"Tell you what?"
"What happened to you."
"Oh," Ted forced what he tried to make a casual laugh, "Thornton fired me."
Al remained calm. "He what?"
"Thornton gave me the gate, the bounce act, ye olde heave-ho. He said, in short, that I was never to darken his kitchen towels again."
Al said, "Come off it, Ted."
Suddenly Ted's misery and heartbreak were too great a burden to bear alone. He fought to keep his voice from quavering and his lower lip from trembling.
"That's right. I've been fired."
"Want to tell me why?" Al did not raise his voice.
"I—I wouldn't shoot Damon and Pythias for Thornton."