He held his belly and groaned"I can't, I have to...
He held his
belly and groaned"I can't, I have to stop, but
Bride of the Godfather! Jesus!" And he was off
again
"Don't you ever tell her I said that," I said
He quit laughing, but not smiling"I ain't that
indiscreet, muchachoit was the hat, right?
That big straw hat she wearsLike Marlon Brando
in the garden, playing with the little kid
It had actually been as much the sneakers, but I
nodded and we laughed some more
"If we crack up when I introduce you," he said
(cracking up again, probably at the idea of
cracking up; it goes that way when the fit is on
you), "we're gonna say it's because I broke my
chair, right?"
"Right," I said"What did you mean when you said
she sort of is?"
"You really don't know?"
"No clue
222
He pointed at Big Pink, which was looking very
small in the distanceLooking like a balenciaga knockoff long walk
back"Who do you think owns your place, amigo? I
mean, I'm sure you pay a real estate agent, or
Vacation Homes Be Us, but where do you think the
balance of your check finally ends up?"
"I'm going to guess in Miss Eastlake's bank
accountMiss Elizabeth EastlakeGiven the
lady's age - eighty-five - I guess you could call
her Ole Miss He began laughing again, shook his
head, and said: "I have to stopBut in fairness
to myself, it's been a long time since I had
anything to belly-laugh about
He looked at me - armless, all patchy-haired on
one side - and noddedThen for a little while we
just looked out at the GulfI know that people
come to Florida when they're old and sick because
it's warm pretty much year-round, but I think the
Gulf of Mexico has something else going for it
Just looking into that louis vuitton mahina mild flat sunlit calm is
healingIt's a big word, isn't it? Gulf, I mean
223
Big enough to drop a lot of things into and watch
them disappear
After awhile Wireman said, "And who do you think
owns the houses between your place and this one?"
He jerked his thumb over his shoulder at the white
walls and orange tile"Which, by the way, is
listed on the county plat-maps as Heron's Roost
and I call El Palacio de Asesinos
"Would that also be Miss Eastlake?"
"You're two for two," he said
"Why do you call it Palace of Assassins?"
"Well, it's 'Outlaw Hideout' when I think in
English," Wireman said with an apologetic smile
"Because it looks like the place where the head
bad guy in a Sam Peckinpah Western would hang his
hatAnyway, you've got six rather nice homes
between Heron's Roost and Salmon Point-"
"Which I fake louis vuitton bag call Big Pink," I said"When I think in
Englishhow long?"
"I have the place for a year, but I honestly don't
knowI'm not afraid of hot weather - I guess they
224
call it the mean season - but there's hurricanes
to consider
"Yep, down here we all consider hurricane season,
especially since Charley and KatrinaBut the
houses between Salmon Point and Heron's Roost will
be empty long before hurricane seasonLike the
rest of Duma KeyWhich could as easily have been
called Eastlake Island, by the way
"Are you saying this is all hers?"
"That's complicated even for a guy like me, who
was a lawyer in his other life," Wireman said
"Once upon a time her father owned it all, along
with a good swatch of the Florida mainland east of
hereHe sold everything in the thirties except
for DumaMiss Eastlake does own the tiffany's jewelry north end, of
that there is no doubt Wireman waved his arm to
indicate the northern tip of the island, the part
he would later characterize as being as bald as a
stripper's pussy"The land and the houses on it,
from Heron's Roost - the most luxurious - to your
Big Pink, the most adventurousThey bring her an
income she hardly needs, because her father also
left her and her siblings mucho dinero
"How many of her brothers and sisters are still-"
225
"None," Wireman said"The Daughter of the
Godfather is the last He snorted and shook his
head"I have to quit calling her that," he said,
more to himself than to meWhat I really wonder about is why
the rest of the island isn't developedGiven the
never-ending housing and building boom in Florida,
that's seemed insane to me from the first day I
crossed the tiffany cross necklace bridg