While I am occasionally less than complimentary when referrin’ to Nunzio’s long-winded tendencies, there are times when I am truly grateful for his talent for shovelin’ … like now. Even bein’ as aware as I am of the truth of the matter, that the Boss has probably overlooked his agreement with Don Bruce completely when givin’ us this assignment, I am not sure I could separate fact from guff in my cousin’s rendition, even with the aid of a pry bar.
“That Skeeve!” Don Bruce laughs, hittin’ the bar with his fist in his enthusiasm. “Can you see why I love him? He’s really trying to do all this on his own … just for me? I’ll tell you, boys …”
He glances around, then hunches forward before continuin’.
“You have no idea how much grief the other Mob bosses have been giving me because of that agreement. Especially the boss of the Island Mob.”
“You mean Don Ho?” I sez.
“That’s right,” Don Bruce nods. “Even the boss of the senior citizens’ Mob … Don Amechie! They’ve all been on my case. I’m just surprised that Skeeve was aware of it. I keep telling you, that boy’s got real promise. You know what an organization as big as ours needs the most?”
“Leadership,” Nunzio and me answer at the same time.
“Lead … Hey! That’s right!” the Don sez, blinkin’ at us in surprise. “You know, you boys have been shaping up pretty well yourselves since you started working for Skeeve. Maybe I should start giving some thought to setting you up with your own operations.”
It occurs to me that this promotion thing is gettin’ totally out of hand.