finance education and industry clear into the next century.”
“Yoo-hoo, Mike,” Ledare purred murderously. “You forget I was married to the forward-looking son of a bitch. He had some real radical ideas about how to pay child support, too. He preferred not to.”
“His divorce from you is causing a little trouble in his campaign. I won’t lie to you,” Mike said.
“Good,” she said. “He’s a coldhearted, ruthless bastard, Mike. I fell in love with him once, married him, had two children by him, and learned to hate him slowly and over time. He’s poison in all the right places and all the wrong ones, too.”
“He feels bad about you, Ledare. He told me that himself. He admits he was an asshole.”
“The University of South Carolina,” I interrupted, “1970, Mike. Very big year. You may remember we learned something very significant about our boy, Capers Middleton, that year.”
“Not all of us,” Ledare said. “Some of us didn’t learn a thing about Capers’ nature or sense of integrity from that telling moment. One of us went from that amazing existential moment and married him.”
Mike breathed deeply and waited for our anger to pass before he resumed speaking. “No one hated Capers for that more than I did. But he stands by what he did and still thinks of it as an act ofpatriotism. He wants to tell us everything that led up to that night at the draft board. That’ll be part of the mini-series.”
“I’m sorry, Mike, I’m off the project,” Ledare said.
“For God’s sake. What’s the big deal?” Mike said. “Besides, I know you both could use the cash.”
“Is that it, Mike?” I asked. “Do you think you can buy us, that we’re for sale for the right price?”
“I’m not talking about buying anyone, Jack,” Mike said, and now his tone changed. “I’m talking about doing good work and telling a great story and getting to know each other again. The money’s just gravy. You know, all the chocolate ice cream you can eat?”
“And your friend Capers wants to tell us all about his heroic role at the university? Come clean as an American hero?”
“He was a hero to a great many people. I’d say ninety-five percent of the people of South Carolina supported what he did.”
“Those same people all supported the Vietnam War.”
“The sixties. That’s tired old shit, Jack. Lousy box office,” Mike said, still uncomfortable as the object of Ledare’s uncompromising gaze.
“I want to go on record with you, Mike. Right now. Say it up front. Everything I believed in the sixties, I still believe with all my heart. I’ve repudiated nothing,” I said.
“A lot of it was self-righteous bullshit. Admit it,” Mike said.
“I admit it. And I still believe it.”
“Okay,” Mike said, “what Capers did is open for debate. I’ve got an open mind on the subject. But it didn’t hurt anyone. You got arrested, Jack, but you didn’t do hard time.”
“No, it hurt all of us. It was a killing blow, Mike. See? We loved Capers and believed in him and followed him.” I smiled.
“But you’ve gotten over it. Everyone has.”
“Not the guy you’re looking for. I bet Jordan hasn’t gotten over it,” Ledare said. “If he proves to be alive, I mean.”
“You do know where he is?” Mike asked me again.
“No, Mike. We went to his memorial service, remember? Because of Capers Middleton, none of us has seen Jordan since 1970.”
Mike removed a checkbook from his breast pocket and wrote out a check for ten thousand dollars. He handed it to me.
“That’s a down payment. Take me to Jordan … and there’s another ten thousand where that came from.”
I looked at the check and laughed. I lit the end of it with a candle on the table that had burned nearly to the end of its taper. I watched as the check made a splendid blaze and then I dropped it into Mike’s espresso cup.
“Mike, I want you to study me. Bone up for final exams. You need to learn how to be a human
“Yoo-hoo, Mike,” Ledare purred murderously. “You forget I was married to the forward-looking son of a bitch. He had some real radical ideas about how to pay child support, too. He preferred not to.”
“His divorce from you is causing a little trouble in his campaign. I won’t lie to you,” Mike said.
“Good,” she said. “He’s a coldhearted, ruthless bastard, Mike. I fell in love with him once, married him, had two children by him, and learned to hate him slowly and over time. He’s poison in all the right places and all the wrong ones, too.”
“He feels bad about you, Ledare. He told me that himself. He admits he was an asshole.”
“The University of South Carolina,” I interrupted, “1970, Mike. Very big year. You may remember we learned something very significant about our boy, Capers Middleton, that year.”
“Not all of us,” Ledare said. “Some of us didn’t learn a thing about Capers’ nature or sense of integrity from that telling moment. One of us went from that amazing existential moment and married him.”
Mike breathed deeply and waited for our anger to pass before he resumed speaking. “No one hated Capers for that more than I did. But he stands by what he did and still thinks of it as an act ofpatriotism. He wants to tell us everything that led up to that night at the draft board. That’ll be part of the mini-series.”
“I’m sorry, Mike, I’m off the project,” Ledare said.
“For God’s sake. What’s the big deal?” Mike said. “Besides, I know you both could use the cash.”
“Is that it, Mike?” I asked. “Do you think you can buy us, that we’re for sale for the right price?”
“I’m not talking about buying anyone, Jack,” Mike said, and now his tone changed. “I’m talking about doing good work and telling a great story and getting to know each other again. The money’s just gravy. You know, all the chocolate ice cream you can eat?”
“And your friend Capers wants to tell us all about his heroic role at the university? Come clean as an American hero?”
“He was a hero to a great many people. I’d say ninety-five percent of the people of South Carolina supported what he did.”
“Those same people all supported the Vietnam War.”
“The sixties. That’s tired old shit, Jack. Lousy box office,” Mike said, still uncomfortable as the object of Ledare’s uncompromising gaze.
“I want to go on record with you, Mike. Right now. Say it up front. Everything I believed in the sixties, I still believe with all my heart. I’ve repudiated nothing,” I said.
“A lot of it was self-righteous bullshit. Admit it,” Mike said.
“I admit it. And I still believe it.”
“Okay,” Mike said, “what Capers did is open for debate. I’ve got an open mind on the subject. But it didn’t hurt anyone. You got arrested, Jack, but you didn’t do hard time.”
“No, it hurt all of us. It was a killing blow, Mike. See? We loved Capers and believed in him and followed him.” I smiled.
“But you’ve gotten over it. Everyone has.”
“Not the guy you’re looking for. I bet Jordan hasn’t gotten over it,” Ledare said. “If he proves to be alive, I mean.”
“You do know where he is?” Mike asked me again.
“No, Mike. We went to his memorial service, remember? Because of Capers Middleton, none of us has seen Jordan since 1970.”
Mike removed a checkbook from his breast pocket and wrote out a check for ten thousand dollars. He handed it to me.
“That’s a down payment. Take me to Jordan … and there’s another ten thousand where that came from.”
I looked at the check and laughed. I lit the end of it with a candle on the table that had burned nearly to the end of its taper. I watched as the check made a splendid blaze and then I dropped it into Mike’s espresso cup.
“Mike, I want you to study me. Bone up for final exams. You need to learn how to be a human
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