Jake (JMJ2)
Well-Known Member
Hey everyone. Happy Holidays.
This is a story I did last year that I thought I'd share with you all.
Hope you enjoy.
“Alright, beers are in the fridge and I’m finally warm after that trip outside.” Cory Rossi closed the fridge door and looked back at his wife.
“Sorry babe, I forgot I told my parents we’d bring beer and I didn’t think anything would be open in the morning.”
His wife, Kathleen, was laying on the bed with her hands propping up her head. The short brown-haired woman lowered the volume on the TV before rolling over to get up. His slim and well defined wife made her way to the decent sized kitchen they had in the room and gave her husband a hug.
“It’s fine, I even got some cheap 7-Eleven wine for us tonight too to have with room service. I’m classy baby.” He laughed while his shorter wife rolled her eyes.
“If you only went to 7-Eleven, why’d it take over an hour?”
“Well, I went to the one in East Islip by nonnos. Wanted to see the place real quick.” He tossed his keys on the counter and she saw the faded Santa hat emblem next to his car keys. It was his grandfathers.
“You went to his house? I thought we agreed not to do that until we could both go?”
“Sorry babe, I couldn’t wait. Plus, I wanted to make sure his “lucky cap” was found. I don’t think I can put it on my keychain, though.”
Kathleen was unhappy. “Reminder that this is not the best way to spend the holidays, babe. A week living out of a hotel, eating room service, and working on my laptop was not my ideal “vacation”. We could have just had my parents up to the house as usual instead of driving to East Islip to handle the closing of your grandfather’s house.”
She took out two glasses from the cabinet and gave them a good rinse before setting them on the small countertop.
“I just wanted to do things a little easier this year is all. The closing is this week and I wanted things to be just right. Nonno Rossi loved you too you know.”
Cory felt his eyes start to water and wiped them with his hand. His wife, sensing that he was upset, gave him a quick hug before taking the wine out of the bag and opening it.
“I know he did and I know you two were close. I’m sorry if I seemed out of line with that comment.”Cory brushed a stray hair off her angular face and smiled before kissing her forehead.
He grabbed the keys once more, growing weepy as he saw the old memento. It had been a gift from his grandmother to his grandfather back when they first met in 1954 at Coney Island. He never took it off his keychain, even as it grew rusted and seemingly dilapidated after decades of use. He would simply put tape on it and keep on his chain. It had brought him luck; he rubbed it when his three kids were born, he rubbed it when his wife first got cancer and claimed to have misplaced it when the cancer returned.
Cory felt he was just imagining things but when his grandfather taken to the hospital after his stroke, his car keys were also missing, having been left in the washing machine. Cory did not believe in things like this but he had to admit, it was a strange set of coincidences.
“It’s ok. I am just glad I got to see him one more time before he went. The past few years, you almost wish he didn’t make it after that stroke with all the pain he was in. If only I had been there in our old apartment, I could have gotten him to the hospital in time for him to have gotten the right treatment.”
He thanked her for the glass and took a sip of the bitter wine, making a face afterwards. She rubbed his shoulders to try and make him feel better. She paused for a moment, looked back at the Santa hat, and picked it up.
“I think it’s time to put this on your key chain. He would have wanted that.” She put the ring around the keys and smiled as she handed it to him.
“Thanks.” He put the keys down. "Oh! You’ll never guess who I ran into at 7-Eleven” he yelled excitedly.
“Who?”
“Carol and Frank Schwelter.”
She was stunned. She had thought they had moved to Queens. “Really? Why would they be in East Islip? Visiting family?”
“Apparently Frank’s dad can’t run the bakery anymore and they’ve been helping out for the past three years. Carol wants to go into business with Morgan but her dad won’t let her sell the store.” He opened up the menu for room service and sighed. “Nothing good to eat. I could actually go for Morgan’s eggplant rollatini right now.”
His wife groaned. She took her own glass and his keys before walking briskly to her husband. “That’s the last thing you need. You’re still trying to lose those 8 pounds since Labor Day, remember?”
He patted his barely noticeable beer belly. “Yes dear. We can’t all be as blessed as you are and like working out.”
He mocked her by running in place for a moment. For her part, Kathleen laughed before slugging him hard in the stomach. He bent over in pain.
“See, if you did Orange Theory like me four days a week, your stomach muscles would be tough enough to handle that. You need to get on my routine. I know you don’t have many clients, and I’m not saying that to be negative, but without that many clients you should have more time than me to exercise.”
“I’ll keep at it. Plus I’m hopeful I can get a few more clients in the next year.”
“Good, though you said that last year too. Maybe it’s time to rethink your career babe.” She knew the second the words left her lips it’d be an issue. Surprisingly, he did not take it that badly.
“I.” He paused. “Maybe you’re right. I have not had many closings this year. Not many people want a solo practitioner these days, especially where we live. I’ll start looking about maybe doing something else.” He was dejected. Kathleen felt bad but when she felt the keys in her hands, she remembered why she brought them over.
“I’m sure you’ll figure it out. You need to also hold on to your keys. You’re going to lose them again, we all know this.” She extended her small hand and placed his keys and grandfather’s lucky charm in his. He accepted them and began absentmindedly rubbing the hat in between his fingers.
His wife continued. “But back to Carol and Frank. I take it both of them are still “large and in charge?”
“Babe, that’s not nice. They were our friends back in the day.”
Kathleen lifted up her shirt and poked her stomach as if to make a point. “They were, but if they still were, these abs? They would not exist. Frank, Carol, Morgan, Dan, all of them were like 500 pounds. Do you know what would happen to us if we still talked to them on a consistent basis? We’d be huge!”
She stuck her arms out to her side and puffed her cheeks out, mocking what she thought a person that big would look like.
“I don’t think that’s true, babe.”
She groaned. “I love you but you don’t know how it works. If I hadn’t made the decision to move when I did those 7 years ago, I shudder to think how you and I would look. I mean, I’d probably be a little heavier, sure, but I am positive you’d be much bigger than me.”
“I know. You have a LOT of self-control, especially compared to me. And you were looking out for us and it’s why we have more money in the bank than we could have ever dreamed. Just saying is all, had we stayed I could have had a better law career. Probably. Nonno might have been okay too."
“Don’t put that on me, Cory. Do NOT put that on me.”
He shook his head. “I’m not Kathleen. I’m just saying no one was here for the guy when he needed them to be. My uncle does not use his phone and my cousin works nonstop so he couldn’t have helped either. You know I would have gotten him to the hospital quick.”
She sighed. “Babe.”
He realized this was not going to do anything but start a fight. “Fine, I’m dropping it. But you have to admit, Morgan and Dan could fucking cook.”
She shook her head. “You don’t need to weigh half a ton, Cory.”
Cory groaned. He began daydreaming about a nice home cooked meal as his wife rambled on. The holding of the icon tightened as he pictured them staying on the island and not in another city. His legal career might have been better too.
“You’d probably be unable to sit at the table properly because of your gut and my ass would need reinforced chairs; anything else would break” she said, furthering her point by smacking her firm rear.
“Ok hun, I get the picture.” He briefly thought of that scenario and laughed before tossing the keys on the table.
“You know what you want” he asked, hoping to get her on a different topic.
She moved his keys next to his wallet so he would not forget them before glancing over the menu. The two ordered in and finished off the rest of their bottle before heading to sleep.
This is a story I did last year that I thought I'd share with you all.
Hope you enjoy.
Getting Reacquainted for the Holidays
By Jake (JMJ) and ST
By Jake (JMJ) and ST
“Alright, beers are in the fridge and I’m finally warm after that trip outside.” Cory Rossi closed the fridge door and looked back at his wife.
“Sorry babe, I forgot I told my parents we’d bring beer and I didn’t think anything would be open in the morning.”
His wife, Kathleen, was laying on the bed with her hands propping up her head. The short brown-haired woman lowered the volume on the TV before rolling over to get up. His slim and well defined wife made her way to the decent sized kitchen they had in the room and gave her husband a hug.
“It’s fine, I even got some cheap 7-Eleven wine for us tonight too to have with room service. I’m classy baby.” He laughed while his shorter wife rolled her eyes.
“If you only went to 7-Eleven, why’d it take over an hour?”
“Well, I went to the one in East Islip by nonnos. Wanted to see the place real quick.” He tossed his keys on the counter and she saw the faded Santa hat emblem next to his car keys. It was his grandfathers.
“You went to his house? I thought we agreed not to do that until we could both go?”
“Sorry babe, I couldn’t wait. Plus, I wanted to make sure his “lucky cap” was found. I don’t think I can put it on my keychain, though.”
Kathleen was unhappy. “Reminder that this is not the best way to spend the holidays, babe. A week living out of a hotel, eating room service, and working on my laptop was not my ideal “vacation”. We could have just had my parents up to the house as usual instead of driving to East Islip to handle the closing of your grandfather’s house.”
She took out two glasses from the cabinet and gave them a good rinse before setting them on the small countertop.
“I just wanted to do things a little easier this year is all. The closing is this week and I wanted things to be just right. Nonno Rossi loved you too you know.”
Cory felt his eyes start to water and wiped them with his hand. His wife, sensing that he was upset, gave him a quick hug before taking the wine out of the bag and opening it.
“I know he did and I know you two were close. I’m sorry if I seemed out of line with that comment.”Cory brushed a stray hair off her angular face and smiled before kissing her forehead.
He grabbed the keys once more, growing weepy as he saw the old memento. It had been a gift from his grandmother to his grandfather back when they first met in 1954 at Coney Island. He never took it off his keychain, even as it grew rusted and seemingly dilapidated after decades of use. He would simply put tape on it and keep on his chain. It had brought him luck; he rubbed it when his three kids were born, he rubbed it when his wife first got cancer and claimed to have misplaced it when the cancer returned.
Cory felt he was just imagining things but when his grandfather taken to the hospital after his stroke, his car keys were also missing, having been left in the washing machine. Cory did not believe in things like this but he had to admit, it was a strange set of coincidences.
“It’s ok. I am just glad I got to see him one more time before he went. The past few years, you almost wish he didn’t make it after that stroke with all the pain he was in. If only I had been there in our old apartment, I could have gotten him to the hospital in time for him to have gotten the right treatment.”
He thanked her for the glass and took a sip of the bitter wine, making a face afterwards. She rubbed his shoulders to try and make him feel better. She paused for a moment, looked back at the Santa hat, and picked it up.
“I think it’s time to put this on your key chain. He would have wanted that.” She put the ring around the keys and smiled as she handed it to him.
“Thanks.” He put the keys down. "Oh! You’ll never guess who I ran into at 7-Eleven” he yelled excitedly.
“Who?”
“Carol and Frank Schwelter.”
She was stunned. She had thought they had moved to Queens. “Really? Why would they be in East Islip? Visiting family?”
“Apparently Frank’s dad can’t run the bakery anymore and they’ve been helping out for the past three years. Carol wants to go into business with Morgan but her dad won’t let her sell the store.” He opened up the menu for room service and sighed. “Nothing good to eat. I could actually go for Morgan’s eggplant rollatini right now.”
His wife groaned. She took her own glass and his keys before walking briskly to her husband. “That’s the last thing you need. You’re still trying to lose those 8 pounds since Labor Day, remember?”
He patted his barely noticeable beer belly. “Yes dear. We can’t all be as blessed as you are and like working out.”
He mocked her by running in place for a moment. For her part, Kathleen laughed before slugging him hard in the stomach. He bent over in pain.
“See, if you did Orange Theory like me four days a week, your stomach muscles would be tough enough to handle that. You need to get on my routine. I know you don’t have many clients, and I’m not saying that to be negative, but without that many clients you should have more time than me to exercise.”
“I’ll keep at it. Plus I’m hopeful I can get a few more clients in the next year.”
“Good, though you said that last year too. Maybe it’s time to rethink your career babe.” She knew the second the words left her lips it’d be an issue. Surprisingly, he did not take it that badly.
“I.” He paused. “Maybe you’re right. I have not had many closings this year. Not many people want a solo practitioner these days, especially where we live. I’ll start looking about maybe doing something else.” He was dejected. Kathleen felt bad but when she felt the keys in her hands, she remembered why she brought them over.
“I’m sure you’ll figure it out. You need to also hold on to your keys. You’re going to lose them again, we all know this.” She extended her small hand and placed his keys and grandfather’s lucky charm in his. He accepted them and began absentmindedly rubbing the hat in between his fingers.
His wife continued. “But back to Carol and Frank. I take it both of them are still “large and in charge?”
“Babe, that’s not nice. They were our friends back in the day.”
Kathleen lifted up her shirt and poked her stomach as if to make a point. “They were, but if they still were, these abs? They would not exist. Frank, Carol, Morgan, Dan, all of them were like 500 pounds. Do you know what would happen to us if we still talked to them on a consistent basis? We’d be huge!”
She stuck her arms out to her side and puffed her cheeks out, mocking what she thought a person that big would look like.
“I don’t think that’s true, babe.”
She groaned. “I love you but you don’t know how it works. If I hadn’t made the decision to move when I did those 7 years ago, I shudder to think how you and I would look. I mean, I’d probably be a little heavier, sure, but I am positive you’d be much bigger than me.”
“I know. You have a LOT of self-control, especially compared to me. And you were looking out for us and it’s why we have more money in the bank than we could have ever dreamed. Just saying is all, had we stayed I could have had a better law career. Probably. Nonno might have been okay too."
“Don’t put that on me, Cory. Do NOT put that on me.”
He shook his head. “I’m not Kathleen. I’m just saying no one was here for the guy when he needed them to be. My uncle does not use his phone and my cousin works nonstop so he couldn’t have helped either. You know I would have gotten him to the hospital quick.”
She sighed. “Babe.”
He realized this was not going to do anything but start a fight. “Fine, I’m dropping it. But you have to admit, Morgan and Dan could fucking cook.”
She shook her head. “You don’t need to weigh half a ton, Cory.”
Cory groaned. He began daydreaming about a nice home cooked meal as his wife rambled on. The holding of the icon tightened as he pictured them staying on the island and not in another city. His legal career might have been better too.
“You’d probably be unable to sit at the table properly because of your gut and my ass would need reinforced chairs; anything else would break” she said, furthering her point by smacking her firm rear.
“Ok hun, I get the picture.” He briefly thought of that scenario and laughed before tossing the keys on the table.
“You know what you want” he asked, hoping to get her on a different topic.
She moved his keys next to his wallet so he would not forget them before glancing over the menu. The two ordered in and finished off the rest of their bottle before heading to sleep.
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