Coda 02 -A to Z

said. He turned and looked at me. “You can’t come in.”
    “I won’t.”
“I mean it.”
“Okay,” I said, holding my hands up in defeat. “I promise.”
    He watched me again for a minute but then sighed. “Not tryin’ to be jerk, Zach. I just—”
    “Angelo,” I said, interrupting him, “it’s fine. Really.” I smiled at him and was relieved when he immediately smiled back. “Go pack. I’ll be here.”
    “Okay.”
    It took me less than twenty minutes to pack up his kitchen. I eyed the mail on the table, trying to decide if I could sort through it for him or not. It was mostly junk—fliers, pizza coupons, credit card offers. One porn magazine. I glanced through that for a few minutes, before realizing I better stop. It was having the intended effect, and I had a feeling Angelo was pretty serious about the “no fooling around” thing. I didn’t want to push it. I put the magazine down and decided to start on the entertainment center. I was unhooking the stereo equipment when there was a knock at the door.
    “Zach?” Angelo yelled from the back.
“Yeah, I got it.”
    I opened the door and found a woman looking back at me. She was tiny, maybe five three. She had dark skin and thick black hair. It was hard to judge her age. She could have been as young as thirtyfive, as old as fifty. Her eyes were deep brown, and she looked scared to death.
    “I’m looking for Angelo Green,” she said shakily.
    And I knew immediately that this was not going to be good. I was actually considering telling her that he wasn’t home, but I wasn’t fast enough.
    “Who is it?” Angelo called as he came out of the bedroom. And then his eyes landed on her.
    He froze. For just a second, he was completely still. The room practically crackled with tension, like the calm before a storm, when you see the lightning and know the thunder isn’t far behind.
    And then without saying a word, he walked over and slammed the door in her face.

    “Angelo,” I said, “was that—”

    “Angelo,” she called through the door, cutting off my question. “Please let me in.”

    He turned and leaned against it, like he was afraid she might try to break it down. “Fuck you!” he yelled back.

    “I know it’s been a long time, but—”
    “A long time?” he snapped. “Is that what you call it? A long time ? You leave me with the goddamn neighbor and never come back, and twenty years later all you got to say to me is, ‘It’s been a long fucking time ’?”
    It was quiet for several seconds, and I almost wondered if she had left. But then she said, quieter, “Angelo, please. Let me in. I just want to see you.”
    He put his head in his hands, but he didn’t move.
    Nothing happened for what seemed like an eternity, but it must have only been a few moments. I waited for some kind of clue as to what he needed. I had no idea what to do. Finally I said, “Angelo?”
    He looked up at me, and there was so much pain and anger and confusion in his eyes, it was heartbreaking to see. I closed the distance between us, and wrapped my arms around him. I thought he might resist me, but he didn’t. He leaned into me, like he couldn’t keep standing on his own. He was shaking, and I held him tighter.
    “Zach,” he whispered, “tell me what to do.”

    “Angelo?” she called uncertainly from the other side of the door.

    “Just a minute,” I yelled toward the door. And then to him, softly, “Take your time. She can wait.”

    “Why, Zach?” he whispered. “Why she gotta come back now?”

    I didn’t have an answer. I was pretty sure he didn’t expect one. I could feel him putting himself back together. His breathing slowly evened out. He quit shaking. He became stiffer in my arms. “What should I do?” he asked again, firmer this time. “It’s your call, Ang. But I think you should hear what she has to say.”

    He nodded against my chest, took a deep breath, and pushed me gently away.

    “Do you want me to stay?” I asked.

    He looked at me, and I could tell he really was considering asking me to leave, but then he said firmly, “Yes.”

    “Okay.”
    He pushed his hair out of his face, stood up straighter. He also went around to the other side of the couch so that it would be between them when she came in. Then he looked at me and said, “Guess I’m ready as I’ll ever be.”
    I opened the door, and she looked up at me in confusion. There were tears on her cheeks.

    “Come in,” I said and moved aside