That Old Gang Of Mine by Leslie Thomas

Author:Leslie Thomas
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Fiction & Comedy
Published: 2011-11-08T00:00:00+00:00

eight

Loose Bruce was moodily drinking a blackcurrant juice in the Ragtime Coffee Shop on Collins Avenue, when in the mirror behind the counter he saw Gabby come through the street

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door. He concluded that Ari the Greek must have told her he was there because she made directly for him and climbed on the next stool.

'Hi,' he said quietly. 'Want a blackcurrant juice?'

'Back to high school,' she said. Then she shrugged. 'Sure, why not. Maybe I could go back to school too.'

He asked the waitress for the same again and she brought the drinks in plastic containers. 'We all ought to go back to school,' said Bruce a little bitterly. 'The way we performed on our big hi-jacking. We've got a lot to learn, I guess.'

She touched his shoulder sympathetically and at once he felt it was more than just a touch. He glanced at her. She was smiling reflectively. 'Well at least we gave Cyril M. Hoffner a new lease of life,' she said. 'That should keep him laughing until the old bastard's a hundred years old.'

'I guess it's demoralized everybody,' said Bruce, drinking the dark liquid through his straw. 'If we decided to quit the entire business right now - as of this moment - then I can't see anybody arguing. It was just so embarrassing. There's no way you can run a criminal organization like that, Gabby.'

The girl touched his arm again, this time to warn him to keep his voice down, but Bruce was acutely conscious of the contact. 'Ossie gone off on his fishing?' he said.

'An hour ago,' she confirmed. 'He needs to be alone, he says. Just him and the sea and the stars. He's been really grouchy since the Hoffner thing.'

'But night fishing,' shrugged Bruce. 'I just don't understand any guy going out there to sea, on all that liquid, from choice. Shit, it was bad enough on that cruiser, but sitting in a row-boat all night. Man, that's not for me.'

'He enjoys his quiet times,' said Gabby. 'He's quite a contemplative guy really. I suppose he's older and he's seen a lot more than we have and when you get older you get more thoughtful.'

Bruce felt himself stir. For the first time since he rode with her on the motorcycle she had grouped herself with him. She had said 'we'. 'He sure has,' he nodded at her in the mirror. Her face looked very soft and relaxed in the lights of the coffee shop. He could see her eyes were looking at him in

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the glass. 'But if I wanted to be alone, and I don't,' he continued, 'I'd go off and sit in Flamingo Park or just go to my room.'

'Do you still work the air conditioning with your ass?' she laughed.

'Sure I do. It's not too difficult when you practise.' He waited. 'You like older guys, don't you, Gabby? I mean the sort ... well, okay, Ossie for example. You like the way they have things worked out, nice and wise and calm.

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