begged me, said his hifalutin’ dramatic arts education would help me put fannies in the seats. He hasn’t done that and he’s been here practically a whole season. Have you ever seen him help out on the work crews?” “No, sir.” “Take tickets, do box office, even offer to usher?” “Uh, no sir, I can’t say that I have.” “Damn right you haven’t! But as for firing him...” Whitey looked thoughtful. “I’m not sure I have the power to do that. In fact, I’ve never fired anyone before. I just got pissed, that’s all. So if you want Tucker hanging around, it’s fine with me. Just keep him out of my way. Talk to Casey and Pattycake about it. Yes, I call her that, too.” Whitey grinned for the first time upon seeing the shocked look on Matthew’s face. “But seriously, she’s a damn good stage manager, never mind her cleanliness fetish. With all her experience and all she has to put up with, I have no idea why she’s still working here. But I’m glad she is. And you all ought to be, too, if you know what’s good for you. So tell everybody to cut her some slack, will you? I don’t mean you all have to toe her line. Just don’t rub her face in it, okay?” Matthew nodded silently. Whitey went over and sat down behind his desk again. “Look, Black,” he continued in a softer tone. “I don’t really know why I’m telling you all this. I hardly know you. But from all reports you’ve been a good and loyal worker these past four months. I guess I just needed to let off some steam. You know, this season didn’t start off great for us. It’s only with the last two shows that we’ve turned the corner. In a little over a week our last show of the season is opening. And that will tell the story. On top of all this, Tucker brings me this dog,” he rapped his desk with the D e s c e n d i n g
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