Tio saw to his oil and radio stations and stayed out on that road to where
his
nature could take its little course. If you had enough Catholic churches up in this country, I could put her on a few sections with half a dozen top kind of wetbacks. They’re like Brahman cattle—it takes quite a little to hold them, and it’s them churches that’ll do it. And really, a guy’d rather leave his wife with them than white trash.See, a Mexican will know where he idn’t posed to mess, where your white trash might have him some delusions of grandeur. Some of them been President.”
“Are you telling me she’s not going back to Tulsa with you?” Patrick needed a translator.
“I’m just saying I’m gonna be traveling all summer. Look, we don’t have children. We can’t have them. At first, I took it like a man. I said it’s all my fault. I’ve got an undiagnosed situation with my nerves that could be passed on. I was set to send her to California to one of these Nobel prize–winner sperm banks. Then we found it was her. Some kind of lady’s plumbing problem that’s to where you can’t just go on in and fix it. Then my doctor at home told me the nerves was nothing to worry about. It was iron-poor, tired blood.”
“I don’t quite see what this has to—”
“Lookit here. I’m not saying Tio’s going to do no replacing. But here’s this fortune settin in Tulsa getting bigger daily. Where’s Tio’s son and heir? How’s this dynasty supposed to happen? Well, maybe it doesn’t happen. But a realistic Tio is a Tio who keeps his buns in circulation in case something magic comes out of the woodwork; and you can’t be haulin your old lady on trips like that. She don’t haul good to start with.”
Patrick thought hard to understand why this warranted calling him away from dinner. “Did you want me to help out in some way?”
“Truthfully, she’s gonna have to have someone around. You’ve both got interests in common with these fool nags. Plus I’ll back every horse prospect y’all might unearth. But I just want you to be kind of a big brother to the little gal. Old Jack Adams tells me you’re solider than a pre-Roosevelt dollar and you’d be the guy, especially if youwatched your drinking. She’s gonna need company and it’s almost never gonna be me.”
“How in the world could you ever arrange a thing like that?” Patrick used the word “arrange” on purpose.
“I just did! Trust Tio’s fine Italian hand. Movin people from one place to another has always been my best lick.”
Patrick hoped that it would work. He badly wanted just to be around Claire. But he said, “I’m already somebody’s brother. And I’ve never really understood the job.”
“You can take the weight, Pat. You’ve got fabulous shoulders. Big old, strong old …
tank captain
!”
“Well, she’s a fine lady. If she wants anything at all, she’s sure welcome to come by.” Patrick reflected that he had to be at the dentist by nine.
“Any horses you particularly like I could pick up for you?”
“No thanks.”
“One thing I guess I better say. Big thing from my point of view, and hell, I’m a hunch player or half them wells’d still be just a star in Daddy’s eye. Big thing is, I know you’re cowboy enough to keep it in your pants.” Tio raised his hands against any further words. “That says it all.”
12
NEWS OF A FAMILY VISIT TO THE RANCH — PATRICK AND Mary’s mother, her second husband and their son, Andrew—was sending Mary into one unearthly disjuncture, cycles of recollection, some assertions of a nonexistent past; and producing, for Patrick, the question, How in theworld will she raise this child? He was now quite frightened; and his love for her prevented him from considering anything that would actually be a solution to her troubles. He kept on with his patchwork of concern, trying to stay available when she seemed to be slipping. His grandfather had been terrified by the barn fire,
his
nature could take its little course. If you had enough Catholic churches up in this country, I could put her on a few sections with half a dozen top kind of wetbacks. They’re like Brahman cattle—it takes quite a little to hold them, and it’s them churches that’ll do it. And really, a guy’d rather leave his wife with them than white trash.See, a Mexican will know where he idn’t posed to mess, where your white trash might have him some delusions of grandeur. Some of them been President.”
“Are you telling me she’s not going back to Tulsa with you?” Patrick needed a translator.
“I’m just saying I’m gonna be traveling all summer. Look, we don’t have children. We can’t have them. At first, I took it like a man. I said it’s all my fault. I’ve got an undiagnosed situation with my nerves that could be passed on. I was set to send her to California to one of these Nobel prize–winner sperm banks. Then we found it was her. Some kind of lady’s plumbing problem that’s to where you can’t just go on in and fix it. Then my doctor at home told me the nerves was nothing to worry about. It was iron-poor, tired blood.”
“I don’t quite see what this has to—”
“Lookit here. I’m not saying Tio’s going to do no replacing. But here’s this fortune settin in Tulsa getting bigger daily. Where’s Tio’s son and heir? How’s this dynasty supposed to happen? Well, maybe it doesn’t happen. But a realistic Tio is a Tio who keeps his buns in circulation in case something magic comes out of the woodwork; and you can’t be haulin your old lady on trips like that. She don’t haul good to start with.”
Patrick thought hard to understand why this warranted calling him away from dinner. “Did you want me to help out in some way?”
“Truthfully, she’s gonna have to have someone around. You’ve both got interests in common with these fool nags. Plus I’ll back every horse prospect y’all might unearth. But I just want you to be kind of a big brother to the little gal. Old Jack Adams tells me you’re solider than a pre-Roosevelt dollar and you’d be the guy, especially if youwatched your drinking. She’s gonna need company and it’s almost never gonna be me.”
“How in the world could you ever arrange a thing like that?” Patrick used the word “arrange” on purpose.
“I just did! Trust Tio’s fine Italian hand. Movin people from one place to another has always been my best lick.”
Patrick hoped that it would work. He badly wanted just to be around Claire. But he said, “I’m already somebody’s brother. And I’ve never really understood the job.”
“You can take the weight, Pat. You’ve got fabulous shoulders. Big old, strong old …
tank captain
!”
“Well, she’s a fine lady. If she wants anything at all, she’s sure welcome to come by.” Patrick reflected that he had to be at the dentist by nine.
“Any horses you particularly like I could pick up for you?”
“No thanks.”
“One thing I guess I better say. Big thing from my point of view, and hell, I’m a hunch player or half them wells’d still be just a star in Daddy’s eye. Big thing is, I know you’re cowboy enough to keep it in your pants.” Tio raised his hands against any further words. “That says it all.”
12
NEWS OF A FAMILY VISIT TO THE RANCH — PATRICK AND Mary’s mother, her second husband and their son, Andrew—was sending Mary into one unearthly disjuncture, cycles of recollection, some assertions of a nonexistent past; and producing, for Patrick, the question, How in theworld will she raise this child? He was now quite frightened; and his love for her prevented him from considering anything that would actually be a solution to her troubles. He kept on with his patchwork of concern, trying to stay available when she seemed to be slipping. His grandfather had been terrified by the barn fire,
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