Category: Alfonz

When she got home, Alfonz was already there. All the lights were on and he was sitting at the round dining table near the hotplate.

He started to cry the moment he saw her, reached and said, “we have to talk.”

Still wearing her long brown coat and carrying a paper bag of oranges, Hormat stood absolutely still looking at him. This was it.

Alfonz began to talk, amid his tears, and Hormat heard words but “Lottie and I are in love” is all she understood.

That is when Hormat said it, right then. And she said it in full voice as loudly as she could without screaming.

Alfonz backed up a little, “I didn’t mean for this to happen,” burying his head in his hands, sobbing.

Hormat felt cold and very lonely.

Without saying another word, she dropped the oranges and found the small bag she brought with her from the carnival.

She packed quickly and without thinking, just clothes. She also grabbed all the cash she could find. Alfonz was still crying and trying to explain, when she left the apartment behind.

On the street, she was unsure of what to do, but decided she would go to Richard’s, at least it would be safe there.

But when she got there, no one answered the door. She knocked and called his name, but there was no answer.

Standing in the dim hallway with her overnight bag, feeling desperate, Hormat turned the knob and the door opened.

She walked in to find two naked men on the couch embracing, she let out a cry and immediately started to back toward the door in embarrassment. Then she recognized Richard’s surprised face between what turned out to be Tony’s legs.

Hormat was shocked and fled, blind in an ocean of tears, she ran down the stairs to the street. And kept moving until she found the Port Authority. There she got on the first bus to Texas and her mother and father.

Hormat’s concerns came up one night at Richard’s place.

“But I can see the way she looks at him,” Hormat said, “I know, I just know.”

Richard looked at her with his characteristic smile and said, “you know, honey, the only map, the only guide we have to judge people is ourselves.

“Don’t be too hasty in deciding what her motives and feelings are. Let us say, for instance, that she is you- could she deserve a break?

“It is simple,” he continued. “We are them, they are us. We are all just one. If you want a break, give a break; you want trust, give trust.”

Tony nodded, LaGuardia nodded too, thoughtfully.

Hormat had tears in her eyes, she was afraid that what she had done could happen to her.

“I love you, sweet Mattie,” Richard said as she and the others were leaving that night. He kissed her on the back of the head, “don’t you forget it.”

LaGuardia smiled, “Don’t worry, darling. You will be OK.” She patted Hormat’s hand lightly.

Meanwhile, business was picking up everywhere. Richard hired a new man, Tony, to help wait tables and Blinky’s was overflowing with customers and other out-of-work actors.

Hormat introduced the small band that worked at the “No Where” to Alfonz and suggested they could help with some of the music. He was interested.

And Lottie brought in some musicians from various bars and night clubs she knew from 52nd street.

In the afternoons, Blinky’s became a studio where Lottie and Alfonz could try out bits and practice with some of the musicians.

Blinky’s business picked up to such an extent that the owner started paying Lottie, raised Alfonz salary and hired even more people to wait tables and the bar. They were also looking for a new venue with a larger stage and room for more tables.

Alfonz predicted that it wouldn’t be long before Blinky’s would either have to buy in or try to stop the show, and he was right. Blinky’s owner stepped up with a handsome investment in the new show “Alfonzarelli goes to Broadway” in exchange for a limited partnership.

With all that was going on now, Hormat saw very little of Alfonz. He was constantly involved with the writers, musicians and new talent and was rarely home.

Hormat finished most nights with LaGuardia, Tony and friends at Richard’s place before going home to an empty apartment, where she laid in bed and wished that Alfonz would just come home. She wanted his company.

And she was suspicious of Lottie.

“This could really work!” Alfonz said.

The three of them were in Alfonz’ and Hormat’s apartment. Lottie and Alfonz were brainstorming ideas for the act.

“Listen to this,” Lottie said, “its like this, OK?”

“Alfonz plays a Broadway Lover Boy working his way up from street shows to the big time singing old standards and dancing tap. He meets this beatnik girl,” Lottie points to herself smiling, “that works in a coffee shop and they fall in love.”

“As their love grows, the music and dance becomes more a fusion of their two identities,” Lottie said.

“This way we can use some good oldies that everyone likes and mix it up with new themes!” She laughed and clapped her hands.

Alfonz imagined out loud “They Call the wind Maria” modulating into a John Coltrane sax soliloquy when Lottie came on stage.

“Great!” Alfonz said. “It will be a blast, man” Lottie said.

“But that’s really not like Alfonz and me at all!” Hormat said. “I thought you wanted a story about us.”

“Yeah, well, it is sort of,” Alfonz said, “but this is current, it has swing and feel.”

He and Lottie got to work right away picking old standards for Alfonz and some wild jazz and rock for her. “They could go to downtown night clubs and shop around for what was happening”, Lottie said.

Later that night, after smoking a little grass, Lottie came up with a lovely little Martha Graham dance interpretation of a beatnik dream sequence that starts with her smoking a suspicious cigarette.

Alfonz loved it.

Lottie was excited.

Hormat was concerned.

Hormat and Richard became friends. He never touched her again, except to kiss her once on the back of her head, and she always left his apartment with the others. Even though it was still clear that he liked her, he said nothing, and neither did Hormat.

If she didn’t go to Richard’s place after work, she either went straight home or to Blinky’s to catch the last few minutes of Alfonz’ show.

Things were going much better for Alfonz. He was now a paid employee at Blinky’s, which, along with tips, brought a marked rise in income.

And he was confronted with decisions that he never thought he would have to make. He actually had to turn down a role in broadway show because it would have taken him away from the club and not provided a sufficient increase in exposure or money.

Alfonz never thought he would turn down a role in a Broadway Show.

But Alfonz had an idea. He wanted to make a Broadway Show out of his nightclub act. One night, an entertainment columnist for the Times came by the club and Alfonz approached him; the columnist thought so much of the idea that he wanted to help co-write the show.

Of all the offers and possible roles that might come along, what appealed to Alfonz the most was what he was doing. He would just take it to broadway; he would call it, “Alfonzarelli on Broadway! “

Hormat was delighted at how Alfonz was doing, she couldn’t believe it. Once she settled in, she thought it would be for the long, the very long, haul and, suddenly, bang!

Hormat didn’t want to go to the coffee house, she didn’t want to do anything. The time came and passed and then, suddenly, she was out the door. She had to do something.

It happened, its over, it doesn’t have to happen again, she thought to herself, I made no promises.

She stumbled shyly down the stairs to the “No Where” late, just as the streetlights were coming on. She smiled apologetically to LaGuardia and walked straight to the bar to wash and re-stock the espresso cups.

In a moment, Richard appeared with a crumpled, rolled up brown sack and gave it to Hormat. He said, “You left this last night. I.. I actually considered keeping it, but here it is.” He wore the slightly crooked smile of embarrassment.

Hormat took the bag, not sure what to think or say and put a smile on her face waiting stiffly for it to be over.

“Will you be joining us tonight after work?” Richard asked.

Hormat blurted a shivering “No!”, then caught herself and said, “No, I can’t tonight, I have some business.”

Richard smiled evenly. “Another night, then. Anytime,” he said, still smiling and nodding his head.

When no one was watching, Hormat opened the bag and found her panties, she had completely forgotten.

When she fell asleep on the couch with Richard, Hormat had no plans to return home that night but soon woke in a panic. She put on her clothes and rushed out of the apartment just as dawn began to throw its shadows.

Alfonz was in bed when she got home and snuggled up next to her as she slipped in.

Hormat lay in his arms staring at nothing, unable to sleep. She was upset and afraid. She could not remember being so afraid.

They were as they always had been, but it was different now, it was as though Alfonz was in another dimension, distant. She turned and clung to him fiercely, unable to stifle her tears.

Alfonz woke, kissed her on the forehead and asked what was wrong.

She shivered and closed her eyes. Nothing, it had been a bad day at work: a drunk, and she was allergic to something and she was just so frustrated. That is all. Bad day.

She got up and knocked around in the medicine cabinet, wiping her tears and biting her lip.

In a moment, she returned to bed and told Alfonz that she had taken some medicine, it would be all right, go back to sleep.

Hormat did not sleep. The sun continued to rise without the least concern for her difficulty.

Alfonz would be getting up soon. She would need to be at the coffee house that afternoon. Life kept going, there was no escape.

After a few months, Hormat started going with Richard and some friends to his apartment, when the coffee house closed, where they would talk until the very wee hours of the morning.

Now, when she got home, Alfonz was usually asleep. She also got up later in the morning, very often after Alfonz had already left on whatever errand he was after that day.

She drank what was left or made herself some more coffee and toasted some cinnamon bread, lounging for a few minutes by the window on the wooden chair in her slip of a night gown thinking about the night before and the day to come.

Later in the afternoon, Hormat, LaGuardia, Richard and a few regulars who liked to help out would gather at “No Where” to re-stock, clean and set up for the acts that night.

Hormat first met Richard, who owned the coffee house, when she came to apply for a job. He was a tall man with thin blond hair that curled as it emerged from under his panama hat. He liked to wear white and carry a trumpet.

She got the job immediately. Hormat’s east european looks and beauty and the fact that her mother was a fortune teller fascinated Richard. He declared her a symbol.

Hormat came to be awed by Richard. She felt that he was certainly the most intelligent man she had ever met, and she loved to listen to him speak, even though she understood little of what he was talking about.

His smile was small but engaging, and he radiated a calm pleasance that made everything seem all right. Simply nothing you could say would surprise him; it all fit in, somehow.

Moreover, she was absolutely charmed by his attempts to describe her as a mystical beauty with olive skin, wavy black hair and portentous black eyes.

And it was easy to fall into step with Richard.

His apartment was much larger than the one she and Alfonz had with a separate area for a kitchen, which they did not have. Richard also had, of all things, a television set and a sock monkey with black and white felt eyes and scarlet lips he kept on the couch.

On this night, after everyone else had already gone. Richard sat next to Hormat on the couch and in a motion as natural as smiling, kissed her. Then overcome by the fragrance of her skin, he made love to her.

 

You can decide to love and you can decide not to love.

When Hormat decided that she had fallen asleep waiting for Alfonz to come home often enough, she still loved Alfonz.

She understood why he was late and knew he had to do it, but it hurt.

When it hurt badly enough, she told Alfonz. He took the very next day off and they went to dinner, drank a bottle of wine. They made love.

But Alfonz still came home late and sometimes didn’t come home at all until the following day.

Hormat understood and said nothing more about.

The kind of hurt she felt could only be understood by feeling what she felt: loss.

And then, of course, he would and could earn her love back. That is what Hormat’s heart told her.