BAD WINE CRAPPY CHOCOLATE

CHAPTER NINE-2

"Max, where the hell are you?"
He opened the suit so that his green shirt became visible.
"I hate to sneak up on you this way, but there are some people looking for me that I don't need to see. Could we go up to your place?"
"I suppose so," he answered with a notable lack of enthusiasm.
The two men walked into the lift. After the doors closed, Jimmy looked around him with a
puzzled expression on his face.
"I'm here, Jim. You didn't lose me. Why do they call this thing a val?"
"The v is vertical, the l is for lift. The a actually means nothing, but it sounds better than calling it val."
"I wonder which genius thought of that."
Jimmy answered with a disinterested shrug. They arrived on his floor and walked into apartment 10G. Max took off the suit and smiled at his sibling.
"It's been a long time. How's the family?"
Max's sister-in-law Fran walked out of the kitchen. "We're fine, Max," she said. "I'm glad to see you."
She hugged him, and Max felt a warm tide of emotion rise within him. Fran was among the nicest people he had ever known. The slender woman's kindness manifested itself in everything she said and did. Her unqualified affection touched even a hardened character like Max Bardy.
"The same here, Fran," he responded with a pleasant smile.
They walked into the living room and sat down. Fran offered her brother-in-law some wine. He gratefully accepted the glass without commenting on its inferior contents.
"So what brings you to Chicago?" she asked him. "Oh, I came to see my friend Brandon Cane."
"Do you know his sister?" asked Connie, Max's 16-year-old niece, as she came into the room. "I've known both of them since we were kids."

"Then you must know them too, Dad. How come you never said anything about it?"
"I hung around with a different group of friends. I'm five years older than Max. But I did meet Cybil Cane a few times."
"She's got it so together. Can you introduce me to her, Uncle Max?"
"Someday, honey. I won't be staying in town for too long on this trip, so it'll have to be another time."
Connie sat down next to her father and sulked. Mickey Bardy, Max's nephew, came into the apartment several moments later. His uncle was stunned by the young man's appearance.
"Uncle Max. I didn't you were going to be here."
"And I didn't know you'd become a priest, Mickey. You're the last person I ever thought would go in for that. You were always looking for a party."
"I know. But at some point I realized that there's more to life than having a good time." "I think it's great, buddy," Max said, as he stood up and shook his hand.
"Thanks. You're looking good. How long will you be here?"
"It's a short visit. But I couldn't come to Chicago without saying hi to you guys." "Let's eat," Jimmy told them.
Max managed to force the vegetarian fare into his mouth without revealing his aversion to it. Fran made pleasant conversation while her husband eyed his guest suspiciously. The two children tried to learn about Max's life since he left Chicago, but their uncle was evasive.
"I heard that you live in a cave," Connie said.
"No, I live in a tree. That makes it easier to leaf when I want to go on a trip."
"Ha, ha," she responded sarcastically.
"I've heard that your place is on the other side of Lake Michigan," said Mickey. "No wonder we are never see you."
"My home is a long way from Chicago," Max told him. "But I don't really have a choice in the matter. It's really great see you guys again."

Though everyone in the room knew Max Bardy's occupation, they acted as though they were unaware of it. This made Bardy uncomfortable, though he appreciated their efforts to treat him as nothing more than a relative visiting from far away. After a short time he decided to extradite himself from the situation.
"I'd love to spend more time with you, but I do have to meet Brandon in an hour or so. Could I speak with you alone, Jim?"
"Sure. Let's go into the den."
His brother closed the sliding doors behind them as the lights came on automatically. Intelligent lighting was the norm for all the apartments in Chicago. The two men sat in the glow of what would have been considered a nightlight before the consolidation movement began. This was now standard issue in keeping with the widely accepted belief that energy should never be wasted. As a result, the city all but disappeared at night. They sat in two ultra-comfortable chairs that faced the window. The towering building gently swayed in the wind.
"I really envy you, Jimmy. The other people I know who got married might as well have played taps at their wedding receptions. But you're really lucky. Fran is as good as it gets."
"And I envy you, Max," his brother responded, touching the fugitive's larger than normal abdomen. "I wish I could eat like you, even for just a week."
"You'll live longer without the meat, Jimmy. I'm surprised to see what Mick chose to do with his life. Religion is a dying industry these days."
"A lot of people practice it in the privacy of their own homes instead of joining a church. Mick feels that's because the religious leaders lost the meaning. He wants to help fix that. Of course, I would have been much more encouraged if he had chosen your profession."
"Hey, if it wasn't for people like me, your son wouldn't be able to show his parishioners the difference between right and wrong."
"Let's get down to it," Jim said as he stood up, towering over his younger sibling. "You didn't come here to visit. You want something from me."