if you want to forget about something, slowly but surely you do.
-Stefan Zweig
"The Post-Office Girl"
Twenty-five years ago today:
April 27, 1985
Saturday
I telephoned the Vallejo Hospital last night about the status of Dee Orlando and the baby.
The nurse said, “They were sent home.”
Dale called this morning.
“Would you believe the baby still isn’t here?”
“Why?”
“It wasn’t time. Tonight is probably going to be the night she has it.”
“I’ll call you after my haircut.”
Mike Miller called and we caught up on things. He’s all caught up on a possible Lab Tech vocation or a Chiropractor. He is so indecisive. He will be twenty-three on May 2nd. I persuaded Mike to join me for breakfast at Ole’s Waffle Shop.
“Sue’s still asleep.”
“That’s okay, we can still go or she can join us later. I’ll pick you up in about fifteen minutes.”
Mike Miller and I were enjoying the Ole’s breakfast when I decided to give in by telling him about the possible marriage to Paloma.
“Really?”
“Yeah, and did you hear about Bonni Jayne?”
“No, what’s going on with her?”
“She’s bartending at a strip joint in New York. I don’t really know much more.”
Suzy joined us later. I shared the ‘Paloma’ and ‘Bonni’ news in addition to the Tony’s marriage to Helen news being made official on March 29, 1985. We departed after breakfast. Sue gave Mike a ride home.
When I walked to my car I noticed I had inadvertently left my light on for some unknown reason. Then my car would not start. I called mom.
“Hi mom. You won’t believe this but I accidentally left my lights on and my car won’t start. I’m parked at Long’s Drugs in Alameda. Can Dad come over to jump the cables?”
“Yeah, but he loaned the cables to John the other day. Let me call John.”
“Okay, hurry.”
John said, “The cables are in my car trunk and the car’s in the shop.”
And so, mom was going to come and pick me up when she said, “Dale just called and they were going for a drive to Alameda, so he will meet you there to jump your cable.”
“Really?” I asked. “Okay, I will wait here.
Dee and Dale Orlando arrived to jump cable my car. I thanked them and then I was off to Alamo for my ‘Danny Garcia’ haircut. It was truly so nice of Dale to go out of his way to come by to jump cable my car.
When I arrived in Alamo at precisely 1PM I was given a great haircut.
Danny said, “You know Michael. You were right.”
“About what?”
“You said that my lover, roommate Robert relationship wouldn’t last longer than six months and that’s exactly what is happening. I don’t think it’s going to last much longer.”
He cut my hair a bit different today. He also persuaded me to go out with him and Robert tonight. The plan was to meet at 7PM.
After my haircut I stopped at Chris Cordellos’ house. He wasn’t home. His mom was there and I left a message.
“Just tell him I stopped by.”
Then I drove to Pittsburg to Dee and Dale’s house. Dee was napping and looked VERY pregnant.
Dale and I took a drive to his cousin’s house. His second cousin is named Carrie Harris and she was quite a “looker”. I love her hair. There were some cement workers in front of her house. One of the cement workers was a definite “MT” (My Type). We returned to Dale’s house and took Dee with us for a ride to Tony and Dennis’ Ice-Cream Shop. We remained there until 5PM when we saw Dennis Reno arrive. It was fun and quaint to just hang out there, talking. We took a short walk in and around the Sun Valley Mall. We were in the MACY’s Tiger Shop when Dale and I simultaneously asked a clerk a question.
“Is Chris Cordellos working today?”
“I don’t recognize that name,” the MACY’s sales clerk replied.
I am beginning to wonder whether or not he really works at MACY’s. Could it be that he was just embarrassed to tell me that he wasn’t working? I don’t know.
Dale, Dee and I went back to Dale’s cousin’s house. I met Carrie’s sister, Shelly, who is a nurse who f&*%#ks around with a football player at St. Mary’s. That is the way Dale explained it. We stayed there a while until we ate at a rinky-dink hole-in-the-wall Mexican Restaurant in the “clean”, run-down Downtown area of Pittsburg. The food seemed artificial to me. The refried beans were orange. Ugh!
It was getting close to 7:00PM. I headed to Alamo to Danny’s. I didn’t arrive until 8PM because his apartment complex is such a maze. When I reached his apartment two girls greeted me. They escorted me to the laundry room where Danny was washing clothes. I helped him with the laundry and hung out at his pad until Robert showed up. He was very nice, good-looking with blue eyes. He reminded me of George Jones a bit. I liked his personality. I ended up staying there until 11PM, gabbing about nonsense things such as music, friends, work and travel.
“I don’t really feel like going out because I don’t have a change of clothes,” I said.
I sensed that they didn’t want to go out either. I didn’t like when Danny made a comment about Dale.
He bad-mouthed him by referring to him as ‘Dale the Whale’. I didn’t like that.
Danny and Robert and their straight girlfriend, Janice, are going out to The Oasis in San Francisco next Saturday night. They invited me to meet them there. It should be fun.
When I was alone with Robert I said, “Danny has told me such nice things about you.”
“He has?” Robert asked in surprise.
“Yeah, he gave me all the oohs and ahhs about you.”
“Are you going to stick around to see if that’s true?”
I laughed, wondering if that was a ‘come on’ or what.
Danny whispered to me quietly, “Robert thinks you are cute.”
All I know is that I didn’t want to pull another Ron Shelly episode as I did amongst Ryan and Ron. Their relationship was ending and I don’t want to be a rebound at the end of things.
I drove to mom’s and dad’s house and gave mom briefings of my full-fledged day in Contra Costa County.
“I was watching ‘Arthur the King’ with Tony because he couldn’t handle Nicole’s crying,” mom said.
Nicole is Helen’s niece. Helen was babysitting for Geneva.
I went home not long after the brief visit with mom. I was thinking about that cement worker that caught my eye at Dale’s cousins’ house. Then I was thinking of Carrie Harris (Dale’s cute cousin). Carrie works for Blue Cross in Downtown Oakland.
“Michael, I’m at the Vallejo hospital again. I am troubled.”
“Why? Don’t worry. It will all be okay.”
“It’s not the baby. I’m just troubled about my life and my identity.”
“You just have to focus on being happy, Dale,” I said, trying to make him feel better. I couldn’t help but realize I was doing the same talk with Frank just the other day. Dale began to feel consoled from our conversation.
“The baby is three centimeters,” Dale announced, “Tonight is the NIGHT!”
“Call me when you learn the official news!”
Something indefinite is always worse than something definite, a strong fear that doesn't last very long is easier than one that's nebulous but doesn't go away.
-Stefan Zweig
"The Post-Office Girl"
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