Kazuo Ishiguro - Nocturnes - five stories of music and nightfall

She went over to a cabinet and a moment later held up a CD. “You’ll appreciate this. The sax on this is so perfect.”

Her room had a Bang & Olufsen system just like mine, and soon the place filled with lush strings. A few measures in, a sleepy, Ben Webster-ish tenor broke through and proceeded to lead the orchestra. If you didn’t know too much about these things, you could even have mistaken it for one of those Nelson Riddle intros for Sinatra. But the voice that eventually came on belonged to Tony Gardner. The song-I just about remembered it-was something called “Back at Culver City,” a ballad that never quite made it and which no one plays much any more. All the time Tony Gardner sang, the sax kept up with him, replying to him line by line. The whole thing was utterly predictable, and way too sugary.

After a while, though, I’d stopped paying much attention to the music because there was Lindy in front of me, gone into a kind of dream, dancing slowly to the song. Her movements were easy and graceful-clearly the surgery hadn’t extended to her body-and she had a shapely, slim figure. She was wearing something that was part night-gown, part cocktail dress; that’s to say, it was at the same time vaguely medical yet glamorous. Also, I was trying to work something out. I’d had the distinct impression Lindy had recently divorced Tony Gardner, but given I’m the nation’s worst when it comes to showbiz gossip, I began to think maybe I’d got it wrong. Otherwise why was she dancing this way, lost in the music, evidently enjoying herself?

Tony Gardner stopped singing a moment, the strings swelled into the bridge, and the piano player started a solo. At this point, Lindy seemed to come back to the planet. She stopped swaying around, turned the music off with the remote, then came and sat down in front of me.

“Isn’t that marvelous? You see what I mean?”

“Yeah, that was beautiful,” I said, not sure whether we were still only talking about the sax.

“Your ears weren’t deceiving you, by the way.”

“I’m sorry?”

“The singer. That was who you thought it was. Just because he’s no longer my husband, that doesn’t mean I can’t play his records, right?”

“No, of course not.”

“And that’s a lovely saxophone. You see now why I wanted you to hear it.”

“Yeah, it was beautiful.”

“Steve, are there recordings of you somewhere? I mean, of your own playing?”

“Sure. In fact I have a few CDs with me next door.”

“The next time you come, sweetie, I want you to bring them. I want to hear how you sound. Will you do that?”

“Okay, if it’s not going to bore you.”

“Oh no, it won’t bore me. But I hope you don’t think I’m nosy. Tony always used to say I was nosy, I should just let people be, but you know, I think he was just being snobby. A lot of famous people, they think they should be interested only in other famous people. I’ve never been that way. I see everybody as a potential friend. Take Gracie. She’s my friend. All my staff at home, they’re also my friends. You should see me at parties. Everyone else, they’re talking to each other about their latest movie or whatever, I’m the one having a conversation with the catering girl or the bartender. I don’t think that’s being nosy, do you?”

“No, I don’t think that’s nosy at all. But look, Mrs. Gardner…”

“Lindy, please.”

“Lindy. Look, it’s been fabulous being with you. But these drugs, they really tire me out. I think I’m going to have to go lie down for a while.”

“Oh, you’re not feeling well?”

“It’s nothing. It’s just these drugs.”

“Too bad! You definitely have to come back when you’re feeling better. And bring those recordings, the ones with you playing. Is that a deal?”

I had to reassure her some more that I’d had a good time and that I’d come back. Then as I was going out the door, she said:

“Steve, do you play chess? I’m the world’s worst chess player, but I’ve got the cutest chess set. Meg Ryan brought it in for me last week.”

BACK IN MY OWN ROOM, I took a Coke from the minibar, sat down at the writing desk and looked out my window. There was a big pink sunset now, we were a long way up, and I could see the cars moving along the freeway in the distance. After a few minutes I phoned Bradley, and though his secretary kept me on hold a long time, he eventually came on the line.

“How’s the face?” he asked worriedly, like he was inquiring after a well-loved pet he’d left in my care.

“How should I know? I’m still the Invisible Man.”

“Are you all right? You sound… dispirited.”

“I am dispirited. This whole thing was a mistake. I can see that now. It’s not going to work.”

There was a moment’s silence, then he asked: “The operation’s a failure?”

“I’m sure the operation’s fine. I mean all the rest of it, what it’s going to lead to. This scheme… It’s never going to play out the way you said. I should never have let you talk me into it.”

“What’s the matter with you? You sound depressed. What have they been pumping into you?”

“I’m fine. In fact, my head’s straighter than it’s been for a long while. That’s the trouble. I can see it now. Your scheme… I should never have listened to you.”

“What is this? What scheme? Look, Steve, this isn’t complicated. You’re a very talented artist. When you’re through with this, all you do is what you’ve always done. Just now you’re simply removing an obstacle, that’s all. There’s no scheme… .”

“Look, Bradley, it’s bad here. It’s not just the physical discomfort. I realise now what I’m doing to myself. It’s been a mistake, I should have had more respect for myself.”

“Steve, what’s triggered this? Did something just happen over there?”

“Damn right something happened. That’s why I’m calling, I need you to get me out of this. I need you to get me to a different hotel.”

“Different hotel? Who are you? Crown Prince Abdullah? What the fuck’s wrong with the hotel?”

“What’s wrong is I’ve got Lindy Gardner right next door. And she just invited me over, and she’s going to keep on inviting me over. That’s what’s wrong!”

“Lindy Gardner’s next door?”

“Look, I can’t go through that again. I’ve just been in there, it was all I could do to stay as long as I did. And now she’s saying we have to play with her Meg Ryan chess set…”

“Steve, you’re telling me Lindy Gardner’s next door? You spent time with her?”

“She put on her husband’s record! Fuck it, I think she’s playing another one right now. This is what I’ve come to. This is my level now.”

“Steve, hold it, let’s go over this again. Steve, just shut the fuck up, then explain it to me. Explain to me how you get to be with Lindy Gardner.”

I did calm down then for a while, and I gave a brief account of how Lindy had asked me over, and the way things had gone.

“So you weren’t rude to her?” he asked as soon as I was through.

“No, I wasn’t rude to her. I kept it all held in. But I’m not going back in there. I need to change hotels.”

“Steve, you’re not going to change hotels. Lindy Gardner? She’s in bandages, you’re in bandages. She’s right next door. Steve, this is a golden opportunity.”

“It’s nothing of the sort, Bradley. It’s inner-circle hell. Her Meg Ryan chess set for God’s sake!”

“Meg Ryan chess set? How does that work? Every piece looks like Meg?”

“And she wants to hear my playing! She’s insisting next time I take in CDs!”

“She wants to… Jesus, Steve, you haven’t even got the bandages off and everything’s going your way. She wants to hear you play?”