"Me? Yeah."
"You are?" Daniel asked, turning and looking at Billy again. "What happened? What'd he say?"
"I just talked to him," Billy said.
"Did you work with him? Was Dizzy there? Did you hit the bag?"
"We did a little work in the ring, but not much. He wouldn't let me swing hard or anything. Because of my head."
"What'd he say to you?" Daniel said.
"That he wanted me to come back."
"He did? When?"
"Anytime. He doesn't want me to do anything physical just yet—not until my cut heals."
Daniel let out a little laugh like that was asking the impossible of someone like Billy. "You didn't tell him you have to get back to work, bustin' skulls."
Daniel was big for his age, but he was younger, more innocent than Billy. He was physically as big as Billy was, but he was like a giddy teenager around the older guy. Billy had come into his life to deliver a threatening message, and yet Daniel seemed to be a fan.
"That's exciting," I said, changing the conversation from busting skulls. I looked straight at Billy. "Do you think you'll get into it? Boxing at that gym?"
"It's hard to say right now, but yeah, I feel like I want to."
"That's amazing," Daniel said. "I can't believe you actually showed up." He smiled and started doing some tiny boxing moves with his fists clinched over the table, blocking his own face. "You're gonna love it. If I wasn't joining the Army, I'd stay home and be a fighter. Coach Jones had ten guys become Golden Gloves champs over the years. Some of them went pro. He's one of the best, and he's right here across the street from me. A lot of people go over there. Even people who aren't going pro. There are old guys and even kids learning to box. Even the sheriff goes over there. You want to go pro?" Daniel asked, with wide eyed excitement. "Did Coach Jones say he thought you could? He told me I could one day, if I worked at it. He said I have heart. I got guts. I just need about fifty more pounds."
Daniel was right. He was skinny for a boxer.
He continued to shadowbox lightly, proving his confidence. "If you stick with it for a couple of years, Coach will give you a nickname and a pair of silk shorts with your name on them. And then, you'll wake up ten years down the road with a boxing title and a whole mountain of money." Daniel looked at Abigail and me. "This is assuming you work at it every day," he clarified. "Coach Marvin said you can't go pro without total commitment."
"I got the nickname already," Billy said. "I guess all I need is a pair of silk shorts, and I'm ahead of the game."
"What do you mean you have a nickname?" Daniel said, getting serious as he pulled back to regard Billy. "You can't just tell them a nickname. I'm talking about a fight name. It's different than a nickname. That's not something you give yourself. Coach has to give it to you. It's, like, an official thing. You have to work with him for a long time."
Billy pointed over his shoulder toward Marvin's gym. "He told me some kind of nickname just now."
"Who did? Coach?"
"Marvin, yes," Billy said.
"I don't think so," Daniel said, shaking his head. "I'm not going pro, but I still want a nickname. I've asked Coach Dizzy to talk to Coach Jones about giving me one, but nothing so far. I want to have one before I go off to the Army so I can tell those guys what it is."
"Why can't you just give yourself one?" Billy asked, shrugging, "No one in the Army would ever know the difference."
"I'd know the difference," Daniel said.
Betty came and set our plates in front of us as we were talking. She said something about leaving extra butter and jelly, and we thanked her.
"What did Coach say?" Daniel asked, still thinking about everything. "When he gave you a nickname? Was it just Billy? Are you talking about Billy being short for William?"
"No, he gave me some other name."
"What was it?" Daniel asked, with a disbelieving expression.
"Easy. He said Easy Billy or whatever. I don’t know if that's the kind of name you were talking about, but that was what he called me."
We all started eating our food. "Easy Billy?" Daniel said around a mouth full of food. "What made him call you that?"
"He was telling me to go easy because of my cut."
"Oh, no, that's not your fight name, then. He was just probably messing around."
"It doesn't matter," Billy said with a shrug. "I don't really care about the nickname or the silk shorts. But I will take the mountain of money."
Chapter 8
Abigail and I sat there and ate lunch with Billy Castro and Daniel King. They both grew up here in Galveston, and they each saw a couple of people they recognized. Our table had a few different visitors while we ate.
They didn't know each other, so we all four made small talk. They asked me questions about art, and I told them that I had been practicing for a few months at home, but basically, I was just getting started. They asked about our hometown, and we asked about Galveston.
Daniel talked about boxing, and Billy seemed really interested in learning. He asked questions, and Daniel recounted stories about things he had heard in the gym. They had a big brother-little brother thing going on, and I could tell Daniel was excited that he had information Billy wanted.
We ate together, but the diner was busy, so we paid our tickets and left once we were finished. We all paid separately. It was the most logical thing to do. Billy did look at me more and longer than he looked at my sister, though. He and I had shared several long moments of eye contact while Daniel talked. My heart had raced in those moments. I wanted to get to know Billy. I wanted to paint a picture of him. He was the kind of guy I could easily have a crush on. And maybe I already did.
The four of us walked out of the diner together. Billy's Mustang was parked on the same side of the street as the diner, so we walked that way. It was a dark gold color, like sparkling honey. It was like new, and he kept it clean. I had fully checked it out earlier when he had first pulled up.
"Come hang out with me, Tess," he said, turning to me as we approached his car.
Goodness. Honestly. My name being said by Billy's voice. It made my knees weak.
"And do what?" I asked, even though I'd just about do anything.
He shrugged. "I don't know. I was going home. My roommates are probably there, so you don't have to worry about us being alone."
"I should probably go, too, though," Abigail said.
I knew her well enough to know that the idea of Billy's roommates seemed promising.
Billy smiled at my sister. "Do you two go everywhere together or something?"
"No, not back at home," I said. "But at the same time, I don't know about leaving her here just yet." I gestured down the street at our apartment building.
"I'm fine," Abigail insisted.
"Yeah, she's fine," Daniel said.
"It's you I was worried about," Abigail added.
"I want to go," I said.