Adam Blake - 84. Chapter 84

“What did you do?”

“I wanted to help Herb because he’s going to be in trouble when the people in New York find out why you’re buying their stock.”

“And”

“I transferred a small deposit from your account at home. Can we go and get some dinner, I’m hungry.”

“Thanks, Herb, please keep our transaction quiet.”

" I appreciate what you did but that wasn't necessary, what kind of food would you like to have for dinner.”

“Marcel cooks French-style food, is there a good Italian restaurant here.”

I smiled, I knew exactly where to take him. I pulled into the parking lot, and as we walked into the restaurant, Theresa came running over and threw her arms around me. “Adam, it’s so good to see you.”

“It’s good to see you, this is my son Gerry.”

“How do you do Mademoiselle.”

“He speaks French?”

“You would be surprised how many languages he speaks. The school where I teach, teaches 5 required languages and two voluntary languages. He’s going to be a very important Ambassador one of these days, right son. How’s your brother, mom, and dad?”

“Tony teaches at the high school, math of all things. Mom and Dad are in the kitchen arguing over whose sauce is better.”

“She was surprised when you introduce me as your son.”

“You are my son and I have the papers to prove it. Oh Oh, we are in for it now. You better be hungry.” Of course, I needed to get a hug from Moma and then a slap on the back from Pap. I introduced my son, “Moma and Pap, this is my son Gerry. He wanted to try the best Italian food in the State. I had to bring him here.”

“That did it, the food kept coming, not a lot of food but like everything else here, enough to taste and enjoy. I saw the smile on Gerry’s face. Then Moma came and sat down. “Gerry, what do you think is it good or no?”

“Moma, I have been privileged to eat Italian food in Italy from renowned chefs, but this is way beyond that. It is fresh and tastes like the land of Italy. Dad, you don’t know what a jewel this place is. Let’s buy it and then we can eat here all the time.”

I don’t know if Moma believed him or not, but I knew he wasn’t lying. He asked for their card. “What card, we don't have a card, here.” She took a blank check and wrote their address.

“Moma, if there is one thing from Italy you would want, what is it.”

“In my home town, there was this man who made the best salamis and sausages you have ever tasted. We would sit at one of his tables, my father and me, eat and drink until I had to help him home. You know it isn’t the expensive things that bring back memories, it’s the quiet simple things.”

I knew that someone was going to get something in the mail.

We finished our meal, kissed Moma and Theresa goodbye.

“Where are we going now?”

“To get a ring made.”

One thing about living in a small town you get to know everyone. “Sammy, how are you?”

“Hey Adam, it has been a while. Who is this young man?”

“Sammy, this is my son.”

“How do you do sir, it’s a pleasure to meet a friend of my Dad’s”

“Sammy I have a hush-hush job. I know I can trust you” I showed him the picture, “I want you to copy this ring with flaws. The ring, if taken can cause a lot of trouble. Whoever steals it and tries to use it will be executed. It must look a lot like this on the surface but anyone with knowledge of the ring will see it as a fake. Can you do something?”

“Sure first we can change the spelling on the sides”

“Dad, may I have some paper?”

Sammy gave him a sheet of paper, he wrote a word. He handed the paper back to Sammy.

“Put that on the side, it means fake in that language”

“It looks the same.”

“No look at the third and fifth letter.”

“Yes, there is a difference. I could also make this out of the lead with a thin coating of gold, it will feel heavy but anyone testing it will uncover the gold and see the lead. Yes, I can make this and unless you know where to look it will appear genuine.”

While Sammy and I chatted, Gerry looked around his shop. He saw a few f coins, “Excuse me sir, these coins appear ancient. Are they real or copies?”

“To the best of my knowledge, they are real. You can check out more at the museum in New York. Are you interested in coins?”

“Yes, I like to collect artifacts dating back around 1300.”

“I don’t think there are that old. Supposedly they are from a pirate treasure. I bought these at an auction.

“Thank you, sir.”

“Sammy, it's good to see you, you can let me know when the ring is ready. Here’s my card.”

“Doctor?”

“Education, it was only natural for ‘teach’”

Saying goodbye to Sammy, “I think we should drive directly to the field, I’ll probably meet some more people that I knew when I lived here.”

I parked the car across the street from the school. “I use to go to this school and I helped some of the boys when they had problems, They gave me the nickname teach. And I liked it so much I became a teacher."

“I’m glad because you came to our school.”

We walked around to the stadium, he held my hand. I felt like a million. I saw Dad and Mom sitting in the bleachers at the 50-yard line.