To underscore his words, he pointed to the backpack, which Joanes hadn’t once let out of his sight.
“We’ll keep the whole thing between me and you,” he went on. “Between two practical people. I’ll try to be as brief as possible. And as for what I’m able to find out, if it’s good news, I’ll share it with my wife. But if it’s not such good news. . well, I’ll keep it to myself, for now. We’re not exactly in the most appropriate place for her to find out that. . well, you understand me, right?”
“I can see you’ve thought of everything.”
“I try. I understand that if your phone runs out on you, it could be inconvenient for the reasons we’ve discussed, but you can get ahold of one in this hotel easily. And most likely tomorrow the weather will have improved a bit, and we’ll all be able to get out of here. Try to understand, I can’t just sit here and give up hope of finding out what’s happened to my son. I have to try right now. I’m asking you to put yourself in my place and imagine if it were your son who—”
“I can imagine it perfectly well,” interrupted Joanes. “But it’s out of the question. As I’ve already told you—”
“You have your reasons.”
“That’s right.”
The professor let out a sigh and rested his elbows on his knees. He stayed there for a moment or two. Joanes knew he was planning his next assault and kept quiet, preparing himself for whatever might be thrown at him.
When he straightened up again, the professor’s smile was one of resignation.
“I suppose I can’t influence your decision with a little incentive.”
“You’re talking about money? You want to pay me?”
“I know it’s uncouth, but yes.”
“No,” Joanes replied steadfastly. “I’m not going to change my mind.”
“That’s what I thought. And what I imagined, too, coming from someone of your integrity, and a former student of mine, at that. That’s why I’m begging you, for my son and for my wife. You know me, so you know I wouldn’t normally ask in such a way.”
Barely audibly, Joanes responded, “I’m so sorry, but the answer is still the same.”
The professor nodded and sat back in his chair.
“I understand,” he said, “and I hope you understand that I had to try.”
“Of course I understand. I’m very sorry for the situation you’re both in.”
The two men were silent for a moment. The conversations in the nearby bedrooms and living room were muffled by the wind, which was whipping against the hotel door, making it clatter against its frame. Joanes felt calmer now that they’d cleared things up. He was pleased with the way he’d handled the situation and thought that, despite the painfulness of the situation, the professor, too, felt better. Joanes hadn’t let his emotions get the better of him. He’d remained true to the pragmatism that the professor so valued and had tried hard to inculcate in his students. Joanes had given him reason to be proud of him.
“I have to be honest with you,” said the professor, interrupting Joanes’s train of thought. “The truth is that I do remember you. I remember perfectly well.”
There was a pause, then he went on.
“I remember that you came to see me at my home. It was a Saturday, in the morning. The weather was bad, but we sat out on the balcony. You were about to start working for Robot Systems, a business that was going strong in those days. I was very pleased that one of my students should have gotten a position like that at such a young age. I found out later that there’d been some kind of problem. It was a shame. I was pretty sorry about it. I ought to apologize for lying before about not remembering you. But I thought that by admitting to remembering you and our meeting and what happened afterward, I would bring back bad memories for you. But now you tell me things are going excellently, so I have no reason to worry.”
Joanes listened in disbelief. The professor went on speaking.
“I’ve been retired for several years, but a few companies still request my services as a consultant. By which I mean that I’ve held on to my contacts. And I was thinking that, even though your business is doing splendidly, a bit of extra help never does any harm. I could talk to some of those contacts. Several of them owe me serious favors. I could put in a good word for your business, make a few calls. Of course, not right now, but later on, once the dust has settled. What do you say?”
Joanes couldn’t reply. He was too busy processing what he’d just heard, trying to reconcile what the professor had just told him with his own memories and the fantasies he’d developed over the years. The professor took his silence as an invitation to go on speaking.
“You might also be interested in trying your hand at something new. Before, in the room, I noticed you were particularly interested in what we were discussing. You’ve clearly kept your finger on the pulse and not limited yourself to your own specific area of business. You presented some ideas back there that, even if I don’t exactly agree with them, were undoubtedly interesting. You tick all the right boxes for succeeding at a new challenge. Something more meaningful than an air conditioning business, and, please don’t take offence, better looked upon by your colleagues. Something akin to the role you would have had at Robot Systems, if things hadn’t worked out the way they did.”
The professor spoke slowly, lending weight to his words and ensuring that Joanes was absolutely clear about what he was offering. Joanes stayed glued to his seat, his hands resting limply on his thighs.
“I can offer you that, too. The chance to start again, if you wish. In return, you already know what I’m asking — something very simple, so simple we can resolve it right here, in an instant.”
A loud clatter, like something collapsing, startled the congregation in the living room. A few of them leapt to their feet to see what had happened. The rest, delighted that something had finally livened up the tedious evening, followed them.
The chairs that had been stacked in piles were now strewn across the lobby floor, and in among them sat the professor, checking to see if his glasses were broken. His lip was bleeding. Joanes was watching him with his arms hanging limply at his sides. The Mexican guests formed a circle around them both. The hotel owner, slowed by his limp, cleared a way through the crowd to get to Joanes. He assessed the scene and then turned to the professor, who was struggling to get to his feet.
“What happened?”
Joanes, his eyes fixed on the professor, didn’t answer. The professor rejected the help of two Mexican men who were trying to get him to his feet.
“I’m fine,” he said. “Don’t worry.”
“Did you punch him?” the hotel owner asked Joanes.
It was the professor who answered.
“Nothing’s happened. I simply tripped and fell against the chairs. A clumsy accident.”
The hotel owner looked at him incredulously.
“Is that what happened?” he asked Joanes.
Joanes didn’t answer.
Several people in the crowd had begun to whisper, and the hotel owner silenced them with an authoritative gesture.
“Don’t you have anything to say, sir?”
“Leave him be,” said the professor. “This is between us. We’re all under a lot of pressure today.”
The hotel owner didn’t let that put him off.
“I have no intention of leaving him be,” he said. “You, sirs, are currently in my establishment, and I don’t put up with anyone fighting in front of my guests or my family.”
He paused, in case either of the accused had something to add. Since they didn’t, he added, “I won’t allow this kind of behavior under my roof. I’m very sorry, but whoever’s responsible will have to leave.”
He spoke firmly, asserting all his professional authority.