Fly Me to the Morgue (29 page)
âYeah, well, I got my own appointment on Christmas, so I thought I'd call ya now. Your present's in the mail.'
âSo is yours,' I said. âWatching this DVD made me think back to that time when Bing Crosby tried to buy the horse.'
âThat whole thing started out great, with you takin' me to Del Mar, and then it turned into a mess.'
âYeah it did.'
âSo how you been feelin', Mr G?'
âOK, Jerry,' I said. âDiabetes is under control, so's the blood pressure. Say, when you gonna come out? It's been a few years.'
âYeah, I know,' he said. âI, uh, I got some stuff to take care of, but maybe, uh, next year . . .'
âWhat's goin' on, Jerry?'
âWhataya mean?'
âCome on, big guy. We've known each other a lot of years. I know when somethin's on your mind.'
âWell . . . I went to the doctor last week and they . . . found something.'
âWhat?'
âA lump . . . a mass, they called it.'
âJerryâ'
âNow don't worry, Mr G.,' he said. âI'm goin' into the hospital to get it removed, and to get a . . . whatchamacallit . . .'
âA biopsy?'
âRight, a biopsy.'
âDo they think it's cancer?'
âNah, they don't think it's nothin', but they wanna take it out, just in case. You know how doctors are . . .'
âJeez, Jerry . . . I'm sorry . . .' I did some math. Jerry was in his mid seventies. He still had plenty of life ahead of him. I was glad they didn't think it was serious, but still . . . Jerry was alone . . .
âThat's where Iâm gonna be on Christmas Day,' he said. âMight as well get it taken care of. I got no family to see around the holidays . . .'
âWell, you know,' I said, âI don't have any family here, either. Why don't I figure on spending the holiday in Brooklyn? I could come a few days early. You could take me for some Nathans, and pizza . . .'
â. . . and bagels,' he said.
âRight.'
âMr G.,' he said, and I could hear the relief in his voice, âthat would be really great.'
âHey, Jerry,' I said, âthat's what old friends are for. To have each other's backs, right?'
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