After they left Vee Vee Gee, they went to lunch at an omelet house that Tony liked. In addition to the main dining room, the restaurant had an open-air brick terrace where a dozen tables stood under blue- and white- striped umbrellas. Tony and Frank ate salads and cheese omelets in the warm autumn breeze.
'You doing anything tomorrow night?' Tony asked.
'Me?'
'You.'
'No. Nothing.'
'Good. I've arranged something.'
'What?'
'A blind date.'
'For me?'
'You're half of it.'
'Are you serious?'
'I called her this morning.'
'Forget it,' Frank said.
'She's perfect for you.'
'I hate match-making.'
'She's a gorgeous woman.'
'Not interested.'
'And sweet.'
'I'm not a kid.'
'Who said you were?'
'I don't need you to fix me up with someone.'
'Sometimes a guy does that for a friend. Doesn't he?'
'I can find my own dates.'
'Only a fool would turn down this lady.'
'Then I'm a fool.'
Tony sighed. 'Suit yourself.'
'Look, what I said last night at The Bolt Hole....'
'Yeah?'
'I wasn't looking for sympathy.'
'Everybody needs some sympathy now and then.'
'I just wanted you to understand why I've been in such a foul mood.'
'And I do understand.'
'I didn't mean to give you the impression that I'm a jerk, that I'm a sucker for the wrong kind of woman.'
'You didn't give me that impression at all.'
'I've never broken down like that before.'
'I believe it.'
'I've never ... cried like that.'
'I know.'
'I guess I was just tired.'
'Sure.'
'Maybe it was all that liquor.'
'Maybe.'
'I drank a lot last night.'
'Quite a lot.'
'The liquor made me sentimental.'
'Maybe.'
'But now I'm all right.'
'Who said you weren't?'
