Free Denial by Keith Ablow Page B

scared in that much traffic," Manny said, shaking his head.  "A dog like Belle sees the whole race before it starts.  I know it's hard to believe, but she meant to be where she was every step of the way."  He counted out seven twenties and slid them under the window.  "I'd marry that dog."
    I pushed one back toward him.  "Here's your engagement gift."
    "Too much."
    "You earned it.  What's next?"
    "What's next is you should walk away," he joked.  "Buy yourself a nice sweatshirt or something in the gift shop."
    "Next dog."
    "I like Maiden Voyage."
    I slid my six twenties along with four more from my wallet under the window.  "To win."
    "You sure?"
    "I guess not."
    "Bet her to place.  She gets in trouble near the finish line.  Fear of success."
    "I'm glad I'm not chasing bunnies.  I think I got that fear worse than she does."
    " Everybody’s chasin’ bunnies, Doc.  Two hundred to place?"
    "What are the odds?"
    "Eleven to one."
    "Two hundred."
    I took my spot in front of the monitors.  Maiden Voyage led from the beginning, then, twenty yards from the finish, gave up two lengths to Silly Puppy.
    Manny and I had won and lost over the years, but this time he was definitely on a roll.  I was up around twelve hundred.  I didn't even think about stopping.  "Hit me again," I said when I got to the window.
    "You got it bad," Manny winked.
    "I need—"
    He covered his ears.  "Don't say that."
    "You're right.  I'm sorry."
    "Maybe you should go home."
    "One more.  Then we're done."
    "Stay Safe."
    "Jesus Christ, Manny.  Just one more."
    "That's it.  Stay Safe , to show.  Nine to one."
    I looked down at my program.  "Sounds like a brand of tampon."
    "Ya, well, that's about right.  She's been on the rag.  Twice a favorite, never won.  I say she's due."
    "Why not bet her to win?"
    He rolled his eyes.  "There you go having ideas of your own.  You really should call me for what to wear every morning."
    "Alright.  A thousand to show."
    "A grand?"
    "You really think she's due?"
    He nodded.
    "OK, then."
    Laying that much cash on one dog pushed Westmoreland and Kathy and Hancock way, way back in my mind.  I had outdistanced all of them.  I took deep breaths of the must Wonderland air.  When the starting gun fired, I felt, of all things, confident.
    Stay Safe took a long lead and never lost it.  My skin turned to gooseflesh.  I experienced my luck as something more than random, something meant for me.  I felt Belle Dango and Maiden Voyage and Stay Safe and all the other dogs who had run and would run that day and Manny and me were somehow connected.  It was just one of the many times I have found God in peculiar places.
    I collected three thousand dollars and handed three hundreds back to Manny.  "We'd be up nine grand if we'd bet her to win," I said.
    "Ya.  Unless she hadn't."
    "One more?" I asked him.
    "Go home."
    "That a dog?"
    "No.  It's advice.  We've been here before.  Remember?"
    That sobered me up.  Manny and I had held three grand a dozen times and never kept more than a quarter of it.  And I really did need the money.  I slipped another two hundreds under the window.  "Tip for a tip," I said.  "Thanks."
    "You don't have to do that."
    "I know.  That's why I'm doing it.  See you, Manny."

Chapter 5
     
    I got back on Route 1A and took it toward the Tobin Bridge into Boston.  My mood was a little lighter.  Sending the bank two thousand would probably keep them quiet a few weeks, and I'd still have cash to prevent myself from crashing off coke before I was ready to.  Maybe I could even throw a little something at Hancock to lose whatever video she'd shot near the Emerson.  I figured anybody who talked about church as much as she did was using it a little like cocaine anyhow.  At a stoplight I took out my package and did a little blast.
    It took me half an hour to reach the V.A. Medical Center.  The Medical Information and Benefits Office hadn't changed its location since I'd been a resident,