The City Game by Matthew Goodman

Author:Matthew Goodman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2019-11-04T16:00:00+00:00

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It was nearly midnight when Ed Flynn arrived at Gracie Mansion. O’Dwyer himself answered the door; together he and Flynn walked through the grand foyer and into the living room. Earlier in the evening the mayor had attended a political dinner, and he was still wearing his black dinner jacket, with a starched white shirt beneath. Flynn was dressed, as he always was, in an expensive, finely cut suit with a boutonniere in the lapel and a flowered Charvet tie. He settled into an easy chair as O’Dwyer poured them a pair of whiskeys.

The two men sat contemplatively with their drinks; from beyond the darkened window they could hear the mournful call of the foghorns on the river. After a while Flynn said, “I guess you know why I’m here, Bill.”

“Yeah,” O’Dwyer replied in a quiet voice. The lamp above his head had whitened his graying hair, so that he appeared unexpectedly old.

“Well, how do you feel about it?”

“How can I feel?” The indignation of his tone seemed briefly to energize him, and for a moment it was as though he were back on the campaign stump reciting his own accomplishments, as he reminded Flynn of the years of service he had given New York, the countless favors he had provided for their friends in the party.

“It’s pretty late, Bill,” Flynn interrupted. “Now, look—we want you out just as soon as possible. Maybe within two weeks.”

With that O’Dwyer seemed to crumple a bit, and for a long while he just sat silently, staring at the carpet. Then he raised his head and said, “What have they got for me?”

“You’re lucky,” Flynn replied. “I’ve been to see the president. He says, if nothing goes wrong before then, you can be ambassador to Mexico.”

O’Dwyer sighed. He had spent so many nights strolling the long porch outside, even snowy nights, stormy nights, just marveling at the lights of the city shimmering in the distance. He would, he knew, never get New York out of his head. At last he said faintly, “All right.”

“Very good,” said Flynn. “You’ll be hearing from me.” He rose and left the room, leaving the mayor sitting alone in the lamplight.

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