"He smiled a thin-slipped, distant smile and slid back further into his chair. We were sitting in plush leather armchairs and every now and again he would cross or uncross one of his legs. He seemed awfully proud of himself, sitting there. He had fought and clawed and believed it meant something that he had. He had been poor once, when he was young, and now that he wasn't anymore he thought it all had meaning: his rise, his marriage, his bribes and permits, the cotton robe he was wearing and letting slide open to show off his old man's skin, all pocked and flaccid."
~~ from An Honest Living by Dwyer Murphy
No comments:
Post a Comment