Once Broken (28 page)

She dipped her bifocals to the tip of her nose, and stared at Tony. “Tell me about this vacation home, Mr. Salvucci.”

“Uh … I’m trying to sell it, your honor. But the market is soft.”

The judge maintained eye contact. “I suggest you try harder, Mr. Salvucci. You will report to this court each month on the progress of the sale.” Jackie silently cheered. “Is there anything else, Ms. Martin?”

“Yes, your honor. The child support agreement provides that Mr. Salvucci is responsible for paying fifty percent of all health insurance costs for the minor child. To date, this provision has not been enforced. I’d like to start enforcing that provision and backdate the allotted three years.”

“Noted. Mr. Manning, would you like to add anything?”

“No, your honor.”

“This matter will be taken under advisement. The parties will be notified by mail.” The judge rapped the gavel.

*

The judgment arrived by the end of the week. Jackie scanned the court order, reading it twice. “Oh thank you,” she said to the judge as if she could be heard. The order was entered for $140 per week to be reviewed upon Tony’s reemployment.
What an idiot. If he had called me he’d be paying forty-five dollars a week
.

She told Margie and Chuck. “Well, I got the order today. I asked the judge for $105 per week. She awarded $140. And he’s ordered to pay $350 for his portion of insurance expenses over the past three years.”

“Great job Jackie,” Chuck said. “I had no doubt.”

*

“Johnny, what the hell are you telling me?” Carmella said, holding the phone to her ear as she paced the floor. “Did my asinine husband walk in the damned court room and hand our money over to that greedy bitch? Or are you so damned incompetent that you can’t handle a simple modification hearing? What the hell did we pay you for? Tony’s unemployed and now we have to pay $140 per week. You’d better get this fixed and fast!”

When Tony arrived home after stopping at his parents’ house, he gawked at the debris from Carmella’s most recent fit.

“Carmella,” Tony called.

She stormed out of the bedroom with arms swinging. “You goddamned idiot! I hate you, you son of a bitch!”

“What the hell’s the matter with you, Carmella?” Tony ducked a bath oil bottle. The mirror shattered.

“The greedy bitch took us for $140 a week!” Veins protruded from her neck.

“How do you know that?”

“Johnny called. I told him he better fix it fast. We’re
not
paying that bitch that kind of money while you’re not working. He’s going back to court. Jesus, you fucking men! If I went up against that bitch, this shit would never happen. Batting her eyelashes at me wouldn’t do her a damn bit of good!” Like a wild animal, Carmella circled the living room kicking items strewn all over the floor.

*

The following week, Jackie received a summons rather than a support check. A review of the modification was scheduled for October 25. Furious with yet another distraction, she strategized how Tony would lose this round too.

October 1994

The parties stood before Judge McGovern’s oak bench. Jackie wore a beige linen suit with a black blouse. Tony’s hunched posture reflected a beaten man, which even his black three-piece pin-striped suit could not disguise. Attorney Manning argued against Wilson v. Wilson, the case Jackie previously cited. He requested that the court review the judgment and lower it to a more affordable forty-five dollars per week.

“Have there been any material changes, Mr. Manning?”

“No, your honor.”

“Has the vacation house sold, Mr. Salvucci?”

“No, your honor but
—
”

“It’s a yes or no question, Mr. Salvucci.” She eyed both the plaintiff and attorney. “Has the plaintiff found employment?”

“No, your honor.”

“The order stands.” The gavel clapped.

Jackie was seething.
What a needless waste of time. Are we going to continue doing this until they get the answer they want?
She sat on a wall outside the courthouse, feet dangling, waiting to confront Tony. She jumped off when she spotted him exiting the building.

“Tony, can I talk to you?”

He walked over to her with Johnny.

“Is your name Tony?” she asked Johnny.

Tony grinned at her pugnacity. “I’ll meet you in the coffee shop around the corner, Johnny.” He turned back to Jackie. “You’re a hell of a lawyer, Jackie.”

She ignored the compliment. “Don’t you have anything better to do with your life than torment the hell out of me?”

“Of course, I do.”

“Then do it, because you’re driving me crazy! You do realize that if you had called me I’d have agreed to twenty-seven percent of your unemployment check, don’t you? But instead you get off on this court thing. What the hell?”

“Jackie, I know I should’ve called you.”

“Then why the hell didn’t you? Do you want to see me so badly that you keep making court dates for God’s sake?”

“No.” Tony walked with his hands in his pockets and head bowed.

Jackie stopped and looked directly up at Tony. “Then
what
? For sixteen years we avoided court. Now, in the year you’ve been married, we’ve been to court twice.” The sunlight bounced off Tony’s dark hair and she saw twinkles of silver.

I know.” He hesitated as a light breeze caught her long red London Fog trench coat.
Red was always her color.

She caught his nostalgia like a sea breeze. She turned away, afraid to look in his eyes.

“I wish that I could relieve you from the onerous financial obligation of being Gina’s father. But in good conscience, I can’t do that.” She swallowed a lump in her throat. “You owe Gina that money. And it’s
her
money. I don’t need it, so I bank it for her education. We don’t bother you. She doesn’t need you. Why does this have to be so freaking hard?” A tear trickled down her cheek and dropped on her coat.

“I know. You’ve done a fantastic job. She’s a great kid.”

A surge of vulnerability made her want to flee. She glanced at Tony and saw a single tear on his cheek. In that brief moment, two hearts collided. Panic made her run. When she slowed down to catch her breath, Tony was at her side.

She feared silence would reveal the startling love she felt for Tony, so she rambled. “I have so much to do. My practice is demanding, never mind motherhood requirements. Instead of spending my time on productive things, I’m representing myself against you because we can’t seem to be civil to each other.
Please,
let’s stop doing this.”

“I’m sorry, Jackie. You’re right. We can do better than this. Everything’s out of control. No more court.” He placed his hands on her shoulders. “I promise.”

Their eyes met. She felt more peace between them than she had in over a decade. “I’ve got to go,” she said. He watched her walk away.

Jackie was overcome with sadness on her drive home, the highway blurred by tears. Her mind struggled to grasp her heart’s fickleness.

Opposite Johnny in the coffee shop booth, Tony sat mortified.

“Tony, you look like shit. Are you alright? What the heck happened out there?”

“Johnny, I can’t explain it. It’s not so much what we said. It’s more than that. Oh God. I’ve made
terrible
mistakes.”

“Can we get some water over here?” Johnny called to the waitress.

Tony stared out the window. “You do divorces, don’t you?”

“This morning you were ready to strip Jackie of every cent you pay. Now, you want to divorce your wife?”

“I can’t explain it. I have to go. I have a lot of thinking to do. But please don’t call Carmella with this information. If she calls you, tell her she needs to talk to me.”

Tony drove to his parents’ house.

October 1994

L
ouie and Anna were playing backgammon in the three-season porch when Tony came in. His wind-blown hair and pale face made Anna gasp. She pulled out a seat for her son. “What’s wrong, Tony? Sit! Louie, look at him!”

Tony sat in the chair. “Can I stay here for a while?”

“Of course you can, son. But, what’s wrong?”

“Everything’s wrong.”

“What happened, son?”

“Dad, where do I start? I’m married to Carmella who’s absolutely crazy. She’s obsessed with Jackie and pits us against each other. And then there’s Jackie. Oh God. Jackie. What a fucking mess.”

“Slow down, son.” Louie retrieved a bottle of whiskey from the kitchen. “This will help you.” He poured a shot for his son and lit a cigarette for himself.

“It’s like I’m seeing clearly for the first time in my life. Like I just woke up. Jesus. Where the hell have I been?” Tony did the shot. His father poured another. “I can’t go home to Carmella. At least not now. I’ve got some serious thinking to do and that can’t be done around my maniacal wife.”

“Tony, Carmella will know where to find you.” Worry creased Anna’s forehead.

“When she calls, please put her off. Although I have no suggestions for how you might accomplish that. But I
need
to be alone now. Please.”

“Fine son, we’ll handle it,” Louie said.

Tony took the whiskey into the den and shut the French doors behind him.

Anna and Louie stared at each other. “What could’ve happened at that courthouse today?” Anna asked. “He hasn’t been happy in his marriage, but he seemed to be coping. Now he’s not going home.”

*

By five, a frantic Carmella called the Salvuccis. Anna barely completed her cheerful hello when her daughter-in-law interrupted. “Put Tony on the phone.”

“Oh dear, he’s helping Louie in the basement. I’ll have him call you when he’s free.”

“Get him on the phone now.”

“I’m sorry, dear. He’s unavailable.”

“Unavailable? I’m his damn wife. Get him now!”

“I’ll have him call you as soon as he can, dear,” she repeated, and hung up the phone.

Louie took a drag of his cigarette, and smiled at his wife’s gentle strength. “Good job. But how long do you think that’s good for? She’ll be busting down the door as soon as she can rev up that broom of hers.”

No sooner had their chuckles subsided than the phone rang again. Louie answered.

“Put my husband on the phone, Louie.”

“Carmella, he’s in the bathroom. I’ll have him call you as soon as he can.”

Tony entered the room. Anna whispered, “It’s Carmella.”

Realizing the impossible situation in which he had put his parents, Tony took the phone. “Hi.”

“Hi? What the hell are you doing over there? I called Johnny and he wouldn’t tell me anything. He said you’d explain. But you never came home. I’ve waited all afternoon to hear what the hell happened with that bitch today.”

“Enough Carmella!”

She was shocked by Tony’s command but softened her tone while her anger festered. “What’s wrong, sweetie? Are you okay?

“No Carmella. I’m
not
okay.”

“I’m coming over right now to make you feel better.

“No! Don’t. And I’m not coming home tonight.”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m not ready to discuss it. I need to stay here for now. I need time to think.”

“When will you come home, sweetie?”

“I don’t know.”

“What happened? What did that … Jackie do to you?” She gagged on her own forced sweetness.

“I need time, Carmella.” Exhausted, he handed the phone to his mother. “Ma, say something will ya?” He retreated back to the den and closed the French doors. Sitting in the glow of the blazing fire, he could hear the sound of his beating heart and screeching conscience.

“Carmella, it’s Anna. I think it’s best for you to leave well enough alone for tonight. Tony had a
…
hard day. He needs some time alone.”

“I demand to know what happened!”

“We don’t know, dear. Believe me, I’ve never seen him so distraught. He needs time;
please
honor that.”

“Please nothing! You stay out of our marriage or you’ll be sorry, Anna! I’ll be right over.”

Anna told Louie, “She’s revving up her broom.”

*

Carmella stormed into the Salvuccis’ house. “Where’s my husband?”

“Have a seat, Carmella,” Louie gestured toward the couch.

“I’m not sitting!” Her eyes blazed with fury. “Where’s my husband?”

Tony came out of the den, disheveled and ragged. Grabbing his jacket, he took Carmella’s hand and led her out to the driveway. “Carmella, listen. I’m tired. I can’t go on like this. I don’t want to keep fighting with you or anyone. I don’t want to hurt anyone anymore. Please give me time to get my head together.” He rubbed his forehead trying to soothe the ache.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

Tony leaned against his car and rubbed his face with both hands. “Jackie and I talked after court today. I won’t continue pounding Jackie with this vendetta of yours. Ever since we met you’ve tried to make me hate her. But I can’t. I tried. It would be easier if I could. At times, I thought I did. But today I realized I can never hate her. Today Jackie pointed out that ever since we got married, things have gotten worse for her. She’s right and I promised her it would stop.” He stared at her. “Carmella, no matter what, it
will
stop.”

“How can you talk so nicely about a woman who trapped you?” Carmella, gently massaging her husband’s shoulders. “I hate her because you do, or you
should
.”

Tony shook her hands off him. “Jackie didn’t trick me or trap me. I loved her. She was basically living at my apartment. Jackie got pregnant because women get pregnant. She was on the pill. Who knows why it didn’t work. And she raised my kid alone because I’m a fucking asshole. That’s what happened with me and Jackie. I never should have lied to you.”

“The only lies you told me are the ones you’re telling now. God, you’re a wimp! What did she do? Strut into the courtroom dressed like a whore?”

“Carmella, that’s enough!”
Listen
to me. She didn’t
do
anything. Today the truth hit me between the eyes.” He heaved and exhaled slowly.

“Stop it!” Carmella blocked her ears with the palm of her hands.

He retreated. Taking her hands from her ears, he spoke in a calm and decisive voice. “Carmella, the past doesn’t matter. Today I promised Jackie I won’t drag her into court anymore. And it’s a promise I’ll keep.”