That Wicker bitch was right about one thing, Brody thought as he slashed the meat: I sure as shit feel alienated right now. A slab of meat fell away, and Brody said, “Hey, I thought you said this was lamb.”
“It is.”
“It isn’t even done. Look at that.” He held up the piece he had sliced. It was pink and, toward the middle, almost red.
“That’s the way it’s supposed to be.”
“Not if it’s lamb, it isn’t. Lamb’s supposed to be cooked through, well done.”
“Martin, believe me. It’s all right to cook a butterfly lamb sort of medium. I promise you.”
Brody raised his voice. “I’m not gonna eat raw lamb!”
“Ssshhh! For God’s sake. Can’t you keep your voice down?”
Brody said in a hoarse whisper, “Then put the goddam thing back till it’s done.”
“It’s done!” said Ellen. “If you don’t want to eat it, don’t eat it, but that’s the way I’m going to serve it.”
“Then cut it yourself.” Brody dropped the knife and fork on the carving board, picked up the two bottles of red wine, and left the kitchen.
“There’ll be a slight delay,” he said as he approached the table, “while the cook kills our dinner. She tried to serve it as it was, but it bit her on the leg.” He raised a bottle of wine over one of the clean glasses and said, “I wonder why you’re not allowed to serve red wine in the same glass the white wine was.”
“The tastes,” said Meadows, “don’t complement each other.”
“What you’re saying is, it’ll give you gas.” Brody filled the six glasses and sat down. He took a sip of wine, said, “Good,” then took another sip and another. He refilled his glass.
Ellen came in from the kitchen carrying the carving board. She set it on the sideboard next to a stack of plates. She returned to the kitchen and came back, carrying two vegetable dishes. “I hope it’s good,” she said. “I haven’t tried it before.”
“What is it?” asked Dorothy Meadows. “It smells delicious.”
“Butterfly lamb. Marinated.”
“Really? What’s in the marinade?”
“Ginger, soy sauce, a whole bunch of things.” She put a thick slice of lamb, some asparagus and summer squash on each plate, and passed the plates to Meadows, who sent them down and around the table.
When everyone had been served and Ellen had sat down, Hooper raised his glass and said, “A toast to the chef.”
The others raised their glasses, and Brody said, “Good luck.”
Meadows took a bite of meat, chewed it, savored it, and said, “Fantastic. It’s like the tenderest of sirloins, only better. What a splendid flavor.”
“Coming from you, Harry,” said Ellen, “that’s a special compliment.”
“It’s delicious,” said Dorothy. “Will you promise to give me the recipe? Harry will never forgive me if I don’t give this to him at least once a week.”
“He better rob a bank,” said Brody.
“But it is delicious, Martin, don’t you think?”
Brody didn’t answer. He had started to chew a piece of meat when another wave of nausea hit him. Once again sweat popped out on his forehead. He felt detached, as if his body were controlled by someone else. He sensed panic at the loss of motor control. His fork felt heavy, and for a moment he feared it might slip from his fingers and clatter onto the table. He gripped it with his fist and held on. He was sure his tongue wouldn’t behave if he tried to speak. It was the wine. It had to be the wine. With greatly exaggerated precision, he reached forward to push his wine glass away from him. He slid his fingers along the tablecloth to minimize the chances of knocking over the glass. He sat back and took a deep breath. His vision blurred. He tried to focus his eyes on a painting above Ellen’s head, but he was distracted by the image of Ellen talking to Hooper. Every time she spoke she touched Hooper’s arm — lightly, but, Brody thought, intimately, as if they were sharing secrets. He didn’t hear what anyone was saying. The last thing he remembered hearing was, “Don’t you think?” How long ago was that? Who had said it? He didn’t know. He looked at Meadows, who was talking to Daisy. Then he looked at Dorothy and said thickly, “Yes.”
“What did you say, Martin?” She looked up at him, “Did you say something?”
He couldn’t speak. He wanted to stand and walk out to the kitchen, but he didn’t trust his legs. He’d never make it without holding on to something. Just sit still, he told himself. It’ll pass.
And it did. His head began to clear. Ellen was touching Hooper again. Talk and touch, talk and touch. “Boy, it’s hot,” he said. He stood up and walked, carefully but steadily, to a window and tugged it open. He leaned on the sill and pressed his face against the screen. “Nice night,” he said. He straightened up. “I think I’ll get a glass of water.” He walked into the kitchen and shook his head. He turned on the cold-water tap and rubbed some water on his brow. He filled a glass and drank it down, then refilled it and drank that down. He took a few deep breaths, went back into the dining room, and sat down. He looked at the food on his plate. Then he suppressed a shiver and smiled at Dorothy.
“Any more, anybody?” said Ellen. “There’s plenty here.”
“Indeed,” said Meadows. “But you’d better serve the others first. Left to my own devices, I’d eat the whole thing.”
“And you know what you’d be saying tomorrow,” said Brody.
“What’s that?”
Brody lowered his voice and said gravely, “I can’t believe I ate the whole thing.”
Meadows and Dorothy laughed, and Hooper said, in a high falsetto whine, “No, Ralph, I ate it.” Then even Ellen laughed. It was going to be all right.
By the time dessert was served — coffee ice cream in a pool of creme de cacao — Brody was feeling well. He had two helpings of ice cream, and he chatted amiably with Dorothy. He smiled when Daisy told him a story about lacing the stuffing at last Thanksgiving’s turkey with marijuana.
“My only worry,” said Daisy, “was that my maiden aunt called Thanksgiving morning and asked if she could come for dinner. The turkey was already made and stuffed.”
“So what happened?” said Brody.
“I tried to sneak her some turkey without stuffing, but she made a point of asking for it, so I said what the heck and gave her a big spoonful.”
“And?”
“By the end of the meal she was giggling like a little girl. She even wanted to dance. To Hair yet.”
“It’s a good thing I wasn’t there,” said Brody. “I would have arrested you for corrupting the morals of a maiden.”
They had coffee in the living room, and Brody offered drinks, but only Meadows accepted. “A tiny brandy, if you have it,” he said.
Brody looked at Ellen, as if to ask, do we have any? “In the cupboard, I think,” she said.
Brody poured Meadows’ drink and thought briefly of pouring one for himself. But he resisted, telling himself, Don’t press your luck.
At a little after ten, Meadows yawned and said, “Dorothy, I think we had best take our leave. I find it hard to fulfill the public trust if I stay up too late.”
“I should go, too,” said Daisy. “I have to be at work at eight. Not that we’re selling very much these days.”
“You’re not alone, my dear,” said Meadows.
“I know. But when you work on commission, you really feel it.”
“Well, let’s hope the worst is over. From what I gather from our expert here, there’s a good chance the leviathan has left.” Meadows stood up.
“A chance,” said Hooper. “I hope so.” He rose to go. “I should be on my way, too.”