For five days a week,
Felipo Catalunha, 45,
an American of
Colombian descent,
embarks on 1 Train in a
station Marble
Hill–225th
Street, Bronx to 79th
Street station in
Manhattan and walks
until 202 West 81st
Street on the Upper
West Side, where he
works as doorman at one
building.
On a typical day, he
was stationed in the
lobby when little
Thomas, a 10-year-old
resident of apartment
236, came over wearing
his Yankees cap and
holding a souvenir bat
for their
conversations. If the
Yankees had won their
last game, the talk
would have revolved
around that, but since
they had lost, the
chit-chat shifted to
another subject. While
they were talking, an
old man wearing a black
coat entered and went
up to his apartment.
Immediately, Thomas
asked who the man was.
In a low voice, Felipo
began to speak to the
little boy: "His
name is Liam MacGrath
from apartment 528. He
worked as a jeweler on
47th Street, in the
Diamond District, for
many years. But
it's all fake.
Actually, his real name
is Anatoly Borodin.
Maybe he's
descended from the
family of Alexander
Borodin, the Russian
opera composer. Maybe!
I don't know. But, in
fact, Mr. MacGrath is a
Russian spy."
Thomas was enchanted by
the story of Mr.
MacGrath or Borodin,
whoever he might be.
The kid wanted to know
how Felipo knew all of
this. The doorman took
a breath and said that
all doormen in the
world are the ones who
know the absolute
truth. He then
explained that one day,
he went up to the fifth
floor to fix an
electrical problem and
overheard a phone
conversation. Mr.
MacGrath was talking
about secret papers or
something like that.
The clever boy asked if
Felipo understood
Russian. The doorman
took a breath and
replied, "Of course
not! A good spy always
speaks the native
language!" Thomas,
visibly upset, wanted
to know how Felipo had
discovered it was
espionage. Discussing
documents didn't prove
anything, unless the
papers dealt with
government matters. The
doorman then turned to
the boy and said, "I'll
tell you everything
another day. But not
today. I have work to
do." Then, Felipo
pleaded with Thomas to
keep the matter
discreet. No one could
know about it, just
like spies handle their
secrets.
Four days later, Thomas
was swinging his bat in
an imaginary game in
the lobby when a couple
was escorting Mr.
MacGrath or Borodin or
whatever his name was
out of the building.
What caught the
attention of Thomas was
the sad look on the
face of the old man
from apartment 528.
Many thoughts filled
Thomas's mind. Felipo
approached him, placed
his hands on Thomas's
shoulder, and said they
were from the FBI and
that the poor man would
be arrested and
deported, perhaps
replaced by some
American tied to
Moscow. Thomas asked
why the couple wasn't
wearing FBI vests like
the ones seen in TV
series. Felipo
explained that when the
matter involved
national secrets, they
didn't use them.
The boy asked if Felipo
had a master key to
access all the
apartments. Felipo
replied, "Yes." Thomas
suggested, "We could go
up there!" Felipo
responded firmly, "No!
Never! Not at all!
Absolutely not! Under
no circumstances! Not
in a million years! No
way!" and every other
negative phrase the
language allows.
But soon after, Felipo
and Thomas were inside
apartment 528,
searching the place for
evidence to uncover the
double identity of Mr.
MacGrath, something
concrete to prove that
the old man was a
Russian spy.
Meanwhile, at the
coffee shop next to the
building, Mr. MacGrath
reunited with the same
couple who had just
left the building. He
listened as they talked
about the great deal
they had secured on a
nursing home in
Florida. Although Mr.
MacGrath seemed to
accept it, he didn't
share the same
enthusiasm as Jane and
Carl, his adult
children.
Thomas and Felipo
checked all the rooms,
and as they were
finishing in the
bedroom, they suddenly
heard the sound of a
key turning. OMG! The
old man had entered the
apartment. They ran and
hid under the bed. Mr.
MacGrath came into the
bedroom, picked up his
smartphone, opened the
MLB app, and, seated on
the bed, started
following the
play-by-play of the
Mets game.
Beneath the bed,
Felipo, visibly
disturbed, whispered to
Thomas that Mr.
MacGrath would probably
leave only tomorrow
morning to walk in the
park. They could only
escape after that or
perhaps when he fell
asleep.
Thomas asked if this
would take too long
because he needed to
get back home. Felipo
remained silent for a
moment before Thomas
asked what they could
do while the old man
was still awake. Felipo
replied that they could
use their imaginations.
"But what if Mr.
MacGrath doesn't sleep
and never leaves?"
Felipo concluded,
"Well, then we'll be
happy because,
fortunately, we'll be
condemned to use our
imaginations forever."
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