A Different Kind of Perfect

By Karen Cino

It is the grand opening of The Perfect Pitch. All the pieces fall into place until Francine's diagnosis of breast cancer, throwing their lives upside down. While Amy and Jason deal with the reaction from her family to their interracial relationship, Toni finds herself in another overbearing relationship with Pelicans third baseman Gary Thompson.
In the mist of taking care of Francine and working at The Perfect Pitch, Richie gets a call from the owner of the Pelicans. He is offered a job as pitching coach for the team. Richie accepts the job, putting a huge strain on his marriage which affects all of them.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Karen Cino
• Release date: Nov 19, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370464579

Karen Cino

Karen Cino is a multi-published author who has been writing since she was fourteen years old. She started her career by writing poetry, short stories and writing articles for her high school newspaper. After reading Jackie Collin’s Lovers and Gamblers and Jacqueline Susann’s, Valley of the Dolls, Karen found her niche. She wanted to write women’s fiction and wrote her first book during the summer before she started college. Her daily walks down at the boardwalk are what gets her muse going. It clears her mind and helps her find realistic plot ideas and the characters boosting up her muse. Karen loves writing about local places that people can relate to. The late Paul Zindel’s books took place in Staten Island and reading them, especially My Darling My Hamburger, still brings back many memories for her.Karen loves the summer, loves the beach. Her previous books were written and take place in various places across Staten Island. Karen relocated to the New Jersey Shore in 2015. She traded in the Staten Island Boardwalk for the shoreline in Long Beach Island. Her Cookie Cutter Cozy Series takes place in Barnegat, NJ.Karen is a member of Romance Writers of America, Women's Fiction Writing Association and Liberty States Fiction Writers.Karen has two adult children, Michael Giordano and Nicole Balmaseda, two cats, Katie and Sunni and lives with Paul, her true love in Toms River, New Jersey.Currently, Karen is working on a new Cozy Mystery Series and Women’s Fiction Series.

Book preview

A Different Kind of Perfect

Seaside Boulevard Series

Karen Cino

Copyright 2017 Karen Cino

A Mandolay Press Book

Women’s Fiction

A Different Kind Of Perfect: Seaside Boulevard Series

Copyright 2017 Karen Cino

First Edition: November 2017

Edited by: Em Petrova

Proofread by: Joan Setteducato

ISBN 13: 978-1975631154

ISBN 10: 1975631153

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

PUBLISHER

Mandolay Press

DEDICATION

This is dedicated to my readers and my fans. Your support is what gives me the inspiration to keep telling my stories.

OTHER BOOKS BY KAREN CINO

Roses

The Boardwalk

Love Challenges and Desires

MYSTICAL WONDERS SERIES

Circle of Friends

Second Chances

The Right Call

Survival

NOVELLAS

Wild Pitch

Midnight Encounter

POETRY

Love Poems

SEASIDE BOULEVARD SERIES

The Perfect Pitch

A Different Kind of Perfect

CAMP MIRAGE SERIES

New Beginnings

Chaos at the Compound

Chapter One

Francine Raggalio gazed out at the crowd lining the streets behind the blue police barriers at Battery Park. The thrill of riding on a float in the ticker tape parade down the Canyon of Heroes couldn’t be anymore exciting.

This wasn’t the first ticker tape parade Francine had been a part of. When the Pelicans won the World Series many years ago, she had joined her husband Richie on the float. This year Toni Belluci and Gary Thompson would be sharing the float with them.

Vendors lined the streets selling New York Pelican merchandise at steep prices. The vendors who sold bootleg merchandise out of the black duffle bags were selling the T-shirts for ten dollars while the street vendors sold the authentic ones for twenty-five dollars. When the cops asked the bootleggers to leave, they would disappear for awhile before coming back.

We’ll be right back, Francine said to Richie who stood signing autographs for the fans.

Richie held up his hand, signaling for her to wait a minute. He scribbled his name on a piece of pink paper before turning to face Francine and Toni. Where are you two going?

Right over there, Francine pointed over her shoulder, to get myself an iced tea. I’m extremely thirsty.

Please try and make it fast, he said, pointing to his watch. You two don’t have a good track record of doing things quickly. The parade starts in exactly a half hour.

I can’t see us being any longer than that.

From what I can see, the line looks like it’s already outside the door.

"Not to worry. I’ll make sure Francine doesn’t buy any junk T-shirts and hats from the street vendors, Toni said.

Yeah, exactly. Especially the ones with my name misspelled. Now promise me you won’t be long.

Promise. Francine leaned into Richie to give him a kiss. Can I get you anything?

No, I’m good. When we get down to City Hall there will be a buffet before we go out on stage.

I’m good too. I’m just so excited. This is my first World Series Parade.

Gary? Toni turned and smiled when she saw Gary standing behind her. He dressed casually in jeans, which showcased his long muscular legs and a black button-down shirt that complemented his shoulder-length curly blond hair and hazel eyes.

Toni wrapped her arm through Francine’s. Okay, then let us get going before we waste anymore time.

Francine and Toni had become friends after Francine’s parents died in a car accident when she was eleven years old and was placed in the foster care system. Whenever they walked together, Toni always made certain they walked with the same foot forward. A habit of Toni’s to this very day that she still did.

They walked across the street, through the crowd of people, walking right into the store. There was a long line, but that didn’t stop them. Francine had an agenda. She knew exactly what she was doing.

Oh my God. There’s Francine Raggalio, a fan yelled.

Who the hell is that? Toni asked. The voice almost sounds familiar.

It does. But we don’t have time to gab. We need to get our cookie dough flavors and get back onto the float before the parade starts.

Francine walked toward the front of the shop where Amy Mills and Jason Maddock sat close to the counter. They greeted each other with a hug.

Amy had been her best friend since they met in freshmen year of high school. Her friendship with Amy had always included Richie. When Francine got married, she couldn’t think of anyone better to be her maid of honor. They were more like sisters than friends.

Walk right up to the counter and place your order. By the time people realize what just happened it will be too late. You’ll be long gone.

Come on, Amy. Do you really think we’re going to get away with it? Francine whispered.

Absolutely. We, she pointed to Jason and her, have been sitting in here for the past hour. No one has recognized Jason. We are all dressed in Pelican baseball hats and jerseys. We all blend together.

You and Amy are enough to drive me crazy. I’m waiting for the day I get a call from the police precinct with you two asking me to come and bail you out. But the more I think about it, the more I know I will be picking up the tab on the three of you because here comes Toni with your lattes.

Francine glanced over her shoulder to watch Toni walk toward them with iced coffees. What did you do?

I walked to the front of the line and ordered our lattes. No one even questioned me. Everyone is in such a good mood. It’s not everyday the Pelicans win the World Series. The last time we got to celebrate like this had to be fifteen years ago.

I’m loving this. It feels great to be a part of this celebration.

I know what you mean, Amy. Francine took a sip of her drink and smiled.

Me too. Maybe I can sneak onto the float with Jason. Amy giggled.

You three keep laughing. Because once the parade starts, you two, Jason pointed to Francine and Toni, are going to be out of luck. The float is going to leave without you.

Francine glanced at her watch. Shit. We’ve been gone almost twenty minutes. Let’s get back.

We’ll see you at City Hall. Richie gave us tickets for the buffet and seats for the ceremony. Try and stay out of trouble. Jason chuckled.

Don’t worry. We’ll be good. We don’t want to go on television looking like asses, Francine said.

Francine led them out of the store. The street had become even more congested. Francine could see Richie and Gary standing on the float and couldn’t help but wonder how the hell they were going to make it through the crowd.

After much maneuvering, they made it to the police barrier. Francine pulled her lanyard out of her shirt and the cops moved the barrier so they could walk over to their float.

Where did you two disappear to? And how the hell did you get your drinks so fast when the line is a block long? Gary asked.

At least we didn’t get a call from the police, Richie added.

Why does everyone always assume we’re going to have a brush with the law? Francine looked at Toni who was grinning, before continuing. It was easy. Amy and Jason where sitting at a table in the front of the store. We walked over to talk to them.

I casually took a step to the right and the next thing I knew, the young girl behind the counter said, ‘Next.’

Richie held his hand up. I don’t even want to hear anymore. You three are always in cahoots. At least this time you didn’t get in trouble.

Francine and Toni giggled. Richie had been pissed when he found out they didn’t tell him about the secret basement in the Perfect Pitch. He kept telling them that they were lucky this Eric character didn’t come after them. Francine laughed to herself. Since they were teens, Richie had always found them in compromising positions, barely escaping getting caught by their shenanigans

The parade started. Francine took Richie’s hand and leaped up onto the float with Toni following behind. The music began with a local high school band marching down the street ahead of them playing. Within a few minutes the float started moving. When their float rounded the corner onto Broadway, the fans went wild. The streets were lined with fans in Pelican jerseys, hats, scarves and gloves.

Slowly they rode down Broadway with fans screaming their names. Francine waved to them. This wasn’t her first time on a float, but this time she felt sadness. Richie seemed happy, excited that he was retiring. The past few weeks, he had his moments of sadness, which he didn’t voice. She wouldn’t admit to him she was just as scared as him. Baseball had been their whole life since they were teenagers.

The ride down the Canyon of Heroes was over in the blink of an eye. All Francine did was wave, smile and laugh. Fans threw stuffed animals and flowers up on the floats. A few got past the police asking for autographs. Richie signed them. He never turned down a fan.

The float came to a stop. The four of them got off and walked into City Hall. Two hours later, after the guys received the key to the city, they were back in Jason’s truck heading to Staten Island for the grand opening of their new restaurant, The Perfect Pitch.

Francine’s mother-in-law, Angelina, was on board with doing the baking from day one. For weeks, Angelina experimented, preparing coffee cakes, pies and cookies to put on the menu. She even had stocked the shelves and acquainted herself with the kitchen, thinking she could handle all the baking. On Francine and Richie’s insistence, she hired a pasty chef to help her.

As they walked toward the double glass doors leading into the restaurant, the sweet aroma seeped into the parking lot. It was hard to believe that all these months later, they had transformed the old restaurant with overgrown weeds and garbage covering the front into a sports bar/restaurant. The building just needed a coat of white paint, pavers in the front with bushes decorated with white lights, and a newly paved parking lot. The black canopy with orange lettering ran the whole length of the front of the restaurant with The Perfect Pitch in the middle with two crossed baseball bats in both corners.

Jason looked over his shoulder as he opened the front door. Looks like your mom’s been here all day.

No kidding. Look at the showcase against the back wall. Amy pointed.

Francine walked toward the back of the restaurant. Angelina had set all the tables in the Pelican colors: black, white and orange. The tablecloths were black, the dishes white and the napkins orange. The showcase was filled with cakes, pies and cookies. On the baseball-shaped chalkboard, written in hand calligraphy orange letters were the specials of the day: inside out burger, meatball parmigiana hero and two-dollar beers on tap. The laminated menus had arrived the day before. The Perfect Pitch was written in bold letters on the front with a picture of the Pelicans Stadium in the background.

Francine pushed the swinging doors open and walked into the kitchen. Ma, what are you doing? There were pound cakes all over the counter. Are you crazy?

No need to worry. We have to make sure there’s enough desserts to go around.

Mom, please take it easy. I don’t want you wearing yourself down.

You’ll see. Everyone is going to love my cakes with my special ingredients.

They will, Mom. But you look drained. What time did you get here?

I got here around six-thirty. I had to get all the ovens on and preheated. Angelina touched her shoulder. You can’t imagine how great it feels to use four big ovens at the same time. What would take me hours and days to do for the holidays, I was able to do in just a couple of hours. Oh and by the way, the delivery of hamburgers came earlier. I put them away in the freezer. Just a little while ago the hamburger rolls and Italian bread arrived.

I can’t believe this is really happening. A few months ago, this all seemed like a dream.

Now it’s time for things to settle down. The rest of your life is out there waiting for you. You are still young and can enjoy yourself.

I know. It’s going to feel weird with Richie not playing ball anymore, however, I’m excited about this new business venture. This will now give us a chance to work together as a family.

Have you decided what to do with your real estate business?

I’m not sure yet. I really don’t want to give it up. I haven’t really given much thought to my business. I’m going to have to make a decision soon. But for the time being Amy and Toni have been keeping on top of things with the clients we were already working with. I think moving forward, we aren’t going to take on any new clients.

You have to do what you feel is right. Angelina put her arms around Francine’s shoulder. I’m here for you if you need to talk about things. Whatever you do, please know I support your decision.

Thanks, Mom.

Francine, Amy called from the dining room.

I’ll be back.

Go do what you have to do. I’m fine here. This is a dream come true for me. Baking…

Francine pushed the doors open and joined the others by the bar. Jason handed her a fluted glass full of bubbly.

I want to propose a toast. Jason raised his glass. To friendship, love and a successful business venture. Most importantly, to Richie’s retirement.

Salute. All six of them clanked glasses.

Putting the finishing touches on the restaurant took close to two hours. Everything had to be perfect for opening night. While the men hung around the bar setting up the olives, cherries, lemon and limes, the women made certain the decorations were all hung throughout the restaurant.

I’m going downstairs to get a few more decorations, Francine said.

I haven’t been down there since the whole incident. Does Richie still bring it up? Amy asked.

No. Not anymore. He did enough yelling to last a lifetime. He was more upset that I withheld the situation from him.

Jason too.

Thank God Gary wasn’t a part of any of this. This way we didn’t have to worry about getting in trouble with him, Toni said.

They all giggled. We’ll be right back, Francine called over her shoulder to the guys as they walked outside.

Francine led the way out the backdoor and to the brand-new door Jason had installed. There was no reason for them to have to get to the basement by going through a trapdoor twenty feet away from the back. And now that Angelina had stocked the shelves in the pantry, it was impossible to open the hidden door that they had kept from the guys until the day everything blew up in their faces.

They walked down the seven new steps that replaced the old wooden rickety ones and into the basement, which Richie and Jason had turned into storage for restaurant supplies.

I have a surprise for the both of you, Francine said.

You do? Amy and Toni said at once.

Yes. Francine walked across the basement and opened the door next to the metal utility shelf.

What the hell are you doing? Amy asked.

This is an additional storage closet. It’s a closet inside a closet.

Toni stuck her head into the dark space. What the hell are you talking about? I can’t see a single thing in here.

Francine laughed. Waa la! Francine clicked the light switch and the room illuminated.

Wow. I haven’t been down here since the police raid. It looks so different without the tables full of shoes and handbags…

And don’t forget about the marijuana, Amy, Toni added.

Don’t even remind me. We’re lucky your boyfriend didn’t come after us, Francine said. I’m so glad you dumped him before the shit hit.

Thank God I did before he got arrested. He was too overbearing, thinking he owned me. He would have been begging me to get him out of jail.

He wanted to keep you close so he knew your every move. This way he knew when no one would be at the restaurant so he could carry on his business in the basement.

I don’t see anything of interest in here anymore, Amy said, picking up two bottles of vodka and scotch.

You are too much, Toni said, taking a handbag off the shelf. I have no problem taking a few of these handbags home with me that I can’t afford.

Toni, you can take whatever you want from here. I took a few of the handbags and hid them before the police cleared them out, Francine explained.

Thank God that’s all in the past.

Amy’s eyes shot wide open. A couple? How about a few dozen.

Okay. Don’t be an old hag. The police didn’t even notice them missing. That’s how much merchandise was down here.

I don’t ever want to get involved in something like this again. My luck is already horrendous, especially when it comes to men. Toni frowned. Every time I meet someone who seems decent, he turns out to be a complete and uttermost loser.

Francine and Amy put their arm around Toni. Not to worry. If things continue the way they are, you are going to have a wonderful life with Gary, Francine said.

How do you know that, Francine?

He’s crazy about you, always was. Every time he got the courage up to ask you out, you met someone else.

Toni shook her head from side to side. No way. You’re just appeasing me.

No, I’m not. Richie told me all year that he liked you.

Why didn’t you tell me?

Because I was waiting for you to be ready. I knew when the time was right, things would fall into place.

And they did, Amy added. Take it easy. Be yourself. You don’t need to impress him. He’s the one impressed with you and the work you did on finding out about the basement. Let nature take its course.

Already he has been including you into things. Just that he invited you to join him on the float should prove how much he cares about you. All the girls love Gary. He can have his choice, but he chose you. Francine nudged her shoulder. Now let’s get ready for our grand opening.

What else needs to go upstairs? Toni asked.

Nothing else. Go ahead. I’ll be up in a few minutes, Francine said. I have a few things I need to do down here.

We can help. Toni pointed to Amy and herself.

I’ll be fine. You two go up before the guys start wondering what we’re doing down here. I’m going to grab a few bottles of Prosecco.

Francine took two bottles off the shelf. The basement had been a nightmare, taking them for a loop. Thank God Angelina had no idea what went on at the time when she was in the kitchen baking. If Angelina ever caught wind of the illegal drugs in the basement, she would have gone ballistic.

Francine shouldn’t have taken any of the shoes and handbags, especially since they could afford to buy them. Richie could never understand her reasoning behind her taking some items. Growing up in foster care wasn’t the best life to live, not until she reached her last set of foster parents who treated her like one of their own in exchange for keeping their adulterous affairs to herself.

Even after Richie came up to the major leagues, signing a multimillion-dollar contract, she insisted on keeping her real estate business. For Francine, it meant never losing her independence. Whatever money she made from a sale, she put into a Baby Raggalio bank account. She always hoped that one month she would wake up and find herself pregnant, not that they were officially trying. They had just gone with the flow and if it happened it happened, and if it didn’t, they weren’t meant to be parents.

Francine walked up the basement stairs into the restaurant. Slowly she pushed open the door leading into the pantry and walked into the clean kitchen. For once things were going as planned. The last thing she wanted to explain to Angelina was the secret door to the basement. She closed the door that had become quite heavy with Angelina’s supplies. In the future, she would use the new entrance Jason built. Angelina had utilized all the space for her pure extracts, food coloring and spices. Francine couldn’t help but laugh when she saw the bottom shelf, which was filled with canned pumpkin and cherries. Angelina hated using anything in a can, but getting fresh cherries during the winter had been nearly impossible.

Francine took a few minutes to listen to the conversation coming from the bar. At last, they were all happy at the same time. Toni hooking up with Gary had turned into fairy-tale romance. She hadn’t seen Toni this happy since she was a teenager.

Laughter came from the restaurant with Richie being the loudest. Francine wondered if his laughter was an effort to hide emotions of his retirement. Even though he continued to reassure her he was happy to be starting a new chapter in his life with her, deep down she knew the reality of his retirement didn’t hit him yet. Taking the two bottles off the counter, she pushed the doors open and walked over to the bar.

Francine placed the bottles on the gleaming polished wood. Hey, what’s so funny in here?

We’re talking about your escapades in the store earlier. I just got finished telling Gary about some of your famous stories. Richie winked.

Love the umbrella story at The Finn. Gary wrapped his arm around Toni. I’m so glad my girl wasn’t involved in that one.

Francine and Amy looked at each other and