Native Affairs

She looked at him and saw that teasing glint in his eye.

“Mr. Youngson, I believe you’re pulling my leg,” she said.

“Ms. Gardiner, I’m not, but I’d love to,” he replied.

Je

“Chief! How ya doin!? Angelo wrote his mother you’d be coming out here, and then I saw it in the papers and on TV. What’s happening, where ya stayin’?”

The two men had a very physical reunion, with much hugging and backslapping, and then Lee introduced Je

“Hey, Chief, I never forget what you did for my boy, I mean it Anything you want, anytime, no charge. You’re always welcome here. That kid is a changed boy since, you should see him.”

Je

Sal shook out a red and white checkered tablecloth and repolished the already sparkling glassware before putting it on the table. He inspected the silverware for spots it didn’t have and then pulled a paper tablet from his back pocket.

“I take your order myself, one of these idiots here might get it wrong,” he said.

Lee smiled at Je

“Could I have a salad?”

The owner beamed at her. “Best salad in the house, beautiful lady, plus pasta, veal scaloppini or parmigiana, we got it all.”

“I think just the salad.”

Sal’s smile faded. “What do you mean, that’s all?” He stared at Lee. “What’s a matter with you, Chief, you got to get this girl to eat Look at her, she’s a bone.”

Lee coughed delicately, trying not to laugh. “I know, Sal, what can I tell you. Look, bring me the veal, just give the lady an antipasto, okay?”

Sal scribbled unhappily on his note pad and then seemed to have a thought which brightened him up a little. “I bring you dessert, lady,” he kissed his fingers, “ca

“Wait until you see the salad he brings you,” Lee gri

“What was he talking about when we first came here, something to do with his son, a favor you did for them?”

Lee made a gesture of dismissal. “Oh, don’t pay any attention to that, Sal is just one of those people, heart as big as the Atlantic, effusive, eternal gratitude for any little thing you do for him, you know the type. It was nothing.”

Je

He chuckled. “From Sal, yeah. He takes care of me.”

“In other words, rank has its privileges.”

Lee sobered, looking up at her. “I think it has more to do with friendship, but if you want to look at it that way, yes.”

“Can’t have Lee Youngson waiting around for a table with the rest of the peons,” Je

Lee sighed. “Are you trying to pick a fight?” he asked, arching his brows.

“What’s wrong, Mr. Youngson, this little luncheon date not working out the way you pla

“Apple Princess,” Lee corrected, amused. “And I asked you because I wanted to talk to you.”

A waiter scuttled over and deposited a carafe of ice water on the table, pausing a moment to stare at Lee.

“Talk,” Je

Lee waited until the boy had left, and then folded his arms on his chest and surveyed her critically.

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but I get the distinct impression you don’t care much for me.”

Nonplussed, Je

“The first time we met,” he continued, “you gave me that ‘you’re too stupid to understand’ routine, which I suspect was deliberate, and ever since then, despite a thin veneer of politeness on your part, I feel a definite chill in the air. You’re only here with me right now because I practically coerced you into it Now why is that, Ms. Gardiner?”

Je

He saw her indecision. “Go ahead. You can tell me,” he prompted.

“I suppose I resent the amount of money you’re paid to play what is essentially a children’s game,” Je

He nodded thoughtfully. “I see.”

She gestured expansively. “After all, you weren’t raking in enough bucks playing for the Broncos, you had to dicker for top dollar to come here. It’s difficult to read in the Inquirer about the millions of children starving in Asia and Africa and then turn to the sports section and see the columnists guessing at your six-figure salary.”

He didn’t seem angry. “You’re working very hard for a fraction of what I’m making, and that bothers you. That’s natural.”

Sal brought their food. He placed in front of Je

“Are you sure I can’t get you anything else?” he asked her anxiously.

“I’m positive. This is fine.”

Sal waited until Lee had taken a bite of his veal, which was golden brown, sautéed in thin strips, delicately seasoned, as Je

Lee made a circle of his thumb and forefinger. “It’s great, Sal.”

Sal was satisfied. He gave Je

“You’d better have some dessert, or he’ll burst into tears,” Lee warned her.

“How could I possibly eat dessert? Look at the size of this thing. It looks more like a small shrub than a salad.”

“Do the best you can. Take some of it out of the bowl and distribute it around your plate.”

Je

Je

“I’ve been playing ten years, Je