No one deserves more to land with the shiny side...
No one deserves
more to land with the shiny side up and the rubber
side downA one-armed hug, but he made up for
it
I walked out to the plane beside PamWe stood at
the foot of the boarding stairs while the others
got onShe was holding my hand in both of hers,
looking up at me
"I'm only going to kiss you on the cheek, Edgar
Illy's watching and I don't want her to get the
wrong idea
She did so, then said, "I'm worried about you
There's a white look around your eyes that I don't
like
"Elizabeth-"
She shook her head a tiny bit"It was there last
night, even before she came to the galleryEven
when daytona rolex you were at your happiestI
don't know how to describe it any better than that
I only saw it once before, back in 1992, when it
782
looked for a little while like you might miss that
balloon payment and lose the business
The jet engines were whining and a hot breeze was
blowing her hair around her face, tumbling her
careful beauty-shop curls into something younger
and more natural"Can I ask you something,
Eddie?"
"Of course
"Could you paint anywhere? Or does it have to be
here?"
"Anywhere, I thinkBut it would be different
somewhere else
She was looking at me fixedly
"Just the same, a change chloe bag white leather padlock might be goodYou need
to lose that white lookI'm not talking about
coming back to Minnesota, necessarily, just
goingWill you think about it?"
"Yes But not until I saw what was in the red
picnic basketAnd not until I'd made at least one
trip to the south end of the KeyAnd I thought I
could do thatBecause Ilse was the one who'd
gotten sick, not meAll I'd had was one of my
red-tinged flashbacks to the accidentAnd that
phantom itch
783
"Be well, EdgarI don't know exactly what's
become of you, but there's still enough of the old
you to love She stood on tiptoe in her white
sandals - bought specially cheap replica rolex for this trip, I had no
doubt - and planted another soft kiss on my
stubbly cheek"Thank you for last night
"No thanks required," she said
She squeezed my handThen she was up the stairs
and gone
vi
Outside Delta departures againThis time without
Jack
"Just you and me, Miss Cookie," I said"Looks
like we closed down the bar
Then I saw she was crying and wrapped my arm
around her
"Daddy, I wish I could stay here with youStudy for your test and knock the
hell out of itLooked at me anxiously"You'll
be okay?"
784
"Yes
She gave me a hearty smack on the mouth - to make
up for the one her mother had tiffany cross necklace held back on,
perhaps - and went in through the sliding doors
She turned back once and waved to me, by then
little more than a girl-shape behind the polarized
glassI wish with all my heart that I could have
seen her better, because I never saw her again
vii
From the Ringling Art Museum I had left messages
for Wireman - one at the funeral home and one on
El Palacio's answering machine - saying I'd be
back around three, and asking him to meet me there
I also asked him to tell Jack that if Jack was old
enough to vote and party with FSU sorority girls,
he was old enough to take care of his damned imitation prada handbags cell
ph