William Gaddis - J R

— Sorry, I didn’t mean to…

— No that’s all right yes come in Gibbs I’m just ahm, this phone line to the bank that is to say hello…? Yes I haven’t heard anything on it no, no Dan was going to feel his wife out but of course he’s in no position to ahm, to feel anyone up right now that is to… no but of course we can’t embarrass Fedders he has the union ahm, war chest down to the bank in deposit certificates and of course he’s directed the purchase of mortgages through the bank in their pension fund so that ahm, ahm yes I’d better talk to you about this later down to the bank if… yes if there’s any question of Ace Transport defaulting on that loan of course we… what? Glancy did…? Yes but of course right now Glancy’s credit is ahm, how did he finance the… yes well of course if you sold him a new Cadillac they must have looked into his ahm, if he’s driven it out of the showroom that is to… down to the bank yes, come down to the bank. Yes now, Gibbs?

— Sorry to bother you with this Whiteback, just a small matter of money I…

— That yes I’m glad you remembered it ten ahm, yes ten dollars and forty cents? I wrote it down somewhere yes the money we disahm, reimbursed the boy who turned in those train tickets just a matter of bookkeeping of course but I’m glad you ahm, you have it there?

— Matter of fact… digging in pockets he’d come up with a crumpled cigarette, — that’s not…

— Yes well of course excuse me, hello…? Oh Mister Stye yes I… no I’m not at the bank now no, no I… oh I see you’re at the bank yes could you hold a minute? I have another, hello…? Well what are you doing still at the freight office, I said just to tell them to… you mean just now? It all arrived just now…? Yes well no they’ll just have to find a place to store them until we… because we can’t set up all these appliances there without moving all the teaching equipment that’s already… no because Dan’s still out from the accident and I can’t do anything without his, hold on a minute Leroy I’ve got Mister Stye on the other line about the stolen baseballs just… I know it’s your dime yes just, just say we’ll call Monday and hang up then. Yes hello Mister Stye? yes, yes about the stolen baseballs but Mister, Major Hyde you remember Major Hyde wanted to talk with you sometime too about this empty ahm, empty slot coming up on the school board, he… no not his empty slot, no he should be out of the hospital in another day or so, yes… yes he was sitting in the death seat I think you call it in the insur, the phrase they used in the paper that is to say beside the driver, sitting beside Mister diahmCephalis when the car hit them and… oh you do? Yes, yes I do too I have another call waiting, thank you for ahm… Hello? Oh. Yes well when I gave your newspaper the statement after it happened of course we weren’t aware that the boy who was ahm, who was killed that is to say stealing the car, that he was ahm… pardon? Oh yes now of course we’ve ahm, Miss Waddams, our school nurse Miss Waddams has instituted urine tests right down the, down through the third grade that is to say for the detection of ahm, of drugs, any sort of drugs down through the… pardon? They hung up. Yes now what was it you were talking about? those ahm, railroad tickets yes…

— No what I stopped in for Whiteback was ah, I just wanted to ask you how I’d go about getting a small advance.

— Oh well ahm, oh, on your ahm…

— Salary, yes.

— Oh well of course ahm, well the state that is to say Mister Gibbs the ahm, teachers’ salaries are ahm, of course if you came down to the bank we might work something out on your car in terms of ahm, of a loan, a car loan that is to…

— I don’t have one.

— No that’s what I mean, yes, we could probably arrange one, a loan that is to…

— No a car. An automobile that is to say, I don’t have one.

— A car? You don’t have a car? Yes well of course no one can ahm, I’m sure we can arrange something for you down to the bank so you can get one Glancy, Glancy after all, did you hear that? On the telephone, that was Gottlieb down to the Cadillac agency he just sold one to Glancy, of course if you…

— Listen, no, I don’t want a Cadillac, I don’t want a car, I don’t want to buy a car I just, all I need is a small advance on my salary, just…

— Yes well the ahm, with a car of course you could excuse me, hello? Oh. Yes it is… Yes we do, he… yes and doing a very fine job, he… he what? Oh, I see… Oh… I see. Yes well the, yes someone from the school of course, as soon as we… yes tell him as soon as we can yes, goodbye.

— Never mind it Whiteback, I…

— Yes that was the ahm, have you got a few minutes Gibbs?

— What is it, I’ve got a train I…

— Yes that was the police they ahm, Coach, Vogel, Coach Vogel that is to say, you know him, you know him? I mean of course you could identify him that is to ahm, that police flyer telling the youngsters to, I have one right here somewhere yes, report any stranger who tries to join you in your play, do not play near public ahm, Coach was passing that field down near Hyde’s ahm, Major Hyde’s shelter this policeman thought looked like a public ahm, convenience I think he said and Coach stopped to join in their, throw the ball around with them that is to say and one of them, youngsters who don’t know him of course one of them called the police and they ahm, you know him of course? Coach? They just want someone to identify him so they can ahm, have you got a few minutes?

— Be glad to yes, can you drive me over?

— Yes well I was just ahm, I have to get over to the bank that is to say there was something I ahm, I’ll come out with you yes these complaints that is to say Gibbs, opening class without the ahm, the proscribed openings we’ve had some complaints through this new citizens’ group you probably know them yes let me lock this door, after those baseballs of course you probably…

— Certainly do yes who are they, the Ku Klux Klan?

— Who this ahm, this citizens’ group yes no they, it’s the Citizens Union on Neighborhood Teaching yes they…

— All women?

— Yes well no I don’t know of course I wouldn’t laugh no, no they’re quite serious about their ahm…

— Their proscribed openings yes never knew one that wasn’t, how about the Constitution. Next time I have homeroom I’ll start things off reading the Constitution how’s that.

— Yes well that sounds ahm, of the United States that is to say yes that certainly sounds like a proscribed ahm, of course the last thing we want right now is any cause for dissension that is to say all you’ve done for the ahm, taking on Mrs Joubert’s class in addition to your own in terms of ahm…

— She’s back yes, she’s back isn’t she?

— Yes but of course she doesn’t look, quite a striking looking woman but of course these doors open out don’t they yes, of course in terms of her health that is to say if we had to let her go it wouldn’t cause a problem because she hasn’t got her certificate none of the right credits in ahm, she studied in some foreign country where they don’t have it yes I think she has a master’s in French civilization which of course doesn’t ahm, educationwise for teaching sixth grade social studies doesn’t really do the ahm, doing a fine job of course there she is now yes quite a striking looking…

— There? Christ no that’s…

— Yes no that’s Mrs ahm, Dan’s wife yes I think I’ll go this way, my car’s right around the ahm, you were going to the police station?

— I have an idea, Whiteback. Why don’t you just stop in and identify Vogel yourself, save you the trouble of driving me all the way over.