Avenging Angelo Page #4

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lt is Francis, isn't it?

You've got a girl's name.

Thatjust explains everything.

See, you've probably been

overcompensating your whole life.

You know, some anxiety

transference syndrome to,..

..you know, the macho, non-verbal,

Sicilian mixed in with the Brut..

..to cover the Francis that lives

inside some inner self or something.

That'll be your new nickname.

St. Francis the Brut.

Don't take this the wrong way,

ma'am, but l think you're startin'..

..to give me a small hole

in the side of my brain.

l will make you a deal.

lf you promise

to stop calling me ''ma'am'',..

..l'll stop calling you Francis.

And you swear to God

that you made all this?

Yes.

l didn't even know

l had any of this stuff.

You got a lot more

than you think you have.

Thank you.

Now what?

Look. Your father's dead

because l didn't do my job,..

..and it's not gonna

happen again. No way.

And l see you got

a guest house out there.

lf you don't mind,

l'd like to move in..

..'cause l don't trust anybody.

There is danger everywhere.

Everywhere l look.

The night has a thousand eyes.

Excuse me.

You stole that line.

l know. From Bobby Vee. Remember ''when

you tell those little white lies''?

''The night has a thousand eyes.''

Yes, l do.

That was playing when Peter Hackbart

was trying to get under my blouse.

l'm sorry.

l shouldn't have said that.

No.

What?

Actually, it wasn't your blouse.

lt was a bulky knit green sweater.

And what was playing was

Bon Jovi's biggest hit to date,..

..''You Give Love a Bad Name''.

- Jesus!

l'm goin' to bed.

Um...

You can stay

in the guest house, l guess.

- Thank you.

- lt's been a ridiculous day.

Ah!

Frankie!

What's going on?

l know this sack o' sh*t.

This sack of sh*t is my husband!

Sh! Now, you want me to take care

of this problem once and for all?

- Seriously? - Seriously.

Why don't you go back to bed..

..and let me do my job.

Do you have a shovel downstairs?

- A shovel? - Yes,

something l can dig a hole with.

Ah! Ah!

What the hell is going on?

Who the hell are you?

Who the hell is this?

Do you have a boyfriend already?

This is Frankie.

He's my bodyguard.

Look. Who are you

and what is that smell?

- lt's Brut.

- Well, it's overwhelming.

Ma'am, you don't have

to tell him anything.

Hey. You cannot talk to me

in my house like that.

lt's her house.

Reconsider.

Darling?

Darling,

l have to talk to you.

- Does he have to be here?

- He's just doing his job.

Whatjob?

l am your husband!

Do you mind? Please?

Sorry, Kipster.

Look, um, about yesterday.

That was simply an aberration,

fermented by the consumption..

..of too much single-malt scotch

on an empty stomach.

An aberration of marital ethics

for which l am truly,..

..truly grievous.

- Was it the only time?

Oh, absolutely!

August fourteenth,

the airport hotel.

Okay, okay.

Yeah, the Swedish flight attendant,

but that was the only other time.

December fifth, Four Seasons.

Ah, right.

Yeah, the real estate lady,

but she was a nooner!

My only nooner.

l swear to God!

Ah! Oh, Jesus Christ!

The f***ing sky is falling!

All right, all right!

lt's been going on for years!

Get out!

You should go.

Then fine.

Great.

Terrific.

l'll see you in court.

- Well, there he goes.

- The past.

The future.

- Manless.

- Nah, there'll be other men.

l don't want other men.

l believe in two things.

The kindness of the saints

and there's somebody for everybody.

Do you have a someone, Frankie?

- Sort of.

- That's nice.

- Everyone should have someone.

- Mm-hm.

Why is everybody looking

like they hate me?

They think

you're Angelo's mistress.

Oh, Jesus! l feel

like a whore in a Catholic church!

Sh!

We all do.

What's he saying?

Mostly that we're not worthy.

Now he's talkin' about Christ.

And his blood.

And the wounds.

And more blood. Now the guilt.

There's more blood.

More wounds.

More blood.

Now he's back to the wounds.

That guy over there

is Bruno Maranzella.

- Where? - That guy over there with

the head like an aircraft carrier.

And this Malatesta fellow,

where is he?

Right in front of him. The guy that

looks like he should be in a box.

Jesus!

And whoever said men age well?

Sorry.

Angelo Allieghieri

was a man of great passion.

How Verdi, Rossini

would fill his heart.

He was a man of great sadness.

He lost his wife,..

..his Maria, too soon.

He never had children

or grandchildren whose laughter..

..would lighten the burden of old age.

Peace was his sadness.

His emptiness.

To die alone.

And so, Angelo, we remember you

here today. All in all.

- Amen.

- Amen.

l'll remember you, Angelo.

''Remembering''

in ltalian means vendetta.

(You keep the distance.)

(Always a distance.)

You gumbas never quit, do you?

Frankie?

Frankie, what's that noise?

Just taking out the trash, ma'am.

Frankie, did you say something?

Nothing, ma'am.

l didn't say anything.

Malatesta,

you're using amateurs.

Frankie?

Frankie?

- Frankie?

- Yeah!

May l come in?

All right.

Frankie? lt's not exactly warm

out here, you know?

- You okay?

- Peachy.

Oh, God! Oh!

l feel like l'm in the Brut center

of the universe!

l'm sorry about that.

Frankie, l am so frightened.

- l'm here, ma'am.

- Yeah, of course.

- You know what's terrific about

being frightened like this? - No.

At least now l'm frightened

about something specific,..

..like being whacked, as opposed

to the non-specific variety,..

..which is what l usually feel.

That kind of dread,..

..that free-floating

whatnot and all. - Mm-hm.

Oh.

l remember as a little girl

being afraid. Very afraid.

Little bogeymen under the bed

and devils in the closet.

lsn't it amazing

how our innermost fears..

..turn into this Freudian whole --

Did you say something?

No. No.

Amazing Freudian nuances

of memory and consciousness.

When l was growing up,

they sent me to an analyst.

Everyone was going

to an analyst at the time.

He said,

Dr. Gilmore was his name,..

..he said it's not so much that,

well, never mind what he said,..

..l lied to him all the time

because l didn't want him..

..tellin' my parents

what was going on and....

Ma'am?

Frankie?

We got squirrels.

- Squirrels, Frankie?

- Yes, ma'am.

Big squirrels.

They tend to overeat..

..preparing for a difficult winter,

and sometimes they bloat.

And often

they get caught in the walls.

And to get out

of the walls,..

..they have to deflate.

And, thus, this is causing

the passage of windage.

Oh.

Oh. Poor things.

Yeah. Tough luck.

Tough luck.

- Frankie?

- Mm-hm.

Tell me the part again.

That part..

..of dreaming about the saints.

Well, there's a dream that..

..Sicilians that have never

been to Sicily have.

That they're on the coast,..

..on a cliff.

Above the water.

And they hear this music.

The sound of opera

coming from somewhere,..

..but they don't know where.

And they believe it's

the saints who are singing.

Arias of longing

for what they've never known.

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