“He rented a house and asked me to come by, spend the weekend with him.”

“Where was this house?”

“Uh, some beach. Took the train to get there.”

“You did know about his… job, right?”

“Of course. He trained me.”

“But you didn’t know about this particular one.”

“No. I also didn’t know it was a trap set for him.”

“But he did.”

“Yes, apparently.”

“And he didn’t tell you.”

“That would’ve ruined the surprise, don’t you think.”

“I’m not here to think. I’m here to ask questions and clarify your situation.”

“Shame. Should’ve pulled that trigger instead, I’d be saving you all this bureaucratic bullshit.”

“It’s the job I’m paid to do.”

“…”

“Now. Tell me what happened when you got there.”

“The usual father-daughter things that happen when a father and a daughter meet after not seeing each other for a few months.”

“Where had you been?”

“Madrid. Nasty business. Had to ask for a pay rise.”

“What about him?”

“Somewhere in South America. Brought me a necklace as a gift.”

“Did you talk about it?”

“Of course not, we’re not stupid. We know wherever we go there might be someone after us to make sure we do our job. Which is very stupid. But we don’t talk about it, we just know.”

“By rumours?”

“…”

“Okay. Moving on. Tell me about the mark.”

“Strauss. Can’t remember his first name. He and his secret boyfriend were spending a secret honeymoon in a secret place. It was a rather romantic and expensive hotel, to be honest.”

“Why Strauss? Alexander is his first name.”

“Ah, yes, Sasha.”

“Why him?”

“He was related to the client’s… enemy. Son, or something like that. The kind of relative you’d do anything for if you were ridiculously rich.”

“And nobody knew about him and his boyfriend?”

“Everyone knew. Nobody talked about it.”

“Did your father tell you that Alexander Strauss was the mark?”

“Yes.”

“Is that why they went after him?”

“After both of us. And no, that was somebody else’s doing. Neither the client nor Strauss’ family had anything to do with it.”

“You did your research.”

“I’ve had a lot of time.”

“How long were you with him at the beach house?”

“Three days. They came for us on the fourth.”

“Tell me about the first three days.”

“It was pretty normal. Breakfast, a walk, lunch at an Italian restaurant, a walk back to the house… we watched an old film, I read a book while he took a nap. Maybe another walk, then dinner. And that’s it. Second day was pretty much the same.”

“And the third one?”

“He told me everything. We got ready. Then we waited.”

 “I thought you loved me.”

 “I did.  I do love you.  It’s just that I’ve got to move on.  We’ve come to the end.”

 “Can’t you read me over again?”

“I could, but there’s another book I’m interested in.”

“There’s another book?!  You’ve been looking at other books while reading me?”

 “Not seriously, just skimming through the pages.”

 “Skimming you say, and was it hard cover or paperback?”

 “I don’t think that matters.  It's neither, it's on a Kindle. Besides, you can’t judge a book by…”

 “Don’t say it.  A Kindle? Are you having a mid-life crisis? Where's the Corvette and 18-year old babe?”

 “What's your point?”

 “I don’t know what the point of having more than one book if it’s a good one, like me.”

 “Because I like to read, that’s why. No one reads just one book!”

 “If you had one book to take on a desert island, what would it be?”

 “I don’t know; the dictionary.”

“That’s not a book, that’s an autopsy report.”A real good book is about the arrangement of words to create life that lives forever!”

“Okay, War and Peace.”

”How can anyone remember all those names?  You don’t have the stamina to tackle Tolstoy.”

“Moby Dick.”

 “Too wet.”

 “Grapes of Wrath.”

 “Too dry.”

 “I’m picking a book not a wine.”

 “Both should be chosen with good taste and knowledge.”

 “One Hundred Years of Solitude, on a desert island, final answer.”

 “Did you even once think of choosing me?  Of course not, I’m yesterday’s news. So, what’s the new one?”

 “I’m still browsing.”

“You’ve already given it my bookmark haven’t you?  Where’s my bookmark?  You’ve put it in another book haven’t you?  That bookmark’s been around hasn’t it?”

“What are you talking about? It is right here, brand new, the same one the bookstore gave me when I picked you up.”

“So that’s how you think of it?  I feel so cheap.”

“I paid full price.  I heard lots of good reviews.  My friends really enjoyed you.”’

“You and your friends like to gossip, swap me.  I’m a great piece of pulp, is that it?”

“I never said that.”           

“So typical, always so cryptic, you share nothing of yourself.  While I’m an open…”

 “Don’t say it.”

 “Well, I have a bit of gossip myself. It seems your sister wants me. She needs something interesting to take with her on vacation.”

 “Don’t be absurd.  You’re not her type.”

 “Don’t be too sure. I heard her say she was tired of dating losers and really just wanted to crawl in bed with a good book. I may be a little dog earred and my binding isn't as tight as it used to be but I still know how to captivate a reader.”

 “Well, it’s not going to happen. I mean, she can buy her own book, why does she want mine?”   

 “I thought you were done with me. What do you care? 

 “Listen, I’ve changed my mind. What’s the rush? Why I haven't even finished you yet! Remember when I couldn't put you down? I took you everywhere and you were all I talked about. I lost myself in you.  I’ll reread you over and over. I’ll take you out with me to restaurants, parks, Starbucks, wherever you want. In fact, how about we go to the beach like the good old days? Let me get your dust jacket.”

“I’m thinking about taking up smoking.”

“You? Why?”

“Because I can never figure out what to do with my hands.”

“You had an asthma attack on the 7^th day of Hanukkah.”

“Wax fumes.”

“On the 5^th night, too, I think.”

“Dust from the menorah.”

“The 4^th of July….”

“Sparklers.  These are cigarettes, entirely different.”

“You’re too concerned with your hands.”

“I have wandering hand syndrome.”

“Which is not a real thing.”

“If legs can be restless, my hands can wander.”

“I don’t think it works that way…”

“I slapped someone yesterday, a complete stranger, unintentionally.”

“And smoking will fix this?”

“Joe Camel never slapped anyone.”

“He was a camel as fictional as your diagnoses.”

“I might take up the harmonica instead.”

“You loiter too much.”

"Where are we going?"

"Flatbush."

"No, I mean where are we going, going?"

"No. We are not doing this again."

"Everything seems so empty."

"Because most people don't take the subway at 3:00 in the morning!"

"It feels like an endless journey..."

"We. Live. In. The. Bronx."

"But it all goes by so fast."

"That would be the point of a train."

"Pretty soon, we'll all just be under ground."

"We're already under ground, it's the godamn subway!"

"And what do you think comes after?"

"Oh, God."

"Really? I thought you were an agnostic."

"I'm definitely starting to believe in hell."