"Hold it, hold it." Stony held his forehead. "Slow down."

"No. Give me a yes or a no." Harris draped his arms on the back of the bench.

"How much does it pay?"

"Peanuts. Yes or no?"

Stony laughed. Mad. Cornered. This guy was nuts. "Why not?"

Harris stood up. "Good. I'll make a call this afternoon." He smiled. "You have a good heart, Stony. That beats out forty thou, all the union benefits you can eat and a full house, aces high, but you have to play your hand."

Stony felt like he'd just done something bad, that he was going to get his ass kicked by somebody, that he just broke his mother's favorite lamp, but somewhere in the back of his head there was a nagging, irritating, terrifying, undeniable sense of excitement the likes of which he hadn't felt since the first time he got laid. "I'll give it a crack."

***

AFTER WORK Tommy bopped into Banion's laughing his ass off. He spotted Chubby at a small table. Tommy waved to Banion and pulled up a chair. "Hey, Stony sent a letter to that school down south." He cracked his knuckles.

"He's goin'?"

Tommy laughed. "He found out the school is ninety-five percent nigger."

Chubby belly-laughed. "Tell Banion."

"I'll tell 'im later. Anyways, it's all set. I spoke to Frankie Finnegan. Stony can work with me over in Riverdale this summer an' in the fall he'll start apprentice classes out in Queens."

"Last I spoke to Stony he still wasn't too crazy about comin' in."

Tommy leaned back in his chair, hissing through his teeth. He stared at Chubby. "What else is he gonna do?"

"Look, I'm not arguing with you. I think he should go in too, but it would be nice if he thought he should go in, don't you think?"

"Ach..." Tommy stared off in disgust, then got up. "You want anything?"

"Scotch."

Tommy went over to the bar, joked around with some guys and returned with a drink in each hand.

"Some day he'll thank me." Tommy solemnly nodded and winked.

"I hope so," Chubby said.

"Oh lissen, I almost forgot." Tommy leaned over the table and whispered, "You got fifteen bucks?"

"You short?" Chubby reached for his wallet.

"Nah, nah, we found out tomorrow's Banion's birthday. A couple a guys are gonna go down and pick up a new wheelchair for him. We'll close the place tomorrow night and throw him a surprise party. You wanna chip in?"

Chubby thought for a moment. "Tom, I think I wanna get Banion my own present."

"It's on you." Tommy rose from the table. "I'm gonna go home, get some dinner. Come in tomorrow night about ten, O.K.?"

Chubby winked. After Tommy split. Chubby got up, yawned and sat at the bar. He studied Banion moving around, making drinks. "You know, Banion, I was thinkin', since las' week when you was tellin' me about what happened with your kid, I was thinkin' that maybe you should give him a call or somethin'."