Manhattan Is My Beat

He’s got Alzheimer’s. God forbid. He’d been in a home for actors and theatrical people for a while. But last year it got pretty bad; now he’s in a nursing home out in Jersey.”
    “You know where?”
    “Sure, but I don’t think he’ll tell you much of anything.”
    “I’d still like to talk to him.”
    Weinhoff wrote down the name and address for her. He shook his head. “Funny, you hear about students nowadays, they don’t want to do this, they don’t want to do that. You’re—I pegged you right away, I don’t mind saying—you’re something else. Talking to an old yenta like me, going to all this trouble just for a school paper.”
    Rune stood up and shook the old man’s hand. “Like, I think you get out of life what you put into it.”

     
    All right. I’m two hours late, she thought.
    She wasn’t just hurrying this time; she was sprinting. To get to work! This was something she’d never done that she could ever remember. Tony’s voice echoing in her memory.
Back in twenty, back in twenty
.
    Along Eighth Street. Past Fifth Avenue. To University Place. Dodging students and shoppers, running like a football player, like President Reagan in that old movie of his. The one without the monkey.
    No big deal. Tony’ll understand. I was on time this morning.
    Them’s the breaks
.
    He’s not going to fire me for being a measly two hours late.
    A hundred twenty minutes. The average running time for a film.
    How could he possibly be upset? No way.
    Rune pushed into the store and stopped cold. At the counter Tony was talking to the woman who was apparently her replacement, showing her how to use the cash register and credit card machine.
    Oh, hell.
    Tony looked up. “Hi, Rune, how you doin’? Oh, by the way, you’re fired. Pack up your stuff and leave.”
    He was more cheerful than he’d been in months.

CHAPTER TWELVE
     
    The woman, an attractive redhead in her twenties, looked uncertainly at Rune. Then at Tony.
    Rune said, “Look, Tony, I’m really, really sorry. I got …”
    You only lie to people who can control you
.
    But I don’t want to get fired. I don’t, I don’t, I don’t.
    “…I got stuck on the subway. Power failure. Or somebody on the tracks. It was disgusting. No lights, it was smelly, it was hot. And I—”
    “Rune, I’ve had it. Frankie Greek’s sister went into labor just after you left and he had to take her to the hospital. And I
know
she did, ‘cause I called her ob-gyn to check.”
    “You did
what?
“ Rune asked.
    Tony shrugged. “He coulda been faking. What’d I know? But whatta you want me to do when
you
give me some half-assed excuse about the subway? Call the head of the MTA? Ask him if the E train got stuck at Thirty-fourth Street?”
    “Please don’t fire me.”
    “I had to work by myself for two fucking hours, Rune.”
    “Jesus, Tony, it’s not like a hot dog stand at Giants Stadium at halftime. How many customers did you have?”
    “That’s not the point. I missed lunch.”
    “I’ll be better. I really—”
    “Time out,” the redhead said, shutting them both up. She added, “I’m not taking the job.”
    “What?” Tony was looking at her.
    “I can’t take somebody else’s job.”
    “You’re not. I fired her before I hired you. It’s just that she didn’t know.”
    “Tony,” Rune said. Hated that she was pleading but she couldn’t help it. What would Richard think if he heard she got canned? He already thought she was totally irresponsible.
    “I’d feel too guilty,” the redhead explained.
    Tony: “You said you needed a job.”
    “I do. But I’ll find something else.”
    “No, no, doll,” Tony said, “don’t worry.”
    But then she said in a stony voice, “You fire her, I’m leaving too.”
    Tony closed his eyes momentarily. “Jesus Christ.” He then leaned forward and glared at Rune. “Okay. Frankie’s only going to be working half-days until his sister’s back home. You can fill out his schedule. But if you miss any more shifts, without a
real
excuse, that’ll be it.”
    “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
    Tony then smiled at the woman, probably thinking he’d scored some points with her for his generosity. He didn’t notice that her expression, as she looked back at him, was the way you squint at a roach just before you squoosh it.
    “Rune,” Tony said, “this is Stephanie. Isn’t she pretty? Great hair, don’t you think? Why don’t you show our beautiful new employee the ropes? I’m