Frank’s father had passed away, and Frank inherited the house. All the equipment that is obsolete or needs repair goes to that house. He had lent Baldi the key so he could occasionally go and store some things there. But Baldi did not have permission to stay there.
Frank said Baldi surely had a copy of the key and might be living there illegally. He said he was going to investigate further. It would be easy, since there were tons of cameras in that place.
I was leaving the gym when I heard, “Mr. OP, Mr. OP, wait.” It was Harry. He told me he was sorry about what was happening. Baldi had never told him who his girlfriend was.
Baldi had only said he met her at the mall. I thanked him and took a step toward the exit. Harry rushed, “Can you tell me what happened?”
I told him, “Pretty much what you heard. He was sleeping with my wife, and now I am divorcing her.”
I took another step.
“What will happen to Baldi?” he asked.
“That depends on Frank and the coaches association.”
I tried to take another step, but he asked, “How are you handling it?”
That felt strange. I stared at Harry and remembered that Baldi had gone to my house twice. I said, “You called Baldi, and he’s on his way here, right? You’re just buying time. Am I wrong?”
He made a guilty face. “Please, Mr. OP, talk to him. He’s really desperate. He was crying yesterday. His girl—I mean your wife—isn’t returning his calls.”
I said, “Tell me, why should I care if he is rotting in hell?”
Harry said, “I’ll be here with you, so you don’t need to be scared.”
I laughed. “Scared of that weakling? He didn’t tell you I kicked him out of my house naked, right?”
Harry didn’t believe me. Fine. I decided to see what Baldi wanted.
I saw there were cameras where we were talking, so I sat at a table in the reception area. I didn’t think Baldi was stupid enough to attack me, but who knows? Besides, I was really curious about what he wanted.
He came running ten minutes later. He saw me waiting for him and extended his hand. I crossed my arms and left his hand hanging.
“What the hell do you want?” I asked, looking angrily into his eyes.
He sat in front of me. “Listen, buddy—”
“Stop right there. We are not buddies. Mr. S, the janitor, is my buddy. You are not.”
He seemed apologetic. “Okay, my bad. I want to say I’m sorry for everything. I never wanted to hurt you, and I really care about Jane.”
I said, “Well, you just said three lies to my face. You’re not sorry. You did mean to destroy my life. And you just care about yourself.”
He changed from apologetic to annoyed. “Okay, whatever, man. Just tell me where Jane is.”
“Last time I saw her was when I kicked her cheating butt out of my house after I kicked you out naked.”
I knew Harry was listening. Baldi’s face changed color to red. “That was a cheap shot. I should sue you.”
I said, “As far as I know, you entered my home illegally, and perhaps you were assaulting my wife. I have videos of you getting out, but you didn’t sign in.”
He changed again. “Okay, okay, I’m sorry. Tell me what you want from me. Please, tell Jane I need to speak to her.”
At that moment, Frank came in a rush. I guess he saw through the cameras that Baldi had shown up. He asked, “Everything okay here?”
“Everything is fine, Frank,” I said. “I was just telling this piece of trash what I want.”
I stood up and spoke close to Baldi’s face. “What I want is what is coming for you. What you deserve. What the law has prepared for you. I want to crush your dreams just like you did with mine. You want kids? Guess what? You won’t, and you will never have Jane.”
Baldi said, “What’s that supposed to mean?” But Frank asked him to see him in his office. Harry looked impressed. He grabbed Baldi’s arm and said, “Dude, you’re in deep crap.”