Two weeks later...

Things are moving along with the two guys, as Josh has certainly stepped up his game after the incident now referred to as “the Russian Blue on the keyboard” affair. Beckett remains in somewhat of a funk, making me wonder how long it’s going to take him to get over his wife being officially ruled dead even though she passed away years ago. And the bigger question... if I might have to deal with that ghost forever should things get serious. I haven’t tried to get physical with him, wanting him to be the one to get comfortable with another woman, but he seems content to treat me as a close friend right now. But having never been in such a position, I have to cut him some slack. Even though he had clearly “moved on” years ago the finality of the situation had to be devastating. And to have such bad memories dredged up again in a courtroom filled with media people and be part of a national story, well... I can’t imagine. To hear them say the families of the victims now have “closure” makes me want to slap them silly. One look at Beckett will tell you he’ll never have closure. How can a court ruling ever completely take away the pain of losing a loved one? At least he’s staying occupied with the opening of his business coming soon while the work on his apartment has finally begun. I’m trying to be as understanding as possible since he simply wants company right now. But somehow it seems like the relationship is going backwards romantically while I want it to move forward. Josh is a good guy and we have a lot of fun together, but I do have more of an emotional connection with Beckett.

And I’m wondering if the sympathy I have for him is clouding my judgment. My friends are wondering the same thing.

Still, it’s getting to the point that the candle with two wicks has just about run out of wax, and I need to make a decision.

One fairly big red flag: whenever Josh comes over, Gypsy takes one look at him, bolts down the hall and hides under the bed. The one time I dragged her back out and tried to hand her over to Josh she hissed at him. She’s never done that with anyone, never scratched or bitten. It’s clear that she hasn’t forgotten that he yelled at her. Perhaps by living with a Sicilian she’s picked up the grudge chromosome and somewhat of a death stare with those green eyes.

Gypsy and I are guests at Madison’s house, as the three day remodeling job of my bathroom is underway. The cat is having a ball spending time with Bumper, her tortoiseshell sibling, which makes me wonder if she’s lonely when I’m not there and might need a playmate. Then again, she’s used to being the center of the universe, so she might see another addition to the household as an interloper. Or maybe she only gets along with her litter mates. But right now I can tell she misses her own territory, as there’s no screened porch, even though it’s chilly. Though she realizes it’s too cold, she likes knowing it’s there.

I’m getting dinner set up for Madison since she had a six o’clock live shot and hasn’t arrived home yet due to traffic. She and her fiancé have been wonderful putting up with me and the cat, so the least I can do is take care of the meals.

She arrives shortly after seven, wearing a long face. “Madison, you look wiped out. Rough day?”

“Did you watch the local newscast, A.J.?”

“No. Why? You have a big story?”

“Not network, local. Not my story but one that concerns you.” She heads over to the table and tosses her jacket over a chair. “I’m glad you’re hearing this from me and didn’t see it on television first.”

“What happened?”

“Huge scandal. There were a bunch of Staten Island officials arrested today. FBI ran a major sting operation. Political kickbacks, blackmail. A ton of high profile people are going to jail. And lot of people lost their life savings.”

“Okay. So, what does this have to do with me?”

“Bottom line, it was a construction scheme. And the guy you’re dating was involved.”

“What? Which one?”

“Josh. He’s in jail, A.J. Facing federal racketeering charges. He conned a lot of people and stole a ton of money.”

My jaw slowly drops as Madison tells me the whole story. Apparently some city officials funneled work to Josh and his contractor getting kickbacks in return. But that’s not the worst part. The scheme involved getting the project halfway done, then telling the client it was going to cost a lot more to finish due to “cost overruns” and basically holding them hostage through the fine print in the contract. There was also some strong-arming involved should anyone threaten to sue. So rather than live with demolished houses or businesses with projects halfway done, people paid.

I shake my head in disbelief. “I can’t believe it.”

“Well, good thing you found out now.”

Suddenly I sit up straight. “Oh, no.”

“What?”

“They started demolishing my bathroom yesterday. The reason I’m staying with you, remember? And with them in jail...”

***

MADISON LOOKS OVER my shoulder at the rubble which used to be my bathroom. “This isn’t good.”

The old iron tub has been ripped out of the wall, there’s a big hole between the bathroom and the linen closet, chipped tile is everywhere, the mirror is gone, as is the vanity and sink. About the only thing still in one piece is the toilet, which thankfully still works. “So basically I’ll be taking sponge baths in the kitchen.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. You’re staying with me until we can get this fixed. Where’s all the stuff they were supposed to install?”

“The tile, tub and everything else is in the garage. But my cousin Angelo is tied up. I don’t know when I can get him over here.” I shake my head and shuffle back to the kitchen. “I don’t want to think about this right now. I can’t believe Josh was a con artist. Damn, it usually takes me forever to trust someone and I got taken.”

“You’re not alone, A.J. Lots of people got conned. Look, it could be worse. Could be the whole building. Thank God he didn’t do this to your business.”

“True. Look, I can live over here without a place to take a shower.”

“No, you can’t. A.J., this is awful.”

“Just the bathroom. I can pop over to your place or Rory’s to take a shower in the morning. Besides, Gypsy’s going to miss her home if I stay with you full time.”

“Let’s talk about it later. For now, let’s go back to my place.”

“Sure. I need a big bottle of wine.”

We head down the stairs and as we emerge onto the street I see something even worse.

Beckett, sitting on the curb, head buried in his hands as his sister has her arm wrapped around his shoulders. “Oh, no.”

Madison turns to me. “What?”

“Josh was remodeling the apartment above his business.” I start walking quickly toward them.

Charlotte looks up and shakes her head. Beckett is still staring at the ground.

“How bad is it?”

Charlotte wipes a tear from her eye. “We lost everything.”

***

I HOLD BECKETT’S HAND as Charlotte leads us through the first floor, which looks spectacular. “Is everything done here?”

She nods. “Yes. Thankfully this part was done by a different contractor who does restaurants. We can open our doors shortly.” She leads us up the stairs and opens the door into what is supposed to be his apartment.

What. A. Disaster.

It’s my bathroom, times ten. Looks like one of those bombed out buildings in the Middle East. There are basically a bunch of beams but no walls, electrical wires are exposed everywhere, the ceiling has been ripped out. Thankfully, the beautiful original floor is untouched.

I squeeze Beckett’s hand. “Don’t worry, we’ll find someone else to finish this.”

He shakes his head. “It won’t matter. They took all my money. Just like all their clients. Said there were cost overruns and I gave him a check. I wouldn’t be able to pay anyone else. My life savings is gone.”

Madison turns to him. “Our good friend Tish is a lawyer. I know she’ll do anything she can to get your money back and she won’t charge you.” She pulls out her phone. “I’m calling her right now.”

Beckett whispers. “Thank you.”

Charlotte points to the corner. “If nothing else, at least the bathroom is completed. So we can move his furniture in here and when we have enough money, get the rest of the place fixed up.”

I shake my head. “Beckett, you can’t live like this. It’s an accident waiting to happen. Can you stay at your current place?”

“My lease runs out in a week and they already rented to someone else. And even if I could stay, I no longer have enough money for rent.”

“He’ll be staying with me,” says Charlotte. “It will be cramped in my studio apartment, but we’ll manage.”

I study the face of the man who had his wife declared dead on national TV and lost his life savings all within the space of a few weeks.

I have to do something.

It hits me. And it’s so obvious.

I’ve got an extra bedroom but no full bathroom.

He’s got a full bathroom but no bedroom.

“I’ve got an idea.”

***

WE SIT AT A TABLE ON the first floor sipping tea. Beckett shakes his head. “A.J., it’s too much. I can’t put you out like this.”

“Look, you’d be helping me as well. You think I wanna get up every morning and drive across town in my bathrobe to take a shower at Madison’s house when I can just walk across the street and get ready for work?”

“She would, too,” says Madison. “Drive in her bathrobe, I mean.”

Beckett absentmindedly stirs his tea. “But I’d basically be living in your apartment.”

“Kinda sorta. Our hours are very different. Your main business is basically in the afternoons and evenings and you’ll close your doors a lot later than I do. By the time you get home I’ll be in bed, and by the time you wake up I’ll be gone. Then as soon as your business takes off and you build up your funds, you can get the apartment finished. Really, Beckett, it’s not a problem. Besides, Gypsy loves your company and she’d have someone else to play with when I’m not there.”

“I would insist on paying you rent of some sort.”

“And I would insist on tearing up your checks. Look, you’re in trouble, you’re a good guy and I want to help you. Someday you can repay the favor.” I start to laugh a bit. “Of course, you’d be in debt to a Sicilian, and once I have your marker, you could not turn me down without severe consequences. I know people.”

Finally, that gets a smile. “I suppose we could try this arrangement for a while to see how things work out.”

“Great. And tell you what, I’ll get a bunch of friends to come over and at least get your place cleaned up so we can store your furniture and walk through the second floor without killing ourselves.”

Charlotte reaches over and takes my hand. “You’re so very kind, A.J. I don’t know what we did to deserve you. You’re a ray of sunshine in all this.”

“Hey, what are friends for? Oh, one more thing, the eating arrangements. Beckett, you’ll eat your meals at my deli and I’ll come over for scones and tea every day.”

“That doesn’t seem quite equitable.”

I shrug and give him a sexy look. “Maybe I’ll take it out in trade.”