Abe’s eyebrows rose and wrinkled his forehead all the way up to where his hairline had once been.

“Your father? First Gia, now your father. What is this— National Masochism Week?”

“I like my dad.”

“Then why are you in such a black mood every time you return from one of these jaunts into Jersey?”

“Because he’s a good guy who happens to be a pain in the ass.”

They both knew that wasn’t the whole story but by tacit agreement neither said any more. Jack paid for the racquet and a couple of cans of Penn balls. “I’ll bring you back some tomatoes,” he said as the grille was locked across the storefront again.

Abe brightened. “That’s right! Beefsteaks are in season. Get me some.”

Next stop was Julio’s, where Jack picked up Ralph, the car Julio kept for him. It was a ’63 Corvair, white with a black convertible top and a rebuilt engine. An unremarkable, everyday kind of car. Not at all Julio’s style, but Julio hadn’t paid for it. Jack had seen it in the window of a “classic” car store; he had given Julio the cash to go make the best deal he could and have it registered in his name. Legally it was Julio’s car, but Jack paid the insurance and the garage fee and reserved pre-emptive right of use for the rare occasions when he needed it.

Today was such an occasion. Julio had it gassed up and waiting for him. He had also decorated it a bit since the last time Jack had taken it out: There was a “Hi!” hand waving from the left rear window, fuzzy dice hanging from the mirror, and in the rear window a little dog whose head wobbled and whose eyes blinked red in unison with the tail lights.

“You expect me to ride around with those?” Jack said, giving Julio what he hoped was a withering stare.

Julio did his elaborate shrug. “What can I say, Jack? It’s in the blood.”

Jack didn’t have time to remove the cultural paraphernalia, so he took the car as it was. Armed with the finest New York State driver’s license money could buy—in the name of Jack Howard—he slipped the Semmerling and its holster into the special compartment under the front seat and began a leisurely drive crosstown.

Sunday morning is a unique time in midtown Manhattan. The streets are deserted. No buses, no cabs, no trucks being unloaded, no Con Ed crews tearing up the streets, and only a rare pedestrian or two here and there. Quiet. It would all change as noon approached, but at the moment Jack found it almost spooky.

He followed Fifty-eighth Street all the way to its eastern end and pulled in to the curb before 8 Sutton Square.

2

Gia answered the doorbell. It was Eunice’s day off and Nellie was still asleep, so the job was left to her. She wrapped her robe more tightly around her and walked slowly and carefully from the kitchen to the front of the house. The inside of her head felt too big for her skull; her tongue was thick, her stomach slightly turned. Champagne… Why should something that made you feel so good at night leave you feeling so awful the next day?