"Victor, oh my god, please," Bongo says as I walk away.
"Victor, wait up." Kenny Kenny follows, holding out a bag of croutons.
"It's just that this is all so... so... '89?" I blurt out.
"A fine year, Victor," Peyton says, trying to keep up with me. "A triumphant year!"
I stop, pause, then turn slowly to face him. Peyton stands there looking hopefully up at me, quivering.
"Uh, Peyton, you're really whacked out, aren't you?" I ask quietly.
Shamefully, Peyton nods as if coaxed. He looks away.
"You've had a pretty tough life, right?" I ask gently.
"Victor, please." JD steps in. "Peyton was joking about the specks. We're not saving the specks. I'm with you. They're just not worth it. They die."
While lighting a gargantuan joint, camcorder guy shoots out the huge expanse of French windows, the lens staring at a view of a leafless Union Square Park, at a truck with a massive Snapple logo driving by, limousines parked at a curb. We are moving down another set of stairs, heading toward the bottom.
"Will someone please just give me one spontaneous act of goodness? Remove the specks. Bongo, go back to the kitchen. Kenny Kenny, you get a consolation prize. Peyton, make sure Kenny Kenny gets a couple of colanders and a nice flat spatula." I wave them off, glaring. We leave Kenny Kenny behind, on the verge of tears, rubbing a shaky hand over the tattoo of Casper the Friendly Ghost on his bicep. "Ciao."
"Come on, Victor. The average life span of a club is what-four weeks? By the time we close, no one's gonna notice them."
"If that's your attitude, JD, there's the door."
"Oh Victor, let's be realistic-or at least fake it. This isn't 1987 anymore."
"I'm not in a realistic mood, JD, so spare me."
Passing a pool table, I grab the 8 ball and slam-roll it into the corner pocket. The group is moving farther down into the club. We're now at the first floor and it's getting darker and Peyton introduces me to a huge black guy with wraparound sunglasses standing by the front entrance eating takeout sushi.
"Victor, this is Abdullah, but we shall call him Rocko, and he's handling all the security and he was in that TLC video directed by Matthew Ralston. That toro looks good."