JR (106 page)

me what bus station they're at and … at what? Look don't try to explain it just tell me where the police station is and I'll… Well I said I would! just don't tell me to have a neat time at a funeral and twenty- four hours on a bus with two… Yes well I wish you could too goodbye

… you're welcome yes goodbye goodbye!

—Bast… ?

—Yes I'm coming … he paused to wet a shirttail at the sink.

—Man like is that you?

—Yes are you all right? you, you had a nosebleed… and he reached the wet cloth down as white spilled full with her sudden turn toward him blotting pinks against his knee there.

—Oh man…

—I think you had a bad dream … he licked his lips come down a breath away to draw the blanket up, yanked to her in her sharp turn from him leaving white massed now in featureless descents to the dark fissure where first his eyes and then a hand came down to hesitate, draw back abruptly at her voice in the sofa's crevice.

—Like are you coming in?

—No I, I can't' … he cleared his throat and took both hands to pull the blanket down, turned back to spread fresh staves on Standard & Poor's, scarcely looked up from one page to the next till light came separating the blind askew behind the punctured lampshade, reaching beyond to 36 Boxes 200 2-Ply by the time he capped the ink bottle, preceding him past 24-One Pint Mazola to the torrent at the sink

where he'd pulled off his shirt, propped up the cookie tin top and got a razor from its plastic display when the door sounded with a knock.

—Hello … ? It shuddered in with a familiar care for its infirmity, — Bast? Anybody here… ?

—No who, oh oh Mister Gibbs…

—Little early, I'm not disturbing you?

—Oh no it's, it's all right yes come in …

—My God I forgot your waterworks here, like living under Victoria Falls. Is everything all right?

—Yes it's, everything's fine yes it's…

—Can't say you look, tell you the truth Bast you look like hell.

—Yes well I'm just, I haven't had much sleep I've been working and I have to go somewhere I …

—No go ahead and shave don't let me interrupt you … he got the door into place with his back against it. —Came up to find some papers I thought I might do some work up here, won't bother you will I?

—No, no fine but wait before you…

—Place seems crowded you've moved things around a little, hardly get past these God damned…

—Yes well some more things some boxes and papers of Mister Ei- gen's came, I just put them…

—Probably get some more up here today I spent the night down there helping him pack up his, this isn't his is it? What the hell is it.

—Oh no well that's just a, it's just an electric towel stand and oh and those, yes those are just barbeque tools I …

—But where the hell did they, what are all these where did these come from, what is it soap powder?

—Yes well it's detergent yes those are just those are samples they were, they were just left here wait before you…

—Blue folder around here someplace have you seen it? Getting a fresh start on a book I was working on Bast, getting a fresh God damned start on everything really going to get down to work again, you might want to hear some of it sometime like to get your, what, what's that is that a telephone?

—Oh that yes well that's a, it's sort of a picturephone I think they call it yes it's…

—But what the hell is it doing up there? and what, this thing under it what…

—Yes well that's just something we use for, I mean we don't really use it it's for sending pictures by telephone it's just look Mister Gibbs

wait before you go …

—Thought you were writing music up here all this time Bast let's see what you've got set up in the good God I beg your pardon… !

—Yes well I was just going to tell you she…

—Man like what are you staring at… knees came up with the welter of blanket —I mean like you never saw one before?

—Why, why yes quite recently in fact Miss…

—Yes well Rhoda this is Mister Gibbs you remember Rhoda she was…

—Never had the pleasure Bast good Lord relax, didn't mean to interrupt you I can come back up later and…

—No don't go no I'm, I just have to hurry I …

—Pleasure my ass man I mean that night you're over there with like one shoe giving these cops all this grief? And Bast like while you're in there dump one of those little red boxes in the tub? and then I mean like get out of the way…

—Rhoda of course, yes go ahead and shave Bast… he came down cautiously on Hoppin' With Flavor! —I'll just sit down and chew the fat with Rhoda.

—Man like try that and you'll get a fat lip, and like watch that can by your foot I mean do you want grape drink?

—Good God no I …

—Well I mean will you just hand me the can then? and like that red cup off the, man not this can I mean look at it like does that look like grape drink?

—Frankly I didn't want to say, but since you…

—It's enchilavies I mean what's the matter with enchilavies, like I mean what do you have to put everything down for man.

—I? Wouldn't have you think that for the world, I've been marveling at the woman's touch everywhere since I came in in fact really cozy, pants hanging on the dishcloth rack in there, dirty cups on the sill and Mister Bast's greasy diploma up here on the wall like an earnest young dentist, milady's lemonfresh bath scenting the air and, yes what's that behind you on the floor…

—Man like what are you trying to, I mean what do you mean what is it it's this Indian hat what does it look like.

—Mister Gibbs? Is it all right if I, I've been wearing these shirts you left here once and…

—No by all means, neck size makes you look a little cadaverous and those trousers are, where in God's name did you get that outfit anyhow. —Man like what's the matter with his outfit I mean look at yours, like you're wearing this old summer suit of somebody's man.

—Yes well it's all right Mister Gibbs I can't stop to, you don't know what time it is do you?

—It's like ten after man I mean don't ask me ten after what, and I mean before you go like can you leave me some coin? Like I have to go to this vietrinary before they stuff him.

—But I thought you, when I gave you that five dol… —Five dollars I

mean like that new razor I got you was like three ninety-eight and those pants were like eighteen dollars and that jacket man, I mean you've got all these checks in there like just tell your friend to like cash them.

—Yes well if he, if you could Mister Gibbs they're just some dividend checks and, oh and wait this check here I meant to give you this check for the rent sixty-one forty, I think Mister Eigen said…

—Didn't expect you to pay it all though Bast after all we… —No no that's all right it's all made out and, I mean it's really not exactly me anyway it's…

—But who's, who the hell is the J R Shipping Corp. —Yes well it's just a, just I don't have time to explain Mister Gibbs it's all too, if you could move your knee I just have to get that music there and…

—What this whole pile? Good Lord what's, is this your what was it? your oratorio? No wonder you look, Bast that's great you've finished your oratorio?

—No well the, the oratorio, it's not exactly an oratorio now it's, it's just going to be a suite for small orchestra but it's not exactly finished I, I'm …

—Small orchestra good God, must be enough parts here for a whole Berlioz…

—Yes but, but this isn't it this is, this is just something else I've been working on so I could…

—Man like don't let him get started I mean when he starts explaining like why he can't do this one thing until he does this other thing he's not doing either because there's like something else he has to do as soon as he finishes this other thing I mean can you move your foot… —

Yes if can you just hand me that Indian… —Better help your squaw with her blanket in back there too Bast wouldn't want people in the street to …

—Look man I'm just going in the tub I mean where do you think I'm going.

—Oh and Mister Gibbs I meant to say if you're going to be here if any phone calls come they may sound like business I mean they are business and…

—You mean that phone in there works?

—Yes oh and that's something else if you can keep something hung over it, I mean it's a picturephone and if somebody's in the tub or anything I wrote a number down there you can just tell them to call Mister Piscator he's a lawyer, I wrote his number down there too if he calls about a movie company called Erebus somebody called Mister Leva if you could just help me with this box here I …

—Look Bast I'll do anything I can for you but God damn it can you take two minutes to sit down and tell me what this is all about? This business these dividend checks what's…

—They're in the icetray yes if you could just cash them for her I'll try to explain it all when I get back oh and don't let Al answer the phone

anymore he …

—Al who wait look how long are you going to be gone where the hell are you going?

—It's just, it's something I said I'd do Mister Gibbs so I, I have to do it if you could hold the door for me…

—Yes here but listen Bast there are some other things I wanted to talk to good God no is that a hearing aid?

—Yes no Rhoda can tell you goodbye thank you Mister Gibbs goodbye…

—Good, good luck … his weight and the door's supported one another till it shuddered back in place, —good… God.

—Man like could you hand me one of those red cups by the sink?

—With grape drink? Look will you tell me…

—Like I just want it to dip over me man I mean all this real sudsing power, like do you want to get in?

—In, the tub?

—Well like what do you think I …

—No look Rhoda I just came up here to get some work done, I thought Bast was shut up here alone writing music find all this going on and him never seen him looking worse, never saw anybody look worse what the hell was that hearing aid he's wearing.

—Like that's this little ear radio man I mean it's this job he has on the side, like he writes down every record this station plays so these musicians don't get screwed on like royalties and…

—But of what, this job on the side of what you mean he composes with that thing playing in his ear all the time?

—Like that's all this music he's getting this four hundred dollars for so he can write this other music I mean that's why he doesn't even know what it sounds like till he goes to this hotel someplace to like play it on the piano there, I mean like he was trying it here only he couldn't find these octaves on the piano, like I mean he'd just find them and some more stuff would like come and get piled on them and I mean now you can't even find the fucking piano anymore.

—All right but what's all this got to do with his, with this business this J R Shipping Corp and all these…

—Like that's what it's on the side of on the side of, I mean wait till you see the mail like there must be these fifty sick corporations man, I mean when the telephone rings you never know what it is like can you lend me your hand so I don't slip getting out?

—Yes here but… he cleared his throat —be careful, this lawyer he mentioned this Piscator…

—He's this lawyer they've got that like could you give me that shirt to dry off? And his boss, I mean when he calls you never heard such a creep like could you throw me those moccasins?

—Yes listen on second thought I'd better just forget the…

—I mean like whenever he calls man he's got like this whole list of stuff and you can't hardly…

—Never mind listen I shouldn't have asked, came up here to do some work and…

—Man like do it then I mean who's stopping you, like I mean what are you climbing up there for …

—I'm looking for a God damned looking for a blue folder and some boxes of notes Tootsie Roll boxes, they say Tootsie Roll on them have you seen…

—like this blue folder's someplace I mean I saw it once but these Tootsie Rolls man, I mean you could dig for look out! Like that whole pile's going…

—God damned…

—Like before you get buried I mean could you come down and cash these checks like you said?

—Look I didn't say…

—Man like it's not this million dollars and I mean by your foot like throw me that raincoat?

—All right just, wait hold those film cans before they, there…

—They're like right in the refrigerator I mean that's where he keeps…

—Yes but wait what, good God what is this in here…

—That's all this literature for these investments man, like…

—No this, this Cornish hens à la Kiev, classic dish of the Imperial Court of Old dripping all over these…

—It's some present he got like it says keep refrigerated I mean just look in the icetray.

—But, all these? you expect me to cash all these U S Steel what the, forty cents? International Paper forty-three cents what are all these on one share? General Telephone forty cents, Typhon International…

—Man like don't ask me I mean just add them up okay?

—Columbia Gas forty-seven, El Paso Natural Gas really God damned diversified portfolio, Walt Disney…

—And there's like this forty-five more cents of them under the couch with the…

—Western Union look they're not even endorsed, I mean what do you…

—What like signed on the back? I mean endorse them then like just sign a fucking x on the back what do they want for thirty cents, Abraham Lincoln's autograph?

—One eighty, two ten, two thirty look I'll give you five dollars for the lot, here…

—Five dollars? Man like I need cab fare I'm going shopping.

—Now? like that?

—Like what, I mean can you see through it?

—No but it's, you'll freeze your pants are hanging in there on …

—Like what do you want me to do leave them at Macy's? And I mean I could get you something man, like that suit you've got it looks like

out of some old movie and I mean it's this big sale down there today I

could get you a …

—Look what difference does a sale make if you're just going down there to …

—The crowds man the crowds, I mean they're so cheap like for a hundred people they've got this one spaced out sales person that's like trained not to see you, I mean look is that this blue folder you're looking for up there? No like over the refrigerator on that Flakes box…