32. Normie's Bet

The next time Normie picks me up I don't even notice at first. Maybe my mind is still absorbed with some squabbles in the office. Perhaps I'm just getting into the New York way of ignoring the existence of the service staff.

What triggers my recognition is that on arriving at the toll point he opens his door again to pay the four dollars and collect his receipt. He still hasn't got the window fixed.

This time we're heading out to Jersey City and Normie starts in about an adventure in a restaurant he had there.

"I am just intending to have a quiet meal in a nice cheap restaurant while waiting for a late pickup," he says.

"I have never been in this place before, but it has been recommended to me by a few of the drivers. They have especially mentioned the sixteen ounce steak with all the trimmings as being worth my attention."

"So I get there at around eight o'clock, with four hours to kill before my next job. The place is nothing fancy, even from the outside. Inside it's still the 1920's style, with dark wood panels, low ceilings and a fog of cigar smoke coming from poker players in the corner."

"When I order the steak the owner draws my attention to the sign on the wall which gives customers the chance of eating for free if they manage to finish the twenty-four ounce steak with all the trimmings. This sounds good to me, so I change my order."

"He looks at the size of me and mentions that he's willing to place an additional twenty dollars against twenty of mine to say that I won't make it to the end of the steak he has in mind. Already I'm looking at a free meal, which always puts me in a good mood, so I jump at the chance of making twenty dollars on the side."

"Anyway, while the steak is off and cooking, the boss has words with the poker players and pretty soon they all want a slice of my wallet too. I call a halt when four of these guys have signed up for twenty dollars a throw. Because, as I say to them, their risk is only twenty dollars each and I now stand to lose a hundred in the unlikely event of my not finishing the steak."

"You can imagine the size of the steak when it arrives. It's an inch thick and hanging over every side of a big oval dinner plate. Piled up on top is a big portion of fries with some pieces of pickled cucumber, onion rings and so on."

"So I call for a cup of coffee and set about it. I'm not the world's fastest eater, so the onlookers get bored and go back to their game, just keeping enough of an eye on me to make sure I don't slip some chunk of steak under the table."

"I've got three things on my side that they don't know about."

"First, under any circumstances I've got a huge appetite for a guy of my size. Second, I've been too busy so far today to eat anything more than a coffee and sandwich. Third, I've still got over three hours before I need to be out of here and nobody said anything about a time limit. I fool around with them one time, putting down my knife and fork and doing a little heavy breathing."

"They all cheer up and crowd around, because I've finished the fries but I'm only half way through the steak. What's the matter with you all, I say, can't a guy take a rest? This is a bet, not a race."

"When I pick up my knife and fork again, they go back to their table, but I hear that now some of them are wanting to put money on the little guy finishing after all and they are having trouble finding anyone to take the other side."

"Of course I do finish, with a couple of hours to spare, and I am certainly very happy to take in money from all sides. I earn more from this meal than I later earn from my fare. The best part, however, is that while I still have everyone's attention the owner starts to clear away the things from the table."

"Excuse me, I say to him. Aren't you forgetting something? A nice meal like this isn't complete without a dessert. Why don't you let me take a look at the menu?"

We've been parked up at Jersey City for ten minutes by now. I wouldn't get out of the car until I have heard the end of the story. And Normie hasn't been in a hurry to finish.