MurderVerse

How about them leaves, ma?

Very nice son, your a good boy bringing me up here

I'm glad your enjoying the country air, it's still kinda warm

That's the Indian summer Johnny

Whatever

You have something on your mind, John?

Concerned looks, mom rocking on the porch swing.

Johnny to John, something was up

She only called me John when there was serious business pending

First names were reserved for your end-of-the-world-type conversations

Otherwise, mom and dad stuck to a variety of syrupy-sweet pet names

They aimed at each other

But Johnny was always Johnny

Not Champ or Tiger or Big Guy like some of my friends

Just Johnny

Johnny looked at his mom but his demeanor was all John.

Ma have you seen Maxine lately?

Asking on account of Gina

A few months ago, maybe

Ma looked confused trying to remember

Do you guys talk at all?

Mom shrugged not really

Did she ever seem strange to you at all, Maxine?

I had to wonder how much of Maxine had rubbed off on her daughter.

Johnny, she was always a little different, she ran with gangsters, ya know

And Gina married Lucky. The apple don't fall far...

I turned out to be one of those gangsters

Your father had quite the crush on her, ya know

Like an affair?

Oh no, he wouldn't dare, he admired her from afar.

From afar? We practically lived next door

From afar, like the way a man might have a crush on a movie star

Marilyn Monroe comes to mind: Presidents, Playwrights, Sluggers

Your dad was a one-woman man, John, he wasn't wired for multiples

Plus...

Plus what?

Your dad was fascinated by the 'criminal element'

He was always a legit guy

Because he was afraid of the criminals who were in and out of her house.

So he was afraid but fascinated?

Like most legit men, yes.

What was it he liked about her, I mean besides looks?

He said she was strong and independent; raising a child by herself.

That was his point of view, what was yours?

She was a lonely woman who wanted a man but never trusted anyone.

Really?

What do you think, John, when you date criminals?

I wondered if Gina had run out of trust

Maxine kept trying - men came and went - mostly they went.

I wondered who was walking into and out of Gina's life?

When I worked for her, Max seemed strong and independent

And Gina was so cute as a kid, I always liked her

You have to know how to make others feel strong and independent, John

Could I do that for Gina in the wake of her husband's death?

Who? You mean like your husband?

Husband, kids, everyone living under your roof.

Gina and her kid living under my roof, I liked that idea

Everyone needs to feel important

Gina needs TLC

It's an art. Mom was looking straight at me

What's an art?

Give a man something to come home to and he'll never leave

I'll come home to Gina, she'll never leave

And what did dad do to make you feel important and wanted?

Mom didn't say a word, she looked at the clouds through the multi-

colored fall leaves and smiled.

"He always listened to me." She said.

I could do those things: listen, provide, come home from work every night

Somewhere between, "He admired her from afar" and "He always listened

to me," I decided...

Gina was going to be my wife

John started