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Chapters (62)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  4. PART ONE
  5. CHAPTER ONE
  6. CHAPTER TWO
  7. CHAPTER THREE
  8. CHAPTER FOUR
  9. CHAPTER FIVE
  10. CHAPTER SIX
  11. CHAPTER SEVEN
  12. CHAPTER EIGHT
  13. CHAPTER NINE
  14. CHAPTER TEN
  15. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  16. CHAPTER TWELVE
  17. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  18. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  19. CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  20. PART TWO
  21. CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  22. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  23. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  24. CHAPTER NINETEEN
  25. CHAPTER TWENTY
  26. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  27. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  28. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  29. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
  30. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
  31. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
  32. CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
  33. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
  34. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
  35. CHAPTER THIRTY
  36. CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
  37. CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
  38. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
  39. PART THREE
  40. CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
  41. CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
  42. CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
  43. CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
  44. CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
  45. CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
  46. CHAPTER FORTY
  47. CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
  48. CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
  49. CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
  50. CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
  51. CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
  52. CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
  53. CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
  54. CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
  55. CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
  56. CHAPTER FIFTY
  57. CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
  58. CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
  59. CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
  60. EPILOGUE
  61. AUTHOR’S NOTE
  62. BOOK CLUB DISCUSSION GUIDE

I tried to relax on one of the sofas. But, feeling no small measure of discomfort, I realized the scene reminded me of the first words Willy Smets had said to me. Indians could be the means to my happiness or the obstacle to it. Despite the inconvenience this memory caused me, I had to admit he was right. It was powerfully tempting to let someone take care of you, even when it stank of exploitation. At the same time, I felt like a shit. There I was, enjoying the fruits of low-cost labor, all the while indifferent to the challenges Ramu might have been facing. Far from his family and friends, he was from some forsaken corner in the North of India, earning a pittance from a gora who barely appreciated him. Surely he was sending his entire salary back to his family. I was ashamed to think I’d been seduced. I was a convert. A believer in what Willy had told me. That the hardships of the Indian lower classes, to me, amounted to little more than a convenience. A means to achieve my own happiness.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

TUESDAY, JULY 8, 1975, 7:31 A.M.

Ramu tapped on my bedroom door and swept inside. I’d already done my run and had my bath. He opened the curtains and placed a tray with tea and biscuits on the table beside my bed.

“Newspapers, sir?” he asked.

I flipped through the Times of India as I sipped my tea, a masala I could only assume was Ramu’s own concoction. It was damn good. Not as sweet as Vikky’s at the office. Just right. Fragrant and fulfilling, without the risk of diabetes.

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A telex from New York was waiting for me in the office. “Unable to locate Nielsen. No trace of him in Seattle. Maybe he went elsewhere. Gary.”

I thumbed through the latest news coming over the wire. For Christ’s sake, Ruffian had to be destroyed after breaking down in her match race with Foolish Pleasure. What a tragedy. A waste of a beautiful animal.

Ford announced he was going to run in ’76. No surprises there. But who would the Democrats put up against him? Probably Birch Bayh or Mo Udall, I figured. In India, the news was drying up. I was struggling to find an angle to pursue or a lead that needed a follow-up. Frank told me I’d better get on my horse or he’d send me back home. Joey Rahman had plenty of good ideas, he said.