5
“Your father coming
back?”
James smiled up at
the waiter. “Oh, he’s not my father.”
“Well, I certainly
noticed a resemblance, young man.”
“I suppose it’s
because he’s my uncle.”
“Uncle, is it?” the
waiter asked. He had a gray walrus mustache and a thick head of
wavy gray hair. His short black jacket was spotless and the serving
tray he bore was shiny stainless steel. He also had a heavy brogue.
“Uncle would explain it.”
“He left this,” James
said, and slid the bill and several greenbacks to the edge of the
table.
The waiter fingered
the money with the skill of a pickpocket. “I’ll be bringin’ you
your change,” he said, though given the slight hesitation in his
voice, James knew that the man hoped there would be no
change.
“He said it was all
for you.”
The waiter laughed
hoarsely. “Well, now, isn’t that a way to gladden a man’s day?” He
offered James a small bow. “And I hope your day is gladdened, too,
young one.”
“Thank you.”
“And thank you,” the
waiter said, and left.
***
In half an hour a
rented wagon was to pull up in front of the restaurant and James
was to go out and meet it. Septemus said he would be driving. He
said that James should come out fast and jump up and ask no
questions. His appetite sated, his hangover waning, he had started
wondering again exactly what his uncle was doing.
Why the wagon? Why come out fast? Why ask no
questions?
He put his chin in
the palm of his hand and stared out the window at the dusty street
filled with pedestrians walking from one side to the other. He
started thinking again of last night, of what he’d done with the
girl, and he decided that the first thing he was going to do when
he got back to Council Bluffs was get himself a good friend so he’d
have somebody to tell about his experiences.
Then he started
thinking of Uncle Septemus’s comment that James was only half a
man, that only when he took “responsibility” would he be a full
man.
James started
wondering where Uncle Septemus was right then.