White stubble makes a man look old, older than he may really be. Joey was fifty-five, but the stubble look made him look sixty-five. Yet, he thought he looked hot. Consequently, he worked on keeping his stubble the right length. Once he bought the Philips Norelco Stubble Trimmer QT 4102, he was able to maintain perfect stubble length. The stubble was prickly and sharp right after he trimmed, so he tried to avoid using it within six hours of an encounter. Joey was particular about things like that.
Joey Deacon hangs in Margate, New Jersey. He smokes and he drinks and he cusses too. Up to this point his life hasn't amounted to much. He's what you might call a helper, a plumber's helper, a painter's helper, a helper in almost any short term job you could imagine. Once, a couple of years ago, he did a stint as a tuna boat helper. The ship, the Lead Lorelei, got caught up in an October storm about seven miles off Atlantic City. The ship went down like a sinker. Joey was saved by clinging on to a Styrofoam beer cooler. When its your time, there's not much you can do. The other two guys on the Lorelei went down with the tub. Sad.
His latest job is with the Sunny Sunoco gas station. He helps with general duties; cleaning up, moving cars around that need repair, pumping gas and when needed, towing. The owner lets him work what might be considered a loose schedule. Since the station offers service 24 hours a day, Joey's odd hour proclivities are not a problem. Joey likes to sleep in daylight. He lets a room with a private bath over Robert's Bar. The room has everything he needs; a bed, a flat screen, a MacBook, and a microwave. Joey is a small needs guy. Deacon's other possessions include an iPhone, the Norelco and a 1997 Land Rover Discovery XD. The XD was a limited edition model, only 250 were made. They were all yellow and loaded for off road adventures. Joey thinks life is a safari.
Joey has had two close calls with the ladies. The first occurred while he was a senior at Atlantic City High School. His girl, Palma, missed her period. It was May with graduation a month away. In those days, a pregnancy test was a big deal. You couldn't just piss on some stick and watch the rainbow. Palma was certain she was pregnant. Joey, who was not in line to receive an academic scholarship, offered to marry Palma. Jerry Stansfeld, Palma's dad, and Maria Morelli Stansfeld, her mother, went nuts when Palma and Joey announced the marriage. Jerry and Maria had high hope for Palma. The gravid Palma was whisked away, ostensibly to her Aunt Noreen's house in New York. New York was the place to go for an abortion. As it turned out, Palma wasn't pregnant. As it turned out, Joey never saw Palma again. As it turned out...
The second brush with marriage came four years later. Joey was a good looking twenty-two year old man. He was working at Lenny's Hot Dogs. Lenny Popowitch had a seasonal hot dog stand on Atlantic and Washington Avenues, near the beach. Joey was the grill man and Susan Ostermann was a second shift waitress. Susan was a thin, milky white college girl. Joey called her
sweet vanilla girl. When she looked at Joey, he felt like he had lightening in his veins. Aphrodisiac warm summer nights, a good looking guy and a
sweet vanilla girl, need more be said. Joey proposed on one knee on Susan's last night, Labor Day. Right there in front of the grill! She was going back to Beaver College in the morning. To this day, Joey hasn't been the same. A no followed by a laugh can do that to you.
Thirty-three years and a lot of one nighters have come and gone. Joey is a local in Margate. It's a small community and the year rounders look after each other. He has lots of friends, occasional lovers, but no lightening in his veins. Ever since gambling came to Atlantic City, which is two miles away, Joey has always been able to make a buck. He never had any expectations, so his life turned out like the unplanned journey it is.
On this rainy, warm June night Joey's working the shift with Arturo Garcia. Business is good, it's a Saturday and the shoobies are here for the weekend. Margate is a high priced beach town with most of the houses near the beach owned by rich rubes, most of whom live for real in Pennsylvania. The smaller, cheaper houses, not near the beach, are owned by folks who live in Margate year round. The rounders hate the rich shoobies. Who could blame them.
The phone rings. Arturo, who is not too good conversationally, tells Joey he has to take the call. A distressed woman is speaking in short bursts. Joey calms her a down enough to determine her car had broken down. She's going on about Keenan Mercedes and how they are the worst. Her Benz died about two weeks ago somewhere in Pennsylvania. Joey didn't really care. He learned she was on the corner of Ventnor and Washington Avenues, by a WaWa convenience store. He hopes the rich bitch lays a big tip on him as he pulls the tow truck into busy traffic.
It's a short hop, maybe a mile and a half. It doesn't matter, the base tow charge is $75, up to three miles. There's the Benz, just as she said. The two seater Mercedes looked like it was worth a hundred grand or more. Joey always liked to see these high priced German cars down for the count. He is perverse like that. The car was parked in a bus stop. As he approached, a Margate cop car stops in front of the Mercedes. The officer, Jared Wainwright, is a friend of Joeys. As Jared gets out of the cruiser, a thin woman in a blue night clubby kind of dress steps towards him. Jared tells her to move the Benz. Joey, who is now out of the tow truck, notices the woman's taut calves, six inch pumps - Joey loves 'em.
Jared smiled when he saw Joey. The woman, who by now is super stressed, tells Jared about Keenan Mercedes and the breakdowns and more. Jared tells her she's lucky Joey came when he did. He saved her a ticket. Jared knew he was doing a solid for Joey. A good tip and maybe more were in the offing. Joey knows Jared will call this favor in later. That's the way guys work.
Joey checks the car out. The Benz is dead. He figures it must be some electrical or computer issue. Sunny or the local Mercedes dealer, Prestige, will have to work this out. He offers to tow the Benz to the station. Since she has no choice, she agrees. Joey hooks the Mercedes up. As he is ready to go back to the station, he asks the woman if she has a ride home. She says she lives in Longport on Eleventh Street. Since she lives alone, there is no one who can pick her up. It's about a mile and half away. She looks pale in the orange street lamp glow. Joey tells her to hop in the truck. He feels sorry for her despite knowing that if their positions were reversed, she would leave him for the hyenas. He mumbles to himself, "Rich people...."
He drops the car at Sunny Sunoco. After filling out the paperwork, he leaves the Benz key on a hook and places the registration on the desk. Reading it, he notes the address, 105 South Eleventh St, Longport, NJ. The car is registered to Paul Hostetter. He and the lady in the blue dress must be estranged or maybe he is her sugar daddy. Joey collects $75 for the tow.
The ride to Eleventh Street takes ten minutes since traffic has now thinned. Having calmed down, the woman is prettier... still pale, pretty pale. 105 South Eleventh sits right across from the inlet. The waves are beating on some big rocks set up as a revetment. Mist, salty ocean mist on this warm summer night reminds Joey of that all too familiar aphrodisiac. As she gets ready to open the tow truck door, she fumbles around in her purse. Finding what she wants, she hands Joey a C note. Their eyes meet. BAM!
As she pulls up on the door handle, Joeys asks, "Whats your name?"
The door opens and she's out on the street. Just as she slams the door shut, she says, "My name is Susannnnn......". She is gone in a flash.
Stunned and speechless, Joey stuffs the cash in his pocket and he reflexly turns up the radio. 10 cc is singing, I Am Not in Love....
I'm not in love, so don't forget it
It's just a silly phase I'm going through
And just because I call you up
Don't get me wrong, don't think you've got it made
I'm not in love, no-no
(It's because...)
I like to see you, but then again
That doesn't mean you mean that much to me
So if I call you, don't make a fuss
Don't tell your friends about the two of us
I'm not in love, no-no
(It's because...)
(Be quiet, big boys don't cry)
(Big boys don't cry)
(Big boys don't cry)
(Big boys don't cry)
(Big boys don't cry)
(Big boys don't cry)
(Big boys don't cry)
I keep your picture upon the wall
It hides a nasty stain that's lyin' there
So don't you ask me to give it back
I know you know it doesn't mean that much to me
I'm not in love, no-no
(It's because...)
Ooh, you'll wait a long time for me
Ooh, you'll wait a long time
Ooh, you'll wait a long time for me
Ooh, you'll wait a long time
I'm not in love, so don't forget it
It's just a silly phase I'm going through
And just because I call you up
Don't get me wrong, don't think you've got it made, ooh
I'm not in love, I'm not in love...
Joey stares at the ocean. His breath is short, his heart alive. It had hit him like a flash... Sweet vanilla girl, Sweet vanilla girl..... Tears run down his cheeks...
E cosi va
