had been replaced in the station wagon, Carol gave Troy a hug. 'You're a good man, Troy Jefferson,' she said. 'I wish you well.'
Nick was almost ready to leave by the time Troy returned to the boat. He was packing a small exercise bag. 'Looks innocent enough, doesn't it, Troy? Nobody will ever suspect that one of the great treasures of the ocean is in here.' He paused a moment and changed the subject. 'You put her safely in her car? Good. She's a strange one, isn't she, all feisty and aggressive but still pretty at the same time. I wonder what makes her tick.'
Nick zipped up the bag and walked around to the side of the canopy. 'Just finish up with the diving gear tonight. Don't worry about the rest of the boat we'll fix it up tomorrow. I'm going to go home and dream of riches.'
'Speaking of riches, Professor,' Troy said with a smile, 'how about that hundred-dollar loan I asked you for on Tuesday. You never answered me and just said we'll see.'
Nick walked deliberately over to Troy and stood right in front of him. He spoke very slowly. 'I should have made my Polonius speech to both of us when you asked me for a loan the first time. But here we are now, borrower and lender, and I don't like it. I will lend you a hundred dollars but, Mister Troy Jefferson, this is positively the last time. Please don't ever ask me again. These loans for your so-called inventions are making it hard for me to work with you.'
Troy was a little surprised by the unexpected harshness in Nick's tone. But he was also angered by the connotation of the last sentence. 'Are you suggesting,' Troy said softly, suppressing his temper, 'that I'm not telling the truth, that the money is not being spent on electronics? Or are you telling that you don't believe an uneducated black man could possibly invent anything worth having?'
Nick faced Troy again. 'Spare me your righteous racial indignation. This is not a question of prejudice or lies. It's money, pure and simple. My lending you money is fucking up our friendship.' Troy started to speak but Nick waved him off. 'Now it's been a long day. And a fascinating one at that. I've said all I want to say on the subject of the loan and I consider the issue finished.'
Nick picked up his bag, said good night, and left the Florida Queen. Troy went behind the canopy to organize the diving gear. About ten minutes later, just as he was finishing, he heard someone calling his name. 'Troy ... Troy, is that you?' an accented voice said.
Troy leaned around the canopy and saw Greta standing on the jetty under the fluorescent light. Even though there was now a slight chill in the air, she was wearing her usual skimpy bikini that showed off her marvelous physique. Troy broke into a grand smile, 'Well, well, if it isn't superkraut! How the hell are you? I can see you're still taking care of that wondrous body.'
Greta managed the beginnings of a smile. 'Homer and Ellen and I are having a small party tonight. We noticed that you were working late and thought that maybe you'd like to join us when you're done.'
'Just might do that,' Troy said, nodding his head up and down. 'Just might do that.'
THURSDAY Chapter 9
'OH, God, can't we stop now? Finally? Please let us. It's so quiet here, now.' She was speaking to the stars and the sky. The old man's head slumped forward in the wheelchair as he drew his last breath. Hannah Jelkes knelt beside him to see if he was indeed gone and then, after kissing him on the crown of the head, she looked up again with a peaceful smile. The curtain fell and rose again in a few seconds. The cast assembled quickly on stage.
'Okay, that's it for tonight, good job.' The director, a man in his early sixties, gray hair thinning on the top, approached the stage with a bounce. 'Great performance, Henrietta, try to can that one for the opening tomorrow night. Just the right combination of strength and vulnerability.' Melvin Burton nimbly jumped up on the stage. 'And you, Jessie, if you make Maxine any lustier they'll close us down.' He spun around with a flourish and laughed along with two other people at the front of the theater.
'Okay, gang,' Melvin turned back to address the cast,