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that last word. They understood what it meant but they never heard it. I thought at first

that unconsciously I was dropping my voice on the last word, so I consciously said it

louder. But still they never heard it. One guy even said, 'What the hell do you mean, it's

germinal?'" Jules started to laugh. "Germinal, terminal, what the hell. I started to do

abortions. Nice and easy, everybody happy, like washing the dishes and leaving a clean

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sink. That was my class. I loved it, I loved being an abortionist. I don't believe that a

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two-month fetus is a human being so no problems there. I was helping young girls and

married women who were in trouble, I was making good money. I was out of the front

lines. When I got caught I felt like a deserter that had been hauled in. But I was lucky, a

friend pulled some strings and got me off but now the big hospitals won't let me operate.

So here I am. Giving good advice again which is being ignored just like in the old days."

"I'm not ignoring it," Johnny Fontane said. "I'm thinking it over."

Lucy finally changed the subject. "What are you doing in Vegas, Johnny? Relaxing

from your duties as big-time Hollywood wheel or working?"

Johnny shook his head. "Mike Corleone wants to see me and have a talk. He's flying

in tonight with Tom Hagen. Tom said they'll be seeing you, Lucy. You know what it's all

about?"

Lucy shook her head. "We're all having dinner together tomorrow night. Freddie too. I

think it might have something to do with the hotel. The casino has been dropping money

lately, which shouldn't be. The Don might want Mike to check it out."

"I hear Mike finally got his face fixed," Johnny said. Lucy laughed. "I guess Kay talked

him into it. He wouldn't do it when they were married. I wonder why? It looked so awful

and made his nose drip. He should have had it done sooner." She paused for a moment.

"Jules was called in by the Corleone Family for that operation. They used him as a

consultant and an observer."

Johnny nodded and said dryly, "I recommended him for it."

"Oh," Lucy said. "Anyway, Mike said he wanted to do something for Jules. That's why

he's having us to dinner tomorrow night."

Jules said musingly, "He didn't trust anybody. He warned me to keep track of what

everybody did. It was fairly straight, ordinary surgery. Any competent man could do it."

There was a sound from the bedroom of the suite and they looked toward the drapes.

Nino had become conscious again. Johnny went and sat on the bed. Jules and Lucy

went over to the foot of the bed. Nino gave them a wan grin. "OK, I'll stop being a wise

guy. I feel really lousy. Johnny, remember about a year ago, what happened when we

were with those two broads down in Palm Springs? I swear to you I wasn't jealous

about what happened. I was glad. You believe me, Johnny?"

Johnny said reassuringly, "Sure, Nino, I believe you."

Lucy and Jules looked at each other. From everything they had heard and knew about

Johnny Fontane it seemed impossible that he would take a girl away from a close friend

like Nino. And why was Nino saying he wasn't jealous a year after it happened? The

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same thought crossed both their minds, that Nino was drinking himself to death

romantically because a girl had left him to go with Johnny Fontane.

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Jules checked Nino again. "I'll get a nurse to be in the room with you tonight," Jules

said. "You really have to stay in bed for a couple of days. No kidding."

Nino smiled. "OK, Doc, just don't make the nurse too pretty."

Jules made a call for the nurse and then he and Lucy left. Johnny sat in a chair near

the bed to wait for the nurse. Nino was falling asleep again, an exhausted look on his

face. Johnny thought about what he had said, about not being jealous about what had

happened over a year ago with those two broads down in Palm Springs. The thought

had never entered his head that Nino might be jealous.

A year ago Johnny Fontane had sat in his plush office, the office of the movie

company he headed, and felt as lousy as he had ever felt in his life. Which was

surprising because the first movie he had produced, with himself as star and Nino in a

featured part, was making tons of money. Everything had worked. Everybody had done

their job. The picture was brought in under budget. Everybody was going to make a

fortune out of it and Jack Woltz was losing ten years of his life. Now Johnny had two

more pictures in production, one starring himself, one starring Nino. Nino was great on

the screen as one of those charming, dopey lover-boys that women loved to shove

between their tits. Little boy lost. Everything he touched made money, it was rolling in.

The Godfather was getting his percentage through the bank, and that made Johnny feel

really good. He had justified his Godfather's faith. But today that wasn't helping much.

And now that he was a successful independent movie producer he had as much

power, maybe more, than he had ever had as a singer. Beautiful broads fell all over him

just like before, though for a more commercial reason. He had his own plane, he lived

more lavishly even, with the special tax benefits a businessman had that artists didn't