Page 99 - The Myth and the Moment

Evening

“I’m trying to tell you, man, that I no longer do any favors for that
pig. Now, from what Aestheria told me, she got some kind of nasty
pleasure out of jerking you around. She thinks I’m going to get you
and somehow put you back into Phil’s hands.”
“Oh, come off it, Ham: how can you, with no great wealth or
power, hope to buck the will of big, bad Phil? You gave me a
wonderful speech about how he would crush me like a cockroach if I
dared oppose him.”
That stopped him. Think I’ll stop, too. Got to hear his answer to
that one.
“Okay, Nate. I’m going to tell you something nobody else knows,
just to show you I’m on your side. Phil won’t mess with me because
I’ve got the tapes.”
“Tapes?”
“Yeah. Three years ago, his wife went back to Asia for a couple of
weeks. Funeral or wedding, I don’t remember which. He threw a
pretty wild party while she was gone. I showed up late in the
afternoon, and he was skinny-dipping in the pool with a couple of
ladies whose names have changed quite often, if you know what I
mean. Well, he was so plastered he barely realized I had my camera
and was recording all the posteriors for posterity.”
“Really? You’re not kidding me?”
“Hell, no! I’ve got a copy in my car. Labeled ‘Ladies Assistance
League Picnic.’ Come on, I’ll give you a private screening.”
I’ve got to see this.
“All right. But I’m not getting in the car to see it.”
“No problem, man. Say, I almost got in trouble when I went over
to Aestheria’s place. Some guys jumped out at me when I knocked on
her door. I thought they were the White Brotherhood, you know,
looking for some uppity black man to string up on the traffic lights as
a warning to the others. One of them had a big, I mean, big,
hypodermic ready to stick in my ass. Lucky for me, Aestheria came
out and called them off.”
“Why, I’m terribly sorry to hear that, Ham.”
“Sure, sure, man. I know they were laying for you. She told me.
Also went on about some speech you made. Wish I could have taped
it, the way she described it all.”

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