America's King of Poetry

Chapter 45 Party

The time has entered May, and summer has not followed the footsteps of spring.

A cold snap from the north washed over New York City, with the temperature dropping below 10 degrees Celsius overnight, forcing people to wear long clothes and trousers.The trees in the parks and streets are still bare, with their branches stretching out to stab at the blue sky. The greenness of New York usually does not come until the end of May.

However, the NBA playoffs of the 1994 season were still in full swing.

Since the team gave up Bernard King in the 1988 season and Patrick Ewing officially became the absolute core of the Knicks, they never missed the playoffs again, and in the 1992 season with Pat Riley in charge of the coach, they began to usher in their golden age in the 90s.When Riley arrived, everyone thought he would bring the Knicks the gorgeous offense of the Lakers show-time, but he made the Knicks into an iron-blooded defense team according to local conditions.

The strong Knicks with Ewing at the core rushed towards the championship time and time again, but they were still unable to overcome the mountains of the Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan.

They met for the first time in 1989, and the Bulls took away the Knicks 4:2. The second time they met in 1991, the Bulls were one of the strongest championship teams in playoff history, sending the New Yorkers home 3-0. In 1992, in Riley's first season, he dragged the defending champion Bulls to the tiebreaker, but lost by a big score in Game 1993.In 2, in the Eastern Conference finals, the Knicks led the Bulls 0:54. This was the closest they were to overthrowing the Bulls dynasty.But Jordan responded with [-] points in a game, and completely defeated the Knicks, pulling four games in a row and sending the Knicks home again.

The time came to 1994, May 5th, another weekend.The New York Knicks defeated the New Jersey Nets across the river 8:3 in the first round of the playoffs, and successfully advanced to the second round, the Eastern Conference semifinals.In the second game, the Knicks 1:90, with a 81-point advantage, defeated the opponent, and once again made the handicap let the dealer with 9 points win a big win.

In the semifinals, the Knicks faced the Chicago Bulls for the fourth time in six years, having lost all three.Fortunately, this time it was the Bulls without Michael Jordan.

In the afternoon, at a residence in Staten Island, the residence of Jackie Gandolfield, a big gang gathering was going on here.After the last meeting of the heads of the Five Families at Luciano's restaurant, the Italian underworld in the Greater New York area has entered into peace.As the titular leader, under the name of "enjoying peace", Jackie invites all the big and famous figures from big and small families to his home for dinner.

The aqua blue curtains of the house were pulled open, and a barbecue grill was placed on the grass in the backyard. Jackie took off his suit and wore a brown casual gown, with a cigar in his mouth, frying Italian sausage and steak for the guests as the host.He and his wife had divorced many years ago, and his wife had gone to Miami with their two children, and now the mistress of the house was his lover, Linda, a young woman with a fine dress and a charming smile, who was entertaining women and children in the house at this time.

Abramo sat on the deck chairs in the backyard chatting and drinking with several bigwigs and corner heads in New Jersey and New York.To be honest, today is not a good weather for a dinner party, the temperature is really a bit low.The beech branches around the courtyard are bare, and the fallen leaves on the ground have rotted in the mud. Occasionally, a few groups of pigeons come to peck at the mud.There are a lot of pigeons in the New York area, and there are a lot of pigeon owners in Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, and New Jersey.

Abramo pulled the chair and moved towards the grill. The flames of the grill could bring some warmth and make people more comfortable.He held a bottle of beer in his hand and blew a mouthful, which was a little cold.

"Hey, what's going on? What are you thinking about, Luka?" Paul, the head of the family, came over and pushed Abramo and asked.

Paul is Abramo's most capable subordinate. He is loyal, fast-talking, violent but has his own principles. He has never been married and lives with his old mother.He is also a good friend of Abramo who grew up with him. If it weren't for him, Abramo wouldn't know Connie, and he wouldn't be on the road of gangs.

"It's nothing, I just feel a little cold..." As he spoke, he took another sip of beer, obviously absent-minded.

There was a reason for his absent-mindedness, for Arthur was in the kitchen preparing dessert for the party.After losing the bet with Jackie last time, Arthur came to cook for Jackie as agreed.After receiving the news in advance, Arthur spent a week learning how to make desserts, honey balls, sabayon, and Sicilian cream sandwich chocolates.

But even if Arthur has a certain foundation, it is impossible to learn so many complicated Italian desserts in a short time.Just in case, Abramo recommended two well-known Italian chefs in Jersey to come over and take charge of the party's meals together, so as to share the pressure on Arthur.I don't know how he is busy in the back kitchen, and I don't know what Jackie thinks about Arthur.

It was getting late, and when it was dinner time, Jackie's mansion was brightly lit.Lights were lit by the swimming pool in the courtyard, the blue pool water was softly rippling, and melodious violin music sounded in the house.Jackie Gandolfiel is an arty guy, he has no interest in the popular songs that emerged in the 90s, and he always uses classical music to decorate his villa of plotting and crime.

In the living room, corridors, and stairs, New York’s gangsters, corner heads, and their wives, lovers, and children gathered in twos and threes to chat. Italian food, desserts, and fine wines were placed on long dining tables and small round tables for guests to enjoy.If you don't know this group of people, you might think it's a party for an upper-class family in New York, but it's actually a side of a gang of criminals living in luxury.

Arthur shuttled back and forth between the living room and the stairwell with a plate of desserts and champagne, his eyes gliding over everyone's faces inadvertently, comparing their appearance with the photos Russell gave him.Before participating in this party, Russell showed Arthur all the photos and information of the main figures of the major family forces. If you want to eliminate your opponents, you must understand them.

Needless to say, old acquaintances such as Masino and Gigandi, the leaders of various families who are in power have also arrived. They are the backbone of the gang.Arthur also saw Dio and Silves. Fat Dio stepped forward and squeezed a honey ball from Arthur's plate, stuffed it into his mouth, took a glass of champagne and drank it down, wiped his mouth with his greasy hands, patted Arthur's arm, and said: "This dress suits you very well! Hahaha!"

Arthur wore a white waiter's uniform tonight. He really couldn't help much in the back kitchen, and the difficulty of making Italian desserts was still very high.So he can only put on the waiter's uniform and come out as a waiter. He really likes this job, and he always sees people most clearly from the perspective of a bystander.

Not far away, Jackie beckoned to Arthur, and Arthur carried a plate to avoid two children running around, and walked around to the sofa and tea table near the French window balcony, where Jackie was sitting alone smoking.Arthur handed him a glass of wine, and Jackie got up from the sofa, pushed open the balcony door and walked to the balcony. Outside was the dark grass, and the beech branches stretched out their claws under the pale moonlight and dark blue night.

Jackie asked Arthur to come over. He took a sip of the champagne in his glass and asked, "Who do you favor for tonight's game? The Knicks or the Bulls?"

Arthur remembered the Eastern Conference semifinals between the Knicks and the Bulls tonight. After losing to Jackie last time, Arthur asked Abramo to make two bets for him. They both followed the dealer, making two small profits and losing one.From this, Arthur understood that behind the Gandolfil family there must be a method of reading and predicting the game, and even controlling the game.

Arthur still had confidence in the 1994 playoffs. This year, the Knicks reached the finals. They defeated the Bulls with a big score of 4:3 in the semifinals.He couldn't remember the specific outcome of each game, but in the first game of the series, in New York, the Bulls did not have Jordan, and Arthur believed that the Knicks could win.

"I bet the Knicks win, let... 5 points." Arthur felt that the Knicks could still win by more than [-] points tonight.

"OK, I'll put the $5000 you lost last time on your account. Do you want to bet another $5? I bet the Knicks won't win by 4.5 points, so how about [-]?" Jackie took a puff on his cigar and blew a smoke ring. Tonight he was wearing glasses and looked very refined.

One more loss and Arthur would owe Jackie $1, which was a lot in 1994.Converted into RMB, it is close to 10 yuan. In China in 1994, 10 yuan was an out-and-out huge sum of money.Arthur didn't care about money. He wanted to know what Jackie was up to, so he agreed to the $5000 bet.Jackie nodded in satisfaction, and praised Arthur for his courage, unlike some young people who were timid.

After placing this bet, Jackie and Arthur returned to the living room from the balcony, and he casually asked Arthur, "Is the new TV bought at home not bad, is it clear enough to watch the game?"

Arthur's heart skipped a beat when he heard Jackie's words, but he nodded without changing his face, and said, "It's clear, it's very clear."

Jackie smiled, patted Arthur on the shoulder, told him to go to the kitchen to get himself a sandwich chocolate, and then closed the balcony door casually.

Jackie didn't notice that behind the beech bushes outside the courtyard, a high-definition camera was taking pictures of his mansion.

(End of this chapter)