." Frankie called her Lu even though he'd already been warned, and again, she didn't correct him. For whatever reason, this was a dose of encouragement that covered me like a warm blanket. It was the first time I felt like there might be a light at the end of the tunnel.

"Thank you," I said.

"I don't know what we're doing standing in here," he said. "Take your shoes off and come get comfortable."

Laura and I slipped out of our shoes and followed Frankie and Viv into the living room. Frankie continued into the kitchen, but us girls took a seat on the couch.

"Does he need help in there?" Laura asked.

"No, the lasagna is baking and we already made the salad. He's just too antsy to come sit down."

"Mike said he saw one of Nic's boys bringing you a package yesterday," Frankie said from the kitchen. He sounded like he was straining when he spoke. I glanced his way to see that he was peering into the oven, watching dinner bake. I figured Laura would respond to his statement, so I just stayed quiet.

"Dominic Russo is the most generous man on the planet," Laura said. "After you of course, Frankie."

Frankie laughed. "I guess he sent you a welcome present or something?"

"He got us phones," she said.

"I thought you had a phone."

"I had a little prepaid, but Rae didn't have one at all, and he sent us these amazing little phones that are basically mini computers."

Frankie stood and stretched his hands onto the cabinet, looking at us. "What service are you gonna use?" he asked. "Viv and I could probably get you a good deal if you wanna jump on our family plan."

"Nic's taking care of it," she said. "He said he'd just put us on the same plan he gets for his managers."

"That was extremely generous," Viv said. She said it quietly, and Frankie took that as a hint that they didn't want to yell across the apartment anymore. He was antsy again anyway. He turned to dig in the fridge and the three of us continued the conversation.

"I already called Maria to tell her what a good boy she raised," Laura said. "And that's not all. He sent a real nice camera for Rae."

"Really?" Vivian asked. She asked it with an expression that told me she might think he did it because he was a guy and I was a girl and maybe he was attracted to me in that way. It was the first time I ever even considered such a thing, and in that split second, I tried to remember our conversation—tried to remember if it felt like that at all.

The answer was no.

He was incredibly respectful of me being Anthony's wife, and didn't seem at all like he had any ulterior motives. Not to mention the fact that he was way out of my league. In fact, a
few
leagues separated Dominic Russo and me—especially with my baggage. I smiled internally at the thought of Vivian raising her eyebrows like the gift could have been romantic.

"He and I had a conversation where I told him I wanted to get into taking photos," I explained. "He knew I couldn’t afford the kind of stuff he sells at his store, and I think he's just the type of guy that does random kind things like that."

Vivian closed her eyes and shook her head, smiling. "I love that boy," she said. "Isn't he precious?"

"I'm taking this out, Viv!" Frankie yelled from the kitchen. He was nervously watching the dish bubble through the oven's glass window.

"The timer's set, honey, but do whatever you think."

Without further ado, Frankie opened the oven and carefully removed the steaming hot pan with oven mitts.

Dinner was delicious, and our hosts were more than gracious. Viv made us promise to catch up with her again some evenings since she worked at a jewelry store during the day and was always gone when Laura came to clean.

***

Laura and I kept our promise to see Viv regularly. It had been two weeks since we first had dinner at their house, and we'd seen her twice since then. She kept asking when it'd be okay to have a girls' get-together, but Laura just wasn't ready for that yet.

Things were still hard for me, but day-by-day it was getting better. I knew the same was true for Laura even though she'd never admit such a thing. She claimed she was still miserable, but I saw her smiles grow more genuine with each passing day. We both still struggled to understand why we'd lived through such a tragedy, but we were slightly less obsessed by it every day.

I dove into photography as a way of coping. I'd had my camera for two weeks, and officially took it everywhere I went. I was a total nerd—researching and taking photos with every spare second I had. I brought a computer from Arizona with me, and every night I uploaded hundreds of photos I'd taken that day. I shot sidewalks, architecture, graffiti, statues, red lights, trees, animals, and whatever else I thought might be interesting.

I started studying great photographers and had become familiar enough with some of their work that I'd experiment with replicating their photos. Every night I'd show Laura my best ones, and she was extremely encouraging, telling me I had good instincts and things like that.

We had a big print center upstairs at work where I just had 8x10's of my favorites printed. They were currently sitting on my desk, and I was excited to show them to Laura. I loved seeing them on paper. It was different than a screen—better.

I only got ten of them because I was still living on the small change I brought from Arizona. In fact, today was the first time I'd get a paycheck. Just as I had that thought, Debbie came by receiving to notify me that she sent an email with my paystub details, but that the money would direct deposit by midnight per my request. The others heard her talking to me and gave her a hard time about not getting them the money before midnight. She was laughing when she left.

Out of sheer curiosity I checked my email. The math was relatively simple. I knew roughly what I was making before taxes and insurance, but wasn't totally clear on what I'd have left after those got taken out. I didn't have health insurance taken out of my check when I worked at the coffee shop because Anthony and I were covered through the dealership. Anyway, I was expecting about forty percent of my paycheck to go out the window by the time it was all said and done.

I stared at the screen, unable to read the spreadsheet correctly. The numbers were too high. My hourly wage was off. It was significantly higher than the rate at which I'd been hired, and I sighed knowing I'd have to jump through some hoops to get it corrected and it'd probably delay getting my check.

I scanned the whole page. Everything was wrong. The personal information was all correct, and so were the number of hours, but
everything else
was messed up.

"I need to run upstairs and talk to Debbie about my paycheck," I said as I walked back into the common area.

"No problem," Matt said, without even looking at me.

I walked upstairs with my phone in my hand so that I could access my email. Debbie saw me through the wall of glass when I approached her office and she smiled, waving me in.

"What's the matter?" she asked, noticing I wasn't smiling.

"I think my paycheck's messed up," I said. I sat in the chair facing her desk.

She shook her head. "I don't think so," she said. "I looked at it before I sent it."

"It's supposed to be way less than it is," I said. "Or maybe I'm just reading it wrong."

She started clicking away on her keyboard and then turned her monitor to show me what she was looking at.

I peered over her desk to view it. "Yeah, see?" I pointed at the box for hourly wage—the one that was fifty percent higher than the price I agreed on when I signed up for this job.

She looked at me with a nod.

"It's more than I'm supposed to be making."

"I know. Dominic had me make that adjustment before he left for his trip."

"That's a big adjustment," I said in disbelief. "That's too much of an adjustment."

She smiled and shrugged. "I just do what he tells me to do. I thought you two worked it out."

"I had no idea. Are you telling me that's correct?"

She nodded.

I was overwhelmed, and almost forgot to ask, but then remembered. "How do I figure out how much comes out for insurance?"

She giggled as she shook her head. "I should have known he didn't talk to you about that either."

"About what?"

"Dominic's not taking insurance out of your check."

I squinted at her, feeling like I couldn't believe my ears. "Do I still get coverage?" I asked.

She smiled like it was sweet for me to even ask such a thing. "Of course you do. Don't quote me on this, but I think he's planning on covering your mother-in-law too. He had his assistant set it up, so I'm not sure, but I heard him mention it."

It was too much. I simply couldn’t believe the way Laura's family stuck by her. I knew Dominic's kindness toward me was aimed at Laura, and I marveled that such families existed in the world. I was quiet while I thought about these things.