The divorce was powerfully negative. No one is right when everyone is wrong. Yet, he still could enjoy those two little munchkins. Picking them up from elementary school on released time Weds. and shooting over to Brennan & Carr for an early dinner. The oldest liked a hamburger with fries along with the famous B&C hot beef broth that the three of them loved so much. The little one echoed his dad and had a beef plate, with string beans and fries. Dad had a beer and the little ones had cokes. The three of them would talk football along with the B&C owner’s son Eddie, a diehard Dallas Cowboys fan ( which the three of them hated). Sometimes, if not Brennan & Carr, he would take the boys to Fiorentinos down the end of Ave U for the best Italian food in the area. The boys loved most of the waiters, and would argue as to who was the best of the lot. If it was wintertime he would have his favorite, Lentil soup, and the boys went for the minestrone. The pleasure wasn’t so much the meal there, but all the back and forth between the three of them. When he had to drop them off at their mother’s house he usually held back the tears for the return trip to his apartment in Elmont, thirty minutes away.
He could almost taste the poignant memories of the multitude of Saturdays when he picked the boys up for their day together. The first thing he did was take them to Buddys play land. The rides were for kids, and since the boys were under the age of 10 they had a ball. The little one liked all the rides, as he was always the pioneer. He loved the thrill of it all. The oldest one, much like his dad, only liked the easy rides, with no threat of any dizziness. Once the little one had his fill of most of the rides they walked over to Buddy’s eatery for a burger and fries… and of course a smoothie drink. The ‘ icing on the cake’ was the Cackling Hen vending machine. You put a quarter in, there was the ‘ Cluck Cluck’ sound and a little toy came out the slot. The boys loved it! From Buddys they drove out to his apartment in Elmont. Since the boys lived in Brooklyn, and Brooklyn did not yet have cable television, they were intrigued by the MTV music video channel. For what seemed hours the boys and him would sit and watch/listen to the latest rock videos. For lunch the boys loved his Smuckers Peanut Butter sandwiches on the thin sliced pumpernickel bread he kept in the fridge. He didn’t keep much soda, except for Ginger Ale, and they liked it.
Most times on those Saturdays he would take the boys to his favorite eating spot, The Rivoli Restaurant in nearby Floral Park for dinner. The owner’s wife, Nefi, who ran the place ( her husband ran the more upscale Villa d’ Este across the street) loved his boys. She had no children of her own but fell in love with both the boys. Nefi would take the oldest son into her kitchen and show him how to make certain desserts. The boys loved her chilled ‘ Cooked pears in burgundy wine’ and she showed his son how it was done. Meanwhile, Nefi would come out and take the little one by the hand and walk him around the restaurant, showing him off to all the patrons. It was as if this made their dad feel like the three of them had another family at The Rivoli.
Driving them home on Saturday evening was not easy. All the laughs they had at his apartment seemed to vanish whenever he returned home alone. His former psychiatrist once explained to him how ‘ Crying ventilates the system’. He always did lots of ventilating on those Saturday nights.
PA Farruggio
Halloween 2024