Free Sally Boy by P. Vincent DeMartino Page B

tie
my shoe.”
    Sal and Mikey stopped and turned to watch
their friend.
    “Hurry up, asshole!” Mikey snapped.
    “Yeah, I’m hurrying,” Anthony said,
frustrated, as he put his foot up on the rear tire of a parked car.
While hunching over to tie his lace he heard faint moans coming
from the back seat of the Pontiac sedan. Cautiously, Anthony put
his face up to the partially lowered window and peeked inside. A
streetlight barely illuminated the two prone silhouettes in the
back seat. Excitedly, he waved his friends back to the car, trying
not to alarm the couple in the back seat. “Yo, come here. Hurry
up,” Anthony urged as quietly as possible.
    Turning to Sal, Mikey threatened, “This
better be good or I’m gonna smack the shit outta him. I swear to
God!”
    As they walked back to where Anthony stood,
he pointed at the car, and whispered, “Take a gander at this,
fellas.”
    “What?” Mikey asked, annoyed.
    “Look in the back seat,” Anthony blurted,
and then covered his mouth to smother a laugh.
    Shoving Anthony out of the way, Mike
fearlessly stuck his head inside the window, startling the two
unsuspecting teens laid out in the back. “Well, well, what do we
got here, Romeo and Cleopatra?” Mikey said, laughing at the now
alarmed couple. Withdrawing from the window, he turned to Sal.
“This is fucking beautiful. Cheesy’s getting a piece.”
    “Cheesy’s” real name was James O’Scanlon.
Jimmy was a tall, skinny, sixteen-year-old Irish kid from the
neighborhood who everybody knew and had great affection for. He had
bright red hair, freckles, and a face like a pepperoni pizza. He
got the nickname “Cheese Doodle” from some girls who were eating
them at a party, and noticed how similar one looked in comparison
to him. Over the years, the moniker mutated into several different
variations, finally settling on Cheesy.
    Lying sprawled out on top of a chubby,
homely, redheaded girl, with a pale complexion, and thick glasses,
Jimmy’s jeans were down around his ankles, and his lily white ass
glowed in the back seat like a full moon on a clear, dark
night.
    “Ah, leave him alone. How many times do you
figure he’s gonna get some in his life?” Sal said sympathetically,
as he stepped to the window and got a good look at the girl’s face.
“Whoa!” Startled by her appearance, Sal jerked his head back.
    “How you doing, Sally Boy?” Jimmy asked
cheerfully.
    “What’s going on, Cheesy?” Sal responded
casually.
    “I’m kinda in the middle of something
here.”
    “I see that, Cheese. I’m prouda you!”
    “Thanks, Sal.”
    “Why ain’t you at Louie’s party?”
    “I was. This is my date.”
    “Cool!”
    “Hey Sal, any chance you could maybe give us
a little privacy.”
    “Yeah, sure.”
    “Thanks, Sal.”
    “See you later, Cheese.”
    Just as Sal was about to step away from the
car, he stuck his head back into the window. “Yo Cheese, lemme ask
you something. You do know whose car this is, right?”
    “Yeah, it’s Ralphie Barbagallo’s. He won’t
mind.”
    “You’re right, Ralphie wouldn’t mind. But
this ain’t Ralphie’s car no more. Ralphie sold it to, Gino.”
    “This is Gino Scaparetti’s car?” Jimmy said
fearfully.
    “You didn’t know that, huh?”
    “I thought it was Ralphie’s.”
    “I’m not telling you what to do or nothing.
But if Gino catches you doing what you’re doing in his back seat,
you’re gonna need like five doctors to put you back together again.
Capisi?”
    “Yeah, thanks for the heads-up, Sal. Don’t
worry, I’ll hurry up.”
    “Awright, take it easy, Cheese Balls.”
Smiling at the uncomfortable looking girl, Sal said politely, “It
was nice meeting...”
    Mikey forcefully shouldered Sal away from
the car and stuck his head even farther into the window this time.
“Hey Cheesy, I hope you ain’t planning on having any kids with this
fucking broad?”
    Feeling like a circus freak side-show, the
girl finally snapped, “Why shouldn’t