filled with belated ambition and a monster resentment. And he figured the only thing that could really stop it for good was to get his dough and get the fuck out of Baltimore. Christ, he wished Ray would get things ready. He could barely stand another minute of his old life.
Jesse and Bob finished up “Coal Mine” and then Bob saw Dave and Lou Anne walking up the steps to the stage. For a second that confused him. What the hell did Dave want anyway? Fucking Dave was starting to get on his nerves, too, and Lou Anne with her perpetual Miss Upbeat smile. Christ, she was a little too much. Lately she had talked about becoming a nurse, and thanked Bob for being an “inspiration to her,” which Jesse and Dave had seconded, hugging him, and the whole thing had made him kind of sick to his stomach. He didn’t want to be a fucking inspiration anymore to anyone. “Inspiration” meant martyr, and he’d had a lifetime of that sad shit.
But here were Dave and Lou Anne, walking across the stage:
“Dave,” Bob said. “My man.”
“Bob,” Dave said. He put his arm around Bob’s shoulders and leaned into the mike.
“Hey, everybody. Is this a great band or what?”
The kids cheered and shouted and a couple of them fizzed beer on one another. Bob looked out at their bald heads and suddenly wanted to scream random obscenities at them, but instead smiled and held up his guitar.
“I just want to make a little announcement,” Dave said, pulling Bob close to him with one big arm and Lou Anne with the other.
“Miss Lou Anne Johnson and I have gone and done it. We sneaked down to city hall today and tied the knot. Dave McClane is now an old married man, and happy as hell about it, too.”
A huge cheer went up in the crowd. Dave held Bob close and Jesse came over and joined the little knot of hopefulness. In spite of all the poison in his system, Bob felt a wave of sympathy and happiness for his old pal.
“All right,” Jesse said, in the mike. “We love these guys!”
“Yes!” came the cheer back.
“I got my man!” Lou Anne said into the mike and the kids cheered again.
Dave hugged Bob tight, his sweaty cheek rubbing against Bob’s, and Bob suddenly felt that he couldn’t breathe. He wanted to push Dave away, off the stage if necessary. If he would only let him loose.
Then Dave released him and was back at the mike.
“I just want to say that this is a great and wonderful day for me. I’m here at the Lodge, my favorite place in the world, with the woman I love and my best friend, Bob Wells, and his fantastic girlfriend, Jesse Reardon. And I just want to say that now that this old rebel has fallen, I wonder how long it’s going to be until the two people I love best follow us down the aisle?”
Bob felt intense embarrassment. He loved Dave, he really did, but Dave didn’t respect boundaries. He wanted them to be like teenagers forever, best buddies who went through all of life’s passages together. It was charming in its way. But it was tiresome, too … Bob thought about the money … the money that would get him out of here. Away from the tired old Lodge and, at least for a while anyway, away from frigging Dave.
“Hey,” Bob said, taking the mike, so Dave couldn’t say anything else. “This is totally great. Everything you said to me, Dave, comes right back at you. Jess and I love you and Lou Anne and all of us love the Lodge. I propose a toast to the newly married couple. Here’s to two great people. The best! To Dave and Lou Anne!”
Then Bob and Dave and Lou Anne and Jesse all put their arms around one another, and bowed as the band worked up a drum roll, and Bob stared out at the people who had been his friends for years and saw them all as one gape-mouthed, sweat-stained, many-headed animal, like some mythological beast from a fairy tale, and it was all he could do not to leap off the stage and run screaming out into the street.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
A week after Bob first proposed the heist to
Jesse and Bob finished up “Coal Mine” and then Bob saw Dave and Lou Anne walking up the steps to the stage. For a second that confused him. What the hell did Dave want anyway? Fucking Dave was starting to get on his nerves, too, and Lou Anne with her perpetual Miss Upbeat smile. Christ, she was a little too much. Lately she had talked about becoming a nurse, and thanked Bob for being an “inspiration to her,” which Jesse and Dave had seconded, hugging him, and the whole thing had made him kind of sick to his stomach. He didn’t want to be a fucking inspiration anymore to anyone. “Inspiration” meant martyr, and he’d had a lifetime of that sad shit.
But here were Dave and Lou Anne, walking across the stage:
“Dave,” Bob said. “My man.”
“Bob,” Dave said. He put his arm around Bob’s shoulders and leaned into the mike.
“Hey, everybody. Is this a great band or what?”
The kids cheered and shouted and a couple of them fizzed beer on one another. Bob looked out at their bald heads and suddenly wanted to scream random obscenities at them, but instead smiled and held up his guitar.
“I just want to make a little announcement,” Dave said, pulling Bob close to him with one big arm and Lou Anne with the other.
“Miss Lou Anne Johnson and I have gone and done it. We sneaked down to city hall today and tied the knot. Dave McClane is now an old married man, and happy as hell about it, too.”
A huge cheer went up in the crowd. Dave held Bob close and Jesse came over and joined the little knot of hopefulness. In spite of all the poison in his system, Bob felt a wave of sympathy and happiness for his old pal.
“All right,” Jesse said, in the mike. “We love these guys!”
“Yes!” came the cheer back.
“I got my man!” Lou Anne said into the mike and the kids cheered again.
Dave hugged Bob tight, his sweaty cheek rubbing against Bob’s, and Bob suddenly felt that he couldn’t breathe. He wanted to push Dave away, off the stage if necessary. If he would only let him loose.
Then Dave released him and was back at the mike.
“I just want to say that this is a great and wonderful day for me. I’m here at the Lodge, my favorite place in the world, with the woman I love and my best friend, Bob Wells, and his fantastic girlfriend, Jesse Reardon. And I just want to say that now that this old rebel has fallen, I wonder how long it’s going to be until the two people I love best follow us down the aisle?”
Bob felt intense embarrassment. He loved Dave, he really did, but Dave didn’t respect boundaries. He wanted them to be like teenagers forever, best buddies who went through all of life’s passages together. It was charming in its way. But it was tiresome, too … Bob thought about the money … the money that would get him out of here. Away from the tired old Lodge and, at least for a while anyway, away from frigging Dave.
“Hey,” Bob said, taking the mike, so Dave couldn’t say anything else. “This is totally great. Everything you said to me, Dave, comes right back at you. Jess and I love you and Lou Anne and all of us love the Lodge. I propose a toast to the newly married couple. Here’s to two great people. The best! To Dave and Lou Anne!”
Then Bob and Dave and Lou Anne and Jesse all put their arms around one another, and bowed as the band worked up a drum roll, and Bob stared out at the people who had been his friends for years and saw them all as one gape-mouthed, sweat-stained, many-headed animal, like some mythological beast from a fairy tale, and it was all he could do not to leap off the stage and run screaming out into the street.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
A week after Bob first proposed the heist to
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