JR (30 page)

though it was the force of his stare that had abruptly bared her breast spilled toward him there, turned on her back to reach the light.

—But, but that's…

—Oh I just mean stop saying it… the light went out and the mass of her thighs rose again under the blanket as she turned away.

Back in the kitchen half tending his eggs he poured some more bourbon finally settling down to eat with his left hand, a blunt pencil in his right sketching, adding, subtracting, crossing out on a kitchen pad he brought with him into the living room when he was finished,

moving among the furniture like a stranger looking for a chair large enough, a lamp bright enough, moving Spring in Derby biscuit and Brassaï Retrospective to make space enough for his forms and papers and the latest catalog of Ardo Heavy Duty Stamping Equipment and Parts list, squeezing off his shoes and working on a larger yellow pad until the telephone rang. He looked down the hall as he crossed the room to answer it to what appeared to be light under the bedroom door, but it continued to ring until he answered it, and then went dead in his hand.

In the bathroom he lifted her things dripping from the basin across to the tub and washed, in the bedroom stepped on Wagner as Man and Artist broken open on the floor between their beds looking, as he got into his own, at the shadow of her thighs' descent there just beyond reach and unchanged it seemed in any detail next morning as he paused again up on one elbow to look, and then stepping on Wagner as Man and Artist got to the bathroom and shaved, lifted her things from the tub to the basin and picked up his shoes dressing half in the hall, restoring Spring and Brassaï, gathering papers and locking the door after him humming, out into the day and as he steered through streets and over the bridge and down rows of false fronts

desperately simulating brick and fieldstone, stray fretful bars of Phil the Fluter's Ball.

—Leo? he called barely inside over the clatter of machinery, —come over here a minute. Look … he spread yellow pad pages on a filing cabinet. —This problem we been having over there with number three, if we just go get this wall knocked out right here and move this whole setup right over around this way we've got the line running right through with nothing to hinder, you see what I mean?

—Run into money.

—Well hell I know that. It'll double this whole production run just about too.

—You might double your run all right, but it will run you into money.

—Well let's see how much. You get onto those people we had to do those shipping platforms, that little Eyetalian, get them in here for a cost estimate.

—Mister Angel? If you got a minute there's something here I think you'd ought to know about, we'd maybe ought to go over here out of the path… Leading the way to the shelter of filing cabinets he dug in

the inside pocket of a suit curled round its collar down the length of its lapels coming up with a soiled envelope, —I figured you…

—Mister Angel… ?

—Wait a second, that's Terry calling me.

—Mister Angel? Oh, I didn't see you back there. Mister Coen's on the telephone from the hospital.

—Coming. I'll see you later Leo, get hold of that Eyetalian … He followed her down a hall of plastic flats and cement block painted a green, eyes held on the practiced rise and. fall of her step one foot crossing the path of the other before her and a tight turn at the door where she pushed red hair away from her face and held up the phone.

—Gee they hung up on us …

—That's all right he'll call back.

—Gee I wouldn't have picked him for reckless driving, you know Mister Angel? Like he's always so shy and quiet when he comes in, you know?

—Well it wasn't reckless, he'd broke his glasses, been out in Long Island and couldn't see where he was going.

—Gee, she said turning back to her typewriter, and he leaned back hands clasped behind his head, looking across to how the fullness curbed in her simulated leather skirt spilled from the sides of the orthopedic typist's chair, abruptly bringing his eyes up to the hair pushed back at each return of the carriage.

—Terry? What would you think of a little redecorating in here,

maybe getting some of that paneling up on the walls and covering over those pipes up there.

—Gee, I think that would be real nice.

—We even ought to get some carpet in here and plants, we could get some plants in here and get a new leather sofa instead of that old chair over there, and a coffee table.

—That would be real nice Mister Angel.

—And we ought to get some pictures up on the walls here.

—I saw one downtown of the ocean that was real nice, you could like almost hear the waves looking at it.

—We have pictures back in the files here, historical pictures of some famous musicians autographed to old Mister Bast back from the days when the business was piano rolls we could even, there's an old Welte- Mignon down there in the basement we could get working, shine it up and put it out in the front there where you come in, you know what I mean?

—Yes I, that would be real nice.

—For, you know, when we have visitors to come in, somebody coming in that didn't know anything about the business, I think they'd be pretty impressed…

She turned to answer a buzz. —They want you out on the floor, Leo. That would be real nice Mister Angel, she said as he got up and hung his jacket on the coat rack, going out.

—You get that Eyetalian in this quick, Leo?

—What? Oh. No, it's this what I was going to show you before.

—What's that Leo, he said following him to the shelter of the filing cabinets.

—I figured you better have a look at these. The soiled envelope came out and he closed a frayed buttonhole behind it, —see what goes on here.

—Where did these come from?

—Boys in the shipping room had them.

—But the, this, is this Terry here?

—Don't know who else it is, with a ass like that on her.

—But who's the, the man here, that's not one of our men.

—Might be one of the soldiers from over to the base there.

—And, this one? these?

—More soldiers I guess. What you going to do.

—Well hell I, I don't exactly know right off. You can't just go and be that sure from these they're none of them real sharp and…

—You mean you think they maybe ain't her? They used that kind of camera that develops itself but just because you can't see the color of every hair, you don't see tits like that come down the street every day. I don't know who else it could be with a ass like that.

—Why hell you never saw her naked like this neither did I Leo, hell. She might, it might be just somebody's trying to get her in trouble, she…

—like she didn't know they was being taken? Look at this, no this here one with the three of them in it she's twisted around him looking right in the camera having a whale of a time, look at that.

—Well you can't just, unless it's a hundred percent certain you can't just go around and, hell there's things they can do now with doctoring pictures that you can't hardly tell it.

—That's some doctor then is all I could say. You mean like pasting on somebody's different face? Look at this here, you'd have to have a picture of her eating a cucumber to paste onto this one, that's some doctor.

—Well just right now let's just…

—Wait, wait, that there one spread-eagled over the chair look at it, don't that look like that old leather chair right there in your office? all them little brass studs showing out of under her knees?

—Well, it …

—And the corner of this here curtain showing you can almost make out the little design, see it?

—Well it, it sure as hell does but we're just going to wait and don't say anything till …

—You think them boys in the shipping room ain't saying…

—You just tell them to do what they're paid to around here and any that don't understand that get out, that's the first God damn rule right down the line produce or get out and something else, you know that

big old Welte piano down there in the basement? Go down and take a look at it, see what shape it's in.

—I used to play on that Mister Angel, the old man had it right up in the…

—Well go down and see what shape it's in, we might clean it up and set it up out here in the front.

—All right but all them tubes and bellows, that's all probably cracked and…

—Just do what I'm asking will you Leo? and he turned down the wall of porous green tapping the soiled envelope against his leg out of sight as he came in behind his desk.

—Oh Mister Angel Kenny just called from Dayton on that order and those people in Chicago called again they said they're up against the wall on these specifications, it's that letter I put right on top there…

He looked down where an ellipse had already taken shape under his blunt pencil in the margin. —Same story isn't it, want something done right you have to do it yourself.

—You have to go out there again? I'll call about your tick…

—That's all right no I'll just pick it up at the airport, just call them up and tell them I'll be out there this afternoon… but all that moved about him was his hand laboriously blacking in the shape in the margin there until she pushed her chair back from the typewriter.

—I'm just going for coffee. You want your regular?

—I don't want any, no. —Gee I never heard you turn down coffee, you okay Mister Angel?

—I'm fine Terry … he watched her turn for the door and then sat back staring at the worn leather chair near the coat rack, and then he came forward to open the soiled envelope down in the shelter of his desk, looking up from its contents to the chair, working his mouth and swallowing with apparent difficulty, finally pulling open the desk drawer and thrusting the envelope to the back of it, reaching forward to dial the phone and sit staring as it buzzed at his ear. When she came through the door balancing a cup he was sitting back as though studying the curtains.

—You going home and pack first Mister Angel? or …

—I'll just buy a shirt and a toothbrush when I get out there … he stood tightening the knot at his wilted collar, brought a wallet up from a hip pocket to thumb through bills and double it back, reaching his jacket and pulling it on. —When Coen calls tell him if he gets out

before I get back tell him to go ahead and get me everything he can on that old lawsuit over holes with that jukebox company tell him I heard they're changing hands, tell him I couldn't make any more sense than he did out there with this estate situation you got that number for them I gave you? Try and get hold of this Edward Bast out there try

and get him and Coen together yes and wait, tell Coen the boy's just not quite, just say he's kind of hard to get to I couldn't get to first base with him myself… by now he was in his coat, reached up for his hat —

And see if you can get hold of my wife Terry, just tell her I'll try to call her tonight.

—I can't usually reach her Mister Angel, should I say how long you think you'll be gone?

—I know I just called there just keep trying, shouldn't be more than a couple of days unless I stop off there in Dayton to give Kenny a push I tell you, when I was on the road here if old Mister Bast would have had to come in and check my territory I would have been out on the street the next morning, used to be all you'd think about's your commissions now all these salesmen think about's their expense accounts, his wife called here lately?

—No sir only that nurse where she's…

—I'd just hate to be the one footing those bills that's all… he was standing in hat and coat over his desk turning up the pile of letters there, —if that finance company he got himself mixed up with calls again just have to tell them we've gone as far as we can now here's these Triangle paper people again, just hold up on this payment you tell them it's the third time they've come up short on their shipments, they keep up that way we'll all be out of business here and look at this Terry … he pulled a page from the pile he was stuffing in a manila

envelope,—this last letter you typed to Ardo looks like you left off the s there, see right here… she was up, thrust her hair back brushing

against him —where it's supposed to say metal scrap see it looks like…

—Gee! she snatched it up, pressed against him there —wouldn't that have been awful if it went out like that? I'm sorry…

—No well that's, no harm done … he cleared his throat in the wave of unconcealing scent, swallowed —I already signed it, you just, just squeeze a little s in there and no harm done … he stood as though waiting for her to move, and then came after her.

—No but I could type it over, gee it's very embarrass…

—No harm done Terry, one more thing… he'd turned abruptly back to his desk, —I told Leo to get me some cost estimates you keep after him on it, I want them waiting here when I get back.

—Okay but, Mister Angel if you got a second, it was just about Leo…

—No go ahead Terry… he straightened up from locking the drawer.

—That day I stayed late typing up all those tax forms? Well anyway, wait excuse me… hello? Oh hi look I'll call you back the boss is just leaving…

—Well go ahead … he stood over her.

—No that's just my friend Myrna out in the order department, is it okay if I take my typing out there sometimes while you're gone? It gets sort of lone…

—Fine sure but… he cleared his throat again, —what's that about Leo.

—No that's okay Mister Angel I don't want to keep you, I mean when you get back…

—You suit yourself Terry … he stood there for a moment, —second

thought Leo he can be a funny old geezer maybe better just leave him be, I'll talk to him on the way out here.

—Have a nice trip Mister Angel don't worry about anything, gee I wish you had one of those nice cases like they carry instead of these old envelopes you use…

—What's in it that counts, keep an eye on things Terry…

—So long have a nice trip Mister Angel, don't do nothing I wouldn't do … she looked up at the clock, down at her watch, studied her nails the length of her hand and then turned them in on her palm and studied them that way, picked up the phone and dialed —hi, he just went yeah bring in your coffee, you got any Nail Mender… ? Bring it yeah I just broke one… she hung up, dialed again, —hello? Mister Mullins' office… ? Hello? Yeah this is Mister Angel's office in New … oh hi, yeah would you tell Mister Mullins he's on his way out there? He