One Door Closes and Two Windows Open
Chapter Two
By Missy

SERIES: Goosebumps!
SUBSERIES: One Door Closes And Two Windows Open
PART: two of two for this arc
Author: Missy
Email: lasfic@yahoo.com
RATING: PG-13 (For drug use and improper practices mentioned within)
PAIRING(s): L/L; S/C; S/R

DISTRIBUTION: To LW, Kai, and FG so far; any other archives are welcome to ask (Please Email Me), but disclaimers must be included, my email left intact. send a URL, and provide full disclaimers as well as credit me fully. Please inform me if you are going to submit my work to any sort of search engine. Please do not submit my work to a search engine that picks out random sets of words and uses them as key words, such as "Google"

Please contact me in order for this story to be placed on an archive, or if you want know of a friend who would enjoy my works, please email me their address and I will mail them the stories, expressly for the purpose of link trading. MiSTiers are welcomed! Please do inform me that you'd like to do the MiSTing, however, and send me a copy of the finished product. I'd also love to archive any MiSTings that are made of my work!

DISCLAIMER: Laverne and Shirley, of course, not my property and belongs to its creators.

CATEGORY: Epic Drama
CANNON/SPOILERS: Pre-Reunion Show Cannon; set five years after the series' conclusion.
FEEDBACK: PLEASE?!
SPOILLER/SUMMARY: Laverne and Lenny visit someone special; Carmine spirals further into his addiction; and Shirley receives an unpleasant but sobering surprise.
NOTES: The end for this arc! :) . To be continued in "the Ghosts of Royal Cactus"

****

Through a smoky haze, Carmine Ragusa smiled obliviously. He puffed upon the joint proffered for him as though he could absorb intelligence, wit, and staying power from it.

He grinned into the darkness. Maybe he could.

His stereo was thumping, loudly; something by Three Dog Night? They were fifteen, twenty minutes ago, but he was so fascinated by the little colors that each fingertip upon his hand seemed to be trailing; rivers of light.

Man, that was some good stuff.

A pretty brunette danced at the foot of his couch; taller, too tall and loose to be Shirley. But he grinned cockily, trying to coax her into coming over to see him, and pretending with all of his might that she was his petite former girl.

Why couldn't Shirley understand that everyone in the business was smoking? Not just smoking; snorting, shooting, drinking, screwing; the whole shebang. Everyone he knew in show business was an addict of some sort; from the stagehands to the producers. She didn't have to struggle to become a relevant artist; she didn't know what it was like. He had to fit in, or they would never consider him for the bigger roles.

He grinned, crookedly, standing up and pushing away from the couch. "Hey, Baby." He said to the brunette, "You come here often?"

****

"Keep your eyes shut, Len!" Laverne demanded. "An' don't drop the water, OK?"

Lenny obeyed, stumbling along, following the steady pull which kept him moving forward. Suddenly, they stopped moving.

"Can I open 'em now?"

"Yeah." She said, her voice hushed. He removed his free hand from its position over his eyes, and instantaneously became sober as he realized where they stood. The lovely breakfast they had eaten moments earlier lurched upward within him.

They were standing in a cemetery.

He prepared to ask her what they were doing, but she didn't give him a glance. Smiling at the headstone resting before them, she said softly, "Hi, Mamma. It's me, Laverne."

Lenny calmed instantly, tiny memories washing over him. Mrs. DeFazio had always been a kind lady; always more so than his own mother had been. For the two years he had known her, she had been unfailing in gentle kindness and comfort.

"I'm sorry I ain't visitin' regular...I moved far away, an' I don't have a lotta money...I got someone with me this time. Do you remember Lenny Kosnoski? He was the little boy I used to play with all a the time. If it weren't for him, I woulda never came to see ya, even the first time." She reached out for Lenny's hand; he accepted her touch, gently squeezing. "Say hi to mamma, Len."

Lenny waved, awkwardly, to Josephine. DeFazio's headstone, "H'lo, Mrs. DeFazio."

"You can call her Josephine, Len. I'm sure she ain't gonna mind." Laverne released his hand, carefully settling down by Mrs. DeFazio's grave, smoothing her skirt beneath her folded calves. Laverne looked up at her fiancé and patted her palm upon a bare spot on the ground beside her, "C'Mon, Len."

Once more awkward, he seated himself beside his fiancee. Laverne returned her attention to Mrs. DeFazio's headstone.

"A lot's happened since I came here Mamma; it's been six years since I came back to Milwaukee at all." She continued, and Lenny listened, enraptured, to her voice, "We all moved to California. Ya know that part; I told ya th' last time I was here. Five years ago, Shirl got married to a guy she only knew for a few weeks. We all thought she was nuts, but it turned out pretty good; she's got a little girl, an' would ya believe that she named it after me? We call her Veenie, so no one gets confused," Lenny swallowed the tiny tidbit of information he held about Shirley's impending separation (and probable divorce from) Walter Meeney. "Pop and Edna got back together. I dunno how ya feel about that, but she makes him real happy...most a the time. Pop's doin' real good; he ran for office in California, an' he got elected. D'ya know he's runnin' for governor at the next election? Ya probably do; Pop says yer everywhere.... Carmine's a big-time actor. Remember when he usedta dance in fronta our building, ta show off for Shirl?" She smiled at the memory, and Lenny did, too, " She sighed, "I dunno if ya have a direct line ta Saint Jude up there, Mamma, but I want ya to help Carmine. He's goin' crazy...I'm sorta scared about what'd happen to Shirl, if he...died.." She took a deep breath, "Squiggy just got outta the Army; they used him as a cook," she laughed, "I dunno what he's gonna do, but he's datin' Rhonda...that's the pretty actress we live next-door to in California." Almost ready to conclude her tale, Laverne's hand found a resting-place upon Lenny's knee, "I left me fer last cause it's the longest. I was kinda fired from that department-store job I told ya about before; I'm workin' in a bar now, even though Len an' Shirl want me to quit." She laughed, "I moved ta New York, so I could help Shirl take care of Veenie while Walter was overseas; now that he's back, I dunno what I'm gonna do. I gotta stay in New York, 'cause Len's in school there...I didn't tell ya! Len's in a music college! Yeah, I know he's not so bright," Laverne saw Lenny scowl at her from the corner of her eye, "But they say he's got a lot of potential as a musician. Anyway, I can't decide if we should go back ta California or not...I sorta got to, because Pop's there, an' I got responsibilities at Cowboy Bills." She squeezed Lenny's knee once again, "I didn't tell ya the best part! Me an' Len...we're gonna get married. I dunno if you'd be yellin' at me that I'm crazy right now, but he's the best thing that ever happened ta me..."

"I promise I'll take real good care a' her, Mrs. DeFazio," Lenny promised, "I'll treat her like a queen."

"Aww," Laverne smiled, "Ya will?"

"Yeah!" He said, his expression belying the surprise that he felt. Of course, she would be taken care of! "What'd I promise ya, years ago?"

"I know," She smiled craftily, "But it's nice ta hear." She turned back to her mother, "We're gonna make you some grandkids someday..Don't bite yer palm, Len," She teased. "I promise we'll come see you more, too...somehow...I dunno..."

"Are you askin' me if I wanna move back to Milwaukee?"

She shook her head, "I dunno, Len. I don't wanna talk about it yet." She picked up a houseplant, which had been resting on her mother's stone and took the cup of water he had been holding. "Just as I thought; Uncle Nunzio ain't been waterin' them." She sighed, carefully pouring water into each plant that Frank and Laverne had so tenderly placed around her mother's stone.

"Yer dad hired him?"

She nodded, "To take care The Pizza Bowl and Mamma's gravesite."

Lenny shook his head, "We're gonna pay him a visit?"

"Yup," He groaned as they rose to their feet, "Don't whine, Len; the Pizza Bowl's only a five-block walk from here..."

"Yeah, tell that to my feet!" He complained. She nudged him as they stood. "Wait a minute...can ya give me a second alone with yer mom?"

Laverne nodded, reluctantly waiting out of earshot at the cemetery's gate.

Lenny made sure that Laverne was out of hearing range, then whispered to the stone, "Mrs. DeFazio? I meant that; alla those words. I'm gonna take real good care a Laverne; I loved her since I was eight years old, and I ain't stopped since, so you can rest easy there in heaven." He finished speaking, stepping away from her graveside. Then, suddenly, he remembered something and ran back, "Oh! If ya see a turtle with my name scratched onto his shell, tell 'im I miss him."

****

Shirley Feeney ('nee Meeney) was, for the fourth time today, crying her eyes out. It was that cursed B-Movie Marathon Channel Three was showing.

She rolled onto her back, allowing the last of her tears to roll free from her eyes. Why couldn't she have married a nice man like that Cary Grant? Someone who held to his marriage vows and didn't play nasty games with innocent war victims?

If she ever saw that tart again, she'd smack her silly.

A sudden knock at the door stirred Shirley from her self-pity, forcing her to climb to her feet. She waded through a puddle of used Kleenexes that she'd heedlessly piled up beside the couch, though sticky tissues were still glued to her toes as she carefully hatched the door open.

"Hello?" She asked the pain-clothed deliveryman behind the door.

"Sign for these, Ma'am?" She accepted the pen handed her, scribbled her name on several lines, and felt a packet of papers being pressed into her hand.

"What are these?"

"Consider yourself served, Ma'am." He said simply, and she slammed the door in his face.

Completely unaware of her total lack of manners, she left the service man knocking away at her door. Tearing into the documents, her eyes widened. Clearly, they illustrated one base fact: Walter was suing her for custody of Veenie.

The tears that had once blinded her were suddenly dashed away; she was suddenly, vividly, angry.

And when a Feeney gets their dander up, they can be lethal.

****

"Closed?!" Laverne wailed, staring in disbelief at the gated front of the Pizza Bowl, "How could Uncle Nunzio be so late?! It's noon already, and he's gonna miss the lunch rush!"

"Maybe he's got Yokozuna's revenge?" Laverne gave Lenny an odd look. "Ya know, the..."

She placed her palm over Lenny's mouth, "Whatever it is, I'm sure it's disgustin'." She grunted. "I gotta find a phone an' call Pop..." At that they went in search of a pay phone, and Lenny pretended not to listen as Laverne yelled at her father.

"But Pop, the places is boarded up!! Waddya mean, ya trust Uncle Nunzio?! He went to the pen for ratting on Vinnie The Blade!" She seemed ready to pitch the phone's receiver through the booth's glass walls, but she restrained herself for once. She seemed to be listening to her father's screams with little to no pain as a result; she held the receiver as far away from her ear as possible, and Lenny could hear his future father-in-law screaming in Italian. This gave him some slight pause. Finally, with a groan, she resigned, "OK, OK; It's yer restaurant, I understand." She swiftly changed the subject, "What's new at home." She paused, listening; then her jaw dropped open; "What?! That's wonderful!" She held a hand over the the mouthpiece of the receiver, "Squiggy and Rhonda are getting married!"

Lenny hopped up and down, trying to keep his obvious delight at his best friend's engagement as quiet as possible.

Laverne swiftly concluded their conversation, emerging from the booth to share a hug with Lenny.

"Man, it's good news all around today!" Lenny grinned, "I can't wait ta get back to New York!"

She smiled, more dimly, and walked beside him.

***

As the sun set over Milwaukee, Laverne and Lenny were at 30,000 feet, flying back to New York. On a spare piece of paper, Laverne was sketching out the pros and cons of each possible living situation set out before them.

"Pro: Milwaukee has better schools...it's closer to tha Pizza Bowl...Con: It's closer to Big Rosie," She shuddered, "Pro: New York is big, and it's in the middle of everything. Con: It ain't safe. Pro: California has big, wide-open spaces. Con: It's the farthest from our families." She looked up to discover Lenny hard at work upon something in his notebook, "Len, I'm talkin' here!"

He looked up, sheepishly, "Sorry, Laverne," He apologized, "I just got an idea..."

"Ideas hurt yer head, Len," She cautioned.

"Not so much now," He protested, "Anyway, I was writin' down this lyric..it just came ta me."

"Lemme see?" She asked.

"Nah," He withheld the pad from her grip. "It's not finished." He returned to his scribblings.

"But Len," she whined.

"Will ya let me look in yer underwear draw?"

She gave him a shrewd look, "We ain't married yet."

"That's secret ta you, and this is secret to me," He said firmly. But there was a teasing in his eyes that suggested maybe, just maybe, he would let her see it some day.

An hour later, Lenny had dozed off upon her shoulder, and Laverne, just barely able to peer at the pad, took a glance at the lyric he'd written out. She was flattered, touched, that it was about being with her in the cemetery, walking all over town...about the two of them.

When she turned her head and looked back at her list of pros and cons, only one thing stuck out. One pro, in particular, attached to Milwaukee.

The word, heavily underlined, almost italicized, jumped out at her. "Home".




Back To Chapter One

On To "The Ghosts Of Royal Cactus"