I sat on a concrete bench near the corner of the bank, so I could watch both entrances, and waited for
DeeDee. I didn?t have to wait long. At about five after, she and Lark came out, a striking pair that
turned heads like waves as they walked by.
She eyed me uncertainly as they came toward me, as if she wasn?t sure whether we were still
speaking. I broke the ice.
“1 thought maybe we could get back to being friends and forget business,” I said.
Lark took the hint.
“Hot dogs and Cokes, anybody?” she asked brightly. “I?m buy-lug.?
DeeDee and I both ordered one of each and Lark slithered off toward the hot dog stand, stopping
conversation all along the way.
“You were right this morning,” I said. “It would?ve been a dishonest thing for you to do and I?m sorry
I asked.”
“What?s the difference,” she said, still edgy. “You got the numbers anyway. Your friend convinced
Lark it was the patriotic thing to do.”
“Obviously he has more of a way with women than I do,” I said jokingly.
“Oh, I wouldn?t say that,” she said, without looking at me.
We started walking and I took her by the arm and guided her under the large oak, away from the
noonday sun worshippers. She turned suddenly and faced me, looking rip straight into my eyes and
sensing my anxiety.
“There?s something wrong,” she said. “I can tell.” And then after a moment she added, “It?s Tony.
Something?s happened to Tony!”
I nodded and said awkwardly, “I?m afraid it?s bad news.”
Her eyes instantly glazed over with tears. Funny how people know before you ever tell them.
“Oh my God,” she said. “He?s dead, isn?t he?”
I nodded dumbly, trying to think of something to say, some gentle way of putting it when there wasn?t
any.
“Oh no,” she said. Her voice was a tiny, faraway whimper.
She sagged against rue like a rag doll with the stuffing punched out of it. I put my arms around her
and stood under the tree for a long time, just holding her. I could feel her body tightening in ripples as
she tried to control the sobs; then the ripples became waves of grief that overwhelmed her and
suddenly she started to cry uncontrollably. I lowered her to the grass and sat beside her, clutching her
to me, rocking her back and forth, as if she were a child who had just lost her first puppy dog.
I saw Lark walking back across the square, engrossed in a hot dog. When she saw us, I waved her
