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------- ------- ------- ------- ------- “This is exciting, Morrie! Flying to Florida!” ------- Morris and Terry were drinking coffee an hour before their flight. ------- “Better not be too exciting,” Morris said, “Florida either. I told Ma to try to keep it quiet. Don’t forget, Terry, I’m ‘Albert’ down there. I hope…” He stopped. -------“Hope what?” ------- “I hope we have an easy flight.” Morris had been going to say something else. ------- “I’m not worried, Morris,” Terry said. “People fly all the time.” ------- “Right,” Morris agreed. “Nothing to worry about.” ------- She laughed. “Just bad weather, highjackers, birds sucked into the engine. You’re the one who’s nervous.” She touched his hand. ------- “Yeah, yeah,” he said. ------- “You think your mom will like me? ------- “Sure she will. Compliment her cooking.” ------- “She’s a good cook, huh? How long since you’ve seen her?” ------- He didn’t answer for a moment. “Ten years.” ------- “Morris!” ------- “Couldn’t be helped. I write sometimes. We’ll take her to Disney World,” ------- “Whoopee,” Terry said. ------- “I’m serious. You’re in Florida, you got to go. It’s better for grownups. It’s clean.” ------- “Clean?” ------- “No trash, graffiti.” Morris thought a moment. “You think you and I could do one of those flower islands they have around town?” ------- “Flower islands!” Terry was convulsed. Morris had to laugh too. He laughed until there were tears in his eyes. People looked at them and smiled, he lowered his head over his coffee. ------- “It’s not that funny,” he said. ------- “Sure it is, Morrie. You can do anything, but gardening’s not you.” ------- They had to show at I.D. at the gate Morris’s driver’s license was genuine, but he was relieved when they were through. ------- Terry was thrilled with everything, the plane, the clouds, the Washington Monument from the air. She ate the peanuts in the tiny bag and said they were especially good. They arrived at Tampa on time. ------- On the way to Clearwater, Morris stopped their rental car outside a rusty building. SID’S SURPLUS. -------“Back in a minute,” he said. ------- ------- His mother was glad to see him “You look good, Albert. Put on some weight.” She didn’t mention the ten years. ------- “You look good too, Ma.” ------- “For an old lady I’m not so bad.” ------- Terry and Anna talked about Florida and about Live Oaks Acres where Anna lived. She showed Terry pictures of Morris when he was a boy. ------- “I’m having a party tonight in the dining room,” Anna said. “You make points bringing guests. It’s the same dinner everybody gets, but we have wine and nuts.” ------- “Sure,” Morris said. He’d rather have taken them to a restaurant. ------- Morris and Terry went for a walk before dinner in the cemetery across the street. It was shaded by hundreds of huge old trees hung with Spanish moss. ------- “I can’t believe these trees,” Terry said. ------- “Live oaks,” Morris said. “Just the thing for a cemetery. Ma has a plot with the Jews.” ------- “Where’s your dad?” Terry asked. ------- “Memorial Park,” Morris said. “St. Pete.” ------- ------- “This is my son, Albert, and his wife, Terry.” Anna introduced them to six ancient women. “They flew down from Boston.” ------- “I’ll bet it’s cold up there,” Flora said. “I’m from New York.” ------- “It’s cold,” Morris agreed. “Foot of snow.” ------- “I miss the snow,” Flora sighed. ------- “So, go back,” Mimi said. ------- “Next year,” Flora told her. ------- “What do you think of the President?” Ceil asked. ------- “Ceil!” Anna said. “Enough with the politics!” ------- “Phooey,” Ceil said. “I want to know what they think. I think he’s an idiot.” ------- The ladies mellowed with a glass of wine. The talk was pleasant. Morris thought the food was good, although the women complained it was boring. He let his eyes wander over the sea of white heads. There were only a few men. One of them was staring at him. Morris turned away. He found it hard to breathe. When he looked again, the man was gone. ------- After dinner, Anna challenged Morris to a game of pool. ------- “The men die off,” she said, “and the women won’t play. Sometimes I get a game with Ben Weintraub.” ------- “Weintraub,” Morris said. ------- “He owns the place. Hates to lose.” ------- “I’ll bet he does,” Morris said. ------- Anna won two games. ------- “Did you let her win?” Terry asked when they were back in the guest room. ------- “You kidding? Ma’s a shark.” ------- ------- Terry and Morris went down to Anna’s apartment for breakfast. ------- “Do something useful, Albert,” Anna called from the kitchen. “Get the mail.” ------- Morris took the key to Anna’s mailbox and got on the elevator. It stopped at the second floor. The door opened, a tiny woman gasped and stepped back clutching her chest. The door closed and the elevator continued to the lobby. Anna’s box was empty except for the local newspaper and a notice about the Valentine Day’s dinner. ------- Morris got back on the elevator and pressed the button. This time he stood back from the door. The elevator stopped. The door opened, and Ben Weintraub pointed an automatic at Morris’s chest. He stepped in and punched the fifth-floor button. -------“They killed Mose, Ben. They got what they deserved. Nothing to do with you. Why not let it go?” ------- “What d’ya think I been doing here, Albert? You come to my place all fat and sassy with a bird on your arm.” ------- “Coincidence. How could I know?” ------- “You’re askin’ me, Albert? Up we go. Fifth floor, men’s wear, toiletries, last stop for Albert Meyers. Figured you might come some day, with your mom here.” Weintraub pointed to a door across the hall. “Go on in. You need a drink.” ------- Morris went into the living room and looked around at the expensive furniture and florid artwork. ------- “Nice place, Ben,” he said, turning towards him and firing the gun he’d held under the St. Petersburg Times. The shots boomed, but the walls were thick at Live Oaks, and the residents hard of hearing. He stepped over the body, wiped the doorknob with his handkerchief, and took the fire stairs to his mother’s floor. ------- He checked the clock. A long five minutes. Anna was still in the kitchen. Something smelled good. Terry was reading a magazine, but she looked up and smiled. Morris put the paper on the coffee table and sat next to her on the sofa. ------- “Promise me something,” he said softly. ------- “Sure, uh...Albert” ------- “Promise if something happens to me, you’ll go back to school. See McGinn. I set it up.” ------- “Morrie! What are you talking about?” ------- “Shush. Just promise.” ------- “Okay, but...” ------- Anna called Terry from the kitchen. ------- Morris watched her go. He smiled like a man who didn’t plan to die any time soon. ------- ------- ------- |