This morning was another of those near perfect Camelot style mornings in late summer. I was particulary bucked having come off an evening in Southport mingling with the crew on the set of The Waterfront, the newest movie production to be set in that jewel of the Carolina coast.
When Irv arrived at Egret Coffee Bar and Dance Club, I was reading a book Ms. Wonder had recommended. She said it would 'do me good'.
She was on a river tour getting photos for her next art show and I was to meet her at the docks in a couple of hours. I knew she'd expect me to have started the thing by then.
"What'cha reading?" asked the Islander.
"It's a little thing Wonder recommended," I said.
"Trying to improve you," he said. "You could use a little improvement."
I closed the book and was about to respond to that crack about needing improvement. But I gave it a second thought and decided that he was probably right.
Irv turned the book around to better see the cover. "Until the End of Time," he said. "A subject broad and deep. Any good?"
"Is it good?" I said "It's like this."
But I stopped in mid-sentence because I'd suddenly had one of those ideas that pop up, seemingly out of nowhere, like the demon king in a Thai water opera.
"I can't give you a better example of what this book is like than by reading a random passage from the book. Listen to this," I said and I opened the book and began to read.
"An essential factor, too, is that there wasn't a single, isolated evolutionary flip-book. Every cell division in every organism occupying every nook and cranny of the planet contributed to the Darwinian narrative. Some of these storylines fizzled. Most added nothing new to the ongoing plot. But some provided unexpected twists that would develop into their own evolutionary flip-book."
I closed the book and sipped my coffee because I thought it might add a bit of gravitas to the occassion. You, of course, might have a different opinion and if you do, please leave a comment.
"I'm sure the author is perfect correct," I said, "but it's a bit heavy to spring on a guy with a morning head."
On hearing those words, his expression turned quizzical and I had the strange feeling that he'd given the next question a lot of thought and had wanted to ask it for a while. I don't know why I had that feeling. Just a passing fancy, you think?
"Why you?" he said. "I mean why does she try to mold you?"
"It's no mystery," I said. "She sees promise in me. She wants to bring me up to her level mentally. She does her best too, but I'm more of a physical operator than mental, if you follow me."
"There is no mystery!" I said and I said it with feeling. "She believes in me because I try hard to please. And who the hell do you mean when you say everyone?"
His brow furrowed once more as though he were deep in thought but I didn't fall for it. He's never been more than ankle-deep in thought as long as I've known him.
"Hmmm," he said, "no I don't think it's because you try hard but I do love a good mystery and I'm going to analyze the thing further until I find the solution."
"For the last time, there is no mystery!"
Irv opened his mouth to reply but what he actually said was, "Oh, here she is now."
And despite my doubts that even a woman with her powers could materialize on Castle Street when she was supposed to be on the Riverwalk, Irv was right. There she was.
I wanted to ask how she did it. She makes a habit of shimmering in and out of places. That's where the real mystery lies, if you ask me. But before I could ask, she glanced at the book and her face suddenly took on the look of a vegetarian who had just been served a leg of lamb.
"I read your manuscript on the boat," she said, "and you haven't even started the book I suggested for you."
"I don't understand you," I said. "How can you say I haven't started it. Here it is and you can see by the bookmark that I've read the first several chapters."
"What's the title of that book," she said.
"Until the End of Time," I said holding the book up for her to see.
"And which book did I recommend?" she said.
I looked at the book again as if I expected to find the answer to her question on the cover.
"Not Until the End of Time?" I said.
"I recommended, From Here to Eternity," she said.
Once more I looked at the book in my hands.
"They're close," I said. "A mistake anyone could have made."
"You see," said Irv, "an intriguing mystery. I'm going to enjoy working on this one but it's plain to see that if it's to be solved I'll need the help of all the others."