I'm not exactly sure when this story occurred. John was already hell bent on the fact that he was going to open his own bar.. which he always was, since I met him. . But by this point, he was actually shopping around options and looking for properties and possible investors. He really meant it.
He had this group of "friends" that I really didn't like. The main character that I knew of this crew went by the title of Uncle "A". I couldn't stand him. He was arrogant and obnoxious, and a right fighter-- once he had 2 or 3 drinks in him, he'd argue with anyone about anything, anytime, just to prove that he knew more and he knew better. Oh, I couldn't stand him. I didn't understand why we ever socialized with him. I would inevitably argue with him over nonsense every time we were with him. Over stupid shit. Pizza dough recipes.. Who was more schooled in Spanish cuisine.. such nonsense. But the guy loved to argue. And truthfully, so do I. Especially when I'm dealing with a male chauvinist idiot like Uncle A.
God, I'd love to smack that stupid mustache off him even now, like, 6 years later.
But, for some reason, John enjoyed his company. I knew that Uncle A was a good regular of his when John was a bartender at R'O'G'y's.. So I guess he must have felt some loyalty. Must have been a good tipper. I get that. I was a waitress at the Sheraton for a good many years and felt a strong loyalty to my regulars, whether I loved their "real" personalities or not. When someone is literally paying your rent with their tips from month to month, you tend to give them a little more of your time of day than the other customers. Long story short, I got it. We "had" to deal with Uncle A from time to time to keep the money coming in. Ok.
And then, things started getting shady. John told me one night, that Uncle A and his buddies were taking us out to dinner. We were gonna paint the town. We should get dressed up, and they were gonna pick us up a X'clock. Dress nice. Nice. Ok, finally this schmuck was gonna make it all up to us. We got dressed, and went to the hotel bar next door to our apartment to grab a drink while we waited for Uncle A. Before we knew it, a limo was outside waiting for us. Sweet.
The men all get out, to let the lady in (me, the lady, ha!). And we were on our way. It wasn't going to be a long ride. We lived smack in the middle of midtown, and we were headed to the upper east side- a 5 minute ride at best. In this time, fancy cigars were lit, and ridiculous snifters were filled. Seriously? Seriously.
We got out at this great Italian restaurant that I had actually been to before. I knew the food and service were great, so I was psyched. I do love the whole experience of eating. I really do.
One guy got out first and went inside, he assured all was set, and in a few seconds, the rest of us followed... after me, of course since I was the only "lady" in the group.
I'm gonna get to the short n skinny of it all, simply because I don't want to further glorify what goes on when these guys go out. We were treated like royalty. The "No Smoking" ban had JUST taken place in NYC before this, and yet, the waiter brought me an ashtray at "W"'s request. No one else in the restaurant was allowed to smoke, but since W knew that I did, I was encouraged to do so, and so I did. Because that's what you do when you're with these people. You do what is expected of you.
We ate ridiculous amounts of delicious foods, and drank the best of the best of their wine list. We stayed well after the restaurant was closed and tried different drinks and fancy foods and what not. It was crazy. An experience to remember.
After all was said and done, eventually, we were brought home. Lots of hugs and kisses, and finally, home.
This is when I grabbed John by the face. Ah, you realize what the fuck was going on tonight, right?
Him: Yeah, they were wining an dining us because they want to invest in me and a restaurant.
Me: Right. they want an Irish American Pink Faced sweater vest wearing FRONT for their business! you get that, right? You DO realize what the fuck just happened, right?
Him: mm, yeah, I guess so.
Me: Dude! Are you serious? Are you fucking kidding me? Are you that stupid???
After all was said and done, I convinced him that these dudes were only after him for his shiny pink face and that it would be a reeeeally bad idea to go into business with them because of the repercusions that would be inevitable. You tangle with the mob, you ain't gonna win.
..
....
I really thought I had gotten through to him. I was convinced that I knew better than him and that he was so naive that he didn't realize what was happening.
He knew very well. I can't even believe it now, as I write this. He was interviewing fucking mob guys way back in the day when we weren't even living together. He had it all planned out. Stupid fuck... me, I mean. I shoulda run then.
Yup. He knew, way back in the day that he would be using dirty money to open "our" bar. As I'm typing this, I'm kindof dumbfounded. Oh shit... he was NOT the naive guy that I was trying to protect.
I really *really* thought I was schooling John that night, of the fancy dinner, of how the mob works... I thought I was doing a good job of protecting him by pointing out what was actually going on.. thinking that he wasn't seeing it for what it was.
well surprise surprise. look who's a sucker now.
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