Free Casino Moon by Peter Blauner

Andolini’s. But now any little hood from the projects thought he could just slash your tires with impunity. So the owner had a guy sitting out front in a lawn chair, making sure nothing happened.
    “So you told him I pushed a button on Larry,” I said. “That’s terrific. I’m just overflowing with gratitude.”
    “I didn’t say nothing about it. I just told him you were man enough to do the right thing.”
    “Why’d you go and do that?”
    “I wanted him to show you some respect. Or at least set it up so you could handle the envelope.”
    “And now I got six months to pay him off. Very nice.”
    Across the street, I could hear the sound of children’s laughter echoing through the housing project. But all I saw were clotheslines full of sheets and shabby shirts strung up between the little red buildings. It was kind of eerie, like hearing the ghost of a good time.
    I thought of the dead-eyed look I’d seen Teddy give my father inside.
    “Hey, Dad,” I said suddenly. “What happened to Mike?”
    I don’t know why I thought to ask about my real father right then. The question just popped out of me. Maybe because I’d been thinking lately about how my life could’ve been different if he’d stayed alive.
    Vin looked like I’d just dropped a safe on his head. “Why the fuck you asking about that now? We been over it a million times.”
    And the answer I got from him was always the same. “I don’t know.” “He must’ve made a mistake.” “It’s better not to think about it.” But I wondered. Especially after seeing that look on Teddy tonight. I wondered if somebody gave my real father a look like that before he disappeared.
    “Why you gotta bring that up again?” asked Vin. “Ain’t I been a good father to you?”
    “Yeah, of course, but that’s not the point...”
    “Haven’t I always provided for you? Given you everything you ever wanted?”
    I could see he was hurt that I’d even thought to question that. He had been a good father, in spite of his obvious shortcomings. Vin wasn’t cut out to be a family man. He was put on this earth to scam and squeeze to muscle and murder. If he’d run a car dealership, he would’ve had me working out on the lot. But the mob was the only world he knew, and borrowing money from Teddy was the only way he could think of to help. So I cut him a lot of slack. Maybe too much, as it turned out.
    Above the jagged rooflines across the street, I could see light green laser beams shooting out of one of the casinos on the Boardwalk and crisscrossing the sky like marionette strings.
    “I don’t know what happened to Mike,” he sighed. “It could be he had a problem with the old man in Philly. Maybe one day you’ll find out and tell me. He was my best friend in the world besides Teddy.”
    For the first time, it occurred to me that he might be lying to protect someone.
    “Listen,” he said, putting an arm around my shoulder. “I’m sorry if you were upset about what happened in there. Teddy and me, we’ve been getting all stressed lately.”
    “Yeah, well, you shouldn’t have told him that I was the one who whacked Larry.”
    “I know, I know.” He ran the comb through his wild hair again, but it had no effect. “I’m just trying to get you the button, that’s all.”
    “But I don’t want that,” I said vehemently. “I want you to go back in there and straighten it out. Tell him what really happened.”
    “Yeah, yeah.” But I could see he was thinking about something else. His hair was still standing up higher than usual.
    “I’m serious,” I said. “Don’t help me with the button anymore. I’ll help myself.”
    “One day you’ll appreciate what I done for you,” he told me wistfully.
    “Yeah, right.” I gave him a hug just to let him know everything was okay between us. “So next year on my birthday, don’t get me anything, all right? The kind of presents you give, I’ll end up doing eight-to-twenty-five in a state