“He’s just another messed up casualty, Elisa. Don’t put too much thought into it.”
“It’s all I’ve been able to think about. After I met him and we spent the night in the room, I’ve felt like he was still listening to my thoughts, but not outside, like he was inside, like I’d involuntarily allowed him to know myself truly, not what is filtered out.”
Arthur Dodger was silent, having never heard Elisa speak in such a way, he considered her diagnosis of the meeting melodramatic and romantic, two things he abhorred. He lit one of his hand-rolled cigarettes and passed it to Elisa and took out another one for himself. “Fantasy, drug induced fantasy.”
“Maybe.”
* * *
Graham Greene stood on the ledge of Eduardo Automotive Falls, his arm around his new wife, staring down into the Edge Sport River. They had just arrived; tonight was the big night. Haddie would be ceremonially obliged to get naked and crawl into the bed covers with him. This was all foreplay; this was all in preparation for denting his new wife’s head against an ivory headboard. He stood like a triumphant Viking in a foreign land, the native wench beside him, having seen her husband die, she was prepared to mate with the enemy. The next day, after one wild night of lovemaking, they’d be leaving for safari, to see his family’s greatest achievements. The wedding had been a complete success, everyone thought so, and the reception was a great to-do.
The only thing that had bothered Graham was the woman he had met and his sister’s split lip. Elisa was living in his old apartment now, living in the city. She said she had run into the refrigerator door, but it didn’t settle well with Graham. Then, there was the sweepstakes winner, the woman whose husband had disappeared, the woman talking to Elisa in that animated voice, the cartoon drama of her words. She had lost her husband. Graham had read about an attack on a public bus, people had been robbed of their socks and shoes. Now, a man was missing. The world, so ideal, so well looked after, appeared to be losing its perfection. She was medicated, but she was crying and laughing about her husband. She said he had been digging a grave and had disappeared. The shovel was still in the dirt. Their cat was missing as well. She wanted Graham to speak to him, the husband that is, if he was ever found. Graham had agreed.
“What are you thinking about, honey?” Haddie asked, snuggling up to his arm
“Our wedding.”
“Wasn’t it just perfect?”
“Yes. However, the reception was not what I hoped for,” Graham replied.
“Why do you say that, darling?”
“Did you meet that woman, the one who would not leave Elisa alone?”
“Um, no. Well, I might have, I don’t know. There were too many people to remember.”
“She was one of the sweepstakes winners, her husband was missing.”
“Oh, dear. How could he be missing? I mean, how could she not know where he was?”
“That is just the point. The world is changing. We’ve worked so hard to make it right and now, now it seems as though there are evil forces at work trying to destroy it,” Graham managed with an extreme hesternopothian tone.
“Oh, honey, it’s just a man, he probably got lost or maybe he got amnesia or something. It’s just one man.”
“Yes, but that’s how it begins. Did you know that her husband had been afflicted with all these accidents before he disappeared? Yes, it’s true. He almost died seven times. Then, you have these robbers stealing people’s socks and shoes on public transportation. I can’t help but see these things as offenses to our way of life.”
“That was just a prank, probably college kids with nothing better to do.”
“I never did anything like that when I was in school. It would have never occurred to us to do something like that. And this man, this missing person, what if he was abducted by someone? What do think that says about the world we live in? We have to remember, history is watching us, every decision we make, the way we raise our children, the way we handle crises, the way we handle our obligations, all of it is being recorded by history. I cannot help but wonder what it’s going to say about my lifetime. I will not have my life coexist with impurities, my life will be perfect and my community will benefit from it. I will not have robberies and missing persons sharing newspapers with my life. That is unacceptable.”
“But what can you do about it, honey?”
“We all do something about it, everyday that we live pure and wholesome lives. Don’t you see? We were able to conquer disease, mental instability, extinction, pollution, wars, all of it, by leading lives of hope and promise. We surged forward, we said ‘no more’ and we worked together to change things. This could be a sign that we did not accomplish what we set out to do. All my grandfather’s work, all my father’s work, all my family’s work, will be judged based upon these events. Our lives are perfect, our society is tranquil, our world is prosperous, these are things we need to work on sustaining every day. Not just weekdays, not just on government holidays, not just when we celebrate our achievements, but in our actions and thoughts every day,” he replied Leibnizianly.
“You are so noble.”
“Yes. I have to be, I have to be for the sake my brothers and sisters. I am Graham Greene; my actions are monitored by posterity. It is my duty and my honor to be remembered as one of the great men of my time. I take this role very seriously and I want you to as well. You are now a part of me, we are now Graham Greene, you must work to lead a life of purpose. We are examples, you and I, Haddie. Do you understand?”
“Yes, of course. I won’t fail you, honey. Let’s go inside. My knight in shining armor needs to be awarded for his chivalry.”
“I don’t expect awards, I do this because it is my nature.”
“I know and I love you for it. Let me show you how inspiring you are.”
“I hope I do inspire people, by my example, by my sacrifices, by my honorable acts.”
“Yes, I’m ready to sacrifice myself, too. I want to sacrifice myself to you, but for the time being, my acts won’t be honorable.”
“You cannot, even for a moment, Haddie, sway from our purpose, our mission. There is no ‘time being,’ for we exist for all time, as history’s children.”
“Oh, I agree. Let’s go give our all for history, let’s go right now.”
“Well, honey. We can take some time off for the honeymoon. I mean, we don’t have to start right away. We should take some time for ourselves. You only have one wedding night.”
* * *
At first he thought she was going back to her flat, but then she walked through an alleyway and entered a small Mediterranean diner she had started frequenting. Several nights a week, a provocative belly dancer filled the dining room to capacity and Elisa could sit, alone, at a table without being hassled every few minutes by a gentleman offering her his discreet loins via an offer for his company. She was already seated when he made it to the door and Captain Vincent took a stool at the end of the bar so that he could keep her close, as she thumbed through an old book and ate her dinner.
He made himself comfortable and quickly, considering the size of the crowd all feigning over the available belly of the woman on stage, got the attention of the bartender. He ordered himself a drink and pleasantly made small talk with a steering wheel moustached man seated directly to his left. She would be awhile, she enjoyed sitting in a restaurant and pecking away at some dish while she read, the more people surrounding her the better. However, as Captain Vincent glanced craftily over to her location between audible observations he was making to continue his conversation, she had left her seat and was nowhere to be found amongst the chiming crowd. He abruptly, although not rudely, broke off his soliloquy and sought her with his extra-sensory means, which were crowded to the brim with all the absent meanderings of the controlled substance minds in attendance. She was still there, just out of sight.