Casino Moon

39

“YOU BELIEVE THIS?” said Teddy.

He sat on a bed in the Atlantic City Medical Center a few days later, wearing a large white hospital gown with blue polka dots on it. An IV needle was stuck in his right arm and a catheter tube ran under the covers into the head of his penis. He regarded both of them miserably.

“Prostate cancer,” he said.

“I thought it was your stomach,” said Vin, sitting by the bedside.

“They still don’t know what’s the matter there. I got that cough too. Every fucking thing is breaking down at once. That’s why they wanted to operate right away.”

Teddy held his mouth shut, as if he wasn’t sure what to do with all the bile he’d accumulated inside. An elderly man’s voice groaned behind the beige canvas curtain that divided the room. Vin turned on the radio on Ted’s night table to drown out any potential wiretaps.

“Vin, I got one question for you,” Teddy said with a loud racking cough. “Where are we going?”

“I know.”

“I’m serious.” Teddy coughed again and looked at the radio playing “Greensleeves.” “A couple of days after I got pinched, I had a sit-down with my lawyer Burt Ryan. He tells me about this contract for fixing the City Hall parking lot. Turns out Lenny Romano got it. You know, Nat the bookmaker’s son, from over Margate. ‘Why’s that?’ I ask. ‘Oh,’ says Burt. ‘I thought he had your permission.’ Like I’m an asshole and I don’t know what’s going on. He says he thought Lenny was a ‘friend of ours.’ Minchia! Where are we going here? What am I gonna do, act like I don’t know what’s going on in my own borgata?”

“Of course,” Vin assured him, running the Ace comb once through his hair.

“Plus, I got Danny Klein borrowing thirty large from me and not telling me who it’s for. You see, Vin, it’s no good. We can’t have that. We can’t have a circus. All these little factions are running around trying to conquer the market under our flag. It all comes down to the same thing. Where are we going? I mean, not for nothing, but your own son Anthony . .. You know I don’t like Anthony. I love him. And he loves me. I know that. Every time he sees me, he says, ‘Teddy, I only got one love, you.’”

“Right,” said Vin, though he didn’t look too sure.

“So why do I have to hear from Burt that Anthony’s getting involved with some fight at the Doubloon this fall?”

“I don’t know nothing about that!” Vin looked stricken. “Burt musta got his facts wrong. Anthony wouldn’t get involved with anything serious without clearing it with us.”

“Vin, I given that kid every chance in the world. I bankrolled his entire life. If I find out he’s been making money without putting anything in the elbow ...”

Vin jumped up. “It’s not true! Anthony’s pledged the first dollar he makes to you. But the kid’s broke. You seen how he’s living.”

“Vin, look at me.”

“I’m looking.”

“No, Vin. Look at me.”

Vin met his eyes.

“Is this what our marriage is about?” Ted glared at him.

“No, Ted...”

“Is this what it is? Lying, deceiving each other? Over money?”

“No, Ted...”

“Then why don’t you level with me?” The strain put a crease between Teddy’s eyes. “If Anthony’s doing a fight at the casino, there’s gotta be at least a million coming out of it. And I’m entitled to at least half of that. Am I right?”

“Of course, Ted. But Anthony wouldn’t lie to us about that.”

“Yeah, why not?”

“He’s my son, Ted.”

“He’s not your son. You couldn’t have a son. Remember? Low sperm count, the doctor said. Not enough firepower.” Teddy jerked his catheter tube to emphasize the point and swore when he hurt himself.

A nurse came in, looked at his chart, and left.

“Let me ask you something,” said Teddy. “Who are you loyal to? Me or Anthony?”

Vin shook his head. “Teddy, why you wanna hurt me like this? You’re my rappresentante. You know my love is only for you.”

“Then prove it,” Teddy demanded, putting his wide white fingers over Vin’s stony knuckles. “Get me that fuckin’ payout. Between these fuckin’ doctors and lawyers, I’m already a hundred G’s in the hole.”

Another nurse came in, saw the two men holding hands, and smiled. She changed the bag of fluid feeding into Teddy’s IV tube and left.

“Ted,” Vin began in an earnest voice. “I’m gonna get to the bottom of this. I’ll go over there and talk to Anthony right now. I’m sure it’s all a misunderstanding.”

“It better be.” Teddy frowned at his catheter again. “I’m getting tired of waiting for him to do what’s right.”