REV ROAD - PART TWO CHAPTER FOUR

Fly the coup jack ordway said stirring his coffee

Kick over the traces. Take off

A clown, a drunk, a man unable to discuss anything at all except

In the elaborately derisive tone he used for talking to himself

Wasn’t this the desirable kind of

Confidant to have in a thing like this?

He would sometimes find his mind sliding readily into gear

With the slow machinery of Bandy’s projects

At first these little shocks had been fun, but the fun of them had worn off

And soon they had become distantly troubling

The bright dry torpid lake of this place had contained him too long and too peacefully

To be ruffled by any threat of escape

This was intolerable; the only way to put an end to it was to speak out and tell somebody;

And jack ordway was, after all, the best friend he had in the office

I don’t mean to be dense, but what exactly will you be doing? I down see you languishing indefinitely at sidewalk cafes while

Your good Frau commutes to the embassy or whatever

And then, only partly aware

That he was quoting his wife

Tilting his handsome head to one side, lifting his brows and

Curling out his underlip which looked unpleasantly pink and slick

Noble experiment

What kind of supercilious crap was that?

He didn’t look supercilious now

He looked old and beaten and wistfully envious

Felt his own resentment blurring

Into affectionate pity

The poor, silly old bastard, he thought

I’ve spoiled his lunch; I’ve spoiled his day

Instead he took refuge from

His own confusion in a burst of happiness

But he looked as pleased as

A stroked spaniel

He entertained himself by pretending it was the last time he would ever stand in

Line here, the last time he would ever shift his feet and finger his pay check

We’re like a litter of suckling pigs waiting for a free tit, oh of course we’re all very well mannered, very refined little pigs

We stand sauvely and try not to jostle each other too much and when each guy gets up close to the window

He takes out his check and sort of folds it in his fingers or palms it or finds some other way

of hiding it without seeming to. Because it’s very important to be casual, you see, but the really importnant thing is to make sure nobody else sees how much you’re getting. jesus!

to flap and climb until they were wheeling high over the towers

with alternatively black and silver wings

he was able to glance around at the talking faces of these four men

and feel truly detached from them

in the meantime it was no longer

necessary to dislike them

he could take pleasure in the

comradely way they spread out five abreast across the sidewalk, inspired by the sun

goodbye to the whole sweet, sad bunch of you

Im leaving

and now feeling his wn face twitch into a grimace of servility

feeling a drop of sweat creep out of his armpit and run down his ribs

isnt it the

damndest thing

And I mean isn’t it the damndest thing

he demanded of April that evening

I mean isn’t it ironic?

I do this dumb little piece of work to get myself off the hook with Bandy

Im his favourite

bright young man

he’s got it all

mapped out

years of doping along in the

damn job and never - what?

you know a little

awkward thats all

as he chewed with all the strength of his jaws, exhaling a long breath throughhis nostrils

to show how self controlled he was, he realized he didn’t wuite know what he was angry about

He imagined her saying, and it probably is the best sales promotion they’ve ever een

what’s so funny about that?