Part 1 (1/2)
Memories of Another Day
Harold Robbins
For Grazia Maria con a quietly on his back in his coffin, his eyes closed, an unaccusto features, his thick white hair and heavy eyebrows neatly brushed I stood there in the silence of the funeral chapel staring down at hi After a moment I realized what it was My father had never slept on his back Not once in all the years I knew him
Usuallybelly sinking into the mattress, one arht, a scowl of concentration fierce even in sleep on his face Now there was nothing there Not even the hatred of thethat would come to tear him from his private world Then the lid of the coffin caain
I was flooded with a sense of relief It was over I was free I tore any coffin and looked up
The estured for us to leave I started off My brother, DJ, short for Daniel, Junior, pulled me back
”Take your mother's arm,” he whispered hoarsely
'And wipe that stupid sraphers out there”
I stared up at him He was thirty-seven years old- twenty years older than I-and orlds apart He cae and I came out of his last In between my father had other women but no other children, I pulled my arm free 'Tuck you,” I said
I walked out into the small antechamber off the chapel where the family was supposed to wait until the funeral liarette Several close friends and associates of ton, my father's executive assistant, ca with the heat ''How's yourthe ss before I answered hi out fros”
”Yeah,” I said ”I read the warning on the package”
The door opened and everyone's eyes turned toward it Myon DJ's ar her He lookedbrother than a stepson Which somehow seemed okay, since he was three years older than she was
The 's black er Itblond hair paler When the door had closed behind them, her 's frailty disappeared She stepped free of DJ's arm and came toward ed to avoid her reach That couldn't be true Not if I could believe half the shi+t I read in the newspapers aboutthe line he had to have socked away a bundle Union or no union
Justice Department or no Justice Department Jail or no jail
Myat earette”
I held out the pack, then lit one for her She dragged on it ”That's better,” she said
I watched some color come back into her face She was a pretty lady, et back to the house we'll have to have a talk”
”Okay” I ground out arette in a sandbox ”I'll wait there for you”
”You'll wait there forto the ce?” DJ had come up behind her ”How do you think it will look?”
”I don't give a damn how it looks,” I said
”But it's important,” DJ said ”The funeral will be on the national newscasts Union members all over the country will see it”
”Then just make sure you're up front where they can see you That's all thatto be their next national president, not aret, you'd better make him come”
”Jonathan-”
I cut her off ”No, Mother It's just a waste of time I didn't like him when he was alive, and now that he's dead there's no point in pretending that I like him any better It's a barbaric, hypocritical custom and I want no part of it”
There was dead silence in the room as I walked out When I turned to close the door behind me, I could see the others cluster around ainst the wall and watched There was no rush on his part He would get her later In the sack That is, if he still wanted to, now that she was no longer the wife of the national president and could no longer do hiht mine and he nodded I nodded back and silently closed the door
He wasn't so bad No worse than any of the others around my father I couldn't blame him for what he did any more than I could blame my mother My father had corrupted the world around hih a side entrance to avoid the crowds around the funeral parlor DJ was right There were hundreds of people out there And the television caht behind them I leaned on the wall and watched
Theinto their big black limousines The Vice President of the United States was first He paused in front of the TV caed in properly so, but didn't doubt that it was all the proper things After all, union overnors, senators, congressmen, mayors, other officials and union leaders One by one they took their turn in the spotlight, hoping that when running the newscast the local station would at least feature the horound to a stop in the alleyway behind me There was the sound of footsteps, and I could smell the man before I turned to see hie truck
''Is that Big Dan's funeral?”
I looked at him The small blue-and-white union button was pinned to the pocket of his gri crowd”
”Uh-huh”
”Any interesting pussy around?”
”Whatwith the ladies too,” he answered ”Our shop steas out with him a couple of times He said there was always lots of pussy and lots of whiskey whenever Big Dan was around”
''I didn't see any/ I said
'Oh” He sounded disappointed Then his voice brightened 'Any truth to the talk there was a young girl in the plane with him when he crashed?”
I looked at him and decided not to disappoint him any h there was no need to do so There was no one within a hundred feet of us ''I got the real scoop”
He fished a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and held it toward me We both lit up He looked expectantly at h Club?” I asked
He shook his head 'What's that?”
'If you ball a chick in an airplane, you're automatically a member”
”Sweet Jesus,” he said reverently ”Was that what he was doin'?”
”Better than that,” I said ”She was a blond chick with big tits She was kneeling down in front of hi up between the him when they came down out of the clouds with thethe wheel back toward hi it so the wheel didn't o!”
I didn't answer