JR (122 page)

—Think I, feel like I'm …

—No wait sit up I got this here picture too Davidoff sent me to show you from some magazine it's right under here she is look hey, surfacing from a fun stay in the Greek islands boy that's some pair of look out! you're coughing right on …

—Feel like I'm going to …

—I mean you got spit on these holy, hey wait swallow real hard quick let me get this stuff away try to swallow real hard hey, let me get this handkerchief… and he huddled away, dabbing the wad down a rise of tawny buttocks against the sparkling Aegean, licked his lips —you okay now hey? hey Bast… ?

The train shook abruptly to a halt and he held the heap close, wedged a toe deeper into the hinge of the seat ahead to bring his knees up under it —I mean you don't need to get so mad at everything, I mean you even got spit on where it says about a man of vision and all… and the handkerchief wad wiped that, came up clutched tight for the back of his hand to wipe across his nose and he hunched deeper under the pile peeling up ragged ribbons of

newspaper, magazine pages torn jagged —with his sure instinct for the pulse of the market in a companywide search for ways to serve the customer better see this is me too hey, but it is his outstanding talent

as a manager's manager which is held most in awe by his corporate peers see then it tells about this whole paper empire see that's what it's called here Paper Empire, I mean it starts off with this here surprise coop where we took over Eagle see then it tells where I thought up buying X-L for this here advertising on all these matchbooks to like

fermiliarize everybody with this here rapidly expanding line of products where we went after these timber reserves when we went after Triangle and this here Duncan and hey? did I tell you hey? I mean where this here D and S subsiderary now they want me to write this whole book to publish? Like they said they want to name it How To Make a Million see only I think earn, like How To Earn a Million I mean

it sounds more dignified you know? Lake this biographical stuff which they fixed it up a little like where they stick in my golf game is in the eighties and all see they'd help me out with this book, I mean this Mister Davidoff said they'd like write it for me you know … ? And his elbow, come to rest high on the seat's back, left a hand dangling by his nose where the thumb promptly sought employment —like this here thing Virginia just wrote all about me in She where Mister Davidoff

said it's to like create this masculine image for this here feminine reader appeal which they wrote it for her see, I mean it's like this intimate picture of her boss which she's like been with me since the start up to this rise of success and all like I thought it would give the magazine this real success feeling about it if it was like tied onto my own success you know? I mean like where it said in the paper about leading this parade wait a second…

The train jolted, glided ahead, stopped, his free hand caught the heap against lock steps past his elbow, came up with a tattered streamer —listen hey. Men who have worked with him I mean that means me that him, with him for years say his chief characteristics are enormous powers of concentration and a dogged persistence in attacking a problem until he comes up with a completely satisfactory answer… the thumb dug deeper, emerged for brief examination — which gives the clear impression here it is hey, impression of a man who sees where the parade is heading long before the paraders themselves do, and calmly steps in and leads isn't that neat? Qualities which u, uniquely fit him for the career in public life which has already created a groundswell I mean what's a groundswell, which faces only one major ob wait, obstacle, see like some of these words I didn't have them yet only I keep reading this stuff over again obstacle, an innate modesty that is evident in his words crediting his own success to a

mysterious thing which is hard to identify, the vital creative force of the whole J R Family of Companies I mean see I never quite exactly said

that you know? See but then it says when discussing the profit picture which has made his company's stock a leading glamour issue overnight however, a gleam of quite pardonable pride appears in his hey? Bast…

?

He'd come forward freeing his hand to drop between them and scratch, to rise and wipe the frayed edge of the sweater's sleeve across his nose and leave the lip trembling there turned toward the inert profile jolting between him and the dirty pane where the trembling lip tightened at the abrupt encounter, where the eyes hesitated as though caught by a passing gleam in the near darkness beyond —okay don't even listen then…! he hunched back, thumb snagged back at a nostril

—if you don't want to even hear this letter where you get to go to this here banquet for helping out the arts and all, I mean where I went and fixed up this big grant to play this here music you're always yelling about after all I did for you boy, what did I do with it… and the portfolio pocket tore a little further. —It gives us great pleasure to like

there's this here other one too for where we gave out all those old Nobili drugs down at Asia so Davidoff writes right across it be glad to stand in for you on this one if Mister B is otherwise occupied, I mean how does he know maybe I want to go to this here where does it say it, this Brothers Keepers banquet and accept this award it's mine isn't it …

? The thumb dug savagely —like everybody's always going to all these banquets I never even got to go once ….

The train shuddered to a halt, moaned at the platform, jolted the silence beside him moving on with —you want this rest of this here cupcake hey … ? and he crammed it away, dug the sneaker toes tighter to come up cantilevered and scratch —his dedication to the traditional ideas and values that have made America what it is today … he came down brushing crumbs from the tattered magazine page. —A quiet, soft voiced rather modest man who looks out from a calm impassive face and beetling brows, with deep set eyes that have such a startling clarity which makes them seem almost hit, hypnotic. They have a blue steel chill about them that suggests an austere, indrawn

indwellingness. But they can sparkle with an engaging warmth and the bulldog set of his jaw breaks in a boyish grin when asked about his youth… he hunched closer to blow at an icinged crumb, —ful, youthful surroundings and the influences that shaped his formula for successful marketing bluntly expressed in a recent interview as, simply, what works. As the moving force behind his publishing subsiderary's slash in textbook prices and the, the ubisomething new children's encyclopedia as well as a sweeping breakthrough in education about to be announced by the parent… his thumb rose to burrow, his free hand traced back up the lines to —A calm impassive face and beetling brows

… he sniffled and looked up, edged forward to peer past the form rocking beside him to the window mirrored with dirt and the darkness beyond lips shaping —beetling brows… and the eyebrows gathered in a wince, widened with —A blue steel chill… as the train gasped to halts, moved on, —but they sparkle with what did it say … ? and the eyebrows went up and down desperately projecting —engaging warmth that was it, and the bulldog set of his jaw… the narrow chin thrust forward, came up, protruded like an exhibit of orthodontic despair, all of it giving way suddenly to a face beyond the glass

thumbing its nose from the platform. —Holy, we're here holy shit wake up hey Bast wake up!

—What what…

—Quick wake up we're here they all got off boy that wiseass, hey wait we have to get off! Quick get your stuff…

—Leave it there I don't…

—You can't leave that hey! wait hold the case together…

—Here let me get your shoulder I don't feel very…

—Hey wait we're getting off! you okay hey? Boy it's cold wait a second … he squared his armload sheltered behind We kick ass yours too as the train receded into the desolation of the evening, paused

again at the breadloaf inscribed Father Haigt eat's it to mash streamers of paper into the portfolio and tug at its zipper —boy if there's one thing I really hate it's the wind you know… ? They reached the concrete steps, came down them. —You okay hey? I mean can't you carry some of this stuff I have to stop at the, holy shit it's closed look the candy store, it's closed!

—Don't want any candy where's a cab.

—No I mean the paper I can't get the paper, I mean now how are we suppose to we know what happened at that court thing and that underground…

—I don't care what happened where's a cab!

—There's not any there's not even buses hey wait up, I mean didn't you hear what happened? where this same new bank from the city which took over they called Gottlieb's loan which he couldn't pay it off so they seize his Ace Transportation assets which that's both his cabs and all these school buses I mean it's this same bank that wait where you going…

—Where do you think I'm going I'm…

—No but wait up … leaves swirled behind him, rushed past in the street where the sweeping lights of a car hurled his shadow over the figure mounting the curb ahead —hey Bast? I mean it's this here same new bank from the city can't you even listen a minute! It's this here new branch of one of these same banks that's screwing us too I mean they never lose these banks don't, I mean where we're getting screwed Craw-ley's getting screwed everybody's getting screwed except these here banks they never get screwed, they're always in there getting this percent of everything I mean I should have thought of it my… he stumbled, —I mean I got all this stuff I can't hardly see where, hey… ?

A car passed joining their shadows in a leap, flinging them aside to raise the shell of the Marine Memorial ahead in crumbling detail —I mean some bank getting some bank I should of thought of that by myself hey? Like where this newspaper just said the parent company I mean that's me, how the parent is going after this SSS Savings and Loan with these big cash reserves that's how I thought of it I just saw it in the paper, like where the paper's always saying the parent this the parent that I mean that's me the parent! See I hardly got started hey once we get things fixed up I had all these plans… his teeth were chattering —I mean like banks we could have these different kind of banks like this regular bank and these blood banks these eye banks these bone what, where you going…

—Have to sit down I, I feel like I …

—Wait get back up here where there's no wind hey … he stumbled against the crumbling edge of the Memorial's shell —let me put this stuff down where we can wait you going to sit here a second?

—Yes I, I feel diz…

—Okay because these here tapes you got I just remembered, I mean we can play them and boy this here nice attache case I got you you

really let it get busted up where's my, I can't hardly see what's wait a second I left one in here…

—Hey this is a tape I made there's this eighth grade at some orange place at New Jersey buying this here share of America where they wanted this here speech I thought you could, hey? you want to hear it?

—No!

—Okay we better do these others first anyway these batteries are real weak where's your, when this car comes I can see what I'm doing they think they can screw me out of everything boy I hardly even got started what's the, this thing's suppose to fit right into wait I got it in backwards once we get things fixed up boy this whole health plan thing we franchise it out and that whole Endo deal when we find out how much all that goodwill is worth and like Wiles said we have this here friend at Chase Man there, listen…

—Sit down hey these batteries are real weak you have to listen real…

—Hey what's, it's doing it again! —Wait listen… !

—This singing you did this one too! Right in the I mean holy shit right in the middle of I'm talking about ouch! What's let go my shoulder what's ouch!

—Just listen! shut up for a minute sit still and listen!

—No but holy shit Bast! this here tape was…

—I don't care what it was! I didn't know I had it I forgot I'd even sit still! Now listen. Once, just once you're going to listen to something that…

—No but ho …

—And stop saying holy shit! it's all you, you want to hear holy you're going to hear it wind the tape back, just once you're going to keep quiet and listen to a piece of music by one of …

—No but look hey I'm cold I mean how can we sit out here in the dark and lis…

—I'm cold too! I'm cold dizzy sick at my stomach if I can sit here and listen to you talk about how much this goodwill is worth and this here friend at what makes you think we've got any friends anywhere! How much goodwill do you think we …

—No wait hey I mean holy shit I don't mean where everybody's crazy about us and all, see goodwill that means the excess of the purchase

price over the value of these net tangible assets where they really screwed us on that Endo deal see so ouch!

—That's not what it means! That's what I'm trying to, listen all I want you to do take your mind off these nickel deductions these net tangible assets for a minute and listen to a piece of great music, it's a cantata by Bach cantata number twenty-one by Johann Sebastian Bach damn it J R can't you understand what I'm trying to, to show you there's such a thing as as, as intangible assets? what I was trying to tell you that night the sky do you remember it? walking back from that rehearsal that whole sense of, of sheer wonder in the Rhinegold you remember it?

—Well I, sure I mean we're still having it Mrs di…

—How it can lift you right out of yourself make you feel things that, do you know what I'm talking about at all?