— No now wait Liz, look…
— No you look! Nine hundred dollars your boxes of stones in a tomb there they might as well be in a tomb you look, the other one the other bill in your hand flowers two hundred and sixty dollars? What flowers where, somebody spends half the day on these windows and you're spending two hundred sixty dollars for a floral arrangement?
— What the hell's got into you Liz… He came down slowly on the frayed love seat, brought a shined and tasseled imitation of elegance up to patient rest on his knee, — did you look at it? He opened the bill and then held it out to her, his face as true as his footwear — see who it was sent to? Cettie Teakell?
— I, no I…
— Didn't have time to tell you, I sent them out in your name I didn't have time to tell you… and he watched her, kind as a cheap new shoe, watched her catch breath, catch the trimmed fullness of her lip still tighter, — just thought you'd want her to know that you…
— No Paul I'm sorry she said, her breath gone again, her eyes coming up but unable, they seemed unable to rise past the shoe cocked over his knee till it went down as he gained his feet, regained all she'd lost there.
— Just you get ahead of me sometimes Liz, he tossed a match across her at the fireplace, — jump to conclusions. Trying to get things together here look, getting things lined up everything's just about ready to fall in place so God damn many pressures why I don't try to tell you everything I don't want to upset you. Try to give you the big picture you take one corner of it and run, jump like I said you jump to some conclusion the whole God damn thing falls to pieces like these flowers, I send these flowers you jump to some conclusion we end up arguing about flowers, see what I mean?
— Paul I'm, I said I was sorry I'm not arguing I just didn't…
— Didn't think Liz, you didn't think. Look. Certain things maybe you can't see quite as clear as I can. Maybe you don't want to. Maybe it's just because you don't want to, I can understand that Liz. I can understand that. But it shows through anyhow, kind of a whole negative way of looking at things I get the feeling sometimes you're not quite with me, not backing me up I've got to have the feeling you're behind me Liz. See what I mean? He'd gained his stride, newel to alcove, back to the newel post punctuated by abrupt puffs of smoke, looking out the front door — incidentally. Next time you get a chance to talk to Edie, see her picture all over the papers with Victor Sweet you ought to tell her to slow down Liz. Making a God damn fool of herself, Sweet stands as much chance for that nomination as Uncle Remus, he gets it he's got as much chance to win as the tar baby. You see Teakell out there with his Food for Africa program he's got the whole third world by the short hair Sweet couldn't carry Lenox Avenue, why the hell old man Grimes doesn't step in there and put the brakes on her himself, you follow me? He trailed smoke to the alcove windows, — see here? She didn't even get in the corners. Fifty dollars to clean the windows she can't even do the corners, problem's not just Edie Liz it's where Sweet's getting his real backing, tied in with all these peace groups it's got to be coming from the outside you know what that means. Tar Edie with the same God damn brush while we've got Ude here all over the front page with his Africa missions where he can deliver the votes you follow me? story right here in the paper? You mean you didn't read it?
— Well not, no I…
— Just gave it to you why do you think I gave it to you, told you they put their best feature writer on it didn't I? Thought you read it while I was in the shower this is what I mean Liz, feeling I get sometimes you're not right in there with me where the hell do you think I've been for two days, look… in a flush of newsprint — whole God damn page listen. The innocent boyhood dreams of Wayne Fickert, which once took shape like the white, billowy clouds floating against the brilliant heavens smiling down on the sparkling blue waters of the Pee Dee river, will never come to pass for the boy who dreamed them. At ten o'clock this morning, little Wayne was buried here on the sunny, flower strewn bank of the river he loved, in a ceremony which the Reverend Elton Ude, the dynamic leader of Christian Recovery for America's People, called the opening salvo in God's eternal war against the forces of superstition and ignorance throughout the world and elsewhere, and the recovery of the Christian values represented by the simple, God fearing folk gathered there before him in the bank who, on, should be on the bank not in the bank, a crowd estimated by an official spokesman at, must mean me, at just over six thousand, who have made America what it is today see how she gets the whole flavour of the thing in there? Liz?
— What.
— See what I mean, best writer they've got listen. Known to his many followers as a devoted student of the Bible, Reverend Ude highlighted his river theme with words from the book of Exodus. And it shall come to pass that thou shalt take of the water of the river and pour it upon the dry land, and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land. Citing the drought conditions now prevailing in Africa, he identified that dark continent as the dry land named in the prophecy where millions of souls are waiting to be harvested in the name of the Lord. We all know, he continued with the homespun eloquence that has won him his devoted radio following and a nationwide weekly television audience as well, that the day foretold in First Thessalonians is at hand, the day when the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, and the dead in Christ shall rise first, and then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air, and those who are not saved are doomed to be cast down into the burning lake which is the eternal dwelling place of Satan. Shall we abandon these millions of souls to an eternity without Christ? No friends, under a…
— Paul…?
— a heavy anointing from the Holy Spirit our Africa missions are crying out for your prayers and your support, and I'd just like to see them all saved and washed in the blood of Jesus Christ Liz what is it!
— I just thought, I mean maybe you can read that on the plane if you…
— Reading it right now Liz, first chance I've had to really read the God damn thing he's already broadcast it, taped it for television problem is we're going different directions here, brings me in as media consultant he needs some clear hard headed thinking to get things on the tracks, I think we're hitting them for this new media center and he's up there spouting about building a where was I, here. Recalling the day Wayne Fickert made his decision for Christ, Reverend Ude saw this fine youth going forth one day from the Christian Recovery Bible Mission School to take the Lord's word to these very farthest reaches of the world, and his despair when little Wayne was snatched away. Heavy of heart, Reverend Ude confided to his listeners, he had come on that sad evening to this very spot, seeking the Lord's will. And suddenly, he said, I heard the voice of the Lord speaking to me. He told me that from this very spot where we're gathered here together, the spirit of little Wayne would one day go forth in this legion of fine Christian educated men and women to carry the words of his holy gospel to the ends of the world.
For in his infinite wisdom and mercy he had taken up little Wayne in a pure unblemished state, uncorrupted by the filth that abounds in our libraries and motion picture houses, the atheist doctrine of evolution that has transformed our classrooms into altars of secular humanism, and the slaughter of a million and a half innocent unborn children in our abortion hospitals throughout the land.
— Paul I just thought, if you…
— Thought what, listen. I stood here weeping, with…
— Before your car comes, if you want something to eat I can…