“We didn’t get a minute. Immediately, Tony Molteri comes storming outside demanding to know what I was up to.
“‘What are you doing hassling my customers, Crowder?’ he sneered at me as he edged dangerously close to invading my personal space. I placed my hand on the butt of my Smith & Wesson Model 19 holstered on my Sam Browne belt. I wanted to be ready if he exploded on me.
“Your ‘customers’ were manhandling this young lady. I’m about to find out whether she wants to file any charges on them.” I explained.
“‘This young ‘lady’ is an employee of Genero’s and she ain’t about to do any damn thing like that!’ He laughed, ‘That is, if she wants to keep her job!’ He warned her looking directly at her to make sure his comments weren’t mistaken.
“‘No,’ she immediately said, ‘No, Officer, I don’t want to press charges.’ She clarified her choice. ‘I just want to go home.’ She clutched her bag and shivered from fear of being between the two of us.
She began walking down the street rapidly, her head down, trying to draw the least possible attention. I followed her, trying to catch up to make sure that some lowlife carnivore didn’t intercept her flight to safety. When I got side by side with her. I startled her until she was reassured who I was.
“Miss, I’m going to escort you home,” I said.
“‘That isn’t necessary, Officer,’ she replied.
“It’s too dangerous for you to be out alone by yourself,” I told her. “I’d feel better if I knew you made it home without any problems.
“She shrugged off my comments and we walked in silence. Block after block we walked down the deserted, dilapidated buildings, dimly lit by streetlights. Finally, she stopped in front of a seedy brownstone apartment building. A cardboard sign in the window advertised rooms for rent. I could only imagine the rat-infested rooms in the slum.
“She looked up at me. ‘Thank you, Officer…’ I recognized she was fishing for a name.
“Tom Crowder, Miss…” as I looked eagerly to get some information from her.
“‘My name is Dawn,’ is all she said. I briefly thought how I could find out more about her. Then, I hesitated as the memory of Mary flashed in my brain. Taking advantage of the situation, Dawn said goodnight to me and quickly walked up the steps.
“The next night on my shift, I was making my first round by Genero’s. I glanced up to the window and stopped dead in my tracks. There dancing before me was a literal angel that fell to Earth. She intentionally avoided eye contact with anyone. It was as though it would be a sinful grievance to gain her attention as she swayed to the music. I continued to watch, alongside the usual bums as we captured every possible angle of the nude temptress dancing in the window.
“I reluctantly broke away to continue my patrol. I made it a point to speed through my assigned checkpoints so I could make more laps that night. On each one that I was lucky enough to see Dawn dancing I would stop and just gawk and drool like the other Neanderthals waiting up at night.
“It wasn’t by happenstance that at 3 AM when Genero’s was closing, that I was waiting outside. As she came out the door, I walked to her side through the crowd interested in her. Without a word said, we began walking down the street.
“‘Thank you again, Officer Crowder for escorting me,’ she said in her delightful lilt.
“No problem, Miss…” I was hoping for her surname, but it wasn’t forthcoming.
“‘Just call me Dawn, Officer Crowder. Tell me, did you enjoy seeing me dance tonight?’
“I was busted and thrown for a loop at her enquiry. Had I insulted her by gazing at her while she danced enticingly before the large crowd. I did the only thing I could think of to deflect her question.
“I never knew that you could see out in the crowd from the stage.” I commented.
She nodded as we continued to walk. ‘You can see just for a few feet outside. Your uniform stands out in the crowd,” she explained.
“I’m sorry, if I’ve offended you,” I said in what I hoped she would take as a neutral tone.
“‘Why would you think that I was offended, Officer? I mean, that’s my job, to attract men and offer them a fantasy. Forget their lives and entice them. Offer them an opportunity that they will hope comes true,’ she flatly intoned as we stopped at her apartment building.
“I could see the pain on her face as she closed her eyes and said, “It isn’t real. It will never be real.’ The hurt in her voice was evident as she tried to convince herself of her words. Then she went up the steps into her building. I finished the rest of the shift in an unsettled state of mind.
“Next evening, I made my rounds but I gave a wide berth of Genero’s window. I could still observe and be uncomfortable at the growing attraction I had to this girl that I had just met. I was still conflicted with my relationship I had with Mary and my growing desires for Dawn.
“Again, I was outside when Dawn walked out at closing time. She gave me a brief smile as she maneuvered through her admirers towards me. I was pleased to see the frustrated looks on the wolves that I prevented from hassling her for the third consecutive night.
“As we walked side by side, she asked, ‘I didn’t see you tonight. Were you there watching me?’
“I could have lied, but I said, “Yes, I was watching you from a distance.
“We continued walking. She spoke up, ‘That makes it somewhat bearable, Officer. Just allowing me the pretense helps,’ she explained as we moved to her destination. She bade me goodnight once again as she entered her apartment.
“The next night I knew there would be trouble; Tony Molteri was outside gripping Dawn’s arm tightly. She squirmed trying to ease the pain. The large crowd gathered to watch the showdown.
“‘Hey Crowder, I’m telling you to stop hassling my employees. This bitch doesn’t need you walking her home every night.’
“Molteri, what Dawn does once she’s off the clock is none of your damn business. If Dawn doesn’t need an escort home then she can tell me, but not you!”
“The tension ratchetted up as we glared at each other.
“‘Well, then I’ll just fire the bitch and then she can just fucking starve to death!’ Molteri sneered as what he thought was a unsolvable problem for me. I caught the panic in Dawn eyes as she confronted the possibility of surviving with no job.
“Molteri, I guess I should let you know, there’s a Supreme Court case, Terry v. Ohio. It allows a police officer to search a person for weapons whenever they think they have grounds for an arrest.
“Now, suppose what would happen if I stay planted in front of Genero’s every shift and I suspect every one of your customers to be guilty of public intoxication and I search them. Wonder what kind of contraband I would find every night?” I wondered.
‘An uneasy murmur rumbled through the crowd at my speculation of what I would find searching them. Molteri recognized the chilling effect my action would cause to his illegal business.
“‘Fuck you, you fucking pig!’ he screamed.
“Molteri, I’ve been called worse by better people than you,” I replied as I geared for him attacking me.
“‘No Officer, that’s alright. No need to get upset. Of course, nobody is getting fired!’ Sal Genero yelled as he weaseled through the crowd and confronted his business partner. ‘Just an unfortunate misunderstanding, Officer. Dawn will have a job as long as she wants one.’ Sal Genero assured me as he looked beseechingly at his partner, Molteri, to calm down.
“How we managed not to kill each other that night, I’ll never know. Instead, once again I had the pleasure of walking Dawn home. I finally got her to call me Tom instead of Officer. She began to tell me of her unhappy childhood with her alcoholic mother and her abusive stepfather, and why she left home in her senior year of high school.
“Each night afterwards, we would slowly divulge information about ourselves. I told her about Vietnam, but couldn’t bring myself to revealing my relationship with Mary. Things just started getting more comfortable around each other. Then came the night I slept with her.”
“Oh My God, Dad! You cheated on Mom?” I suddenly broke out of my reverie from hearing my Dad’s tale at the revelation that he wasn’t faithful to my mother. “How could you, Dad? How could you ever do that to Mom?” I wondered at this man who sired me, gave me life, raised me. How could he just fall off his pedestal I had always had him on.
“Son, you don’t understand how I felt about this girl. Once I gave her a goodnight kiss at her apartment, we both knew what was going to happen. She took my hand and led me upstairs. I called the precinct and told them I needed the night off and arranged for other officers to cover the remainder of my shift. When I woke up with her that morning in her arms, it was everything I ever wanted.”
“Jesus, you fell in love with her? All the time you were dating Mom, you were two-timing her with this tramp?” I accused my Dad.
“It wasn’t all the time, Son. My relationship with Mary was on life support. We hardly got to see each other and when we did, I never could convince her to take our relationship up a notch. She kept insisting on a ring!” Dad tried to explain away his rationale. I was disgusted with him.
“Anyway, it didn’t last long,” Dad settled back into reciting his story. “Dawn and I were at my apartment one morning after making love. She was parading around in just my t-shirt and I was chasing her around, ready to catch and ravish her. I heard a knock on my door and went to answer it.”
“It was Mary, and the first thing she saw was Dawn in the background wearing my t-shirt. Mary called me a bastard and slapped the shit out of me. While I was trying to calm Mary down, Dawn quickly dressed, and as Mary scampered away, she slapped me on the opposite cheek. Then she cussed me for not telling her that I was dating another girl at the same time. She stormed out of my apartment.”
“Serves you right, Dad,” I commented, “You had no business doing that to Mom.”
“You’re right, Son, what I did to your Mom was inexcusable.” Dad replied. “Now let me get back to my story.”