‘Sure. Yes. Thank you.’
But the nurse spoke prematurely. Jimmy Ludwig’s will has always been stronger than anything the world could throw at him. His eyes open again, he examines his son, he pulls out the words he wanted.
‘Get a toaster-oven,’ he says.
‘I’ll get a toaster-oven,’ Spencer says.
‘I thank you. You’re a good man.’
That’s a start. He waits for more.
‘Stay away,’ his father says.
‘Oh.’
He interprets this as his father’s aphasic attempt to say Stay well, but all the same it is not what he wants to hear. ‘Good luck,’ his father says. ‘It’s been nice.’ And his eyes close again as he curls towards sleep.
Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank the copyright holders of the following films for permission to reproduce images and lines:
Wise Blood, directed by John Huston © 1979 Janus Films
Atlantic City, directed by Louis Malle © 1980 Paramount
La Jetée, directed by Chris Marker © 1963 Argos Films
Red River, directed by Howard Hawks © 1948 MGM
The Conformist, directed by Norman Jewison © 1965 Warner Bros
The Big Heat, directed by Fritz Lang, script by Sydney Boehm © 1953 MGM
The Passenger, directed by Michelangelo Antonioni, script by Mark Peploe © 1975, courtesy of Jack Nicholson
Also by David Flusfeder
The Pagan House
The Gift
Morocco
Like Plastic
Man Kills Woman
Copyright
First published in Great Britain in 2010 by Fourth Estate
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