Bronx Noir

I knew. But I’d hoped that the story would have turned out differently. I bent over the album opened to Jenna’s wedding ceremony. She made a stunning bride, the smiling man standing just behind her a handsome groom. I stared at the images wondering if there’d ever been a chance that Jenna’s future husband might have been Brody? I leafed through the pages but quickly lost interest.

“Why don’t you stop over and say hello? I’m sure Jenna would like that.”

I wonder.

The phone rang and Tommy Harding excused himself to take the call.

That was the moment I needed. I hurried to the window, my heart racing, knowing that this was the moment of truth. Out the window the yard had changed, but not in the way I expected. A small deck had been built, squeezed into one corner. But I also saw that the tree stump was still there. It had not been dug up to provide a convenient hole. The only thing likely to be found beneath it were very dead roots.

“How do you like the deck?”

I grabbed at the opening. “The last time I was here was for Jenna’s birthday our senior year. It ended in a fight with one of our friends, Brody. I don’t know what happened to him after that night. Do you?”

“Well, I sure don’t. Don’t remember the guy very well. Lot of drinkin’ went on that night. Wife told me the next day I made a fool of myself, embarrassed Jen. Too much beer,” he chuckled, unrepentant.

He walked back to the door. I knew that was my invitation to leave. He’d been gracious and let me in. But I wasn’t going away till I got what I wanted. Information. The truth. The whereabouts of Brody.

Halfway across the small living room I happened to spot a bottle of Johnny Walker Red on a bookcase. It was still sealed. It could have been a different bottle than the one given to Jenna’s father that night. It could have been the same. It was something else I’d never know for sure.

I said goodbye to Mr. Harding and walked off his property. Behind me I heard him whistling, comfortable and safe in his kingdom on the bay. He’d given me Jenna’s address, but in that moment I don’t know how much I really wanted to see her again. Too much distance had formed between us, and I was really pissed off with her. She got to come home again, get married to someone else, and settle down like Brody never existed. How could she forget what they’d been like together?

Nevertheless…I crossed City Island Avenue to the quiet streets on the other side, looking for her address. When I found it and saw the life she was living I knew for sure the past was over. Dead and buried.

I was startled when a door slammed on the side of the house and a tall man walked around the car parked in the narrow driveway and prepared to get into the driver’s seat. He stood poised with one foot on the doorframe.

“Come on, Jen. Move it. We’re late.”

A second later the door opened again and the former Jenna Harding rushed out. She hadn’t changed either.

Her flaming hair was still the same length and style as in high school, as in her wedding photos. And she was still answering the call of men like her father who had never ventured very far from this place. Brody might have made a difference. But I forget. He wanted to live here too.

I was going to leave without making my presence known, but Jenna saw me and stopped dead in her tracks. Over the top of her white picket fence, and about seven years, we stared at each other. In her eyes, for a split second, I saw someone I used to know.

“Hey,” she smiled brightly. “What are you doing here?”

Over the fence we air-kissed. The man in the car gently tapped the horn.

“Wait a minute!” she yelled, irritated, turning once more to me. The smile reappeared. “Wow. It’s been so many years.”

“Congratulations,” I said.

“So you heard I got married,” she shrugged.

Just then something sharp and bright sparkled at her throat. It was the pendant that Brody had given her on her birthday years before. I couldn’t believe it.

“Let me introduce you to…”

“You’re in a hurry. I just saw your father. I…stopped by to say hello.”

“You did?”

“Well, I actually came for the street fair,” I fabricated again. “He told me you live here.”

“You should have let me know you were coming. I would have invited you to visit, but we’re heading out to his folks for dinner.”

“Go ahead. I won’t hold you up,” I said, stepping back.

She suddenly reached out to me. “Wait. Did you ever hear from Brody?”

Her question was so unexpected that I looked at her hopefully. “I was going to ask you the same thing.”

She silently shook her head. “I don’t know anything. Daddy kept telling me everything was going to be all right.”

“What did he mean by that?”

“I don’t know.”

“Jen, come on, already!”

“Stop yelling. I’m coming,” she pouted.

We stared once more at each other.

“I never saw him again after that night,” she said.

“Maybe he never left the island, Jenna.”

“He did talk about signing up for military duty, and then coming back here.”

She didn’t get it.

The car sounded again.