Asymmetry - Lisa Halliday Page 0,27
she’s knocked three times already, and I think maybe she doesn’t even remember from one time to the next; first it was something about toilet paper, then she wanted to know the time, then she said she needed help changing a light bulb, which I did, and while I was there I noticed that her stove, which looks really old by the way, was extremely hot. I don’t know if it’s supposed to be like that, but it seemed much too hot to me, even though it wasn’t on. And look, as I said, it’s not that I’m not willing to lend her a hand from time to time, or even to keep an eye on her, in an unofficial sort of way, but there’s only so much that I can do. And if she’s becoming forgetful, or if there’s something wrong with her stove and she doesn’t know it, or if she were to leave it on and go out for a while, or fall asleep—”
“Okay. Hold on a minute, okay?”
She waited two minutes at least.
“Mary-Alice?” His voice was much changed from before—higher-pitched and almost musical in its politeness. “I’ve got Anna’s granddaughter Rachel here on the line with us. Do you want to tell her what you were just telling me?”
“I’m so sorry, Mary-Alice,” Rachel hurried to put in. “I’m so sorry it’s been a bother. Thank you so much for your help.”
• • •
“The Nobel Prize in Literature for 2004 has been awarded to Elfriede Jelinek, for her musical flow of voices and counter-voices in novels and plays that with extraordinary linguistic zeal reveal the absurdity of society’s clichés and their subjugating power.”
“I’ll have the salmon.”
“And I’ll have the fusilli salsiccia without the salsiccia.”
“Twelve pages,” he said gravely, when the waiter walked away.
“Oh,” said Alice. “I thought—”
He shook his head. “It wasn’t any good.”
Alice nodded. “What about your back?”
“My back is bad, darling. This thing didn’t work.”
“What thing?”
“The denervation I had last week.”
“Oh, I didn’t . . . What’s denervation?”
He nodded. “Denervation is when they use radio frequency to destroy a nerve so that it no longer sends a pain message to the brain. I’ve had it done before and it worked, but for some reason it didn’t work this time.” Their drinks arrived. “The good news,” he added, removing the wrapper end from his straw, “is that now I can listen to Jonathan Schwartz without having to turn the radio on.”
Walking back to his apartment they were halted by a young man in a trench coat swerving amiably into their path.
“Blazer! You were robbed!”
Wild with excitement, the fan even dared to extend his hand. Warily, Ezra drew his own from his pocket and accepted it. On the shake, the younger man gave a deferential little bow; as he did, the wind lifted a yarmulke from his head, tilting it through the air and setting it down in the middle of Amsterdam. The man put a hand on the back of his head and laughed. Then, pointing at Ezra, as though Ezra had conjured the wind:
“Next year man! Next year!”
They walked the rest of the block in silence. In the elevator, Ezra extracted a leaf from Alice’s hair and let it flutter to the floor. “What’s going on with the Sox?”
“They’re up two games on Anaheim.”
“Good darling.”
“What’s going on with your Palestinian?”
His head jerked back, freshly incredulous. “Nayla? She still hasn’t called.” His gaze down at Alice hardened, as though she might somehow be complicit in this offense. When the elevator pinged and its doors opened, Alice stepped out while Ezra stayed put. “I mean,” he said, lifting a palm, “how are we supposed to get along with these people?”
Boston beat Anaheim three games to zero. The next night, the Yankees won their series against the Twins three games to one. Alice waited hopefully, but when he called her it was to say, “Sixteen pages.”
“Wow. How’s your back?”
“It hurts.”
“Are you taking something?”
“Am I taking something. Of course I’m taking something. The problem is, I can only take it every other day. Otherwise, you get hooked, and getting off it is hell.”
She watched Game One of the ALCS at her bar. The Sox blew it in the ninth, failing to score off Rivera after the Yankees raised their lead from one run to three.
CALLER ID BLOCKED.
“I’m worried about your grandmother.”
“So am I. She’s been wearing her lucky robe since July.”
“I suppose you’d like to watch the game here tomorrow night.”
“I suppose I would.”
Again, Boston lost. Three nights later,