Myron stood and waited. Tom seemed to sober up a bit. He stood up a little straighter. “Get in the car, Jenny,” he said.

“It’s Geri.”

“Right, sorry. Get in the car. I’ll be with you in a second.”

The girl teetered on her heels. It took three tries but she managed to open the passenger door and fall inside.

“What do you want?” Tom asked.

Myron pointed at his head. “Is that really a man bun?”

“So you’re here to make jokes?”

“Nope.”

“Did Esperanza send you?”

“Nope,” Myron said. “She has no idea I’m here. I’d be grateful if you didn’t tell her.”

The passenger door opened. Geri said, “I don’t feel so good.”

“Don’t you dare throw up in my car.” Tom turned to Myron. “So what do you want?”

“I want to encourage you to make peace with Esperanza. For her sake. And for your son’s.”

“You know she left me, right?”

“I know your marriage didn’t work.”

“And you think it was my fault?”

“Don’t know. Don’t care.” More young people spilled out of the nightclub, laughing and cursing in the obnoxious way of the greatly intoxicated. Myron shook his head. “Don’t you think you’re too old for this, Tom?”

“Yeah, well, I was married and settled, you know.”

“Let it go,” Myron said. “Stop lying about her.”

“Or what?”

Myron said nothing.

“What, you think I’m afraid of you?”

Geri said, “I think I’m going to be sick.”

“Not in the car, honey, okay?” Tom turned back to Myron. “I’m working on something here.”

“Yeah, I can see that.”

“She’s hot, right?”

“Hot,” Myron agreed. “And about to vomit. Yeah, I’m all turned on.”

“Listen, Myron, no offense. You’re a good guy. You’re not much of an intimidator. Just piss off, okay?”

“Esperanza is a good mother, Tom. We both know that.”

“It isn’t about that, Myron.”

“Yeah, well, it should be.”

“I don’t want to sound immodest,” Tom said, “but do you know why I’m a big success?”

“Because your daddy is rich and gave you lots of money?”

“No. It’s because I go for the jugular. It’s because I win.”

Never fails. Scratch a guy who always talks about what a winner he is or how he’s “self-made” or how he’s pulled himself up by the bootstraps, and underneath you’ll always find a little boy who had everything handed to him. It was like they needed a blind spot to justify their tremendous luck. Something like: I can’t have all of this because of fate or chance—I must be special.

“I’m asking you to be reasonable, Tom.”

“That’s your message to me?”

“It is.”

“I’ll pass, thanks. I’m on the verge of victory. You”—he pointed at Myron—“are proof of that. She’s getting desperate. Tell her I said to kiss my ass.”

“I told you already: Esperanza doesn’t know I’m here. I just think you should do the right thing.”

“For her sake?”

“For her sake. For Hector’s sake. And for your sake.”