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Every basketball season, which in New York meant whenever there wasn’t actually snow on the ground, the Ear sat courtside at Riverside Park, watching the talented local kids play hoops with such concentrated energy you’d think their lives depended on it. With a notebook and pen at the ready, he liked that spot on his favorite bench, and everyone knew where to find him. His tiny feet were planted on the ground, sun warming the back of his neck.
“Tony.” Ma
Tony didn’t say a word. His eyes were fixed on the kids shooting, ru
He was dressed, as usual, in an old satin New York Knicks jacket that probably predated the Walt Frazier, Willis Reed glory years, when the Knicks still played in the old Madison Square Garden at Fiftieth Street and Eighth Avenue. His jeans last saw soap and water a decade before he got the jacket, and his sneakers belonged in the Smithsonian.
“Tony,” Ma
Ma
Finally, he stepped directly in front of the Ear. “Tony, I need my money back.”
“What are you talking about? You bet, you lost, game over. Get outta my way. I’m watching a game here.”
“Listen,” Ma
“Sorry, kid.” Suddenly, he jumped up to get a better view of the court as a cornrowed kid in a lime-green T-shirt stole the ball and led a fast break. “Run,” he screamed, “move your damn ass.” Probably since his lips were permanently sphinctered on his right cheek, Tony spoke with a lisp. He turned to look Ma
“Whose friends have that kind of cash? Besides, they only laugh when I ask.” Ma
“I know.” He smirked out of the side of his mouth. “I used to get that line myself.” Tony peered around Ma
Ma
Tony sat down. “I don’t have it, pal.” He ran a hand over his filthy jeans. “You wa
“She won’t give me a dime. I already owe her forty grand.” He put a hand on Tony’s shoulder. “You gotta help me. I’m desperate here.”
Tony brushed away Ma
“Give me a break.” Ma
“Did you see that shot?” Tony shouted and pointed at the court. “Unbelievable.”
Ma
“What do you mean?” He pointed at the home team. “I bought their uniforms.”
“What? A dozen T-shirts?” Ma
“Take it easy, pal,” Tony yelled. Palms up, he motioned him back. “Relax.”
Ma
Tony reached into his jacket and pulled out a pocketknife.
“What the fuck is that?” Ma
“What we’re go
One of the players missed a bounce pass, and the ball popped off the court and hit Ma
“Sorry, Tony!” A sinewy Puerto Rican kid scooped up the ball and dribbled back to the game.
“Hopeless.” Tony took an apple from the brown paper bag on the bench.
“I can’t believe my rotten luck.” Ma
“You take yourself too serious.” Tony shrugged and cut into the apple. “I can’t stand the sight of blood.” He stuck his chin out and took a deep breath. “I was only making a point.”
“What point?”
“Listen up, ’cause I’m the smartest guy you know. I everything goes in one ear and stays there.”
Ma
Tony offered him a slice of fruit. “You want your money back. Well, it’s all a zero-sum game. Somebody has to lose for somebody else to win. So what are the odds for you, my friend?” Tony chewed a slice and swallowed. His Adam’s apple rose like a ball in his throat. “The odds are nil if you’re out of the game. Am I right or am I right?”
Ma
“You got no hope if you’re out of the game.” He swallowed again. “If you’re out, it’s your own fault. Luck has nothing to do with it. So you go
“That’s your big tip?” Ma
“Where do you think you’re going?” Tony wiped his crazy mouth with a paper napkin. “I can help you make back your losses, but what you really want is college money, right? Have you thought about that?” Tony flicked the knife closed and stuck it into his pocket. “You gotta act like a man now that you’re playing with the big boys.”
“That’s what I’m trying to do.”
“Then you gotta think like Casanova. You know? The greatest lover in the world had it all figured out, see.” Tony turned his face toward Ma
Ma
“If Casanova lost, he redoubled his bet until he won.” He tapped his finger on the bench. “So that’s Casanova. Now, who the fuck are you?”
“I just want to get back what I lost.” Ma
“Sit down here.” Tony nodded at the bench. “You’re out of the game now, right?”
Ma
“Well, how can you win if you’re out of the goddamn game?” Tony paused. “Now, what do you say?” He leaned toward Ma