Walter and Tina Mancini were genuine Italians. The couple had arrived
from Italy in the late 50’s and had prospered sufficiently to enjoy a
comfortable retirement. While their English was very good they still had a
sort of melodic cadence in pronouncing their words, which was delightful to
listen to and yet clearly identified their roots of origin. Walter had been a
barber all his life and had until recently owned his own salon in a busy
shopping mall. Having sold the business to enjoy his retirement years he set
up a small shop in his home to cater to some of his best customers and
friends and worked for 3-4 hours a day.
Walter had two passions. The first was making red wine and the second was
consuming the product of his labour in sufficient quantity to reduce the
likelihood of ever suffering a stress-induced heart attack.
They lived on a cul-de-sac in a nice neighbourhood. Most of the houses had
been built in the last 5 years. They watched with interest when a new family
moved in across the street. A pretty young girl who was at an advanced stage
of pregnancy and a shortish middle aged man who seemed to have
boundless energy, a very loud voice and wanted to be friends with everyone.
Walter had strolled outside to take a closer look and welcome his new
neighbour. His new neighbour beat him to it with a warm “hey, how you
doon. I’m Frank Marino and this is my wife Kim”.
“I’m Walter Mancini, nice to meet you”.
Frank immediately responded in Italian and a friendship was born.
Tina Mancini is the stuff that angels are made from. She speaks quietly, she
sees good in everyone and is ever willing to help other people. Tina and Kim
soon became friends, Tina somehow becoming a mother figure that Kim
never really had. On the other hand it is difficult to know how she truly felt
about Frank whose manner of speaking was clearly an assault on her ears
and her sensitivity. To her, Frank was an enigma. He could be warm and
sweet with Kim yet in an instant become abusive and violent. It didn’t take
long for Tina to realize that Kim was totally dependent on Frank while at the
same time being scared to death of him.
When Frank discovered Walter’s passion for red wine he was able to forge
an even greater bond with his countryman. Because, according to Frank, his
father had made the best wine ever and had taught Frank the secret of wine
making. Walter of course felt that he too was an expert in the art of wine
making and, as a result, there were many conversations and arguments on
that very topic. Soon they were involved in a joint venture making some 50
gallons of red wine.
In his customary fashion, Frank acquainted Walter with his skill and
diversity in home repairs and building techniques in general. He also
suggested to Walter that his daytime job of a self employed carpenter,
bricklayer, tile layer and electrician was purely to maintain the appearance of
being a hardworking everyday citizen. His extravagant lifestyle was financed
through his ties to the mob. Walter, being romantic, bought into this notion
to the extent that after a while he actually fantasized that through Frank he
might also become an associate of this ‘made in Italy’ family enterprise.
Among the many seductive phrases Frank used were things like “friends
help friends”, and “to me my friends are like family”, and “my promise is a
debt of honour”. The list goes on but the intent is always the same because
Frank wants to be liked by everyone.
Walter almost became a fixture in Frank’s house after 6:30 p.m. They would
banter and bullshit, argue and discuss, and drink their wine. I do not know
what exactly is the magical component of the wine, but without a doubt the
more they drank the more intelligent and knowledgeable they became. For
the most part their conversation revolved around the esoteric process of
wine making, the social values of having the mob keep some semblance of
order in the world of crime, and the number of women they had seduced or
otherwise gotten into. On the few occasions I was present at one of these
social events I tended to be an observer rather than a participant in the
competition for masculine supremacy. Drunk or sober Frank often referred
to his penis as “my huge thing” while at the same time putting both hand on
his crotch in an obscene gesture. He would have Kim confirm his claims by
asking her “Kim, tell him what you said the first time you saw it”. She
would comply by saying something like “whew! Is that for real? I’ve never
seen anything that big before”.
On a number of occasions Frank had alluded to his connections with the
mob and the profitable nature of his investments. Walter had seen a number
of people come and go from Frank’s house and had been introduced to a few
of them. He categorized them into two groups, there were four apparently
well-heeled gentlemen who all seemed affable and content in their
relationship with Frank, and there were two younger men who were much
less urbane and definitely had a subservient role in Frank’s affairs. In the
former group one owned a Jaguar, one a Mercedes, another a Cadillac. In the
latter group one rode a Harley Davidson and the other drove a battered Ford
Escort. From these encounters Walter drew his own conclusions albeit with
a little help from Frank, who vaguely hinted as to how the individuals fit
into his operation. As a result of these encounters Walter was becoming
more eager to participate in this thing Frank had going.
One evening Frank was showing off his newly constructed patio deck and
roof. He was extolling the quality of the craftsmanship and the beauty of the
design and preserved not even a gram of modesty. Walter was truly
impressed by what he saw and wanted one for himself.
“Franco, I think I like one like this on my house”.
“Yeah, I think you should! One like this add $10,000 to the value of your
house,” replied Frank.
“Franco ‘ow much you charge to build one for me?”
“Walter you’re my friend and I give you the best deal possible”.
“Yes, but Franco I still need to know ‘ow much”.
“Walter you worry too much, relax man”.
“Franco, I ‘ave money but I don’t make interest like you make”. Walter
paused briefly and then continued “you think your people would let me
make investment with you?”
Frank put on his serious business face and thought for a moment. “Walter,
this is a different kind of arrangement. With us there are no documents, we
deal in cash only and everything is based on honour, my word and my
handshake. We don’t talk to nobody about what we do so’s not to get
attention. If you can go along with that I’ll see if I can get you in”.
“I know ‘ow the system work Franco, but I don’t want my wife to know.
You know what I mean?”
“Fuck man, Kim don’t know nothing of what I do and that’s the way we like
it”.
“O.k. that’s good. So ‘ow much to build my patio?” Walter persisted.
Frank made like he was doing some calculations in his head and after a
moment said “I do it for $1,200, anybody else cost you twice as much”.
Less than two weeks later Frank had a small investment opening for Walter.
It was a warm and wet July evening and they were sitting outside on Frank’s
deck and under the roof that didn’t leak a drop of the rain that was falling.
Kim was inside taking care of the now three-month baby boy that didn’t
look a bit like Frank. On this particular evening Frank was especially
convivial. He poured a glass of wine for Walter and said “salud my friend, I
got good news and I got good news”.
Walter responding with an equal measure of exuberance replied, “Franco, I
like to hear the good news first and then I like to hear the good news”.
They chuckled at their humour.
“I talk with my people in Van and they say it’s okay to let you in. I tell them
you are my good friend and a good Italian and they like this. Right now I got
only two opportunities. I take one and the other is for you if you want it.”
“’ow much is this investment?” asked Walter a little nervously.
“It’s just small stuff right now. Sometimes they come big other times they
come small. I like the big ones ‘cause they pay more but the little ones are
good too.”
“’ow much is big an ‘ow much is small?” said Walter still a little
apprehensive.
“I got two days to get them $7,500 from you and from me. In three months
they send back $10,500 each. The big ones come at $50,000 to $75,000 but
get you interest between $20,00 to $35,000 in less than a year” a brief pause
and then he added “tax free of course”.
Walter felt more than a little relieved that he hadn’t been offered ‘a big one’
first time round, but before he could reply Frank continued with “If you
don’t want this, no problem, ‘cause Bill has been asking for some more and
he’ll take it in a minute, but I prefer you take it ’cause you deserve it more”.
“Oh yes Franco I take it. I get you the money in the morning”.
They poured more wine and Walter asked, “So tell me what is the good
news?”
“First tell me, are you happy with what I do for you?” said Frank seeking
approval.
“Of course Franco, I appreciate what you do for me”.
“O.k. I don’t do this for all my friends, only the special ones. Some of the
pricks only hang around just to get a chance to make money. They can go
fuck themselves. I only help people who appreciate what I do for them”.
At that moment Kim opened the patio door and came out carrying an empty
wine glass. “Can I have a glass of wine too sweetheart?“ she pleaded.
“You honey can have what ever you want” Frank said as he took hold of her,
pulled her onto his lap. He put one hand on her breast and one hand on her
crotch squeezing her tightly. She looked more than a little embarrassed and
protested “maybe you could save that for later!”
“I want it now, later and in between. You know I’m a horny stallion,”
replied Frank as he released her from his grip.
She settled into a seat and poured herself a wine. “So what are we talking
about, or shouldn’t I be listening?”
“I was just telling Walter I’d start building his patio deck and roof next
week” said Frank. He went on “the only thing is I told Walter it would cost
around $1200 but the material is a bit more than I figured so the price has
gone up to $1500”.
“$1500” repeated Walter a little surprised.
“Yeah, but don’t worry you make twice as much on that other thing”
responded Frank while reminding Walter he had already done him a big
favour.Chapter 5 to be posted November 7th
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