didn’t remember him being at all talkative. Maybe he’d already had a few drinks? Could it be that the old gangster was truly this happy to see him? Or could it be that he was happy for a more ominous reason?
There were several bars in sight around the casino floor. Uncle Anty led them to an enclosed bar with a piano player lazily playing big band tunes. It was the kind of place where one could talk without fear of eavesdroppers. Lee noticed that the service was immediate and extremely courteous. The waiter addressed Tony as “Mr. Bruno” even though he said that he hadn’t tried this particular bar before this. He was obviously a celebrity in this town.
The conversation moved to Lee’s return to Philadelphia. Tony wanted to know all about it, so Lee obliged. “I’m going to be there in about two weeks. I’ll be working in the Navy Yard. I’m not entirely sure what my assignment there will be. That’ll be up to the shipyard commander.”
Tony nodded and asked, “Where will you be living? Are you moving back to your old home?”
“No. I don’t think I can ever live there again. Too many memories. Besides, it’s rented out. My Uncle Mike handles the rental for me. I’ll probably just live on base at the BOQ. Hadn’t really given it much thought.”
The old mobster smiled thoughtfully and replied, “I knew Mike was handling your place. I’ve called him a few times to see how you were doing. You gave us all a real scare when you let those Viet Cong put a hit on you. But it looks like you pulled through all right.”
“Yeah. Geez, Tony, I had no idea that any of you knew about that. Yes, I survived - mainly because of the lady sitting with us. Maggie was the nurse that worked on me in DaNang until I was well enough to handle the ride back to the States.”
That set the burly man off again, talking non-stop, this time to Maggie. “Little miss, what I have is yours. I have a lot of respect for our military and I’ve heard stories about the courage that you nurses showed over there. We all owe you for serving in a place like that. You didn’t have to go there. Not only that, but you saved my godson. I owe you. I will always owe you. If you ever have a problem and need help, you just have to ask for Anthony Bruno.”
Lee’s mouth had literally dropped open during this little speech. When the mob boss paused, he interrupted. “Uncle Anty. Your godson? What the hell do you mean? I didn’t know I had a godfather. I thought you were just one of my father’s clients.” At this, the old mobster settled in his chair, somehow looking older and smaller than he was. He took a drink, then answered.
“Yeah, Lee. When you were born, I was very close with your parents. Your middle name is Anthony for a reason. We were the best of friends. Before your birth, I agreed to be the godfather of their baby, and we went through the ceremonies. But a couple of years later, your parents decided to try to separate themselves from their South Philly roots. They moved to the suburbs and opened a legit law office. They pretty much quit going to church, so I guess the godson thing was less important to them. I still did a lot of business with your father, but over time we lost the closeness that we once had. I would stop over to see you often, but it just wasn’t the same. After while, I got the impression that your parents were ashamed to have me in their home, so I didn’t come over as often. That’s where we were when they died.”
He paused. Lee was silent, trying to absorb all of this. Tony caught his breath and went on, “Then you disappeared. I got worried and put somepeople on your tail. Traced you to a little town in Montana, but by then you were in the Navy. So I dropped it and just followed you through your uncle.”
Maggie was the first to react to all of this. She started laughing aloud. With absolute merriment in her face, she turned to Tony and said, “My God! I can’t believe it! You really are a
There were several bars in sight around the casino floor. Uncle Anty led them to an enclosed bar with a piano player lazily playing big band tunes. It was the kind of place where one could talk without fear of eavesdroppers. Lee noticed that the service was immediate and extremely courteous. The waiter addressed Tony as “Mr. Bruno” even though he said that he hadn’t tried this particular bar before this. He was obviously a celebrity in this town.
The conversation moved to Lee’s return to Philadelphia. Tony wanted to know all about it, so Lee obliged. “I’m going to be there in about two weeks. I’ll be working in the Navy Yard. I’m not entirely sure what my assignment there will be. That’ll be up to the shipyard commander.”
Tony nodded and asked, “Where will you be living? Are you moving back to your old home?”
“No. I don’t think I can ever live there again. Too many memories. Besides, it’s rented out. My Uncle Mike handles the rental for me. I’ll probably just live on base at the BOQ. Hadn’t really given it much thought.”
The old mobster smiled thoughtfully and replied, “I knew Mike was handling your place. I’ve called him a few times to see how you were doing. You gave us all a real scare when you let those Viet Cong put a hit on you. But it looks like you pulled through all right.”
“Yeah. Geez, Tony, I had no idea that any of you knew about that. Yes, I survived - mainly because of the lady sitting with us. Maggie was the nurse that worked on me in DaNang until I was well enough to handle the ride back to the States.”
That set the burly man off again, talking non-stop, this time to Maggie. “Little miss, what I have is yours. I have a lot of respect for our military and I’ve heard stories about the courage that you nurses showed over there. We all owe you for serving in a place like that. You didn’t have to go there. Not only that, but you saved my godson. I owe you. I will always owe you. If you ever have a problem and need help, you just have to ask for Anthony Bruno.”
Lee’s mouth had literally dropped open during this little speech. When the mob boss paused, he interrupted. “Uncle Anty. Your godson? What the hell do you mean? I didn’t know I had a godfather. I thought you were just one of my father’s clients.” At this, the old mobster settled in his chair, somehow looking older and smaller than he was. He took a drink, then answered.
“Yeah, Lee. When you were born, I was very close with your parents. Your middle name is Anthony for a reason. We were the best of friends. Before your birth, I agreed to be the godfather of their baby, and we went through the ceremonies. But a couple of years later, your parents decided to try to separate themselves from their South Philly roots. They moved to the suburbs and opened a legit law office. They pretty much quit going to church, so I guess the godson thing was less important to them. I still did a lot of business with your father, but over time we lost the closeness that we once had. I would stop over to see you often, but it just wasn’t the same. After while, I got the impression that your parents were ashamed to have me in their home, so I didn’t come over as often. That’s where we were when they died.”
He paused. Lee was silent, trying to absorb all of this. Tony caught his breath and went on, “Then you disappeared. I got worried and put somepeople on your tail. Traced you to a little town in Montana, but by then you were in the Navy. So I dropped it and just followed you through your uncle.”
Maggie was the first to react to all of this. She started laughing aloud. With absolute merriment in her face, she turned to Tony and said, “My God! I can’t believe it! You really are a
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