"Jack Womack - Ambient 06 - Going, Going, Gone" - читать интересную книгу автора (Womack Jack)

┬╗You get it?┬л he asked. Martin fired up and shot one smoke
ring through another.
┬╗The Willard used to be such a magnificent hotel,┬л Hamilton
proclaimed, oozing the grease of sociability. He knew if he came
on like Uncle Bob heтАЩd get an invite to any Friday dinner. ┬╗Sad,
how much itтАЩs changed over the years. YouтАЩre not old enough to
remember what this was, before it was a coffee shop.┬л IтАЩd have
guessed nobody was. ┬╗It was a corner of the grand ballroom.
The ceiling and those walls are false, you see. My friend Donald
CookтАЩs graduation party was given here in 1926. Donald was the
son of Senator Cook, he died on the Brittannica.┬л I was starting
to wish I had. ┬╗An unforgettable evening. We kept our flasks at
the ready, filled with hooch. Whenever the chaperones turned
their heads weтАЩd have a snort. I danced with Sally Patterson half
the night.┬л He went all cow-eyed, recalling the scent of long-lost
fur. ┬╗Fifty beautiful young men and women, learning the ways
of the world.┬л I suspected he placed himself pretty high on the
beauty scale. ┬╗The stage was there.┬л He pointed at the steam
table, where two Japs stood slinging hash. ┬╗Seven smoke musi-
cians. Real hot poppas from New Orleans, as we used to say.┬л
He burst out in soft song. ┬╗If the man in the moon was a coon,
coon, coon тАУ┬л
Hambone pursed his lips like he was spitting out watermelon
seeds. Frye made with the chucks: hmnf hmnf hmnf. Bennett
sighed; he probably spent half his life hearing about parties he
wasnтАЩt invited to. Martin, like me, played icecube.
┬╗I did some stepping out back in Cambridge myself,┬л Ben-
nett said, at the same time eyeballing me. ┬╗Not very good at it,
though. Two left feet.┬л
┬╗I suspect you underestimate yourself,┬л Hamilton said.
┬╗Surely I wouldnтАЩt have held a candle to you, sir.┬л Bennett
kissed most peopleтАЩs feet because he was too short to reach their
ass.
┬╗Sweet memory is all that lingers once the ball is over, gen-
tlemen,┬л said the old codger. ┬╗So soon we forget.┬л
If this went on much longer he was going to drag out the uke
and start yodelling. After he tossed off that little lyric from the
hit parade I was in no mood to foxtrot. ┬╗IтАЩve forgotten why you
asked me here, actually,┬л I said. ┬╗Not to cut you short, my
brothers, but IтАЩve got a train to catch.┬л
┬╗Mister Smith,┬л Hamilton said, speaking in my direction, as
if heтАЩd been struck blind but suspected I had a quarter. (My
legal given is Bullitt, by the by, but I use a more forgettable
monicker for piece work.) ┬╗I want to offer you the opportunity
to reconsider our proposal. We think youтАЩre our man for the
job.┬л
┬╗I donтАЩt even know what your proposal is,┬л I said. IтАЩd turned
them down simply because I hadnтАЩt liked their looks; you get to
my level and you can start getting away with that, sometimes.
┬╗Told you I like to see the sandwich before I bite down.┬л