Part 14 (1/2)
Jonas winked at Madison. ”You hear what he said? Rajinder said the words I taught him.”
”I will make it a short story. I invested 80 per cent of my money in their oil and gas exploration company, so they could expand into promising new territory.”
”Weren't you afraid it was a scam?” said David.
”I was young and naive. I did not understand a thing about the oil business. It just sounded right.”
Abby shook her head and addressed her neighbours in a general way. ”It's always about oil.”
”So what happened?” said David.
”I bought thirty-three per cent of the company for one million dollars. The expansion proved more promising than they could have imagined. As we have seen, oil prices have risen considerably. And in February of this year, a large corporation from Texas battled with the Chinese government for the right price and bought us out.”
Jonas laughed. ”For how much, Raj?”
”Enough so that I will be a full-time patron of the arts for the rest of my life. Now, shall we move on to more important concerns?”
”Let's Fix It,” said Madison.
”Yes.”
”So how are we going to Fix It?”
”Exactly,” said Rajinder.
Madison was confused. She turned to her parents and Jonas, and back to Rajinder. ”Didn't you ask us here so you could reveal your plan?”
”I have no plan, Madison. I invited you here so we could divine and discuss a plan.”
This last phrase from Rajinder was like the first kernel of popped corn in an empty pot. It reminded Madison of the effect in grade seven when a subst.i.tute teacher announced the cla.s.s would be watching a movie. David accused everyone of dragging him out for no reason. Jonas cackled sarcastically. s.h.i.+rley asked Jonas for a piece of gum and Raymond stumbled to the bar, where he proceeded to drink Crown Royal rye whisky straight from the bottle.
Rajinder cleared his throat and turned to Madison again. ”Perhaps I should have hired a public relations professional, to help manage expectations.”
”No, you did a great job,” said Madison. She spoke softly, under the noise. ”It's obvious you put a lot of effort into this. I think we were all hoping for an easy answer, someone to save us.”
”I do have some ideas, a general framework. Should I shout?”
”No, they'll calm down eventually. You know what liquor can do to people.”
As Madison predicted, the residents of the Garneau Block did calm down. It happened suddenly, when Raymond threw the now-empty whisky bottle against the wooden wall. The bottle didn't break but the red wood chipped and the noise was sharp enough to silence the room.
”I got fired today,” said Raymond, struggling not to slur. ”You want to know why? Because I took my Death in Philosophy cla.s.s on a field trip to the Waterpark and slapped Dannika on the a.s.s.”
”Who's Dannika?” said s.h.i.+rley.
”Let me finish, sweetheart. I should also tell you that I sort of asked my ma.s.sage therapist for s.e.xual favours the other night, to no avail. Oh, and I should also tell you that I've driven past the prost.i.tutes on 95th Street not once or twice but thrice in the past few weeks. And since I'm up here, doing this, let me add that I've had lurid fantasies about you and about you, too.” Raymond winked at Abby and Madison. ”There, now I've said it. Let's fix that.”
For some time, Raymond swayed at the bar. Through the ceiling speakers, Charles Aznavour sang ”Il faut savoir.” Instead of considering what her neighbour had just said, Madison attempted to translate the song with her high-school French. The lyrics seemed sad even though the music had an appealing bossa nova quality.
Discomfort filled the conference room like the scent of burned garbage. To ease it, Madison wanted to scream, laugh, or sing along with Charles Aznavour. Raymond b.u.mped into the table, bent down and kissed s.h.i.+rley Wong's hair. He said, ”I'm sorry, I love you,” and started out of the room. Rajinder's a.s.sistant, the tall blonde woman, met him just outside the door.
”Right this way, Dr. Terletsky.”
When the a.s.sistant returned, one song later, Abby escorted her dazed best friend out of the conference room. On his way after them, David grabbed the hummus and baba ghanouj bowls, and thanked Rajinder for a pleasant evening. Madison wondered what would happen next.
A tornado seemed about right.
39.
several instances of arrogance At the Chateau Lacombe, two blocks south of Manulife Place, David called a cab while Abby and s.h.i.+rley sat on the piano bench outside the lounge. He didn't want to talk about Raymond any longer so he extended his conversation with the dispatcher.
”Can you make sure it's a non-smoking car?”
”All our cars are non-smoking.”
”Offcially, maybe. But in reality, no. The drivers smoke all the time, and the cars make me feel woozy. I'm an ex-smoker myself.”
”Well, if you see a driver smoking in his cab, call him in.”
”I'm supposed to rat on the guy?” David turned and watched his wife and her best friend, and felt warm with marital satisfaction. For the rest of his life, whenever he felt tempted by wicked desires, he would remember this night. It had already been decided, on the short walk to the Chateau Lacombe, that Raymond would have to find somewhere else to sleep.
”Sir?”
”Yes.”
The dispatcher had been speaking to David about the science of ratting on cab drivers. He had been ignoring her. ”Contravening the bylaw carries a significant fine, and punitive action.”
”How long will it take?”
”The fine and punitive action?”
”The cab. Our cab.”
”Five to fifteen.”
”Thanks.”
David hung up the phone and approached a pot of Alberta wildflowers in the lobby. Not far away, he could hear both s.h.i.+rley and Abby gently crying on the piano bench. It was clear he would be paying for the cab. A greasy cab, when they might have been in the private comfort of the Yukon. He sniffed the wildflowers, and without thinking too much about it, said, ”Mmm.”
The doorman, standing nearby in a suit, nodded and smiled. ”They're fake.”
”Oh, I know. I was just pretending they were real.”
”Of course you were, sir.”