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"Ah. There always is a girl." He smiles and his head leans back as he looks up at the roof of his car.
"It wasn't like that."
"Was she pretty?" He gives me a sideways glance.
"Beautiful." Not worth lying about. That girl was stunning. The guy said she was only fifteen, but she was gorgeous.
"There is always a girl."
"Anyway, her brother and her boyfriend didn't like the way I was looking at her. Thing is, she was looking at me too. She smiled. Either way, they gave me a hard time and tossed me in the pool. Thus the wet puppy in your passenger seat right now."
He shakes his head. "Those rich sons a bitches can be so cruel. You shoulda clocked 'em."
This makes me chuckle. I didn't expect cussing and violence from Henry based on the way he looks.
"I can't fight. Too skinny."
"You don't have to be big to win a fight. Gotta be smart." He taps his temple. "I'd have liked to see you show that Bianchi kid what for."
"Nah."
"I had to beat up a few guys before I got my wife to give me a second look."
"Really?"
"Yeah. She was real pretty too. The guys in town all thought they owned a piece of her because they grew up with her. They didn't want me honin' in on their turf, but she didn't love any of them, and I had to prove her point with my fists."
"That sounds cool."
"It wasn't all that cool. I had black eyes for a few weeks, but I got the girl in the end."
"Was this in the Hamptons?"
"No. Out west. Small little beach town. She worked at the store in town. We ended up sneaking away into the woods and hiding out in a fishing cabin up there. By the end of that summer, I knew she was the love of my life. We told the whole town we were getting hitched. Caused quite the uproar, but we didn't care. We were so in love."
"And you married her?"
"Yep. Married fifty-two years before she died a year ago." His voice grows quiet and his lips tighten.
"Oh, I'm sorry."
"It's all right. I know I'll be with her again soon. She's waiting for me up in heaven with a big tray of her sweet rolls warming in the oven for me."
We talk for the entire ride to Queens and he pulls into the parking lot of an apartment building.
"Thank you for the ride."
"Why don't you come up for a bit? I'll show you some fighting moves."
I chuckle because he looks way too old to be fighting.
"I'm a triple black belt. Taught karate and jiu-jitsu for years. I can get you started. Come on up. I'm not gonna hurt you."
I can't fight, but I'm pretty sure this guy couldn't do much damage. "All right, Henry. Thank you."
We get out of the car and walk up to his apartment.
Maybe this night wasn't a total failure. I met Henry and made a new friend.
