At showtime, or what would’ve been showtime if there wasn’t a church sermon going first, the doors were opened and the audience poured inside. Winky and his crew took tickets, making sure that those who’d actually paid the thousand-dollar price got the good seats.
Winky was chewing on hot dogs as he took the tickets.
“Hey, I told you not to eat any more food from the concession stand,” Buggy said to Winky.
“I thought you meant my crew wasn’t allowed to,” Winky said, still eating his hot dog as he ripped ticket stubs. “You didn’t say anything about me personally.”
“That meant you as well. The hot dogs are for the customers.”
“But they’re really good hot dogs.”
“Then eat the leftovers after the show.”
The next in line was Uncle Jojo and a large group of clowns who were friends of the family. Jojo made eye contact with Buggy and didn’t break it for a second as he went through the line.
“How’s it going, Bugs?” asked Uncle Jojo as Winky ripped his ticket. “You’ve got quite the turnout tonight.”
Buggy nodded, feigning a smile. “Yes, it’s going to be quite a show.”
“Good, I’m happy it’s working out for you,” Jojo said. “But what’s this I hear about a money-back guarantee?”
Buggy looked around. He hoped none of the other people in line heard him. “That’s what Snuffy told people out of desperation to sell tickets.”
“So are you going to actually honor that if the show stinks?”
Buggy didn’t know how to respond to that. “I guess…”
“Good, because my boys and I will most likely be expecting a refund by the time it’s over,” Jojo said. “Just on the way over we were talking about how Goldstein couldn’t possibly still be any good after thirty years. He’s old and washed up. This show’s going to be a bore.”
“So you want your money back?”
“Cash would be preferable.”
“But I’m the one who gave you the tickets. You didn’t pay for them.”
“Haven’t you ever returned a Christmas present you didn’t like so you could have the cash instead? Same thing.”
Uncle Jojo just smiled as he moved on, stepping toward his seat with his men in tow.
“That miserable prick…,” Buggy said beneath his breath.
The underboss wasn’t only going to watch the show for free, but he was also planning to have Buggy pay him the twenty thousand that he didn’t even spend on the tickets. How somebody hadn’t already blown Jojo’s head off by then was beyond Buggy.
“I don’t care how bad the show is or how much people complain,” Buggy said to Winky. “Don’t give anybody their money back.”
“Even Jojo?”
“Especially not Jojo.”