I got all sorts of excited and I told them about that time I was on Ted Mack's radio show with my girlfriends Maureen and Felice and we sang 'Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy' and 'Hold Tight' and the program director told us we sounded just like the Andrews Sisters even though we didn't win and the next day when we went back to James Monroe we were celebrities and all the kids heard us the night before on the radio and our pictures were on the front page of the school paper." Marie stared past Phyllis. "Anyways, we exchanged phone numbers and promised to get together over the holidays and I was talkin' about everybody going up to the Neville Country Club in Ellenville for Memorial Day ... real crazy things like that. And they both kissed me goodby and I felt like they were my best friends in the world. But the minute they left I started thinkin' about the baby, about Tommy, about the apartment and I got this feeling like I couldn't breathe. I wound up cryin' again and I took the subway up to my mother's place on the Concourse. It was six-thirty and the sun was just comin' up and everything looked really quiet and peaceful and I remember wishin' that the Bronx could always be like that. I go up to my mother's place and I didn't want to wake her so I just lay down on the couch in the living room and next thing I know somebody's shakin' my shoulder. My mother's standing over me yellin' in Italian. I see it's ten o'clock. I got in a panic and I jump up, run downstairs and grab a cab back to the house. I run into the bedroom and there's this godawful stink and I see there's shit all over everything. Stony was standing over the crib trying to change Albert's diaper. He was ten years old, can you imagine that? He even fed Albert a bottle. He couldn't figure out how to heat the formula so he filled the bottle with cream soda. I tell you, I could've had ten kids like him."

Phyllis looked at Marie incredulously. "Marie, you're outta your mind. How come you never told anybody about that night?"

"What was I supposed to say? I ran away from home like a kid? It's over . . . it's ancient history."

"Did you ever get in touch with those people?"

"What people?"

"The singer and..."

"Oh ... oh ... nah."

***

"Heya, Chub."

Stony opened the apartment door to make way for his uncle.

"Hey, Stones." Chubby faked a grab for Stony's nuts and walked in through the ivy-vine-wallpapered foyer and headed for the kitchen.

"Where's your dad?"

"He got the lobster shift."

"What! It's Monday. Thought Carmines got it on Monday."

"Carmines's sick."

"Ah shit."

Stony walked into the kitchen. The top half of Chubby's body was obscured by the open refrigerator door.

"You were gonna do somethin'?"