The Lonely Hearts Hotel(86)

“Your husband told me where you were.”

“Where is he?” Rose asked, showing some alarm finally.

“What a ridiculous fool you’ve aligned yourself with.” McMahon’s anger surprised even himself. “I couldn’t believe it when he told me that he had a wife named Rose, and I put two and two together. I mean, in what universe does a lowlife junkie and a man like me share a lover? It’s so fucking ridiculous. It’s a tragedy that makes me laugh. What would you call such a thing?”

“A comedy.”

“No, my darling. This is no comedy. If you actually think that you’re going to have a happy ending with that piece of shit, you are out of your mind.”

“Where is he?”

“You must have had a laugh when he sold me that apple. Your husband owes me. He fucking owes me!”

She was afraid to move her hands or to pick up anything. She was worried that her hands would shake. Her heart was beating too quickly. He was in control now. He had Pierrot. She wasn’t allowed to say what she wanted. She might as well have a nylon stocking tied around her head, gagging her, and her hands fastened behind the chair.

“Pierrot didn’t know about our relationship. He never set out to dupe you.”

“What didn’t I give you? You ruined my life. You ruined my wife’s life. Weren’t you supposed to be friends? Don’t act like a victim. I swear to God, I’ll kill you if you do. I couldn’t walk down the hallway of my house without running into you half-dressed and acting like a dog in heat.”

Rose just looked at him.

“I’m embarrassed for you. I’m embarrassed for myself. It’s disgusting.”

They stared at each other. Full of hatred but with a visceral awareness that they had been naked and carnal with each other.

“Just tell me. Come on. Does he lick your pretty little cunt? Do you make all those same noises? Remember how you used to beg me to make sure you felt good? You were so tight that first time. Remember how I opened you up. You were ruined after me. I destroyed your cunt and that’s how you’ll always like it. I know you think about me sometimes. When he’s on top of you.”

She hadn’t, though. She sometimes thought of the man with the donkey’s head right before she came. She wouldn’t dare give McMahon the satisfaction of seeing her change her expression.

“I need to know what you’ve done with him or I won’t sit here another second.”

“Relax. He’s alive and fucking well, hanging upside down at the dock. He’s happy there. But he’s not safe. You are going to do something for me and I’m not going to murder your husband. I need to move dope across the border, a magnificent trainload of the shit.”

She paused, considering his offer, knowing she could not say no.

“I need more money, of course.”

He flopped a suitcase onto the desk.

“Take it. It’s fucking nothing to me. I have more money than you can ever imagine, Rose. So here’s some money, because it’s what you love. It’s what you’ll never get enough of.”

He stood up, buttoning his jacket. He leaned over the desk toward her. The white ostrich feather on the back of her hat made it appear as if her thoughts were on fire.

“Admit it, you hate me more than you love him.”

As soon as he drove away she was released from his power. She opened her mouth and let out a loud wail. She overturned her desk; it made a large booming sound. The suitcase thudded to the ground, the latch clicked open and stacks of bills rolled out.

When she saw the money, it shocked her. She stopped worrying about Pierrot for a moment. She got down on her knees and began putting the money away. The money dazzled her, changed her mood. She loved the feeling of being in possession of it. She put it in the safe. For a moment she didn’t even think about where the money had come from. She didn’t care at all. She felt only excitement. She loved the money’s proximity to her and the possibilities it opened up for her.

She didn’t believe a thing they said in church about material possessions being of no value. Money gave her confidence. It made her feel powerful. Oh, certainly the money hadn’t come to her in the most straightforward fashion. But it never does. And a person has to be willing to meet money on its own terms.

Pierrot!

? ? ?

THE WHITE SHIPS docked in the port were like wedding cakes on display in a baker’s window. Pierrot was hanging upside down, tied by his ankle to a hook from the deck of a steamer. The clowns came running with a long ladder, which they had used for a traditional house-on-fire scene. Rose stuck her hands up in the air. Pierrot put his hands out to her.

“How are you?” she asked.

“I don’t know. You can get used to anything.”

“I’ll find a way to get you down.”

“I should hope so. What were you talking about that took so long? Were you engaging in small talk? Were you exchanging recipes?”

Pierrot was actually laughing when they took him down from the hook. Pierrot’s pride wasn’t injured easily, the way McMahon’s was. He didn’t have any pride—and, surprisingly, that made him noble.

“Is there something you’d like to tell me about your relationship with McMahon?”

“Oh God, I told you about the married man.”