She and I drove into town so I could try and make some kind of arrangements to get home. As we drove along with the sand blowing up and making clouds on the road, she said, “I was supposed to be at the boat this morning, to help.”
“What are you going to tell your father?”
“I will not tell him that I was servicing you.”
“I hear that. Hey. Wasn’t I servicing you too?”
“You were. You did good.”
“Great. Good dog. Want me to fetch your slippers?”
Beatrice laughed her musical laugh.
“Will he be mad?” I asked.
“No. He does not make me work on the boat. It is as I said last night. I feel obligated.”
“Thanks for going against your obligation this morning.”
“That is all right. Even the obligated must have, how do you say it, ashes hauled?”
“Close enough. But, you know, I hate it for your father. I mean, he helps us out, then we mess up his schedule. I make love to his daughter.”
“He likes to take Jose out. Jose goes with him often. Jose or his brothers. He enjoys being able to give them a little money. They are even poorer than we are. Father catches quite a few fish. But if he caught all the fish in the ocean, he would only make so much money. It is not a rich life, the life of a fisherman.”
“I hear that.”
In town we stopped at a little cafe near the dock. Outside the cafe the smell was briny and strong of fish. Inside the cafe there was the smell of cooking fish, and that unique smell of hot sauces and fresh tortillas.
I used some of the money I had to treat Beatrice to lunch, reminded myself to stop by later and get something for Leonard.
We had spicy fish with beans and rice and tortillas. As we ate, I halfway expected one of the cops from across the bay to come in, but that was probably just fearful thinking. Even though the towns of Playa del Carmen and Cozumel were separated only by water, it was enough water unless the renegade cops made regular pilgrimages here.
When we finished, Beatrice had coffee while I found a pay phone that worked near the restaurant and called John’s number using my calling card. I got the answering machine. I left a message outlining briefly what had happened. Where we were.
I called Charlie.
“Yes.”
“Hey, Hap. You gettin’ any cruise ship pussy?”
“No. Actually I’m in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.”
“Hey, getting any senorita pussy?”
“Actually, yes.”
“Female chihuahuas don’t count.”
“You’re just as funny as clown shoes.”
“Hey, I know it.”
“Listen. I got a little problem.”
“Oh, shit.”
“No. Nothing like that. Not the usual.”
“Anybody dead?”
“Not yet.”
I gave him the shortened version of events.
“Damn. Is Leonard bad?”
“Not bad, but hell, he took a knife. No little thing. It could have been a lot worse. It’s a small cut, not too deep. Which is a good thing. This isn’t exactly a medical Mecca here.”
“You guys. You’re somethin’. You could fuck up a wet dream. What do you need?”
“Well, mainly I wanted you to know what happened to us. And I think I’m going to need some money wired until I can get to my money on board the ship. Then I can pay you back.”
“How much you need?”
“Well, we’ll have to arrange for plane tickets. Stuff like that. I’ve got some money. But, since I’m not certain how long Leonard’s going to have to recoup, if we’re going to have to take a hotel or not, maybe a couple thousand. Three would be better.”
“Shit. Ask for ten. Same thing.”
“I know, Charlie. Maybe you could loan me some, a little from Marvin-”
“-Marvin’s in a fuckin’ wheelchair. What’s he gonna do? Run a little soapbox derby for extra bucks?”
“You know my deal. I’m actually good for it for once. And besides, even when I’m not good for it, I pay it back, don’t I?”
Charlie sighed. “I can ask.”
“Brett might loan you a little for me. Between the three of you, you might could scrape it up. Shit, man. A thousand would probably do it, we had to. Oh, and John, of course. He’s probably got the whole thing.”
“Why didn’t you call him?”
“I did. He wasn’t home.”
“So I was second choice?”
“Pretty much.”
“Look. I’ll see what I can do. Give me John’s phone number.”
I gave it to him.
“You know Brett’s?”
“I do.”
“I wouldn’t count on much there. I’m just being wistful. John’s probably the best bet.”
“All right. Who else?”
“I think that’s about all the people who like me. And some of them are a mixed bag. There’s a lawyer friend named Veil, but I have no idea where he is these days. And besides, I’m not sure he and Leonard truly like one another.”
“I know Veil,” Charlie said.
“You do?” I said.
“Everyone knows Veil. You got a number I can call you?”
“No. The lady we’re staying with doesn’t have a phone.”
“She the one you’re doing the hole punch with?”
“That’s an indelicate way of putting it. But yes. We’ll only be there today, though. Tomorrow, we have to head out.”
“Didn’t turn out so good, huh? Bad in the sack?”
“She was fine.”
“Hell, I meant you.”
“I was quite good, actually. She told me so.”
“Now there’s something you can depend on.”
“Charlie, I don’t know where to wire the money. I guess what I’ll do is call you back tomorrow, see if you could raise it, then I’ll let you know where to send it. I get the money I can book a plane flight.”
“Haven’t you got a credit card?”
“I do. But it’s one of those that has a low credit limit.”
“A kiddie card.”
“Pretty much. Something like three hundred dollars. I might even have enough with that and my cash and Leonard’s to put together two plane flights, but if we need to eat, anything goes wrong, well, we’d be screwed. Besides, I need to slip these people a little something. They didn’t ask, but the old man literally saved our lives. He patched Leonard up good and just in time. Without him and the antibiotics his daughter gave us, Leonard might be deceased.”
“All right, Hap. Give me a call tomorrow.”
