supposed to, or at least that’s what he was saying. I protested, so naturally he thought I was trying to pull something and he started the dick waving.” He smiled wryly. “Guy’s got a short fuse.
“Anyway, he began crowding me. I was getting mad but just told him I was here to see you. Constantino relaxed, said there must be some mistake. I relaxed, figured he was going to apologize, but he just said he should have known, the contractor was a friend of his and he wouldn’t hire anyone who wasn’t American.”
“Jesus.”
“The man’s an idiot.” Brian shrugged, too elaborately. “You could tell that last little shot was just a reflex, nothing, really. He wasn’t even thinking about it, it was…a reflex.” He gathered up his towel and his boombox and kissed the top of my head, then made as if to hit the shower.
“We’ve heard worse,” I agreed carefully.
“But you know,” he said, turning around suddenly. “I get so damn tired, sometimes. There are whole weeks, sometimes, when I’m not reminded by someone that my great-grandparents landed on the wrong coast, got off the wrong ships, but then boom! It comes out of nowhere. It gets real old, having to be so aware of who I am.” He shut the door behind him.
Down the hall, I heard the bathroom door shut, the shower start. I heard the loud bouncy reggae dancehall music start and just as abruptly stop, followed by a pause. The ensuing music was soberer, a melancholy dub. I picked up the cassette case Brian had left on the bed and saw it was Bob Marley and the Wailers, Babylon by Bus. Cold experience told me that there was nothing more I could do, so I resolved to keep my mouth shut and let Brian find his own way out of his funk.
Whatever private exorcism he had performed had apparently worked, for he didn’t look nearly as weary when he emerged. There was, however, something else on his mind.
“Did you make reservations at this place you told me about?” he asked, ruefully flicking at the tie that was sticking out of his duffel bag. “I don’t really feel like getting dressed up.”
“No, we don’t have to, if you don’t want. I just thought you might like French for a change. Something fancy, a treat.”
Brian brightened. “French, huh? Well, that’s what I had in mind! And if we go to the place I’m thinking of, I won’t have to wear the noose, neither.”
He sent the hated necktie flying across the room, and it landed suggestively on the headboard. Then raising one eyebrow in his best John Belushi–Bluto Blutarsky fashion, Brian whipped off his bath towel like a magician and dove under the messy covers of my bed. “You know, we’ve got a little time to kill until the restaurant opens.”
Smothering a grin, I said, “Great. So, how about some cards?” But I was already unbuttoning my blouse and kicking off my shoes.
Brian said, “Sure. Got any twos?”
“Nope. You go fish.”
After, as we got dressed, I was still a little worried about Brian’s alternative restaurant. He’d told me that jeans were fine. “Where’d you find out about this place? It’s near here?”
“A little drive. Roddy told me about it. You’ll love it.”
“Ummm.” I thought about the little archaeological assemblage Roddy-down-the-lab had left in the pickup that he’d sold to us. Under the seat was the latest Victoria’s Secret catalog, two Jolt Cola cans, half a moldy microwave burrito, a nearly full can of chewing tobacco, and a dog-eared copy of a Klingon-English dictionary. The truck runs fine and he gave us a fair price, but somehow I couldn’t see the Guide Michelin calling Roddy for pointers on where to eat. “And it’s French, you say?” I asked, not entirely convinced.
“Kinda French! Come on, the sooner we leave, the sooner we get there!”
We drove west into the hill country. “I’d hate to be out here in the winter,” Brian remarked, after the third time he’d only just made a curve at the last second. “That’s a hell of a drop, and with this wind—”
“I’m glad we took the truck,” I remarked as calmly as I could. “I don’t think Bessy can take much more of this.” I tried not to be obvious about digging my fingers into the upholstery.
“How’s she running? Any problems on the way out?”
“Not too bad. Struggling a little up the hills, but nothing major. There’s a noise though, that’s starting to worry me.”
“We’ll get it checked