Milosz by Cordelia Strube Page A

do anything.’
    The scarlet-nailed woman points her cell at him. ‘Leave immediately or I’m calling security.’
    â€˜What did he do?’ Fennel asks, looking worried, and he feels his chances of recruiting her waning.
    â€˜He’s unstable,’ the scarlet-nailed woman says, grabbing a sandwich from the tray. Behind her back, Milo holds his thumb and pinky to his ear to indicate that Fennel should call him but she looks away. He suspects he is no longer her totally favourite model.
    Playing the role of a dad picking up Junior after school, hoping to appear stable while gripping the busted cell, Milo walks purposefully through the heavy doors and scans classroom nameplates until he locates Mrs. Bulgobin’s. She’s still in there, helping a girl with math. Milo lingers in the corridor, leaning against the wall while pretending to be engrossed in texting. Bulgobin leads the girl out. ‘We’ll make a photocopy and you can practise at home,’ she says. They walk past Milo without a glance. He darts into the classroom, spots the hamster cage and fits it into the garbage bag he has punctured with air holes. Back in the corridor he resumes a preoccupied manner with the cell in one hand and the garbage bag in the other. The wiry-haired, stout man who retrieved Robertson from the schoolyard approaches.
    â€˜That’s a bit pricey,’ Milo says to the cell, looking down at the floor in an attempt to hide his face. ‘See if you can get him down a bit.’ He pretends to be listening then says, ‘I won’t go any higher. Tell him he’s dreaming.’
    Once the wiry-haired man is out of sight, Mrs. Bulgobin waddles towards him.
    â€˜It’s dropped in value by at least half,’ Milo tells the cell as the hamster scurries around in the cage, causing it to shift. ‘That’s my final offer, tell him he’s lucky to get one at all. If he gives you any grief, just pass.’
    Mrs. Bulgobin disappears into her classroom and Milo makes haste before she has the opportunity to notice the missing cage.
    To hone his acting skills, Milo has always sat in public places observing the ebb and flow of humanity, making note of character details: body language, gaits, clothing choices, mannerisms – all tools for his trade. Gus called him the World’s Greatest Loiterer. So waiting outside the Empire Financial building, watching the gainfully employed rush home from the daily grind, feels quite natural to him. He prefers it to being in Gus’s house with Vera and Pablo. How long before she discovers the rodent in the basement? Already she is spending an inordinate amount of time below deck, taking charge of Wallace’s dirty laundry collection. How wonderful to have someone care enough to pick up your socks stiff with grime, and your skid-marked Jockeys. She’s been ‘mending’ Wally’s pants and shirts, sewing on buttons, stitching seams. With her every nurturing gesture, Wallace cringes like a man in torment.
    Christopher appears outside Empire Financial looking as though he has forgotten something. He rubs his forehead, feels in his pockets and checks his cell. He begins walking in one direction then changes course, takes a few more steps then stops again, rubbing the back of his neck. The Christopher that Milo knows never hesitates in this manner. He moves with confidence and purpose, circumventing life’s disappointments. This new uncertainty must be the result of having hit his son, who he would give his life for; unhinged by remorse, he no longer knows which direction to take.
    Abruptly he crosses the street, not bothering to check for cars. Milo ducks into a Mr. Sub until Christopher passes, then begins tailing him. Christopher stares hard at the ground as he walks in the same manner Tanis does. He stops to buy a newspaper from a box, then stands stiffly for several minutes before heading into a Burger King. Milo slips into the