“Well, Joe and I had been through a few glasses of wine when
we came up with it.” “A few glasses?”
“All right, maybe it was a bottle,” admitted Sal. “So what did you learn about her?”
“From what I can tell, she’s been through a lot. Pretty much all her time is spent at St. Theresa’s. Never dated all that much. Hell, Doc Wall had her learning cancer treatments at the age of fourteen. And she loved it.”
“You were trying to nail Mary Beth Lansbert at fourteen, weren’t you?”
“Guilty as charged. And if her dad hadn’t stopped me, I might
have done just that.”
“As I recall, that’s why we had to get you braces.” “I’ve moved on from that, Dad. Thankfully.” “Yes, you have, and now you’re seeing a doctor.”
“I’ve only had one date with a woman who earlier told me to go to hell. So, a little patience would be nice.”
“Well, when you’re ready to bring her over, I promise Poppa Sal will behave.”
*****
Shelly drove into the doctors’ parking lot as Dr. Wall was emerging from his car. He’d been putting on some weight and was having trouble getting out of the driver’s seat. Shelly dared not say a thing. She watched quietly as he pulled himself through the door frame. It was Dottie who had convinced Dr. Wall that a smaller car would be better for the environment than the Cadillac Escalade he’d had in mind.
“Good morning, Doc!” Once he’d made it out, Shelly closed her car door, pulling on the handle to be sure it was locked. A little quirk she had—she always had to double check the doors at home before going to bed or leaving for work. Safe not sorry, she always whispered to herself.
“Good morning, Shel. Quite a scene, huh? Me trying to get out of that damn car. You know Dottie loves that thing, but it’s just too small for me.” Shelly gave him that change your mental attitude look.