11-25-2020, 11:50 PM
Aww man... I don't know if I can do this one guys... : (
Tommy walked outside to where his cousin was standing having a smoke.
"Ya know those things'll kill ya!"
Salvatore Bona exhaled sending a cloud of nicotine into the air.
"Gotta die uh somethin' right?" he replied.
Tommy was now inches away, just to his cousin's right.
"Can you believe it's already dis cold? Fuckin' Novemba!" Tommy said.
"Yeah, I blame Santa."
"More likely those cocksuckin' lil' elves!" Tommy shot back as they both laugh.
He knew the longer he stood there making small talk the harder it would be to do what he knew
had to be done. He felt tears coming on but quickly blinked them away.
"Aaay, come on, take a ride wit me!" Tommy offered.
"Where to?" asked Sal, throwing his almost smoked cig onto the ground.
"You'll see." Tommy said, winking at his cousin.
The two walk over to Tommy's Escalade and hop in. The vehicle pulls out of the parking lot and they're
off to the races.
The Garden State wasn't always thought of for its scenery but it had its moments. The rural areas
made a lot more sense than the crowded cities with their traffic jams and hurried pedestrians. A person
could really do some thinking out in that clean, fresh air. Tommy was hoping it would be enough to
turn this whole thing around. But he had his doubts. Or rather, they had him.
"I rememba this place! We used to come here when we were kids!" Sal reminisces.
"Wait 'til ya see what I got in da back!" Tommy says smiling.
They pull to the end of a long, narrow trail that meets a small, falling-down shack. The property
belonged to Tommy's uncle Johnny, who only just recently passed. They get out of the SUV and
look around as the memories come flooding back.
"Rememba the rope swing we had on dat tree, Uncle Johnny hung that thing and made us promise
we wouldn't kill ourselves falling from it?" Sal said as Tommy opened the back doors of the Escalade.
He was getting worried now. Tommy wasn't acting funny but this whole trip felt a little weird and Sal
didn't like weird. Tommy closed the doors with a large brown paper bag in hand as he approached his
nervous cousin.
"You're gonna love this!" Tommy said with a smirk.
He got in front of Sal and opened the bag. Sal didn't know how to react.
"Holy shit! You kiddin' me??" he exclaimed.
Tommy pulled out two bottles of a very sweet, very cheap Italian wine. They both smiled.
"Fuckin' Giuseppe's?? Th' fuck outta here!" Sal said grabbing one of the bottles.
"What was we, nineteen, last time we drank this shit?" Tommy questioned, turning the cap.
"Yeah, probly" Sal said as he removed the cap and threw it into the brush.
"Well, Salute!" Tommy said as he tapped bottlenecks with Sal.
They both took a long pull and stood there looking into the woods.
"You think that porch will hold both of us up?" Tommy asked.
"Only one way to find out!" Sal returned taking off in that direction.
They both sit on the well-seasoned porch, Sal on the bottom step; Tommy on the top.
That wine was terrible, and they both knew it. Anything to help get him through this awful
day. Looking down at his cousin, he felt a lifetime of things. All at once. Here come those tears
again. Blinking was the order of the day for Tommy. The fresh air was nice. The stillness without
words; not so much. This was it. Now or never. Could he do this?
"How long?"
Sal looked up at Tommy knowing exactly what he meant. It was all over for him.
"How long what?"
"Don't you dare play fuckin' stupid wit me! HOW LONG??" Tommy said in a raised voice.
Sal stared at his cousin, noticing the tears running down his face. He never saw Tommy cry
before. This was gonna hurt far worse than he ever thought possible. He looked down at the
ground to try and find the words.
"I'm sorry Tommy" he said as tears now streamed down his own face.
"They had me, red-fuckin-handed."
Tommy didn't even bother wiping the tears away. He was well past that.
"That still doesn't answer my fuckin' question!"
"Three months." Sal offered sheepishly.
Tommy was in a blender of emotions. He threw his bottle into the yard and stood up on that porch.
"What do they know?" he asked Sal.
"Nothin! I never gave them anything on you, Tommy! I swear ta God!"
"WHAT do they fuckin' know??" he demanded.
"Just a few things I was in on, that's it! Nothin' else!!"
Tommy paced the porch. His heart was filled with brokenness as it beat erratically.
"So, dat thing wit da pills? The credit card thing? That all?" Tommy asked almost breathlessly.
"They know I popped that dealer at the trap house. 'At's what they brought me in on."
Tommy was livid. He knew with even that little information the feds could not only make his
life miserable but they could potentially bring him in and royally fuck his life.
"Why didn't you come to me right away?"
Sal wipes the wet from his face. "I was scared, I knew you'd be upset!"
"This goes way past upset, Sally! You fuckin know how this thing works!!"
Tommy's sadness grew as tears were now nonstop. He felt sick. But this didn't change a thing.
"I've always been a fuck up, Tommy. I didn't wanna disappoint ya. I wanted to fix it."
Tommy stopped pacing. Looking down, he saw the mess Sal was in. He wanted to be angry but
all he felt was a deep sense of mourning. Goddamn this whole fucking thing.
"What're we gonna do?" Tommy asked.
Sal, still looking down, "I dunno... I dunno Tommy..."
Tommy reached around his back to feel for that .38 he always kept hidden.
It was there. But his determination wasn't.
"They offer you witness protection?"
"Hmph, me out in fuckin' Phoenix? Gettin' sun-cancer and dyin' in five years? No thanks!"
He'd rather take a full clip to the face than hurt his favorite cousin. Tommy would never feel the same again.
"I love you Sally-boy." he said with a quake in his voice.
"I love you too Tommy..."
That lone drive back to the city was the longest ride of Tommy's life.
Tommy walked outside to where his cousin was standing having a smoke.
"Ya know those things'll kill ya!"
Salvatore Bona exhaled sending a cloud of nicotine into the air.
"Gotta die uh somethin' right?" he replied.
Tommy was now inches away, just to his cousin's right.
"Can you believe it's already dis cold? Fuckin' Novemba!" Tommy said.
"Yeah, I blame Santa."
"More likely those cocksuckin' lil' elves!" Tommy shot back as they both laugh.
He knew the longer he stood there making small talk the harder it would be to do what he knew
had to be done. He felt tears coming on but quickly blinked them away.
"Aaay, come on, take a ride wit me!" Tommy offered.
"Where to?" asked Sal, throwing his almost smoked cig onto the ground.
"You'll see." Tommy said, winking at his cousin.
The two walk over to Tommy's Escalade and hop in. The vehicle pulls out of the parking lot and they're
off to the races.
The Garden State wasn't always thought of for its scenery but it had its moments. The rural areas
made a lot more sense than the crowded cities with their traffic jams and hurried pedestrians. A person
could really do some thinking out in that clean, fresh air. Tommy was hoping it would be enough to
turn this whole thing around. But he had his doubts. Or rather, they had him.
"I rememba this place! We used to come here when we were kids!" Sal reminisces.
"Wait 'til ya see what I got in da back!" Tommy says smiling.
They pull to the end of a long, narrow trail that meets a small, falling-down shack. The property
belonged to Tommy's uncle Johnny, who only just recently passed. They get out of the SUV and
look around as the memories come flooding back.
"Rememba the rope swing we had on dat tree, Uncle Johnny hung that thing and made us promise
we wouldn't kill ourselves falling from it?" Sal said as Tommy opened the back doors of the Escalade.
He was getting worried now. Tommy wasn't acting funny but this whole trip felt a little weird and Sal
didn't like weird. Tommy closed the doors with a large brown paper bag in hand as he approached his
nervous cousin.
"You're gonna love this!" Tommy said with a smirk.
He got in front of Sal and opened the bag. Sal didn't know how to react.
"Holy shit! You kiddin' me??" he exclaimed.
Tommy pulled out two bottles of a very sweet, very cheap Italian wine. They both smiled.
"Fuckin' Giuseppe's?? Th' fuck outta here!" Sal said grabbing one of the bottles.
"What was we, nineteen, last time we drank this shit?" Tommy questioned, turning the cap.
"Yeah, probly" Sal said as he removed the cap and threw it into the brush.
"Well, Salute!" Tommy said as he tapped bottlenecks with Sal.
They both took a long pull and stood there looking into the woods.
"You think that porch will hold both of us up?" Tommy asked.
"Only one way to find out!" Sal returned taking off in that direction.
They both sit on the well-seasoned porch, Sal on the bottom step; Tommy on the top.
That wine was terrible, and they both knew it. Anything to help get him through this awful
day. Looking down at his cousin, he felt a lifetime of things. All at once. Here come those tears
again. Blinking was the order of the day for Tommy. The fresh air was nice. The stillness without
words; not so much. This was it. Now or never. Could he do this?
"How long?"
Sal looked up at Tommy knowing exactly what he meant. It was all over for him.
"How long what?"
"Don't you dare play fuckin' stupid wit me! HOW LONG??" Tommy said in a raised voice.
Sal stared at his cousin, noticing the tears running down his face. He never saw Tommy cry
before. This was gonna hurt far worse than he ever thought possible. He looked down at the
ground to try and find the words.
"I'm sorry Tommy" he said as tears now streamed down his own face.
"They had me, red-fuckin-handed."
Tommy didn't even bother wiping the tears away. He was well past that.
"That still doesn't answer my fuckin' question!"
"Three months." Sal offered sheepishly.
Tommy was in a blender of emotions. He threw his bottle into the yard and stood up on that porch.
"What do they know?" he asked Sal.
"Nothin! I never gave them anything on you, Tommy! I swear ta God!"
"WHAT do they fuckin' know??" he demanded.
"Just a few things I was in on, that's it! Nothin' else!!"
Tommy paced the porch. His heart was filled with brokenness as it beat erratically.
"So, dat thing wit da pills? The credit card thing? That all?" Tommy asked almost breathlessly.
"They know I popped that dealer at the trap house. 'At's what they brought me in on."
Tommy was livid. He knew with even that little information the feds could not only make his
life miserable but they could potentially bring him in and royally fuck his life.
"Why didn't you come to me right away?"
Sal wipes the wet from his face. "I was scared, I knew you'd be upset!"
"This goes way past upset, Sally! You fuckin know how this thing works!!"
Tommy's sadness grew as tears were now nonstop. He felt sick. But this didn't change a thing.
"I've always been a fuck up, Tommy. I didn't wanna disappoint ya. I wanted to fix it."
Tommy stopped pacing. Looking down, he saw the mess Sal was in. He wanted to be angry but
all he felt was a deep sense of mourning. Goddamn this whole fucking thing.
"What're we gonna do?" Tommy asked.
Sal, still looking down, "I dunno... I dunno Tommy..."
Tommy reached around his back to feel for that .38 he always kept hidden.
It was there. But his determination wasn't.
"They offer you witness protection?"
"Hmph, me out in fuckin' Phoenix? Gettin' sun-cancer and dyin' in five years? No thanks!"
He'd rather take a full clip to the face than hurt his favorite cousin. Tommy would never feel the same again.
"I love you Sally-boy." he said with a quake in his voice.
"I love you too Tommy..."
That lone drive back to the city was the longest ride of Tommy's life.
