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He has his Smith & Wesson revolver with him, an old-school gun, holstered behind him on his belt. Is starting to reach for it with his right hand.
Too late.
Thirty-Six
BEN KALINSKY PICKS THE WINE.I let him because I can tell it’s important to him. I know from our previous nights out together that he knows a lot about wine. He knows a lot about a lot of things, actually.
Just not me.
If he did, we wouldn’t be here.
“What should we drink to?” he says after he’s tasted the wine, a Cabernet. “A win for you at the trial?”
“We can do better than that. How did your surgery go?”
“The labradoodle is going to make it.”
“Let’s drink to that. Even if it is a labradoodle.”
We do.
“You got something against them?”
I am about to tell him about my perfect doctor and her perfect dogs. But it’s like they say in court. Don’t open the door.
“Long story.”
“Why do I get the feeling that they’re all long stories with you?”
“Because they are. Longer than Russian novels sometimes.”
Somehow he looks all dressed up even just wearing a white long-sleeved shirt and jeans. We’ve made a deal to turn off our phones during dinner.
The East Hampton Grill is one of the best restaurants in the area, if not in the most glam location, next to the East Hampton firehouse, across from my dry cleaner on North Main, and a block from Moo Moo’s Ice Cream Shop, which is so good I’m convinced it’s run by the devil.
It’s got the look of a New York steak house, with a brick fireplace and dark paneling and a huge mural of the US flag on one of the walls. Huge mirror over the bar. The dim lighting is pretty much perfect, which means you don’t need a flashlight to read the menu.
We’re at a corner table.
Against all odds, I am happy to be here.
Not just here. Here with him.
Damn. I was afraid of that.
“So how’s it going?”
“Fine,” I say.
Way too quickly.
He smiles. It is a sweet smile. He is a sweet man. Can a vet have a good bedside manner?
“I meant the trial.”
“If one of us is going to talk shop, I’d rather it be you, Doc.”
“Your shop is way more interesting. I’ve been following the coverage. It sounds like it’s been a show.”
