The Law of Second Chances

5

New York City, August 1965

Sometimes just living in the neighborhood was stressful. At least, it was for fifteen-year-old Johnny Tobin. He’d be sixteen in another month. He was sure it wasn’t the same for his best friend Mikey, who was just a year older; Mikey was liked by everybody and always got invited everywhere.

Frankie O’Connor had a poker game at his family’s apartment on Friday nights. Frankie was two years older than Johnny, and most of the guys who went were in his age group. Mikey always got an invite and he was a year younger than Frankie. So did Norman Martin, who was the same age as Johnny. They both had older brothers-maybe that was the difference. Johnny and Mikey never talked about it, but Mikey knew Johnny wanted to go. Hell, they did everything else together.

Mikey was the one who delivered the invitation.

“Why don’t you come to Frankie’s on Friday night?” he asked on Thursday afternoon, knowing that Johnny would need some time to come up with an excuse to get out of the house. His parents were real strict.

Johnny wanted to make sure the invite was legit and not just Mikey trying to squeeze him in. There would have been nothing more embarrassing for him than to show up and then be kicked out.

“Did Frankie tell you to ask me?”

“Yeah, he did. He also said he wanted to talk to you.”

Jesus, what the hell was that about? Frankie O’Connor wanted to talk to him-in front of everybody. Maybe things had been better when he wasn’t getting invited.

Frankie O’Connor lived on the “other side” of Ninety-sixth and Lexington. The painted line running down the middle of Ninety-sixth was the unofficial demarcation separating Manhattan to the south from Spanish Harlem immediately to the north and Harlem itself beyond that. So Frankie O’Connor unofficially lived in Spanish Harlem.

Frankie had a comeback whenever anybody brought it up. “Hey, Jimmy Cagney lived on my block.” The mention of the most famous Irishman to come from the neighborhood usually shut them up.

Frankie lived with his father and brother; his mother had passed years before. The apartment was much bigger than Johnny’s four-room railroad flat, all of which would fit nicely inside Frankie’s living room. The bathroom was big enough to hold two or three people, and it had a shower. Johnny could only dream about someday living in a place that had a shower.

Frankie’s father always went out on Friday night and came home Saturday morning. His boys never knew where he went and they never asked. One day about two years earlier, the old man had simply said to Frankie, “I’m going out. I won’t be back until tomorrow. Keep an eye on your brother.” The card party hadn’t started for another year after that, when Frankie was sure that his father’s overnight excursions were a permanent thing.

There were two card tables set up in the living room and the games were already under way when Johnny arrived with Mikey and his two brothers, Danny and Eddie. Johnny brought money to play, but he had decided beforehand to be inconspicuous on his first night-just hang out and watch, get people beers, that kind of stuff. As it happened, Marty Russell lost big and cashed out early, so Johnny was drafted into one of the games.

“Hey, Tobin, get me a beer and sit in here in Marty’s place. We need your money.” The voice belonged to Doug Kline, a big, burly guy two years ahead of Johnny in school.

Johnny got the beer, put his money up, and sat down. Part of being accepted was acting like you belonged.

He won his second hand and Doug Kline pushed him good-naturedly as he raked in the pot. “We’re supposed to take your money, kid, not the other way around.”

Johnny just smiled sheepishly. He was having a great time smoking cigarettes and drinking beer.

He had only played a few hands when Frankie called him over.

“Johnny, sit out a hand or two. I want to talk to you.”

Johnny didn’t hesitate. You didn’t say no to Frankie. Not that he would beat you up or anything-Frankie wasn’t like that. He was just one of those guys you didn’t say no to.

Johnny followed Frankie into the kitchen. He was glad they were away from the others. If he had done something wrong he didn’t want the whole world to know about it.

“What’s up?” he asked as nonchalantly as he could, his knees knocking.

“I’ve been watching you play football over at the Hamilton on Saturday mornings.” The Hamilton was a clearing in Central Park where the younger guys in the neighborhood would get together to play tackle football. All the older guys had played there at one time or another. It was like a rite of passage before you hit the bigger field. One of the sideline markers just happened to be a statue of Alexander Hamilton. You had to be very careful not to run into it while running an out pattern.

“Yeah,” Johnny replied. “So?”

“So,” Frankie said, “I think it’s time you think about coming out for the Lexingtons.”

“Me?”

“Yeah, you. Tryouts start next week. I wanna see you there.”

“Sure thing, Frankie. I’ll be there.”

Johnny was so excited he almost couldn’t contain himself. The Lexingtons were the neighborhood football team. All the great athletes from the neighborhood had played on the team. Frankie was one of the present stars and was the unofficial captain. Now it was Johnny’s turn to play with the big boys. Of course, Frankie had only invited him to try out. There was no guarantee he was going to make the team. And what if he got cut? He’d be the laughingstock of the whole neighborhood.

Yeah, Johnny thought as he walked home that evening, living in the neighborhood certainly was stressful.