Topdog / Underdog (10 page)

You scared you gonna throw and Ima kick yr ass—like yr boss kicked yr ass like yr wife kicked yr ass—then Ima go out there and do thuh cards like you do and Ima be thuh man and you aint gonna be shit.

Ima set it up. And you gonna throw. Or are you scared?

 

Im gone.

 

Lincoln goes to leave.

 

Fuck that!

 

 

Damn. I didnt know it went so deep for you lil bro. Set up the cards.

 

Thought you was gone.

 

Set it up.

 

Ima kick yr ass.

 

Set it up!

 

Booth hurriedly sets up the milk crates and cardboard top.

Lincoln throws the cards.

 

Lean in close and watch me now: who see thuh black card who see thuh black card I see thuh black card black cards thuh winner pick thuh black card thats thuh winner pick thuh red card thats thuh loser pick thuh other red card thats thuh other loser pick thuh black card you pick thuh winner. Who see thuh black card who see thuh black card? You pick thuh red card you pick a loser you pick that red card
you pick a loser you pick thuh black card thuh deuce of spades you pick a winner who sees thuh deuce of spades thuh one who sees it never fades watch me now as I throw thuh cards. Red losers black winner follow thuh deuce of spades chase thuh black deuce. Dark deuce will get you thuh win. 10 will get you 20, 20 will get you 40. One good pickll get you in 2 good picks and you gone win.

Ok, man, wheres thuh black deuce?

 

Booth points to a card. Lincoln flips it over.

It is the deuce of spades.

 

Who thuh man?!

 

Lincoln turns over the other 2 cards, looking at them confusedly.

 

Hhhhh.

 

Who thuh man, Link?! Huh? Who thuh man, Link?!?!

 

You thuh man, man.

 

I got yr shit down.

 

Right.

 

“Right”? All you saying is “right”?

You was out on the street throwing. Just today. Werent you? You wasnt gonna tell me.

 

Tell you what?

That you was out throwing.

 

I was gonna tell you, sure. Cant go and leave my little bro out thuh loop, can I? Didnt say nothing cause I thought you heard. Did all right today but Im still rusty, I guess. But hey—yr getting good.

 

But I’ll get out there on thuh street and still fuck up, wont I?

 

You seem pretty good, bro.

 

You gotta do it for real, man.

 

I am doing it for real. And yr getting good.

 

I dunno. It didnt feel real. Kinda felt—well it didnt feel real.

 

We’re missing the essential elements. The crowd, the street, thuh traffic sounds, all that.

 

We missing something else too, thuh thing thatll really make it real.

 

Whassat, bro?

 

Thuh cash. Its just bullshit without thuh money. Put some money down on thuh table then itd be real, then youd do it for real, then I’d win it for real.

And dont be looking all glum like that. I know you got money. A whole pocketful. Put it down.

 

You scared of losing it to thuh man, chump? Put it down, less you think thuh kid who got two left hands is gonna give you uh left hook. Put it down, bro, put it down.

 

Lincoln takes the roll of bills from his pocket and places it on the table.

 

How much you got there?

 

500 bucks.

 

Cool.

Ready?

 

Does it feel real?

 

Yeah. Clean slate. Take it from the top. “One good pickll get you in 2 good picks and you gone win.”

Go head.

 

Watch me now:

 

Woah, man, woah.

You think Ima chump.

 

No I dont.

You aint going full out.

 

I was just getting started.

 

But when you got good and started you wasnt gonna go full out. You wasnt gonna go all out. You was gonna do thuh pussy shit, not thuh real shit.

 

I put my money down. Money makes it real.

 

But not if I dont put no money down tuh match it.

 

You dont got no money.

 

I got money!

 

You aint worked in years. You dont got shit.

 

I got money.

 

Whatcha been doing, skimming off my weekly paycheck and squirreling it away?

 

I got money.

 

They stand there sizing eachother up. Booth breaks away, going over to his hiding place from which he gets an old nylon stocking with money in the toe, a knot holding the money secure.

 

You know she was putting her stuff in plastic bags? She was just putting her stuff in plastic bags not putting but shoving. She was shoving her stuff in plastic bags and I was standing in thuh doorway watching her and she was so busy shoving thuh shit she didnt see me. “I aint made of money,” thats what he always saying. The guy she had on the side. I would catch them together sometimes. Thuh first time I cut school I got tired of hanging out so I goes home—figured I could tell Mom I was sick and cover my ass. Come in thuh house real slow cause Im sick and moving slow and quiet. He had her bent over. They both had all they clothes on like they was about to do something like go out dancing cause they was dressed to thuh 9s but at thuh last minute his pants had fallen down and her dress had flown up and theyd ended up doing something else.

They didnt see me come in, they didnt see me watching them, they didnt see me going out. That was uh Thursday. Something told me tuh cut school thuh next Thursday and sure enough—. He was her Thursday man. Every Thursday. Yeah. And Thursday nights she was always all cleaned up and fresh and smelling nice. Serving up dinner. And Pops would grab her cause she was all bright and she would look at me, like she didnt know that I knew but she was asking me not to tell nohow. She was asking me to—oh who knows.

She was talking with him one day, her sideman, her Thursday dude, her backdoor man, she needed some money for something, thered been some kind of problem some kind of mistake had been made some kind of mistake that needed cleaning up and she was asking Mr. Thursday for some money to take care of it. “I aint made of money,” he says. He was putting his foot down. And then there she was 2 months later not showing yet, maybe she’d got rid of it maybe she hadnt maybe she’d stuffed it along with all her other things in them plastic bags while he waited outside in thuh car with thuh motor running. She musta known I was
gonna walk in on her this time cause she had my payoff—my
inheritance
—she had it all ready for me. 500 dollars in a nylon stocking. Huh.

 

He places the stuffed nylon stocking on the table across from Lincolns money roll.

 

Now its real.

 

Dont put that down.

 

Throw thuh cards.

 

I dont want to play.

 

Throw thuh fucking cards, man!!

 

2 red cards but only one black. Pick thuh black you pick thuh winner. All thuh cards are face down you point out thuh cards and then you move them around. Now watch me now, now watch me real close. Put thuh winning deuce down in the center put thuh loser reds on either side then you just move thuh cards around. Move them slow or move them fast, Links thuh king he gonna last.

Wheres thuh deuce of spades?

 

Booth chooses a card and chooses correctly.

 

HA!

 

One good pickll get you in 2 good picks and you gone win.

I know man I know.

 

Im just doing thuh talk.

 

Throw thuh fucking cards!

 

Lincoln throws the cards.

 

Lean in close and watch me now: who see thuh black card who see thuh black card I see thuh black card black cards thuh winner pick thuh black card thats thuh winner pick thuh red card thats thuh loser pick thuh other red card thats thuh other loser pick thuh black card you pick thuh winner. Watch me as I throw thuh cards. Here we go.

Ima show you thuh cards: 2 red cards but only one spade. Dark winner in thuh center and thuh red losers on thuh sides. Pick uh red card you got a loser pick thuh other red card you got a loser pick thuh black card you got a winner. Watch me watch me watch me now.

Who see thuh black card who see thuh black card? You pick thuh red card you pick a loser you pick that red card you pick a loser you pick thuh black card thuh deuce of spades you pick a winner who sees thuh deuce of spades thuh one who sees it never fades watch me now as I throw thuh cards. Red losers black winner follow thuh deuce of spades chase thuh black deuce. Dark deuce will get you thuh win.

Ok, 3-Card, you know which cards thuh deuce of spades? This is for real now, man. You pick wrong Im in yr wad and I keep mines.

 

I pick right I got yr shit.

Yeah.

 

Plus I beat you for real.

 

Yeah.

You think we’re really brothers?

 

Huh?

 

I know we
brothers
, but is we really brothers, you know, blood brothers or not, you and me, whatduhyathink?

 

I think we’re brothers.

 

 

Go head man, wheres thuh deuce?

 

In a flash Booth points out a card.

 

You sure?

 

Im sure!

 

Yeah? Dont touch thuh cards, now.

Im sure.

 

The 2 brothers lock eyes. Lincoln turns over the card that Booth selected and Booth, in a desperate break of concentration, glances down to see that he has chosen the wrong card.

 

Deuce of hearts, bro. Im sorry. Thuh deuce of spades was this one.

I guess all this is mines.

 

He slides the money toward himself.

 

You were almost right. Better luck next time.

Aint yr fault if yr eyes aint fast. And you cant help it if you got 2 left hands, right? Throwing cards aint thuh whole world. You got other shit going for you. You got Grace.

 

Right.

 

Whassamatter?

 

Mm.