tion information in it. I got the feeling that it was privately 12
published and contained specialized geographic informa-13
tion. Many of the maps were color coded with initials that 14
made no sense to me and were not explained in any table.
15
They were all books that I would’ve liked to have read 16
at some time in the past. I mean that I would’ve liked to 17
know what was in the Bible and the history of the world 18
so when I had arguments with Clarance I could sound 19
smart. But I can’t concentrate on that kind of reading. My 20
mind just drifts when there are too many facts or tough 21
sentences on the page. That’s one of the reasons why I fi-22
nally left college. As long as classes were lectures, I picked 23
up most of what I needed by ear. But as soon as I had to 24
read some heavy text, I was in deep water.
25
There were two sets of powder-blue pajamas decorated 26
by red dashes at all angles to one another. All in all it was 27 S
like a summer camp for a cracked adult.
28 R
All except for that cage.
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■
■
■
1
2
Three days before Anniston Bennet was due to arrive, I 3
received a telegram. It had been slipped under my front 4
door sometime the day before.
5
6
Mr. Blakey,
7
After numerous attempts to reach you by telephone, 8
we are contacting you by this method to confirm the ap-9
pointment and to ask you to meet the client’s train at 10
12:04 a.m. Please confirm your agreement by calling the 11
number on the card that the client gave you at your first 12
meeting.
13
14
There was no signature, but of course none was necessary.
15
I thought the secrecy was strange, but then again Bethany 16
had told me about rich people and how odd they were.
17
It took me the entire day to find that card. I turned the 18
house inside out. Finally I found it in the upstairs ham-19
per, in the pocket I had put it in after calling Bennet the 20
first time.
21
“Hello,” said a familiar voice. “You have reached the 22
Tanenbaum and Ross Investment Strategies Group” —
23
the click — “Mr. Bennet” — the next click — “is not in at 24
the moment but will return your message at the earliest 25
possible time. Please leave your name and number after 26
the signal.”
S 27
“I’ll be there at midnight,” I said and hung up.
R 28
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1
2
3
And I was there, in the lamp-lit parking lot, at midnight.
4
An obese family — the Benoits, mother and children —
5
was also there, waiting. The Benoit family had come 6
down to the Harbor from Montreal at the turn of the 7
century. I don’t remember ever having spoken to Raoul, 8
the father, or any of his clan, but I knew them because 9
they were part of my community. Trudy, the mother, 10
looked at me nervously, a black man at midnight and the 11
train not in yet.
12
“Hello, Mrs. Benoit,” I hailed. “You meeting Raoul?”
13
I said it to put her at ease. It worked too. She smiled 14
and nodded. She didn’t remember my name. Maybe she 15
couldn’t distinguish between black men. But it didn’t 16
matter what white people saw when they looked at me.
17
Why would I care?
18
The train came in and a few people got off. Most of 19
them got into cars. Three taxis rolled up from the colored 20
company that Clarance dispatched for. The few travelers 21
who did not have cars climbed into the cabs. Raoul 22
Benoit, a thin and dapper man wearing a silver-gray suit, 23
tried to get his arms around his wife and failed. He kissed 24
his children and herded them, like so many beach balls, 25
toward a blue station wagon.
26
“Hey, Charles,” a man said. Behind me Clarance had 27 S
driven up in a cab. In the back there were three passen-28 R
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The Man in My Basement
friend. All of the passengers were white. The riders looked 1
uncomfortable. One man in the backseat checked his 2
watch.
3
“You drivin’ now?” I asked.
4
“Athalia needs braces, so I’m drivin’ three nights a week.
5
How you doin’?”
6
“Fine,” I said, looking over my shoulder.
7
“You need a ride?”
8
“No.”
9
“What you doin’ out here?” he asked. “Meetin’ some-10
body?”
11
“Can we get going, driver?” the woman next to 12
Clarance asked, barely restraining her impatience.
13
“Must be the next train,” I said vaguely.
14
“Next train’s tomorrow,” Clarance informed me.
15
“Oh.”
16
“Driver,” a man in the backseat said.
17
“What?” Clarance’s tone was sharp.
18
In the darkness, on the platform next to the station 19
sign, I saw the silhouette of a small man.
20
“We need to get home,” the passenger was saying.
21
“Well if you can’t wait a minute while I find out how 22
my friend is, then you could walk.” That brought silence.
23
“You go on, Clarance,” I said. “I got my car. I can drive 24
home.”
25
“I tried to call you,” Clarance said.
26
“I been thinkin’,” I replied.
S 27
“You wanna get together?”
R 28
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1
“I’ll call you next week,” I said.
2
Clarance looked at me a moment. There was concern 3
in his face. He was a good man, and we had been friends 4
as long as either one of us could remember. But there was 5
no way to talk to me. He shrugged.
6
“See ya,” he said and then drove off.
7
As he left, Anniston Bennet approached from the plat-8
form. I stood my ground, waiting.
9
“Good evening,” he said.
10
The air was cool but my windbreaker was enough to 11
keep the chill off. There were moths floating around the 12
floodlights, and I detected the barely distinguishable mo-13
tion of bats feasting on the fluttering bugs in the hovering 14
darkness.
15
I took a deep breath and prepared myself. I wanted to 16
start this thing with Bennet on the right foot. I never had 17
a tenant before and didn’t want to be taken advantage of.
18
Everything mattered. The fact that I waited for him to 19
walk to me, that I didn’t offer to take his satchel. All he 20
carried was that small leather bag. I wondered what he 21
was planning to wear for two months.
22
“Mr. Blakey,” he said.
23
“Mr. Bennet.”
24
“I tried to call,” he said. “But there was no answer.”
25
“I know. I got the telegram. Did you get my message?”
26
He shrugged his shoulders, indicating that he was there 27 S