NOTE: If you haven’t been following this from the beginning, and if you want to know the full sequence of events, start with the introduction. Click on Archives on the right.
Lou swigs the last of his house-red with the stem of his glass in a loose fist, and pushes his empty plate of Lasagna aside.
This stuff is okay for the ‘Lunch Special’, but I still prefer beer.
“Yes, back to a burger, beer and fries next week.”
“Yeah, you have to opt out of this on the H-bar app. … Careless mistake.”
“They bank on our digital dizziness!”
“ ‘Bank’, is right!”
He points to the last of the three TVs that were once distributed along the length of the bar for the election.
“I thought Mr. Hoffman was going to take all those distractions down.”
“Many of us did, but some of the regulars wanted one. The night shift from PU wanted it, I think. So he has that small one up there with sound off.”
Lou is looking at the TV, which is at an odd angle for him to see clearly.
“Looks like Ensor is going to build a new place over here.”
“Are you talking about the New York building?”
“Yes, Axel Ensor’s hundred story town house.”
“What does he need all that space for?”
“Fred that’s obvious. It is a prestige thing. To get one up on Trump Tower, only fifty eight stories, a few blocks away.”
“Yes, he can look down on it.”
“His town house is all his, no tenants no nothing!”
“He is reported to have a nine hundred person staff though.”
“If you believe Glen Gasberg’s Festival of Facts!”
“Well maybe not, but yes, I did read all about it in his new Shrinkrap feature.”
“Fred, his Festival of Facts is mainly his fantasies and opinions.”
“Mind you Lou … Opinions that many share!”
“Yes … mind seems sadly lacking!”
Mr. Hoffman is talking to Theo Tinderbrush at the bar just behind me.
“Well, I took the damn test didn’t I Banesh?”
Lou looks up at the raised voice.
“Good grief, I didn’t know it was happening today!”
“What’s that Lou?”
“Here we go … “
“What is it Lou?”
“Here comes Lark!”
He takes off his glasses and concentrates on cleaning them with his napkin. I don’t turn around, and the voices behind me remain inaudible above the chatter and clatter of the H bar at lunchtime. We didn’t go into the quieter Quark Lounge because we expected Diddlie to join us, and she doesn’t like the lounge. She finds it dark and pretentious. Lou finishes his meticulous cleaning, but doesn’t put his glasses back on. He holds the gold rims in his fingers and stares at his empty wine glass.
“Did you know Albrecht is running for president of our association again?”
“No, but I know he is still itching to get bel Vionnet out.”
Diddlie sneaks up behind Lou in her royal blue blazer with her finger up to her lips, signaling me not to betray her. She puts her hands over his eyes and blows in his ear.
Lou relaxes out of the tension of her surprise.
“Okay Diddlie, I give up. Who is it?”
“Your, Fairy Godmother, Lou!”
She tosses some oak blossom on the table and the golden pollen spills out on the deep brown, varnished wood.
“Here! Have some stardust guys! Tiny little grains of the sun’s energy.”
Lou sneezes.
“Thanks Diddlie you’re just …”
He sneezes again.
“You’re just the allergy I have been waiting for.”
“Hi Fred” She squeezes my arm as she sits in the vacant place on my right. I can feel the deliberate pressure of her knee against my leg as she looks at Lou.
“How you doing?”
Before he responds, she gets up and moves around the table to sit on my left with her back to the window.
“I don’t want to be facing the entrance.”
“You expecting trouble?”
“No, not necessarily, but I don’t want the sun in my eyes.”
She puts her foot on top of mine, the way Lambert used to do with his paw.
“No one does.”
“Well Lou, it was never a problem until they cut down those twin white oaks out in the parking lot and took away the deck with out- door tables underneath the awning. All to make more room for those damn cars.”
“Diddlie that was years ago!”
Lou it was when it was. Seems like yesterday to me, and that’s his fault!”
She points at me with her thumb while looking hard at Lou and removes her foot from on top of mine.”
“Let’s not go there … So what’s the big hold up Did.?
“Oh, wouldn’t you two like to know!”
“So tell us.”
“Ah… well sorry I am so late guys, but it was…”
“Okay Did, so you were in a tight spot huh?”
Well Hank James brought Maximillian over, and I have to keep him away from Mr. Liddell … I mean that dog is a predator!”
“Mr. Liddell has his hutch doesn’t he?”
“Yes but he likes the living room in his dotage.”
“How long will you be walking Max?”
“Hank is going to Florence, and he won’t finish up until mid June.”
She pulls an old clamshell cel phone out of her blazer pocket and looks at the side. She passes three fingers over it with slow deliberation, and puts it away, then brushes some pollen off the front of her pink silk blouse.
She straightens the sprig of golden ragwort in her lapel and checks her hair with a quick tap of her palms.
I wave to the waitress to take Diddlie’s order and notice Lark and Mr. Hoffman disappear through a door that leads upstairs to the Heisenberg Rooms.
“Have you two been talking to them?”
“Who do you mean Did.?”
“Well, you must have seen them up at the bar Lou. They were there when I came in and then they got up stood around and went upstairs.”
“You mean Theo and Lark?”
“Well, who else, Fred?”
Lou leans back and scratches the back of his head.
“We were talking, and they were too busy.”
“Oh.”
“I did hear Theo raise his voice just now.”
Diddlie orders a shrimp salad from the waitress.
“Sorry we are sold out. How about our Quasar Salad?”
“What’s that?”
“Well, its kind of a quasi salad sandwich, ah you know… ah,
like two squares of Foccacia arranged, off set, one on top of the other, kind of star shaped, with ah, arugula, papaya, cranberries, fully cooked, freeze dried chicken chips, and ah…
“Stop! Wait wait…
“Would you like a menue Ma’am?
“No, that’s okay, I’ll have coffee and a Danish.”
“Nice quick lunch Did!”
“You guys didn’t wait for me Fred, so what am I to do? Besides, it is my cheat day. God knows I’ve earned it!”
Lou stifles a laugh.
“Ah, who are you cheating on Diddlie?”
“On my weight loss program. I am nearly nine pounds over weight according to Lark’s scales and the body mass index.”
“Diddlie, you look fine, I am sure you can get away with it!”
Her coffee arrives in a mug served by a man in a turban.
“Thank you sweetie.”
“I think that’s the guy from Emperor Babur.”
“I wouldn’t know, Lou. Oh here’s my Danish!”
Diddlie picks up her Danish with rich buttery pastry and ‘Confiture d’abricots’ filling the center, as advertized. Brittle white icing cracks around the sides under her fingers. Some almond flakes fall off the crust on to her lap as she bites into the crispy edge. She puts it down on her plate and backs up her chair to get the fallen almond bits.
“I knew it was a good idea to wear my jeans!”
Lou puts his glasses back on and leans over, looking at Diddlie
with his bushy eyebrows hiding the tops of his gold rims. Bringing the five o’clock shadow on his light brown face to bear on the atmosphere between them.
“What is going on upstairs any way?”
Diddlie has her coffee mug in one hand and her partially eaten Danish in the other.
“Here Lou, you want to try this?”
He holds up a hand, palm out,
“Did. I am sweet enough already.”
“Well honey …” the apricot filling falls out of the center of her Danish
and lands on the side of her plate.
“Honey will you lean back a little? Look what you made me do!”
Lou pulls back but doesn’t change his expression.
“You can’t sweet-talk me with that pastry kid. Come on, tell us, what is going on here.”
Diddlie puts down her Coffee and the crust of her Danish, and turns to me.
“Will you listen to this guy Fred?”
‘Oh, I do. I listen all the time! He’s a man of many interesting questions.”
“Okay, okay, so what happened was. I got a call you see.”
She picks up the Danish crust and finishes it off, and goes on after swallowing hard.
“You know, I got a call this morning as I was cleaning out the Red Queen’s cage.”
“She cautiously sips some coffee.
“This stuff is cold!”
Lou stands up to get the waiter from Babur’s attention, as he passes towards us from the swinging kitchen doors.
“Thanks Lou, any way it was late this morning and it was …”
The waiter from Babur arrives with coffee.
“More coffee Ma’am?”
“Is it hot waiter? This stuff is stone cold.”
She points down into her mug.
“This is plenty hot Ma’am.”
“Great, can I have a fresh cup then, you know, if you pour that in there it’s going to get cooled off.”
The waiter walks back to the bar and brings a clean mug and fills it with steaming coffee.
“Thanks waiter … yeah, so anyway, I got this call and … Say waiter!
She stands up and shouts to the waiter of Babur again. He doesn’t turn around. Lou gets up and takes some sugar packets from a nearby vacant table and puts them down next to Diddlie’s mug.
“Here neighbor.”
“You got any cream honey?”
He gets up again and brings back creamer.
“Thanks Lou, your service is really outstanding! They ought to hire you!”
“Right, I am a waiter alright. Waiting for you to answer my question!”
“What was that honey?”
He leans forward again and gently picks up her hand.
“Diddlie, you know!”
“Well, sweetie, I don’t know if I should tell.”
“Try me, then I’ll tell you if you made a mistake.”
“She grabs his hand in both of hers.”
“You are trying me, that’s for sure!”
“Okay Did. You know what I think?”
“What do you think?”
“I think you might be involved in something bigger than you think, with Lark and Theo about Boyd’s true father. I mean, don’t you think someone is missing?”
Diddlie has taken her hands back from his, and has her finger up at her mouth.
“Ah, did you get a call too?”
“Right, I sure did.”
“From Boyd?”
“No, from our favorite hotelier.”
“Oh from Mr. Hoffman, yes he is trying to help Theo out of the jam he is in with Lark and Boyd.”
“And Harper, don’t forget.”
“Harper Nightingale? What’s that creep got to do with anything? He’s gone!”
“I know, but we talked and I had some resources for him.”
“Like what Lou?”
“Oh, an old acquaintance who can facilitate this kind of thing.”
“Like who?”
“Did Harper and Lark ever divorce?”
“Lou, I am not going there. That’s between her, Augie and Harper, and Lark and no one else.”
“Okay, that’s not what I mean. Don’t you think Boyd should be told who his father is by the responsible parties?”
“Are you telling me that Harper Nightingale is here?”
Diddlie puts both hands up over her mouth.
“Lou, Theo and Harper are not going to be in that room together!”
“Aha, yes this is a complicated problem, and there is a piece missing.”
“What’s that?”
“Did. do you know if Theo took the DNA test?”
“Yes he did.”
Lou is folding one of the empty sugar packets into a tiny square. His frown line deepens and his eyebrows grow closer, with each fold. He doesn’t look up.
“So, do they have the results up there?”
“I don’t know.”
“Well, I am guessing they do, or what is all this about?”
“Okay honey. I brought Boyd over here this morning after the call, and it took me a couple of hours, and that’s why I need this Danish … you dig?”
Lou tosses his folded sugar packet into his empty wineglass.
“Oh yes! Did any one else call you Did?”
“Well no, I mean not in this connection Lou.”
“Okay, so then what?”
“Well I’ll tell you this, Albrecht wasn’t any help … and … and, well I don’t even remember it all, but we finally walked over, and when we got here Boyd went upstairs … that’s it, I don’t know if any one else was up there. I came in here. I mean, Boyd is so mixed up … He’s mad at every body and he loves every body and he hates the whole world and wants to see Juanita, I don’t know what … I mean, who did he find up there?
“Well, Juanita Gomez was a real mother to him. I really want to stay out of this mess, but now I am sort of implicated.”
“Well looks like you weren’t invited Lou!”
“Didn’t expect to be.”
“Have you talked to Juanita, Lou?”
“No, she isn’t at Jake’s right now.”
“What about the ‘resource’, you gave Harper, are they up there?”
“Maybe…”
“Who else could it be?”
“Harper Nightingale.”
