Epilogue

"So are ya happy?"

"Are you happy, Race?"

"This ain't about me, dummy. I ain't the one who's workin' in a bar instead of sellin' papes. Is your new life worth it or do ya miss the old one?"

Me and Spot are sitting in a bar—not O'Neill's, but some other bar I've never been to before—and I ain't had anything to drink but Spot's on his second whiskey. The poor guy needs it after that story he told me about Matchbox. He takes a swig from his glass, looking a little less broken, and shrugs his shoulders.

"Does it matter?" he says. "I'm still poor either way, and I still haven't got a family, so who cares if I sell papers or work in a bar? I'm just a dime a dozen, the same as you and every other poor fella in New York."

"Aw, don't say that. I mean, it's true and all, but it don't have to stay that way. You've still got a shot at becomin' another Pulitzer if you keep that ego."

Spot stares into his whiskey glass, though I can see the corners of his mouth twitching, like he wants to smile. "Why did ya have to keep botherin' me?" he asks.

I smirk at him. "Why's the sky blue?"

"Really, Race. Why'd ya do it?"

"Cause you're my pal, of course. Even though ya drove me nuts, bein' close-mouthed and tellin' me to beat it all the time. Ain't it better to get your problems off your chest?"

"Guess you're right."

I barely notice the shoddy bar stool I'm sitting on. I don't even care that some drunken mick is sitting right by me, getting ale in his beard. None of that really matters anymore. "Ya know, I'm thinkin' of quitting the papers," I say. "Maybe get a job down at the track or somethin'. You can see me as a bookie, can't ya?"

"A racetrack bookie named Racetrack," says Spot. "People will love it."

"Clearly I was made for the job."

Spot finishes his whiskey and stares into his glass again, studying the leftover drops at the bottom. "You're still my pal, ya know," he says. "Nothin' changes that."

For once in my life, I can't think of a wisecrack. "Thanks," I say. "You're still my pal too."

Author's Note: And that's it. Just a short little ending to tie everything up. Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed!