New York – with Christmas 2003 closing in.
Uncorrected Proof: Text – New York pp45-47
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 20
Got woken up by a phone call at eight in the morning! It was
Tony asking all these questions. Had to think for a moment: Tony
who? He asked what other titles were up and running? I mumbled
that I was still working on the list. Told him not to worry. He
recounted some guttersnipe crap about me being seen staggering all
over Manhattan three sheets to the wind. Without a coffee I had no
ready reply. I said he’d have his report on his table inside the week.
He said he wanted it today. I sighed, said okay. It calmed him down
but only for a moment. He went on about Menny this and Menny
that. Menny was always getting him into some war with someone or
another. We all better get ship shape or ship out, he said, that sort
of crap. He was angry about his boat being built somewhere, the
construction all behind schedule. I said, Do you know what time it
is? Every time Tony’s gets pissed about something he ends up talking
to me about the cost of his boats. We hung up on each other.
46 Louisiana Alba
I had breakfast in the room staring at the wall. Couldn’t bear to
look in the mirror. I think Menny wants to kill the imprint. Menny
and Tony want to kill each other but they talk on the phone all the
time. What have I gotten myself into? I went down to the gym and
sweated for an hour and a half on the treadmill. Had a sauna and
a facial. Don’t want to be outshone by a Bush twin. Called Dolon,
got his mobile answer machine again. I didn’t leave a message.
Something’s up. Lay around reading papers and magazines. New
design for the World Trade Center is 1776 feet tall. Was Ground
Zero something to do with the War of Independence? The Pope saw
Mel Gibson’s biblical epic The Passion and said it was ‘an accurate
portrayal of Jesus’s death.’ I mean, how does he know that? Was
he there? Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton have a new movie out,
Something’s Gotta Give. Not wrong there. Forecast says: clear skies
and a light wind, a cold night. Let’s hope we don’t have to spend too
much time outside. Dolon finally rang back at 5.30pm. He came
by in a Limo at 6.30pm with an open bottle of Bolly. He’s acting
all nice again. I couldn’t resist a couple of glasses heading uptown.
Could have easily turned round and ended up you know-where or
done it in the back of the car but there was no time. And anyway I
didn’t want my little black number all crushed. It took me the best
part of an hour to squeeze into it.
The Bush kids were at Nippon before us stashed in a private
room giggling about something. The place was empty then got really
packed. Kept looking at these scratches on Dolon’s neck. Did I put
them there? I talked a little too loudly about a documentary on
John Lennon that nobody else saw. By the time the lobster entrée
made an appearance and two more bottles of Bolly had come and
gone I was trading barbs with the twins about a certain political
unmentionable. By dessert I was in full flight banging on about
JFK, RFK, John Lennon and Princess Di, all those who got it square
and unfair.
UNCORRECTED PROOF 47
Forget about all the bloody phoney presidents, wars and elections,
I said. I was practically up on my chair. A couple of overcoats
appeared out of nowhere to adjudicate. Hadn’t noticed the security
detail before. Guess that’s their job, to blend in. Everything got to
be another blur after that. My dessert, Château whatever ended up
on the floor. Dolon took the head honchos aside. Must have slipped
them each a pony because they could not have been sweeter after
that, especially as we left. But the twins, sheesh, they acted like I
trod on their pet hamster or something. I made my abject apologies
outside, ’course none of what I said I meant blah blah.’ They were
so snooty. Think the whole deal with Dolon just got blown. What
an effing fracas. Rode in the cab like a door mouse back to the hotel.
As we parked Dolon said he had to go to Florida and practically
pushed me out onto the road. Caught my dress in the door as he
slammed it shut. Hey, I shouted but the Limo driver sped off. There
I was, my dress gone. I paid 200 smackers for that black rag, the
whole effing black lingerie effort I’d gone to for him on full view.
Jesus H. Christ it was freezing. I looked down at myself, at what was
left, and just started crying. The doorman was very nice about it
though. Couldn’t get the door open quick enough. Poor man got a
hand caught in the revolving door. Ouch.
There was this message for me from Tony. He now wants that
report before breakfast tomorrow. Turned on the TV. All is not well
in Barcelona. I started crying again, my mascara running all over my
face. Enric Bernat Fontlladosa the eighty-year old inventor of the
Chupa Chups lollipop is not well, probably won’t make it. So many
celebs loved that lolly with its Dali logo.
