(© OldTimeFan, 3/8/2002. This could be place under various categories…L/L Romance, S/C Romance, Drama…I leave it up to you to decide! This is a story about how sometimes it takes almost losing the people you love to realize you shouldn’t wait to tell them how important they are to you. I hope you all enjoy it and look forward to your feedback on the Boards)

"The big one’s a-comin’, you know," said Squiggy one sunny day.

"Excuse me?" asked Laverne, pausing with an earring halfway affixed to her left ear.

"The big one. Coming."

"I don’t want to hear that kind of language in my home, Mister," said Shirley, shaking a disapproving finger at Squiggy as she whizzed past him into the kitchen.

"No, no, no, Shirley my-mind-is-in-the-gutter Feeney," said Squiggy. "The big earthshake is what I mean. The one that’s going to swallow us up whole. Don’t you girls read the daily or nothing?"

Laverne finished inserting her earring. "Aww, Squig, you shouldn’t sit around worrying about that. We’ve been through an earthquake, and other than a few broken dishes, it was nothing."

"Come on, Laverne, we are going to be late again!" said Shirley, breezing back in from the kitchen. "Andrew, you know you shouldn’t read anything but the comics, it gives you stress."

Squiggy stood up. "I know, you’re right, but sometimes in the can…well, the comics pages are kinda short. Anyway, I think we should be prepared."

"For what?" asked Laverne as she tugged on her sweater.

"For the End," he intoned.

"The End? You mean…"

"That’s right, Lavernie DeFazio, the End. The End end. So, in that spirit, I want you girls to know that I would have done either one of you, given half a chance, but especially you, Shirley Feeney."

"Eeeeeew! Get out!" yelled Shirley, shoving him toward the door.

"No, I mean that I…you should know that I care and stuff before…quit shoving me!"

Shirley succeeded in pushing Squiggy out the door. She slammed it shut and leaned her back against it. "Laverne, why do we let them in? I mean, at all. Why do we let Squiggy and Lenny ever come into our home?"

"Well, I really can’t explain the Squiggy part, but Len’s okay. Maybe it’s because Squig is usually glued to Lenny." Laverne grabbed her purse and tossed Shirley’s bag to her.

"Wait a minute," said Shirley.

"What? Shirl, you just said we’re gonna be…."

"Never mind that. What am I hearing coming out of your mouth, Vernie?"

Laverne looked at her shoes. "What? I’m just sayin’, Lenny is not so hard to take…sometime. Big deal, let’s go."

"Laverne, it sounds to me like you may be a little sweet on Leonard. Is there something you haven’t been telling me all these years?"

"Shirl, have you been smoking those funny plants in Rhonda’s apartment again? All I’m saying is that I don’t mind Lenny so much. Why are you making such a big deal out of it? I mean, he’s cute…ish, cutish, and he’s nice enough, and he’s usually not too annoying when he isn’t being influenced by Squiggy, and he’s…" Laverne stopped herself.

"He’s what? What? He’s…your sweetie? Your Mister Right? Your future husband?"

"No, I didn’t say any of that! Shirley, why are you pushing me on this…just let it go and let us go to work!" Laverne reached around Shirley, grabbed the doorknob, and yanked the door open. Shirley found herself pressed against the wall.

Pushing herself away from the wall and checking to make sure her nose was still intact, Shirley said, "You know, maybe Squiggy does have a point. Maybe some things shouldn’t be kept bottled up until it’s too late. Think about it, Vernie. If you have feelings for Lenny…"

"…which I don’t."

"But if you did…"

"…but I don’t."

Shirley sighed in frustration, chasing Laverne down the hallway of their building. "All I am saying is that you may actually want to share those feelings with the boy before you wind up an old maid!"

Laverne stopped dead in her tracks and turned slowly to face her friend. "Oh, you are one to talk, Miss Pie in the Sky."

Shirley folded her arms slowly. "And just what do you mean by that?"

"Hmmm, I don’t know, let’s see. There’s a certain guy you’ve known for, like, ever and dated for almost as long and, hmmm, have you ever actually told him you are crazy, head-over-heels in love with him? No, I think the answer to that is no. So, what exactly are you waiting for? Armaggedon?"

Now it was Shirley’s turn to look at the floor. "I’ve told Carmine I love him lots of times. Lots and lots of times."

"Oh, sure, you’ve said that you love him, but have you ever actually told him that you LOVE love him?" Laverne paused, hands on hips, toe tapping.

Shirley was silent.

Laverne stopped tapping. "Have you? Shirl, did you…"

"I, I’ve sort of…hinted at it? Oh, he knows Vernie. He has to know how I feel. I show him all the time. All he has to do is look in my eyes and see it! That is, if his eyes aren’t wandering over to some leggy blonde! If he was busy staring at some bubble butt in a tight skirt, of course, he may have missed my obvious feelings, which, I guess he has, since my finger is still naked!" Shirley shook her left ring finger under Laverne’s nose. "So I don’t think it is me who has to state the obvious, I think it is the guy who keeps changing the rules about whether we are dating each other…."

"Shirl?"

"…or if this week we can date other people…."

"Um, Shirl?"

"…or if only HE can date someone else while I sit in the apartment growing old with YOU!"

"Shirley?" Laverne had managed to back all the way to the door to the parking lot.

Shirley took a deep breath and shook herself briskly. "Yes, Laverne?"

"I think we should maybe change the subject."

Shirley managed a small smile. "What a good idea. Let’s go to work!"

* * * * *

"There, did you feel that?" asked Squiggy.

"Feel what?" asked Lenny, patting his pant legs with concern.

"That tremor. That’s what they call them, y’know. Tremors." Squiggy’s eyes darted around the interior of Cowboy Bill’s.

"Squiggy, we’ve been having those for days," said Carmine, looking up from the remnants of his lunch. "It’s been in the papers for awhile now. We are in California, you know."

"Yes, Carmine, I know where we are. We are in the place that is about to break off and fall into the sea." Squiggy grabbed the countertop with both hands, nearly sticking one hand into a fresh pizza Frank DeFazio had just set down. "There, there it is again!"

"Move it!" yelled Frank, snatching the pizza to safety.

"Y’know, Carmine, Squig may have something there. He’s very alert to the ground moving, always has been." Lenny looked under Carmine’s table, checking the floor.

Carmine shook his head, chuckling. "If you guys are so nervous all of a sudden, then you might want to head back to Milwaukee. You know, the place that’s under ten feet of snow right now, while it is 80 degrees here." Carmine stood up and stretched. "Me? I’m going to walk outside without my jacket and breathe the sweet, warm air."

"Will you be sucking sweet air when the ground opens up and swallows you alive?" demanded Squiggy. "I think not!"

Carmine faced him, started to put his hands on Squiggy’s shoulders, then hesitated and let them drop back to his sides. "Squiggy, Squiggy, you’ve got to get a grip. Yes, we have a little shaky ground under our feet. That doesn’t mean we’re all doomed! Really, buddy, you should get some help." He glanced back at Lenny, who was still investigating the floor of the restaurant for cracks. "Both of you should."

Lenny stood up and stepped in front of Carmine. "Hey, you know, it isn’t like it can’t happen. Maybe you should try and listen to Squig sometime. He isn’t always crazy."

"Yeah," Squiggy chimed in. "I’m not always…hey!"

"Squig, I mean it in a good way," said Lenny.

"That’s it. No one listens to me, I’m crazy, I’m a nervous Nellie. Well, this Nellie is getting out of here and going to a sturdy place. Like Utah." He marched out the door.

"Aww, now you’ve gone and done it, Carmine. You hurt his little feelings. He’s very sensitive you know."

"Lenny, I don’t think it was me…"

"You know, just because you got a B average in high school and me and Squig only made it into the C/D range, doesn’t mean you are always so much more right about things than we are."

Carmine took a deep breath. "Len, I don’t want to argue with you. I just think it’s silly to worry about things like…"

"Earthquake!" Frank shouted from the kitchen.

"Yeah, earthquakes…wait…." Carmine’s eyes widened as the floor beneath them started to shake.

Lenny grabbed the chair in front of him, while Carmine latched onto the table. The entire restaurant began to tremble. Frightened patrons bolted for the door. Then, as quickly as it had begun, it stopped.

Carmine and Lenny didn’t say a word for a moment. They stood clutching the furniture, staring at each other. Finally, Carmine said, "Wow."

"Yeah, wow."

They finally let go of their respective chair and table. "Well," said Lenny. "I guess Squiggy isn’t so crazy now, is he?"

Carmine heard sirens outside, in the distance. He looked around Cowboy Bills at the broken glass and paper plates scattered all over the floor. Frank was muttering as he began scraping the pizza off the now-cracked floor. "Um. Maybe not so crazy. Squiggy." Carmine shook his head briskly. "You may be right, Lenny. Maybe Squiggy has the right idea about Utah."

They headed out the door, walking straight into Laverne and Shirley. Shirley hugged Carmine. Laverne and Lenny looked at each other, then looked at the ground.

"Oh, Carmine! It was awful!" said Shirley. "We were on our way to work and just as we passed Cowboy Bill’s, the whole world started to shake and quiver and…." She clung to him more tightly. Carmine put his arms around her and patted her back tenderly, making "there, there" sounds.

"Uh, hey, Len," said Laverne. "How about that quake, huh?"

"Oh, yeah, Laverne. Um, hi. Yeah, shake and quake, ha, ha!" His blue eyes darted around, looking at everything but Laverne.

"Where’s Pop?" asked Laverne.

"He’s still inside, tidying up," said Carmine.

"That’s my Pop, always taking care of business." Laverne’s laugh was a little shakier than usual.

Carmine looked around, surveying the damage outside. The stop lights were blinking, a couple of streetlights had sprayed shattered bulbs on the street, but overall, nothing too serious. "We should probably get inside," he said. "Or is it better to stay outside? I don’t know what the rules are in these situations."

"Oh, so you admit you might not know everything about everything. How refreshing!" Squiggy appeared from behind Shirley. He was trying to swagger, but not quite succeeding. He had a scratch on his face that was bleeding, slightly.

"Oh, Andrew! You’re hurt!" Shirley reached into her purse and pulled out a hanky, which she immediately used to pat Squiggy’s scratch.

"My little angel of mercy," Carmine murmured, softly. Only Laverne heard him, but when she looked at him and raised an eyebrow, he glanced up at the sky and pretended not to notice.

That’s when the next quake hit.

The trio fell to the ground as it spasmed beneath their feet. Carmine instinctively threw himself over Shirley, while Lenny wrapped his arms around Laverne and Squiggy. People screamed and ran around them, and the sound of falling metal and crashing glass almost drowned out the dull roar of the quake. Laverne managed to peek out from under Lenny’s arm, just as a loud boom came from the inside of Cowboy Bill’s. She screamed.

Carmine, Shirley, Squiggy, and Lenny managed to turn and see what she was looking at. The explosion took out the rear wall of Laverne’s father’s restaurant and flames shot through the window and through the roof. Carmine managed to get to his feet and pulled Shirley further away from Cowboy Bill’s, while Lenny and Squiggy struggled to yank Laverne to safety. She fought against them, but lost her footing and they were able to lift her back and away from the burning building. Then, finally, the shaking stopped.

"Pop!" Laverne cried, lunging again toward the restaurant.

Lenny caught her up in his arms. "No, Laverne! You can’t go in there! It isn’t…"

"Get away from me, Len!" she cried, fighting against him. "That’s my Pop in there! He’s all I’ve got left! I have to get him out of there!"

"Lenny’s right," said Squiggy, in an uncharacteristically calm voice. "There’s nothing you could do. The firemen will be here soon…" He trailed off as he surveyed the damage around them. Squiggy wondered to himself how the firemen could get there, considering the streets were broken.

Carmine helped Shirley to her feet. "I don’t know if they can make it here," he said absently, looking at the damaged cars and now-broken streetlights blocking the crumbling pavements. He looked at Shirley, touching her face lightly, as though she were made of glass. "Are you okay, Angel Face?"

"I….I…" she couldn’t get the words out. She leaned against Carmine.

Carmine stroked her hair gently, but now he was looking at Laverne. Her mascara streaked her cheeks as she cried, still trying to pull away from Lenny and Squiggy. She was pounding on Lenny’s chest, begging him to let her go to her father.

"Shirley?" Carmine said softly. "I’ll be right back, okay?"

Shirley looked up at him in confusion. "Where are you going?"

He didn’t say anything, but he was looking at the burning building in front of them.

"No. No!"

"Shirl…"

"No! I said no! Absolutely not!"

"Shirley." He gripped her shoulders and forced her back a step. "I have to. There isn’t any time. Shirl, he’s Laverne’s father. He may as well be mine, you know that. I can’t just leave him in there." He leaned in and kissed her lips. "I’ll be right back, I promise."

Shirley grabbed the front of his shirt, shaking her head as she started to cry. "I can’t lose you. Please, Carmine…" But even as she said it, she let his shirt go. She knew what he had to do and she knew she had to let him do it.

Carmine started toward the building. As he did, Lenny pushed Laverne gently toward Squiggy and Shirley. "It’s going to be okay, Laverne. I’ll make it okay. Don’t worry. Just…wait here." And he ran over to catch up with Carmine.

"Are you nuts? You aren’t going in there," said Carmine.

"You want to argue with me, or you want to get Mr. DeFazio out of there?" asked Lenny.

Carmine thought for a moment. Then, he glanced back over his shoulder at Shirley. With a smile and a wink, he said, "I’ll see you soon, Angel Face." Turning back to Len, he said, "Well, if you’re coming with me, come on already!"

Lenny looked back at Laverne, who was no longer struggling as Squiggy and Shirley held her on either side. He managed a lopsided smile and a wave, before turning toward the building. "I’m coming, " he said to Carmine.

With that, they both ran into Cowboy Bill’s.

Squiggy stared at the burning building into which his friend, his best friend in the world, had just willing run. "I guess I should…."

"No, no you don’t, Andrew," said Shirley, in her most take-charge voice. She held the weeping Laverne close as she told him, "You will just get in the way. Besides," she added, her voice softening, "I need you out here." She nodded toward Laverne, looking at Squiggy with pleading eyes.

Squiggy nodded slowly. "Yeah, okay. No problemo. C’mon, Vernie, let’s us go sit over here on the…well, on what’s left of the curb. Don’t you worry, Lenny will get your dad out of there just fine. Oh, and Carmine will, too."

The three sat together, holding one another, watching the panic in the street. It was about fifteen minutes later that the next quake struck.

It was chaos inside.

Carmine covered his mouth and nose as the smoke hit him. Coughing, he and Lenny struggled to see in the rapidly-blackening atmosphere of Cowboy Bill’s. They stepped around broken tables and overturned chairs. The kitchen was ablaze, but the rest of the place, while badly damaged and smoky, was blessedly free of flames.

"Over here!" yelled Lenny. He had made his way to the area in front of the counter, where they had last seen Frank cleaning up the pizza on the floor.

Carmine stepped carefully over to Lenny. It took him a moment to realize that he was stepping over a section of the roof that had caved in.

"Watch out for that hole there!" warned Lenny. Carmine looked down, just in time to step carefully over an opening in the floor that seemed to go straight down into nothingness.

"Damn," Carmine muttered to himself. "Thanks, Len. Is he there?"

"Yes," Lenny called back.

"Is he…"

"Yeah, he’s alive! He’s alive."

Carmine made his way to Lenny’s side. As his eyes adjusted, he realized that Lenny was holding Frank carefully. The older man was sitting up, holding his head in his hands and coughing loudly. Carmine couldn’t help but smile with relief. "Hey, there, old man," he said. "Wanna get out of here?"

Frank slowly turned his head to look at the curly-haired young man. "You shouldn’t be in here," he said. "Neither of you boys. What do you think you’re do…." He broke off as another coughing spasm hit.

"You can yell at us later," said Carmine. He and Lenny tugged Frank to his feet and led him toward the door.

"Wait, Lenny, Carmine," said Frank. "There’s someone else in here."

They paused. "Who, Mr DeFazio?" asked Lenny.

"My waitress, Rosa, the new girl. She was in the kitchen." He looked back at the flaming room. "She might…we should be sure…." He coughed again, clutching his chest.

"Lenny, get him outside, I’ll go look for Rosa," said Carmine. He turned back toward the kitchen.

Lenny nodded, and led Frank to the damaged entryway. At the door, he gave Frank a gentle shove toward the door and the older man staggered out into the light. Lenny turned back to the interior of the restaurant. "Carmine, wait, I’ll help…"

It was then that the shaking began again.

Carmine froze. The bucking threatened to knock him off his feet, but he stubbornly kept his balance. Lenny fell back into the restaurant, landing beside Carmine. Carmine reached down to help him up, when he heard a loud, cracking sound.

"What the hell is that?" he yelled.

Lenny looked at the floor under his hands, saw it beginning to part. "Um, Carmine…I think we’ve got a problem!"

Carmine looked down, just in time to see the floor begin to give way and fall into the darkness below. He swore, grabbed Lenny by the arm, and hauled him to his feet. Unfortunately, he was too late to change what was about to happen. The two men locked eyes in disbelief as the floor disappeared beneath them.

Lenny could feel himself falling and he yelled like he hadn’t yelled since he rode that big roller coaster with Squiggy last summer. It felt like he was falling down, down and down forever, until something hard slammed him in the back. Moments later, something hard fell on top of him, sending waves of pain through his body. His last, conscious thought was, "At least Laverne stayed outside."

Carmine fell past Lenny, deeper into the hole. He hit a cement floor on his left side, nearly rolled over and fell further into the earth, but managed to stop by throwing himself onto his right side and away from the edge. Debris fell past him, as Carmine struggled for breath. He lay still until the shaking around him stopped and everything stopped falling. Then he tried to look up, but there was something wet in his eyes, making it almost impossible to see. Carmine reached up and wiped the liquid away, then looked at his hand in the faint light from above. It was blood. Lying back down, he put his hand to the side of his head. There was more…a lot of it.

"Oh, this can’t be good," he said, to no one in particular. Then he blacked out.

* * * * *

Just as the shaking stopped, Laverne heard a voice behind her. "Muffin?" It said.

She spun around and struggled to her feet. "Pop? Pop!" Overjoyed, she threw herself into his arms.

Frank winced and Laverne backed away slightly. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, Me? Sure, I’m fine, Muffin. Nothing can hurt me, I’m tough as nails." He smiled at his daughter, but his eyes betrayed his real fear and pain.

"Oh, Pop!" sobbed Laverne, hugging him more carefully this time. "Don’t you scare me like that again! I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t have you…like Mamma…"

"Muffin, Laverne, I’m right here. Thanks to those boys, I’m right here and I’ll be fine." Frank looked back toward Cowboy Bill’s. "Oh, my God," he breathed.

Laverne looked up from his shoulder and gasped. The restaurant roof had caved in completely. Only three walls were partially standing. The rest was a mess of wood, surrounded by black smoke and a few flames.

Shirley stood up with Squiggy, clasping his arm for support. "Carmine?" she said softly.

"Oh, Lenny, you stupid, stupid…"Squiggy mumbled, shaking his head.

"Pop, where are Lenny and Carmine?" asked Laverne. "They got you out of there, right? So where are they?"

Frank looked at his daughter, sadly.

"Pop, where’s Len?" Laverne found her voice rising. "Where is Lenny, Pop?"

"I…they…they are still in there," he managed.

Shirley’s face went completely white and she abruptly sat down again on the curb. "Oh, no. Oh, no. This can’t be happening," she said over and over again, shaking her head.

Squiggy stood beside her, his hand resting on her shoulder. His eyes were very wide, staring at the ruined building as though he couldn’t quite understand what it was. Laverne found tears were rolling down her cheeks again, only they weren’t for her father anymore. Frank stood with one hand pressed against his forehead, the other around his daughter’s shoulders, stunned by the sacrifice that had apparently been made for himself and his poor waitress. "Such good boys," he whispered. "Such very good boys."

* * * * *When Lenny opened his eyes, he saw absolutely nothing. He closed them, then opened them again, trying to tell the difference but failing. Finally, he kept his eyes open and looked around the blackness until he saw a shaft of light faintly penetrating what was left of the floor above him. "I didn’t know Cowboy Bill’s had a basement," he said to himself. Then he tried to sit up.

That was a mistake. He couldn’t raise more than his head and shoulders a bit before pain flared up his back and down both legs. He gasped and lay back down. "Okay, that isn’t going to work," he decided. Lenny tried his hands next. He managed to get his right arm free and pushed at the rather large pile of wood and debris on top of his mid-section. Except for a few stray pieces, it didn’t budge. "Great. I’m stuck. Stuck in the basement." It’s a good thing Squiggy isn’t here, Lenny thought. He’d really hate how dark it was down there.

This led Lenny to another thought. Squiggy wasn’t here, but Carmine should be. And maybe Frank DeFazio and that Rosa lady, unless they made it out before everything caved in. "Mr. DeFazio?" Lenny called. "You here? You okay, Mr. DeFazio?"

There was no response.

"Well, that’s okay," Lenny said to himself. He found it comforting to hear his own voice in the darkness. "He was already out the door, so he’s probably safe. Hey, Carmine!" he called. "Carmine? Are you alright?"

Silence.

"Carmine? I’m kind of stuck over here. I could use a little help. I think something may be busted…Carmine?" He paused, listening, but all he heard was the distant sound of water dripping from broken pipes and the occasional clunk of still-falling debris.

"He’s got to be in here," Lenny said. "He was right there with me when…Carmine! Carmine, where are you?" Still getting no answer, Lenny started to get scared. With a surge of adrenaline, he pushed up again, forcing his left arm free of the rubble as he tried to sit up again. He managed to throw off a few more broken planks of wood and dislodge some cement before the pain became too much. He laid down again, gasping, then turned his head to the right. It was then that he saw the large hole a few feet away from him.

"Wow, I’m glad I didn’t fall in there," he said. He thought about it for a moment, then yelled into the hole, "Carmine? Are you down there? If you are, say something, okay? I can’t see you…are you…hey! Can you hear me?"

Carmine heard a voice yelling above him, faint and far away. He couldn’t make out what the words were, but he wished it would be quiet so he could get back to sleep. I wonder if I’m late for school again? he thought to himself. Dad will kill me if…

The voice was getting louder. Sure enough, it was calling his name, but it certainly didn’t sound like his mother or father. Then again, this sure didn’t feel like his bed he was lying on…so cold and hard…

Hey, this isn’t right, he realized.

Carmine forced his eyes open, looking up into the darkness. He tried to remember where he was. "Len," he said, and was surprised how shaky and small his voice sounded. He cleared his throat. "Lenny? Is that you?"

Excited, Lenny yelled back, "Hey, Carmine, you alive down there?"

"I think so," Carmine replied, a little more loudly this time. "Yeow," he added, putting his hand to his side. It made his chest hurt to raise his voice. He tried to roll onto his right side and sit up, but felt a shooting pain through his left side that convinced him to lie still. "Lenny, where are we?"

"Well, I think I’m in the basement of Cowboy Bill’s. Which makes you somewhere under the basement."

"There’s a basement at Cowboy Bill’s?"

"That’s what I said. Go know, huh?" Lenny smiled a little in the darkness. It was good to have company again. "Are you okay? ‘Cause I can’t move up here. I’ve got all sorts of stuff on top of me."

Carmine held his left side with his right hand, then raised the left hand to the side of his head again. Still bleeding. And every time he turned his head, the world started to fade away. Keeping still, he replied, "Oh, I think I’ve been better, Len."

"What are we going to do?" asked Lenny. "We can’t just stay here. What if another quake hits?"

Carmine thought about it, then took a careful breath and called, "I haven’t got the faintest idea what to do, Len. I guess we’ll have to just wait here and hope someone sends in a rescue squad or something."

"Okay, I guess." Lenny looked up at the faint light. "Can you at least come up here, so we’re at the same spot?"

"I’d really like to, Lenny," Carmine replied. He didn’t want to frighten Lenny. After all, this was Leonard Kosnovski, not exactly known for his bravery. Carmine chose his words carefully. "I’m not pinned down or nothing, Len, but I think…it’s really hard to talk." Or breathe, he thought, but kept that to himself. "I think I hit my head kinda hard when I fell. It’s a little tough to see and when I try to sit up…well, let’s just say sitting up isn’t working so well." Carmine closed his eyes again. "I think I’ll just take a little rest now, then try again in a couple minutes. Okay?"

Lenny started to say, "Okay," but then thought about what Carmine had just told him. "Um, wait, no, that isn’t okay. Carmine?"

"Yes, Len."

"I think that you have to keep talking to me."

"Lenny, don’t…don’t worry, I’m sure they’ll send someone down here soon. You won’t be lonely for long."

"No, Carmine, that isn’t what I mean. I mean, yeah, it’s nicer to have someone to talk to, but that isn’t the point. Me and Squig sat in on a First Aid class awhile back, y’know, ‘cause we was trying to pick up those emergency technical whatchamadinger girls from the ambulance…"

"Yeah, Len?"

"Yeah, well anyway, they weren’t inter…I mean, they was already spoken for, but I actually paid attention a little to that class and I remember that if someone hurts their head, you have to keep them awake, or else."

Carmine opened his eyes again, trying to focus on what Lenny was saying. "Or else, what?"

"Or else, well, you might not wake up again."

"Oh."

They were quiet for a moment.

"So," said Lenny. "I think we should keep talking until help comes, okay? Okay, Carmine?"

"Yeah, yeah, okay, sure Len." Carmine tried to take a deep breath, and winced. "But it’s really getting harder for me to talk, so maybe I’ll just listen to you, huh?"

"No, no, that won’t work, because how do I know if you are awake and listening to me? I can’t see you. Nope, you’re gonna have to talk back."

"Lenny," said Carmine, holding his side tightly. "I don’t think you understand…I think I broke a couple of ribs."

"How many?"

"What?"

"How many?"

Carmine thought for a moment. "It feels like all of them, on the left side."

"Yeah, but how many is that? I’ve never counted ‘em before. Do you know?"

"How the heck would…" Carmine paused, realizing what Lenny was doing. "Okay, I’ll do my best to talk to you."

"Good."

They were silent again for a moment.

"What should we talk about?" asked Lenny.

"Anything but ribs," Carmine replied, managing a slight grin.

* * * * *

Edna Babish-DeFazio had arrived in a police car. She ushered Frank over to the EMT’s who had finally made it through, arguing with him all the way that he needed to be checked out.

Someone had given Squiggy a small bandage for his scratch. He refused to leave the scene, and stood behind the hastily-posted police barricade now surrounding what was left of Cowboy Bill’s.

Laverne and Shirley stood, holding each other’s hand tightly as they watched the firefighters hosing down what was left of the fire. The collapse of the roof had partially put it out, so only a few sections still burned.

"They could still be alive in there, right?" asked Shirley. "I mean, they may have run out the back, or ducked under some tables…or something?"

Laverne wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand. The tears just wouldn’t stop, no matter how hard she tried to buck up to support her friend. After all, she cared about Carmine and Lenny—they were all good friends—but Shirley was dealing with losing the man she loved. That was way worse. Laverne understood how bad that felt. She remembered how it hurt to lose Randy, and she didn’t even love him as long as Shirley had loved Carmine. It was strange how all of this was way too familiar. Whenever she thought of Lenny running into that restaurant to get her father out, the pain was like losing Randy all over again. Except it wasn’t Randy, the man she was going to marry, it was Lenny, her annoying neighbor. Why did it hurt so much now?

"Shirl, I don’t think they went out the back," she said, trying to keep her voice steady. "They would have come over here by now to say that they were okay. You know Carmine would never let you worry, and Lenny sure wouldn’t want Squiggy to think…anything bad."

"But, Vernie, maybe they are stuck under those tables. Or, oh, I know, in the bathroom, maybe they ducked under a couple sinks or…" Shirley broke off. Even she could hear how ridiculous her words sounded.

"Yeah, Shirl. Maybe. Maybe that’s where they are." Laverne patted her friend on the back.

"You don’t believe that," said Shirley.

"No," said Laverne. "But I really want to."

Shirley turned to her friend, her gentle brown eyes brimming with tears. "He can’t be gone, Laverne. He promised he’d be right back and I know he wouldn’t lie to me…not about that. Not about something so important." She started to sob again.

Laverne hugged her, struggling to keep her voice under control. "Of course he wouldn’t, Shirl. Carmine’s tough, you know that. Nothing would keep him away from you…will keep him away…you know what I mean. And Lenny, you know, Lenny is a lot smarter than people give him credit for. Why, I’m sure he’s coming up with some sort of scheme to get them out of there, like, maybe he’s digging them out with a spoon he found."

Shirley managed a small chuckle. "Yeah, I could see that."

"Besides, I’ve got to thank him…them…for saving my Pop. Lenny wouldn’t want to miss out on me owing him for something. Boy, I’ll bet he’ll hold that over me forever." Laverne tried to laugh, but it came out wrong. The tears started again.

Shirley looked up at her distraught friend and hugged her back, tightly. "Oh, Vernie," she said. Then she pushed Laverne back a little, holding her at arm’s length. "You’re right, Laverne," she said, firmly. "Both of them will be fine. They know better than to do this to us. We just have to wait here, so we can yell at them for…for…for worrying us so much, yes, that’s right. We’ll wait right here until they are out safe." Shirley nodded for emphasis.

Laverne wiped at her eyes again. "Yeah, we’ll be waiting. However long it takes. They’ll be fine. They’ll be just fine."

The girls joined hands again, and stood watching as the firefighters did their work. Squiggy came up quietly behind them.

"Hello," he said.

"Hello, Squig," said Laverne.

He pointed toward the building. "Wh…what’s that?"

She followed his finger with her eyes. That’s when she saw the white sheet over the figure on a stretcher, being carried by two firefighters. Laverne turned toward Shirley, who gasped as her fingers tightened on Laverne’s hand.

"I think they found someone, Squiggy," Laverne managed to say.

"So, who was the first?"

"The first what, Len?"

"Y’know, your first…first."

"Oh." Carmine thought for a moment. "Well, that’s a little personal, don’t you think?"

"Yeah, but c’mon, look where we are. Chances are, no one will ever know what we talked about down here," said Lenny.

"Don’t say that, Len," Carmine scolded him. "We’ll get out of this."

"Okay, well, then I promise I won’t tell nobody, even if…when we get out of here."

"Fair enough." Carmine coughed. "I think that was Amy Fishbein, behind the bleachers, senior year. Yeah, Amy. Or was it Annie?"

"You don’t remember her name?"

"Sure I do. It was definitely…Amy….Annie…it was a long time ago, Len!"

Lenny laughed a little. Strangely, he was actually feeling better, now that the pain had stopped shooting down his legs. They were sort of numb now and a lot easier to ignore. "You tramp."

"Hey, I’m not a tramp. Besides, I’m a guy…we can’t be tramps!" said Carmine.

"Well, then you’re a man-tramp. What do you call a man-tramp?"

"A stud," said Carmine, with a little smile.

"Yeah, I guess that’s the nice way to say it."

"How about…" Carmine paused to cough, lowering his voice slightly before continuing. "How about you, Lenny? Who was your first?"

"Aww, well, you know, there have been so many that I can’t remember anymore," Lenny replied.

Carmine was quiet for a moment. "You’re being sarcastic, right?" he asked.

Lenny sighed. "Maybe a little."

"That’s okay. It’s nothing to be ashamed of, waiting for the right gal to come along. Waiting, and waiting, and waiting…."

"Who’s your right girl, Carmine?"

Carmine was silent.

"Carmine?" Lenny raised his voice a little.

"Huh?" Carmine jolted himself slightly upright, which made the room spin again. "Sorry, Len…kind of…I mean I didn’t hear what you said."

"I said, who is your right girl, Carmine? What would she look like, be like, all that."

"I…I don’t know, Len. I guess she’d be petite, slim, pretty, with dark soft hair and big brown eyes that could make a statue melt." Carmine smiled to himself. "She’d be sweet and understanding, support a guys dreams—even the way-out dreams—and…"

"…and she’d be Shirley Feeney," Lenny finished for him.

"I didn’t say that it was Shirley. I don’t know if I’ve even met Miss Right yet." Carmine stared off into the darkness. "Besides, I was just gonna say she’d think I was the man of her dreams, and we all know where Shirl stands on that subject!"

"We do?" asked Lenny, confused.

"Yes, we do," said Carmine. "The man of Shirley’s dream is some six-foot blond Nordic god of a doctor. That doesn’t exactly describe me, does it?"

"Well, no…wait, six-foot four blond?"

"Don’t get any ideas, Len. You aren’t a doctor."

"I’m not six-foot four either…quite…but…"

"No, Len," said Carmine, a note of warning in his voice.

"Geeze, Carmine, for someone who doesn’t think Shirley is his dream girl, you sure are sensitive." Lenny tried to shove off some more debris, managed a few pieces before it got too hard, and lay down again. "Besides, you don’t have to worry about me. Squig, maybe…"

Carmine managed a faint chuckle, before he winced in pain. "Yeah, right. Squiggy. I’m worried about Squiggy. That’ll keep me up at night."

"What I mean is, my heart is already sort of spoken for, and not by Shirley."

Despite himself, Carmine was interested. "I didn’t know you were seeing someone, Len. Who is she?"

"Well, I’m not like, you know, officially seeing her or nothin’, but there is a girl who is kinda special to me." Lenny stopped himself, wondering if he was going somewhere he shouldn’t.

Carmine turned his head toward the hole above him, from where Lenny’s voice was coming. The world tilted around him again and started to fade. "Whoa," he murmured.

Lenny heard him. "Carmine?" he said, a hint of alarm in his voice. "You okay, pal?"

"I think I just need…a little rest now, Len."

"No, no rest for you! Carmine, you can’t do that, you have to stay awake, okay? Laverne and Shirley will kill me dead if I let you slip away, and I don’t want to die, so you listen to me, understand!"

Lenny’s voice took on a tone of authority that Carmine had never heard before. "Dammit, you keep talking to me, got it?"

Carmine coughed again, then swallowed hard. He pressed his hand to his mouth, looked at it, then wiped it on his shirt and touched his mouth again. He squinted at it in the faint light from above. "More blood," he commented to himself. "This is so not good."

"Carmine!"

"Yeah…yes, Len? I’m still here." Carmine forced his eyes to focus on the hole above. "Go on, tell me about this girl. I’ll listen."

"Okay, well, her name is La…Lavinnia, yeah, Lavinnia, and she is really smart and pretty and funny. She’s got a great bod, too."

"Lavinnia, huh," said Carmine. His voice was shaking. He swallowed hard again and tried to clear his throat. "Nice name, Lavinnia."

"Yeah, it is. Anyway, she’s hot stuff…but a lady, you know, always a lady. I think she may be my dream gal, but she, well, I’m not sure if she knows who I am." Lenny’s voice trailed off sadly.

Carmine managed a little smile. "Oh, I’m sure she knows who you are, Len."

"Well, yeah, I mean she knows my name and where I live…" Lenny paused, wondering if he’d given too much away, but then plunged on. "But I don’t think she knows me, y’know, the guy inside. She just knows the dopey guy who hangs out with the smart, cool guy and makes stupid jokes all the time."

Carmine didn’t know what to say. He had never heard Lenny talk like this before. Mostly, because he had never had much time to spend listening to Lenny. They were buddies, sure, but other than sharing an occasional pizza and a beer, or an odd adventure that seemed to follow Shirley and Laverne wherever they went, they had never actually talked to each other. I guess you never really know a guy until your forced to spend your last hours with him, Carmine thought. "Well, Lenny, maybe you should talk to…Lavinnia…sometimes."

"I talk to her. I talk to her plenty, when she lets me."

"No, I don’t mean just saying words. I mean really talk to her, you know, tell her how you feel about her. You may be surprised by what happens."

"What’s gonna happen, Carmine? She’ll laugh at me and run away," Lenny was surprised to find tears stinging his eyes. Thinking about this was not helping him feel any better, but it was all he could come up with to keep Carmine awake and talking. That had to come first, right now.

"Aw, Len, I think you underestimate yourself, buddy. You aren’t half as bad a guy as you think you are," said Carmine.

"Thanks, I guess."

"You’re welcome. What’s more, I think Laverne likes you already."

"She does?" Lenny sat up slightly at this, then said "Ouch," and lay back down. "What makes you say that, Carmine? You aren’t just messin’ with me, are you? And it’s Lavinnia, not…"

Carmine sighed. "This isn’t exactly the situation in which I would be messin’ with you, is it, Len? C’mon, we both know who you’re talking about, just like we both know that Shirley is the only woman I will ever love, or have ever loved, in all the years I’ve known her." He paused, startled by the emotion in his own voice. He coughed again, wiped away more blood, and said, "Maybe, if you and I get out of this…somehow…we should stop dancin’ around the truth and talk to these ladies."

"Maybe you’re right, Carmine," said Lenny, staring up at the faint light above. "Maybe you’re right.

* * * * *

Shirley felt guilty. She knew she shouldn’t be relieved that the body under the sheet was poor Rosa’s. But she couldn’t help herself. She looked back at Laverne, and saw the same emotions reflected in her eyes.

Frank DeFazio, who had waved away all attempts to remove him from the scene to a hospital, lowered the sheet sadly. "Yeah, that’s my waitress, Rosa," he told the paramedics. He crossed himself. "Rest in peace, little girl."

As they took the body away, Frank asked, "Is there any sign of the boys, yet?"

"No, not yet, Pop," said Laverne.

"They’re dead, you know."

Shirley spun around to face Squiggy. He was staring at the ground, his eyes wide. "What did you say?"

"I said, they are dead, you know." He faced her, anger in his voice. "We just need to accept the reality, Shirley Feeney, that they are in there…under there…and they are gone!" He tried to stop the words from tumbling out, but as usual, he had no control. "Lenny and Carmine got stuck in there and the building fell on top of them and now…"

"Stop it, Squiggy! Don’t say that! Don’t you even think that!" cried Laverne. "Lenny is fine and Carmine is fine. They’ll get out of there."

"How could you say such a thing?" demanded Shirley. "About your own best friend and about Carmine? How could you just give up on them like that? You have no heart, Andrew Squigman, no heart at all."

"Oh, I have a heart, Shirley," he said, his voice trembling. "I have a heart and it is broken right now. It is broken in a million little pieces. But that doesn’t change what is in front of our eyes." He pointed at the remnants of the building. "They are both heroes and now they are both dead and I wasn’t…I wasn’t even in there…" he stopped, unable to continue without looking all girly.

Frank stepped forward and held out his hand to Squiggy. "Andrew, come here," he said.

Squiggy looked at him sideways. "You’re going to hit me now, aren’t you?" he said.

"No, I’m not gonna hit you. Just come here."

Squiggy slowly walked toward Frank, wincing slightly as if expecting to be whacked upside the head at any moment. But, true to his word, Frank didn’t hit him. He hugged him.

"It’s okay to be worried about Lenny," he said. "It’s okay to be sad. It just isn’t okay to upset the two women who love them while you’re doing it. Understand?"

Squiggy stood stiff in Frank’s arms for a moment, before stepping back. He hung his head, ashamed, and said, "Yeah, okay, I’m sorry I guess." He paused, thinking for a moment about what Frank had just said. "Um, the TWO women who love THEM?" he asked. "Wait a minute…"

Frank glared at Squiggy. Squiggy looked back over at Laverne, then turned to Frank again. "Oh, yeah. Right."

"Right," said Frank.

Laverne had her arm around Shirley’s shoulders. "Shirl, don’t listen to Squig. He’s an idiot."

"I know that," she said, sobbing. "But he’s also probably right, and we both know it."

"No. Un-uh. No way," said Laverne, shaking her head. "There is no way that Lenny Kosnovski is gone. He can’t leave this world not knowing…."

"Not know what, Vernie?"

"Not knowing…not knowing what you know and my father knows and everyone else seems to have known for a long time, except for him and me."

"And that is?"

Laverne sighed, deeply. "That I love him, Shirley. That I love Lenny. There, I said it. Are you happy now? You were right, again. I love Lenny with all my heart!"

Shirley dabbed at her eyes with her soaked hanky. "Well, I wouldn’t say ‘happy’ exactly, under the circumstances." They both managed a little laugh. "But, Laverne, I am relieved to hear that you finally can admit what has been so obvious for so long now, especially since we moved to California."

"Yeah, well, bully for me, I admit that I love Lenny. Doesn’t do me much good now, does it…or him." Laverne stared at the broken restaurant for a moment. "Hey, Shirl?"

"Yes, Vernie?"

"Shirl, look…what’s going on over there?"

Shirley turned toward the site, where paramedics and firefighters were suddenly scrambling down into the debris. "Oh, my God," she breathed. "They’ve found someone else."

* * * * *

"Lenny?"

"Yeah, Carmine?"

"How long…how long have we been down here?" Carmine managed to ask between coughs.

"I dunno. My watch kinda broke when we fell. It feels like a long time."

"Yeah, it sort of does." Carmine closed his eyes. He could hardly speak above a loud whisper now, and the darkness in front of him was constantly filled with little flashing lights. It sort of reminded him of Tinker Bell’s pixie dust in the Peter Pan cartoon he took Shirley to on one of their dates. Pixie dust makes you fly, he thought, maybe now I can fly out of here. Wait, that doesn't make any sense, a little inner voice cried out. It was hard to make any of his thoughts sensible anymore.

"Carmine! Carmine, say something!" Lenny was yelling.

"Wh…huh? Oh, Len, sorry…just wandering…" Carmine thought his own voice sounded like it was coming from far away.

"Well, don’t. ‘Cause I hear something!" said Lenny.

"What? What do you hear?"

"Pounding."

"Pounding? What kind of pounding?"

"The kind that comes from people looking for something!" Lenny forced his head and shoulders up for a moment, before falling back again. Even without the pain, which was almost all gone now, he couldn’t get his body to do what he wanted. "We should yell for help, I think, so that they know we’re here."

Carmine couldn’t even imagine trying to yell. "I think you’d better be in charge of that, Len," he said.

"Okay. Hey, help!" Lenny called, yelling straight up in the direction of the light. "Help! We’re down here!"

He waited a minute. The pounding was fainter now and it sounded further away. "Carmine, I think they are going the wrong way."

Carmine struggled to pay attention to Lenny’s words. He couldn’t keep his eyes open anymore, but he managed to say, "Try pounding something back, Len. They may not hear shouting, but…that…they might."

"Good idea." Lenny felt around the debris he had managed to clear from off his mid-section. His hand passed over broken wood, a bottle…all useless. Then, he touched something cold and hard. A pipe. "I’ve got something Carmine!" he called, excitedly.

There was no response.

Lenny’s smile of triumph faded. "Carmine? Um, Carmine, you okay down there?"

Lenny’s voice was a million miles away now. Carmine turned his head slightly toward the hole above him, hoping Lenny could hear his words. "Len, I’m sorry…you’re a really good guy and you did…you did your best for me." He took a searing breath and raised his voice slightly. "I need you to tell Shirley that I…that I was thinking about her…in the end."

"Carmine?" There was a note of panic in Lenny’s voice. "You’ll be able to tell her yourself soon. Hang in there!" Lenny began pounding the pipe against the cement floor, hoping it wouldn’t cause it to cave in further, but not having any other choice. "Don’t you do this to me, Carmine!" he yelled back at the hole.

He received no answer.

"Carmine? Carmine, say something! Answer me! Right now! Carmine…oh, dammit!" Lenny forced himself up onto his elbows and banged the pipe as hard as he could on the floor. "Hey!" he yelled, this time up toward the remnants of ceiling. "Hey, we’re down here! Help, you have to hurry! Help us!"

"Hey, I hear something!"

Lenny paused, startled. It wasn’t Carmine’s voice. Then he began yelling and banging with everything he had left. "Yeah, you hear something. It’s me! Come on, come and get us!" Lenny turned back toward the hole beside him. "You hear that, Carmine? They heard me. They’re coming, so you have to hang on just a little bit longer, okay?"

"Is someone down there?" the voice called, closer now.

"Yes, someone is down here," Lenny answered in exasperation. He dropped the pipe, his arm suddenly too weak to hold it anymore. "I’m down here and my friend is down there and…"

"Are you Lenny Kosnovski?" asked the voice.

"Yes I am," said Lenny. "And who are you?"

"I’m one of the firemen who’s going to get you out of there." Suddenly, the shaft of light above Lenny widened. He squinted in the glare, just making out the dark shape of a man. "My name is Randy and me and my friends here have been looking for you."

"Randy, huh? That’s kind of weird," said Lenny.

"Excuse me?"

"Never mind. Please, you have to hurry!"

"We’re going as fast as we possibly can." Randy the fireman paused and spoke to someone unseen behind him. Lenny heard a faint cheering in the background.

"Lenny?" asked Randy. "Is there a Carmine down there with you?"

"Yes, yes he’s here…sort of. He’s underneath the floor I’m on. And he’s the reason you have to put a wiggle in it, okay?" Lenny looked back toward the hole in the floor, nervously.

"Is he alive?"

"I…yes. I mean, he was…I’m not so sure anymore." Lenny swallowed hard. "He stopped talking to me a little while ago and I’m not sure if he just passed out or…" Lenny couldn’t finish his thought.

"I understand." Randy turned away again, yelling some more. "Okay, Len, we’re going to come down there and get you out. How badly are you hurt, by the way?"

"Oh, well, I’m not so bad. I just have all this stuff on me. It hurt a lot worse at first but now…."

"Now?"

"Not so much." For the first time, Lenny could clearly see all the broken cement, wood and other debris on top of him. He had a chilling thought. "I really can’t feel too much at all, Randy."

Randy was quiet for a moment. "Don’t panic, okay? Sometimes you can go a little numb with all that pressure on your body. It doesn’t necessarily mean anything more than that. Do you understand?"

"Yes, I understand. Look, forget about me, okay? Carmine told me he hit his head pretty hard and, well, I know he was trying to play it cool, but I think that he may have hurt a lot more than that. He mentioned breaking some ribs and he was having trouble talking…"

"Okay, Lenny, it’s okay. We’ll get to him." Randy stood back from the light. "Down here, fellas!" he called.

Lenny watched as a rope dropped into the hole. Firefighters started lowering themselves into the hole. A couple went past Lenny, further down to Carmine’s floor, then a few stopped beside him. One walked over, his face obscured by his hat and an oxygen mask.

"Hello, Lenny. It’s me, Randy," he said.

"Pleased to meet you, Randy," said Lenny. "Now, can we leave?

Randy the fireman laughed. "Glad to see you’re sense of humor isn’t damaged. Let’s get this junk off you, how ‘bout that?"

"Sounds good."

As they cleared the debris away, Randy cautioned, "Len, I know you can’t feel too much right now, but that’s probably due to the pressure on your pelvis. As it’s lifted off, you may start to hurt again."

Lenny knew he should make some sort of joke about pressure on his pelvis, but he just couldn’t think of any. "Gotcha. Pain. No problem, just get it off me."

"Sir? Could you come down here?" a voice called from down below.

"Yes, sure, be right there." Randy turned to Lenny. "I’ll be right back, Len. You’re in good hands with these guys." Randy turned and lowered himself into the sub-basement.

"Hey, Randy?" called Lenny.

"Yes, Len?"

"Just, um, just tell me that he’s alive down there, okay? There is someone waiting for him and I don’t want to disappoint her."

There was silence for a moment. Then, Randy called, "He’s alive, Lenny."

Despite the pain that was rapidly returning to his legs, Lenny felt nothing but relief.

Randy meanwhile knelt beside the injured young man on the floor. "What have we got, fellas?" he asked his men.

"He’s in pretty bad shape," a fireman named Tim replied. "He’s unconscious and he’s lost a lot of blood."

Randy nodded, and checked Carmine’s pulse. "Hey, Carmine, can you hear me?" he asked, leaning over the young man and giving him a gentle shake. Randy listened for a moment, then sighed and pressed his ear against Carmine’s chest, carefully. "He’s not breathing too easily either. His friend up there said something about broken ribs." Randy sat up. "One of them may have punctured his lung." Randy leaned over and turned Carmine’s head, carefully, examining the bloody left side. "We’ve got to get him out fast, but I’m almost afraid to move him in this condition."

"I don’t think there’s a choice, sir," said Tim. "We can’t fit any other equipment down here, and what’s left of the place could go any minute now."

Randy nodded, and stood up. "Okay, then. Have them lower a stretcher down here and lift him out first. I’m going to go help dig out Lenny up there so he can follow right away." With that, Randy climbed back up the rope.

"Well?" asked Lenny, through gritted teeth. The less stuff that was on him, the more he hurt.

"Well, I’m not going to lie to you, Lenny. You’re friend’s pretty banged up down there. All things considered, I’m surprised he remained conscious all this time."

"Yeah, well, I took this class, once, back when…it doesn’t matter, I just took this class where they said it was important to keep someone with a head injury talking, so I made Carmine talk to me. It worked for awhile." Lenny watched as a stretcher on ropes was lowered past him. "I guess it wasn’t enough."

"No, Len, you’re wrong," said Randy, as he lifted a rather large support beam off of Lenny’s legs. "If you hadn’t been down here to keep him alert, he probably wouldn’t have made it this far. You should be proud of yourself…you’re likely the only reason that he survived."

Lenny thought it over. He wondered if Laverne would be proud of him. As he felt the last of the debris being removed, he looked over at Randy, who had taken off his oxygen mask to put over Len’s face. "Here’s a little fresh air. I’m sure you’ve had enough with breathing dust for the past hour and a half."

Hour and a half? Lenny thought, taking a deep breath of clean air. It was amazing how good it felt, even as the pain shooting up his back and down his legs intensified. All this was only one hour and a half? Then he look at Randy and nearly sat bolt upright in spite of his pain. He pushed the oxygen mask away and said, "Wow, you look like…you really look like…"

"I’ll see you up top, Len," said Randy with a gentle smile. Then he disappeared up the hole.

"Naw, it couldn’t be," Len reasoned with himself. But he couldn’t stop staring up at the space above that Randy had climbed through.

* * * * *

"Girls, I got somethin’ to say to you," said Squiggy.

"Not now, Squig," said Laverne, straining to see what all the activity was in the middle of her father’s ruined restaurant.

"Please."

Startled by his uncharacteristic manners, both Laverne and Shirley turned toward him. "What is it, Squiggy?" Shirley asked.

"Look, you gals know I ain’t no good at the mushy stuff. But Lenny and Carmine would want me to make you two feel better and, well, I ain’t done such a good job of it so far." He took a deep breath. "So, I just want you to know that, no matter how this turns out…and I ain’t sayin’ that it’ll turn out bad…but no matter what, I’ll be here for you. Both of you."

"Oh, Squiggy, that’s really nice of you to say," said Laverne.

"Yes, Andrew, I’m very touched," said Shirley, smiling.

"Yeah, well, I know you two don’t want to be old maids or nothin’, so I’m prepared to do right by you, Shirley Feeney. And you too, Laverne DeFazio."

"Excuse me?" asked Laverne.

"That’s right, I’ll be a husband to both of you, so you can always stay together and have a nice warm little man to come home to at night," he offered.

Laverne looked at Shirley in puzzlement. Shirley just shrugged and said, "Um, Squiggy, how do you propose…wrong choice of words, sorry…how do you think that would work? You can’t marry both of us."

"What are you saying, Shirl? He can’t marry one of us! At least, not this one of us!" said Laverne.

"Well, yeah, I can. ‘Cause I was planning on moving to Utah anyway, y’know, so I wouldn’t have to deal with no more earthquakes. And Utah has these different rules as far as getting married, so we’d be all set!" He smiled, brightly, as though he had just solved world hunger.

Shirley opened her mouth to reply, when she heard a shout. "Hey, I’ve found one of them!"

The trio looked at one another, then Laverne shoved the police barrier out of the way and she, Shirley and Squiggy ran up closer. A firefighter on the scene stopped them from actually stepping into the rubble. "Hey, you guys can’t be here," he warned.

"You can’t keep us away!" yelled Laverne.

"Yeah, those are our friends in there!" cried Shirley. "More than our friends. There is no way we are leaving…"

"Hey, can one of you tell me the names of the guys that are missing?" They saw that the fireman talking was peering out of a hole in the middle of what was once Cowboy Bill’s.

"Leonard Kosnovski!" Squiggy shouted back. "He’s the tall guy with blond hair."

"And Carmine Ragusa," called Shirley. "He’s got beautiful brown eyes and soft dark curls and…"

"I think that’s probably enough of a description, Shirl," said Laverne, gently.

The fireman nodded, disappearing back into the hole for a time. Then, he popped his head out again and said, "I’m talking to Lenny, folks."

Laverne felt as though a huge weight had been lifted off her heart. At the same time, she couldn’t help but notice that the fireman in the hole had a familiar voice.

"Yes!" shouted Squiggy, jumping in to the air and pumping his fist. "I knew he’d be alright!"

Shirley smiled, happy for them, but her lower lip trembled as she called, "Wh…what about Carmine? Is he there, too?"

For what seemed like an eternity, she received no response. Then: "Yes, he’s here. He’s…he’s alive."

Shirley closed her eyes and murmured a quick prayer of thanks, her hands clasped in front of her. She opened her eyes and smiled at Laverne, who was beaming back. They embraced. Squiggy continued to jump in a circle around them.

"We’ll have them up in a couple of minutes," the fireman called, going back inside again.

The trio waited. Frank and Edna came over and joined them, relieved by the news. After what seemed like another hour, but was in reality only about ten minutes, the fireman who had spoken to them before climbed out of the hole. He turned to them for a moment, waved, then turned and disappeared toward some trucks. Laverne waved back, then paused, staring at him in disbelief.

"Randy?" she whispered. Then, louder, she called, "Randy! Is that you?"

He never turned around. She started forward, but was stopped by the firefighter in front of the debris. Laverne turned toward Shirley, her eyes filled with confusion. "Shirl, did you see…"

"It just looked like him, Vernie," said Shirley, gently. "You know Randy is gone."

Laverne sighed and nodded. "Yeah, I know."

"There is someone else down there, though. Someone you are getting a second chance with," Shirley added.

Laverne smiled. "I know that too. And I’m not the only one who’s getting a second chance, Shirl."

Shirley nodded absently. She was watching the firefighters lift someone out of the hole and place them on an ambulance gurney. She held her breath, and squeezed Laverne’s hand as he was wheeled toward her, then darted around the fireman and ran to his side. Her heart sank again as she recognized the young man they were moving.

"Oh, Carmine, no," she whispered.

"Ma’am, we need to get him to the hospital," one of the paramedics said, gently.

"I know, I…Carmine?" She bent down over him, gently trying to brush some of the soot off his face. She had never seen him so pale and still. His eyes were closed. The side of his head was covered in blood and one of the rescue workers was holding an oxygen mask over his mouth and nose. He didn’t even stir at the sound of her voice. She swallowed, hard and took his hand. "Carmine, I’m right here. I waited for you like you asked. I knew you’d come back to me, honey."

"Ma’am, please."

"I’m coming with him," she said.

"Ma’am, I don’t know if…."

Shirley straightened, pulling herself up to her full five feet three and a half inches of height. "I said, I am coming with you," she told him, fixing him with a gaze that could stop an elephant in its tracks.

"I wouldn’t argue with her," Laverne cautioned. "When she uses that tone of voice, she means it, pal."

The paramedic looked nervously at his cohorts, but they offered no assistance. He turned back to Shirley, not meeting her gaze. "’Kay, ma’am, come with us."

"Vernie, I’ll…"

"I know, Shirl, I’ll see you there," Laverne waved to her friend and watched until they disappeared into the waiting ambulance.

Edna had her arms wrapped around Frank’s ample middle as they stood beside Laverne and Squiggy. "My poor boy," Frank said quietly. Then, more loudly, "Why’d he do somethin’ so stupid!"

"Frank, he cares about you, that’s why," said Edna.

"Yeah, so, what did that get him? A kid that young, with so much ahead of him…and he wastes it tryin’ to help an old guy like me." Frank shook his head, angrily. "It ain’t right, Edna. I’m telling’ you, it ain’t the way it’s supposed to be!"

"Pop," said Laverne, taking her father’s hand. "Carmine didn’t waste anything. He did save you. And he tried to save Rosa. He and Lenny both…" Her voice trailed off as she saw a second gurney coming their way. She looked up at her father with frightened eyes.

"Go to him," Frank told her.

Laverne nodded, then turned and met the paramedics. Lenny was lying down, his blue eyes glazed with pain. Other than that, and a lot of soot on his face, he looked pretty much like himself. When he saw Laverne approaching, he pushed the oxygen mask away from his face and managed a little smile.

"Hey, Vernie," he said.

"Hey, yourself, Len. Um, how are you…"

"Lenny!" Squiggy appeared between them, seemingly out of nowhere. "Lenny are you alright? How could you scare me like that, you big dope?" And he gave Lenny a careful whack on the shoulder.

"Ow, sorry, Squig. I’m…well, I’ll be fine." He winced as the gurney rolled over some broken pavement, jarring his legs.

Laverne saw the flash of pain across his face and instinctively took his hand. "Are you sure you’re okay?" she asked. "You don’t look like you feel that great."

"Well, I seem to have hurt my…" He couldn’t say the word, not to her. It seemed too close to rude, somehow. "I hurt my lower back and it’s a little uncomfortable. Nothin’ I can’t take, though."

"Lenny, I really…I don’t know…I don’t have the words to say what I’m feeling right at this moment," Laverne admitted. "All I can say is thank you for saving my Pop. You know what he means to me."

"Yeah. Yeah I do."

"And, you know what you mean to me, right?" she asked, as he was being lifted into the second ambulance.

Lenny grabbed the side of the ambulance, wincing as he stopped the paramedics from loading him inside. "What did you say?"

"Uh, Mr. Kosnovski, we really need you to let go," one of the paramedics said.

"Yeah, yeah, hold your horses," said Lenny. "Laverne, what did you just say?"

"I…" She knew she shouldn’t wimp out now, but it was so hard. There were so many emotions, held back for so long, and now they all wanted to come out at once. Laverne took a deep breath and said, "I’m just saying, you mean something to me, too."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," she said. "A lot. A whole, real, big awful lot."

"Wow," said Lenny, releasing the side of the ambulance.

"Are we ready to go now, Mr. Kosnovski?" asked the paramedic.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, sure. Let’s go." He was smiling as he looked up. Somehow, though still present, the pain shooting through his body just didn’t bother him as much anymore.

"Yeah, okay, Len?" called Squiggy, as the doors of the ambulance slammed shut. "I’ll see you at the hospital! Okay? Len? Me, remember me, you’re best…aw, forget it." Squiggy shrugged as the ambulance drove off. "He could’ve at least asked them to let me go along and play with the siren," Squiggy said to Laverne.

She took another breath and smiled at him. "He’s okay, Squig. I mean, he’s not okay, but he’s alive. And that’s not so bad!"

Squiggy looked at her, and slowly smiled. "Naw, Laverne. That’s not bad at all. C’mon, I’ll give you a lift to the hospital."

* * * * *

Shirley was sitting in a small chair beside Carmine’s bed. She held his hand, staring silently out the window, then looked back at his face. He looks better now, she thought, without all that blood and dirt. Not quite as pale, either. Almost like himself, except that he was never so still. The stillness felt really wrong to her.

Laverne tapped on the door. Shirley looked up and smiled at her friend. "Hey, Vernie, how’s Len doing?"

"Oh, he’s Lenny, you know? Acting like everything is fine, no matter what. They say he has a broken pelvis, and a whole lot of bumps and bruises, but other than that he should be fine." She looked at the young man lying quietly on the bed. "How’s he doing, Shirl?" she asked, softly.

"Well, I guess he’s better, too. The doctor says he has a pretty bad concussion, but no fracture. They were able to repair the damage to his lung and he’s breathing better, now. The good news is there doesn’t seem to be any other, internal injuries." She pointed to the intravenous bag of blood, which was being pumped into Carmine’s right arm. "They’re giving him a refill…he was a little low, between the bump on the head and the punctured lung."

"Has he spoken to you yet?" asked Laverne, putting her hand on Shirley’s shoulder.

She smiled, looking down into her lap. "Nope, no, not yet. The doctor said that might take a little time." She looked back up at her friend. "Vernie, I have so much I need to tell him. I’ve been waiting here for hours, first while he was in the emergency room getting patched up, and now here by his bed…I’m so afraid I won’t get the chance."

Laverne patted Shirley. "It’ll be okay, Shirley. I’m sure he’ll wake up soon."

Shirley nodded, biting her lower lip to keep from crying again. "Well, don’t you waste your chance, Laverne," she said. "Lenny is up and talking and ready to hear whatever you’ve got to say, I’m sure."

Laverne smiled at her. "He already has, Shirl."

Shirley looked at her. "Really?"

"Yes, Shirl, really. I’ve been in with him all this time. We said a lot to each other. I told him how I feel…and he told me."

"And it’s good?" Shirley asked.

"Yeah, Shirl. It’s all good," Laverne said with a little laugh. "Squig just threw me out of his room because it was his turn, so I thought I’d check on you and Carmine."

"What’s so funny?"

The girls started at the faint, but familiar voice. Shirley stood up and went to Carmine’s side. "Honey, is that you?" she asked.

"I think so," Carmine groaned. He pressed his hand against his head, feeling the bandage that was now in place. Better than blood, he thought. "Shirl, where are we?" he asked, his eyes only half-open.

She stroked his hair carefully. "We’re in the hospital, sweetheart. You’ve been…asleep…for a while now. How do you feel?"

Carmine thought about it before he answered. Head, hurts. Breathing, easier. Side, really sore. Vision, blurry. Check, check, check and double-check. "Oh, I’m just dandy," he said, trying to smile at her, but failing. "Is Len okay? And Frank, how’s Frank? Did he get out? And what about that Rosa girl…we tried to find her, but…"

"Shhh, honey, I know you did. Frank is fine, Lenny is, well, going to be fine and…and…I’ll tell you about Rosa later."

That doesn’t sound good for Rosa, Carmine thought. Laverne was leaning over him now and she gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek. "Hey, Laverne," he said. "What’s that for?"

"For bringing my father back to me," she said. "And, for bringing Lenny back, too."

"Aw, Laverne, I’d like to take credit for all that, but Len’s the one who saved me."

"Pardon?" asked Shirley.

"It’s true, Angel Face." He opened his eyes a little wider. Funny, the blurry vision made it look like she actually had a halo around her face. She never looked more beautiful to him. "Lenny kept me talking, even when I was ready to just give up and lie there. He wouldn’t let me go. Without him, I don’t think…no, I’m sure. I wouldn’t be here now." Carmine fixed his gaze on Laverne. "You should be really proud of him, Laverne. Len is a real hero."

She looked down at him and smiled again. "Yeah, he is, isn’t he? Feel better, Carmine, and thanks again." She headed toward the door. "Shirl, I’ll see you a little later. I gotta go…"

"I know you do. Go." Shirley smiled as Laverne disappeared through the door.

"Ain’t love grand?" Carmine murmured.

"Yes it is." Shirley leaned over, stroking his face gently and kissing him. "Are you sure you’re okay? Maybe I should tell the doctor to come in and check on you."

"No, Shirl, that’s alright. Just have a little headache, is all." He looked at the blood running through the tube into his arm. "Down a quart, huh?" he joked.

"Yes, real close to a quart." She pointed to the bag. "You’ll never guess who this came from," she said.

"Who?"

"Squiggy. Go figure, he has the same blood type as you."

"Geeze," said Carmine. "I hope he Squigginess isn’t contagious." This time, he successfully produced a small smile. "Seriously, though, remind me to thank him. That’s unusually selfless of Squig, to face a needle for someone else."

"Yes, well, no one has been behaving quite like themselves since this all happened," said Shirley. She looked into his eyes. "Carmine?"

"Yeah, Angel Face?"

"I don’t know where to start. I’ve been waiting with you for so long, practicing the words in my head, but now that I actually have a chance to actually say them…" she shrugged. "I’m flummoxed."

"You and your big words," said Carmine. "I’ll tell you what. Why don’t I start for a change?"

"You? Oh, okay, sure. Go ahead, Carmine. What do you want to tell me?"

"Well, Shirl, when Len and I were stuck down there and we were talking, he said some things that actually made a lot more sense than usual. And I don’t want to waste any more time." He took a deep breath, enjoying the fact that he could again. "Shirley, I’ve been a real jerk to you. But I haven’t done it on purpose. I believe in keeping my promises, and I just didn’t want to make a promise to you that I wasn’t absolutely certain I could keep."

"Oh, Carmine, I understand that…"

"No, wait, Shirl, hear me out. I’ve spent my life so far jumping from thing to thing, job to job, never really settling down. But you, you deserve better than that. You deserve a man who is focused, who knows what he wants and goes after it. A guy who knows who he wants and stays with her. I’ve always believed you deserved better than me, Shirl, but I can’t hold back how I really feel anymore. Not after seeing how short life can be up close and personal." He swallowed and forced his eyes to focus on hers. "Shirley Feeney, I love you. No, more than that. I’m in love with you. Totally, completely, head-over-heels in love with you. So, take that for what it’s worth. I’m not asking for you to say the same thing. I know you’re waiting for Mr. Right. But I just had to tell you. And, now I have."

She stared at him. "So you have."

They were quiet a moment. Shirley glanced out the window, then allowed her eyes to meet his gaze. "Carmine, I can’t believe you never told me all this before. When you kept making ‘arrangements’ with me…I just assumed that I wasn’t enough for you. And I understood, really I did, because I wouldn’t voh-dee-oh-doh and a man has his needs."

"Well, yeah, but…"

"No, Carmine, now it’s my turn to talk. I love you too. You are the only Mr. Right for me. I know, I talk a lot about a doctor and our perfect life with our perfect kids, but the truth is, it’s only because I thought we were a lost cause. You wouldn’t commit and I need that. But I am completely in love with you, too. I think I always have been."

They looked at each other.

"So, there it is," he said, finally.

"Yep. There it is," she said.

Silence.

"Now what?" asked Carmine.

"I don’t have the faintest idea," said Shirley.

More silence.

"Will you marry me, Shirl? For real, this time, not because you tricked me into it or as part of a scheme. Will you really marry me?" Carmine could hardly believe the words that were coming out of his mouth. At the same time, he knew he meant each and every one of them.

"Carmine…I can’t believe you just asked me that," Shirley breathed.

"I’m sorry, I know I don’t have a ring and we are in a hospital and I’m pretty sure I can’t even move, much less get down on one knee. But…"

"Yes!" she cried, wrapping her arms around him, but carefully avoiding the various monitor wires and I.V. "Yes, yes, yes, I will marry you! I’ll marry you tomorrow if you want."

"Um, Shirl?" said Carmine. "Maybe we should wait until I’m on my feet again, huh? I’d kinda like to get married standing up."

"Fair enough," she said, laughing. She stood up.

"Where are you going?" he asked as she skipped toward the door.

"I’ve got to go tell Laverne!" she said. "Don’t go anywhere, I’ll be right back!" And she was gone.

"I promise," he called after her. "I promise I’ll be right here."

* * * * *

When Shirley appeared in Lenny’s room, she found him and Laverne locked in a kiss. "Awwww," she said from the doorway.

"Hey, Shirley," said Lenny, shyly.

Laverne looked up and beamed at her friend. "How is Carmine doing?"

"He’s wonderful. He’s more than wonderful. He’s the best ever!"

"Wow, he must be feeling a lot better," said Lenny.

"No, Leonard, that isn’t what I mean!" snapped Shirley. "I mean, he loves me. He really, really loves me. Vernie, he asked me to marry him, can you believe it?"

Lenny and Laverne looked at each other and smiled knowingly. "What, am I missing something?" asked Shirley. She looked from one to the other, then said, "Oh, I am missing something, aren’t I? What have you two been talking about?"

"Why don’t we go for a cup of coffee?" said Laverne, crossing over to Shirley. "We have to talk."

When they were in the cafeteria, Shirley said, "Okay, spill it, Vernie. What exactly did Lenny and you say to each other?"

"Oh, nothin’ much," said Laverne, coyly stirring her coffee. "Only that he thinks I’m beautiful, and wonderful, and he loves me, and all he wants is for me to love him back."

"And you do, don’t you," said Shirley, knowingly.

Laverne grinned. "You betcha. And I told him so, too, Shirl. You would’ve been proud of me."

"Wow, Vernie, that’s great. That is really great. Did he…you know…did he pop the question?"

"No, Shirl, of course not! We haven’t even ever really gone out on an official date yet, for heaven’s sake!"

"But you will now, won’t you? Go on that official date, I mean."

"Yeah, well, not now, but as soon as he’s healed up and out of the hospital."

"That’s wonderful. I’m happy for you, Laverne. I really am."

They sipped their coffee in happy silence for a moment. The mood was broken by the arrival of Squiggy, who was stuffing cookies in his mouth.

"Hey, girls," he said around the cookies.

"Hey, Squig," they replied in unison.

He sat down at their table. "Y’know, this donating blood thing ain’t so bad. They give you all the cookies you want after you come to, you know, from the fainting and stuff."

Shirley smiled at him. "Andrew, I want to thank you for helping Carmine like this. It was a really selfless thing to do, giving him your blood like that."

"Yeah, well," Squiggy shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "I had extra. Besides, I wanted to do…something."

"I know, Squig. You did do something. Thank you."

He blushed and got up from the table. "I gotta go visit Len, as long as you’re givin’ me a chance to get near him, Laverne," said Squiggy. He hurried out of the cafeteria.

"So, being nice to Squiggy makes Squiggy leave," Laverne noted. "Good to know, now that I’ll be hanging around with Len a lot more."

Shirley raised her coffee cup to Laverne. "I’d like to propose a toast."

"Okay," said Laverne. "I’ll bite." She raised her paper cup. "A toast to what?"

"To us, and to the fellas we love. To the futures that we are lucky enough to have, after this awful day. And to never giving up."

"I can definitely drink to that," said Laverne. They ‘clinked’ their cups together and smiled.

END

To "Aftershocks"





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