You Had Me At -- ON HOLD --

Chapter 8

We sat off in a far-away booth at a dumpy pizza place that Quinn insisted was the best pizza in town. I didn't argue and let him order, and while we waited, we talked about when we were kids and teens. It was something I'd been hoping to do for some time. As much time as we'd spent together, there was still so much more I wanted to know.

"So you're Italian," Quinn said, drinking mineral water.

"Full bloodied. Both my parents are from a small town in southern Italy. They came here when they were young with their families. What about you?"

"My father is Irish from Northern Ireland. He came here in the late seventies as barely an adult. My father got a job in Toronto as a janitor and that's when he met my mother. She was a chambermaid at the hotel he was working at. They sort of hooked up, they had my sister, finally got married and then they had me. I certainly don't come from money."

"You don't have to come from money to be happy."

"Very true."

"Just the two of you then?"

"Yes. My father left my mother shortly after I was born."

I nearly spit out my iced tea. "I didn't know that," I said with surprise. "I wouldn't have gone on about money making people happy."

"It's fine. Besides, he was an asshole anyway. He used to beat her up all the time. Despite all the shit we went through after he left, we were better off without him."

My writer's mind began working overtime. "What kind of shit?" I asked sipping some iced tea again.

"We lived in low-income housing in a pretty tough part of Toronto. I grew up fast on our old street. II didn't play basketball I'd probably be in jail. My best friend Tyrone lived down the street and we tried very hard to stay out of trouble. Mostly because I didn't want to let my mom down. She worked so damn hard to put a roof over our heads."

"She sounds like a good woman."

He sighed. "She is. And when Tyrone got me interested in basketball and I got him hooked on hockey. I became the basketball star and he played minor hockey, one of only a few Black players in the league. He had to retire when he blew a knee, but he does television work in Toronto now. He and I are probably the only two people on our old street to break the cycle of poverty for our families."

"You're success stories," I said, as the server plopped down our pizza.

"Those were dark days in my childhood. Kids shouldn't have to live that way that's why Ty and I set up this foundation for kids wanting to go to college. I was lucky because I had basketball, but the smart kids have their hands tied because they don't have the money to pay for college. I know you probably think it's all bullshit, but it really isn't."

"I believe you," I said, feeling my heart burst. I'd met my share of bullshitters, whether they were professional athletes, actors or politicians, but Quinn was different. Riches and fame didn't cloud him; he had managed to stay rooted. "I think that's a wonderful thing you've done. I've bet you've fulfilled the dreams pf a few lucky kids."

"Nineteen to be exact. Another seven are eligible this year."

"That's amazing. How do you raise money?"

He grabbed two pieces of pizza and doused them with chili flakes and parmesan. "We have this fundraiser every summer in Toronto, and we try to get celebrities there. We also take donations from people and corporations."

"I'll love to make a donation. I'm sure I can persuade my father to do the same."

"That's very nice of you, Claire."