was a crowd around the bar and Pimples says, âWhatâs all this so-and-so about me being let out by them stumble bums?â
âSomebody might hear us,â I says. âI guess you donât want people to know you got kicked around.â
âI never,â he says pretty loud, and two little pink spots come out on his greenish-white face and his little pig eyes looked like he was going to cry. âI blacked the Beaverâs eye and I poked Yanci in the mouth and I took it away from âem, didnât I? Look there, I got it, ainât I?â
âDonât talk here,â I says, âitâs too crowded and we canât get no service. I better go back to my friend.â
âNo, wait, listen for Chrissake,â and I saw he wanted to talk about it. I knew he was worried about getting kicked out. Theyâre all like kids, these boysâat least around each other, that is. Who is leader and who ainât, theyâll shoot and stab over that. Iâve seen it, often.
âListen,â he says, âI gotta talk to you. Come on up.â
I said I couldnât leave my friend, but he was determined.
So, âListen,â I says, âyouâre just trying to fool me. I bet thatâs a fine ring you swiped off of somebody. Lemme see.â
âNuts,â he says, âitâs just a phony, like them giantâs rings they sell in the circus for a dime. I donât know nothing about no jewelry jobs. You know me, I work on alcohol, exclusive, me and my guys.â
âYour guys?â I says.
âSure,â he says.
âThat ainât what they say,â I says.
âListen,â he says, âIâm drunk,â he says. âI never rightly looked at you before, but when I get a dirty deal, like that squirt Yanci trying to take this off of me, right there in Butchâs place before everybody, I get my feelings hurt. And when I get like this I gotta have somebody be nice to me, see? I got a room here, see? Come on up.â
âAnd be nice to you?â
âSure, Iâll treat you right, what do you want?â
âWhatâll you gimme?â
âAs much as that mush you was rouletting with. Donât stand there looking big eyed, come on up, for Chrissake.â
âCome up and what?â
âAnd be nice to me, you dope.â
He didnât know about the butterflies. I was just standing still for a minute and they turned into eagles.
âWhat are you stalling for? Want the dough first? No soap. I work strictly C.O.D. Whatâs the matter, you think I ainât got the dough? Look.â And he showed a roll.
âI donât want your money. I like jewelry,â I says. âWill you give me the ring if Iâm nice to you, like you said?â
âListen,â he says. We were going by the switchboard, and I could hear the girl saying, âIâm sorry, but Mr. Grossi canât be disturbed.â
Pimples was still talking.
âThis is a phony, see? And I gotta keep it to show those mugs that when Iâm boss, they canât even pick up a Lincoln penny without asking my permission.â
âI know,â I says, âbut if they was to gang up on you to take it back off of you, wouldnât it be better to be able to say, I gave it to a girl? Thatâs why I want it. If Iâm going to be your girl, maybe I want to let them see I got it from the boss, like they do in the movies.â
âSay!â he says. âYou ainât so dumb at that,â and he started into the elevator.
âIs it a bargain?â I says.
âCome on in the elevator,â he says. âWeâll talk upstairs.â
But I just stood there and the elevator girl looked at me half asleep. Then when he stood in it and me outside she turned and grinned right in his fat face. Itâs funny how easy these small-time bad men can be tripped up.
âOkay,â he says quick,