William Gaddis - J R

— Yes if can you just hand me that Indian…

— Better help your squaw with her blanket in back there too Bast wouldn’t want people in the street to…

— Look man I’m just going in the tub I mean where do you think I’m going.

— Oh and Mister Gibbs I meant to say if you’re going to be here if any phone calls come they may sound like business I mean they are business and…

— You mean that phone in there works?

— Yes oh and that’s something else if you can keep something hung over it, I mean it’s a picturephone and if somebody’s in the tub or anything I wrote a number down there you can just tell them to call Mister Piscator he’s a lawyer, I wrote his number down there too if he calls about a movie company called Erebus somebody called Mister Leva if you could just help me with this box here I…

— Look Bast I’ll do anything I can for you but God damn it can you take two minutes to sit down and tell me what this is all about? This business these dividend checks what’s…

— They’re in the icetray yes if you could just cash them for her I’ll try to explain it all when I get back oh and don’t let Al answer the phone anymore he…

— Al who wait look how long are you going to be gone where the hell are you going?

— It’s just, it’s something I said I’d do Mister Gibbs so I, I have to do it if you could hold the door for me…

— Yes here but listen Bast there are some other things I wanted to talk to good God no is that a hearing aid?

— Yes no Rhoda can tell you goodbye thank you Mister Gibbs goodbye…

— Good, good luck… his weight and the door’s supported one another till it shuddered back in place, — good… God.

— Man like could you hand me one of those red cups by the sink?

— With grape drink? Look will you tell me…

— Like I just want it to dip over me man I mean all this real sudsing power, like do you want to get in?

— In, the tub?

— Well like what do you think I…

— No look Rhoda I just came up here to get some work done, I thought Bast was shut up here alone writing music find all this going on and him never seen him looking worse, never saw anybody look worse what the hell was that hearing aid he’s wearing.

— Like that’s this little ear radio man I mean it’s this job he has on the side, like he writes down every record this station plays so these musicians don’t get screwed on like royalties and…

— But of what, this job on the side of what you mean he composes with that thing playing in his ear all the time?

— Like that’s all this music he’s getting this four hundred dollars for so he can write this other music I mean that’s why he doesn’t even know what it sounds like till he goes to this hotel someplace to like play it on the piano there, I mean like he was trying it here only he couldn’t find these octaves on the piano, like I mean he’d just find them and some more stuff would like come and get piled on them and I mean now you can’t even find the fucking piano anymore.

— All right but what’s all this got to do with his, with this business this J R Shipping Corp and all these…

— Like that’s what it’s on the side of on the side of, I mean wait till you see the mail like there must be these fifty sick corporations man, I mean when the telephone rings you never know what it is like can you lend me your hand so I don’t slip getting out?

— Yes here but… he cleared his throat — be careful, this lawyer he mentioned this Piscator…

— He’s this lawyer they’ve got that like could you give me that shirt to dry off? And his boss, I mean when he calls you never heard such a creep like could you throw me those moccasins?

— Yes listen on second thought I’d better just forget the…

— I mean like whenever he calls man he’s got like this whole list of stuff and you can’t hardly…

— Never mind listen I shouldn’t have asked, came up here to do some work and…

— Man like do it then I mean who’s stopping you, like I mean what are you climbing up there for…

— I’m looking for a God damned looking for a blue folder and some boxes of notes Tootsie Roll boxes, they say Tootsie Roll on them have you seen…

— Like this blue folder’s someplace I mean I saw it once but these Tootsie Rolls man, I mean you could dig for look out! Like that whole pile’s going…

— God damned…

— Like before you get buried I mean could you come down and cash these checks like you said?

— Look I didn’t say…

— Man like it’s not this million dollars and I mean by your foot like throw me that raincoat?

— All right just, wait hold those film cans before they, there…

— They’re like right in the refrigerator I mean that’s where he keeps…

— Yes but wait what, good God what is this in here…

— That’s all this literature for these investments man, like…

— No this, this Cornish hens à la Kiev, classic dish of the Imperial Court of Old dripping all over these…

— It’s some present he got like it says keep refrigerated I mean just look in the icetray.

— But, all these? you expect me to cash all these U S Steel what the, forty cents? International Paper forty-three cents what are all these on one share? General Telephone forty cents, Typhon International…

— Man like don’t ask me I mean just add them up okay?

— Columbia Gas forty-seven, El Paso Natural Gas really God damned diversified portfolio, Walt Disney…

— And there’s like this forty-five more cents of them under the couch with the…

— Western Union look they’re not even endorsed, I mean what do you…

— What like signed on the back? I mean endorse them then like just sign a fucking x on the back what do they want for thirty cents, Abraham Lincoln’s autograph?

— One eighty, two ten, two thirty look I’ll give you five dollars for the lot, here…

— Five dollars? Man like I need cab fare I’m going shopping.

— Now? like that?

— Like what, I mean can you see through it?

— No but it’s, you’ll freeze your pants are hanging in there on…

— Like what do you want me to do leave them at Macy’s? And I mean I could get you something man, like that suit you’ve got it looks like out of some old movie and I mean it’s this big sale down there today I could get you a…

— Look what difference does a sale make if you’re just going down there to…

— The crowds man the crowds, I mean they’re so cheap like for a hundred people they’ve got this one spaced out sales person that’s like trained not to see you, I mean look is that this blue folder you’re looking for up there? No like over the refrigerator on that Flakes box…

— How’d it get up there yes lost this and I’d really be, what in, what the hell…

— Oh wow, I mean like there was this frozen pizza up there…

— Frozen what do you mean frozen cheese and tomato all over the whole God damned throw me that shirt God damn it, I mean God damn it if you and Bast are staying here at least you could…

— What man at least we could what, I mean he just gave you some rent didn’t he? And I mean like you weren’t even very nice to him, man I mean this one time I ever saw you before you’re up here that night waving this bottle around with like one shoe and I mean now you come on like you’re this really different person, man like I mean really up tight you know?

— Yes well listen…

— I mean you just come in here all at once from like nowhere and everybody should drop dead while you look for your Tootsie Rolls and this great folder with cheese and tomatoes like it’s War and Peace I mean what…