Dating : Checkmate

Checkmate

Game of life

“Ma, I have to go now. Can I talk to you later?”

“Rico, are you going on a date? oh! Is it Anne? You finally asked her out?”

“No Ma. I’m not going on a date. I’m going to play.”

“Alright. Next time, don’t be shy Rico. Ask her out. She will be lucky to have my darling boy.”

“Ok Bye, ma.”

Anne was someone who turned my life upside down and had no clue about it. Playing chess was just a reason to see her. Whenever I tried to talk, my heart would pound faster. For 6months, I was waiting for the right opportunity and the right way to thank her. I had no plans to date Anne.

Like I said to ma, I was on my way to union square park to play chess. You can find New York’s finest chess players there. From children to grandmasters, they play for bets and pride. Miss. Anne Frost was a regular. One had to face uphill struggles to beat her. Her silver hair and wrinkled face was no match for the enthusiasm and spirit she had. Her defence techniques were impenetrable. She had many psychological tactics under her sleeves to beat her opponent. I built my chess skills by watching her. She invites a few players to play with her. Definitely not amateurs. She always kept to herself. In these 6months, I have seen her talk with old Marcus a few times.

She was playing with Marcus, with kids surrounded to watch their nail-biting match. Even in that loud cheer, her concentration in the game was deep. To everyone’s surprise, old Marcus won the game that day. Anne took her defeat with a smile. I saw a golden opportunity here. I swooped in and asked Marcus for a match. I wanted to show Anne that I’m a serious player. If there were any prospects of playing with Anne, it was only by winning Marcus. At the same time, I was very nervous about the game. If I lose, it would be very embarrassing and all my efforts to get Anne’s attention will be lost.

Marcus agreed and the game began. In no time, I started to panic. My pawn got drenched in my sweat. Meanwhile, Marcus was very much at ease. Hundreds of questions popped into my head. Should I move my bishop? Will his pawn take my queen? What if his rook checks my rook? What is his defence strategy?. It was overwhelming. My head spun. After a minute, I composed myself and remembered the objective of the game. I was one game closer to sit with Anne and it was not the time to panic. Not very soon, my whites took in-charge of the field. I set a trap for his king by risking my knight. Thanks to my lucky stars, Marcus did not see it coming. His queen marched and slew her sword at the knight, leaving her king alone. My bishop checked his king and I won. By the looks of her smile, I knew I would soon get a chance to sit down with Anne.

The next day, I was at the park waiting for Anne with my board spread and the pieces well arranged. I was dressed sharply and had a radiant smile to greet her. I chased away my friends who wanted a match with me as I had reserved my game only for Anne that day.

Like I hoped, She stood right in front of my table and asked. “Can I join?”

“Yes yes of course. It’s an honour.” I pulled up the chair for her. She smiled.

“Shall we start?” She asked. I kept staring at her in awe. I was happy beyond the moon.

“Excuse me, is everything alright?”

“Sorry, Miss. Frost I just had a fan moment. Sure let’s start.”

We started to play, so as our conversation.

“Rico is it?”

“Yea, I’m Rico Hobbs.”

“Tell me about you Rico.”

“I work at the Java Joe barista at the corner. I’m from Queens. I moved here 6months ago. What about you?”

“I’m a retired detective. Now I do nothing but play chess.”

As we were playing, my phone rang. It was my mother.

“Hello Ma, I will call you back.”

“Rico no, Wait. I just received flowers from you with a thank you note. Today I bumped into Mr.hamilton. He said that you do not work at the bank anymore. Rico, what’s going on?”

“I will explain everything in an hour. I promise. Love you.”

I disconnected the call abruptly. It was distracting the game and my conversation with Anne.

“Girlfriend?”

“No, my mother.”

“Oh, She must miss you.”

“Yes, she does. I was adopted. She looked after me like her own.”

Anne stopped playing for a moment and gazed at me. “Have you ever tried to contact your birth parents?”

“No, not really. My mother was never in the picture. My dad was there but not for long. When I was 5, he took me to the park, went to buy ice cream and never came back. Enough about me. I bet you miss your detective days.”

“I was a struggling woman in a man’s job. Worked my ass off to make a name. Going undercover, catching bad guys and life-threatening cases was not exactly a paradise young man.”

“Still, undercover sounds cool. Like the movies, have you been part of any famous kingpin mobster gang?. King takes pawn.”

“Not very famous, but I helped bring down Alessandro and his mob. After that, I quit. Pawn takes king.”

“that’s something. Why did you quit?. Bishop takes knight. Check.”

“At first, I was very excited about the work. By doing it, I thought I would get an ounce of respect from other men in the department. But my incognito life was very toxic. Each day It was like standing on fire. Catching them red-handed was not easy. It brought many men to their knees. Countless bodies piled up. After that, I couldn’t take up another assignment and pretend as nothing happened. To forget the horror, I drowned my sorrows in alcohol. Eventually, I quit my job. King to rook two.”

“Wow, Miss. Frost, you have come a long way. You look well now. Rook to king’s rook. Check.”

“Thank you, Rico. It was hard. Going to AA meetings was tough. Couldn’t complete their 10steps program. I relapsed. Chess helped me a lot to get over alcoholism. Bishop to rook three.”

“Good for you. I get it, AA can be tough. Standing in front of the crowd, sharing your most embarrassing stories and afraid of being judged, is that why you quit?. Bishop takes bishop.”

“Part of the program was to make amends to those I hurt. I couldn’t go through with it. I couldn’t just knock at the door and ask for forgiveness from the families who lost their loved ones in that case. I think a simple sorry isn’t enough. Even if it is, I was gutless to do it. Rook to bishop four.”

“Maybe you should. Rook takes rook.”

“Yeah, maybe I should. Alessandro was a hard man to find. He never made any public appearances. John Castillo was an important and loyal member of the mob family. He was also the weakest link. I used him to lurk through their network. Unfortunately, he grew affection towards me, which I couldn’t reciprocate at that time. Somehow Alessandro found they had a mole. Even worse, they thought it was John. So they planned to kill him during one of their usual meetings at the park. Alessandro wanted to do it himself to make an example. For the first time, he came out of his den. After spending so many months there, it was my best chance to make the arrest. I wanted to warn John, but if he doesn’t show up or alerts Alessandro, all hell will break loose. I couldn’t take that risk. Each day it felt like the walls are coming closer to crush me. So I remained silent. I thought the feds would arrest him before he kills John. But it was too late.” She said as tears rolling down her cheek.

We both remained silent for few minutes. “Pawn takes rook. I’m sorry Rico Castillo.”

“Bishop to bishop seven. So you knew.”

“Right from the start. I’m sorry about your father. There is no excuse for what I did. King takes knight’s pawn.”

“You are right about one thing Miss. Frost. Sorry isn’t enough. Also, you should know I did not come for your apology. Bishop to Bishop. Checkmate.”

I drew my gun and shot her to the chest. Her blood splattered all over the board as she fell. She died instantly.

What I did will not bring my father back. That day, my father took me to the park with such great joy. He was going to meet Alessandro and ask for his blessing to marry Miss. Frost, as part of their tradition. Instead, the cops found his body stabbed multiple times in an abandoned van the next day. My family members refused to take me because they thought my father was a rat. I bounced around the foster care system for a long time and ended up with the Hobbs family.

I wanted justice for my father. Now the world will know the truth, the loyalty of John Castillo. The cops surrounded the park. I had no intention of running and hiding from them. I did not mind going to jail because I still have a game to play with Alessandro.