married. I kinda told her she’d have to get out if we were ever to have any kind of a future together.”
“Well, then, what’s the
problem
? Get her to testify, Jake. Tell her it’s for you. For us. For the Marathon family.”
“What about naming people?”
“What about it?”
“Can’t she just name herself?”
Engel sighed deeply and, clasping his hands together, looked at Jake as if he were a teacher who had kept a slow pupil after school to explain a simple math problem. “That, Jake, is where the Committee has the world by the balls. You can’t just show up and talk about yourself. That’s the whole point. You’re there to name names. If you don’t, you’re through. But”—he shrugged—“names, schnames.
They’ve already got all the names they want
. They’ve had ’em from the beginning. They don’t care about names. What they want is humiliation, degradation, and demoralization. They want to crush the Left and the New Deal and the Democratic Party, or what’s left of it,” he said. “And they know the best way to do that is toturn people against each other, so the martyrs hate the stool pigeons and the stool pigeons hate the martyrs. There’s no Left left in a situation like that.”
“I don’t know, Irv. I can’t force her to do it.”
“Sure you can,” said Engel, fixing his eyes on Jake. “If I know one thing about Dinah, it’s that she loves you. She loves you more than you’ve got any right to be loved. She loves you more than she should.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jake said.
“I know it because that’s how Anya feels about me. She hates it out here. Every day is torture for her. She wants to live in New York, she wants to live in Paris, she wants art galleries and museums. I say, ‘What can I do, baby? I gotta stay here and mind the store.’ And she sticks it out because she’s crazy about me, the way Dinah’s crazy about you. I can feel it, I can see it. She looks at you the way Anya looks at me. She’ll do anything you ask. Actually, you don’t even have to ask her. She’ll do it anyway. Let’s not forget I know something about your wife.”
“You do?” said Jake. “And what’s that?”
“I knew her before you did, before you ever came out here.”
“What’re you saying, Irv?”
“Oh, it’s not that. I never had anything going with her. I was one of those perfect idiots in love with Veevi. But I saw what life was like for her when nobody knew she was alive. She was waiting for something; you could see it in her eyes. You’re not only the best thing that ever happened to her, Jake, you’re the
only
thing that ever happened to her.”
“My wife,” said Jake with dignity, “had and still has more class than any woman I’ve ever known, including her sister. Don’t ever talk to me that way about her again.”
He stood up to go.
“Jake, listen,” said Engel. “I’m sorry. I spoke out of line. Don’t blow it, Jakie. Don’t fuck things up. I want you here, at this studio. You know what I’m saying?”
He stood up, smiled a broad, warm, utterly seductive smile, and went over to Jake and put his arm around him.
“I don’t know, Irv. You got any relatives in the shoe business? I used to sell shoes in college. Shoes, meat, bicycles. Maybe I could be a bicycle salesman.”
“It’s not gonna come to that,” Engel said quietly. “Listen to me. Beextra-special nice to her. Be, you know, romantic. Lay off the broads for a while—”
“What do you mean?” said Jake, surprised.
“Come on,” said Engel. “You don’t have to pretend with me. That Bonnie Alvarez is a nice girl. Needs a different last name, though. Maybe we’ll change it to Austen and see if she gets somewhere.”
Jake laughed. “Don’t tell me you’ve got plans for her yourself?”
“Who, me? Nah. I’ll tell you something, my boy,” said Engel, squeezing Jake’s shoulder. “I know this is going to sound very square, but I don’t play around.
“Well, then, what’s the
problem
? Get her to testify, Jake. Tell her it’s for you. For us. For the Marathon family.”
“What about naming people?”
“What about it?”
“Can’t she just name herself?”
Engel sighed deeply and, clasping his hands together, looked at Jake as if he were a teacher who had kept a slow pupil after school to explain a simple math problem. “That, Jake, is where the Committee has the world by the balls. You can’t just show up and talk about yourself. That’s the whole point. You’re there to name names. If you don’t, you’re through. But”—he shrugged—“names, schnames.
They’ve already got all the names they want
. They’ve had ’em from the beginning. They don’t care about names. What they want is humiliation, degradation, and demoralization. They want to crush the Left and the New Deal and the Democratic Party, or what’s left of it,” he said. “And they know the best way to do that is toturn people against each other, so the martyrs hate the stool pigeons and the stool pigeons hate the martyrs. There’s no Left left in a situation like that.”
“I don’t know, Irv. I can’t force her to do it.”
“Sure you can,” said Engel, fixing his eyes on Jake. “If I know one thing about Dinah, it’s that she loves you. She loves you more than you’ve got any right to be loved. She loves you more than she should.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jake said.
“I know it because that’s how Anya feels about me. She hates it out here. Every day is torture for her. She wants to live in New York, she wants to live in Paris, she wants art galleries and museums. I say, ‘What can I do, baby? I gotta stay here and mind the store.’ And she sticks it out because she’s crazy about me, the way Dinah’s crazy about you. I can feel it, I can see it. She looks at you the way Anya looks at me. She’ll do anything you ask. Actually, you don’t even have to ask her. She’ll do it anyway. Let’s not forget I know something about your wife.”
“You do?” said Jake. “And what’s that?”
“I knew her before you did, before you ever came out here.”
“What’re you saying, Irv?”
“Oh, it’s not that. I never had anything going with her. I was one of those perfect idiots in love with Veevi. But I saw what life was like for her when nobody knew she was alive. She was waiting for something; you could see it in her eyes. You’re not only the best thing that ever happened to her, Jake, you’re the
only
thing that ever happened to her.”
“My wife,” said Jake with dignity, “had and still has more class than any woman I’ve ever known, including her sister. Don’t ever talk to me that way about her again.”
He stood up to go.
“Jake, listen,” said Engel. “I’m sorry. I spoke out of line. Don’t blow it, Jakie. Don’t fuck things up. I want you here, at this studio. You know what I’m saying?”
He stood up, smiled a broad, warm, utterly seductive smile, and went over to Jake and put his arm around him.
“I don’t know, Irv. You got any relatives in the shoe business? I used to sell shoes in college. Shoes, meat, bicycles. Maybe I could be a bicycle salesman.”
“It’s not gonna come to that,” Engel said quietly. “Listen to me. Beextra-special nice to her. Be, you know, romantic. Lay off the broads for a while—”
“What do you mean?” said Jake, surprised.
“Come on,” said Engel. “You don’t have to pretend with me. That Bonnie Alvarez is a nice girl. Needs a different last name, though. Maybe we’ll change it to Austen and see if she gets somewhere.”
Jake laughed. “Don’t tell me you’ve got plans for her yourself?”
“Who, me? Nah. I’ll tell you something, my boy,” said Engel, squeezing Jake’s shoulder. “I know this is going to sound very square, but I don’t play around.
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