Prizzi's Honor Read Online Free PDF Page A

never be able to find it again—not that he doubted it existed, but he felt himself being pulled forward so fast that there could never again be any place he could go back to.
    It must be a spic place, he thought, because the waiter looked it and Irene asked him to bring something in what must have been Puerto Rican, which she rattled off.
    “What’s he getting us?”
    “You should see your face, Charley. It’s got itself all set to resist something foreign.”
    “Yeah? Well, what is it?” He tried not to look worried or like a troublemaker.
    “Fresh pineapple juice and rum from a blender.”
    “Say that name again.”
    “ Jugo de piña con Bacardi .”
    “A Puerto Rican drink?”
    “I suppose so. I’ve only had it in Cuba.”
    “That was Cuban you were telling the waiter? It sounds just like Puerto Rican.”
    They had another round. Delicious, Charley thought, and it tasted healthy. She got him to eat something called combo nachos and they were terrific. They laughed a lot, which make Charley feel tremendous because nobody else had ever thought he was funny. Very otherwise, in fact. After a while he got around to the nitty.
    “You married?” he asked her.
    “Not really.”
    “Even fake I want to know about.”
    “I was married once.” She shrugged it off. “About four years ago. Then he left me and I don’t know where he is. And I don’t want to know.”
    “ He left you ?”
    “Crazy, right? He just had a short attention span.”
    “What’s that?”
    “I suppose he got bored with me.”
    “Im poss ible!” Charley raised his voice and it almost shook the terrace furniture. People stopped eating. They looked around. Irene started to giggle, then she put her hand over his and looked right at him. “I was lucky it worked out that way,” she said.
    “I could find him.”
    “Let him stay lost.”
    “You might want to get married again someday.”
    “Could be. But until that time comes, I don’t want to know about him.”
    “Marriage shouldn’t be like that,” Charley said. “I know it is a lot of times but that’s not the way. I mean, my mother and my father had a marriage. It made me happy all the time she was alive. I get mad when I hear about the other kind and when it happens to you it tears up the whole road for me. I mean, I hate the guy for walking out on you, but I’m glad he walked out on you.”
    “I think the way you think about marriage. My mother and my father had a terrible marriage, but even then I could see how it could have been different. Anyway, I like your jacket, Charley.”
    “You like it? It’s my cousin Paulie’s tailor. He’s in the movie business so I figured he should know. Not that I wear it much. New York, well they dress differently in New York. A jacket like this would stand out in New York. You don’t want clothes for that. In fact, flash is bad. My father used to tell me that twice a week when I was a kid. He means all flashfront stuff but what he was saying to me is it’s better to stand out because of what you are and how serious you are than to let clothes or cars or diamond rings do it for you. For men, that is,” he added quickly.
    “He’s right, Charley.”
    “How come you aren’t a wop and I meet you at Teresa Prizzi’s wedding?”
    “The bishop who married them wasn’t a wop.”
    “He wasn’t? Oh, yeah. He was a Polack.”
    “You think maybe I’m not a wop because my father was Polish?” She beamed on him.
    “Walker is a Polish name?” He was astounded.
    “It was Walcewicz. I was born Maida Walcewicz, but I shortened it.”
    “I figured maybe you went to college with Maerose.”
    “Something like that. How long will you be in LA?”
    “Maybe till Tuesday.”
    “Do you have to get back?”
    “Well, yeah. I’m in olive oil and cheese.” He thought he caught a flicker of amusement in her eyes as he said that. He wondered, briefly, just how well she did know the family. “What business you in, you can afford a car like