Wine and Conversation

Johnny Adonis checked his watch, then pulled on his coat. He stepped to the door of the Tracy Agency and turn out the lights for the main office. Light from the side room spilled out from under the door.  

As Johnny turned to leave, he saw Lizz coming up the hallway, carrying a large cloth bag. She was on time, as always.

“Hey, Lizz, glad you made it.” Johnny said.

“I didn’t keep you, did I?” Lizz asked.

“No, I was working late anyway,” Johnny shrugged. “But the way things are going, we might as well just give you your own key.”

Lizz smiled and passed him. “Have a good night!” She said as he left.

Lizz walked through the darkened office and approached the door to the file room. She knocked.

“Leonard? It’s me!” She called.

After a brief moment, Leonard Finny opened the door, a grin on his small face.

“Hello! I’ve been looking forward to this!” 

Leonard ushered Lizz into the cramped room. His television set was on, playing a baseball game with the sound off.

“I hope you don’t mind,” Leonard explained. “Following the Cubs kept me sane in prison, and it’s hard habit to break.”

“The Cubs kept you SANE?” Lizz teased.

“Yes, sane. Not necessarily happy, of course…” Leonard took Lizz’s bag and started unloading the contents onto a low table. Lizz sat in the single chair next to it and watched a few pitches. 

“I really need to get some plates.” Leonard muttered.

“Don’t bother on my account.” Lizz said. “I’m used to eating out of cardboard and Styrofoam.”

“I’d just like this to be a little more…” Leonard searched for the word. “I don’t know… Classy, I suppose.”

“You don’t have to impress me, Leonard.” Said Lizz.

Leonard sighed. He settled himself onto the cot which served as his bed, and - in this case- chair. 

“Detective, I’ve told you again and again that it’ll be easier if you get used to calling me Sheldon. Even here, when we’re alone.”

“I can’t get used to that!” Lizz laughed. “It makes you sound like a cartoon turtle! Besides, no one knows that either of us is here.”

Leonard was a quiet for a moment while he finished unloading the food from Lizz’s bag. Steam wafted from the open containers.

“It smells wonderful.” Leonard observed.

“It’s a new place. Thai/Chinese. Everyone’s been raving about it.” Lizz explained. “I wasn’t sure how you feel about spicy food, so I went with the simpler options.”

“Thank you. Spicy food doesn’t usually sit well with me. And, you know, confined quarters…” He gestured at his small surroundings. Lizz wrinkled her nose at the implication. 

“I get it,” She said. “Do you have any cups for the wine?”

“I’ve got these…” Leonard held up some wax paper cones that were usually used for the company water cooler. “They’ll help us control our portions. We’ll only pour what we think we can drink in one sip.”

Lizz laughed again. She was often amused by Leonard’s off-center perspective, but she suspected that he was playing up the charm in order to impress her.

“You know, Sheldon, you don’t have to call me ‘Detective’ all the time. You can just call me Lizz.”

Leonard narrowed his eyes, then smiled. “All right. We’ll keep things informal.”

He passed her a takeout container filled with rice and vegetables and she began to eat, awkwardly maneuvering food into her mouth with chopsticks. 

Their conversation was light and inconsequential, with brief flashes of excitement (or frustration) at the baseball game. The wine bottle passed between them frequently, but tended more toward Leonard’s side of the table. When the game ended, he gave Lizz his full attention.

“I don’t know if I’ve told you this,” he started, “But these visits… they make my life bearable.”

Lizz smiled wanly. 

“You didn’t have to keep coming to see me.” Leonard continued. “But you did. You have. And it means so much to me. I feel less like a prisoner.”  

“I’m glad.” Lizz said.

“You know, I never got a single visitor when I was in pen?” Leonard said. “Not once, during my whole stretch. The closest I came was when the doctor who did my ears wanted to hear some old stories about my gangland days. That was it. No one else cared whether I lived or died.”

“That’s a shame.” Lizz offered. “But things are different now. You’ve turned your life around. You’ve been a great help to the department, and to this agency. And, you know, at the raid on Mr. Crime…”

Lizz rubbed her shoulder. She had been stabbed there by the killer known as Abner Kadaver. Leonard had pulled her out of harm’s way and tended to her injury until help arrived.

“I know that’s why you started coming to see me.” Leonard observed. “Out of, what… Gratitude?”

“I suppose.” Lizz replied.

“But since then, it’s become more, hasn’t it?” Leonard’s voice became plaintive. “I mean, we really seem to understand each other, you know? There’s a connection between us.”

Lizz looked at him, puzzled.

“I mean, it’s been a long time since I've been with a woman, and maybe it took me a while to pick up on your signals, but-" Lizz cut him off before he could say more.

“Oh! Oh, Leonard. No.” Lizz looked at him as his little face fell. “Look, it’s not like that. I don’t know what you were thinking, but I don’t feel that way about you.”

Leonard looked down.  He poured himself another drink of wine.

“Of course you don’t.” He said. “I was being stupid. Now I’ve ruined everything.”

“No, it’s fine.” Lizz said.

“Here you are, a beautiful, strong, professional woman. And what am I? Some washed-up two-bit mobster with a face that belongs in a circus sideshow.” He gulped the wine and went to pour more. Lizz put her hand on his.

“Leonard, listen to me.” He looked her in the face, his eyes misty. “Maybe I don’t feel that way about you, but I do feel for you. I really do enjoy this time we spend together. And one of the things that I like about it is that it’s not complicated with something like romance.”

She took the bottle from him and poured some for herself.

“You know that I’m a widow, right?” She asked, looking down. “Twice over.  A woman my age and I’ve lost two husbands already. I have a ward that I barely ever see, and a step-daughter that I barely know. For a long time, my whole life has been my work. And getting hurt by Kadaver made me really see that. Coming here and talking with you… Well, it became the first part of my life that I was enjoying that wasn’t related to my job. At least , not directly.”

She turned her attention back to his face. “And, for what it’s worth, you’re not a sideshow attraction. You’re a decent man who’s making up for your mistakes. I’d like to make that easier if I can. But, I’m just not… I don’t want ANY complicated relationships right now.”

“I get it.” Leonard said, then chuckled. “Really, I do. I was… I don’t know, I guess I was seeing what I wanted to see.”

They were quiet as the evening news began to play over the television. The top story involved an armored car robbery that had taken place that day.

“Brother, people still try to pull jobs like that?” Leonard asked.

“Numbskulls.” Lizz answered. “Three of them. Uniforms cops caught up with them before lunchtime. They had the canvas sacks in their hideout and the car guards made positive IDs. Now it’s just a question of who’s going to sell out the others first.”

“Heh.” Leonard laughed, then his tone got serious. “I didn’t know you’d been married twice. They must have been good men.”

“They were.” Lizz replied, dryly. “The first was a newspaper reporter, then the second was a police officer in the department.”

Lizz took another drink, this time gulping straight from the bottle.

“If I’m smart,” she said, “The next guy I date will be good and boring. Like an accountant or a dentist or something.”

“I just hope he’s not the jealous type.” Leonard said. He took the wine from her and finished it. He could smell her perfume on the bottle.

END