Gents & Dames

Eight: Havana

If Jack hadn't already been suspicious of the policeman, he wouldn't have noticed. But as David walked out, the cop glanced after him and saw the scene outside. Then he glanced back at David and smirked a little, and didn't move.

Interesting.

David pushed through the door and Jack followed quickly, wanting to ask what was going on, but he didn't have time.

The thug shoved Sarah's fiance against the wall of the restaurant and pinned him there by his shoulder, then looked over at David. He kept his spare fist balled as he said, "Jacobs."

David met his gaze. "What...?" he finally asked.

"He owes my employer money. Money which he said he would have two weeks ago, but has not produced."

Jack watched the guy pinned to the wall. He flinched from the words, as though those scared him more than the thug's balled fist. Jack looked back at David, who was frowning.

"I understand that this bum's wedding is tomorrow, to your lovely sister," the thug continued. "It would be a shame were he in no condition to walk down an aisle."

David opened his mouth, shut it, clenched a fist, unclenched it, and finally said in a low voice, "How much?"

"Seventy-five dollars."

The guy winced again. Jack assumed this debt was something he had hoped to keep secret from David, and probably from Sarah as well.

David sighed. "Ari..."

"It's not what you think, Dave!" the guy finally squealed.

"I am growing short on time," the thug said, and looked inside at the cop, who was watching impassively. "Perhaps we could speed things along. You may prefer to look away."

"No!" David interrupted, as the thug pulled his arm back. "No, I...Damn it." He reached for his wallet. "I don't have...I can pay some of it off."

The thug raised an eyebrow.

"The rest...after the wedding, we can..."

Jack cleared his throat. "Excuse me," he said, and sauntered up next to Ari at the wall, as though he was oblivious to the well-muscled arm between him and Ari. "Can I ask how exactly this fine, young gentleman came to be in debt?"

"He gave my boss his marker." The thug finally dropped Ari's shoulder, but Jack anticipated he might bolt, and grabbed his elbow while the guy reached into his pocket. He produced a slip of paper, which read:

$75 to be paid May 8.
Ari Golden

"May eighth has come and gone," he continued, "and my boss has seen no money from this fellow, so here we are."

"I see," Jack said. He glanced at David, who was watching them wordlessly, his wallet still in hand. "Well, as it happens, Ari here was just waiting to collect from me, see? And here it is." Jack reached into his pocket, pulled out the envelope, and quickly counted out the money. He handed the guy an extra ten. "Sorry about it being late," he added.

The guy gave him a suspicious look.

David cleared his throat. "Which means you guys are square," he said firmly. "And if anyone starts saying different, I'll spread it around town that you're a liar and so's your boss."

The thug nodded and ripped the IOU in half, then dropped the scraps on the ground. He pocketed the cash. "Well, good doing business with the three of you."

"Have a nice day," Jack answered. They stood silently until the thug stalked off, then Ari sagged against the wall and David crossed his arms. Jack glanced back in to the restaurant to see the officer had wandered up to the counter and was having a cup of coffee.

"I, uh, I had better get going—"

"Oh, no." David glanced at Jack, who snatched Ari's arm again. "We are going to have a talk."

"Dave!" Ari whined, but David narrowed his eyes a tiny bit, and he fell silent.

"First off, you should say thank you," David finally said. "If Jack hadn't been here..." He shook his head. "I certainly didn't have that kind of money on me, and I can't really afford to get involved with Jonesy and his gang."

Ari looked up at Jack, as if seeing him for the first time. He tried to pull his arm free, but Jack held tight, and finally Ari asked, "Who are you?"

"Jack Kelly. Pleased to meet you." Jack kept his voice low, all of the friendliness he'd forced into it gone.

Ari blinked, then stared. "What...What are you doing here?"

"I came to apologize to Sarah." Jack glanced at David, who still looked angry, then gave Ari a slight shove. "I messed up big time with here, but you...well, I won't let this wedding go wrong for her."

Ari glanced frantically over at David, who was scowling. "What the hell were you doing, gambling with...with..." He gestured in the direction the thug had walked off in. "Those people are serious business, Ari! You know what they did to Nathan."

Jack mentally filed that comment away to investigate later.

"Well, I—I mean, they invited me, Dave! I met 'em, they were...I mean, Jonesy was at one of Nathan's games, he saw me play, he invited me to a big-time game. What was I supposed to say?"

"No, you idiot. You should have said no." David crossed his arms, and Jack resisted the urge to shove Ari again. "You know what Jonesy did to Nathan when he got in debt; you think if Nathan lost to them, you could do any better?"

"He cheated Nathan, and...and..." Ari lost his steam. "Don't tell Sarah, Dave, she'd kill me. Please."

David made a noise of disgust. "If we hadn't been here, you would have been killed."

"Please, David."

"No." David stared him down, and Ari winced again. "You really aren't good enough for her, Ari. You're just lucky she'd rather not be alone."

"Like you?" Ari muttered.

Jack shoved him, harder this time. David didn't react to the comment or the push.

"You listen to me," Jack hissed after a long moment. "I never met you before—I don't care who you are, one way or the other. What I'm saying is that I owe Sarah, I owe her more than I can pay back. I care about her, see? And, and I'm not going to let you screw up anything for her. Not like I did."

"You—"

"Shut up," Jack snarled, leaning down into the guy's face. "I'm telling you now, you screw up anything with Sarah, you wreck her life with, with gambling or anything else, and you'll pay. That's almost ninety bucks you owe me, kid. I don't care much about collecting...unless you screw up. Then I'm coming for you, and the money...and Sarah."

Ari stared. Jack didn't look up at David, but could feel his gaze, like an itch on the side of Jack's neck. "Wh-what?" Ari finally stammered.

"I lost my shot with her. I know that. But if you break her heart—if you hurt her—I swear to god, I will be here to pick up the pieces. First love is hardest to get over. That's why I'm here." He was ad-libbing now, but could tell by the panic on Ari's face that he'd hit the jackpot. "And if you mess things up, I promise it'll be me she goes back to." He released Ari's arm with another hearty shove. "Keep it in mind."

Ari nodded, wordless, stunned.

"Oh. One more thing." He pulled the envelope back out of his pocket and held it out. "This is hers, what I owe her. There should still be enough in there to cover it."

David gaped a little, but Jack ignored it.

"So you're gonna bring it to her. And if one cent goes missing..."

David nodded. "I know how much is in it," he added, though Jack realized that probably wasn't true. "I'll be sure to ask what she received."

"Right. And if any of it is missing," Jack continued, "you'll regret it. So don't get any ideas about gambling, or anything else."

"And don't think Nathan will let you in to any games anymore," David added.

Ari nodded, defeated, and pocketed the envelope. He didn't even look in to see how much was in it. "I'm sorry, David," he said again. "I...I know I screwed up. But I love her." He looked at Jack. "And I won't screw up again."

"Good," David said firmly, and nodded towards the street. "Walk carefully."

Ari nodded, hesitated like he wanted to say something, but didn't. He just hurried off.

David turned to Jack. "I suppose you want me to thank you?"

"Nah." Jack glanced back into the restaurant. The officer was staring at them, now, his hand clenched around a coffee mug. "What do you say we head back in, and actually eat something?" He glanced at his watch. "You promised me another three, maybe four minutes."

David scowled, but nodded. "I can't believe Ari..." He trailed off, as they walked past the policeman, but Jack got the feeling David had been ranting to himself, anyway. Moments after they sat, the waiter materialized with their food.

"So, uh." Jack hesitated. "Dave, what's the deal with that cop?" He didn't motion towards the guy, but rolled his eyes in that general direction. "He was glaring at us...and he watched the whole thing outside. Didn't move a muscle, though."

David sighed. "That's Lieutenant Brannigan. He..." He bit his lip, and finally murmured, "He blames Thomas for turning his son queer."

"What?" Jack almost choked on his cheesecake.

"Yeah. His son...well, his son turned up at the Hotbox a few times, and Brannigan knew something was going on. He followed him one night, snuck in...usually the guys at the door are really good about not letting in uninvited strangers, but he slipped past. He saw what was happening...He arrested Thomas on the spot."

"Shit," Jack mumbled.

"Yeah. But...well, no one would talk to him, no one would admit anything, and they couldn't get the charges to stick. Thomas was released after a couple of days. Brannigan's desperate to get him again, though—him, Nathan, me, anyone he's ever seen up there."

"You?"

"Yeah, well, he knows I'm friends with them. And...and he'd rather arrest Nathan for hosting the game than go after the real criminals. The ones who were about to beat Ari. They get off scot-free, never mind that Nathan's games are two-bit operations compared to them."

Jack shot a long look at the cop, not caring that he was staring now. He memorized the guy's face. "Brannigan, huh?" he murmured. "I got no use for corrupt cops."

"No one does."

"Hey, what...what did you mean before, when you said they did something to Nathan?"

David sighed. He gave Jack a quick explanation—Nathan got in over his head, got in debt, Thomas had paid off the gang he owed to keep them from skinning him—and then glanced at his watch. "Jack, I have to go. Work is crazy today."

"I'll walk you," Jack said quickly. "You work on Fifth, right? Nick told me you were picked special as a speaker for the library dedication."

David nodded. "I...Well, it keeps me busy." He stood up and reached for his wallet, but Jack got to his first and dropped a few bills on the table.

"Your speech is tomorrow?"

David nodded. "Before the wedding."

"I'd like to see it."

"Invite only." David threw him a glance as they walked out. "It's already full, the list was finalized weeks ago, so don't ask."

"Okay," Jack agreed quickly.

They exited the restaurant, and David hurried off. Jack followed and almost asked if David would be willing to meet him again, when David glanced at him.

"Did you mean what you said to Ari?"

Jack bit his lip. "I done Sarah wrong, and you. I owe the both of you. The least I can do is try and scare that guy straight, I figure. If I can't do anything else...at least I can try and keep him from screwing up like I did."

David nodded. "Thank you."

"You don't need to thank me, David."

David stopped walking and turned to look at Jack. He cleared his throat. "Yeah, well. You know. It means a lot. Sarah has been through a lot. And you..."

Jack shoved his hands in his pockets and mumbled, "The worst part of the last decade was not having my best friend."

"Racetrack?" David suggested, raising an eyebrow.

Jack's lips quirked into a smile. "Yeah, you know, and that other kid. The one with the big mouth who never knew when to shut up. Hey, he won us that strike, you remember that?"

David started walking again, smiling a little bit himself. "Nah, he was forgettable. It was the flashy one who did it. He shouted down Pulitzer, I hear."

"Maybe, but he wouldn't have known what to say without help. A lot of help." Jack took a deep breath. "I missed you, Dave. And I'm sorry."

David nodded. "Okay."

"Okay?"

"Well, what do you want me to say? I can't forget. I can't trust you. But I believe that you're sorry. You've paid up Sarah and you scared Ari, hopefully enough to keep him honest. So okay, Jack. I accept your apology."

Jack broke into a grin, and it was all he could do not to grab David and hug him. But a spring came into his step as he walked. "That's the best news I've heard in a long time, Dave. I..."

David shrugged. "Look, I said I accept your apology; don't mistake that for wanting to be your friend."

Jack nodded. "I know. At least for now. But...someday? If I don't screw up again?"

David glanced at him and said nothing for a long time. Jack didn't press it. They walked along sidewalks that Jack remembered a little, but David clearly knew by heart. It was almost funny how now David was city-smart.

"Are you going back to Santa Fe soon?" David eventually asked.

"I live in California now, actually. My granddad got me a job out there. Not on the ranch, but still pretty nice."

"And?"

"Yeah. Day after tomorrow," Jack said.

"Mm." David seemed to consider it, then said, "Write to me. We'll see."

"You'd write back?"

"I suppose I would. If I have the time. I'm very busy, Jack. The library...well, the worst of it will be over after the opening, but the place won't run itself."

"And I'm sure you've got a lady friend or two keeping you busy."

David laughed. "The closest thing I've got to a lady friend is Adelaide."

"That can't be true," Jack insisted.

"Well, one of his back-up dancers has offered to let me take her away from all that. But I don't think she's my type."

"Girls don't know what they're missing, Dave," Jack said, still smiling broadly.

David shrugged in response, and they turned on to Fifth and approached the library. Jack was inwardly impressed by the sweeping stairs, arches, and columns, but what caught his gaze were the covered displays at either side of the staircase. "What're those?"

"Statues," David said. "We unveil them tomorrow."

"What are they?"

David smiled. "Stop by and see. I think you'd really like them."

Jack nodded. "I will before I leave. Definitely."

"Well, I'd better..." David nodded up towards the stairs, but paused. "Will you be at the game tonight?"

"Dunno. I'd like to see everyone, but I don't think Nathan wants me there. I asked him, but who knows?"

"He's stubborn," David agreed.

"Maybe he'd...maybe he'd be more likely to let me in, if you asked."

David considered it, then shrugged. "Maybe."

Jack smiled again. "Either way, it's been really good to see you, Dave." He lifted a hand to rest on David's shoulder, and David didn't pull away. "And...I hope someday, you can forgive me."

David looked up at him for a long second, then finally held out a hand. Jack dropped his own from David's shoulder down to shake his hand. "Maybe I'll see you tonight," David said softly. "Write to me, this time."

"I will," Jack agreed, not wanting to press the forgiveness question, not even for the bet. He didn't give a damn about the bet, not if forgetting about it now meant David might really forgive him later. "I'll see you, Dave."

David nodded. "It was...well, it was good to see you, Jack." He hesitated, then nodded and added, "It really was."

"It was good to see you, too." He hadn't let go of David's hand yet and became very aware of that. David's hands were smoother than his own, callused from writing, no doubt, but not much else.

David abruptly pulled away, and when Jack looked up at his face, it was ever so slightly red. "I have to get back in to work," David said.

Jack nodded. "Good luck with the big speech."

David nodded and turned away, hurried up the stairs. Jack watched him go and heaved a deep breath. It felt almost like the first breath he'd taken in eleven years.

back - on