Read Online Blonde Faith by Walter Mosley - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Walter Mosley
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we’re not enemies. I just want to go up in an elevator like anybody else. You don’t need to worry about me. It’s the men that own this building that are making you poor and uneducated and angry.”
But I didn’t say anything. He wouldn’t have heard me. I couldn’t free either one of us from our bonds of hatred.
The young woman returned with another white man behind her. This man was tall, ugly, and impeccably dressed in a dark green suit. He glanced at me and then turned to the guard.
“Yes?”
“This man says that he has an appointment with you, Mr. Green.”
“What is your name?” Green asked the guard.
“Michaels, sir. But this guy —”
“Mr. Michaels, how many times a day do I receive people who have made appointments?”
“I don’t know… a few.”
“And how often do you ride up the elevator humiliating those people?”
“Um…”
“If a man or woman or child tells you that they have an appointment with me, I’d appreciate it if you would allow them to come here and discharge their business.”
“I just thought —”
“No,” Green said, interrupting the excuse, “you did not think. You saw this man, this Negro man, and decided that you would play the hero, protecting a restaurant where you couldn’t afford even a lunch from a person you don’t know a thing about.”
I felt bad for Michaels, I really did. Green didn’t say another word. Michaels knew enough not to argue. The horsey woman watched her boss with inquisitive eyes. We all stood there for more moments than we should have. I don’t know about them, but I felt that I had somehow lost my way in life, ending up on that high floor embroiled in a conflict that made no sense.
Michaels finally got the message and went back toward the elevator.
“Mr. Rawlins,” Hans Green said, “it’s so nice to see you.”
We shook hands as the young woman watched, trying to understand what was happening.
“Come back to my office,” Green was saying.
As I followed him, I smiled and nodded at the hostess.
How could she know that eighteen months before, Hans Green was being framed for embezzling money from the last restaurant he worked for, Canelli’s. Melvin Suggs, an LAPD detective, was a friend of his and he passed my card along. I took a job as a dishwasher at the restaurant and discovered that the chef and Green’s wife were cooking the books, and each other, at Hans’s expense.
THE BIG WINDOW of the restaurant manager’s office looked all the way from downtown to the Pacific. I liked sitting there. The only thing I would have liked better was Bonnie back in my arms.
Green’s ears and nose were way too big for his face. Red and blue veins had risen to the surface of his cheeks. His teeth were too small, and his thin lips were loose and flaccid. He was a caricature of a man.
“What can I do for you, Easy?” he asked when we were both seated and I had turned down a drink.
“I’m coming tonight with a very special woman. I’d like a good seat and perfect service.”
“What time?”
“Eight.”
“Done. On the house.”
“I can pay for it.”
“If Michaels is any indication, you pay for it every day of your life.”
• 13 •
B y the time I got home, I had plotted and abandoned six different ways to get to Bonnie and convince her to come back to me. I considered everything from just apologizing to buying her a house in Baldwin Hills where we could start life anew. I even flirted with the notion of killing Joguye Cham.… That was when I understood that I was truly, madly in love.
Frenchie was waiting on the other side of the door this time, growling and baring his teeth. He snapped at me when I crossed the threshold into my own home.
“Hi, Dad,” Feather said, coming out of her room. Easter Dawn came after her, wearing a pink kimono and carrying an ornately crocheted purse that looked something like a briefcase with a red silken shoulder strap.
“Hey,” I said to the
But I didn’t say anything. He wouldn’t have heard me. I couldn’t free either one of us from our bonds of hatred.
The young woman returned with another white man behind her. This man was tall, ugly, and impeccably dressed in a dark green suit. He glanced at me and then turned to the guard.
“Yes?”
“This man says that he has an appointment with you, Mr. Green.”
“What is your name?” Green asked the guard.
“Michaels, sir. But this guy —”
“Mr. Michaels, how many times a day do I receive people who have made appointments?”
“I don’t know… a few.”
“And how often do you ride up the elevator humiliating those people?”
“Um…”
“If a man or woman or child tells you that they have an appointment with me, I’d appreciate it if you would allow them to come here and discharge their business.”
“I just thought —”
“No,” Green said, interrupting the excuse, “you did not think. You saw this man, this Negro man, and decided that you would play the hero, protecting a restaurant where you couldn’t afford even a lunch from a person you don’t know a thing about.”
I felt bad for Michaels, I really did. Green didn’t say another word. Michaels knew enough not to argue. The horsey woman watched her boss with inquisitive eyes. We all stood there for more moments than we should have. I don’t know about them, but I felt that I had somehow lost my way in life, ending up on that high floor embroiled in a conflict that made no sense.
Michaels finally got the message and went back toward the elevator.
“Mr. Rawlins,” Hans Green said, “it’s so nice to see you.”
We shook hands as the young woman watched, trying to understand what was happening.
“Come back to my office,” Green was saying.
As I followed him, I smiled and nodded at the hostess.
How could she know that eighteen months before, Hans Green was being framed for embezzling money from the last restaurant he worked for, Canelli’s. Melvin Suggs, an LAPD detective, was a friend of his and he passed my card along. I took a job as a dishwasher at the restaurant and discovered that the chef and Green’s wife were cooking the books, and each other, at Hans’s expense.
THE BIG WINDOW of the restaurant manager’s office looked all the way from downtown to the Pacific. I liked sitting there. The only thing I would have liked better was Bonnie back in my arms.
Green’s ears and nose were way too big for his face. Red and blue veins had risen to the surface of his cheeks. His teeth were too small, and his thin lips were loose and flaccid. He was a caricature of a man.
“What can I do for you, Easy?” he asked when we were both seated and I had turned down a drink.
“I’m coming tonight with a very special woman. I’d like a good seat and perfect service.”
“What time?”
“Eight.”
“Done. On the house.”
“I can pay for it.”
“If Michaels is any indication, you pay for it every day of your life.”
• 13 •
B y the time I got home, I had plotted and abandoned six different ways to get to Bonnie and convince her to come back to me. I considered everything from just apologizing to buying her a house in Baldwin Hills where we could start life anew. I even flirted with the notion of killing Joguye Cham.… That was when I understood that I was truly, madly in love.
Frenchie was waiting on the other side of the door this time, growling and baring his teeth. He snapped at me when I crossed the threshold into my own home.
“Hi, Dad,” Feather said, coming out of her room. Easter Dawn came after her, wearing a pink kimono and carrying an ornately crocheted purse that looked something like a briefcase with a red silken shoulder strap.
“Hey,” I said to the
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