Gables Court Read online

  “Until then, take a taxi to work and make sure you come here looking presentable. No sweaty shirts, no polyester suits. Is that one?”

  “I don’t know,” Samuel answered. “Father’s tailor chose the fabric.”

  “Did he dress you too? “

  “He told me what to bring…”

  “Here’s the deal, Baas. I represent an important developer, Reginald H. Baxter. How you look is a reflection on me. Florida is hot. Poor people sprawl along the beach or sit on their porch, drink beer and fan themselves. They wear cheap clothes. They take the bus and if they can’t afford even that, walk. You’re not poor, are you?”

  “No sir.”

  “Then don’t act like it. I meet your father in Las Vegas. He told me he had a son who’d just finished law school. A few months later when he called, asking if I would hire you, I was happy to do it. I like helping new lawyers begin their careers. Your father wants you to learn about the practice of law. I’ve agreed to teach you. It’s your job to listen. Understand?”

  “I don’t want to disappoint him or you,” Samuel answered.

  “You already have,” Eldridge said. “I see you keep looking at my angels of death.”

  In the wainscoted office, a large painting of four women riding white flying horses hung behind the desk, the women’s hair, long and blonde, flowing out from beneath winged helmets.

  “Valkyries,” Eldridge explained. “They choose who lives and dies.”

  “The colors,” Samuel said, “they’re pale, almost not there, but it’s beautiful, like a song.” For the first time he saw in the work of a gray artist the use of composition to overcome the disability of gray sight.

  “Are you a homosexual?” Eldridge asked.

  “No…I…”

  “Because that would be a problem. Mr. Baxter is very conservative. Men don’t use words like beautiful, and they don’t find music in a painting of four women with big tits. Valkyries choose. You are one of the chosen people—a Jew. Think of these women as Nordic sluts coming for you! Now, that’s healthy! OK, time to show you around.”

  He marched out, his stride and the sound of his footsteps authoritative and confident.

  Samuel followed him to the old woman’s desk.

  “This is Vera,” Eldridge said. “She’s been my secretary for twenty years. She’ll teach you what to do.”

  “If I have time,” she said, her thin, gray lips barely moving in a gray face carved by crisscrossing lines, her eyes small and unfriendly.

  “I’m sure you’ll help our Mr. Baas,” Eldridge said cheerfully. “Vera is working on evictions for Henry Mullins. He owns hundreds of units. But if he wasn’t an old client, I’d have stopped representing him years ago. My time is valuable.”

  “He pays you a nice retainer each month,” Vera stated.

  “That he does,” Eldridge glanced at her dismissively. “So, Baas, you’ll handle the eviction cases. Once the deadbeats are served, they move out. These cases never go to trial. Spend some time with Vera today, learning the filing procedure. The complaints are boilerplate. We just fill in the names.”

  He turned toward a hallway, Samuel again behind him, the secretary typing and swearing.

  “That’s where you’ll work,” Eldridge said as they passed a book-lined conference room. “Over here is the travel agency Mr. Baxter owns, across from it, his architects. The receptionist, Crystal, is also his employee. You noticed her, didn’t you?”

  “Yes sir.”

  “What did you think?”

  “She’s…pretty?”

  “Another word I don’t want to hear from you. You do have a penis, don’t you? Maybe I’m wrong. I thought circumcision took just a piece. Now don’t look so embarrassed. This is the way men talk. Crystal is a fox. Think about her. That’s normal. Just don’t get too friendly. At the end of the hall, behind those large doors, is the operational headquarters of RHB Enterprises. A real estate investment trust is financing RHB’s building of ocean front condos.”

  “Interesting,” Samuel not knowing what else to say.

  “Interesting? That’s it? No excitement? You better learn something right now. Most lawyers never have a client like Mr. Baxter. This is real money I’m talking about. When those condominiums sell he’ll be a very wealthy man and so will the attorney representing him. Get the picture?”

  “Yes,” Samuel answered, quickly added, “yes sir.”

  “No, Baas, you don’t understand. How could you? Law school is theory, the practice of law, a business. A lawyer has to know the right people, put himself in position to meet rich clients. I was never a fool. My family is old Miami. We’ve always belonged to the best country clubs. I play golf. When I left law school I used my connections and got hired by a prestigious downtown law firm that specialized in real estate. I’ve never had to chase traffic court cases for a living. Because that’s what it comes down to. A lawyer is either successful or a cheap suit, begging for work. There are Jewish firms, and firms that hire a few Jews. Your situation is unique. I’m bringing you into select company. It’s a risk for me. I told you, Mr. Baxter is conservative. He’s never had a Hebrew working for him.”

  Samuel knew he had a Jewish last name but didn’t think himself a Jew. The family never went to temple. His mother always had Minnie decorate a Christmas tree. His father ate pork chops. When bullies called him a kike, Samuel understood what they meant. It wasn’t about race or religion. He was different.

  “How should I act?” he asked.

  “Don’t be loud,” Eldridge answered. “Don’t talk with your hands, and for God’s sake, never order deli for lunch! Well, that’s the tour. You’ve seen the space—what there is now. An accountant rented from the building’s owner the office I now use. We got Horowitz to move and sublet from us a unit on this floor leased to RHB Enterprises. This gave Mr. Baxter these contiguous offices. Eventually, he wants Horowitz out. Then we’ll have the entire penthouse. Why don’t you go to the conference room. I’ll buzz Vera and send her in.” Eldridge strode over to the tall, polished doors, opened one, the door quickly swinging shut behind him.

  Hands folded, Samuel sat at the end of the long conference table and waited. Looking from the brown and gold bindings of the law books on a shelf, he saw through the large window not only these colors on the trunk of a palm and across its sunlit splashed fronds, but streaks of pink and green trailing from the ends of windblown leaves. Samuel remembered walking through the woods with his one friend, a blind boy, who, in fifth grade, moved away. They had taught each other how to see, Samuel explaining colors, the boy singing each color’s song.

  Mr. Eldridge asked if I was a homosexual.

  Called a homo at age 15, the word hurt, not because of its actual meaning but like kike, he again heard outsider. He knew he liked a girl. Mary Wiggins. He wanted to ask her to the school dance. In elementary school, she had been the only child to invite him to a birthday party. Too shy, he didn’t go. His shyness remained. High school dance nights, he sat alone at home. For him, Mary’s shape and smile were part of an exciting but scary world of girls inhabiting uncharted places full of indecipherable mysteries.

  Should I tell Mr. Eldridge I want to fall in love and get married?

  Vera dropped a load of files on the table.

  “These are the evictions. Just don’t sit there, open one up.” Squat, short-necked, her wide, lumpy body tented by an oversized gray dress and sweater, she impatiently tapped her heavy foot. “You’re looking at the complaint. Name of plaintiff, defendant, rent due, copy of lease. You sign, we file, and the sheriff serves it. That’s the next document, the service of process. Defendants have twenty days to answer. If they do, you go to court.”
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  “Mr. Eldridge said…”

  “He says a lot of things,” Vera not trying to lower her voice. “You’ve got to be ready in case the poor bastards don’t leave. Mullins is a slumlord. His apartment buildings are dumps and he squeezes as much rent out of them as he can. If a tenant stays, you’ll have to get a court order to evict him. Nice work, isn’t it?”

  “It’s the law, right?”

  “You can call it that,” she said and left.

  Although only the names and amounts owed changed, Samuel carefully read each eviction notice before signing as attorney of record.

  The girl stood in the doorway.

  “Hi, Mr. Baas. I’m Susan. I work in the travel agency.”

  “Hello,” Samuel said, swallowed as she moved closer, her light floral dress floating colors toward him.

  “I’m taking orders for lunch. What can I get you?”

  “A hamburger…if that’s OK?”

  She laughed, her eyes bright in a childlike face framed by long blonde braids.

  “Whatever you like. This is your first day, isn’t it?”

  Samuel nodded, fidgeted in his chair.

  “I make a lunch run at 11. How do you want it?”

  “Want…” His face felt on fire.

  “Your hamburger.”

  “Well done,” he said quickly. “Or medium, whatever’s easier…” Samuel reached for his wallet.

  “Today’s my treat. See you later, Mr. Baas.” The folds of her long dress billowing softly, Susan turned and left, leaving behind the scent of jasmine.

  Samuel wiped his face.

  Vera brought him more files.

  . . . . .

  After work, Samuel took a taxi to Gables Court. When at his apartment, he saw Benny and Wolfman talking to a girl in glasses, her dress shapeless, a loose thread hanging from the hem. He waved at them. The Jersey boys kept laughing and joking with the girl who smiled at Benny, then Wolfman, awkwardly turning back and forth between them while holding a large book close to her chest.

  Samuel went to bed early and, despite the heat and threat of palmetto bugs, slept through the night.

  8

  Early Friday evening, Samuel thanked the driver delivering the Pinto and offered him a twenty-dollar tip.

  “I’m all set,” the man said, his long brown hair streaked with gray, the leather wallet in the back pocket of his jeans attached by a chain. “Tell your dad the car got here in one piece. I left it gassed up.”

  He hopped onto the back of a motorcycle and his arms around the tattooed woman biker, rode away.

  “Very cool bike,” Gary said, walking over. “Harley Super Glide. I was hoping it was yours! Is this your car?”

  “Yep, all mine.”

  “Any chance I can borrow it?”

  “I’m not sure,” Samuel knowing his father wouldn’t like the idea.

  “Come on, Sam, be a pal.” He placed his large hand on Samuel’s shoulder. “I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important. There’s a meeting I want to go to. I was going to take the bus.”

  “OK…I guess…”

  “Great! Thank you! What about gas? I can put some in.”

  “There’s a full tank.”

  “You won’t believe this! I was on campus and this guy comes over and we start talking. He tells me he works for a company that sells an additive that you pour into your gas tank and it increases mileage by fifty percent! He said it’s just the kind of shit we need now with oil prices going up because of the dollar and gold and the Arabs. I didn’t understand all that, but I know people will love this stuff!” Gary’s bony face shone with excitement. “He told me he’s looking for distributors, people who are motivated and outgoing. They’ll have a chance to get in on the ground floor! I’m supposed to meet him tonight at the Holiday Inn and learn more. Stallion, that’s the name of the company. Why don’t you come along? This could be a great chance for you too!”

  “Sounds good. Maybe some other time. I’d like to see how my job works out.”

  “It might not,” Gary said. “I’m talking about a sure thing!”

  “Keep me posted.”

  “Will do, Bud!”

  Samuel handed him the keys.

  “OK, I’m off!” Gary backed the Pinto carefully out and drove away.

  Sunset glided over his fingers as Samuel sat poolside, his hand drifting across the lavender and orange water. A few minutes later, as day’s end blackened the pool, one color escaped, chlorinated vapor rising into the night.

  A girl swam toward him through the green mist.

  He got up to go.

  “Hope I didn’t scare you off,” she said.

  Samuel sat back down.

  “I’m Kate, Kate O’Connell.”

  “Samuel Baas.” He wondered if he should reach over and shake her hand.

  “I know. Gary told me about you. He was right. You do look young.”

  Her hair slicked back, her face plain with freckles, Kate’s eyes, dark and direct, held him, Samuel unable to look away from them as she floated in the now moon speckled pool.

  “I wanted to meet you. It’s interesting you’re a lawyer.”

  “I studied…I got through.”

  “You don’t make it sound very exciting.”

  “It wasn’t. But now I have a job.”

  “I’m sure there’s more to you than that. What do you do for fun?”

  “Take walks. Look at paintings.”

  “Really? Nice talking to you, Samuel.”

  He watched her swim away.

  Again alone, he thought about Mary Wiggins, the girl he had never asked to dance, her body becoming Kate’s, moon draped, glistening, and beyond his gray, dull reach.

  Maybe not…

  A cloud covered the moon.

  Half asleep, Samuel answered the door.

  “It was great!” Gary said, rushing in. “Twenty of us, running up and down the room, shouting ‘We’re going to be millionaires!’ I really appreciate you letting me use the car. Hope you’ll let me borrow it again tomorrow. There’s orientation and product to pick up. And I’ll be making sales calls. Saturday mornings are the perfect time! After a few weeks I’ll have enough moola to buy my own car! Something sharp! A convertible!” He kept walking and talking. “This is perfect for me! I have the personality! I played football in high school and of course the girls liked that, but I was always popular! Even though I lived in the rundown part of town everyone came to my house to party! Benny and Wolfman got to hang out with the cool kids! I’m a natural born salesman! And the best part? Stallion is great! It will sell itself! I’ll be rich!”

  Gary’s face became one big smile.

  “I want to be on the road by 6. How does that sound? I’ll pay for the gas. I can afford it!”

  “I won’t need the car,” Samuel said. “I don’t work weekends.”

  “What a pal! This couldn’t be any better! Don’t worry, the cans are closed. Nothing will spill in your trunk.”

  “How many cases did they give you?”

  “Give?” and Gary laughed. “I’m dealing with sharp businessmen! They don’t give things away and neither will I! They sold me three thousand cans for a dollar each. It’ll be easy to sell them for two and make three thousand in profits! OK, a little less. I know how the sales game works. You’ve got to make the price look low. I’ll sell a can for a buck ninety-nine!”

  “You spent three thousand dollars?”

  “Sure did! If an opportunity com
es along, you take it! See this cut under my chin. When I was a kid, I rode my bicycle blindfolded down a hill. There was a chance I would make it. I didn’t. Cut myself wide open. But I tried. That’s what mattered. Of course, this is different. I’m not doing something stupid. All the Stallion people at the meeting were really nice.”

  “You can still go to school. Do this on the side,” Samuel wondered if that were true. Until this week, he had never worked, his father giving him a checkbook instead.

  “I don’t need college! Why fart around in class, learning stuff you can’t use? I’m a businessman now! Anyways, the decision’s been made. I spent my tuition on Stallion! OK, time to split. I’m going to wake the assholes up and tell them the news! I have the car keys. Thanks a million!”

  Gary’s energetic confidence in his plan made it hard for Samuel to go back to sleep.

  There had never been any family discussions about what he should do after high school, just two statements, overheard by him, before someone in his father’s home office full of friends quietly shut the door.

  “He’s going to college. I didn’t raise him to die in some fucked up war.”

  The doctor’s letter taken to the induction center freed Samuel to enroll in law school, the career and the school his father’s choice.

  I never thought about practicing law for a living. I just drifted along…

  To Miami. To a job evicting people. Gary’s got it all planned out. He’s in charge of his life. That’s why he’s so excited. Maybe I should sell Stallion too…

  I’d like a Yumbo…

  He closed his eyes.

  9

  Skinny, but tough, the youngest of five brothers, the boy put his fists up and moved toward me.

  I stepped back.

  “Go on, chickenshit, fight!” he said.

  I kept retreating.

  He stopped, stood there smirking.

  “Jew baby.”

  Jew? Is that why he wanted to hurt me?