J R

  —As Whiteback was saying, he’s suggested doing a remote special on my shelter, tying it right in with the whole theme, what America’s all about, wall thickness, food storage, waste, what we have to protect. I guess you know what I’m talking about in your business, right Stye? That empty chair at the head of the dinner table, protect what you have, am I right? And you can get your cameras right in there now Whiteback, that pile of dirt out in front of it is gone. I don’t know where the hell it went but it’s gone. Arms cradled, he sank back on the desk’s litter, staring at the screen.—This project seems to have sparked real interest in these youngsters, turn that down a little more Dan?

  ——Our trip our trip was to buy this share of America it is this company that makes things they are baskets. Why nobody buys this baskets is there is this law the law of supply and decline passed by Congress consisting of three branches judicial executory and legislature which . . .

  A telephone rang.—What? Whiteback cupped a hand over the mouthpiece.—Ganganelli.

  —Who?

  —Of Ganganelli, Pecci and Peretti, they’re handling the, hello?

  ——baskets, so instead of you’re trying to get everybody to buy them, if you could get it where you don’t have to be trying to sell all these baskets in the first place . . .

  A telephone rang. Hyde shifted a hampacked web of creases and got hold of it.—Parentucelli . . .

  —Tell him, just a minute . . .

  —He just wants to know if you want the French doors in the dining room to open out or in.

  —Tell him, tell him out. Wait, in.

  —Hello? In.

  —No wait, tell him . . .

  —He says he’s got to raise his quote for blacktopping from thirty cents a square foot, he says the Flo-Jan Corp wants twenty cents for every yard of asphalt landed over the town dock with a seven fifty a month minimum, he wants to offer them fifteen with a five hundred minimum.

  —Tell him to tell them, wait . . . hello? Parentucelli’s on the other phone here, he’s offering fifteen cents a yard on the Flo-Jan contract with . . . what?

  —They’re on the other phone here with, here you talk to them. Loud. Give me your phone there Whiteback, get them together and let them straighten it out.

  —Did you tell him out or in?

  ——little girl who read us the charming poem about Trinity Church kneeling among the world’s financial giants, that shy little church of yours could probably buy and sell Wall Street without turning a . . .

  —Who the, who’s that, that Gibbs? I thought this class was supposed to be Mrs, Mrs . . .

  —Joubert, yes, Mrs Joubert . . . Whiteback’s hands clasped over the nested telephones ranting at each other in the small under his tented sleeves,—she’s taking a few days’ sick leave she . . .

  —Do you hear what he’s saying? Like putting the fox to guard the henhouse, right? Sounds like every crazy radical in town got in on that field trip.

  ——that shy little church squatting on millions of tax-free dollars’ worth of real estate from a land grant made by . . .

  —Mister Gibbs usually teaches physics Mister Stye, he’s ahm, just filling in here that is to say . . .

  —Squatting, what’s he want to do, offend the religious sensibilities of every parent in the district? He shifted, waved off by a flurry intent over the telephones nested mouth- to ear-piece in the desk.—A church, squatting . . .?

  ——to go piss in her hat, that car she was in pulled out right in front of one of my trucks, she wants to sue me for losing her laugh you can tell her for me I’d rather hear a fat boy fart . . .

  Uncoupling the phones, Whiteback raised one to his ear reflecting its vacancy in a rimless gaze.—Hung up, he said finally, restoring it to its cradle as the other continued to rant into his sleeve.—Apparently Miss Flesch is suing the Catania Paving Company too I, I happened to overhear Mister Parentucelli discussing it with his attorneys here he ahm, seems rather upset . . .

  —Why shouldn’t he be? Creases intact, the herringbone massed to standing—thinks she can sue the school and anybody else for getting her smile knocked sideways and ruining a promising career in television, she was employed here as a teacher she wasn’t hired as an entertainer, the only people who thought she was a star were all your jobless, old, retired, shut-in, welfare, Stye here sees plenty of it in his . . .

  —As a matter of fact he, that’s why Mister Stye is here yes, the insurance aspect of the ahm, insurance that is to say . . .

  —This ah, yes he shouldn’t have any trouble smoothing this over, probably sees little lawsuits like this all the time at his level Whiteback, suing the school because she was on school property, is that about it?

  —She’s ahm, yes suing the school, the Catania Paving Company, the Ford Motor Company, and Skinner. Catania, Parentucelli that is to say, he’s suing her, Skinner, and the school, and Skinner is suing . . .

  —Who the hell is this Skinner?

  —The textbook salesman who was riding her over, he’s su . . .

  —Yes well I’m sure Mister Stye here is a busy man Whiteback, we’ve taken up a lot of his time, his company’s time that is, he’ll ah, as soon as he gets this situation smoothed out we should get together again and kick around this school board idea Mister Stye. It can be a pretty rewarding experience, see it pay off at the community level and the corporate level and these little headaches that come up now and then, helps you get a consensus, see things our way . . .

  ——like, so that means like if we paid twenty-two dollars and ninety cents for this share of America then we already lost over four dollars so what good is . . .

  Billowing to a rise, blue fought blue to free a cuff of the ranting telephone and seek mid-air for a handshake—when you have some more time Mister Stye, we’re always on the lookout for ahm, for experienced knowhow in terms of implementing our efforts activitywise down to the bank that is to say, housing, small business applications, potentiating some of our ahm unadvantaged citizens here . . .

  —Out this way Mister Stye, I have to stick around a little longer stop off over at the Holy Name of, Holy Name school there see how they’re coming setting up their closed-circuit facility, they ought to stop lifting your lessons off the air for free any day now Whiteback, worth stopping in there sometime just to see Sister Agnes cut up a frog . . . His energy pitted against the apparent weight of the door as though for the first time almost flung it off its hinges,—and I mentioned our Assemblyman Pecci to Mister Stye here, a good man for him to know, we ought to get them together as soon as he’s straightened this little situation out so nobody’s embarrassed. Pecci’s a good friend of the district of course, we wouldn’t want to see him embarrassed right now, Mister Stye knows what I mean . . .

  ——by what you call a paper loss, boys and girls. On paper you’ve lost four dollars, but . . .

  —If you can stay with us a minute longer Dan, we just want to discuss, you awake, Dan?

  —I don’t like it. Hyde massed against the door as though it were being assaulted from the other side.—Notice the way he just sat here and took everything in? And what’s this about him running for the school board.

  —He ahm, before you came in, he mentioned it before you came in, he ahm, I think he said Vern had sugges . . .

  —One thing I don’t trust it’s a sullen black, not a word out of him just sitting there taking it all in, look at their face and you don’t know what’s going on inside if he’s on the line past Dunkin Donuts there Whiteback I’d just let district thirteen have him, you’ve already got two other black families pulling into that area. Blockbusting . . .

  —Yes well the, in terms of the ongoing situation integrationwise, that is to say, we have some Koreans, a Korean family out by Jack’s Discount Appliance . . .

  —Your Koreans aren’t white blackbite.

  —No the, yes, nonwhite you might say the directive is right here somewhere, in terms of structuring our district integrationwise, it refers to nonwhite,
integrating them in that is to say, before we start getting busloads shipped from Queens yes which phone is ahm, hello . . .? No he’s here yes but . . .

  —That my office?

  —No it’s for him . . . Whiteback gestured the phone at the face on the screen which continued unperturbed to address a vacant confine near the door.—Hello? Not exactly here that is to say he . . . I’ll give him the message, I’ll give him the message as soon as he . . . goodbye. Some friend of Mister Gibbs, an accident, put his eye out with a pencil it sounded like.

  —Accident? Like that painter of his cutting off his ear, just listen to him . . .

  ——how your share in America relates to your country’s history with a little background on the famous man you met, Governor John Cates, better known as Black Jack Cates back when he helped open the industrial frontiers of . . .

  —Do you hear this, Whiteback?

  ——by his private army in the great Bitterroot strike in Montana where ninety-seven miners were killed . . .

  —Do you hear this Whiteback? Is he getting this out of a textbook, this strike talk?

  —Yes, this strike talk, threat that is to say, Dan was going to feel his wife’s ahm, feel her out on this teacher strike threat activationwise that is to . . .

  ——to remember his famous line on politics. If they don’t own you, they can’t trust you . . .

  A bell sounded silencing motion where anything moved, hurling motionlessness into activity, books gathered at a sweep, papers to the floor, a glove through the air.—Just a minute, you in the third row there.

  —Me Mister Gibbs?

  —No you, you read the lines about the song the Brahmin sings?

  —And when he flies I am the . . .

  —Yes, what was it all about?

  —My trip, they said read a report on your trip.

  —Were you on this six J field trip?

  —The whose?

  —What grade are you in? What class are you in?

  —Isn’t this Communications Skills?

  —You’d better go down to see Miss Waddams.

  —Your telephone Mister Gibbs.

  —Thanks. Get him down to the school nurse, will you? Gibbs . . . for me? Be right there . . .

  —Mister Gibbs could you just look at . . .

  —Not now I’m sorry, I’m in a hurry . . . he came through the door, down an up stairway two at a time.

  —Oh Mister, yes Gibbs, you had a call, an emergency I just wrote it down somewhere, somebody . . .

  —Yes Schramm you said, what happened?

  —Here somewhere, he . . .

  —Put out his eye with a pencil look Gibbs, I want to know where you got your material for this lesson on . . .

  —Wait what’s, what is all this.

  —This lesson of yours on Governor Cates, I want to know . . .

  —Yes here it is, Schramm, a Mister Eigen called . . .

  —And where you get the material to justify telling these youngsters about a church squatting on . . .

  —Just a minute, this is important.

  —Well so is this important, Gibbs. I want to know if you’re using regular textbooks for your sources of . . .

  —listen this is an emergency I’ve got to . . .

  —And while we’re at it I want to know how much truth there is in reports you’re starting class without the proscribed openings, the Pledge of Allegiance or the Star Spangle . . .

  —Listen I, Whiteback if this idiot will shut his mouth for a minute I, this is an emergency I’ve got to get to New York . . .

  —Yes well of course if you ahm, if you’re taking the train that is to say I have some tickets here one of the youngsters turned in yes they’re right here somewhere, if you could ahm . . .

  —He can really pick them can’t he . . . came from the arm of the sofa where Hyde had sunk slowly restraining his chest by folded arms, his collar ridden up hollow behind—his friend here with the pencil . . .

  —Here they are yes if you could turn them in for us Mister Gibbs, on your way to the . . .

  —Sounds like that painter that cut off his ear, what did he do Gibbs? sent it to somebody in a . . .

  —Wait wait . . .!

  —Mister Gibbs! here, now . . .

  —Don’t try that again Gibbs.

  —No come with me Major come see him! Schramm come see him you’d be a real tonic Major you know why, Major? Because he feeds on outrage that’s what keeps Schramm alive, just his rage over the mean insensitive stupid you, you’d be the biggest God damned inspiration I could bring him with your proscribed op . . .

  —Just, just stay away from me after this Gibbs just, just keep away . . .

  —Yes well let’s ahm ahm let’s all ahm, these tickets yes here Mister Gibbs if you’d turn them in on your way to the train yes ten forty, not the train no the ten forty that is to say you’ve missed that of course yes the ten dollars and forty cents we reimbursed the boy who turned them in from a field trip of Mrs ahm ahm, Bast yes I was told Mister Bast helped out but no one’s been able to ahm, seen hide nor ahm . . .

  —Can’t waste any more company time like this Whiteback, I’m due over at . . .

  —Of course yes after you Major ahm, hair that is to say hair nor hide you were going to see Sister Agnes cut up a frog I think you said we all have somewhere to go, Dan? Let’s ahm, have somewhere to go I think Coach wanted to discuss your wife’s ahm of course he can’t discuss anything like that now he has a gym period yes I have to get to the nurse’s office, the fourth graders there they seem to be conducting a sitdown or ahm, in is it . . .

  —Mister Gibbs you, are you all right?

  —What? oh Dan, fine yes I . . .

  —You look white your, here . . .

  —Fine I said! I just, just mad as hell at myself losing my temper at that God damned . . .

  —Yes well you shouldn’t have tried to pull his . . .

  —First God damned rule never hit somebody you don’t like, you coming out?

  —Yes, yes I . . . he stood there tugging at the glass door that never yet had opened in, and then stepped through the one held wide beside it—I could ride you to the station . . .

  —Thanks no I’ll walk, I have to stop at the Post Office . . .

  —That’s yes that’s where I’m going I’m expecting something from an executive placement ah, place I hoped I could talk to you about this sometime, I thought I saw you in the station in New York I thought I could ride out with you but you were meeting a, a young lady I guess you were going to ride her someplace so I didn’t want to wait where’s my car . . . he sought down the row of stares leveled in chromed grimaces for the familiar ptosis left from a jump up a curb into a fire hydrant,—down there yes where those boys, where are they going . . .

  —Choir practice, that’s Hyde’s share in America the urchin with the head like a toothbrush, nothing pansy about him is there looks like something from a God damned German vintage orphanage . . .

  —But they shouldn’t be going off the, boys . . .! Oh but wait aren’t you . . .

  —Thanks no I’m in a hurry Dan, I’ll walk . . .

  —Yes but, but, well, boys . . .! Where are you going . . .!

  —Come on don’t stop hey, this way . . . they made for the reek of asphalt clouding Burgoyne Street,—so then what happened . . .

  —Nothing he just said if they catch me in there again using the telephone they’ll have to resort to these here disciplinary measures, I mean what am I sup . . .

  —Okay but if you do what you said boy are you going to get in trouble, I mean that’s forgery boy.

  —What do you mean forgery I just scribbled this here name which it’s nobody’s down at the bottom where it says arthurized by, I mean you think the telephone company goes around asking everybody is this here your signature? All they care it says requisition order right across the top so they come stick in this here telephone booth.

  —You’ll find out boy you think Whiteback won’t be pissed off when
the school gets this bill for . . .

  —That’s how much you know they don’t pay them they pay the school, the telephone company pays the school like this here commission to have this phone booth in there so I’m like helping the school out, I mean like the more calls . . .

  —How do you know, I mean boy what a bunch of . . .

  —I called them up what do you think, I mean what am I suppose to do run over to the candy store all the time? Or like home I mean suppose I get some deal going where they call me up so they get some lady that says yes this is J R’s mother could I help you? I mean what kind of . . .

  —Look out you want to break the door? That’s U S government property boy . . .

  —So what they got plenty of money.

  —You’ll find out boy look, didn’t you ever see this little sign? Penalty for theft is five hundred dollars fine or one year in prison that’s for stealing this shitty little ballpoint pen boy you bust a door and they’ll . . .

  —That’s a bunch of crap they’re like nineteen cents, I mean who wants to steal it anyway move your elbow, I just want to use it . . . he bent to the minuscule effort of lettering Investors Fullfilment Corp on a money order blank.

  —You’ll find out boy, what did you get let’s see hey, I mean where’s this big check you been yelling about.

  —That’s my business, come on you’re dropping all the . . .

  —Inventors Information Kit boy what a, record of invention look. Be it known that I residing at state of have invented certain new and useful I mean you couldn’t invent shit, you want to trade it hey?

  —For what, move will you? I’m trying to . . .

  —I mean what a bunch of, look. To the individual inventor the world is his oyster, what good is that I mean somebody already invented one. You want to trade it?

  —Okay for what! The silent defender, made of lightweight aluminum look hey your crap’s even getting mixed up in the stuff in my portforlio here, coitus splint made of finest spring steel will you . . .

  —Give it here then I mean go ahead invent an oyster if you think you’re so, wait hey look you got a package, if it’s this clock I get it this time okay? I mean if it says class six J and all why shouldn’t . . .