Part 13 (1/2)
”You bet it is, Rajinder,” said Jonas. ”And if you really want this to be informal and fun, you better sit down too. I can't speak for anyone else, but you're freaking me out.”
”Right.” Rajinder sat. ”Before we begin talking about Fixing It, does anyone have any questions?”
”I have a million questions, Rajinder,” said Abby. ”But let me just say I love the way you've decorated this floor. It's gorgeous.”
”And the music,” said Jonas. ”Edith Piaf's on my top-five list.”
”Thank you both. I am interested in both interior design and French culture.”
David Weiss raised his hand. ”What is this place?”
”My office.”
”The entire thirty-eighth floor of Manulife Place?”
”Yes.”
”But it's mostly just art and whatnot.”
”I also have a screening room and exercise facilities on the opposite side. There are several studios, for my artists-in-residence. I am currently supporting a painter, an interpretive dancer, and a novelist.”
”What do you do, Rajinder?”
”Well, I guess you could say I am a patron of the arts.”
”Yes, but what do you do?”
Rajinder turned and looked at Madison. He smiled and Madison smiled, and her face went hot. ”Dad, he just told you what he does.”
”This makes no sense,” said David. ”I need another drink.”
Rajinder stood up.
”No, sit. I'll get it myself.” David started to the bar. ”All I meant is I don't understand how you can make money being a patron of the arts. Maybe Abby and I are doing it all wrong, but being patrons of the arts causes no end of credit card debt.”
”Worth every penny,” said Abby. ”Isn't it, Rajinder?”
Madison saw that Rajinder wanted to be careful not to isolate or insult her father. Instead of saying, ”Amen!” or ”Yes, indeed!” Rajinder simply nodded at Abby. In the chairs nearest Rajinder, s.h.i.+rley and Raymond sat close. Madison had never seen them like this. First, Raymond crying, and now s.h.i.+rley squeezing his hand and rubbing the back of his neck and saying, ”Shhhh,” as though he were an infant.
”Is this about death?” said Raymond, with a drunken tilt on death.
Rajinder paused and then nodded. ”It is partly about death, I would say. But you should not be asking me. This is a joint project. I hoped we could meet to discuss ways to rejuvenate and strengthen our block. The Perlitz tragedy has interrupted my life in ways I could not have foreseen. Psychologically, I mean. Perhaps you understand.”
Everyone nodded.
”The university annexation proposal, I have known about it since July. Since then, with the help of a lawyer friend, I have researched ways to fight it, apart from the usual pet.i.tions and hearings. But I am getting in front of myself.”
”Ahead of myself. That's the phrase.”
”Thank you, Mr. Pond.”
”Jonas.”
”Thank you, Jonas.”
”Are there any other questions about me, before we begin?” Rajinder took another sip of wine. ”I know a little bit about all of you, I suppose, through observation and some Internet research. You all know each other quite well.”
David put his hand up again. ”Okay, so maybe I'm thick. But you still haven't really answered my question. Your office is the penthouse of Manulife Place?”
”A long-term lease. It was a bizarre opportunity, a trough in the real estate market.”
”And you're a patron of the arts. Great news. You're a hero and a saint. But I'm wondering what you do for money.”
Madison shook her head. ”Dad, you can't ask that.”
”I can't?”
”No.” She turned to Rajinder. ”Don't answer. It's none of his business.”
Rajinder tilted his head. ”I am willing to answer. Would you like to hear the story, Ms. Weiss?”
”It's poor manners, on my dad's part. Call me Madison.”
”If it were not poor manners, would you like to hear my story?”
She turned and squinted at her father, who shrugged. Then she looked back at Rajinder. Madison enjoyed looking at Rajinder. ”Yes.”
”Then I will tell it.”
37.
the story of rajinder chana, part one Before he began the story of how he came to be a rich man, Rajinder Chana implored his neighbours to fill their plates with brie and asparagus crepes, duck confit, fresh melon wrapped in prosciutto, miniature beef Wellingtons, and crab cakes. He took large spoonfuls of hummus and baba ghanouj, and complimented Abby Weiss and s.h.i.+rley Wong.
”Garlic is G.o.dly,” he said.
Then Rajinder topped up everyone's gla.s.s but for Madison and Jonas. Madison took a can of club soda and Jonas insisted on making his own old-fas.h.i.+oned. As Rajinder hurried through the boardroom, serving his neighbours, Madison tried not to stare at him. Even when Rajinder smiled, his big eyes appeared sad to her. Though she knew it would always keep her from complete happiness, Madison preferred sad men.
”Where should I begin?” said Rajinder. ”I should not like to bore you.”
”I couldn't imagine being bored here,” said Abby.
Everyone else shook their heads. No, they couldn't imagine it either. ”Well,” said Rajinder, ”I am flattered. But believe me, I am a boring man at heart. Until the night of Benjamin Perlitz's death, I do not think I would have been capable of this.”
”Of what?” said David.