Buzz's face broke into a grin.
"Man, you got yourself a deal!"
"O.K.," I said. I turned to Mr. Moroni. "Would you be kind enough to arrange the details for me?
I have to be back tonight."
"I’ll be glad to, Mr. Cord." He smiled.
"Make the loan for thirty thousand dollars," I said.
"Hey, wait a minute," Buzz interrupted. "I only asked for twenty-five."
"I know," I said, turning back to him with a smile.
"But I learned something today."
"What's that?" Buzz asked.
"It's bad business to lend a guy just enough money to give him the shorts.
That's takin' a chance and you both can lose. If you really want him to make it, lend him enough to make sure he can do the job."
My father had the biggest funeral ever held in this part of the state.
Even the Governor came down.
I had closed the plant and the little church was packed to the rafters, with the overflow spilling out into the street.
Rina and I stood alone in the small pew down in front.
She stood straight and tall in her black dress, her blond hair and her face hidden by the black veil.
I looked down at the new black shoes on my feet.
They were my father's shoes and they hurt.
At the last minute, I'd discovered I didn't have anything in the house except huarachos.
Robair had brought the shoes down from my father's closet.
He had never worn them. I promised myself I would never wear them again, either.
I heard a sigh run through the congregation and looked up.
They were closing my father's coffin.
I had a last quick glimpse of his face, then it was gone and there was a curious kind of blankness in my mind and for a moment I couldn't even remember what he looked like.
Then the sound of weeping came to my ears and I looked around out of the corners of my eyes.
The Mex women from the plant were crying.
I heard a snuffle behind me.
I half turned. It was Jake Platt, tears in his whisky eyes.
I looked at Rina standing next to me.
I could see her eyes through the dark veil.
They were clear and calm.
From the congregation behind us came the sound of many people weeping for my father.
But Rina, his wife, didn't weep. And neither did I, his son.
10.
IT WAS A WARM NIGHT, EVEN WITH THE BREEZE THAT came in through the open windows from across the desert.
I tossed restlessly on the bed and pushed the sheets down from me.
It had been a long day, starting with the funeral and then going over plans with McAllister until it was time for him to leave.
I was tired but I couldn't sleep.
Too many thoughts were racing through my mind.
I wondered if that was the reason I used to hear my father pacing up and down in his room long after the rest of the house had gone to bed.
There was a sound at the door.
I sat up in bed. My voice jarred the stillness.
"Who is it?"
The door opened farther and I could see her face; the rest of her dissolved into the darkness along with the black negligee.
Her voice was very low as she closed the door behind her.
"I thought you might be awake, Jonas.
I couldn't sleep, either."
"Worried about your money?" I asked sarcastically. "The check's over there on the dresser along with the notes.
Just sign the release and it's yours."