“Fuck you,” he finally said to both of us.
He went to the back of the bar and came back wearing his winter coat. He pushed past me and left the bar.
Frank was shaking his head.
“Sorry about that everybody,” he said. “Tommy, give everybody one on the house, okay?”
“You got it,” I said.
When I finished serving everybody their free drinks I went over to Frank who was sitting on a stool at the end of the bar, sipping a pint of Guinness.
“I don’t know how I’m supposed to feel,” Frank said to me. “As his father, I’m worried about him and I don’t want him to get hurt. On the other hand, if he took that money I think he deserves to get knocked around a little.”
“If he took that money,” I said. “So now you’re not sure?”
“I don’t know what to believe,” Frank said. “At least Gary wasn’t hurt too bad. He had to get some stitches for his forehead, but the doctor said he probably won’t have a scar. Gary didn’t want to report the whole thing to the cops and I thought that was a pretty good idea myself. I just want it to blow over.”
Frank sat there for a few seconds, looking down at his Guinness, then he said, “You mind handling the bar alone tonight and closing up for me? It should be pretty slow anyway—I’ll probably be leaving early.”
“No problem,” I said.
“By the way, I had that little talk with Debbie before.”
Hearing Debbie’s name, coming out of Frank’s mouth, put a big knot in my stomach.
“A talk?” I said.
“Yeah. I told her I want a divorce and we’re doing it —we’re splitting up.”
“That’s great,” I said. “I mean that’s what you want, right?”
“No, what I want is Debbie to be the woman I married, but obviously that isn’t possible.”
“I’m proud of you, man,” I said, leaning over the bar and parting Frank on the back of his shoulder. “Believe me, you don’t need a woman like that in your life. You’re gonna be a lot better off without her.”
“I didn’t tell Gary about it yet so if he comes back here I’d appreciate it if you kept a lid on this.”
“Hey, you know you can trust me,” I said.
“Yeah, I know I can,” Frank said. “Can I tell you something else?”
“Shoot,” I said.
“I’m scared. I know how stupid that sounds, but it’s the truth. I’m sixty-six years old and I’m scared shit to just pack up and start over again, but I’m gonna do it anyway. I’m gonna get on a plane in a few weeks and head out to Arizona and start looking for a place to live.”
“That’s the spirit,” I said.
“I figured I might give Scottsdale a shot,” he said. “They’ve got a lot of sports out there, with spring-training baseball and everything. Who knows? Maybe I’ll open up an O’Reilley’s West.”
“If you do, can I come work for you?”
“I need you to manage this place.”
“I know,” I said. “I was just busting your chops.”
Frank took another sip of Guinness, then said, “The only problem is I think I’m gonna get burned on my divorce settlement.”
“Really?” I said. “Why’s that?”
“Because I was stupid and I married Debbie without a prenup. I think that’s why she didn’t give me a hard time when I broke the news. I thought she’d start screaming and coming after me, but she just sat there calmly on the couch, like she was happy to hear I was leaving her. And if I was her I’d be happy about it too. The woman hasn’t lifted a finger her whole life and now she’s gonna wind up a rich old lady.”
“How rich?” I asked.
“Oh, I don’t know,” Frank said. “The one thing I have going for me is the way she’s been running around the past few years I don’t think it’ll be too hard for me to prove adultery. I already hired this detective to follow her around, see if he can get any dirt on her.”
“A detective?”
“Yeah, he’s supposed to start tomorrow. Nothing fancy—just two hundred bucks a day to see if he can get me a few pictures. What I’m gonna try to do, I think, is show her the pictures and then work out some out-of-court settlement. Maybe I’ll offer her the apartment and some cash and see if she bites. But even if I have to split everything I own with her fifty-fifty it’ll be worth it to get on with my life.”
“That’s cool,” I said. “I mean I think you’re doing the right thing.”
“I’ll drink to that,” Frank said. He finished his Guinness, then said, “I really want to thank you, Tommy, I mean for listening to me, helping me see this thing straight. I know I’m not the most open guy in the world sometimes and I...I just want you to know you were a big help to me.”
Frank’s eyes were red and wet, like he might start to cry.
“Forget about it,” I said.
I reached over the bar and patted him on the back, then I went to the bathroom to take a leak. As I was pissing I leaned over the urinal and banged my head against the wall. Going over to Debbie’s today was temporary insanity. I was just lucky Frank’s detective started tomorrow instead of today or he would’ve nailed me.
I looked at myself in the mirror. I had a big red spot on my forehead, but it didn’t look like it would turn into a bump.
I washed up, then I went into the kitchen. Rodrigo was sitting on a stool reading one of his English books. I made sure no one else was around, then I took out the thick envelope with one thousand dollars in it.
“Here you go,” I said. “Put it away and don’t open it till you get home.”
Rodrigo put the envelope inside the book and closed it.
“You can say thank you,” I said.
“Thank you,” he said.
“You’re welcome.”
I started to walk away.
“Tommy.”
“What is it?” I said.
“Yesterday and today Frank and the police was talking to me,” he said. “They have questions, a lot of questions. They ask me about the money, about the safe, about everything.”
“So keep your mouth shut,” I said. “That’s what the envelope’s for.”
I was about to walk away when Rodrigo said, “I want another thousand.”
I just stood there.
“Excuse me?”
“I want another thousand—tomorrow night.”
“Look,” I said. “There’s a thousand bucks in that envelope and that’s all you’re gonna get.”
“I want another thousand—tomorrow night,” he said. “Or I say what I see to Frank and the police.”
“Look, I didn’t have to give you shit, all right?” I said. “It was very generous of me to give you that money. So why don’t you just go home tonight and feel lucky?”
“I want another thousand—tomorrow night,” Rodrigo said. “If you don’t give the money for me, I go to tell Frank and the policia.”
I walked over to him and looked him right in the eye. I smiled, shaking my head, then I gave him a quick right hook in the gut. When he keeled over I kneed him in the balls. I didn’t want to hurt him, but if he wanted to play hardball with me what choice did I have? I pushed him back against the stove, forcing him to stand up straight. His face was red and he was trying to catch his breath.
Now my idea was to scare him, like I was a thug in the movies.
“Now listen to me, you little piece of shit,” I said. “I’m not giving you another fuckin’ cent and if you even think about telling anybody anything I’m gonna tell them you took the money. Who do you think they’ll believe? I’m Frank’s friend, I’m gonna be manager of this bar someday, but who are you? You’re just a cook, an illegal alien. Don’t think I forgot that. I’ll make a few calls and you’ll be back in Mexico, begging for food on the streets. Is that what you want? Huh? Is that what you want?”