Go Stop Repeat

By John Bruno

This is a story of a struggling young couple, Tom and Aki, who lives in Brooklyn, New York. Tom is Italian American, and Aki is of Japanese descent, born and raised in Osaka, Japan. Tom is a dreamer who, like most, dreams of becoming rich, not yet knowing how rich and blessed he already is. Tom and Aki are madly in love with each other, making the best of what little material things they have. They live in a less-than-modest one-bedroom apartment in the Windsor Terrace section of Brooklyn, working together for the same company. Everything seems fine when, in a split-second, everything changes after coming face-to-face with a tragedy, each of them experiencing the pain of loneliness. When Tom finds himself in a new world, which he refuses to accept, his perseverance and relentless strive to escape and regain his freedom are his only hope of one day being reunited with his wife and love, Aki.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jan 25, 2022
• ISBN: 9781662461484

Book preview

cover.jpg

Go Stop Repeat

John Bruno

Copyright © 2021 John Bruno

All rights reserved

First Edition

PAGE PUBLISHING, INC.

Conneaut Lake, PA

First originally published by Page Publishing 2021

ISBN 978-1-6624-6147-7 (hc)

ISBN 978-1-6624-6148-4 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

There are three cycles of life that we know of:

You’re born, you live, you die.

Or is there another cycle that we’re not sure of?

Chapter 1

A black Cadillac Escalade is parked and running in front of a beautiful expanded 1920s brownstone on Pineapple Street in Brooklyn Heights, New York. The driver awaits his regular passenger. He makes sure the SUV’s temperature is very comfortable. As he waits for his passenger who resides at this magnificent estate, he sets his GPS for Belmar Airport located in Farmingdale, New Jersey. The owners, Tom and Aki DeFazio, are preparing for the day. Aki is making breakfast, and Tom is getting dressed. She calls up to him to see what he would like for breakfast. Tom calls back down, declining breakfast, and asks only for a cup of coffee. She can hear him making his way down the winding staircase and then walking into the kitchen. As he struggles with his collar, Aki walks to him and helps him straighten it out. He kisses her and tells how he needs to leave early due to an unscheduled trip to the Dayton, Ohio, facility.

The driver patiently awaits Tom’s arrival while admiring the details of this property. It is spectacular, and he wonders if a property like this could still be duplicated in today’s world. Are there craftsmen that are capable of duplicating this level of construction? What would the cost be if it could be done? History tells us that the original craftsmen who built these homes were German immigrants who worked under horrendous conditions. At the time, brownstone itself was plentiful; however, the actual home was built in brick with only a brownstone facade. The stoop was originally built to raise the parlor floor, keeping it from possible street flooding. Flooding from rain caused the immense amount of horse manure to flow knee-high down the streets. You can only imagine the stench and how unbearable it was.

Today, however, the brownstone is a very sought-after property by the wealthy. This particular home is one of the few that has a private driveway and garage. It is meticulously landscaped with lush greenery and beautiful flowers. A beautiful wrought-iron fence with matching gate borders the property. The fence and gate were custom-made to replicate the original detail demanded by the present property owner who has paid very close attention to the restoration of this landmark property, carefully duplicating every detail to as near original as possible. This brownstone has landmark status, which indicates that before any renovation or restoration is made, the final plans must be approved by the Landmark Commission. The Landmark Commission is inflexible when it comes to the restoration of a landmark property. This is a good policy. It keeps properties like this looking as they were meant to be. This particular corner property stands three stories tall with a garden level and basement. A garden level is a level to the rear yard, allowing the occupants to walk directly out of the back door to the rear garden without needing to take any steps, up or down. There is also a basement with brick archways that the owner has set up as an extensive wine cellar, with a tasting area and dining area for fourteen people. The dining table sits on a large rug handmade in Asia. The basement ceiling is unfinished. It does, however, have an ornate chandelier hanging from it. Carefully placed wine racks surround the seating area, creating a very quaint dining experience. The owners use this for special occasions since the home has an extensive dining room on the first-floor level (parlor). A dumbwaiter (a small one-stop elevator) to the kitchen allows the easy movement of food to the wine cellar.

The property structure itself has original slate steps with wrought-iron banisters that lead to the double mahogany entry doors with an overhead transom, which graces the front of the home. Custom large replacement windows, all with black exterior trim, allowing passersby to see the inside of this magnificent estate as they walk by. There are eight working fireplaces, each with beautiful hand-carved mantels, heavily detailed parquet flooring, and ornate plaster crown molding. Eight-foot-tall pocket doors lead to an all-modern kitchen custom made in quarter-sawn oak, finished with leaded glass doors, hammered knobs, and stone countertops. It resembles, as close as possible, the original kitchen this estate once had. When entering the home, you step into a reception room with a massive fireplace. The room is decorated with beautiful light-green chesterfield sofas and highly polished end tables that sit on a vintage ornate area rug. Mid-seventeenth-century artwork graces the walls. The value of this estate could be well over $20,000,000.

Chapter 2

The driver of the Escalade notices the side door opening. He sees his passenger, the owner of this beautiful home, casually walking down the bluestone walkway toward the sidewalk. Tom walks to the gate and opens it. He then walks to the SUV, jumps in the rear seat, greets the driver, and instructs him to drive to Farmingdale, New Jersey. The driver has already preprogrammed the GPS for directions to Belmar Airport, with identifier KBLM. That’s where Tom keeps his Gulfstream G5, a luxury corporate jet he often enjoys for both business and pleasure. The jet is used exclusively by Tom and Aki and is never rented out even though Tom could easily get $10,000 per hour for it. As he settles into the back seat of the Escalade and relaxes, he looks out at the neighborhood landscape he so loves. Brooklyn Heights is a beautiful Brooklyn neighborhood filled with landmark brownstone homes, slate sidewalks, and lush sycamore trees. The neighborhood has always maintained the old charm and simple atmosphere it’s had for many years. It is a natural enclave in a quiet corner of Brooklyn. It’s always been a premier place to reside in. He loves living there and wouldn’t want to live anyplace else.

As they drive to the airport, he observes young women pushing their baby strollers, children being escorted to day care centers, people walking their dogs, others scurrying through the streets to the subway, and some people sweeping the sidewalk and curbs in front of their properties while others water their small front gardens. The old grocery store’s front window displays fresh fruit and produce. The hardware store, which has been there for over one hundred years, is preparing for the day. A worker is setting up on the sidewalk directly in front of the store with shiny new trash cans, two-wheeled wagons, brooms, mops, and an assortment of other household items. Tom continues to look out of the Escalade window during the drive through the streets of Brooklyn. As they depart the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood and drive through other areas of Brooklyn, he can quickly see the neighborhoods and the landscape change. He grew up in a less desirable area of Brooklyn where he learned the law of the land and developed his street smarts (as they say). They drive on Atlantic Avenue and onto the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, heading toward the Belt Parkway, and then onto the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. Luckily, the traffic is light for a Friday. They continue to drive onto the over path and pass Industry City on the right side. This is where the corporate headquarters of his company is located. They approach the entrance to the Verrazano Bridge, continuing to move steadily. As they cross the bridge, he looks out of the window down at the Hudson River. A massive barge loaded with containers is head out to the ocean. He wonders, How much product that my company distributes is on that barge? They continue on to the Staten Island Expressway and head toward New Jersey. They cross the Goethals Bridge, which connects Staten Island and New Jersey, and head south. A couple of exits follows and then on to the Garden State Parkway.

While driving through the streets of New Jersey, he stares out of the window, thinking about the day ahead. He is anxious to get to the meeting at the Dayton, Ohio, distribution facility. The facility sits on approximately seventy acres of land. The building itself is seventy thousand square feet with parking for four hundred cars and trucks. When he had it built six years ago, he borrowed every penny. It was a ballsy move; however, he knew it would pay off. His charismatic charm and sharp head for business gained him the respect and consideration with many major food company executives, enabling him to represent them with the distribution of their products.

Today, he is making a visit to the Dayton facility for a meeting requested by his facility manager—this not being a routine visit. There is a situation that needs fixing before it becomes a problem. The managers know that they must inform Tom of every out-of-the-ordinary situation, good or not good. This one is not good. Tom doesn’t like any problems. It’s a sign of bad management and loss of control. Once you lose control, you lose everything. That’s why you need to stay on top of your business and pay attention to every detail no matter how small or insignificant it might seem. By doing this, the employees know you are attentive to every detail.

Tom’s driver exits the Garden State Parkway and heads for the airport, which is about ten minutes away. Tom puts his laptop, which he has not used during the entire drive to the airport, in his bag, gets in his jacket, and prepares to exit the Escalade and continue on to Dayton. As they arrive at the airport, they drive directly to the ramp where the G5 is parked. You can easily identify the massive private jet from the others on the field. It gleams, exhibiting the care given to it by the entire crew. They are working, busily preparing for the flight to Dayton, Ohio. The tail number on the jet is N1TD for Tom DeFazio, the owner and CEO of this massive international worldwide food distributor. He is proud of his accomplishments and works daily to keep the momentum going. The distributorship serves as the primary delivery partner for major food companies throughout the world. The single largest privately owned distributor for companies such as Coca-Cola, Campbell’s Soup, Poland Spring water, and many others, not to mention fresh produce from around the world. The oranges and lemons come from Southern Italy, grown on farms owned by him. He is truly a self-made multimillionaire.

Tom steps out of the Escalade and heads toward the jet. He carries his bag with the laptop in it, walks with confidence, stops, takes a good look around, and boards the Gulfstream G5. He turns and nods at the captain. The captain is outside supervising all preflight requirements and personally checking the fuel quality and quantity. The jet is hangared at Belmar Airport, with call sign KBLM, in Farmingdale, New Jersey. It’s not as close as Teterboro, but Tom likes the ease of operating out of Belmar. Also, he is closer to his summer home located on Long Beach Island.

Tom is a handsome fit thirty-seven-year-old man. He has dark hair with dark eyes and five feet eleven inches tall. He is wearing a pair of khaki chinos, Paul&Shark belt, dark green polo shirt, and brown Italian athletic shoes. On his left wrist is an 18 karat pink-gold Rolex Daytona, a gift from his wife, Aki. He is an avid bicycle rider, who tries to ride every day. His bicycles are all handmade in Italy by the finest bicycle manufacturers.

It’s a beautiful early summer day. You can hear airplanes taking off and landing on the field and taxiing around the airport. Tom checks in at the FBO (airport office) and uses the restroom. As he walks and climbs on board the G5, Captain Larson once again greets him, saying, Good morning, sir. Should be a quick, smooth flight.

Tom responds, That’s great. Are we almost ready for departure?

"Yes,