contempt for the result.
“Great stuff,” Mike said happily as he tasted it. “I told you they had Roquefort cheese stashed around here somewhere.”
It was only a few moments later that Mike brought up the subject he was in Venice to pursue. “Let’s talk a minute about the project. What do you two think? The greatest change in the South since World War II?”
After thinking about it a moment, Ledare said, “The invention of instant grits. No, that’s not it. That you can buy a taco, a
taco
, in almost any small town in the South.”
Mike frowned and said, “You’re not being serious. How about you, Jack?”
“I’m not going to work on your project and I personally don’t care what the biggest or the smallest change has been in the South.”
“This is big money, Jack. More money than you’ve ever made. I’ve done some checking. This is a personal favor from me to you. I had to do some fast talking to get you approved. Ledare’s got a couple of credits, a little name recognition. Your Julia Child imitation doesn’t bring shit to the project.”
“I’m out of it, Mike.”
“Will you work as a consultant?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because you’ll want us to write about Shyla and I’m not going to do that.”
“We won’t have to say she jumped off the bridge. Or we can just do that off-screen.”
“Count me out. You’re also going to want to write about Jordan and the sixties.”
“No. Wait a sec,” Mike said, holding his hand in the air. “You’re getting ahead of the game. See, I want it in a context. Don’t you see? It’s not just about us. It’s about this century. My grandfather coming to Waterford not speaking but ten words of English. He meets your grandfather, Jack. It changes both their lives forever. We’re here at this table in Venice right now because of a pogrom that took place in Russia in 1921. Isn’t that true?”
“Yes,” I agreed, “that’s true.”
“Look, that past defined us, like it or not. And then we lived through some shit. You asked about Jordan. Hell yeah, we deal with Jordan. Who changed us more than Jordan Elliott? Do you know where he is, Jack?”
“Rumor has it he died. We all went to his memorial service.”
“Rumor has it that he’s alive, that you know where he is. Rumor has it that he’s in Italy.”
“If he is, he’s never gotten in touch with me,” I said.
“If he had, would you tell me?” Mike asked.
“No, I wouldn’t tell you.”
“I don’t agree with what the son of a bitch did in the war, but God damn, it’s great drama. Especially if we learn how he got away.”
“You could make that part up, couldn’t you?” Ledare asked Mike. “Maybe Jack’s right. Maybe he died while trying to escape or hide.”
“I want to get at the truth,” Mike said. “It’s a matter of principle that we be as factual as we can. I’m gonna find that son of a bitch and pay him a ton of money to tell his story.”
“Did he say ‘principle’?” Ledare asked me in mock surprise. “Did Mike just say ‘principle’?”
“Another point of business,” Mike said, ignoring Ledare. “I want you both to hear me out on this before you start screaming. I know what you’re going to say, but what I say might surprise you.”
“Fire away,” Ledare said, shrugging her shoulders.
“I’ve joined Capers Middleton’s campaign committee in his run for governor of South Carolina. I’m his executive chairman in charge of finance. We’d like very much to put both your names on his election committee.”
Ledare looked perfectly stunned and said, “How do you say ‘fuck you’ in Italian, Jack?”
“You don’t need to know. Just say ‘fuck you’ in English and double it for me.”
“I know where both of you’re coming from. But you’re both wrong. The cat’s changed. I talked with him in New York before I flew over here, and this is one forward-looking son of a bitch. He’s got some real radical ideas about how to
“Great stuff,” Mike said happily as he tasted it. “I told you they had Roquefort cheese stashed around here somewhere.”
It was only a few moments later that Mike brought up the subject he was in Venice to pursue. “Let’s talk a minute about the project. What do you two think? The greatest change in the South since World War II?”
After thinking about it a moment, Ledare said, “The invention of instant grits. No, that’s not it. That you can buy a taco, a
taco
, in almost any small town in the South.”
Mike frowned and said, “You’re not being serious. How about you, Jack?”
“I’m not going to work on your project and I personally don’t care what the biggest or the smallest change has been in the South.”
“This is big money, Jack. More money than you’ve ever made. I’ve done some checking. This is a personal favor from me to you. I had to do some fast talking to get you approved. Ledare’s got a couple of credits, a little name recognition. Your Julia Child imitation doesn’t bring shit to the project.”
“I’m out of it, Mike.”
“Will you work as a consultant?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because you’ll want us to write about Shyla and I’m not going to do that.”
“We won’t have to say she jumped off the bridge. Or we can just do that off-screen.”
“Count me out. You’re also going to want to write about Jordan and the sixties.”
“No. Wait a sec,” Mike said, holding his hand in the air. “You’re getting ahead of the game. See, I want it in a context. Don’t you see? It’s not just about us. It’s about this century. My grandfather coming to Waterford not speaking but ten words of English. He meets your grandfather, Jack. It changes both their lives forever. We’re here at this table in Venice right now because of a pogrom that took place in Russia in 1921. Isn’t that true?”
“Yes,” I agreed, “that’s true.”
“Look, that past defined us, like it or not. And then we lived through some shit. You asked about Jordan. Hell yeah, we deal with Jordan. Who changed us more than Jordan Elliott? Do you know where he is, Jack?”
“Rumor has it he died. We all went to his memorial service.”
“Rumor has it that he’s alive, that you know where he is. Rumor has it that he’s in Italy.”
“If he is, he’s never gotten in touch with me,” I said.
“If he had, would you tell me?” Mike asked.
“No, I wouldn’t tell you.”
“I don’t agree with what the son of a bitch did in the war, but God damn, it’s great drama. Especially if we learn how he got away.”
“You could make that part up, couldn’t you?” Ledare asked Mike. “Maybe Jack’s right. Maybe he died while trying to escape or hide.”
“I want to get at the truth,” Mike said. “It’s a matter of principle that we be as factual as we can. I’m gonna find that son of a bitch and pay him a ton of money to tell his story.”
“Did he say ‘principle’?” Ledare asked me in mock surprise. “Did Mike just say ‘principle’?”
“Another point of business,” Mike said, ignoring Ledare. “I want you both to hear me out on this before you start screaming. I know what you’re going to say, but what I say might surprise you.”
“Fire away,” Ledare said, shrugging her shoulders.
“I’ve joined Capers Middleton’s campaign committee in his run for governor of South Carolina. I’m his executive chairman in charge of finance. We’d like very much to put both your names on his election committee.”
Ledare looked perfectly stunned and said, “How do you say ‘fuck you’ in Italian, Jack?”
“You don’t need to know. Just say ‘fuck you’ in English and double it for me.”
“I know where both of you’re coming from. But you’re both wrong. The cat’s changed. I talked with him in New York before I flew over here, and this is one forward-looking son of a bitch. He’s got some real radical ideas about how to
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