A Promise

Dad got up and went to the refrigerator and got two beers. Sitting back down, he slid one across the table to me. "That's two promises you broke to Ally. And now you're gonna break your word again."

What promise was I breaking now? I asked myself. I looked at him with a question in my eyes.

"I heard the story about you promising to protect her. You know that guy at the club that night before you guys got married. I also know you stood up for her again after you got divorced. That was when some ass at Reilly's tried to force himself on her." Dad smiled.

Seeing the surprised look on my face, he added, "Parents have their ways of knowing what goes on with their children. Besides, Ally's boss, Tom Boswell, is an old school friend. He told me all about it."

Shaking my head, I had to smile. "Is there anything about my life you don't know?"

"Very little," Dad replied with a grin. Then getting serious he said, "You've told Ally twice, you gave her your word twice, that you'd always be there to protect her. This is bad business that she's involved in now; she needs your help Remy."

"Dad I...I, oh hell." I sat for a while thinking about what Dad had said, thinking about Ally, and about the promises I'd broken. Dad went back to his dinner. Then I got another surprise.

"Remy, you have to help her," Mom said. "If something happens to her, you'll never get over it." Mom stood and walked behind me, putting her hands on my shoulders. "You have to help her," she repeated. She leaned down and kissed me on top of my head.

Nodding my head, I put down my fork and stood. "I better pack. If I hit the road now I can be in St. Louis in four or five hours."

"Finish your dinner first dear," Mom said as she spooned mash potatoes onto my plate.

I obeyed Mom and stuffed my dinner down at warp speed. Then I stood and hugged Mom and punched Dad on the shoulder. "Thanks guys, I'll let you know how it turns out. Dad would you call Jim Dawson and let him know I need a couple days?" He nodded and I knew that was handled.

********************

I don't know what I expected, but the city seemed to have changed in the few months I'd been gone; it was busier than I remembered. More cars, more noise and more people than I was used to after living in Van Buren for so many months. "Guess I'm not in Kansas anymore," I said out loud. "Guess I thought the place would dry up and blow away with me gone," I laughed at myself. Not that I was anxious or charged up but I'd made the normal four hour trip in a little over three hours.

Glancing at my watch I saw it was 9:30 PM. Still early enough to call I thought and picked up my cell phone. "Gary, its Remy," I said when he answered. "Meet me at Reilly's ASAP; please."

"Why?"

"I got my head on straight and want to know more about this Jake."

"You gonna help Alyssa?"

"That's the idea Gary."

"Be there in 20," Gary said.

I was waiting in a booth with a pitcher of beer and two glasses when Gary walked in and joined me. "It's about time you showed up, good to see you." he greeted me. "What are you going to do?

"Don't have any idea." I stared across the bar for several seconds and continued. "Only thing I do know is that this asshole isn't going to hurt Ally."

"How are you gonna stop him?" Gary pushed for an answer.

"I'll think of something" I don't know what Gary saw in my eyes but it made him sit back in the booth.

Gary shook his head. "Jesus Remy, that look of yours scares the hell out of me and I'm your friend."

"Ally and her mother will be safe." I smiled at Gary. "I'll make sure of it." We sat, reminiscing for an hour and finished the beer. Yawning I said, "I'm checked into that motel near Reilly's here so I'm gonna get some sleep. If you talk to Ally before I do, tell her I'd like to see her." I wrote my number on a napkin and handed it to Gary. "That's my new cell number, ask her to call me."

Finishing my beer I stood up. "Good to see you Gary, I'll talk to you soon."

The next morning my cell rang at 8 as I was getting out of the shower. I'm usually up much earlier than that, but yesterday had be a full day. "Hello?" I answered.

"Remy, this is...."

"Ally," I said before she could finish. "Nice to hear from you." I couldn't hide the smile in my voice.

"What are you doing in town?" She hurried on before I could answer. "Why couldn't I get you on your cell? I left messages with your mom, why didn't you call me back?"

"Hold on, hold on. I'll answer the last two questions first. You couldn't reach me on the cell because I threw it in the river right after I got down to Dad's place. I got your messages but I didn't see the need to talk anymore so I didn't call."

"But...."

I cut her off again. "I know, I know, I was acting like a spoiled child who didn't get his way. But Ally I was hurting and didn't want to extend the hurt by talking to you."

She didn't say anything for several seconds. "Okay, now why are you in town and why do you want to talk now?"

"Understand you are having a problem with some guy named Jake. I thought I'd come back to St. Louis and see if I can help."

"How did you know about that? Wait, I guess it doesn't matter. What are you planning to do?"

"You're right, it doesn't matter how I heard about it, just that I did. I wish you would have called me about this."

Ally gave sort of an exasperated sigh and said, "Would you have answered a message from me? You didn't all the other times I left a message."

Now it was my turn to sigh. "You're right, I probably wouldn't have. However, that was then, this is now." I paused and hesitantly asked, "Could we get together this morning, maybe for breakfast, and talk about this joker?"

She paused for a few seconds. "I guess, if it's the only way I can get you to talk to me. Where are you staying?"

"In a motel near Forest Park, about two blocks from Reilly's."

"Meet you Uncle Bill's Pancake House on Kings Highway in an hour. That's about half way between your place and my apartment."

"Ally," I started but she had hung up.

The big man didn't dwarf the booth he was sitting in but he certainly did fill up one side. He was 20 minutes early to meet his guest. His constant stirring of the cooling cup of coffee told of his nervousness. Every 30 to 45 seconds he would glance at the door and then shake his head and return to the coffee. His actions seemed to show both excited expectations and sad dread. Finally as he looked at the door one more time he saw who he was looking for.

Standing, he smiled and waited for the young woman to come to the booth. She was 15 minutes early: obviously not the only one to feel anxious about the meeting.

The young woman wasn't a classic beauty but had the girl next door good looks that a lot of women aspired to; any man would be proud to call her his own. The long auburn hair was in a pony tail and swayed as she walked toward the man standing beside the booth. Her blue eyes were both excited and guarded at the same time.

"Hello Ally," I greeted her. Not knowing if I should hug her or what, I just stood there smiled and motioned to one side of the booth. She sat down and I slid into the booth across from her.

"Hi Remy. It's good to see you." She smiled as I sat down, "We never could fit on the same side of a booth."

"Ally..." I started.

"Why didn't you return my calls? I tried calling you at work but they said you came in one morning and quit. Cleaned out your desk and walked away." She asked sounding a little angry. "I know now that you threw your cell phone away but I left messages with your parents." I hesitated. "Come on Remy, talk to me."

I looked down at the table until the waitress brought our coffee. Looking up and into Ally's eyes I said, "I was hurting a lot Ally. Our marriage was toast and I suppose it was my fault. As to talking to you, it would have hurt even more." I gave her a small, sad, smile and shrugged my shoulders. "I wasn't over you..."then in a soft tone I added..."I'm still not."

"Remy, I was calling to talk to you about us. I was, and am, wondering if I made a huge mistake." Now Ally looked down at the table. "I still love you Remy.

Inwardly I jumped for joy; outwardly I tried to keep my poker face. "Took you long enough to call me."

"I tried you call your cell a few of times; it went straight to voice mail and I left messages but got no response; now I know why. People at your office would only say you had quit and walked out. Even Gary wouldn't tell me where you were. Finally the light bulb lit up in my head and I realized you had probably gone to your folks place. That's when I called and left a couple of messages with your mom. When you didn't call back I sort of gave up."

Ally waited a few seconds, took a deep breath and continued. "I had planned on coming down to your folks to see you and talk to you about ...well us. But when you didn't call me back I figured you didn't want to see me."

I smiled. "Let's leave that for now Ally. First we need to take care of this asshole Jake. What's the story?"

Ally shook her head and gave me a sort of grim smile. "I met Jake at a party given by one of the girls at work. He was charming, fairly good looking, and my work friend vouched for him. Seems they're cousins or something. I thought a date or two wouldn't hurt anything but I didn't plan on building any type of relationship with him.

She took a sip of her coffee, smiled again and continued. "You see I was planning on driving down to your folks and force you to talk to me. But I didn't get a chance before all this came up with Jake. After that last date, the one where he robbed the gas station, at least I think he did, Jake became sort of verbally abusive. He would call me and ask me out and when I said no, he would cuss me out and warn me to keep quiet about that night."

I must have looked like a volcano about to erupt as she stopped talking. She took my hand across the table and said, "Calm down Remy. He hasn't hurt me or anything. He's just talk."

With a scowl on my face, I said, "When I find him, he may be talking with a broken jaw if he's able to talk at all."

"Remy you'd only go to jail. Promise me you won't attack him." I hesitated and she added, "Promise me."

There are advantages to being my size but there are disadvantages too. I can usually take care of myself or my friends but I can't start any physical confrontation. It seems the law disapproves of someone my size starting fights with smaller guys.

Sometimes I don't even have to start the trouble to get into trouble. If some smaller guy hits me and I retaliate, it will depend on the witnesses to say who started the fight. A lot of people, the ones that don't know me, may decide that a big guy shouldn't bully a smaller guy and tell the police it was entirely my fault. That can cause a problem. So far I've been able to prove I was defending myself or my friends on the few times it has come to a fight.

Looking into her eyes for a few seconds I could feel myself calming down. "I made you a promise to protect you; once when we were dating and again after our divorce. I'm making that same promise now." With a forcefulness I hadn't felt in a long time I added, "I will protect you; peacefully if I can, but make no mistake I will protect you. I will put a stop to Jake bothering you. It's up to him how it goes."

Ally nodded and a small smile hovered in her eyes. She released my hand and asked, "How will you "protect" me Remy; I mean without going to jail?"

"Not sure yet." I returned her smile. Do you have a picture of him or some way I can recognize him?"

"No, no picture. That third date was going to be our last. He isn't the nice guy I thought he was. Guess his actions have proven that." She looked at me for a few seconds. "And I had someone else on my mind."

"Is there a bar or club or something that Jake goes to a lot? Is there some way to identify him?"

"He hangs out at a place called the Double Deuce over on Gravois; near the Bevo Mill Restaurant. Gary saw him at the same party I did."

Would Jake recognize Gary?"

Ally thought for a few seconds. "I don't think so; Gary came late to the party and was only there for an hour or so. He had to leave early and never actually met Jake."

"Okay. You go back home, I'll call you this evening. In the meantime, I'm gonna call Gary and meet him for lunch. Maybe we can brainstorm something for our friend Jake." I smiled and added, "Something that keeps me from going to jail."

Ally reached across the table and took my hand again. "Remy, after this is over do you think we could...?

I freed my hand, patted hers and answered, "Let's get this mess cleaned up; then we can talk."

She stood to leave but before she left she said, "I guess that's about all I can hope for. Give me a call if you need me...or just to talk to me."

I watched her leave with conflicting emotions. She had wanted the divorce so the hell with her. But I had to take a lot of the blame for us getting to that point. For the last few months, when I thought of her; which had been almost every week, I wanted to erase all that had happened. But she left me, I continued my thought. Oh Boo Hoo little boy, I said to myself. Are you going to let your pride keep you from at least talking to her about the whole thing?

Shaking my head, I said aloud but quietly to myself, Enough. That's enough now. I'll... we'll talk about us when this is over.

I took out my cell and called Gary. "Hey guy, can you meet me at Pappy's BBQ for a late lunch, about 2?"

"That's almost downtown. Why all the way down there?" He asked.

"Because I need some serious BBQ; I've been missing it in Van Buren. And I may need your help in handling this jerk for Ally."

"Okay see you at 2, but you're buying lunch."

I went back to my motel and waited for the time to leave. It was a 30 minute drive to Pappy's so I left the motel at 1 o'clock. As I drove I went over the "Jake" situation in my head. About half way to Pappy's I had an idea. I had to smile and called Gary again.

"Is Mike Adams still a police officer and is he still attached to the Fourteenth Precinct?" I asked Gary when he answered.

"Yeah, he's still a cop at the Fourteenth. Made Sergeant last month, he's in line to be a detective within a year."

"Call him and ask him to join us. Tell him lunch is on me."

Pappy's only cooked a preset amount of BBQ each day. When it was gone they closed the place. People lined up to buy these meat masterpieces. After opening at 11, there was only about two hours between the long lines wanting to buy food for lunch or dinner. Those two hours were from 2 until 4. That's why I had picked 2 for our lunch meeting.

I was sitting at a table for 4 when Gary and Mike came in. Waving them over, I stood to greet Mike. I hadn't seen him in over a year but we were still close friends.

"Not that I'm complaining about a free lunch, but why did you want to see me?" Mike asked as he shook my hand.

I motioned to the chairs and we sat down. "Let's wait until after we eat," I answered.

Our food arrived fairly quickly after we ordered. The kitchen and servers had a little more time now that they were running around filling orders. We wasted no time in digging into what was touted as the best BBQ in the Midwest. When the server cleaned up the debris of our pig out, pardon the pun, I turned to the boys and gave my reason for wanting to meet them.

After almost an hour of talking, laying things out and arranging time schedules we left. I felt that I had come up with a way to stop Jake without my going to jail for assault. As I drove back to my motel, I knew that no matter what, Jake would not bother Ally any longer. If it meant beating him half to death, so be it.

That night waiting at my motel until 10 PM was a hard thing to do, but I wanted to give all the players in the game a chance to get into place. At 10:30, I met Gary in the parking lot of the Double Deuce and we walked in together. The Deuce, as it was called, was in an old warehouse building with a huge wide open space, distressed wood floors and brick walls. The room was 50 x 80 with two discretely place columns holding up the roof.

Entering the building I saw that the bar ran for 30 feet down the wall on my right. There were lots of tables clustered around a large dance floor. Against the back wall, connected to the dance floor was a raised stage for a band. On the weekends the Deuce had live music but this was Tuesday so a DJ provided the music for the people to dance and enjoy.

There was a good crowd and they seemed to be trying to make up for the poor Monday start to their week. The DJ played a new song and invited the party goers to dance. As several people moved to the dance floor, Gary nudged me and pointed with his chin. There was our...my...target for the night.

Jake Summers was about 6 feet tall with a strong looking body. He had dark hair worn long, almost a mullet. You've got to be kidding me, I thought. A mullet...really a mullet? His body had best be as strong as it looks, I mused as I stared at him. I hope he resists our little play tonight.

"Make the call Gary," I ordered.

Gary stepped into the entry, where it was a little quieter and used his cell phone. After three minutes or so, he returned to my side. "On the way," he told me. I nodded and continued to watch Jake Summers.

Mike came in dressed in his uniform, with a young man following him. "Remy, this is Randy Hixson. He's was working at the convenience store that was robbed. The one Alyssa talked to you about."

I shook hands with Randy. "You're a brave man to do this Randy."

Hixson was about 5 foot 5 and couldn't have weighed more than 110 pounds. His looked like a high school senior but he was a junior at St. Louis University. Randy seemed to be a little hyper. "Where is that asshole?"

Gary pointed in the general direction of the dance floor without singling out any one person. "See anyone you recognize?"

Randy looked around the bar and then onto the dance floor. After a couple of minutes, he stared in one direction like a bird dog on point. "There he is," he almost shouted.

"There is who?" Mike asked.

"The guy that whipped on me with a blackjack and robbed the store."

"Point him out to us please Randy," Mike requested.

"I'll do better than that. Follow me," Randy said and started a fast walk toward Jake Summers.

Mike, Gary and I hustled to catch up with the feisty young man. We arrived just after Randy who was yelling at Jake.

"Where's my money you piece of crap?" Randy yelled at a surprised Jake. The boy barked at the bigger man like a little terrier challenging a larger dog "You robbed my store and my boss almost made me replace the money you took. See this scar," Randy pointed at a red line of a healing cut just over his eye. "You owe me for that too."

Summers looked at Randy for a few seconds and started to move toward the smaller man raising his hand to swat the annoying mosquito. I could see the angry look in his eyes and stepped between the two men. "Why don't you try hitting me, you piece of crap," I said. Waiting to see his response, I hoped he would try something.

Mike had been behind Randy the whole time and now stepped forward. He grabbed an arm and started putting on handcuffs. I think he wanted to get to Summers before I attacked the man. "Jake Summers, you are under arrest for the armed robbery of the In & Out Market on Olive and for assault with a deadly weapon on Randy Hixson." Mike went on to read Jake his Miranda rights.

I saw the look on Jake's face as he thought about running. "Please resist arrest Summers," I growled at him. "Please resist." Jake looked at me and sort of let down as if someone had let all the air out of him. "Not a brave move from a guy that threatens women... but it is a smart one," I goaded the man. "One other thing, if you ever contact Alyssa again, it won't be jail you have to worry about. I will come after you myself."