BooksBarbecue
Back The Deal Goes Down
Chapters (55)
  1. Cover
  2. Other Titles
  3. Dedication
  4. CHAPTER ONE
  5. CHAPTER TWO
  6. CHAPTER THREE
  7. CHAPTER FOUR
  8. CHAPTER FIVE
  9. CHAPTER SIX
  10. CHAPTER SEVEN
  11. CHAPTER EIGHT
  12. CHAPTER NINE
  13. CHAPTER TEN
  14. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  15. CHAPTER TWELVE
  16. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  17. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  18. CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  19. CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  20. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  21. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  22. CHAPTER NINETEEN
  23. CHAPTER TWENTY
  24. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  25. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  26. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  27. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
  28. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
  29. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
  30. CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
  31. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
  32. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
  33. CHAPTER THIRTY
  34. CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
  35. CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
  36. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
  37. CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
  38. CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
  39. CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
  40. CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
  41. CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
  42. CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
  43. CHAPTER FORTY
  44. CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
  45. CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
  46. CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
  47. CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
  48. CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
  49. CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
  50. CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
  51. CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
  52. CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
  53. CHAPTER FIFTY
  54. CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
  55. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Late on the third day, after the lifts were closed but before dinnertime, we spotted Kaylee in town with Leo. Escorted by both Boris Two and the Borisova. Allison made the approach. Without me. As she walked by, she looked at Leo, and exclaimed to his mother, “What a cute boy.” It’s a ploy you can market with a money-back guarantee. It also works with people walking their dogs. Kaylee’s initial response was positive, “Oh, thank you,” with warmth and a gratified smiled. The Borisova said, “Who are you?” strict and suspicious as a U.S. border patrol officer staring at a guy named José, speaking right over Allison’s cheery, “Hey, you’re an American,” and over Kaylee’s reply, “Yes,” which was equally friendly, two natives of the same place meeting in a foreign land. Then the Borisova cut them off, verbally, with “Excuse us, please,” in a thick Russian accent, and physically, by stepping between them.

—

Allison came back to me and we strolled on, window shopping. She said, “That’s one scary bitch,” about Kaylee’s keeper. “If I were a guy, I’d be scared she had vagina dentata.” Continuing her report, she added, without transition, “Kaylee’s husband’s hitting her.”

“You’re sure?”

“Someone is,” a verbal shrug. The social logic was that he’d be the only one allowed to.

“Her makeup. And she’s using her hair and her hat to cover bruising.”

Thursday. Friday. Saturday. Three days gone. Nothing accomplished. Seven left.

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

HOME AGAIN

“You can’t go back home to your family, back home to your childhood, back home to romantic love, back home to a young man’s dreams of glory and of fame, back home to exile, to escape to Europe and some foreign land, back home to lyricism, to singing just for singing’s sake…back home to someone who can help you, save you, ease the burden for you…back home to the escapes of Time and Memory.”

THOMAS WOLFE, YOU CAN’T GO HOME AGAIN

ON THE MORNING OF THE fourth day, Sunday, God’s day, Grigor took the Rüfikopf cable car.

We followed along. He, his Boris, and his skiführer skied down to the Schuttboden drag lift. They rode up, then skied down to Zürs. They got on another lift, Trittkopf 1. Grigor used his phone while they rode. They got off before it became Trittkopf 2, which would have taken them up to the top of the peak called Trittkopf, and switched to the Flexen lift, to Alpe Ruiz. Grigor kept making calls. They got on another lift, the Valfagehrbahn. Grigor was growing visibly impatient. At last they got off and they took off.