“Yeah…”
“Well…we had…a bet…Hugo…and me.”
“Who won?”
“He did.”
I stared at him blankly. “How much did he win?”
“Like…the movie.”
“One dollar?”
“Yes but…it’s the…principle…not the…money.”
Hugo made a bow, reached into his pocket, pulled out a single dollar bill, held it up, and performed a strange little victory dance.
Victor said, “He’s…very proud…of his…victory.”
Nadine and I looked at each other.
“I think we’re done here,” she said.
When it was just me and her in the room I said, “When were you going to tell me?”
“I was working up to it.”
“You and Lou let me believe everything was fine with Kathleen and Addie.”
She looked at me awhile before speaking. “You want the truth?”
“Tease me with it. We can always default to your bullshit later.”
“Dr. Howard asked us not to say anything that might interfere with your recovery.”
“She’s engaged,” I said.
“She is.”
This, along with all the rest, was almost too much to bear. “I guess Kathleen’s had it pretty rough,” I said, “Addie too.”
“And Kathleen had every reason to believe you were dead. She attended your funeral, don’t forget.”
“Did she seem pretty broken up at the time?”
“I wasn’t there, but I understand she took it hard.”
“You think she brought a date?”
“That sort of talk is destructive, don’t you think?”
“You really want to know what I think?”
“I do,” she said. “It’s my job, after all.”
“I know she wants to be married, and it’s certainly better for Addie. Still, I think it’s pretty quick on her part. Don’t you agree?”
“I try to avoid judgment,” Nadine said.
Chapter 48
“Hello, Sal,” I said.
“What? Who is this? How’d you get this number?”
“Listen to my voice. You know who it is.”
