-------"You wanna catch a drink?"-------"You sound drunk already."
-------"I am drunk already. I've been drunk for some time. Why didn't you pickup the phone?" The irritation was apparent in my voice.
-------"I couldn't hear you over the music," L'il Yé-Yé replied. "Where are you?"
-------Half of an hour later Yé-Yé met me in a 10th Avenue dive. Being that it was a dive all eyes were on her. She was without a doubt more interesting to look at than the cans of Pabst that lined the bar.
-------"What took you so long?? You only live around the corner."
-------"I know where I live. I'm here now. What's up?"
-------I told her about my new job with Ivan. She believed it to be a bad career move. I didn't see it that way being that if I hadn't made the career move I'd probably be floating in the East River about now.
-------Drunk and relieved to be alive, I leaned forward toward Yé-Yé and tried to pull her in closer to me. I miscalculated the distance between us and ended up on the floor to the wild applause of the patrons around us.
-------"You need to get something to eat," she said.
-------That might have been true, but I still had enough room in me for a couple of more drinks. I signaled the bartender over and ordered up another Pabst and a Wild Turkey, downing them rapidly.
-------"Alright, so where do you want to go and eat?"
-------"What do you feel like?"
-------"You're the one that said that I needed to eat." I smiled. "So, where is it that you think that I should eat?"
-------"How about Bickford's?" she suggested.
-------“Yé-Yé, baby, there hasn't been a Bickford's in the city in thirty years."
-------"I've always wanted to go to a Bickford's. My grandparents always told me such pleasant stories about it."
-------The couple of drinks that she had must have really gone to her head. I didn't feel like being in command, but I had no other option.
-------We got up. She held tightly to me to prevent an excessively embarrassing exit on my part, and I gave her directions. It seemed like an eternity before we hit the all-night Alsatian Diner on 12th Avenue. I hit the head, ordered up a couple of beers and a large order of fries.
-------"So, what's Ivan's benefit plan like?"
-------"I didn't ask."
-------"I thought Prima Ballerina wanted you to see him, not to work for him." "I don't take orders from Prima Ballerina," I said. "She's not to be trusted. She broke Nijinsky's heart. Could you trust someone like that?"
-------She had no answer, and seemed to be getting annoyed with me.
-------"Why don't you play something on the jukebox?" I handed her a five dollar bill.
-------She seemed to be relieved that I gave her an excuse to get away from me for a few minutes. France Gall started blasting. I looked over at L'il Yé-Yé, the music seemed to make her happy. The waiter brought the fries.
-------"What in the hell is this?" I shouted at him. The music was deafening.
-------"What?" he replied.
-------"That's my question, man, and it's for you to answer it."
-------"It's what you ordered."
-------"And this?" I pointed at the ketchup.
-------"It's ketchup."
-------"I know it's ketchup. What? Are you new here, or something? What in the hell kind of Alsatian joint serves ketchup with fries? Get me some mayonnaise. What in the hell do you think I am, some tourist from Iowa?"
-------The waiter left to get some mayonnaise. L'il Yé-Yé, over at the jukebox played Stella's Pourquoi Pas Moi.
-------The fries were good. All the better with the mayo. Yé-Yé had been right. I did need something to eat. I started to feel more like myself. A man in a Homburg entered and took a seat across from me at the table.
-------"Can I help you?" I finished the last fry. He said nothing, but I could tell that he was filled with contempt for me. "I would have offered you a fry, but there's no more left."
-------"I didn't come here for fries," he smirked. "They're bad your health."
-------"You're not the first person today to tell me that."
-------"You're in the organization now. You've got to get on a better diet. Ivan wants to see you."
-------"It's three in the morning!"
-------"The Red Sox beat the Yankees tonight. Ivan won't be able to sleep. It will be the perfect time to take care of business. Let's go."
-------"I thought that this was a nine to five job."
-------"It's not." He stood up. I followed.
-------L'il Yé-Yé was still picking out music. She was happy. There was no reason for me to disturb her with goodnights. Antoine et Les Problemes came on. I liked the song, but couldn't remember the title. I regretted the fact that I wouldn't be able to hear it out.
0 comments:
Post a Comment