Rating: PG-ish
Feedback: Please!!
Notes: Another songfic -- sequel to TSATCYA inspired by the Frank Sinatra song of the same title ("All The Way.")
ALL THE WAY
By: Ashley
Raindrops beat down against the windshield, her unusually jittery hands gripping firmly to the leather interior of the vehicle. Her father drove on, his hands firmly clasped onto the steering wheel. Inside, she felt like someone was ripping her to shreds. It was as though suddenly, there was nothing more important to her than getting Lenny back -- not for Squiggy's sake, not for Lenny's own sake, but for her sake. And that bothered her. He was LENNY -- and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get over the fact that she had feelings for Lenny Kosnowski. She didn't want them, she hadn't ask for them, but she'd certainly gotten them. Or had she? Had she felt like this all along and been totally oblivious to it? So many thoughts were trying to process themselves in her brain, she could feel her head throbbing.
"Where d'ya wanna go first?" Frank asked, his eyes clearly focused on the road ahead.
"Vinny's Pool Hall," she said. "He and Squig hang around there sometimes."
Frank nodded silently, and as they approached the pool hall, she hopped out of the car, praying that the first face she saw had blonde hair and blue eyes. She threw open the entrance door of the pool hall.
"LAVERNE!!!!" shouted innumerable men, all immersed in a game of pool.
"Hiya fellas..." she said, trying her best not to show any fear or alarm. "Hey, any of you guys seen Lenny?"
"Kosnowski?" asked tall, muscular man.
Laverne nodded.
"Nah Laverne, we ain't seen him lately. In fact, he and Squig didn't come to their Saturday night pool game," said a scrawny man with thick, black curls.
"Alright well uh... if one of you fellas happen to see him, wouldja tell him Laverne's lookin' for him?"
"Sure thing!" a few of the men responded simultaneously, and with that, Laverne left.
"Any luck?" Frank asked, a flash of hope in his voice.
She shook her head dismally.
"Well... where to next?"
"Moby Dominick's."
Laverne pressed her head against the back of the seat, and reached into the inside pocket of her coat. "Still there," she said to herself, clutching the small piece of cloth.
When somebody loves you
It's no good unless he loves you all the way
Happy to be near you
When you need someone to cheer you
All the way
Taller than the tallest tree is
That's how it's got to feel
Deeper than the deep blue sea is
That's how deep it goes if it's real
Ahead, Laverne could see the neon glow of a sign, the words "MOBY DOMINICK'S" scrawled out in bright blue. She stepped out into the fresh, cold rain, running inside as fast as her feet would take her.
The first man to greet her was a burly man with "Killer" tattooed on his right arm. "'ey, look Charlie! It's a dame!"
Various catcalls and whistles followed his introduction.
"Hey, hey! I gotta question!"
"Hey hey baby, I'm your answer!" called a wiry man from the back.
What would usually prod Laverne to become flirtatious did not. "Listen, I'm lookin' for a man named Lenny Kosnowski!"
"Kosnowski, did ya say?" asked the bartender, the dim light glaring down on his silvery hair.
"Yeah, Kosnowski," Laverne said. She could feel her hopes rising immediately. "Have ya seen him?!"
"Nope," the bartender said, filling another mug with beer.
"Yeah well... thanks anyway," Laverne said, and went on her way back to the car.
When somebody needs you
It's no good unless she needs you all the way
Through the good or lean years
And for all those in between years
Come what may
Who knows where the road will lead us?
Only a fool would say
But if you let me love you
It's for sure I'm gonna love you all the way
All the way
For three straight hours, they checked every bar, restaurant, and hang-out in the town. For three straight hours, Laverne fretted, her nerves as raw as the meat in a butcher shop window.
"Pop, we've just gotta find him!" she said, her large eyes glistening with tears.
"Laverne, it's 1 AM already. It's Tuesday. The world works on Tuesday! We can look again tomorrow, alright?"
"But Pop...." she began to say, chewing anxiously at a nail that was already worn down by her teeth. Her father's glance stopped the words issuing from her mouth. For a moment, she paused to think. If she was Lenny... where would she be? She ransacked her brain -- but every place she knew him to go she had already been there. "Fine Pop. I give up. But... do me one last favor?"
"What is it?"
"Take me by St. Paul's."
"Whaddya wanna go to church for?" Frank asked, perplexed.
"Just... take me, alright?"
"Alright, if that's what you want.
The entrance to the chapel of St. Paul's was highly elaborate and ornate. The dark burgunday and pale cream colors blended splendidly with each other, especially when they were lighted only by the stars, moon, and a few candles burning in the front. At the front of the church, she could see a man kneeling -- the only other soul with her in the chapel. It was too dark to recognize him from a distance, much less if he were right in front of her face. She quietly seated herself in a pew near the back, putting her hands together in a praying position and tilting her head downward.
"God," she whispered, hoping not to disturb the other man at prayer. "I know... I know I ain't been so good all these years. And I'm sorry. But Lenny..." she paused at his name. It was almost as if the very mention of his name took her breath away. "Lenny's a good guy father. You just gotta help me find him! Well... you don't gotta... but it sure would be nice. I gotta find him before it's too late, God. Because I got big news to tell him. Not THAT kinda big news... but you already know that. And Lord, I dunno why you've led me to him the way ya have, but for whatever reason it is..." she looked upward and smiled, "thank you."
"I uh, I didn't know there was anyone else in here," came the voice from the front of the chapel.
"Aw, geez, uh... I hope I didn't disturb ya!" Laverne said, quickly jumping to her feet. "I just came here to... well... pray. Ya see, I'm sorta having some trouble and -- well I figured this is the best place to come when ya have trouble, right?"
"Yeah. Hey ya know, you sound real familiar," the voice said.
"So do you!"
She could the man's silhouette shrug it's shoulders. "In fact, ya sound an awful lot like... well, like a girl I knew. Once. That's why I came here to pray. Over a girl. Sounds awfully dumb isn't it?"
She felt her feet give way beneath her, and caught herself by holding onto the pew.
She could see the silhouette run to the back of the chapel, nearing her, and cradling her into his strong arms. "Are you alright?! I..." he stopped abruptly. "Laverne..."
"Len."
"Laverne! You're all wet! What happened to ya?!" he asked, taking the jacket off his back and putting it around her shoulders.
"I wanted to give ya--" she fumbled through the pocket of her own coat. "I wanted to give ya this," she said, handing him a crinkled piece of white cotton. He unfolded it slowly. It was the "L" off of his Lone Wolf jacket.
"Oh..." he said, a little ashamed of himself.
"Len, don't leave me."
"But Laverne, I ha... what did you say?"
"I said, 'don't leave me.'"
"Leave YOU?"
"Uh-huh."
"But why?"
"Because..." she paused for a moment to think. "Hold on," she said, removing both his jacket and her coat, and rolling up her sleeves. "That's why."
"Yer cold? Ya had on two coats, how couldja be cold?"
"No, Len, they're... you know."
"Yeah, well, I guess if you're cold..."
"No!" Laverne said, planting both of her small hands on his broad shoulders. "Len! They're goosebumps!"
"I can see that, Vernie..."
"THE goosebumps!"
For a moment he studied her, closely and carefully. And then... he laughed. "You're crazy! How could you ever be in love with me? I mean... well, this ain't the way it's supposed to be! I'm supposed to be the one that loves you, and you're supposed to hate my guts."
"Len! I love you!"
He could've fainted. He could've died. He could've suffered from apoplexy, or gone into shock. "You're wet... and maybe you have a fever or somethin' Laverne."
She (gingerly) slapped him on the head. "What are you talkin' about?!"
"Well, maybe I'm hard of hearing, but it just sounded like you said you loved me."
"That's what I said!"
He grinned, and took her hand into his. "Say it again."
"I love you."
Three words he never thought she'd ever say to him, and he could interpret them not only in the way he wanted to, but in the way they were meant.
And then, as if it were a movie-script, they kissed, right then and there, in the dim glow of the colossal chapel.
And when somebody needs you
It's no good unless she needs you all the way
Through the good or lean years
And for all those in between years
Come what may
Who knows where the road will lead us?
Only a fool would say
But if you let me love you
It's for sure I'm gonna love you
All the way
All the way