— Harry look at him! Does he look like he needs a good tax loss? My God of course he'll appeal, you just finished saying he couldn't do this malpractice business till all his appeals are exhausted didn't you? I told you Mister Basic said we'd win on appeal, he…
— And who's going to handle it, Basic? He's probably busy right now making brooms at a dollar twenty three an hour in a Federal prison, gives them something to do to keep them from killing each other, you expect Sam to handle these appeals with a malpractice suit waiting for him at the end of the road? Look. I'll talk to Sam minute I get a chance, considering the whole situation he might take it on at a cut rate once these other obligations are settled and…
— A cut rate! What do you mean these obligations, this stack of bills Oscar's sitting here drying his tears on? and you think for an instant I'd let him pay for one single…
— All right look, Christina. Look. Give me a chance to talk to Sam once he's studied the decision, can't promise anything but considering the whole situation might even get him to let these billings slide for a while.
— Harry. You don't seem to understand me. I'm not talking about letting anything slide for a while, I'm…
— All right! Suppose we, not promising anything but suppose he'd consider letting them slide till, keep sending them through to satisfy the IRS he'd made every effort to collect and eventually write them off, just let Oscar pay the disbursements and…
— Harry?
— Don't have to make a big thing of it Oscar, getting it all over the newspapers just make trouble for the…
— Harry!
— Settle up what they've already laid out and drop the whole…
— Harry what in God's name do you think you're talking about! Those car rentals? photocopies? transcripts, telecopiers that whole trash heap you just spelled out for us? For what. Plane rides, depositions, drinks for God knows who at your Beverly Wilshire for what! You imagine he's going to pay one penny for this, this rollercoaster ride he's been taken on? Make a big thing of it my God it is a big thing, get it all over the newspapers he should shout it from the housetops, can they make it any worse? Can they?
— It's all, look Christina, get it all over the papers the way they twist things around make us all look bad that's all, this little mixup about Basic shows up there in your South Georgia Pilot gets picked up by some stringer for the Atlanta Constitution the Charlotte Observer grabs it by the time it gets to the Times here, the Wall Street Journal you've got those five blind men describing an elephant look. I'll talk to Sam, no reason we can't work something out before the whole thing gets out of, out of look, look Christina…
— I've looked! All I've been doing I've been looking it's taken me this long to finally see what I'm looking at hush things up, keep out of the papers, fight the good fight and lose there's no disgrace in that is there? Your great Code of what was it you just told us? of professional responsibility and every profession's a conspiracy against the public who told me that. Who told me that! Your self regulating profession no reason you and Sam can't work something out what about us?
— It's, look Christina.
— You look! I said what about us Harry, a conspiracy against the public my God we're your family! Protecting yourself, protecting your friend Sam, protecting Swyne & Dour and your whole ridiculous self regulating white shoe conspiracy against your own family?
— Look, I've got a lot of, we can discuss it in the car Christina I've got to get back, Oscar? Got to be in court first thing in the morning, a lot of paperwork to get through tonight try to, just try to get some rest I'll call Sam first chance I get and straighten things out, try to get some rest. Coming Christina?
— No.
— But, look I can't wait around I…
— I said no Harry!
— Well what do you, Oscar's fine he's got Lily here to look out for him you can't just, I've got to take the car I can't just…
— Well take it! Just don't break your neck like we did getting out here.
— Oscar look, will you tell her you're…
— And get me a cloth from the kitchen, will you Lily? I've spilled some tea here. Is there any food in the house?
— There's some eggs.
— Never mind, here's a napkin, now…
— Can I help you Mrs Lutz? I could prepare some…
— And for God's sake stop calling me Mrs Lutz.
— But I thought, I have to go in a minute anyway, I have to get this car back to my girlfriend but if there's anything I…
— We're all right Lily, we're fine. I'll just make some scrambled eggs, we'll be fine.
Down the bare hall the outside doors clattered again, the obstinate whine of a car's starter, the cough of the engine, the wrath of crows down there on the lower lawn where she looked out over the brown grasses stirring along the edge of the pond's surface teeming with cold which seemed to rise right up here into the room to wrap them each in a chill mantle of silence pillaged by the clatter of all that had gone before the more intense in this helpless retrospect of isolation where their words collided, rebounded, caromed off those lost boundaries of confusion echoing the honking tumult of Canada geese in skeins blown ragged against the uncharted grey of the sky out over the pond, each thread in the struggle strung to its own blind logic from some proximate cause blinded to consequence and the whole skein itself torn by the winds of negligence urging their hapless course, she'd told him to take their settlement offer hadn't she? and Harry, hadn't Harry told him the same thing? Then who'd got him into this mess in the first place? Get yourself a Jewish lawyer if you're going after these movie people, who'd handed him over to Sam Lepidus? passed him along to Harold Basic stranded here tugged between a Jew and a black drawn tight as the sullen line of his lips in this mute exchange raging between them, the way Basie'd not so much deceived him as let him down: Where had Maid Quiet gone to, nodding her russet hood? That's good to know, as though some breath of fondness lingered, tinging her lips with a smile the way he'd sat here with something he'd torn from the paper about the hairy Ainu gone on the instant, breaking out with — my God I hope he drives carefully, two or three drinks and those pills he's been taking. Isn't there some more of your Pinot Grigio? as the day drained away at last, and over the scrambled eggs in the kitchen — you've got to call him, Oscar.
— Call him where! Making brooms in some, why hasn't he called me? He's the one who…
— I'm talking about Father. You've got to call Father she said, and again more astringently next morning going through that blue folder adding columns of figures, going through the mounting heap of mail — my God, haven't you opened any of this? Overdue account Third Notice, a sale of boating equipment, of tulip bulbs, Final Notice Overdue, Hobbytime, The Bursar's office wishes to inform you that a $7500 lien has been placed against your salary effective immediately, in the event that Schriek Mohlenhoff & Shransky At your request we have applied for a hearing date for your appearance in connection with the above captioned product liability action brought by your insurance Ace Fidelity Worldwide against Sosumi Motors relevant to inconveniences allegedly suffered by you resulting from vehicular malfunction due to Delinquent Account Unless we are in receipt of your certified check in the above amount within five business days we shall Be the first on your block to sport a pair of Hiawatha's Magic Mittens Wear 'Em With The Ladies Historical Preservation Society eagerly awaits your response to our earlier request for letters documents and other memorabilia relating to the late Thomas Crease (later Justice Crease) Seventeenth Regiment Army of Northern Virginia in your possession which properly belong in our archives before we are obliged to take legal steps — for the love of heaven. You've got to call him.