A woman with a broom in her hand answered. Eugene removed his cap. “Hello, madam, I was wondering if you had a piano and if you needed someone to play it?”
The woman opened the door wider. “That was fast,” she said to herself. “Come in lad.” Walking over the threshold, Eugene said a quick thank you to St. Bridget and blessed himself.
“Hugh,” the woman yelled to a small table on the other side of the room, “You were just talkin’ about getting a piano player (she pronounced it piʹ-ano).”
“And, what of it woman,” Hugh answered, not bothering to look up. He was playing cards with another man dressed in a conductor’s uniform. The pot in the middle of the table was big, there were even some bills in it.
“This way,” the woman said. Eugene followed her across the bar, nervously fingering his cap with both hands. “Here he is then.” Hugh looked up and eyed Eugene suspiciously. “And who would you be?”
“He’s a piano player,” the woman stated with triumph.
“By Jaysus,” Hugh exclaimed. “I only just now uttered those very words. Remarkable.”
Eugene couldn’t keep his eyes off the pile of money on the table. He wished he hadn’t spent the tip the woman in mink had given him on food. There was enough in that pot to feed his family for a month. After all those years playing in speakeasies, he had become an expert card player.
He only swore it off after Kitty had told Monsignor Kelly about his gambling habit. It would have taken him hours to amass the money in the center of the table, still with luck it could be done.
“So, man,” Hugh said, laying his cards on the table – a full house, “do you think you could play that thing.” He nodded to a spot across the room. Eugene followed Hugh’s nod to a dark corner. There was an upright piano and a bench seat that looked like it hadn’t been used for years.
“Thank you, sir. I believe I could.” Eugene said, enthusiastically. He looked at the conductor sitting opposite to the man Hugh. “I took the trolley earlier this morning and told the operator I was looking for work as everybody is today.
REGINA | 90