Part 25 (2/2)
Madison dished a thumbs-up. ”Give 'er.”
It wasn't until Jonas reached the foot of the pile that he realized running was unnecessary. Even though his brain understood that jumping, at this point, was foolish, Jonas jumped. He turned in the air, and went horizontal. In the air, flying backwards, Jonas had time to scold himself for going first. Jonas had time to think this was the last image he would see of the world: forests leading up to the deliciously expensive homes in Windsor Park.
He landed, with a thud, on his back, only his legs cus.h.i.+oned by the leaves. Once Jonas got his breath, and once Madison stopped laughing and a.s.sured him he hadn't fractured his coccyx, they lay together in the bed of leaves looking up at the purple bank of late afternoon cloud that had installed itself over the city.
”What are you going to be for Halloween?”
”Carlos and I are going to be Butch Ca.s.sidy and the Sundance Kid.”
”Who's who?”
”I'm Sundance, obviously. Why don't you think for a second before you ask such moronic questions?”
”Has Carlos come to terms with his gayness yet?”
”When we're alone, in a house or in the middle of a deserted expanse of gra.s.sland, sure. It's Freddie Mercury time. Around other human beings, no. According to that Carlos, we're brothers. He actually refers to me as bro.”
”I cannot imagine you as a bro.”
”You know what he bought me last weekend?”
”A promise ring?”
”A snowmobiling suit. For snowmobiling. He has two snowmobiles, and calls them sleds. When the snow falls, and Carlos can't wait, we're going to go sleddin'.”
”'Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold.'”
”Have you told Rajinder about the bun in ye olde oven yet?”
Madison pounded the leaves on either side of her. ”I was going to. About fifty times. But I always chicken out.”
”Don't you think he's going to figure it out soon, when you start wearing maternity pants?”
Madison buried her face in the leaves. ”I'm a coward.”
”What are you going to be for Halloween?”
”A big fat lady who hates herself.”
”Be Buddha.”
”No.”
”Santa? President Ulysses S. Grant? Late-career Elvis? Aretha Franklin? You better hurry up and decide, girl.”
Madison got up, extended a hand to Jonas, then tossed the Frisbee into the wind, and caught it herself. ”Rajinder and I are going to see Jeanne and Katie tomorrow morning.”
Jonas cleaned the bits of leaves and earth off Madison's face. He wondered how she didn't worry about pimples, putting all those tiny pore-clogging grains of dirt directly on her cheeks. ”Can I come?”
”I don't think so.”
”I thought we were going to be three amigos. Three best chums.”
”I'm an amiga, aren't I?”
”If there's even one boy in the crowd, it's amigos. s.e.xist? Maybe. But you've completely excluded me.”
”You've got Carlos.”
Jonas turned and marched toward the stairs leading up and out of Hawrelak Park. The notion that Carlos, an ur-redneck from Leduc, could compare with her sophisticated Indian millionaire with the cute nose was preposterous. Insulting. Behind him, he could hear Madison talking to herself and jogging to catch up. He took the stairs slowly and waited on the sidewalk at the top, the traffic rumbling by.
Madison caught her breath. ”We could go on double dates.”
”You don't understand. A little while ago it was just you and me. Now there's this baby coming, and Rajinder and my pretends-he's-not-gay boyfriend, the whole save-the-neighbourhood thing. If it doesn't work, and it probably won't, we'll move away from each other and meet for soft drinks once a week. Then the baby'll come and there'll be less time, and all your friends'll be baby obsessed like you, and we'll just talk on the phone. About your baby. Then we'll begin to forget. Other priorities, breeder birthday parties, et cetera. Then we'll see each other from afar in Save On Foods and quietly agree to avoid meeting so we won't hold each other up. Then”
”Come on.”
”I really feel this way. It happens to people. We're losing each other.”
They hugged and Madison reached up and slapped Jonas in the back of the head. ”Let's not.”
”Deal.” Jonas held out his hand for a shake.
Madison took it. ”Deal.”
”So can I come with you tomorrow, to see the Perlitz girls?”
”I don't know. It took a long time to get Jeanne to say yes at all, and it isn't exactly a social visit. We have to get her to say no to the university and yes to our plan.”
”That's exactly why I should come. Jeanne loved me. Everyone loves me so much, you know, because I'm exceedingly funny and striking to behold. It's sick and pitiless to deprive them of my company.” Jonas dropped to his knees, which smarted, and took the Frisbee out of Madison's hand. He lifted the Frisbee to the purple sky and threatened to toss it down the hill. ”Please?”
Madison sighed. ”It's a sombre occasion. No shenanigans.”
”None.”
63.
the power dinner In all his time as president of the riding a.s.sociation, the party's executive director had never summoned David Weiss for a private meeting. Though he was not the nervous sort, David found himself trying on different s.h.i.+rt-and-tie combinations following his late-afternoon, post-leaf-raking shower. White s.h.i.+rt and blue tie? White s.h.i.+rt and red tie? Open collar?
David found the right complement for his black suitwhite s.h.i.+rt and grey tieand asked Abby for her opinion. She was at the dining room table with a gla.s.s of wine, listening to a Pavarotti greatest hits CD and fussing over the New York Times crossword. ”Spin.”
<script>