" All right, you got the note?" " Yeah, right." "Nice and tight." "Two, three, four." "This is the Fordham section of The Bronx... my home." "A world unto itself." "You can get to any borough in 15 minutes from here, but they might as well be 3,000 miles away." "That's Mount Carmel Church." "And the sound of the bells would fill the neighbourhood." "It was 1960, and doo-wop was the sound on the streets." "It felt like there was a doo-wop group on every corner back then." "What a time it was!" "The New York Yankees were playing the Pittsburgh Pirates in the World Series... and Mickey Mantle was like a god to me." "My dad would take me to Yankee Stadium and we'd watch the Yankees win." "That's the Chez Bippy - that's where all the guys hung out." "But I'll tell you about them later." "That's my building." "I live right there on the third floor." "667 East 187th Street." "There's my stoop." "And on warm summer nights all through the neighbourhood... you would hear young Italian men romancing their women." "Hey, Marie!" " Get in the fucking car!" " No!" " Get in the car!" " Leave me alone." " Come on, baby, you know I love you." " Yeah, bullshit." "Will ya get in the fucking car!" "And right there, right there under that lamppost there, stood the man - the number-one man in the neighbourhood..." "Sonny." "Everybody loved Sonny and treated him like a god." "And in my neighbourhood, he was a god." "And I would sit on my stoop and watch him, all day and all night." "But he would never even look at me." "Never, until one day." " What do you want?" " You got room in there for us?" "You wish!" " Oh, shit!" " Let's go!" "That's my dad, Lorenzo Anello." "His bus route was 187th Street." "I used to love to ride the bus with him." "That's me, Calogero, nine years old." " All right." "See you later, Pop." " OK." "Go right upstairs, son." "That's my mum, Rosina." "She met my dad at a dance." "They fell in love and they've been together ever since." "You're always listening." "Take care of this fucking..." "Come on." "Knock him out!" "The Chez Bippy." "This is where all the guys hung out." "Get the fuck out of here!" "Take a walk!" "Tony Toupee was owner of the bar in name only." "It was really Sonny's place." "Tony was a frustrated singer and everybody hated his voice." "So just for spite, he'd never utter a spoken word - he would only sing it." "They called him Tony Toupee because he wore the worst hairpiece in the world." "Eddie Mush was a degenerate gambler and the biggest loser in the world." "They called him "Mush" because everything he touched turned to mush." "Never mind "Eddie my love", I need a winner!" "At the race track, the teller would give him his tickets already ripped up." "I had the Yankees." "They lost." "If it wasn't for bad luck, I wouldn't have no luck at all." "JoJo the Whale." "You didn't walk with JoJo, you walked among him." "If you stared at JoJo long enough, you'd see him get fatter by the hour." "Legend has it his shadow once killed a dog." "They called him Frankie Coffeecake... because his face looked like a Drake's Coffeecake." "He was tough to look at." "Hey, kid, how you doin'?" "His name was Jimmy Whispers and he was Sonny's main man." "They called him "Whispers" because everything was a secret to him." "Danny K.O. Knocked guys out... and Bobby Bars spent half his life behind them." "This was Sonny's crew, and nobody fucked with these guys." "What are ya doin' here?" "Didn't we tell you not to come here?" "Didn't I tell ya not to come upstairs!" "Wait till I tell your father!" " What were you doing here?" " I was looking for Daddy." "Well that's very nice!" "I have to get somethin' in the store." "Don't move!" "You wait right here!" "You hear me?" "Every time I saw Sonny, I'd try to imitate him, but he'd never even look at me." "Sonny had five fingers... but he only used three." "Come on." "Let's go." "Move." "Upstairs." "I'm not in the mood for steak." "Oh, you're not?" "How many times do I have to drive that bus back and forth... so this family can eat steak once a week?" " Seven." " Who told you that?" "Nobody." "I counted." "Calogero, your father wants to talk to you." " About what, Dad?" " Mum caught you by the bar today." " I wasn't." " Tell your father the truth!" " I was by the bar." " So why'd you lie?" " I took a shot." " Wanna do something here?" "What am I gonna say?" "Nice try, son." " Thanks, Dad." " Lorenzo, come on, please!" "How can I keep him away?" "It's two doors away." "Daddy's right." "You should listen to him." "Shut up." "Nobody's talking to you." "Give me your plate." "I want you to listen to me." "Hey!" "Do not go near the bar." "Stay on the stoop, but keep away from the bar." " When you're older, you'll understand." " Yes." " You don't see me going there." " Mum won't let you go there either?" " What am I going to do?" " I don't know." "I got him all day." "I'm just kidding." "I'll won't go near the bar." "Look what I got." "Two tickets, Yankee Stadium, centre field." " Behind the Mick?" " Right behind number seven." " Now eat your steak." " Yeah!" "Let's go, Alfie." "That's Phil the Peddler." "He would call everybody "Mary."" "Me and my friends would love to break his balls." "Slick and Crazy Mario were my best friends." "Slick got his name because of his hair." "Mario got his because he was just crazy." "I'll kick your little fucking asses, you bunch of Marys." "Stay away from the fruit!" "Keep your hands off the fruit!" "You fucking Marys!" "I'll kick you loose, you Marys!" "The three of you!" "I'll kick your fucking asses, you fucking ball breakers!" "Keep your hands off the vegetables!" "What do you think this is?" "Wait!" "Go make your mother and father feed you!" "I'll give you the heave-ho, you fucking ball breakers!" " How many did you get?" " I got one." "...stop borrowing money!" "Oh, boy - Coffeecake's in trouble again!" "Somebody's gonna get their ass kicked." "Guys, check it out." "Mario, who's this?" "That's Jimmy Whispers." "You'd better talk to him again." "You're responsible for him." "Whoa!" "Come on, wait a minute." "It's Sonny." "You do somebody now, big mouth." "Do somebody hard, like Coffeecake." " I can't do Coffeecake!" " That's hard." "Put a screen in front of your face while I throw shit at it." "Oh, shit." "These niggers got some balls, coming in our neighbourhood." "They don't live here, they just pass through from school." " How the fuck do you know?" " My father told me." "My father told me that's how it starts." "Get the fuck out of our neighbourhood, you fucking niggers!" "Go back to Australia where you came from!" "You're lucky you're on that bus!" "Ha ha, you missed me!" "Stay out of our neighbourhood!" "Why?" "You don't fucking stop." "Get the fuck out of here!" "Nobody's cooler than you, Sonny." "What the fuck is wrong with you?" "What you doin'?" " Fuck you, you freehole!" " Fuck you, you scumbag!" "You're a real motherfucker!" "I'll bust your fucking head!" "I'm gonna bust your fucking head!" "Hold on here." "Sonny, give me the gun!" " Get the fucking car!" " Move the fucking car!" "Come on!" "When Sonny looked at me for the first time, I went deaf." "I couldn't hear." "All I could see was Sonny with the gun in his hand." "What happened?" "Is he all right?" "Dad, it was just a parking space." " You don't understand." " Is he all right?" " Baby, are you OK?" " He's all right." "Let's go inside." " What happened?" " I'm OK, Mum, I'm OK." " Oh, my god, I got so scared." " I'm OK, Mum." "You don't understand, Dad." "They were fighting over a parking space." " Over a parking space?" " Over a parking space, Daddy." "Why?" "It wasn't over a parking space." "They just met at the wrong time." " What kind of answer is that?" " Just leave it alone." "Let's mind our own business." "He's OK." "That's the main thing." "I can't believe somebody would do this." "Who is it?" "Police." "Is this the Anello residence?" "Yeah." "Can I help you?" "We're detectives." "We'd like to ask you some questions." " About what?" " Just open the door!" "How you doing?" "OK, good." "I'm Detective Belsik." "This is my partner, Detective Vella." "Hello, son." "How you doing, ma'am?" " We'd like to ask your son a few questions." " About what?" "There was a shooting in front of the building, and we believe your son was there." "Really?" "Well, he knows nothing about that." "Well, we feel he does." "There were people who saw him." "Well, they're wrong." "He don't know nothing." "Listen, Mr Anello." "We can do things the nice way or the hard way, all right?" "I don't care what way you do it." "He don't know nothing." "Daddy, I know everything." "Kids." "Sometimes they make believe they see things." "We didn't pick your name out of a hat." "We know your son was down there." "So, come on, let's go." "Son, listen." "Here's what I'd like you to do for us." "I'd like you to take a walk downstairs with us and your father." "We have people down there." "All I want you to do is pick out the person you saw with the gun in his hand." "That's it." "You think you could do that for us?" "Good." "Come on." "Let's take a walk." "Mr. Anello, take a walk downstairs." " We won't be long." "Go ahead." " Officer, is he gonna be OK?" "Everything's gonna be fine, dear." "They'll be back in two minutes." "There's Lorenzo." "Hey, fellas, turn around." "You two, take your hats off." "Hey!" "Put your head up." "Straight ahead." "Look this way." " Is that him?" " No." "How about this guy?" "Straight ahead, fella." " How about him?" " No." "Straight ahead, you." "How about this guy?" "Give me an answer." " How about him?" " No." "How about him?" "Is it this guy?" "Give me an answer." "Hey!" "Put your eyes up!" "How about this guy?" "Let's go." "Hey, look straight ahead!" "Over here." "Look at me." "That's it." "Is it this guy?" " How about this guy?" " No." "OK." "Look at this guy." "How about him?" "Hey!" "Straight ahead." "How about this guy?" "Is it him?" "Give me an answer." "No." " You satisfied, Officer?" " No, I'm not satisfied." " He don't know." "He can't help you." " Yeah, yeah, your son doesn't know anything." " He said no, he can't help you." " I'll tell you what." "Take a walk." " Go ahead." "Go ahead." "Take a walk." " Come on, son." "Let's go." "All right, you guys can breathe again." "Beat it." "Get out of my sight." " We really fooled them, Dad." " Yeah, we fooled them." "I didn't rat, Dad, I didn't rat." "No, you didn't rat." "I did a good thing, right?" "Yeah, you did a good thing - you did a good thing for a bad man." "I did a good thing for a bad man." "I didn't understand that, not at nine years old." "All I knew was... a rat was the lowest thing anyone could be in my neighbourhood... and I didn't rat." "Daddy, why did you say I did a good thing for a bad man?" "Because sometimes in life you gotta do certain things that you gotta do, even though they're not right." "Do you understand what I'm saying?" "No." "It's just that I thought I did the right thing." "Now I'm not sure I did." "You did do the right thing, and when you get older, you'll understand why." "Your mother and I love you very, very much." "Tomorrow you take a ride on the bus with me." "OK?" "City Island was the last stop on my father's route." "It was one of our favourite places." "It was like going on a vacation for a day." "My dad would listen to his jazz and we would talk about baseball." "Dad, can I have an ice cream?" "We do our job first, and then I'll get you an ice cream." " OK?" " OK, Pop." "Here." " Let's play the game, Dad." " OK, let's see how good you are today." "Who was the last player to win the Triple Crown?" "Mickey Mantle." "Batting average, 353." "RBls, 130." "Home runs, 52." " That's pretty good, son." " The best ballplayer that ever lived, Dad." "Joe D's the greatest ballplayer." "The Yankee Clipper." " 56-game hitting streak." " That's right." " Nobody beat that." "Right, Dad?" " Nobody beat that, son." " Do you know why Joe D. Was so great?" " Because he was Italian?" " Well, that's part of it." " Then why?" "Because he had more talent than anybody." " Talent?" " That's right." "Do I have talent, Dad?" "Of course you have talent." "You got all the talent in the world." "Can I be a ballplayer?" "You can be anything you want to be." "Remember, the saddest thing in life is wasted talent." "You could have all the talent in the world, but if you don't do the right thing, then nothing happens." "But when you do right, guess what, good things happen." " You hear me?" " You're right." " Let's go for that ice cream." " Yeah, good." " I'm gonna shut the doors, right, Dad?" " Yeah." "Ready?" "Watch it." " Got it?" " I got it." "Wasted talent." "That was something my father would talk about all my life." "Come on, let's hurry, so we can catch the start of the game." "'36,683 here to see the final game of the '60 Series." "'And what a ball game they're looking at." "'Moose Skowron, with that infield hit deep to third... 'has picked up his twelfth World Series base hit in 1960." "'Time called." "Blanchard back... '" "Come on, Sonny." "'One out, unassisted, to Nelson, to end the sixth." "'Southpaw hitter." "'And Elroy Face 'staring down to his battery mate Hal Smith." "'Into the stretch now." "The little man sets." "'And here's the first one coming to Blanchard." "'Outside and a ball.'" " See you later, Pop." " OK." "Get right upstairs, and watch the rest of the game." "No hanging out, son." "Hey, Lorenzo, how you doing?" "Keep driving." "I want to talk to you." " Your kid is a good kid." " Thanks." "Sonny really appreciates what you and your son did for him." "That's all right." "I'm just glad everything worked out." "He'd like to do something for you." "All you gotta do is drop some numbers off for us." "You're gonna get $150 a week." "Won't even have to get off the bus." "Tell him I appreciate it, but I got a city job." "If I get pinched I could lose it." " At least think about it." " I just can't do it." "It's not for me." "$150 a week." "You don't want to think about it?" "I can't do this." "It's not for me." "I can't do it." "Sonny's gonna be disappointed, but I'm gonna tell him what you said." "OK." "Stop the bus here." "I want to get off." " They offered me a job today." " Doing what?" "Numbers." "All I gotta do is pick up a piece of paper and drop it off on my round and they said they'll give me $150 a week." "$150 a week?" "What did you say?" "What do you think I said?" "I told him to forget it." "It's not for me." "What?" "I don't know. $150?" "It's only numbers." " You think I should've took it?" " I don't know." "Yeah, but, come on, you know..." "You get involved with those guys, next thing, you know, one, two three..." "I don't know..." "I don't like the way you look." "Maybe you're right." " I'm going to check on the baby." " Come here." " What?" " Come here." "You're not sorry you got stuck with a bus driver, are you?" " I fell in love with your uniform." " Yeah." "The day of the funeral, I felt really bad." "I realised that a man had died, and I had lied and committed a mortal sin." "And I wanted God to forgive me." "Bless me, Father, for I have sinned." "It has been one month since my last confession, and these are my sins:" "I missed mass on Sunday twice," "I lied about witnessing a murder once, I ate meat on Friday once." "Wait a minute." "Can you back up a little bit and say that again?" "I ate meat on Friday once?" "Not that one." "Back up a little more." " I lied about witnessing a murder?" " Yeah, that's the one." "Do you realise what you said?" "It was only once, Father." " Do you know what the fifth is?" " Yes, Father, I know what the fifth is." "The fifth is, "I refuse to answer on the grounds that I might incrimin..."" "The Fifth Commandment!" ""Thou shall not kill."" "That's right." "Now, I want you to tell me what happened." "No, Father, I'm not telling nobody nothing." "Don't be afraid, my son." "Nobody's more powerful than God." "I don't know about that, Father." "Your guy's bigger than my guy up there, but my guy's bigger than your guy down here." "You got a point." "Five Our Fathers and five Hail Marys for your penance." "For a murder rap?" "That's not bad, Father." " What did you say?" " Bye, Father!" "It was great to be Catholic and go to confession." "You could start over every week." "Hey, kid!" "Come on, Sonny wants to see you." "Nobody's going to grab that bike." "They're good kids." "They just did a piece of work for me." " Put them in." " It's up to you, Sonny." "Here's the kid, Sonny." "Go ahead." "Don't be afraid." "How you doing, kid?" "Good." "We finally meet face-to-face." "Are you afraid of me?" " No." " That's good." "What's your name?" "Calogero." "That's a big name." "You got a nickname or something?" "No." " What do your friends call you?" " Calogero." "That makes sense." " What are you, a Yankee fan?" " Yeah." "Sit down." "Now, come over here." "Sit over here, next to me." "Come here." "So, you must be pretty upset after the Yankees lost." "Bill Mazeroski, I hate him." "He made Mickey Mantle cry." "The papers said that Mick was crying." "Mickey Mantle?" "Is that what you're upset about?" "Mantle makes $100,000 a year." "How much does your father make?" "I don't know." "You don't know?" "Well, see, if your father can't pay the rent, go ask Mickey Mantle, see what he tells you." "Mickey Mantle don't care about you, so why should you care about him?" "Nobody cares." " Can I ask you something?" " Sure." "Did you shoot that man over a parking space?" "When you get older, you'll understand." "From that day on," "I never felt the same about the Yankees again." "I started spending a lot of time with Sonny." "I would come home from school and sneak away any chance I got." "I would serve the guys drinks and coffee, and they would give me tips." " Bet!" " I'll lay a hundred." "Come on, Sonny!" " Son of a bitch!" " I don't believe it!" "I should fucking break his arm." "Here, kid, this is for you." " Sonny, loan me a hundred." " You know what's gonna happen!" " I feel it!" "Please!" " Give him a hundred." " I'm in, I'm in!" " Go ahead." "Give him the dice." " Give him the dice." " I'm in, I'm in!" " It's fucking hot." " Come on, Mush, make a donation." " Come on, Mush, get this over with." " Come on, dice." "Baby needs a new pair of shoes." "Come on, seven!" "Come on, dice!" "And there's a seven!" "I don't even have to look." " Craps!" "I'm out!" " Get out of here." " Get him out of here!" " Man never hit a number in his life!" " Bring the dice up here." " Where's the kid?" "Sonny, do me a favour, put this coffee on my tab?" "Get the fuck out of here." "Where's the kid?" "I'll tell you what." "The kid's gonna throw the dice for me." "Sonny, don't let this kid throw the dice!" " Anybody got a problem with that?" " It's all right." "No problem." "I want you to throw the dice for me." " I don't know how to play dice, Sonny." " It's OK." "You don't have to know." " You just listen to me." "Hear what I said?" " OK." "I'll tell you what." "Put $500 down on the kid." "I got a hundred!" "Hey!" "Stop fucking leaning on me, please?" "Huh?" "Come on, you're breathing all over me, all right?" "Hey, JoJo, relax!" "I'm trying to get a bet in." "I wanna play too, you know!" "I know you can do it." "You got to hit the wall, kid." "Come on, you can do it." "Hit the wall." " You can do it." " Wait, wait, wait..." "Wait, wait, wait, I'm betting on Sonny." "Hey!" "I don't want your money touching my money." " What's the matter, it's counterfeit?" " I don't want your money in the same..." "My money's no good no more?" "Why?" "Why?" "Cos you're a fucking jinx, that's why!" "Put him in the fucking bathroom!" "Get him out of here!" "Fucking get in there, you fucking loser mutt!" "Leave him in there!" " A fucking jinx!" " Shoot the dice." "That's a lot of money on you." "Come on." " Roll a seven." "Come on." " Shoot the fucking dice." "Hit the wall." "Seven!" "Bring the dice up." "Put $1,000 on seven." "You can do it, all right?" "You can do it." "You..." "Giorgio, stop fucking breathing on me!" "You're killing me over here!" "I'm on a win streak." "Stop breathing on me!" " Bobby, put him in the bathroom." " Sonny, Eddie's in there." "He ain't gonna fit." "I don't give a fuck!" "Put him in!" "Give me a another seven." "Shoot the fucking dice!" "Come on!" "We got a four!" "That's all right." "Four's what we got." " Let's go!" "Shoot the dice!" " Give the kid another shot!" "What's wrong with this money?" "What, is he crazy?" "What is it, counterfeit?" "I say the kid makes the four." "Give me $500." "$500 more." "Get your bets down." " Twenty-two on the hard four." " I'll lay a hundred." " Who wants a gag on the four?" " One-forty, no gag." "One-forty, no gag." "Put it down." " I say the kid makes the hard four." " He'll never make the hard four, never." "Come on." "You can do it." " Don't worry, Sonny." "I'll throw a seven." " No, no seven!" " Yeah!" "Hit a seven!" " Shut up!" "He ain't gonna throw no seven." "Do you believe this kid?" "Hey, I don't want anybody laughing at this kid, all right?" "Come on, no seven." "Sevens are not good now." " Hit the wall." " Get a four." "You can do it." "You gotta make the point." "You can do it." "No, no, no..." "Frankie Coffeecake, no good." "I don't want his face looking at that face when he's throwing my dice." "No, no, no." "Jimmy, get a towel from the bar." "Put it over his head." "Come on, Sonny." "I don't want a towel over my head." "It's embarrassing." "Put him in the fucking bathroom." "Get him out of here." "Wait a minute." "I got money here!" "Get the fuck out of here!" " Get him the fuck out!" " Put him in the bathroom." "Get over here." " Rat bastard locked us in the bathroom." " It's degrading." "Very degrading." "Come on, I need that point." "Listen to me!" "Listen to me." "See that money over there?" "Look." "See that money?" "Are we going to make this point?" "Come on." "We're gonna make this point." "Attaboy!" " Come on!" " I need a 2-2 on the hard four." "Hey, don't get cocky, kid!" " Just make the point." " Fucking kid." "Just make the point." "Go ahead." "Come on." "I don't fucking believe it!" "He did it!" "Eleven." "I made eleven passes in a row." "I don't know how much money Sonny won, but it was a lot." "He would always say the working man was a sucker, and I was going to the best school in the world, the University of Belmont Ave, and I was getting two educations:" "One from the street and one from school." "That way I'd be twice as smart as everybody." "Hey, kid." " You did good." " Thanks." "Here." "That's it?" "Here." "All right?" " Go home." "It's getting late." " See you later, Sonny." "Listen." "We gotta do something about your name." "From now on, your name is C." " C?" " That's right." "C." "Go home." "Go ahead." "So long, Sonny." "Sonny took me everywhere and he would always introduce me as his boy." "And I noticed that strange things started happening in the neighbourhood." "Hey, Calogero, come on over." "I want to talk to you." "My name is C." "I mean C." " How are you today, my boy?" " Good." "I got some nice peaches for your mum." "I don't have any money on me, Phil." "You don't need no money with me, kid." "Don't embarrass me like that again." "Just tell Sonny that I took care of you." "OK." "That's when it hit me." "It was because of Sonny that everyone was treating me so nice." "I liked it." "I liked it a lot." "Mummy, mummy, look what I got." "Some peaches for... free." " What's this?" " What's what, Dad?" "Where did you get this?" "Your mother found this behind your drawer." "It's the money that I've been saving, Dad." "$600 you've been saving?" "What, you've become a brain surgeon overnight, son?" "Tell your father where you got the money." "Dad, I worked for it." " Doing what?" " Things." ""Things"?" "What do you mean, "things"?" "What "things"?" " Oh, things." "You know, things." " Hey!" "Don't lie to me." "Just tell me the truth, and I won't get upset." "Promise?" "I'm your father." "Would I say it if I didn't mean it?" "I work the crap games, and the guys gave me tips." " Crap games?" " What crap games?" "What crap games?" "What tips?" " What crap games?" " I thought you weren't gonna get upset, Dad." "I lied." "Now, tell me everything." " I work for Sonny, and he gave me tips." " I knew it." "Weren't you told a dozen times not to go near that bar?" " But Ma, I worked for it." " Whaddya mean, you worked for it?" " You're not supposed to be in that bar!" " I'm taking this money back." " I'm bringing it right back down to the bar." " Let's just think about this for a minute." " What do you mean, "think about it"?" " We could use the money." "It's not like he had to do something bad." "That's not the point." "You know where this money comes from." "I don't want him to have that kind of money!" " Let's just think about this." " That's it!" " Come on." " Wait a minute." "Listen to me." "Lorenzo, why do you got to go down like this?" "Calm down!" "Lorenzo, please!" "I don't believe this!" " Is Sonny around?" " Yeah, I think he's in the back." "We can't accept that." "I gave it to your son." "He worked for it." "That's right." "My son and I don't want my son involved in what goes on here." "Involved in what?" "What are you talking about?" "Please, I'm not a stupid man, OK?" "Please." "I'm not stupid." "You know what I'm talking about." "Just stay away from my son, OK?" "Hey, you stay right over here." "C, why don't you go outside." "I wanna talk to your father." "I'll speak to my own son." "Calogero, wait outside." "First of all, I respect you, Lorenzo." "You're a stand-up guy." "We're from the same neighbourhood, but don't ever talk to me like that again." "I tell your son to go to school, to go to college..." "It's not what you say, it's what he sees." "It's the clothes, it's the cars, it's the money, it's everything." "He tried to throw away his baseball cards the other day because Mickey Mantle would never pay my rent." "He said that to you?" "I don't believe this kid." "It's not funny when your nine-year-old kid has a bigger bank account than you do." "I offered you a job, but you said no to me." "That's right." "And I say no now." "Just leave my son alone." "Please." "Don't you see how I treat that kid?" "I treat him like he's my son." " He ain't your son." "He's my son!" " He's what?" " Get the fuck out of here!" " I'm not afraid of you." " You should be." " I know what you're capable of." "And I would never step out of line." "You can ask anybody who knows me." "But this time you're wrong." "This is my son, not yours!" " Are you gonna fight me?" " Stay away from my son!" "Get out of here before I give you a fucking slap!" "Just stay away from my son!" "I don't care who you are, you stay away from my son." " Where's my money, Dad?" " I left it in there." "What?" "How could you do that, Dad?" "It was my money!" "That's bad money!" "I don't want you to have that money." " Dad, I earned that money!" " I said I want you to stay away from him!" " Dad, please listen to me!" " I said you stay away from him!" " Dad, listen to me!" " Did you hear what I said?" "Stay away!" "Sonny was right." "The working man is a sucker." "He's wrong!" "It don't take much strength to pull a trigger, but try and get up every morning and work for a living!" "Let's see him try that!" "Then we'll see who's the real tough guy." "The working man is the tough guy." "Your father's the tough guy!" "Everybody loves him, just like everybody loves you on the bus." "It's not the same." "People don't love him." "They fear him." "There's a difference." " I'm sorry I hit you." " I don't understand, Dad." "You will." "You will when you get older." "I'm sorry I hit you." " You want me to take care of him?" " No, leave him alone." "Sonny and my father never spoke to each other again." "And I never listened to my father about staying away from him." "The bar was so close, and I would sneak away any chance I got." "Eight years passed, and as I grew, Sonny grew in power." "He became a boss, and I was his friend." "It was now 1968." "Dion was on top of the charts." "The Beatles were changing the way we lived." "The Yankees were in last place and I didn't give a shit." "There was change everywhere, but my neighbourhood was still the same." "'And they're off!" "'Expectedly Kryptonite comes first from the gate!" "'On the outside comes... '" "Here comes the kid!" "We didn't get shut out." " C, come here!" "You get it in?" " Yeah, I got it in." "It's all on Kryptonite." " You hold them." " Look at this horse go." " Come on." "Take it home!" " Look at this one move!" " This horse can't lose!" " You can do it, Kryptonite!" "Come on!" "Look, it's a lock." "It's beautiful." "Don't even worry about it." "We can't lose." "I'm not even going to look because I know we can't lose." " We can't lose." " Let's go." "Come on!" " Look!" "He's pulling away!" " Come on, Kryptonite!" "Come on, Kryptonite!" "Look at him!" "Forget it." "It's over." "It's all over." " Damn." " Let's go!" " That's it, Kryptonite!" " Come on, Kryptonite!" "Bring me luck!" "Come on." "Bring me luck!" "Come on, Kryptonite!" "Hang in there!" "Come on!" " Oh, shit!" " Come on!" "Let's go!" "Get the..." "He bet the fucking horse?" "He bet Kryptonite?" "Give me the tickets." "But, Sonny, we're winning." "We can't win." "The Mush bet Kryptonite." "Fucking jinx!" " We're five lengths in the lead." " Come on." "We've been "mushed."" "Come on." "I got to get away from this fucking jinx." "Come on." "You can still do it!" "Come on, Kryptonite." "You can still do it!" " Hang in there!" " Come on." "Take it home!" "Hang in there!" "No!" "Shit!" " Fuck!" "This fucking close!" " I don't believe I lost!" " I don't fucking believe it!" " Hey, C!" "I got a tip in the next race for you." "Go fuck yourself!" "You're very emotional." "'White Birch wins it in an absolute shocker!" "'" "We finally got our own social club." "We called it Deuces Wild." "Drinks were a buck and the jukebox and the cigarette machine paid the rent." "All we cared about was hanging out." "We would cut class and hang out all day and all night." "Nobody wanted to go home, because God forbid, you were the first one to go home and then found out the next day that you missed something." "Whoa, whoa, whoa, fellas, whoa!" "Look at those broads over there." "They're beautiful!" "Look at those broads." "They're beautiful!" "Yo, get over here!" "Come here!" "Put it back in your pants." " Those fucking broads are both pigs." " How the hell do you know?" " Fuck you, C." " How the hell do you know?" "They'd fail my test in a second." " What test are we talking about?" " It has a name or something?" "If you wanna know if you can trust a girl and she is good enough to marry, she's got to pass the test." " I call it the Mario test." " This I got to hear." "What's this test?" "The test is, you take a girl like that for a ride in your car, right?" "Jump on the highway, you pull up to one of them big 18-wheelers." "You pull right alongside of it and get attention of the driver." "Honk your horn." "Do what you gotta do." "Make sure he's looking." "That's important." "At the same time, put your hand behind this fucking broad's head, and you start pushing her head down between your legs." " Get the fuck out of here." " It's for her own good, believe me." "Now, if this girl goes down on you, knowing that that guy in the truck is watching," " then she's a pig, and can't be trusted." " It's not gonna work." "You're a sick maniac." "You need some help." "When they're into it, they do stuff with their hand, they throw their hair over their ear." "They did it before." "Believe me, they're fucking pros." "That's the second time those niggers passed today." "As long as they don't stop, who gives a fuck?" "I give a fuck, that's who." "Did they get out to bother you?" "No, they didn't bother you." "Today it's one car, next week it's two, before you know it it's their neighbourhood and they're fucking our broads." "They shouldn't come through here." "Period." "Invite them in." "Make them have a drink." "Baseball-bat their fucking heads." "Hey, you want a shot?" "Take one." "Come back!" "Louie?" "Dumps!" "Get over here!" "Where's my money?" "I got to do that thing." "I can't..." " Shit!" " What's up?" "This guy owes me 20 bucks." "It's been two fucking weeks now." "You can't dodge me forever!" "Fucking piece of shit." "I gotta talk to my father." "I'll be right back, all right?" " All right, I'll see you." " Come back." "Come on." "Take a ride with me." "I got one trip left." " Do I have to?" " Yeah, you have to." "Come on." "Sit." "Sit over here." "Dad, do we have to listen to this music?" "It gives me a headache." "You kids today, I gotta tell you, you don't even know what good music is." "Listen to this." "This is good music." "Want to go to the fights with me tomorrow night?" "Calogero?" "Hey!" "You listening to me?" "Calogero!" "Hey!" "Dad, why can't you call me C?" "Everybody calls me C." "Because that was your grandfather's name, and that's the name I gave you." "That's why I can't call you C or whatever you want to call yourself." "Want to go to the fights tomorrow night?" " Could I let you know tomorrow?" " You wanna go or you don't wanna go?" " All right, all right, I'll go." " Don't say it like that." "Don't wanna be twisting your arm, but you know..." "She was tall, she was beautiful, and she was classy." "But she was black." "And that was a no-no in my neighbourhood." " Jackie, what's the first?" " 2:00, fellas." " Two." "Your friend's number." " Who?" " Your pal." " Don't fuck around." " Johnny Biscord bet 228 again?" " That's it." " Again?" " Again." "I'll try to have some better music for you next time." "I'm only kidding." "It's OK, Pop." "See you later." " Louie!" " My grandmother's sick." "I'll talk to you later." " I got to go do something." " Where's my fucking money?" "You're fucking dead when I catch you, you piece of shit!" "C, come here!" " Get over here." " He's fucking crazy, this kid." "The kid wants his fucking money." "What can you do?" " I got to talk to him." " You gotta stop babying him." "He owes me money." " Hit him with a fucking bat." " Knock him all over the fucking block." "Is that the advice you give the kid, you fucking hoodlums?" "Come on." "Don't listen to these hoodlums." "I'm gonna go to Gino's." "I'll be right back." "What's the matter?" "This guy Louie Dumps over here, he owes me 20 dollars." "It's been two weeks now, and every time he sees me he keeps dodging me." "He's becoming a real pain in the ass." "Should I crack him one, or what?" "What's the matter?" "What have I been telling you?" "Sometimes hurting somebody ain't the answer." " First of all, is he a good friend of yours?" " No, I don't even like him." "You don't even like him." "There's your answer right there." "Look at it this way:" "It costs you 20 dollars to get rid of him." "He's never bother you again." "He's never gonna ask you for money again." "He's out of your life for 20 dollars." "You got off cheap." "Forget him." " You're always right." "You're always right." " Yeah, I'm always right." "If I was always right, I wouldn't have done 10 years in the joint." "What did you do every day?" "There's only three things you can do in the joint, kid:" "Lift weights, play cards or get into trouble." " What did you do?" " Me?" "I read." "What did you read?" " Ever hear of Machiavelli?" " Who?" "Machiavelli." "He's a famous writer from 500 years ago." "Availability." "That's what he always said." " Availability?" " That's right." "Listen to me." "You know why I live in this neighbourhood?" "Availability." "I want to stay close to everything, because being on the spot, I can see trouble immediately." "Trouble is like a cancer." "You got to get it early." "If you don't get it early, it gets too big, and it kills you." "That's why you got to cut it out." "Capish?" "You're worried about Louie Dumps." "Nobody cares!" "Worry about yourself, your family, the people that are important to you." "That's what it comes down to:" "Availability." "The people that see me every day that are on my side, they feel safe because they know I'm close." "That gives them more reason to love me." "But the people that want to do otherwise, they think twice, because they know I'm close." "That gives them more reason to fear me." "Is it better to be loved or feared?" "That's a good question." "It's nice to be both, but it's very difficult." "But if I had my choice..." "I would rather be feared." "Fear lasts longer than love." "Friendships that are bought with money mean nothing." "You see how it is around here." "I make a joke, everybody laughs." "I know I'm funny, but I'm not that funny." "It's fear that keeps them loyal to me, but the trick is not being hated." "That's why I treat my men good, but not too good." "I give too much, then they don't need me." "I give just enough where they need me, but they don't hate me." "Don't forget what I'm telling you." "Sonny, I got some beautiful veal chops today." "I got some nice linguine frutti di mare and I got some beautiful Pescatore sauce." "Fellas, you're not dressed properly." "You're gonna have to leave." "Properly?" "What's wrong with how we're dressed?" "These gentlemen ain't dressed right." "I asked them to leave." "Is there a problem?" "Your man there says we're not properly dressed." "Like our money ain't green." "We just want a couple of beers." "Two beers, that's it?" "That's it." "We'll be on our way." "We ain't looking for trouble." "Spoken like a gentleman." "Give them their beers." " I appreciate that." " No problem." "Here you go." "You got some brews down here?" "Nice cold ones." "Get us some nice cold brews." "Come on." "Two over here, huh?" "One more beer." "Got some thirsty people here." "All right, brothers." "If I may, a toast to our host." "In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost!" "Get wet, you dago wop!" "Hey!" "Oh, you again, huh?" "That wasn't very nice." "Now yous gotta to leave." "I'll tell you when the fuck we leave." "Get the fuck away from me." "Go watch the bikes, man." " What's going on here?" " Come on!" " Hey, get outta here!" " What's this shit?" "What's going on here?" "Now yous can't leave." "I will never forget the look on their faces." "All eight of them." "Their faces dropped." "All their courage and strength was drained from their bodies." "They had a reputation for breaking up bars." "But they knew that instant they made a fatal mistake." "This time, they walked into the wrong bar." "Come on, motherfucker!" "Crack his fucking head open!" "You fucking creep!" "Come here, you cocksucker!" "Step on his fucking head!" "Come on, get them out of here!" "Drag them the fuck out!" "Come on, move it!" "Watch my car!" "Yeah, you fucking bums!" "Get him!" "Grab that hairy bastard!" "Let the kids kill them." " For God's sake." " Hit him with the bat!" "Get him!" "Kick him in his face!" "Here, you motherfucker!" "Look at me." "I'm the one who did this to you." "Remember me." "Come on, Sonny!" "Come on, let's go, you guys!" " They ruined my lunch!" " Let's get the fuck out, Sonny!" "Leave them there like the bums that they are." "They ruined my whole fucking lunch!" "Come on!" "Take a look at this gun right here." "It's a.45." "This thing could stop an elephant driving a truck and the truck too!" "Nicky Zero was the neighbourhood thief." "His mother called him Zero, cos she said he'd never amount to nothing." "It's too big." "Where are you gonna hide it?" " Then you want this one." " They can spot that a mile away." " You need this." " Whoa!" "What is wrong with you?" " Don't point the gun." " It's on safety." "I'm not gonna kill you." "Don't ever do that." "Now let me see the fucking gun." " This is you." "This is class." " I don't know." " What's this?" " Let me see this one." " This one's nice." " Right there." "Feel it." "I'm gonna fucking shoot somebody, know what I mean?" "I wanna shoot somebody too." "That looks like just the gun to do it." "What are you guys doing, huh?" "What's going on here?" "Are you fucking stupid or something?" "What's the matter with you, selling guns around here?" "Are you fucking stupid?" "You'll make this whole place hot and get us all fucking pinched." "Now get the fuck outta here!" "Stay over here." "Don't move." "All of you." "Stay right there." "I want no fucking guns." "You hear me?" "Get out of here!" "C, get over here, you!" "Come here." "I wanna talk to you." "Get over here." " Sonny, loan me 500." " Tomorrow, tomorrow!" "You think you're a tough guy with these guns, is that what it is?" "No, but after what happened in the bar, I thought..." "You thought what?" "You think a gun makes you a tough guy?" "Let me tell you, I seen more guys with guns wet the bed than anything." "It's when the other guy pulls out his gun, then we see who the real tough guy is." " Sonny, you don't understand." " No, I do understand." "This shit is not for you." "Those kids are gonna get you in trouble." " But they're my friends, you know that." " They're jerk-offs." "Look at me." "Jerk-offs." "And Slick is the biggest jerk-off." "All these years, what have I been telling you?" "I know, "Stay in school." "Get two educations." I know." "That's right." "Don't do what I do." "This is my life, not yours." "I do what I have to do." "This is not for you." "All right." "I'm sorry." "Want to go to the fights with me tomorrow?" "I don't know." "I got a piece of a good middleweight." "You come with me, we'll sit in front." "I'd like to come, but I told my father I'd go with him." "You know where I'm sitting, come by and say hello." " All right." " You know where I'm sitting." "Sit here." "Nice seats." "I gotta be careful I don't get a nosebleed." "These are the best I can do." "What do you want from me?" "Come on, Pop, I'm only kidding." "Hi, C. How are you doing?" "Hello, Lorenzo." "How are you doing?" "Sonny has a couple of ringside seats for you." "Why not come down?" "Well, erm..." "Tell him thanks, but we're good where we are." "OK." "Tell Sonny thanks anyway, but we're good where we are." "You're welcome to come down." "You know where the seats are." "Anytime during the fight, OK?" "OK." "Thanks." "Introducing the principals for this evening's main event." "Dad, he's got seats for both of us." "He's trying to be our friend." "I like my seat." "I paid for my seat." "You wanna go down there, go." "Go ahead." "Go down there." "Let's welcome Eric "The Rock Man" Holland!" "I bring you here, and you wanna go down with them." "Go with them." "You think I want to sit with you when you wanna be with them?" "How do you think that makes me feel?" "From the Bronx, Joe Carey!" "Sorry if I hurt you, Dad." "Everything I've been telling you." "Fucking guy's been ducking me for two weeks." "When I see him, I'm gonna break his face." " Do you like him?" " He's a fucking jerk-off!" "Ten dollars." "You got off cheap." "He's out of your life." "I'm still gonna fucking break his face..." "I couldn't believe it." "There she was, right in front of me." "I never forgot her since the first day I saw her on my father's bus." "I wanted to talk to her, but she was with her friends and I was with mine." "These fucking doo-woppers, driving me crazy," "I wanna strangle one of them..." " Let's get something to eat." " This fat bastard ate it all." "What's wrong with you?" "You're always eating." " I was hungry." " Did you read about the bikers?" " No." " I was reading the paper." "You see the way Jimmy was hitting them?" " What about Danny with that pipe?" " I don't know." " Let's get out of here." " You wanna get out of here?" "Come on." "Let's go." "Come on, C." " I can't come." "I got a test." " Fuck the test." "I missed it last week." "You sure?" "All right." "We'll be at The Deuces." "We were alone for the first time." "I knew I had to say something to her." "This chance might never come again." "I wanted to be cool, but I still didn't even know her name." "I said to myself, "She must have an exotic name like Monique or Danielle."" " You go to this school?" " I'm Jane." "Jane?" "That's it?" "That's your name?" "Yeah." "What's wrong with that?" "Nothing." "It's a great name." "I love that name." "I just moved here." "Yeah, I seen you on the bus the other day." " And you are?" " Me, I'm Calogero." " Ca-who?" " Calogero." " What kind of name is that?" " It's Italian." "Actually, it's Sicilian." "My family's from Sicily." "Sicily?" "You know where Italy is?" "It's the boot that comes down." "The island next to it that looks like it's getting kicked, well, that's Sicily." " I like Italians." " You do?" " Hm-mm." " Are you waiting for someone?" " Yes, I am." " Oh, you are." "All right." "Well, I better go." "Wait." "I was just waiting for my brother." "Sometimes we walk home together." " If it's no problem, I'll walk you home." " OK." "I live down Webster Avenue." "Is that all right?" "That's no problem." "Come on." "Let's go." " So you're waiting for your brother?" " Hmm." " That's great." " What's so great about it?" "What's so great about it?" "It's just great." "Where did you get that hat from?" " Why, you don't like this hat?" " It's kinda funny-looking." "Maybe it'd look better another way." "Hold this." "You have beautiful eyes." "Thanks." "So do you." "Yeah... that's better." "So, do you want to go to the movies?" "Movies?" "You wanna go to the movies with me?" " Yeah." "I told you I liked Italians." " You wanna go right now?" "No, of course not now." "How about tomorrow?" "6:00." "We'll meet in front." "I'll be waiting here till tomorrow then." "Oh, I'm sorry." "I mean I'll meet you in front tomorrow." "OK." "Sorry if I'm saying stupid stuff." "It's just I'm so nervous." "You're not saying stupid things." "You're doing OK." " You think so?" " Hm-mm." "So where are you originally from?" " Brooklyn." " What part?" " East New York." " Where's that?" "It's far." "Way out." "Yeah?" "I got some relatives in Brooklyn but I never heard of that part." " Really?" " Yeah." " I suppose they're Italian too, huh?" " Yeah." "That figures." " What's your last name?" " Williams." "Very easy." "Very simple." "Jane Williams." "That's a pretty easy name to say." "Can't say mine's that easy, but, you know..." "Wait, let me see." "Erm..." "Calogero..." "Anello?" " Yeah." " Got it." " My friends call me C." " Well, I like Calogero better." "These books are heavy." "That's why I'm glad you're carrying them." "Well..." "I guess this is it." " I really had a great time." " Me too." " I think you're very nice." " Thanks." "So are you." "Thank you." "Sorry I can't walk you all the way home." "Oh, that's all right." "I only live a block down." " So I'll see you tomorrow?" " Tomorrow." "Tomorrow night?" "6:00?" "You're getting better." "I just wanted to double-check." "Well." "Bye." "Bye." "What is it, white motherfucker?" "Cinque!" "Sette!" " Come on, Aldo." " Sette!" "That was a late fucking finger." "That was late." " Was it late, Mario?" "Tell me." " What are you talking about?" "This fucking kid keeps winning my money!" "I'll give him the malocchio." "He ain't gonna win no more..." "He's got all my money." "How am I gonna play?" "I don't know..." "What the fuck, man?" "What the fuck?" "These fucking spooks can't ride in their own neighbourhood?" "Just leave them alone." "What is it with you and these niggers lately?" " They ain't bothering nobody." " They're fucking bothering me." "They ain't bothering me." "This is our fucking neighbourhood, you black bastard!" "Let's go get these fucking niggers!" "Come on!" "Get the fuck out of our neighbourhood!" " Let's get out of here!" " Get off!" "Motherfucker, get the fuck outta here!" "Black bastard!" "C, come here!" "Leave me alone!" "Hey, grab him, C!" "Get this motherfucker!" "Stay down!" "I'm not gonna hurt you." "Stay down." "I don't wanna hurt you." "Get him!" "Get him down!" "Motherfucker!" "C, what are you doing, dancing with him?" "Get off!" "Get out of here, you crazy bastards." "The cops are coming, run!" "I can see them." "Go!" "Go!" " I can see the lights." " Get off him!" "They called the cops!" "Come one!" "Let's go!" "They called the cops!" "What the fuck you doing, man?" " You're gonna kill him!" " I don't care." "I want to kill him!" " The fucking cops are coming!" " Fuck that!" "The cops are coming!" "They called the fucking cops!" "Come on!" "Didn't I tell you Slick was nothing but trouble?" "Yeah, but he's my friend, I just..." "He's your friend." "I'm your friend, kid." "You're letting yourself get caught up in his shit." "These kids could hurt you." "You gotta think for yourself." "I do, I'm really trying, but we hate these people." "I don't hate them, but you know..." "What people?" "What's on your mind?" " I met this girl." " Yeah?" "So?" "I like her and everything, but she ain't white, she's from Webster Avenue." " She's a coloured broad." " Yeah." " You like this girl?" " I do, but I don't wanna hear the guys..." "Fuck those kids." "Half of them are gonna end up dead or in jail." "Nobody cares." "Only that matters is what's good for you and how you feel about each other." "Let me tell you something." "When you're alone, late at night in bed, just you and her under the covers, that's all that matters, see?" "You gotta do what your heart tells you to do." "I'll tell you something right now." "You're only allowed three great women in your lifetime." "They come along like great fighters, once every ten years." "Rocky Marciano, Sugar Ray Robinson, Joe Louis." "Sometimes you get them all at once." "Me?" "I had my three when I was 16." "That happens." "What are you gonna do?" "That's the way it goes, you know?" "I tell you right now." "See this girl?" "Maybe this girl puts wind in your sails." " Maybe she's your first great one." " Thanks, Sonny." "I think I'll go for it." " Is she a good kid?" " I just met her, but I hope so." "Here's what you do." "Tomorrow you borrow my car." " You don't lend anybody your car." " I'll lend you my car." "I want you to make a good impression." "You borrow my car, then you give her the test." "What, the Mario test?" "Mario's a fucking psycho." "Why do you listen to this kid?" "Give her my test, the door test." " What's the door test?" " Listen to me." "You pull up right where she is, right?" "Before you get out of the car, you lock both doors." "You get out of the car, you walk over to her." "You bring her over to the car." "You take out the key, put it in the lock, open the door for her." "Then you let her get in." "Then you close the door for her." "You walk around the back of the car and look through the rear window." "If she doesn't reach over and lift up that button so you can get in, dump her." " Just like that?" " Listen to me, kid." "If she doesn't reach over, lift up that button for you so you can get in, she's a selfish broad and all you're seeing is the tip of the iceberg." "Dump her and dump her fast." "What about the beautiful things you just told me?" "Do what my heart tells me to do." "Find someone to put wind in my sails." "She could be a great one." "Bullshit, kid." "The door test, that's what counts." "You dump her, and you dump her fast." " Dump her?" " Dump her." "Dump her?" " Dad." "Can I ask you something?" " Yeah." "I need your opinion." "You know Joey Osso from down the block?" "Yeah." "He asked me what I thought about him going out with a coloured girl." " What do you think about that?" " Joey can't find any white girls?" "That's not a good answer, Dad." "What's the problem?" "I get along with everybody on the bus, but when it comes to marriage, we should marry within our own." " You know I'm not prejudiced..." " Don't tell me that, cos you are." "What would you say if I wanted to go out with a coloured girl?" "You would never do that." "You never know." "This girl might be one of the great ones." "You're only allowed three great women in your lifetime, know what I'm saying?" " Who told you that?" " Joey Osso." " Joey Osso?" " Hmm." "You tell Joey Osso that sometimes in the heat of passion, the little head tells the big head what to do, and that the big head should think twice about it." "All right." "Be careful." " You OK?" " No." "My brother got beat up in your neighbourhood." "What are you talking about?" "Yesterday, some Italian guys beat up my brother in your neighbourhood." " What's that have to do with me?" " Were you there?" " No, I wasn't there." " Calogero, please don't lie to me." "Jane, I'm telling you the truth." "I wasn't there." "We'll see who's lying." "My brother's in the car." "I told him I was going out with an Italian, so he came along." "He recognized you and said you beat him up." " You did that to his face." " I didn't touch your brother." " Believe me, I didn't touch him." " OK, we'll see." "Willy!" "We'll get this straight right now." "Yeah, that's him." "That's him." "You did this to me, man." " I didn't do anything..." " Yes, you did!" " Are you sure it was him?" " I'm positive!" "Please don't believe him." "I didn't touch him." " So you were there?" " But I didn't do anything, Jane." " Believe me..." " You told me you weren't there!" "It was the other guys." "I tried to help him." " How did my eye get like this?" " I tried to fucking help you!" " Bullshit, man!" " You know I didn't do anything." " Why were you on top of me?" " It was the others!" " It was you!" " I was the only guy helping you." " And you fucking repay me like this?" " Fuck that!" "No, fuck you, man!" "I didn't do anything!" "Fuck you, you fucking nigger!" "See what I'm talking about?" "Just like the rest of them!" "How come you're back so fast?" "The keys are in the car." "I gotta go." "Whoa!" "Wait a minute." "Come here." "What happened?" "It just didn't work out." "I gotta go." " What happened with the girl?" " Everything went wrong." " You wanna go to the trotters with us?" " No." "I don't wanna talk." "I gotta go." " C, you sure?" "Come on." " Maybe next time, Sonny." "Come on." " Take my car." "Bobby, you drive." " OK, Sonny." " Why are you driving Sonny's car?" " What are you talking about?" "What am I talking about?" "I just saw you driving Sonny's car." " I don't want you driving his car." " I'm not in the mood to hear this." "I don't care." "We already talked about the bikers and that fight in that bar." " I don't want you in that bar." " What was I gonna do, run away?" " Make them think I got no heart?" " You think those guys care?" "What make you think you're so special?" " You don't know Sonny." " I know how he thinks." "You fuck up, he'll hurt you like anybody." " Sonny trusts me." " That man can't trust anybody." "The sooner you know that the better." "How many times do I have to tell you?" "People don't respect him." "They fear him." "There's a big difference." "You wanna be somebody?" "Be somebody who works and takes cares of his family." "Yeah, look away." "Look..." "You're my only son." "I'm looking out for your best interests." "The saddest thing in life is wasted talent." " I don't wanna hear this." " You don't but you're gonna hear it." "I might not have any money, I might not have a Cadillac, but I don't have to look over my shoulder." "I don't answer to anybody." "My parents came here with nothing..." " And they died with nothing." " Hey!" "Don't you dare disrespect your grandparents!" "Do you hear me?" "And you're wrong." "They tried to give me a better life." " That's what I'm trying to..." " What better life?" "We don't even own a car!" "We ain't got money, we ain't got nothing!" "Don't take it out on me cos you're a bus driver." "The working man is a sucker!" "Hey, C. Look what these black motherfuckers did to our club." "You believe the balls on these niggers, throwing eggs at our club?" "Come on, get in the car." "We're gonna go fuck them up." "Come on, get in the car." " Uh-oh, Sonny and Jimmy!" " Oh, shit!" "Back off!" "Get out of here!" "What's going on, Sonny?" "After you picked up my car, where did you go?" "I drove around and went to pick up Jane." "Why?" " Was there really a Jane?" "Talk to me!" " Sonny, what is it?" "After you dropped that car off, it didn't start." "We lifted the hood and there was something on the engine." "It didn't go off." "Tell me how that got on there, and where did you go in my car!" "I picked it up, I drove right to the school and I locked the doors like you told me." "Don't lie to me!" "Where did you go with my car?" "I didn't do anything!" "I swear, Sonny!" "Please!" " Don't fucking lie to me!" " I didn't do anything!" "I swear, I just went right to the school and that was it!" "I swear to God!" "Why would I hurt you?" "You've been like a father to me!" "Calogero?" "Hey!" "Calogero!" "Calogero!" " What happened to my son?" " Go drive your bus." " Don't tell me to drive my bus!" " Take it easy!" "Put your hands on me, I'll stick you in the fucking ground!" "Next time find out what's going on before you open your mouth." "Yo, C!" "Come here." " What happened with you and Sonny?" " Nothing." "I don't wanna talk about it." " Where'd you get this car?" " Don't worry about it." "We borrowed it." "Hey, slow down!" "Slow the fuck down." "I don't wanna get pinched before we get there." " I know." "I'm not driver for nothing." " We're in a hot car." "Slow down." "Fuck you!" "I know what I'm doing." "Don't worry about it." " What's that smell?" " We made those niggers a cocktail." "Look at these fucking beauties." "We're gonna teach those motherfuckers a lesson." " We're gonna finish the job." " Throwing eggs at our joint?" "They'll see." "Here, Ralphie, take this." " Why don't you give me the big one?" " Take that and shut the fuck up!" "I'll take these motherfuckers!" "I hate them!" "I'll kill them!" "Ralphie, what are you doing, lighting a cigarette?" " Relax!" "What the fuck?" " You got the cocktails at your feet!" "You take me as a jerk-off?" "Relax." "I know what the fuck I'm doing." "I can't wait to see the look on these motherfuckers' faces." "I can't wait..." "They were all smiling." "I was too, but I was dying inside." "I wanted out, but I couldn't get out of the car." "What was I going to say?" ""Let me out." "I'm afraid." "I'm a chicken."" "I could never go back to that neighbourhood." "They would call me a punk, a dog, a mutt." "They would say I got no heart." "I kept hearing my father's voice in my head. "Don't blow it, son." ""These people will hurt you, son." "Don't waste your talent, son."" "Then I kept hearing Sonny's voice." ""Be careful, C. Don't lose it, C. Keep your head, C."" "Somebody pulled the chain, and I was going down the fucking toilet." "They wanna throw eggs at our club?" "We'll give them a big surprise." " C, out of the car." " Sonny, come on, he's with us." "Mind your business, you." "C, outta the car." "Sonny, he's with us..." " Come on." "Move." " My nose!" "Fuck!" "For the last time, stay away from this kid." "I can't believe it." "After all this time, you don't even trust me?" "Listen." "It's not that I don't trust you." "No, I'm not gonna listen." "You don't even believe there was a Jane." "It coulda been in the car when I picked it up." "Me and Jane coulda got killed." "You never thought that, did you?" " Don't you trust anybody?" " No." "It's a horrible way to live." "For me, it's the only way." "Not for me." "Oh, C. Some fine-looking black chick was just here looking for you." " She just went around the corner?" " If you hurry, you'll catch her." " Come here." "Come here!" " Told you." " You want me to go get him?" " No, leave him alone." "Jane!" "Hi." "My brother told me the truth." "You did try to help him." "I told you." "I know." "But he took it out on you." "It's OK." "I understand how he felt." "I'm glad you understand." "Mind your own damn business!" "Get back in your house!" "Let them stare." "Give me your hand." "Come on, give me your hand." " Glad you came to see me." " I missed you." "I missed you too." "I think you're beautiful." "Stop." "No, I really do." "I want to be with you, and I don't care what anybody says." " Can I have a kiss?" " Sure." "That's not a kiss." "This is a kiss." " Do you know how to make sauce?" " What?" "You know, sauce for macaroni?" "Shut up." "I'm really sorry about what happened." " My brother didn't mean it." " Where's your car?" "Give me the keys!" "We gotta go!" " What are you talking about?" " We gotta get there." "Yes!" "I knew you were one of the great ones." "Great ones?" "What are you talking about?" "Never mind." "It's an Italian thing." "Come on, come on." "Hurry up, make a U-turn over here." "Go by in front." "What the fuck are they doing in our neighbourhood?" "Get it out!" "Be careful, guys." " What's happening?" " What happened?" " Four white guys just got blown up." " White guys got killed, that's what." "Willy, are you all right?" "Yeah, I'm all right." "They started out as white, now they're toast, motherfuckers!" "They look better now, right?" "They left something for you in the trunk!" "Take a look." " Get the fuck outta here!" " Get out of our neighbourhood!" "Fucking pussy-ass motherfucker!" "Don't say shit, man!" "Get the fuck outta the neighbourhood!" "When I think about it, I don't know if I should've been happy or sad." "Happy because I was alive or sad because my friends were dead." "But one thing I knew was I was grateful." "Grateful because of Sonny." "Sonny!" "Listen, Jane, I gotta go." " I just gotta go." "You OK?" " Yeah, man." " Listen, I'm sorry." " Jive-ass white motherfucker!" "Jane, I gotta go." "You don't understand." "I was in that car." "Just go." "The boys are about to go crazy." "What the fuck you looking at?" "Fuck that bitch too!" "Go." "Get the fuck out of the neighbourhood!" "He saved my life." "I had to tell him." "I wanted to thank Sonny." "He saved my life." "C, I swear, my grandmother's still sick." "I'll give you the 20 next week." "Forget the 20!" " You know where Sonny is?" " I don't give a fuck where he is!" "I'm losing here!" "What are you breaking my balls for?" "C, he's in the front." " Sonny!" "Sonny!" " C!" "Come here!" " Sonny!" " Let him through!" "Let my boy through." "Come here!" " Sonny!" " Get over here, come here." "All I could see was these big smiling faces." "All of a sudden, out of all of these smiling faces, there was this one face." "I couldn't understand why I kept looking at this one face, and then I realized why:" "He wasn't smiling." "All I could see was this guy, and nobody could see him but me." "Come on, C!" "No!" "Come here!" "Get an ambulance!" "The guy that killed Sonny was the son of the man that he killed eight years earlier in front of my house." "There were flowers all over the place." "Gangsters have this thing about flowers." "They think whoever sends the biggest arrangement cares the most." " John and Anthony from Detroit." " How are you?" "Did you see the way he went down, bom-bom-bang?" "It was just like Sonny said it would be." "Nobody cares." "I'm sorry, C, but we got to close up now." "Jerry, could you give me a couple more minutes?" "OK." "I'll be in my office." "How are you doing, Sonny?" "Not so good, huh?" "She passed the test." "That's what I wanted to tell you." "She might be my first great one." "And I'm gonna go out with her." "Thanks for helping me." "I wanna thank you for saving my life." "I never got a chance to tell you." "They all died." "Slick, Aldo, Mario, Ralphie." "All of them." "Sorry, I thought I was alone." "I'm just thinking out loud." "That's OK." "It's understandable." "This man here is a great man." "He saved my life." " You Lorenzo the bus driver's kid?" " Yeah." " C, right?" " Yeah." "Sonny told me all about you." "Sorry, but I don't even know who you are." "My name is Carmine." "We go back a long way together, Sonny and me." "He saved my life too once." "You don't remember me, do you?" "Many years ago?" "In front of your house?" "You don't remember this?" "You were the guy who got hit with the baseball bat, right?" "Yeah, I remember." "I was there." "I saw the whole thing." "I know, kid." "Sonny told me what you did." "Listen, I've been away." "But I'll be in the neighbourhood now taking care of things for a while." "You need anything, come and see me at the bar, OK?" "I think I'll give the bar a rest for a while, but thanks anyway." "It's OK." "I understand." "Was that fight really over a parking space?" "No." "Don't forget." "You need anything, come to the bar and see me." " Anything." " All right." "So long, kid." "Dad, what are you doing here?" "I came to pay my respects to your friend." " Are you OK?" " Yeah." "Dad, I'm sorry if I ever hurt you in any way." "That's OK." "Everything's gonna be OK." "Sonny, I want to thank you for saving my kid's life." "I never hated you." "I guess it's that I was mad at you because you made him grow up so fast." "May God have mercy on your soul." "I'll wait over here." "Sonny, did you hear that?" "My father didn't hate you." "Nobody cares, huh?" "You were wrong about that one." "Wasted talent." "See you around, Sonny." "Let's go home, C." "Sonny and my father always said that when I get older I would understand." "Well, I finally did." "I learned something from these two men." "I learned to give love and get love unconditionally." "You just have to accept people for what they are." "And I learned the greatest gift of all." "The saddest thing in life is wasted talent." "And the choices that you make will shape your life forever." "But you can ask anybody from my neighbourhood and they'll just tell you." "This is just another Bronx tale."