"ʼA gwtn ʼáwwnt?" a silky, sleepy voice asked in Yiddish.

"Yeah, good evening to you, too. Yeah. You slut. You better get over here right now and comfort your damn boyfriend, he's driving me up the wall," I barked at Avi over the phone.

"Oh?" he asked in a hushed way.

"What do you mean 'oh'? You know what you fucking did to him tonight. Get your ass over here and bring a bottle of scotch," I scolded, pressing the phone to my ear closer as Paulie banged his forehead on the wall, sobbing silently, his eyes pressed closed so hard they looked sewn shut.

"What is this banging sound?" Avi asked, concerned.

"It's your fucking boyfriend trying to kill himself," I hissed at him.

"Fuck," Avi said.

"Yeah, 'fuck'," I repeated.

"Well, I can not go over there tonight. Esther is still here."

My eyebrow raised. "Who the fuck is Esther?" I barked.

A long wail like a banshee rose from Paulie and he sank to the floor, his forehead sliding against the wall as he went. My mouth dropped open, his reaction telling me exactly who Esther was.

"Is Esther that FUCKING WHORE YOU WERE WITH AT THE WEDDING?!" I shrieked, wanting to throw the phone at the wall as if Avi were standing there. I wanted to break his fucking head open!

"She is not whore, she is librarian," Avi said in a hushed way in his thick accent.

I heard faint female sounds on Avi's end, near to the receiver. It sounded like she said, "baby, who is that?"

"That bitch had better not have said what I THINK she just said," I said, dumbfounded.

"Look, is 2AM. We talk about this in morning," Avi said casually.

"You are a fucking goddamned I can't even...I can't even...believe!" I spat into the phone.

"We talk in morning."

"DON'T YOU DARE EVER TALK TO US AGAIN!" I shrieked at him.

"We talk in morning," he repeated.

I let out a growling shriek and slammed the receiver down on the phone's holder. My breath came in spurts, the very air in my lungs angry. After while I became aware of the squeaking sobs behind me, against the wall like a rejected kitten crying for it's mother. "Avi...Avi Avi Avi..." Paulie was whimpering, clawing at the wall.

"Oh god, Paulie," I breathed in, tears springing to my eyes at his state on the floor. He was still wearing his disheveled brown suit from the wedding reception, all crumpled now and stained where he had spilled some of my bourbon which he had tried to drown his sorrows in earlier.

I crawled over to him, scooping him into my arms. He buried his face into my bare shoulder, grabbing at the lace of my white nightgown, covering his face with it. All I could do was hug him close to me as he ruined my favorite nightgown which Frankie had given to me. Rage spread over me, because if Avi hadn't done this shit Paulie wouldn't be rubbing his snot on my imported French lace nightgown right now.

"That fuck..." I growled, "that fucker..."

"No, don't call him...that name...don't..." came a small whimper muffled by fabric.

"Paulie," I gasped, not able to believe what I was hearing.

"He loves me, he does...he loves me..." Paulie choked. "He doesn't love her...he doesn't like women...he likes me...he likes..."

"Paulie," was all I could muster to say. Paulie didn't still...love that lying cheat, did he?

"He'll come back for me..." Paulie whimpered, rubbing his nose on the cloth he had gathered about his face. "He will..."

"Paulie, you deserve better than him, you gotta believe me," I tried to tell him, tried to get through to him, in my still disbelieving voice.

"No, I deserve him," Paulie said in a small voice.

"Paulie, you are one of the greatest entertainers I know. You're so smart, college educated. You come from such a good family. You deserve better than him. You didn't hear on the phone. That Esther is in his bed right now. I know you can do better. I know you can. I'll help you find someone," I whispered to him, kissing the top of his head in the process.

He just began to cry silently now, his body shivering against mine. His strong arms tightening around my back, bringing me closer to him like a comforting doll. My hand began to pet his hair, trying to massage his heart through his head.

Around 4AM, Paulie had quieted and I had tucked him into my bed. He had disappeared into my goose feather comforter and matching pillows, completely wrapped in their warmth. I sat in my red chair, starting to read a book. I'd sleep later in the day, Paulie could have my bed. He deserved something soft and luxurious to sleep in, something he didn't have at his apartment due to his small salary.

I was just getting to a good part when a loud knock on my front door made me jump.

What the fuck was this? I squinted my eyes at it. As if on cue, the knock came four more times. My eyes flew open in shock. It was the code. The fucking safety code. Five knocks to show it was an ally.

"Oh-ho my god that had better not be Avi," I whispered to myself.

Silently, I rose from my chair and put my book down on the seat. Like Marilyn Monroe, I sashayed to the door. My blue eye peeked through the peephole. My breath flew between my teeth.

Standing in the hallway looking forlorn and rejected was Avi, his head hung low. If he had a tail, it would have been between his legs. In his left hand was an expensive looking bottle of cognac. In the other...was a red rose.

A red rose. I spat like a cat.

Suddenly the sound of a fancy shoe on wood sounded in the hallway next to him, and my eye went impossibly wider. Frankie stepped into my view. He put his hand on Avi's shoulder and Avi nodded.

What the...what the hell was Frankie doing here?! He couldn't be seen here! What were they thinking? If someone recognized Frankie and saw him over here! I started hyperventilating immediately. I couldn't let them stay out there. Everyone knew who Frankie was, his family was famous! People would talk!

"Oh Jesus, oh oh Jesus," I whispered hurriedly to myself, undoing the series of locks on the door as quickly as my shaking hands would let themselves.

I swung the door open and Avi's eyes went wider than I'd ever seen anybody's go. Frankie's head snapped up. "Get- Get in here, goddammit! Get in here!" I hissed at them, my voice fearful and snapping. My hand wrapped around Frankie's and pulled him inside with a yank.

"Oh...god thank you...Paulie wants to see me?" Avi asked desperately, starting to cry.

"NO HE DOESN'T WANT TO SEE YOU, BUT YOU BROUGHT FRANKIE, YOU FUCK!" I yelled at him.

"He brought me because you were mad at him. He thought it would be easier if I was here," Frankie tried to explain, but I wasn't mad at him, not focused on him. His words were like roses and clovers tickling my ears. My eyes shot daggers into Avi. Avi's body visibly shrank in fear.

"I need to see Paulie," Avi whimpered in a similar way to how Paulie did earlier, "where is my love? Where is he?"

"He's not your anything!" I shrieked at him, wanting to wring his neck like laundry. Frankie wrapped his arms around me from behind, trying to calm me.

"I need to tell him there's nothing between me and Esther. I did not 'sleeping' with her. My father wants... I need to talk to Paulie," he sniffled at me.

"Your father wants what?!" I yelled. Frankie's chin found my shoulder and rested there. My heart blipped at this, but I couldn't concentrate on that. What the hell was Avi talking about?!

"He wants..." Avi whispered, his large eyes pinching at the sides with deep sorrow, "he wants me to get married with her..."

My eyes went wide in shock. I froze and Frankie froze with me. Silence spread about the room, as if the whole place spread with ice.

"No he doesn't," sniffled a voice behind us.

I gasped and whipped around, hitting Frankie in the process by mistake.

Paulie was standing in the hallway, wrapped in my goose down comforter. Avi's jaw dropped open. A look of guilt overcame his face and he froze in place, too, unable to do anything. Paulie stared at him like a regal ice queen wrapped in royal furs.

"He doesn't want you to marry her. You do. You want to fit in. You want congratulations from people. You want to look good. You're ashamed of me. I know it. Don't lie," Paulie's words stabbed, his voice too calm for this situation.

"No, my love, no, that's not true," Avi said seriously, finding his voice.

Paulie began to laugh, the comforter dropping to his feet, revealing his disheveled pants and dress shirt from the wedding reception. He made his way over to Avi slowly. Frankie and I could only watch. He picked up the cognac bottle from Avi's hand, Avi's hand coming with it. He yanked the bottle away from Avi and Avi looked the most scared I'd ever seen in his life.

"Hennessey, huh?" Paulie chuckled. "You want to buy me like a whore, pay me back?"

"But I love you?" Avi responded like a scared animal. My eyes pressed closed and I felt Frankie breathe deep against me. We both knew that was the exact wrong thing to say.

Paulie's hand eased up the neck of the bottle. With a flame in his eyes, he rose the bottle up and swung it at Avi's face. I let out a little scream and Frankie's arms tightened around me.

But the bottle hung in the air, so near Avi's cheek. Avi's eyes were squeezed shut, waiting for the impact. A smile curled up Paulie's lips, satisfied to see Avi's fear. Avi's eyes opened, his entire body breathing hard in his panic.

"I oughta carve up your face," Paulie hissed at him his nose practically pressed against Avi's. He gestured at him with the bottle, "I oughta break this fucking bottle and carve up your pretty face for your new wife. She won't want you then. No one will want you."

Avi began to sputter, trying to say something.

"What? What the fuck are you trying to say?" Paulie spat.

"The...The only...bot...bott..." Avi stuttered, his fear consuming him.

"What is it, little boy?" Paulie taunted him in a sweet voice.

"The- the only bottle I would ever want to have break is one under my foot...to- to marry you with..." Avi sputtered, bursting into tears, hanging his head at the last word, big ashamed tears visibly leaving his eyes and falling on the floor. "But we can't. We can't..."

Paulie paused at this, the bottle still poised in his hand. Silence spread about the room again as Paulie was robbed of any words to say in his body. His mouth was open. His eyes fluttered open and closed quickly over and over, like he was trying to form thoughts as I'd often seen him do when someone complimented him so well it made him unable to form the proper words to say thank you.

"E-excuse me," Paulie said instead.

"Paulie, I'm sooorry," Avi was weeping freely now. "I'm sooorry..."

"What did you just say to me, you pig," Paulie whispered, sounding the opposite of angry.

"Pig?" Avi whispered in a gasp.

"You goddamn piggy," Paulie shouted, getting in his face again.

I started smiling and I looked behind me. Frankie was beaming, too.

'Piggy' was Paulie's sweetie word for Avi, because Avi was a little rotund. Okay, Avi was a chubby little fuck but that's what Paulie liked about him. Paulie shoved the bottle in Avi's hand. Avi looked utterly confused and scared still.

"Smash this bottle," Paulie yelled at him.

"Smash it? I don't-" Avi began, looking so confused and sorry he could turn around and around trying to find the right answer if that's what Paulie wanted.

"Smash that bottle you pig! Marry me before you marry that goddamn whore," Paulie yelled at him again, grabbing Avi and hugging him tightly to himself desperately.

"But this is a cognac bottle, we need-"

"Shut up, motherfucker," Paulie hissed into his ear and began kissing him.

Frankie started laughing and so did I. Suddenly we were all laughing. It turns out there would be two weddings tonight, the second one just unscheduled. I liked this second one much better than the first, and I think we all agreed.