THERE WASN’T MUCH LEFT to do. Just pack my bag.
I thought of calling Chantal. But then thought Oh, to hell with it. She had lied to me enough times. In fact, she was batting just about .1000. Why give her a chance to ruin that by being honest once?
I enjoyed the lone run back across the channel. At the last minute I veered off from the harbor, and took her out around the lighthouse point and back. When I tied up at the taverna and put the fenders over and stepped on shore and gave the keys to Dmitrios to hold, I felt like a grounded flier.
I started the dusty walk up to the house, then stopped and looked back once at the stocky little caique. It was never dusty, out on the water.
I half-hoped Pekouris would be waiting for me in my living room. But he wasn’t. He was much too smart for anything like that. There wasn’t anything he wanted from me now. I was sure he had been on the phone with Kronitis.
I left 2,000 drachs under a plate on the kitchen table for the old woman. More tip than she’d earned.
Then I got myself a big drink and went out and sat on my porch.
It wasn’t such a bad finale really. It was not such a bad arrangement really, either. I supposed some years back I would have been incensed at the bald indecency of it. At least Chantal was all right, with this arrangement. Anyway, it was the best I could do for her.
I had a last minute thought, and went in and called Tarkoff at Kronitis’s and told him I wanted him and Kronitis to pay Chantal $6000. Call it a separation pay, I said. He agreed. He was too guilty not to, and I used that on him. I didn’t know why I chose the arbitrary figure of $6000. Instead of $5000, say, or $7000.
I still had my bag to pack. But when I got upstairs I found the upper floor was full of some kind of smoke. It smelled like garbage smoke. When I looked out the window, I saw that they were burning trash in an oil drum out behind Dmitri’s. The freshening breeze was carrying the great clouds of acrid evil-smelling smoke straight across the vacant lot into my house. I stood at the window looking at it. I thought it was a fitting farewell, along with all the rest.
I finished the suitcase and strapped it down and took it down and set it in the living room.
I got my briefcase out of the locked closet to put with the suitcase and saw Chuck’s machete sitting there. I took it and took it downstairs and gave it to Georgina to give to Steve and Chuck. When she asked me if I wanted to leave any message with it, I thought a minute, then said no. What the hell was I going to tell those two? I didn’t like them any better now than I had when I’d saved their ass from a bum murder rap.
“They’re really good boys, you know,” Georgina said.
I just looked at her. “You don’t know your ass from a bull fiddle, Georgina. That’s the truth,” I said. “They’re a couple of bums. The percentage of phonies among hippies is no higher and no lower than any other given group. In other words, about 89.9%. That’s what we insurance adjusters call a continuing statistic.”
“Isn’t this smoke terrible?” she said.
“You ought to do something about that,” I said. “But don’t do it on my account.”
I shook hands with her, and escaped back upstairs.
I was content to sit on my porch with my drink till time for the ferry. Smoke or no smoke.
I didn’t hear the door open, but I heard the steps on the little stairs.
“I couldn’t let you go like that,” she said coming out through the living room. “Don’t you even want to kiss me goodbye?”
“Sure,” I said. I put down my drink and put my arms around her, and gave her a medium-light, passionless kiss.
“Is there any chance I might see you in Paris?”
“I don’t see how,” I said. “We don’t run in the same circles.” I stepped back, and looked at her a minute. Her lower lip was trembling. “Anyway, you’re out of your thing,” I said. “They may even give you a little severance pay.”
“I don’t know whether I’m glad or not,” she said. “What will I do now?” She worked up a smile. “I guess I can sell my hot body to a rich old Greek. But I’m getting a little too old even for that.”
“There must be some around,” I said. I slugged back the rest of my drink. “I’ve got a horsecab waiting, honey. You go down and have a drink with Georgina.”
I went past her and got the suitcase and my briefcase.
“Tell me something, will you?” I said from the door.
“Yes. If I can, I will.”
“Why did you come to me with that phony made-up story about Girgis blackmailing you?”
She stood and looked at me. “I made it up on the moment. Because I wanted to get close to you. I had a little thing for you. And I wanted to interest you.”
I nodded. I went out and shut the door.
At the ferry dock in the Port I went on board and put my suitcase down on deck and went to the rail. Nobody had come to say goodbye, just as nobody had come to say hello when I arrived.
Above my head the big horn hooted twice. I remembered my next alimony payment was due in two weeks.