you find it’s all done, choice out of the window and your feet hurrying the way they would have anyway.
The trouble was Magda wasn’t going to be easy to bid farewell. She was a typical woman, sticking to your mind like glue just when you wanted to be away out of the starting block like a gazelle. Her and her idiot criminal maniacal treacherous little kid who shot people and thought it right just because it was me going to get gunned down. A cool Bonnie and Clyde couple, except once she’d told me about how she would send Zole to school and he’d be a great doctor, lawyer, a real educated man full growed, able to look anybody in the eye.
Nothing for it. I had to go. This was the moment to accost her, say goodbye, it was fine while it lasted, thanks for everything. She was looking at her watch, pacing. Zole was off somewhere. He’d abandoned his skateboard, was down to walking. Though I noticed he’d been carrying a trannie, to annoy everybody within earshot.
I cleared my throat, rehearsing my time-to-say-so-long speech. I’d the words all off pat, just as I’d decided in the taxi across town. I walked towards her, among the passengers heading for the barrier.
There was no decision to make, not really, not when you thought of it. Luxury, endless love, lusting my paradisical way from penthouse to penthouse, one lovely rich woman to another, panting and groping, ecstatic with delirious lovely wealth flowing my way, and every solid dollar legit as I took a massive percentage for my trouble. That was life. A dream.
“Hello, love.”
She spun, gladness in her eyes.
“Oh, Lovejoy! You came! I was start’n to think maybe —”
“Where the hell’s that little pillock?” I said, moving her towards the train. “Less than ten minutes to go and you let him wander off. Why do you never take any notice of what I say? Silly cow.”
“Don’t you start on me, Lovejoy. Not after what I’ve been through, waiting and worryin’ —”
“Hey, man! Time you showed —”
I clipped the little sod’s ear. “Where the hell’ve you been? I’ve been waiting this past half hour —”
“Hey, Magda,” the little cret complained. “Cain’t we ditch Lovejoy? Only, I gonna get real mean he does that one more time —”
“Shut it, pillock. And turn that damned thing off.” I gave Magda the three tickets I’d bought. “Come on.”
“Kansas City?” Magda was clipping along in her red shoes. “Why Kansas City, Lovejoy? You never tellt we goin’ there. I got bags packed back in the hotel —”
“You shut it, Magda. I’m sick of people asking me things” How the hell did I know why Kansas City? It was just that I recognized the name from the list of places by the ticket office. “I don’t even know where the bloody place is. Does Sherman travel free?”
“Lovejoy, he dumb, Magda.”
We boarded the train, impossibly high off the ground like all American trains. I was telling her how I’d teach her a few essentials about antiques, get her started in a small shop. It’s the easiest thing in the world to find one little good antique, then another…
Magda was smiling as we took seats. “Thanks, Lovejoy. Even if it is only sorta temporary. Know what? I thought you’d left without us.”
I settled back as the train began to move. First thing was to make her start apologizing profusely for her terrible wicked doubt of my sterling character. Then we’d have to take it from there.
“I see, love,” I said, hurt and quiet. “It’s always me that’s treacherous, is it? When I’ve risked everything to get here just to make sure you’d be safe, and Zole get somewhere settled—”
“No, honey. Hush. I’m sorry, darlin’. Me and my big mouth. I’d no right to say them things, Lovejoy…”
Okay, I thought, and wondered if there was a good dining car on the damned thing. Sherman snored on me, and we rolled eastwards out of L.A..
—«»—«»—«»—
[scanned anonymously in a galaxy far far away]
[December 20, 2003—v1 html proofed and formatted by AnneH for Shakespeare's Typing Monkeys]
