Cockeyed

with interest.”

26 Richard Stevenson

“He told me that the other day you demanded fifty thousand dollars. That represents a lot of interest on three K. It’s even more than Citibank charges.”

“I’m charging him a lot because now that he’s won the lottery, fifty K means nothing to Hu

Doebler looked like a man who, when he made demands, generally had them met. A good six-three, two-forty, with a crew cut above a whiskery moon face, he had the heft and sartorial coloration of a gay bear but not one with a cuddly demeanor.

We were seated at a table in the upstairs restaurant in a noisy bar on Lark Street. The music was some type of heavy metal lite, though the band playing it did not appear on any of the eight large flat TV screens arrayed around the room. These were showing a variety of sporting events — baseball, pre-season football, nAsCAR — and the overall feel of the place was that of a rest home for people with severe Add.

Doebler was chowing down on two double chili burgers, and I was keeping my grip moist on a sweating bottle of Sam Adams.

I said, “Hu

What’s your side of the story, Mason?”

Through a mouthful of dough and ground beef, Doebler said, “Hu

He was smoking a cigarette, too, and we were just lucky we didn’t go up in flames. Getting the Firebird back on the road cost over five thousand, and three thousand of that was out of pocket. My pocket, even though Hu

CoCkeyed 27

“Something doesn’t quite add up here, Mason. Are you claiming that while you were driving your car, Hu

“Of course not.”

“But you are saying, as I understand it, that your erect penis was out in the open air, and Hu

Did you take your dick out of your pants, or did Hu

“Well, he did. That’s what I’m saying.”

“It must have taken Hu

Doebler glared at me and said, “You know goddam well why I didn’t make him stop. If somebody is sucking your cock — and they’re as good as Hu

“If we were in a court of law, I doubt you could fall back on ambivalence as a justification for your behavior. Or temporary insanity, either.”

“Look, if Hu

I said, “Hu

A rivulet of chili sauce ran down Doebler’s chin, and he wiped it off with a napkin. “Oh, Hu

“Yes.”

“Well, fuck, I was just making a point. And I guess I made it.

What with you all of a sudden ragging my ass.”

“I understand, Mason, that you have a couple of assault convictions on your record.”

“So?”

28 Richard Stevenson

“This has Hu

Doebler, who was having a Coke with his burgers, said,

“Those incidents were when I was drinking. I’m sober now, and this enables me to manage my anger. What I said to Hu

I said, “Hu

Doebler shook his head. “Fuck.”

“The thousand should cover the catalytic converter and get you an oil change, too.”

“I saw Hu

“That looked like quite a party they were having.”

“If you quit pestering Hu

Doebler had finished off the first chili burger and now he started in on the second. “Well, I could use the thou. I can’t deny that.”

“It’s up to you, Mason.”

Before Doebler could reply, my cell phone went off. I excused CoCkeyed 29

myself and walked back toward the men’s room, partly for the privacy but also so I could hear anything over the barroom din.

Hu

He says Nelson has gone off somewhere to deal with a situation I am supposedly the cause of, and he said Nelson told him that I have really done it this time, and Lawn is coming over here to wring my neck.”

ChAPteR five

An Albany police cruiser was just pulling away from Hu

Hu