Английский язык с Крестным Отцом

was just bullshit. Singing was the only thing he really knew. Maybe he knew more about

singing and his kind of music than anybody else in the world. He was that good, he

realized now. All those years had made him a real pro. Nobody could tell him the right

and the wrong, he didn't have to ask anybody. He knew. What a waste, what a damn

waste.

It was Friday and he decided to spend the weekend with Virginia and the kids. He

called her up as he always did to tell her he was coming. Really to give her a chance to

say no. She never said no. Not in all the years they had been divorced. Because she

would never say no to a meeting of her daughters and their father. What a broad,

Johnny thought. He'd been lucky with Virginia. And though he knew he cared more

about her than any other woman he knew it was impossible for them to live together

sexually. Maybe when they were sixty-five, like when you retire, they'd retire together,

retire from everything.

But reality shattered these thoughts when he arrived there and found Virginia was

feeling a little grouchy herself and the two girls not that crazy to see him because they

had been promised a weekend visit with some girl friends on a California ranch where

they could ride horses.

He told Virginia to send the girls off to the ranch and kissed them good-bye with an

amused smile. He understood them so well. What kid wouldn't rather go riding horses

on a ranch than hang around with a grouchy father who picked his own spots as a

father. He said to Virginia, "I'll have a few drinks and then I'll shove off too."

"All right," she said. She was having one of her bad days, rare, but recognizable. It

wasn't too easy for her leading this kind of life.

She saw him taking an extra large drink. "What are you cheering yourself up for?"

Virginia asked. "Everything is going so beautifully for you. I never dreamed you had it in

you to be such a good businessman."

Johnny smiled at her. "It's not so hard," he said. At the same time he was thinking, so

that's what was wrong. He understood women and he understood now that Virginia was

down because she thought he was having everything his own way. Women really hated

seeing their men doing too well. It irritated them. It made them less sure of the hold they

exerted over them through affection, sexual custom or marriage ties. So more to cheer

her up than voice his own complaints, Johnny said, "What the hell difference does it

make if I can't sing."

Virginia's voice was annoyed. "Oh, Johnny, you're not a kid anymore. You're over

thirty-five. Why do you keep worrying about that silly singing stuff? You make more

money as a producer anyhow."

195

Johnny looked at her curiously and said, "I'm a singer. I love to sing. What's being old

got to do with that?"

Virginia was impatient. "I never liked your singing anyway. Now that you've shown you

can make movies, I'm glad you can't sing anymore."

They were both surprised when Johnny said with fury, "That's a fucking lousy thing to

say." He was shaken. How could Virginia feel like that, how could she dislike him so

much?

Virginia smiled at his being hurt and because it was so outrageous that he should be

angry at her she said, "How do you think I felt when all those girls came running after

you because of the way you sang? How would you feel if I went ass-naked down the

street to get men running after me? That's what your singing was and I used to wish

you'd lose your voice and could never sing again. But that was before we got divorced."

Johnny finished his drink. "You don't understand a thing. Not a damn thing." He went

into the kitchen and dialed Nino's number. He quickly arranged for them both to go

down to Palm Springs for the weekend and gave Nino the number of a girl to call, a real

fresh young beauty he'd been meaning to get around to. "She'll have a friend for you,"

Johnny said. "I'll be at your place in an hour."

Virginia gave him a cool good-bye when he left. He didn't give a damn, it was one of

the few times he was angry with her. The hell with it, he'd just tear loose for the

weekend and get all the poison out of his system.

Sure enough, everything was fine down in Palm Springs. Johnny used his own house

down there, it was always kept open and staffed this time of year. The two girls were

young enough to be great fun and not too rapacious for some kind of favor. Some

people came over to keep them company at the pool until suppertime. Nino went to his

room with his girl to get ready for supper and a quick bang while he was still warm from

the sun. Johnny wasn't in the mood, so he sent his girl, a short bandbox blonde named

Tina, up to shower by herself. He never could make love to another woman after he'd

had a fight with Virginia.

He went into the glass-walled patio living room that held a piano. When singing with

the band he had fooled around with the piano just for laughs, so he could pick out a

song in a fake moonlight-soft ballad style. He sat down now and hummed along a bit