FiFty Fifty

Chapter Thirteen

EDDIE
I waited at my office until five-thirty, then called Sofia. She was a half-hour late for our meeting, and I wanted to make sure she was coming.
She picked up my call this time.
'Oh God, I'm so sorry. I must've fallen asleep. Can I come over now?'
I checked my watch. I needed to leave in half an hour for Harry's party, and
there was no way out of that.
'Is tomorrow morning okay?' I asked.
'Sure, thank you. And again, I'm so sorry.'
'No problem. Look, I could come over to your place tomo—'
'No,' she said, cutting me off straight away, 'I'll come to you. I'd prefer that.' I hung up, and cursed the thought of the evening ahead. College parties had
bored me. When I graduated law school I made a promise to avoid any and all parties, especially ones that required you to dress up for the evening. Any invitation I got that said 'black tie' went straight into the trash.
But there was no avoiding this one.
I didn't own a tuxedo and I damn sure wasn't going to hire one. I showed up to Fong's Chinese Restaurant in a black suit, white shirt and black tie. An outfit that passed for cocktail parties and funerals. In my pocket was an order of service for the last funeral I'd attended. An old con artist called Billy Bangs who cleaned out half of the golden mile in Las Vegas in the seventies. That funeral was depressing as all hell. There's no one as a lowly as an old conman. That profession does not age well. I paid my respects and got out of there.
Now I was being handed a glass of champagne from a silver platter at the entrance to Fong's and a hostess showed me through to the back room. The room was long and well lit, with Chinese lanterns and two chandeliers in the shape of dragon heads hanging from the ceiling. The party started at six, it was almost seven when I arrived. I couldn't get out of this invitation but I didn't need to be on time. Harry Ford knew I was there under protest.
I saw Harry at the other end of the room, which was filled with stiffs in tuxedos and their wives in sparkling dresses. They were senior lawyers, judges and court staff. All of them were here for Harry. Probably ninety-nine percent of them came because it was expected of them. The other one percent were there to
 
make sure Harry went through with it. I was in the one percent category.
I was there for my friend, Harry Ford.
I saw Judge Stone behind a lectern at the other end of the room. Harry just to
the left of him. Stone was coming to the end of a speech.
'Judge Ford's service to this city is immeasurable. He is one of our most
respected brother judges. A fine lawyer in his day, and an even finer judge. Ladies and gentlemen of the Southern District of New York, please raise your glasses. A toast. To Harry Ford. May you live long, and enjoy the peaceful retirement you so richly deserve. To Harry ...'
The crowd echoed, 'To Harry,' and champagne was politely sipped. I drained my glass, looked around for somewhere to place it and that's when I saw her.
A woman with a long, open-backed dress that came down to the bottom of her spine. Her hair was tied up in intricate curls and studded with bright stones. She turned, as if she felt my eyes on her.
'Harper?' I said.
She smiled and excused herself from the four or five guys around her, making her way to me.
'I knew you'd be late. I only just got here,' she said.
'You look ... great,' I said, unable or maybe unwilling to say anything more. Harper slipped her hand around the crook of my arm and brought her red lips close to my ear. I could feel her breath on my neck, like a brush fire.
'I've never been in a room with so many assholes. Let's go rescue Harry,' she said.
Together we made our way through the crowd. I had never seen Harper dressed like this. She was a revelation. And I couldn't tell her how I felt. I couldn't say anything. It was like there was a plug in my throat. A stopper. Maybe it was for the best. Harper deserved someone better than me.
'I give you, Harry Ford,' said Judge Stone, stepping away from the mic at the lectern to make way for Harry. It was the first time I'd seen Harry in two weeks, and he looked as though he'd lost weight in that time. Harry had always carried a few extra pounds, and it suited him. Standing up there, he looked old and thin. His cheeks had collapsed.
Harper and I stopped with just a few people ahead of us in the crowd.
'I've been a dishwasher, short-order cook, paperboy, the youngest African American Captain in the United States Military, a law clerk, a lawyer and a judge. If anything, my career has been going backwards for fifty years. The best job I ever had was washing those dishes in Rocko's All American Diner. I was thirteen when I got that job. I learned everything I needed to know about it in under thirty seconds. Plates would come into the kitchen dirty, and it was my job