Frolic of His Own (86 page)

—Just those trucks and . . .

—No listen! Don't you hear it? broken notes of a piano far away flatting the G within three bars, holding her breath till the A came in, late, starting again —he's up there Lily! He's up in the music room get him my God, he'll freeze to death go and get him! putting down her emptied glass to go for the door.

—Mrs Lutz? Hi. I'm Lenny.

—You're what?

—Lenny Wu? I'm a new associate at Swyne & Dour Mrs Lutz. Mister Peyton had to go out of town and he entrusted me to bring this out to you because it was the top of his agenda when I called you, remember? Can I come in?

—Well, come in yes, come in I didn't, yes come in please! leading him through to take off his coat and sit down snapping open the brass mounts of a briskly new monogramed attaché case in calf. —Can I get you something? some tea or . . .

—No. No thank you Mrs Lutz I trust I'm not disturbing you, I had a little difficulty finding the place but . . .

—No that's all right please! I appreciate your coming all the way out here to bring the . . .

—It's my privilege I assure you Mrs Lutz. Mister Peyton asked me to
convey his deepest apologies for not coming himself. He was deeply attached to your husband both as a colleague and friend as I'm sure you know, and the loss is a terrible blow to the entire firm, both that of a brilliant legal mind and to its enduring reputation for probity and adhering to the highest standards of . . .

—I'm quite aware of the firm's image thank you, now . . .

—I'm sure you are Mrs Lutz! In the light of that, it occurred to Mister Peyton on the occasion of cleaning out your husband's desk that you might like to keep his papers which comprise a sort of memorial to his service and to his prominent place in the profession. I'm sure you have your own wonderful memories of your marriage to such a brilliant legal mind but we thought . . .

—Please. I was not married to a legal mind though I must say it often seemed like it, I was married to a man. Now if you don't terribly mind I'd like to get down to . . .

—I'm sorry Mrs Lutz! I didn't mean to, to intrude I was only expressing my admiration for his, for your husband's brilliant handling of some of the firm's leading courtroom victories, this one in particular that I, I do hope you understand? as he seemed to seek refuge from her dulled gaze burrowing in the sheaf of papers —that I'm sure you'll want to keep, this one in particular it's really enough in itself to immortalize him in the annals of First Amendment law for the life of the, the case he'd just brought to its triumphant conclusion when he, at his demise I'm sure you're familiar with it, what the press has labeled the Pop and Glow case?

—My God yes, but please don't . . .

—No I'm sure I have it here, just their vulgar shorthand for bringing a landmark case in the hundreds of millions down to the harried level of the general public who delight in trivializing anything they cannot understand, treating another landmark case striking at the heart of our constitutional rights cited here in his brief somewhere I'm sure I, when his citation of Carson v. Here's Johnny Portable Toilets is treated as a comical diversion like they've attached this Pop and Glow label to Episcopal Church of America v. Pepsico confronting the exclusionary clause in the First Amendment breaching the wall between church and, I know you'll want to read it Mrs Lutz it's brilliant unless of course, unless perhaps you've read it already?

—My God no, but . . .

—Yes I'll find it here, just give me a moment? as he riffled through the sheafs of paper and began to pile them on the floor at his feet —alleging that in devising the trade name Pepsi-Cola the defendants had deliberately contrived an obvious and infringing anagram of Episcopal hoping to profit from some subliminal confusion in the minds of the consumer public,
thus enhancing the value of their worldwide bottling franchises and their marketing skills by exploiting the plaintiff's historical success in proselytizing its spiritual wares honed down through the centuries thereby defaming the venerable image of the church in attributing to it mercenary motives indistinguishable from the promotional campaigns for a soft drink which, you see I know his brief practically by heart it's the most skillfully . . .

—I see yes, but really . . .

—Oh just a moment, here's something I was told to call your special attention to? waving a fresh handful of papers at her, —the complaint by this woman and her insurance company's attorneys against your husband's estate regarding an automobile accident in which he allegedly left the scene after causing . . .

—Please just, just put it down somewhere and . . .

—I know you're familiar with it Mrs Lutz, I only meant to say that the services of the firm are of course at your dispos . . .

—Please! Will you get on with the . . .

—Of course yes I'm sorry, as I say I'll find it in a moment, it's the most skillfully argued brief I've encountered since we read Cardozo's opinion in Palsgraf v. Long Island Railroad last year in law school there where your husband summarizes the defendant's allegation portraying the suit by the church as a gesture born of desperation to keep its head above water with its dwindling coffers and membership welcoming homosexual priests and ordaining women to attract the same worldwide constituency of brand name loyalists who, which clearly lay the groundwork for the final resolution of the case, there's hardly an argument he failed to, I can't have left it behind I was reading it again just before I left the office but if, I can send it to you can't I? as the pile at his feet mounted. —The striking parallel he draws with the fierce marketing innovation for the New Coke forced to go back to Classic Coke, even to citing regional thorns like R C Cola with the Roman Catholic campaign to recover its faithful from the alienation brought on by the desperate effort of the Second Vatican Council lowering its standards to reach out to the multitude by doing the mass in local jargon like allowing the orthodox to make a meal kosher by holding a telephone over it with a rabbi's voice at the other end, you see I was brought up Catholic Mrs Lutz and this touches a special chord in my oh, just a moment yes, quite off the subject but this is important, I think you may have heard mention of it? bringing him to his feet flourishing the intimidating document —regarding the infringement suit against your husb, your brother I mean being brought by the Eugene O'Neill estate for alleged . . .

—I have heard mention of it yes and I don't want to again! Will you please simply . . .

—I didn't mean to distract you Mrs Lutz I'm sorry, I was told to bring
it out here for his immediate attention if you could be so good as to place it in his hands? commencing to pace the room as though loath to chance placing it in hers, —since he is named as codefendant in this suit being brought by the same estate against our client springing from the original case our client successfully defended against him notwithstanding, our firm wishes to offer its services as a courtesy in what promises to be a rather prolonged course of litigation of sufficient importance to all concerned for it to be handled by one of our senior partners should he, unless that is to say he has already retained counsel elsewhere? his rapid pacing before her now verging on prancing as he stopped abruptly with —I, excuse me Mrs Lutz I, is there a bathroom I might use? bringing her to her feet as abruptly to hurry him down the hall and make her own way hastily on to the kitchen where she clung to the edge of the sink for a moment before she reached up for the bottle and a glass to drink it straight down, getting her breath with a long swallow of water before she returned her unsteady composure to confront his full recovery seated back in the chair gesturing an empty hand, —I put it there on the sideboard Mrs Lutz. I only wished to add the note of deep regret felt throughout the firm that your husband could not be with us to see the fortunate outcome of his major role in breaking the deadlock leading to an amicable settlement between the parties. Everyone from the senior partners down agrees that his unsparing efforts laid the groundwork for the firm to proceed with the complex terms of the merger being negotiated between their marketing and evangelical arms but as I said earlier, this inclination of the press to turn momentous events into comical diversions pandering to the jaded tastes of their readers, anything you may read about a plan to use the soft drink in the communion service is purely a . . .

—Oh Lily come in yes, thank God. Just sit down we're, this child has come out from Harry's office to bring us his . . .

—Please excuse me yes how do you do, I'd just finished telling Mrs Lutz about my admiration for her husband's handling of his last important case, I believe the only aspect that remains to be unraveled is the effect the merger may have in the Middle East markets and on cola enthusiasts of the Jewish faith but it's hoped they'll let bygones be bygones and feelers have already gone out to the Jews for Jesus who, but I'm afraid I could go on and on and . . .

—I'm afraid you could too, but you're not going to. I want to know about Harry's life insurance.

—Oh yes, yes I'm afraid I don't know all the details but I heard Mister Peyton speaking about it, he was especially appreciative of your coming up with your husband's dental bill which solved the situation immediately and the entire matter's been settled.

—Well where's the check.

—The check?

—The check for a half million dollars for Harry's life insurance!

—But, but I assume it's been absorbed by the firm, our bookkeepers are sometimes a little slow with . . .

—What do you mean absorbed by the firm! I'm his wife his, I'm his widow aren't I? He told me he had a half million dollar life insurance policy and I'm . . .

—But you, I'm afraid you don't understand Mrs Lutz. It was paid to the firm as beneficiary since the firm held the policy and had paid all the premiums in light of his, of how valuable he was to the firm's standing in the profession as a partner and, yes and the tragedy of his loss on the very eve of his . . .

—Where is the check!

—I think maybe you better just leave, Mister . . .

—But I, I didn't realize there was any misunderstanding over the, I can't tell you how badly I feel I'd so looked forward to meeting you Mrs Lutz and we wanted to assure you again that the firm will be glad to be of service in these pending matters I spoke of regarding . . .

—Is this your coat?

—Thank you yes but, but in spite of this little disappointment I wanted to thank Mrs Lutz for her, for my great admiration for her hus, for Harry I should say Harry everyone called him Harry even the secretaries and the, being new there I can't say I knew him well but whenever I saw his tall patrician figure coming down the hall he'd always give me a smile of encourage . . .

—Harry?

—Yes everyone called him Har . . .

—My God, Harry? She was looking at him hard —tall, patrician he was stocky with black hair he was no taller than you are!

—He oh, oh I'm sorry again Mrs Lutz he, no. No that's not the Harry I knew.

—The, what did you say?

—He, that he, I said I'm sorry Mrs Lutz. That's not the Harry I knew.

—Lily do something!

—I said you better go didn't I? I said go! slamming the open case at him —now go! Get out of here! Christina? you okay? You want me to get you a drink?

She choked out a whisper over the clatter of the doors echoing down the hall, motionless but for the quiver of a hand caught abruptly in the other and held tight there till she reached it up to seize the glass hovering before her. —He knew it all the time didn't he! she broke out suddenly clearing her throat with the drink, —a pill and a scotch and a pill destroying
himself right before my eyes he knew exactly what he was doing. Married to such a brilliant legal mind yes and where is he now! staring fixed at the sheafs of paper tumbled in a heap on the floor there beside the empty chair. —Now what are you doing.

—All these papers, you want me to put them in the library with the . . .

—Burn them.

—But I thought maybe you wanted to keep them in there with the . . .

—I said burn them! in a burst that brought her to her feet, turning her back to stand staring out over the pond where the west wind tore its surface in waves toward the ocean, laying the brown grasses flat along its icebound edge as she put her emptied glass on the sill. —What's that on the floor over there under the sideboard, that manila folder it's been there for days.

—That's his last act, he was reading it before and . . .

—Before what! Just do something with it will you? Laying up his treasure in heaven where moths break through and steal I mean my God, talk about a following shade of care I just got the bill for that cremation they didn't waste any time, twelve hundred seventy one dollars and fifty cents with another hundred fifty nine for the crematory charge and where would I like the remains sent my God, that bookshelf up there with Father and the ashes of this lasting memorial to his prominent place in the legal profession I said burn them didn't I? I thought you were getting me a drink.

—But Christina you just . . .

—Did you hear me! And some matches? But when the pale drink appeared she was standing at the hearth staring at the papers already ablaze round the edges —who favour fire? But if he had to perish twice that ice was, strip away the poetry and off to the crematory and then some line about desire? or hate?

—It's Frost, Christina.

—What? bringing her round sharply —my God Oscar where have you been!

—You thought it was Yeats Christina. It's Robert Frost. Some say the world will end in fire, Some say in ice. From what I've . . .