not quietly enough. “Wrap it up, cowboy. Your eight seconds are up.”
She had to pretend to cough into her napkin at that one, and she didn’t even dare look at Cal.
“Although no longer making us proud on the playing field,” Dr. Oppenheimer said, “today’s honoree is still very much contributing to his hometown and its university. And it is my very great pleasure to announce tonight that he has donated the astonishingly generous sum of $800,000 to the university for the purposes of expanding its efforts in the physical sciences, engineering, and technology, and in particular to foster the inclusion of women and students of color in those fields. I couldn’t be happier to ask you to join me today in being the first, although surely not the last, to thank Mr. Calvin Jackson for his generosity.” He was smiling now, beckoning. “Cal?”
Cal handed a stunned Zoe his beer. “Don’t drink it all, now, darlin’,” he told her. “I’m going to need that later.”
He strode to the platform in his cowboy boots and black jeans, jumped up onto it exactly the same way he’d jumped up onto the stage at the Cowboy Bar, and the room echoed with applause and even a few whistles. He shook hands with Dr. Oppenheimer, adjusted the microphone upward with a practiced hand, and waited for the crowd to quiet.
“Well, thanks for all that,” he said when silence had fallen. “You know, when I was first talking to Dr. Oppenheimer about this idea, and he asked me what had led me to it, I said something noble about improving the quality of education for Idaho students, not losing our best and brightest to the other states, making the playing field a little more level, some sh—shinola like that.”
He grinned at the ripple of laughter. “When, really,” he confided, “the truth is, I was just hoping for a parade. So I hope that’s in the cards,” he told a chuckling Dr. Oppenheimer. “I’m kinda countin’ on riding on the float.”
His speech didn’t go on much longer than that, or get much more serious. Another couple minutes, and he was saying, “Thanks, everyone. The wine and cheese and crackers are on the house. Go wild, because I’m not taking all that home.”
He jumped down again as the room erupted in laughter and applause, came over, took the beer that Zoe had forgotten she was holding, and drained it.
“Do we get to leave now?” he asked. “Because I’d love to get out of here with you. If I talk real nice, I figure I might just get you to go dancing with me. Seeing as how I’m a donor and all.”
SOME COGENT POINTS
Zoe was still groping for words when Luke spoke.
“Whoa, bro,” he said. “I didn’t realize how much it was for.”
“Yeah,” Cal said. “I figured, why not? I can use the tax write-off.”
“Uh-huh,” Luke said. “You mean you wanted to make the folks proud, do something worthwhile with some of the dough. Oh, the horror. You know, if you keep doing stuff like this, that decent streak of yours is going to show no matter how hard you try to hide it.”
Cal shrugged, not looking nearly so comfortable. “Maybe I just wanted to piss some people off, you think of that?”
Luke laughed. “Hell, yeah. What’s Jolie going to think about it when she hears?”
Cal’s expression hardened. “She’d have something to say if we were still married. But we’re not, so she doesn’t.”
“I hope it burns her,” Luke said with satisfaction, clearly not seeing what Zoe saw. “Thinking about you giving away all that gorgeous money. Imagining, what? The vacation house you could have bought her down in Puerto Vallarta? But hey, too late now.”
“Yeah,” Cal said shortly. “But I was thinking about Steve.”
“Our brother-in-law,” Luke explained to Zoe. “He’ll have something to say for sure.”
“I swear,” Cal said, clearly doing his best to shake off the moment. “He lives in terror as it is that I’ll blow everything and not pay the ground rent. The rent
She had to pretend to cough into her napkin at that one, and she didn’t even dare look at Cal.
“Although no longer making us proud on the playing field,” Dr. Oppenheimer said, “today’s honoree is still very much contributing to his hometown and its university. And it is my very great pleasure to announce tonight that he has donated the astonishingly generous sum of $800,000 to the university for the purposes of expanding its efforts in the physical sciences, engineering, and technology, and in particular to foster the inclusion of women and students of color in those fields. I couldn’t be happier to ask you to join me today in being the first, although surely not the last, to thank Mr. Calvin Jackson for his generosity.” He was smiling now, beckoning. “Cal?”
Cal handed a stunned Zoe his beer. “Don’t drink it all, now, darlin’,” he told her. “I’m going to need that later.”
He strode to the platform in his cowboy boots and black jeans, jumped up onto it exactly the same way he’d jumped up onto the stage at the Cowboy Bar, and the room echoed with applause and even a few whistles. He shook hands with Dr. Oppenheimer, adjusted the microphone upward with a practiced hand, and waited for the crowd to quiet.
“Well, thanks for all that,” he said when silence had fallen. “You know, when I was first talking to Dr. Oppenheimer about this idea, and he asked me what had led me to it, I said something noble about improving the quality of education for Idaho students, not losing our best and brightest to the other states, making the playing field a little more level, some sh—shinola like that.”
He grinned at the ripple of laughter. “When, really,” he confided, “the truth is, I was just hoping for a parade. So I hope that’s in the cards,” he told a chuckling Dr. Oppenheimer. “I’m kinda countin’ on riding on the float.”
His speech didn’t go on much longer than that, or get much more serious. Another couple minutes, and he was saying, “Thanks, everyone. The wine and cheese and crackers are on the house. Go wild, because I’m not taking all that home.”
He jumped down again as the room erupted in laughter and applause, came over, took the beer that Zoe had forgotten she was holding, and drained it.
“Do we get to leave now?” he asked. “Because I’d love to get out of here with you. If I talk real nice, I figure I might just get you to go dancing with me. Seeing as how I’m a donor and all.”
SOME COGENT POINTS
Zoe was still groping for words when Luke spoke.
“Whoa, bro,” he said. “I didn’t realize how much it was for.”
“Yeah,” Cal said. “I figured, why not? I can use the tax write-off.”
“Uh-huh,” Luke said. “You mean you wanted to make the folks proud, do something worthwhile with some of the dough. Oh, the horror. You know, if you keep doing stuff like this, that decent streak of yours is going to show no matter how hard you try to hide it.”
Cal shrugged, not looking nearly so comfortable. “Maybe I just wanted to piss some people off, you think of that?”
Luke laughed. “Hell, yeah. What’s Jolie going to think about it when she hears?”
Cal’s expression hardened. “She’d have something to say if we were still married. But we’re not, so she doesn’t.”
“I hope it burns her,” Luke said with satisfaction, clearly not seeing what Zoe saw. “Thinking about you giving away all that gorgeous money. Imagining, what? The vacation house you could have bought her down in Puerto Vallarta? But hey, too late now.”
“Yeah,” Cal said shortly. “But I was thinking about Steve.”
“Our brother-in-law,” Luke explained to Zoe. “He’ll have something to say for sure.”
“I swear,” Cal said, clearly doing his best to shake off the moment. “He lives in terror as it is that I’ll blow everything and not pay the ground rent. The rent
Similar Books
