Frank awoke the next morning in a state of confusion. He slept so soundly, even the constant car alarms and police sirens didn't wake him. It was either the stress of the day or the six-pack nightcap, or both. "Where am I? What day is this?" Then it all came back to him.
Frank was nothing if not resilient. He was confident he would find a way to work things out. He and Kat had certainly had their rough patches and he was sure this was just another. A few years ago he had a fight with Kat's mother. Mrs. Green thought her big-headed daughter was a princess and deserved a prince who would whisk her away to live in castle in the sky . . . and take Mrs. Green to live with them. Frank was not the prince she had envisioned for her life together forever with her precious Kitty Kat and she missed no opportunity to try and put an end to Kat's mistake of her choice of a partner. I don't know what started the argument, but it ended with Mrs. Green punching Frank in the crotch and jumping on his back while Kat's brother Dick shoved him out of their house and into the street. Once Frank got Mrs. Green off his back, he could turn his attention to Dick. Dick was a whole head taller, but Frank was one tough guy. He finished Dick off with a few well-placed blows to the jaw that Dick would not forget, nor forgive. Still, Kat and Frank eventually resumed their relationship with her family, probably for the kids.
Back in his heyday in high school, there was no one who could beat Frank. Willingboro was a brand new Levit community of neat, tidy houses in a park-like setting. The beautiful community with brand new homes, schools, roads, and parks with swimming pools and ball fields, along with an affordable price appealed to many families. However, because of the affordability, realtors began funneling inner-city families into Willingboro. Soon the original families began selling out and the town became more like the inner city that the new families were fleeing. Willingboro High School suddenly had robberies and assaults take place right on school grounds. Frank adjusted just fine. He suddenly had some competition on the football field where he was the star. Back in the 1970s football coaches told the players to lead with their heads. You couldn't punch out your opponent, but you could knock him out with a well-placed head-butt. Frank thrived, he loved nothing more than running, hitting and winning. At practice, his coach and teammates would have to tell him to take it down a notch. "Save it for the game, Frank!" his dad would shout from the sidelines. If you were on the other side of the line-up, you would have something to fear if you were looking into Frank's blue eyes. This fearless attitude got Frank a full, four-year scholarship to play football in college despite his poor grades in school.
Frank thought that maybe he could just call Kat and pretend it didn't all happen and she would tell him to come home and everything would be good again. He dialed the number he had dialed a hundred times before. This time he was actually nervous though. He got the answering machine, "Kat? It's me, call me." She never answered the phone anyway, no matter who it was, with the exception of Mrs. Green. Ten minutes later Mrs. Green called Frank and told him that a restraining order meant that he was not allowed to call Kat either and if he called again, she was going to call the police and have him arrested. Mrs. Green could not have been more happy to be the one to make that phone call and deliver that news. It was Christmas and her birthday rolled into one big happy day. Kitty Kat could finally be rid of old toad Frank. Right after that Dick called Frank to threaten him. Frank and Dick had gotten into a few altercations with Frank always coming out on top, but this didn't stop idiot Dick from talking smack like he was the one who always won. "Hey asshole, stay the fuck away from my sister or I'll come over and make you." "Yo, Bring it Little Dick." Dick hated when Frank called him Little Dick. Kat made the mistake of telling us this story that when they were kids, her dad's name was Richard and they called their baby boy Richard Jr. Everyone knew her dad as Dick, so dad became "Big Dick" and her brother "Little Dick". She remembered her mom yelling down the street for him to come home for dinner "Little Dick, dinner!". We were hysterical laughing, but Little Dick, still cringes at the name.
Frank called Dave next. Perhaps Dave could help Frank get rid of the guys who were renting his old house too. When he was single and selling cars for a living, he decided to buy a little row home in the city. If he could evict those guys, he could move back in and be much more comfortable. Dave was sympathetic, but not surprised at the story Frank told. Dave had been trying to tell him that Kat was up to something and again offered to show him the pictures he took. Finally, Frank thought that maybe he was ready to see them. Dave wrote him up an eviction notice and gave the guys a month to find a new place to live. The sooner he could move out of the "Bachelor Arms" the better.
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