26
“They do some crazy things, right?”
27 S
“I guess,” she said. “I mean, they think they’re all crazy 28 R
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and wild. And they don’t have to get up and go to work in 1
the morning. Really all the difference I can see is that they 2
think that they’re smarter and better than people don’t 3
make as much money as they do. And they want a lot 4
more. You know, like that artist I used to go with. He 5
wanted to be the best at everything. And he was so rich 6
that everybody told him that he was the best. When he 7
started playing trumpet, his friends said that he sounded 8
like Miles Davis. It wasn’t like us. You know somebody set 9
you straight in a minute around here.”
10
Bethany smiled and I wanted to kiss her, not because 11
she was beautiful, even though she was, but because she 12
wasn’t impressed by the lies rich people wore like clothes.
13
She knew where her feet were planted. Right then I think 14
she wanted to be standing a little closer to me.
15
She stood up and walked over to my chair. I stood to 16
meet her.
17
She was about to lay her hand on my chest, but I took 18
hold of her wrist and gently pushed her away.
19
“I want to see you, Bethy,” I said. “But not downstairs 20
from Ricky after you made him all happy like that.”
21
“We could take a shower,” she suggested.
22
“It’s not that. You know Ricky can get low and dirty, 23
but he’s the only friend I got right now. Believe me, this is 24
not easy. But can I make you some tea?”
25
Bethany frowned for a few seconds, and then she 26
shrugged and smiled. There was a sweater on the floor.
S 27
R 28
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1
She must have let it fall from her shoulders when she saw 2
me slouching on the couch. Now she picked it up and 3
covered all that youthful beauty.
4
5
6
Over Irish Breakfast (it was 4:30) we discussed the rich 7
white people she’d known. Bethany liked the fine dinners 8
and fancy houses, but rich people — even the black ones, 9
she said — couldn’t satisfy her like people from our neigh-10
borhood.
11
“It’s just like my people know me better,” she said.
12
“Like Ricky. You know for a while tonight I thought he 13
might have a heart attack, he was so excited. And before 14
he fell off asleep he was talking about Johnetta Johnston 15
and Kirby. You know? Everyday stuff. Rich men always 16
want to be teaching something, asking, Did you know?
17
when they know you don’t know and don’t care neither.”
18
Ricky came down when the sun was just coming up. At 19
first he looked suspicious, but when Bethany showed him 20
her big teeth and said, “Mornin’, baby. Charles made me 21
some tea,” he calmed down and kissed her face and neck.
22
After that they went back upstairs. I was so tired that I 23
didn’t even listen. I went to sleep with my bag of money 24
in my dead father’s foldout sofa and dreamed about An-25
niston Bennet. He was humongous and wedged tight in 26
my cellar, sticking his head out of the trapdoor and beg-27 S
ging to be let free.
28 R
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6
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I spent the next week working on the basement and C 14
reading the books I had bought. Late every afternoon 15
Ricky would call to crow about his further conquests with 16
Bethany. One night they did it on the beach. The next 17
night in an almost-empty movie house. Late late every 18
night Bethany would call me. She just wanted to talk, 19
she’d say. Every conversation would end with her worrying 20
that Ricky was too much in love with her. She liked him 21
and he was sweet, but he wasn’t the kind of man who 22
could ring that bell. Twice she wondered if she could come 23
over in those wee hours, but every time I was strong.
24
“I’d like to see you,” I said. “I really would, but Ricky 25
likes you and I can’t see it to break his heart.”
26
“What if we broke up?” she asked me one night.
S 27
“Could I come over then?”
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“I don’t know.”
2
“ ’Cause you know it seem like that if you didn’t wanna 3
hurt Ricky you’d let me come over and just not tell ’im.
4
That way nobody gets hurt.”
5
I told her that I would think about what she said.
6
I didn’t care about Bethany and Ricky right then. The 7
next morning Narciss Gully was due to come over to take 8
the photographs. I had spent the day cleaning again. Ac-9
tually I just moved whatever mess had collected into the 10
pantry. I didn’t drink for twenty-four hours previous to 11
her arrival, and I took a long bath and shaved.
12
When the doorbell rang I wasn’t expecting the twenty-13
something copper-toned Dominican Adonis of assistants.
14
“Hola,” he said to me. “I am Geraldo. Miss Gully sent 15
me to set up for the shoot.”
16
I’m tall but Geraldo had me beat. He was six four at 17
least, wearing only cutoff jean shorts and a white T-shirt.
18
His muscles were well defined but not grotesque, except 19
for calves that bulged. His hair came in big golden-brown 20
locks. His face was beautiful.
21
“Huh?” I said.
22
“Preparation,” he said slowly, taking time over the syl-23
lables. He indicated a pile of paraphernalia behind him.
24
Lighting, screens, rugs, and big camera boxes. “See?”
25
“Oh. Uh-huh. Yeah. Why don’t you come in here in the 26
living room?”
27 S
Geraldo lifted the great pile of materials into a rippling 28 R
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and he spent a long time with a light meter looking at 1
windows in order to find the exact right position for his 2
rugs and screens. He examined my heirlooms, holding 3
them up to the light and using his meter.
4
“Are you taking the pictures?” I asked after a lot of 5
watching.
6
The boyish smile and manly shaking of his head must 7
have broken many hearts before. “No,” he said. “Miss 8
Gully takes the pictures. I just set it up.”
9
“You work for her?”
10
“We are friends. She loves my work, my painting, and so 11
she gives me jobs when she can. I live at the house of Harry 12
Lake in East Hampton. He is my master in oils. A great 13
master. He sent for me from New York after seeing my show 14
at the Rhinoceros Gallery on Avenue A. Do you know it?”
15
“Know what?”
16
“The Rhinoceros Gallery. It is a very important place.