“That’s your big tip?” Manny clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. He sprung to his feet. “You gotta be kidding me.”
“Where do you think you’re going?” Tony wiped his crazy mouth with a paper napkin. “I can help you make back your losses, but what you really want is college money, right? Have you thought about that?” Tony flicked the knife closed and stuck it into his pocket. “You gotta act like a man now that you’re playing with the big boys.”
“That’s what I’m trying to do.”
“Then you gotta think like Casanova. You know? The greatest lover in the world had it all figured out, see.” Tony turned his face toward Manny. “Know how Casanova won at gambling?”
Manny shoved his hands into his pockets. “How?”
“If Casanova lost, he redoubled his bet until he won.” He tapped his finger on the bench. “So that’s Casanova. Now, who the fuck are you?”
“I just want to get back what I lost.” Manny shook his head and scanned the park, seeing everything and nothing at once.
“Sit down here.” Tony nodded at the bench. “You’re out of the game now, right?”
Manny nodded and sat.
“Well, how can you win if you’re out of the goddamn game?” Tony paused. “Now, what do you say?” He leaned toward Manny with the only ear he had. “You got nothing to say. So sit the fuck down.” Tony cleared his throat. “You want a chance to get that money back?”
“I have to get that money back.”
“I’m telling you how to get your money back, kid. That’s all. You got a pretty wife, new baby. You’re young and you got your health. Everything to live for. I can help you. Your timing is right on the money, believe it or not.” Tony leaned toward Manny and grinned. “So.” Tony wiped his hands on his pants. “You wanna be a loser for the rest of your life or do you wanna win big this time? It’s up to you.”
Manny stared at his squashed-up mouth. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“You know basketball. You know the line on tonight’s game at the Garden, right?”
Manny nodded.
“Go double or nothing tonight.” Tony crumpled the empty bag and made a nice arcing shot into the can.
“You’re kidding.”
Tony chuckled. “Serious as cancer. Listen to me. I’m the smartest guy you know, remember?”
Manny spat on the ground. “What if I lose again?”
“Tonight’s the Connecticut game, and everyone loves that team, right? Well, the competition’s gonna shoot the lights out. Think of the odds.”
“Not a chance.” Manny shook his head. “UCLA’s been shooting bricks for years now.”
“So what? You think life’s random? It all runs in cycles, kid, even the NCAA tournament. I do the charts. It’s a technical analysis, see? It’s all in the cycles. Let the cycles call the shots and you can bank on them like you can bank on the stock market.” Tony raised a brow and stared Manny in the eye. “Now, you know this and I know this, but nobody else knows this. I even put a grand down for myself.”
“This is my house we’re talking about. The down payment on my house.” Manny kicked the dirt. “I can’t.”
“How long have we been doing this and how many times have we won? A lot, right? So you had a temporary slump. You’re only a loser if you take yourself out.”
Manny stood and looked around. He lifted his Knicks cap and wiped down his hair before returning the hat to his head. “It’s a long shot.”
Tony stood and slurped the last sip from his straw. “I gotta get back to the sports desk. What’s it gonna be?”
“Can you front me the money?”
“What do I look like, your father?”
Manny took the gold band from his wedding finger. “This is worth at least a hundred.”
Tony snorted. “That wouldn’t cover the vigorish.”
Manny pulled the bracelet from his shirt pocket. “It’s my wife’s inheritance.” He moved it in the light. “Platinum and diamonds. The real deal.”
Tony snapped up the jewelry and fingered the pieces in his palm. “I’ll do you a favor this time, kid. I’ll check these at Sal’s, and whatever he gives me, I’ll put that down for you.”
Manny took the bottle of mouthwash from his pocket and chugged some down. He held it out to Tony.
Tony grabbed the bottle. “Forty-five cents a pint?” Bright green liquid sloshed around the bottom. “What the hell is this?”
“Thirty percent alcohol. That’s what. A giant Yankee julep.”
Tony handed it back. “Looks like puke and backwash to me.”
“Thanks.” Manny smiled.
“Don’t worry about it.”
“And don’t forget the pawn ticket. I gotta get the jewelry back once the deal is done.”
Tony smiled. “Have I ever let you down?”
On the way back to the newspaper office, Tony stopped at Sal’s Pawnshop by the deli a few blocks uptown.
The pawnbroker buzzed him in. Flashy in a Vegas sort of way, Sal overdressed most of the time, and today the pits of Sal’s shirt were circled in sweat despite the cool spring weather.
“What can I do you for?” Sal’s double chin jiggled as he stood up from the stool behind the counter. “How’s your pretty mama?” He reminded Tony of a Cuban pimp he once met on a hot Miami Beach, running the numbers with a silver-plated smile. “Did you tell her I asked about her?”
Tony crossed to the glass display case where Sal was leaning. “Yeah, I told her.” He smiled as nicely as he could with his grotesque mouth. “She says hello.” He lied. “She’s just so busy with the charities and all. Too busy to socialize much outside of church.” He scanned the gem-stuffed display case. “Don’t you already have a girl?”
Sal raised his brows. “If one’s good, two is better.”
Tony forced his jaw open so he wouldn’t grind his teeth. He took a deep breath and said, “I got twenty grand says UCLA wins with the points tonight.”
“Long shot.” Sal laughed. “So what do you want me to do about it?”
Tony shrugged. “I gotta lay off the bets.”
Sal raised a brow. “Street says you can’t pay your medical bills since they diagnosed your tumor. How do I know you’re still good for it?”
“I guess I better be, right?” Tony let out a nervous laugh before producing the bracelet and gold band that Manny had given him. He laid them out to glisten on the black velvet cloth that lay atop the display case.
Sal ambled back to his desk to get a loupe. Then he got personal with the diamond bracelet. A minute passed, and Sal grunted. He scratched his chin and took another look.
The canned lights buzzed in sync with Tony’s nerves. “You know me for years, Sal. You also know the house always wins.” Tony wiped the sweat from his brow. “And you should know I got a stack of bearer bonds for you if you don’t like the produce here.”
“Good.” Sal’s gut jiggled as he chuckled. He put the loupe down and sat on his stool. “ ’Cause this is some kind of joke.”
Tony nodded. “I swear I’m good for it, Sal. Help a guy out.”
Sal examined the bad side of Tony’s face. “If I help you out, it’s only ’cause I like your mother.” He pushed the cloth away and waved his hand at it. “Two grand would be generous.”
A bead of sweat raced down Tony’s spine. “Then we have a deal.”
Sal licked his lips. “I gotta warn you.” Spittle flew from the corner of Sal’s mouth. “My brother isn’t happy with you. You still owe for last time, and you’re a credit risk what with the cancer. Can’t let you slide on this one.” He tapped the loupe on the countertop. “Remember what happened to your reporter friend who thought he was cute and tried to renege?”
Tony nodded. “Mack never came back to the sports desk.”
“Right. And don’t let it slip your memory.” Sal reached underneath a case and brought up an envelope that he pushed across the glass to Tony.