The Failure: A Novel by Greer James

Author:Greer, James [Greer, James]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Tags: ebook
Publisher: Akashic
Published: 2010-02-28T16:00:00+00:00

27. WHAT VIOLET SAID TO CHARLIE, FOUR DAYS BEFORE THE CHECK-CASHING FIASCO, IN THE BACK ROOM OF THE KOREAN CHECK-CASHING PLACE, AFTER HOURS

You understand this is just a one-time thing, Charlie. -I understand.

-And that I’m not actually attracted to you or anything. Strictly speaking, this is a bargain. I fuck you, and you fuck Guy and Billy. The first fuck is meant literally, the second metaphorically.

-I understand.

-We’re not going to see each other ever again after this. Or probably not anyway. Life is strange.

-I understand.

-Don’t you even want to know why I want to screw up Guy’s plan to rob your store?

-No.

-And you don’t care about losing your share of the money?

-No.

Violet considered Charlie’s answers for a moment.

-Not good enough, she finally replied.

-What’s not good enough?

-Why don’t you want to know anything about my motivations? It suggests to me that you don’t have any intention of following through with Guy’s plan, and that for me to fuck you would just be … superfluous.

-I don’t know what that means.

-It means you’re a creep. But that’s not important. I figured you for a creep. I didn’t figure you for an untrustworthy creep.

-I’m trustworthy.

-So you intend to follow through with this ridiculous and almost-certain-to-fail plan to rob your check-cashing place?

-I do. Or I did. Until now. Why do you think it’s almost certain to fail? Guy’s got everything worked out.

-Yeah, he’s good at that. He’s also good at the gang aft agley part about best-laid schemes. I mean in the original Burns poem, not the Steinbeck version.

Charlie gave a look expressing puzzlement.

-Don’t even bother, she continued, before Charlie could protest. -I don’t know why I’m talking to you like this. I think I might actually be nervous. Which is odd. I’m almost never nervous.

-Maybe you actually care about him?

-Yeah, replied Violet softly, surprising herself at her own half-admission. -I … it’s just with Guy, he’s always got these grand projects, he’s so busy trying to make something out of nothing that he can’t see the something he already … Anyway, I want him to be happy. I want to try to make him happy. I don’t do this, as a rule. I don’t get involved. That’s how my husband got killed.

She reacted to Charlie’s shocked expression with an impatient toss of her head.

-If he goes through with the plan—which I did my best to talk him out of, but to be honest my best is not very good, so I kind of figured he wouldn’t listen—he will get caught, or worse, and from what I understand, your part in all this is central, so if you don’t do your part, he will still fail, but on a much smaller scale. Call it damage control.

-Damage control, repeated Charlie.

A moment of heavy silence passed between them. Violet sighed.

-Am I really that beautiful?

-Yes.

-Okay, then. Let’s get started. She began undressing.

-No, said Charlie.

Violet stopped. -No? You’re saying no?

-Yes.

Violet shrugged, began dressing again. -So much for Plan Violet.

-It wasn’t a very good plan.

-You’re probably right, said Violet, in a slow monotone.

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