Their two adversaries exchanged a glance. One of them raised an eyebrow; the other heaved a sigh of relief. For a moment there, they’d been afraid they were about to lose the game. Now they smiled.
From that position, Claudio really had an impossible shot. He walked around the table. He studied all the relative distances. Difficult. He’d have to make a four-cushion shot. He stood there in a corner, leaning on the edge of the table with both hands.
“What do you care? Give it a try.” Claudio turned around. Step was right behind him. He’d understood what Claudio was thinking as if he’d just read his mind.
“Yes, but four cushions…”
“So what? Worst case, we lose…But if you make it, just think how bad they’re going to feel!”
Claudio and Step looked at their two adversaries. They’d ordered a couple of beers, and they were sitting there, at a table nearby, already drinking, certain of their victory.
Claudio started to laugh. “Right, what do we care, worst case, we lose!” By now, he was drunk. He went over to the other side of the table. He chalked his cue stick and took the shot. The cue ball seemed to fly over the green felt.
First cushion. Claudio thought back to the many afternoons he’d spent shooting pool.
Second cushion, he thought of his old friends and how they’d hang out together all the time.
Third cushion, the girls, the money he didn’t have, and how much fun they all had.
Fourth cushion. His lost youth, Francesca, and when he was still seventeen…
Just then the cue ball hit the ten ball full on from behind with power, confidence, and precision. A dull thwack. The ten ball shot forward, into the middle pocket.
“Nailed it!”
“Yahooo!” Claudio and Step hugged in delight.
“Fuck, look at the luck you had. Look where you left the cue ball,” Step said.
The cue ball stood directly in front of the yellow one ball, just inches from the far pocket. Claudio knocked it in with an easy shot.
“We won!” Claudio hugged Francesca and even managed to swing her through the air. Then, dancing with his arms around her, he bumped into one of their two adversaries.
“Get the fuck away from me.” The guy gave Claudio a shove, knocking him against the pool table. Francesca leaped right back up onto her feet. Claudio, slightly stunned, took a little longer.
The guy grabbed him by the lapels and hauled him up. “Smart guy, huh? ‘It’s been years since the last time I played’…‘Guys, I’m all out of practice,’” he mimicked.
Claudio was terrified. He just stood there, uncertain what to do. “I haven’t played in years, for real.”
“Oh, sure! Well, from that last shot I wouldn’t say so.”
“It was dumb luck.”
“Hey, that’s enough. Let go of him.” The guy pretended he hadn’t heard Step. “I said let go of him.”
Suddenly Claudio felt himself being dragged backward. He found himself free now, with his jacket loose again.
He caught his breath while the other guy was slammed up against the wall. Step had one hand around his throat. “What are you, deaf? I’m not looking for an argument. Come on, out with the two hundred thousand lire. You guys insisted on playing.”
The other guy stepped forward with the cash in his hand. “You tricked us though. That guy plays ten times better than Pollo.”
Step took the money, counted it, and put it in his pocket. “That’s true, but don’t blame me. I didn’t even know the guy.”
Then he locked arms with Claudio, and together they emerged from the pool hall, victorious.
Claudio ordered another whiskey. This time, it was to get over his fright. “Thanks, Step. Heck, that guy wanted to knock my teeth out.”
“No, he was just acting. He was just furious about losing!”
“No, no, thanks, for real.”
Step smiled. “Here, Claudio. This is your hundred thousand lire.”
“No, seriously, I can’t accept it.”
“Why not? Fuck, you basically won the game! And you were even taking the beating for it.”
“All right, in that case, let’s have a nice drink to it. On me.”
Not long after that, seeing the condition Claudio was in, Step walked him to his car. “Are you sure you can drive home?”
“Absolutely, don’t worry about it.”
“You’re sure, aren’t you? It doesn’t cost me anything to ride along with you.”
“No, seriously, I’m fine.”
“All right, if you say so. Nice game, huh?”
“Wonderful!” Claudio smiled and then he started to shut the car door. Suddenly, someone started shouting.
“Claudio, wait!” It was Francesca. “What are you doing, leaving without even saying goodbye?”
Claudio apologized. “You’re right. It was just that so many things happened all at once.”
Francesca pushed her head in the car and gave him a kiss on the lips. Then she pulled away and smiled at him. “All right then, ciao. See you around. Come see me sometime. I’m always here.”
Claudio looked at her, stunned. “Sure I will.”
Then he shut the door, started the car, and pulled away. He opened the car window. The cool night air was pleasant. He pushed a cassette tape into the stereo and lit a cigarette.
Then, completely drunk, he slammed both hands hard on the steering wheel. “Wow! Fuck, what a shot! And what a babe…”
Suddenly he felt happy in a way he hadn’t in a long, long time. Then, as he got closer to home, he grew sad again. He started trying to think of what he could tell Raffaella. He pulled into the garage, still undecided about the official version to supply.
Backing into that narrow space, already difficult when sober, proved impossible when drunk. As he got out of the car, he looked at the scratch along the side and the Vespa knocked over against the wall. He lifted it upright, apologizing aloud. “Poor Princess Savina, I dented your Vespa.”
Then he went upstairs. Raffaella was there, waiting for him. It was the worst interrogation of his life, worse than the third degree in a cop movie. Raffaella was playing bad cop and nothing else. The good cop, the one who acts like your friend and offers you a glass of water or a cigarette, that role had been abolished in this movie.
“Well, do you mind telling me how it went? Come on, tell the story!”
“It went fine. In fact, it went fantastic. Step is a very decent guy, deep down, a good boy. There’s nothing to worry about.”
“What do you mean, there’s nothing to worry about? He broke Accado’s nose.”
“Oh, maybe he was provoked. How are we supposed to know? Plus, Raffaella, let’s face facts. Accado is a real pain in the ass…”
“What are you talking about? Didn’t you tell him to stay away from our daughter, that he can’t see her, talk to her, or go pick her up at school?”
“Well, no, actually, we never got to that point.”
“Then what did you say to him? What have you done all evening? It’s midnight!”
Claudio gave in and confessed. “We played pool. Just think, sweetheart, we beat a couple of boasters! I sank the last two balls. I even won a hundred thousand lire. Cool, right?”