'You ever catch him with anyone else?' I said.
'Naw. That time I caught him I laid down the goddamned law.
He's too scared to try and step out on me,' she said.
'Your father know about this?'
'Gawd no,' she said.
'That's what I told Anthony.
'I tell Daddy about this,' I told him, 'and he'll have them cut off your balls.' I nodded.
'That would be discouraging,' I said.
She giggled again.
'
'Course I wouldn't really want them to snip off his balls, you know. Wouldn't be in my best interest, you know what I mean.
Little bastard is something in bed, I'll tell you.'
'I'm glad to hear it,' I said.
Shirley stood up quite suddenly.
'Scuse me,' she said.
'I gotta go to the little girls' room.'
I stood, ever gallant, and watched her as she wove among the tables, showing too much of her chunky legs, looking sadly vulnerable with the little dress draped badly over her big butt. People stared at her as she wobbled among the tables. Not our kind.
I sat down and looked at nothing much. Shirley had eaten half her salad and none of her chicken. But the second bottle of wine was nearly empty. I caught a couple of people peeking over at me, wondering who would be lunching with her! I'd have to come here with Susan and try to recoup. The long dining room was impressive. Along the front, picture windows looked out onto Huntington Ave.' and across at the Prudential Center. The bar was across the far end of the room, and the ceiling was two stories high. The kitchen was, apparently, at the top of a flight of stairs to the right of the hostess station, which must have been an added benefit for the wait staff. Earn a living while developing the quadriceps of a long jumper.
The maitre d' came to my table. His brass name tag said Jose.
'Excuse me,' Jose said. He spoke with the silken hint of an accent.
'I'm afraid your companion has had a small accident in the ladies' room.'
'She pass out?' I said.
'I'm afraid she has, sir,' Jose said.
'But unfortunately not before she was sick.'
'Okay, Jose,' I said.
'Keep the other ladies out of there for a couple minutes and we'll get her out.'
'Jose,' the maitre d' said.
'I'm Brazilian. In Portuguese you pronounce the J.'
'Jcs,' I said, and went to the front door of the restaurant and gestured at her driver. Jackie was more alert than I had thought.
He came rolling out of the car very quickly, with his hand inside his coat. He was a tall rangy kid, with a lot of black hair cut short on the sides, left long on the top.
'She passed out in the ladies' room,' I said.
He took his hand out of his coat.
'You give her something to drink?'
'Some wine,' I said.
Jackie nodded.
'Probably two bottles, right?'
I nodded.
'Which way?' Jackie said.
We went into the ladies' room and found Shirley asleep on the floor in one of the stalls, her cheek resting on the toilet seat, her white thighs exposed by the skirt that had hiked up above her hips. She looked like a clumsy little girl who'd eaten too much Halloween candy. I wanted to put my coat over her, or something.
'Goddamn it,' I said.
Jackie pushed past me. He straddled her, got his arms around her waist, and hoisted her up.
She mumbled something that sounded like 'hey.'
Jackie turned her toward the sink.
