The Professional by W. C. Heinz

Author:W. C. Heinz [Heinz, W. C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Boxing, Boxers (Sports), Fiction, Literary, Sports & Recreation, Boxing stories, General
ISBN: 9780306810589
Publisher: Da Capo Press
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

16

So you're all from Eddie's old neighborhood," I said. "That's right," Louie said.

"And the best neighborhood in the world," the one named Frankie said. "We're not kiddin'. It was the greatest. The best neighborhood in the world."

"It used to be, when we were kids," the big husky one named Pretzauer, but called Pretzel, said. "It ain't the same no more."

"What is?" Frankie said. "But it still ain't bad."

We were spread along the bar while Girot served us. Pretzel and one named Pete had asked for beer, but Louie and Frankie and a quiet, good-looking one dressed in brown sports clothes and wearing a tie and named Harry had ordered whiskey.

"Well, here's to Eddie Brown, the next middleweight champion of the world," Louie said.

"Right," Frankie said.

We all drank to Eddie.

"These guys you're lookin' at here now," Louie said, "we're all Eddie's gang. Since we're kids, we're all the same gang."

"All except Dom ain't here," Frankie said. "Dom had to work today."

"Oh?" I said. "What does Dom do?"

"He's got an important post with the City Transit Authority," Frankie said, and a couple of the others laughed.

"He's with the I.R.T.," Louie said. "He's a track worker."

"But a real good guy," Frankie said.

"The best," the one named Pete said. "He wanted to come up, too. He really wanted to see Eddie."

"It's too bad," Frankie said.

"So what do the rest of you guys do for a living?"

"Me, I got a piece of a poolroom," Louie said. "Frankie, here, owns a gas station."

"Half a gas station," Frankie said.

"Pretzel drives for a beer distributor, Harry's a fireman and Pete tends bar at the Stanton."

"That's a nice hotel," I said to Pete.

"You ever drop in?"

"I have, but probably not in a couple of years."

"Drop in and look for me. I'm there nights."

"I'll do that."

"But Eddie's the one," Frankie said. "Eddie's our boy."

"We go to all of Eddie's fights," Louie said, "except the ones away out of town. You know. I mean we couldn't go to Pittsburgh and Chicago and Omaha, but we all started with his first fight, when I put Eddie in his first four-rounders at the Ridge-wood, and all these guys went. We never missed any fight of Eddie's we could get to. We even drove up to Holyoke the times he fought there, and we'd be drivin' home all night."

"Hey! How about that first fight Eddie had in Holyoke, hey, Pretzel?" Frankie said.

"Yeah," Pretzel said.

"What about it?" Louie said.

"There was this guy there wanted to bet us," Pretzel said.

"Wanted to bet us?" Frankie said. "He didn't want to bet us."

"That's right," Pete said. "He didn't want to, but he did."

"A guy sittin' right behind us," Frankie said to me. "A loud mouth. He's rootin' for the guy's fightin' Eddie. You seen Eddie fight, right?"

"Right."

"He don't look to kill the other guy the first round or two. I mean, usually he don't. He usually goes out to figure the other guy out, first."

"Doc taught him that right from the start, how to case a guy," Louie said.

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