The Freak - S01 E30

2 months ago

The Freak - S01 E30

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 30

The next three months passed swiftly, but not without a number of spectacular highlights, Barbara made her way into the yearbook- just barely when I phoned Carolyn who was the editor the afternoon after her beating. There was an April 1 deadline unless we were willing to pay a penalty. I phoned a local photographer and made arrangements for her to be photographed and for the photos to be rushed to Carolyni's home. I trusted her to pick the best, although they were all excellent. also knew that Carolyn would write something appropriate, in consideration of her late enrollment. She did exactly that, noting that Barbara's most outstanding senior moment was, "Kissing my husband Jack after winning the state basketball championship." Funny-that was my most outstanding moment, too.

It was only six days after our appearance before the grand jury that

Lt. Flanagan and a squad of police appeared at St. Claudia's

School. There were arrests-Sister Mary Theresa in the main office

and Sister Mary Patrick removed kicking and fighting from her

classroom immediately-and two others after the records so vainly

kept by a series of self-serving principals had been examined. Also

found was a small treasure of purloined jewelry in the desk and

dresser of Sister Mary Patrick as well as the three other nuns-

baubles stolen over the decades from innocent and unsuspecting

students and their families. Barbara's ring was in Sister Mary

Patrick's desk. The blood-soaked whip was easily found on a hook

in her closet.

Lt. Flanagan then took a small group of officers to the archdiocese offices to arrest Msgr. Moran. The list of charges went on for four pages, rivaling only those of the two nuns. Not surprisingly, the Cardinal denied any knowledge of the allegations. Barbara and I watched almost everything on the six o'clock news that evening. declining an invitation from the District Attorney to witness the arrests.

As had anticipated, Stanley Silverman instituted a class action lawsuit on behalf of the three hundred and seventy-six victims, some of whom were old enough to be grandparents now, using the 7:42 p...

list to identify and locate them. The suit claimed compensatory damages of more than eight hundred million dollars and unspecified punitive damages. He held a major press conference on the steps of the State Courthouse in which he fervently expressed his ire at the actions of the so-called professionals parents had entrusted with their daughters. He wanted Barbara and me there, but we politely declined. We'd done enough.

I had always gone fishing over the Memorial Day weekend so when I asked if I could use the bungalow my parents agreed immediately. We were at dinner two Sundays prior and Carole actually begged to join us. "I think that Jack and Barbara would enjoy some time alone," Mom told her. But Barbara and had anticipated her request and agreed if we could get Carole out of school a bit early on Friday afternoon. Thus, Barbara drove from school to my parents' home on Thursday to get Carole's clothes for the weekend then she drove into Tuckahoe to get me after our game.

Unfortunately, we weren't going to the playoffs. I'd had a good year on the mound, pitching my way to a 4-1 record and a 2.05 ERA while batting for a 420 average on exactly 21 for 50. Our other two pitchers, however, had losing records and of my teammates, only Tony had a decent batting average. Even Eli who had made All- County with me last year had been mired in a season-long slump, barely batting 200.

We left the high school at 2:00 and picked Carole up only five minutes later. She was elated to be with us and we always enjoyed being with her, too. We reached the bungalow by four, stopping in nearby Rocky Point to pick up some hooks and sinkers as well as a dozen sand worms, the preferred bait for blackfish in the spring. Blacks live in rocky areas so the north shore of Long Island is almost ideal with the millions of rocks large and small pushed down from New England by the ancient glaciers.

The first thing I did was strip the monofilament from my spinning reel and re-spool with new twenty-pound test mono. When that was done took my two girls out for a quick dinner-pizza. Mom knew that we were now practicing Lutherans so meat on Friday was not only acceptable, it was the norm. We had a special dispensation as a result. Carole liked pepperoni while I liked sausage. Barbara, ever the diplomat, would accept both so we ordered a large half and half and a couple of Cokes. Getting to the restaurant early meant we could eat quickly and get back to try fishing while there was still daylight.

I made my first cast and stood still, my long rod resting on my

thigh. Barbara and Carole amused themselves by playing tag.

Somehow Carole was always able to catch Barbara, but Barbara had the utmost difficulty catching her eight year-old sister-in-law. They were laughing like crazy when I had my first bite. This kind of fishing takes patience. The first tug occurs when the fish mouths the bait. Strike then and you'll catch nothing. You're only pulling the hook out of the fish's mouth. I've done this for years so was ready for the second powerful tug. A strong pull on the rod set the hook. I always file the point so it's razor sharp. Blackfish have thick fleshy lips so a sharp hook is a real advantage. I pulled it easily to the shore, knowing as did that I would release it. Sure enough it was a lightweight. It was only out of the water for seconds before it swam away.

The fishing was great for the next hour as I caught and kept two fish over five pounds-a gift for Mrs. Mazzone. cleaned them at the water's edge, removing the head and the entrails then turning the knife over and scraping it against the scales to remove them. Finally, I used an old set of kitchen shears to remove the fins. I washed my hands and my tools and we were ready to hike up the path. I'd never found walking up the path at night to be terribly difficult because there was usually ambient light from the moon and stars. It was really dark once we were under the trees, but the path was surprisingly easy to see because of the contrast between the white sand and the dark green plants that appeared black at night. Barbara got Carole ready for bed while I washed the fish, dried them with a clean rag then wrapped them in aluminum foil for the refrigerator.

We hugged and kissed Carole as we tucked her in and then she asked the big question, "Barbara, where are you and J.J. going to sleep?"

"Right over here in Jack's bed."

"Both of you? In that little bed?"

"Yup! And there will still be room for you in the moming. Okay?"

Apparently it was because Carole smiled, hugged Barbara and me one last time and rolled over to sleep. Barbara and I retreated to the living room where we sat quietly reading some of my parents' extensive library of paperbacks. Only when we were sure that she was soundly asleep did we shower and make love, with Barbara seated securely on the kitchen counter, me standing between her legs. Barbara had taken a small towel from the linen closet to stifle

her usual orgasmic scream. We retired as we did every night with

Barbara's head on my chest and her leg over my thigh. There was

one huge difference though we were wearing t-shirts and gym

shorts because of Carole's presence.