Secrets at Dillehay Crossing - Chapter 11 - The Mystery Man
“Ruthie and I arrived at the Algrin Hotel a few minutes later, scurried inside, and checked our coats. She flung open the doors to the Century Room revealing a boisterous place filled with hundreds of conversations told in loud voices, all of them competing with the Big Band music that dominated the atmosphere. I froze, overcome with a sudden feeling of light-headedness wishing I was back at home.
‘Come on!’ Ruthie tugged on my sleeve. ‘Don’t overthink this. Order yourself a drink! It’ll help you relax.’
I wound my way through the warm bodies, stepped up to the bar, and ordered a cocktail. Before my drink was poured, I felt his eyes staring at me from across the room. He was standing in the shadows—a lonesome gentleman, statue-like and nonchalant wearing an expensive suit. He had that stand-offish quality that dared contact without inviting it. I stared back at him and smiled. He smirked and continued gnawing at the stump of a dead cigar in his mouth.
‘Cigars? Cigarettes? Candy? Chewing gum?’ asked the cigarette lady as she strolled through the bar.
He emerged from the shadows. ‘Happen to have any Cuesta Rey cigars?’ he asked her with his smoky voice.
She thumbed through her open tray. ‘Yes, sir. I do. How many would you like?’
‘I’ll have two Cuesta-Reys and whatever this lady wants.’ He turned toward me, a flirtatious smile crossing his face.
‘Who me?’ I asked, a wild pink color washed into my cheeks.
‘Yes, you.’
‘Oh, no thank you,’ I said, fiddling with my cocktail glass. ‘I don’t want to spoil my dinner.’
‘If you’re waiting for a table, you’re looking at a long wait. You should probably snack on something.’ He ran his fingers through his slicked back, grizzled black hair. ‘Pick something. My treat.’
I moved closer to him for a better look, excitement fluttering deep in the pit of my stomach. He was an alluring man, dangerously alive with that sense of the untamed just barely suppressed below the surface. He winked at me with hardened eyes. His eyes, as murky as ink pools with deep shadows under protruding cheekbones, lured me towards him. There was something unsettling yet electrifying about his overall demeanor that I just couldn’t resist.
‘Well, if you insist,’ I muttered, scrutinizing the jagged fishbone scar above his right cheek. “A Bit-O-Honey. Uh, no, wait. A Milky Way Bar.’
By some slight of hand, he flipped open his money clip and slid out a single $20 bill from a thick wad of crisp $100 bills. ‘Keep the change, sweetheart.’ He stuffed the `cigars in his suit pocket, handed me the candy bar, and leaned toward her. ‘You may call me Jack.’
I inhaled his smell. He reeked of expensive cigars and fine men’s cologne. ‘Thank you, Jack,’ I lowered my gaze, opened my candy bar, taking a discreet bite from it.
Jack approached the maître d’, greeted him with a nod and handshake, and hispered something in his ear. Then with the same sleight of hand, he slipped the maître d a $50 bill. The maître d’ surveyed the room. “Yes, I have a table ready for you. Is the lady joining you?”
‘Are you joining me?’ his eyes met hers.
I nodded, and Jack placed his hand around my waist escorting me through the dining room where the maître d’ seated us at a table directly in front of the stage and dance floor.
‘Thank you, my good man.’ Jack glided a $20 bill into the maître d’s hand. ‘I’d like a bottle of Johnny Walker Red and a bucket of ice.’ He reached inside his suit for one of his cigars. ‘And a cigar cutter.’
‘Certainly, sir. And for the lady?’
‘A Mai Tai, please.’
‘By the way, gorgeous, Jack reached across the table and took Nora’s hand in his, ‘what’s your name?’
‘Didn’t I tell you? I’m Nora Liana.’
‘So, Nora, what brings you to the Century Room on such a blustery wintery night?’
‘Curiosity, I suspect, and a need to get out of the house.’
‘Tell me, Nora,” Jack swirled the ice cubes in his glass before downing the entire glass of whiskey. ‘Is there a man waiting for you back home?’
‘Um, no. I mean uh, yes.’
‘So, which is it, Nora? Yes or No?’
‘No man. No husband.’ I struggled to find the right words. ‘Just my son, Richard.’
‘What about Richard’s father? Is he still in the picture?’
‘No. He passed away several months ago and . . .’
‘I’m sorry, Nora.’ Jack lightly stroked her fingers.
‘So, Jack,’ she withdrew her hand and shifted the conversation, ‘What about you? What brings you to the Algrin tonight?’
‘I arrived here a few days ago to take care of some personal financial business in a town just north of here. I’m staying at the Algrin because it’s the closest hotel to Union Station.’
‘Will you be here long?’
‘Not quite two weeks. But I may relocate here. I desperately want a new life, one that’s far from my riddled past.’
Jack nervously chewed on his cigar, blurting out a string of barely distinguishable words. ‘SoNoraWhat’sYourStory?’
‘I need to put my past behind me and forget about it—even for just one night. I desperately want a new life, but I just don’t know how to let go of what was without feeling guilty.’
‘Guilt! Is there any virtue in it?’ he asked in a raucous voice. ‘I’ve made some pretty horrific choices in the past, and my guilt about those choices burns like gasoline in my gut scorching me from the inside out. It can be 30° outside, but I’m white hot on the inside.’ Jack poured himself another glass of whiskey. ‘Whiskey, ah whiskey. It’s the only thing that extinguishes the fire and helps me forget.
‘I confess. I feel guilty about not getting my ailing husband to the hospital sooner. I wonder what if I had, perhaps he’d still be alive. My guilt creeps in on me in quiet moments or when I’m drifting off to sleep. Working until I’m exhausted is the only thing that keeps my guilt from eating me alive.’
‘Here’s to letting go of the past and getting on with the here and now!’ Jack downed another glass of whiskey. ‘Chugalug, Nora!’
‘Chugalug, Jack!’ I tipped my head back, guzzling down the remaining Mai Tai in one swallow.
“Jack moved his chair closer to me, pulling me against his chest. His nose tickled my ear, and his lips softly grazed mine. It was a simple kiss—not a passionate one, but a gentle kiss between two strangers. I’d been kissed before, but not since Claude passed. There was something so warm in our kiss, something that felt right and smelt right. My muscles loosened, and I let my body sag. He cradled me in his arms like a cherished child, my guilt loosening its grip. I was spellbound, caught up in the magic of the moment and feeling alive for the first time in months.
We kissed again, losing ourselves in one another. We finished dinner and danced until the band finished its last set. That’s when Jack tucked my hair behind my ears and took my hand in his, bringing it to his lips and placing a soft kiss upon it. My face flushed, and something fluttered in my stomach. I wasn’t sure what I was feeling, but I was at loss for everything—no words, no breath, no thoughts. In that instant I realized I loved him.
Grammy fingered her necklace, “later that evening we gave ourselves freely to one another, lost in love’s embrace. In his arms there was no time, no pain, no guilt. Being with him was like being let into the warmth of spring after a lifetime of winter. Jack helped me breathe again when I didn’t want to anymore, and he helped me see that it’s okay to fall in love again.”
“But Grammy, how could you fall in love so fast?” Lilly asked in a disbelieving voice. “You knew nothing about him and his past and why he felt so guilty.”
“His past didn’t matter to me, Doddlebug.
“Maybe it should have mattered.”
“Maybe. Maybe not. Try to understand that I certainly didn’t plan on falling in love with Jack, and I doubt he planned on falling in love with me. But neither of us could control what was happening. We fell in love with one another, despite our pasts. Grammy folded her napkin across her plate. “I’ve upset you, Lilly. Maybe I shouldn’t tell you anymore.”
“No, go ahead, Grammy.” Lilly forced a hard smile. As difficult as this is for me, you need to tell your story, and I need to hear it.”
“If you’re sure.”
“Yes, I’m sure.
“Over the next few days, Jack and I were inseparable. Jack wanted to explore the city before moving here. So each morning we rode the Interurban train, stopping at places like the zoo, Reverchon Park, and Fair Park. At night we frequented movie houses and eating establishment. By happenstance one day, we took the trolley and stopped at Mrs. Elli’s Cafeteria. You remember that place, don’t you Lilly?’
“Yes, Grammy, of course I do! Every Saturday we ate lunch there, and you bought me a piece of chocolate pie.”
“The first time I ever ate at Mrs. Elli’s was with Jack. He was so taken by the quaint little café, that we frequently returned to it. One day while eating lunch at Eli’s, he looked out the front window.”
‘Look, Nora,’ he pointed to a row of houses situated on an adjacent street. They look just like the bungalow houses in San Francisco. I’ve always wanted to own a bungalow house. Let’s go take a look.’
“We left the restaurant, crossed the street, and walked through the bungalow neighborhood.”
‘I like this one, Nora. It has a gabled roof and dormer windows. Let’s take a peek inside.’
“We crossed the threshold and went inside.”
‘This place is perfect!’ Jack exclaimed. ‘Both bedrooms have Murphy beds with built-in cabinets and bookcases. So, I won’t need to buy much furniture. There’s a window seat alongside the fireplace and even a screened-in sleeping porch for hot summer nights.’ He turned to me and smiled. ‘I’d like to make this place my new home. I wonder how much it costs? Let’s find the realtor who’s selling this property.’
“He grabbed my hand, and we rushed down the street scouring the neighborhood until we spotted a man sitting in a parked car in the driveway of one of the houses.”
‘Are you the realtor selling that property over there?
‘Yes, I’m the realtor for all the homes in this neighborhood. The selling price is $6,025, but if you leave me a $500 deposit today, I’ll reduce the price to $5,500. What do you say?’
“Jack retrieved his wallet from his suitcoat pocket. My eyes widened as he pulled out a wad of money.” ‘
‘If you’ll accept this,’ he handed the realtor five, crisp $1,000 bills, ‘I’ll sign the paperwork today.’
“The realtor clamored out of his car and ushered us inside the house where Jack executed the necessary documents.”
‘Nora, I know this is all so sudden,’ he clasped my hands in his, ‘but I need to return to San Francisco and put my affairs in order before I can move here. I’ll be gone for two weeks tops.’
“The next day Jack checked out of the hotel, and I accompanied him to Union Station, quietly standing with him at the platform waiting until his train arrived.
‘I have an uneasy feeling about this trip,’ I said to him, a sense of dread rolling through my stomach. ‘Don’t go, Jack. Please don’t go!’
‘Nora, don’t be silly! You have nothing to worry about. I’ll be back before you know it. Promise. But before I go, I have something to give you.’
“He reached into his coat pocket, pulled out a small rectangular box, and handed it to me. I opened the box revealing a beautiful strand of cultured pink pearls. Jack draped them around my neck then got down on one knee and said, ‘Nora Liana, will you marry me?’.’
‘Ya, ya, yes,’ I stammered, my words catching in my throat. “Of course I will!’
“The train’s whistle blew and the conductor shouted, ‘All Aboard!’.”
‘And one more thing.’ Jack stood up and pulled an envelope from inside his jacket. ‘Here are the keys and title to the bungalow. Yesterday, I transferred the property into your name. That way, should something ever happen to me, you’ll have a suitable place to live.’
‘But, but,’ I scrambled for the right words to say.
‘No buts, Nora. Promise me you’ll move in while I’m gone. As soon as I return from San Francisco, we’ll move in together and get married.’
‘All aboard!’ the conductor shouted again, this time with a sense of urgency.
‘I love you, Nora.’ He gave me his money clip full of $100 bills. ‘Use this money to furnish the house. Promise me you’ll be there when I return.’
‘I promise, Jack. I love you, too!’
“Before stepping onto the train, he handed me a nosegay of forget-me-nots and a small piece of paper with his address and phone number on it.”
‘I’ll see you in two weeks.’
‘I’ll wait for you! Promise!’
“I clutched the pink pearls in my hand and watched Jack board the train, zigzagging his way down the aisle until he found a window seat. He blew me a final kiss and waved goodbye. I stood on the platform and watched the train disappear, a premonitory chill tracing its way down my spine.
“Jack came back, didn’t he, Grammy.”
“No, child. He didn’t.”
“But why, Grammy? What happened?”
“I don’t rightly know, but I did as Jack asked and used his money to furnish the house. Then your dad and I moved into the bungalow house—the same house where I raised you. I waited for Jack’s return, his mysterious disappearance haunting me and keeping me awake at night. I kept his memory alive wandering about the house focusing on the good times we shared and relived them. I felt his love for me reverberating through the house, and sometimes I could feel the echo of his lips on mine. A couple of times I wrote Jack at the address he’d given me, but the letters were returned marked ‘Addressee Unknown.’ I even telephoned him once, but the number had been disconnected.’
“Are you ever curious about him? I mean did you ever wander where he got that kind of money? Seems suspect to me. Wouldn’t you like to know why he never came back?”
“I suppose knowing might heal my heart and spirit.”
“What if you could see him again, would you want to?”
“I don’t know, truly I don’t. I’ve already grieved losing him, so I don’t know if I’d want to reopen the wound, reopen the past.” Grammy fiddled with the pink pearls draped around her neck. “I know this sounds silly after some 35 years, but I’ve clung to these pearls like I’ve clung to the hope that Jack might one day return. But it’ll never happen.” Grammy’s voice throbbed with anger. “Why are we having this conversation anyway? It’s a foolish pipedream! Jack left and never returned, and my world crumbled around me like it did when Claude passed.”
Lilly wrapped her hand around Grammy’s and squeezed it. “I can’t even begin to imagine how you must’ve felt or how you coped.”
“I was hysterical, sobbing constantly until no more tears came. I was numb most of the time and honestly didn’t know what to think or do. I was nauseous most of the time and threw up if I ate anything other than ginger ale and soda crackers. My appetite dwindled, and I became thin and gaunt looking. Most days I felt weak and dizzy and couldn’t focus. Then one day I actually fainted at work. Your Aunt Ruthie was concerned about me so she took me to her doctor hoping he’d prescribe something to soothe my nerves and stomach. That’s when I received some rather distressing news.” Grammy’s voice cracked with emotion. She pulled her hand away from Lilly’s and buried her face in her trembling hands.
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