“Me neither,” Dom said, and both men laughed again.
“Regular fan club,” Jackie whispered.
“But she didn’t test it, huh?” Sal said.
“She didn’t say nothin’ about it, so I didn’t say nothin’, either.”
“Good thinking. Did you count this money?”
“I counted it.”
“Then why’s there only eighteen here?”
Michael held his breath.
“Well... that’s what I wanted to talk to you about,” Dom said.
“I’m listenin’.”
“You see...”
“This better be good, Dominick. ’Cause if you think what happened to you Friday was bad, then you don’t know what can really happen when I’m pissed off. Where’s the other fuckin’ five grand?”
“You see, on the way here...”
“Two fuckin’ hours to get here, Dominick. You call me eight o’clock, you get here ten o’clock. What are you, the Two-Hour Man, Dominick? You get the cash at six, you call me at eight, you get here at ten, and you’re five grand short? Where’s the rest of the fuckin’ money, Dominick?”
“I lost it in a crap game.”
“You what?”
“I...”
“You’re dead, Dominick.”
“Listen, Sal, I...”
“No, no, you’re dead.”
“Please, Sal, I can ex—”
“This is how you repay a favor? I’m supposed to go to Frankie, tell him you bet it?”
“Frankie who?” Michael whispered.
“You think you can just steal money from...”
“I didn’t steal it, Sal. I borrowed it. To get in this...”
“You borrowed it from who, Dominick?”
“From you. Temporarily.”
“Dominick, you already owe me fifteen grand plus interest. By Friday, when it comes due, that’ll be sixteen thousand five hundred fuckin’ dollars you owe me, Dominick. Are you saying you borrowed another five grand from me? Without first asking for it?”
“I was gonna tell you when I saw you. Which is what I’m doing now.”
“You’re telling me you borrowed another five grand from me, is that right?”
“Yes.”
“You dumb fuckin’ shit, this ain’t me you’re jerkin around, this is Frankie Palumbo whose money you bet!”
“O-kay!” Michael said.
“Frankie does a favor for that shithead Angelli in Queens whose ugly cousin you’re fuckin’, you think the whole world don’t know it, a married man? Does Angelli know he asked Frankie a favor for a married man fuckin’ his cousin? And this is the way you pay Frankie back? This is the respect you show for a man whose ass you should be kissing in Macy’s window? You know what’s going to happen to you now? First...”
“Sal...”
“First, I’m gonna personally beat the shit out of you for embarrassing me in front of Frankie, and then I’m gonna turn you over to him, and he’s gonna make sure you never steal money from nobody in the Faviola family ever again. You think you understand that, Dominick?”
“Let me talk to Jimmy again, okay?” Dom said. “Let me explain to him what...”
“You don’t have to talk to Jimmy no more, Jimmy done everything he could for you. This ain’t Colotti business no more, this is Faviola business. Where’s your fuckin’ respect?”
“Jimmy can explain it to him.”
“There’s nothin’ to explain. You stole five fuckin’ grand from Frankie Palumbo after he done a favor for you. What’s there to explain?”
“I thought I was borrowin’ it from you, Sal.”
“You mean you thought you were stealin’ it from me.”
“No, no. I was gonna pay you interest, same as before.”
“What? Pay me interest? You fuckin’ piece of shit, you can’t meet your payments now, how’d you expect to pay me on another five grand?”
“I figured the same arrangement as before.”
“Without askin’ me first?”
“I figured I’d tell you later.”
“You’re a dumb fuck, Dominick.”
“I realize that now. I shoulda ast you first. But I really thought this was your money, Sal, I didn’t know...”
“Yeah, well it ain’t.”
“I’m really sorry I done this, Sal, embarrassin’ the two families this way, I’m really sorry, Sal.”
“You shoulda thought about that before doin’ something so stupid.”
“I thought I was borrowin’ it.”
“Stupid fuck,” Sal said, and Michael visualized him shaking his head. There was a long silence. Jackie looked at Michael. Michael shrugged. They waited.
“I’ll tell you the truth,” Sal said, “this is already out of my hands, Dom. You really stepped out of line this time. I call Frankie about this, he’ll tell me to break both your fuckin’ legs and throw you in the river.”
“Maybe when you call him, you can ask him to talk to...”
“I call him, I can tell you what his response is gonna be. He’s gonna say don’t bother me with this shit, take care of it.”
“Maybe Jimmy’d be willing to guarantee the loan...”
“Why would...”
“... while I work it off.”
“Work it off how? You mean deliver some more coke and get paid for it and then go lose the money in some other crap game, is that what you had in mind, you stupid shit?”
“He’s getting mad all over again,” Jackie said.
“Could you at least ask him?” Dom said.
“Ask him what?”
“To sit down with Jimmy, talk it over.”
“He’ll say fuck Jimmy and fuck you too. He already went out of his way, and this is how you show your gratitude? That’s what he’ll say, I’m tellin’ you right now.”
“Just ask him, Sal. Please.”
“A sitdown, huh?”
“Please.”
“If I call Frankie... and I’m only sayin’ if... he’s gonna want this on his terms and at his convenience, I can promise you that. You caused a lot of fuckin’ trouble here, Dom, the two families, and now you want a sitdown, which is bringing two important people together to discuss your fuckin’ fuckup. That takes balls, I gotta tell you. How do you know Angelli’ll guarantee the loan? How do you...??”
“Well, I don’t know. My friend’ll have to ask him.”
“Who you’re fuckin’.”
“Well.”
“I better be some kind of diplomat,” Sal said.
“You’re gonna call him?”
“Wait right here. You move out of this booth, you better run all the way to Yugoslavia.”
There was the sound of footsteps retreating. And now that the two men were no longer talking, Michael could hear other sounds in the restaurant, the muted voices of busboys and waiters as they began closing down for the night, the clink of silverware as the tables were set for tomorrow’s lunch crowd, the sound of a radio being tuned to a talk show. They waited. The snow kept falling.
“Okay.”
Sal’s voice again.
Closer as he slid into the booth.
“You’re a very lucky man, Dominick. He said Jimmy should call him, they’ll set something up for after Christmas.”