Part 2 of Tea with Rose by Erin Sankey
that looked innocent and young. I guess I got too old to look innocent and young riding my bike around the hoods.” “What did you do about it?” Blake asked, his curiosity piqued. “There really wasn't anything I could do. So, I took up poker. I'd sneak out of my house at night and go meet up with Willy and his friends in the basement of an old apartment building on 35th street. I'd smoke cigars and drink beers with 'em. I got so good at playing, I'd lose on purpose sometimes. It didn't matter though. I had enough money to play around with at the time.” Rose sat up straight with and with a sparkle in her eye when she said, “That's where I met Marv, the cutest boy at the game. He was the love of my life, blond hair, blue eyes, smart and handy. Marvin Munger, seventeen years old and he had my attention. Of course I didn't have his. I was only twelve,” she said, sipping some tea. “That is until I turned fifteen. That's when things changed for us. The next thing I knew, I was pregnant with his child. My parents immediately marched us into the church and made us get married. Marv and I had to get our own apartment, and on September 27th, 1930 my son, Christopher Munger, was born. “I thought the poker money I made would last us a long time. But children are expensive, and so I had to get a job. I became a mechanic over at Mike's mechanic shop. I took to fixing cars like a duck takes to water. I was so good at it, I fixed cars better than some of the men that had been doing it for years. They weren't too happy about that,” she said, refreshing her tea and lighting another cigarillo. “I worked on cars for five years. I became more agreeable around the shop as time went on.” “Sorry, I don't mean to sound slow here, but who's Frank Nitty?” he asked.
“More agreeable?” Blake asked.
Rose laughed. “Why, he was only the second feared man next to Capone. Nitty was Capone's second in command— his right hand man. His full name was, Francesco Raffaele Nitto.”
“Yeah you know, slowed down, not being so obnoxious. It was to keep my job.”
“Whoa!” Blake whispered.
“I was good at things, but I knew when I was crossing a line.”
“Drink your tea before it gets cold,” Rose insisted.
Blake nodded.
Blake picked up his cup, saluted her, and took a sip. “Yes, ma’am,” he said.
“I remember one time, Jimmy, one of the mechanics, learned how to inflate truck tires with fire. It was especially useful when the tire had a hole in it. The fire would weld it right up. Well, one time, Jimmy forgot about a tire and it exploded. I think every single person in that shop was in the parking lot, just standing there scratching their head and jumpy as Mexican jumping beans toward any noise that followed.
Rose sat back. It looked like she was deep in thought. She took another drag of her cigarillo. “By the time I was twelve, I had more money than I knew what to do with. Then one day, just as quickly as I was recruited, Capone stopped asking me. He was only interested in the children
Blake laughed. “Ah!”
