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Waiter : Here you go. Here you go.
Maggie Fitzgerald: What's this?
Eddie Scrap-Iron Dupris : Well, ain't no big secret
what you're wishing for. Go on and blow.
Maggie Fitzgerald: Thank you.
Eddie Scrap-Iron Dupris : 33 ain't so old. I was
still fighting at 39. Fought for 23 years.
Mickey Mack : How's it going, Scrap?
Eddie Scrap-Iron Dupris : Ah,
doin' good,
Mickey. Doin' good.
Waiter : What are you having?
Mickey Mack : Coffee.
Eddie Scrap-Iron Dupris : You two not speaking?
Maggie Fitzgerald: Don't hardly know him.
Eddie Scrap-Iron Dupris : I met Frankie right after
my 37th birthday. He was
picking up cut work.
He used to patch
me up when I thought it was
impossible. Good man to have in your corner.
Maggie Fitzgerald: Yes, he is.
Eddie Scrap-Iron Dupris : He stayed with me through
my last fight in San Berdoo. My manager was
off getting drunk somewhere and it was just
Frankie and me. I was taking a hellacious
beating. Everybody's got a particular number
of fights in 'em. Nobody tells you what that
number is. Mine was 109. I just didn't want
to admit it. Fourth round, this... this cut
opens up. Blood starts pouring into my eye.
They should've stopped the fight, but, hell,
I was a black man in San Berdoo - Blood was
what I was there for. Round after round, I
kept getting Frankie to patch me up. He's
talking about throwing in the towel, but he
ain't my manager, he can't throw in nothing.
Round after round, he's arguing with me. And
I’m almost laughing, cos, hell, it's getting
more to him than to me. I go 15 rounds, lose
by decision. Next morning, I lose the eye.
In 23 years, he's never said a thing about
it. Doesn't have to. I can see it in his
face every time he looks at me. Somehow...
Frankie thinks he should've stopped that
fight. Should've saved my eye. Spends his
life wishing he could take back that 109th
fight. See, I wanted to go to 110. Thing
is... if you want to get to the title...
maybe he's not the one to take you there.
Maggie Fitzgerald: You tell Mr Mack we'd be
here tonight?
Eddie Scrap-Iron Dupris : Go on and eat your
cupcake.
Maggie Fitzgerald: No. I got it.
Eddie Scrap-Iron Dupris (Voice-over): It’s the
rule - always protect yourself. People never
take their own advice. If she was going to
leave Frankie, better she did it to him
then.
Maggie Fitzgerald: Mr Mickey Mack? I’m
Maggie Fitzgerald. I hear you're a... a real
good manager. Doing, uh, good things for Big
Willie. But I thought you should know I
ain't never leaving Mr Dunn, so you don't
need to make any
more excuses to
bump into
me. Sorry for interrupting your dinner. |
