Free Strong Motion by Jonathan Franzen Page A

bowing. Then he froze, not even letting breath out. “Broiled? Poached?”
    “I’m going back to the dining room now,” Melanie said, remaining rooted to the center of a Chinese rug. “I’ve had a very upsetting week—” She paused to let Louis challenge this. “A very upsetting week. I’m sure you understand that and can show some consideration.”
    “Yeah, well, we’re all grieving in our own way, obviously. It’s just I heard this crazy rumor about your having inherited twenty-two million dollars.” He tried to meet her eyes, but she’d turned away, squeezing her thumbs, fists balled. “Crazy, huh? But getting back to this lunch, let’s see, Mr. Aldren and whatever his name is, Tweedledum, they had steak, right? And Mr. Stoorhuys—” He snapped his fingers. “Rabbit. Half a rabbit, grilled. Or what do you call it? Braised.”
    “I’m going back to the dining room now.”
    “Just tell me, come on, is that what he had? Did he have rabbit?”
    “I don’t know, I didn’t happen to notice—”
    “You didn’t notice rabbit? Sort of stretched out on the plate? Maybe a little cranberry sauce with it? Or red cabbage? Potato pancakes? What kind of restaurant was it? Help me picture this, Mom. Was it really expensive? ”
    Melanie took another deep breath. “We went to a restaurant called La Côte Américaine. I had filet of sole and Mr. Aldren and Mr. Tabscott and Mr. Stoorhuys had soup and grilled steaks or chops, I truly don’t recall exactly what—”
    “But not rabbit. You’d recall that.”
    “But no, not rabbit, Louis. You’re being quite a bit less funny than you seem to think you are.”
    Louis’s eyes narrowed. “All right,” he said. “Let’s get back to the twenty-two million, then. What are you going to do with it?”
    “I have no idea.”
    “How about a yacht? They make nice gifts.”
    “This is not at all funny.”
    “So it’s true?”
    Melanie shook her head. “It’s not true.”
    “Oh, it’s not true. Meaning it’s false. Meaning, what, twenty-one point nine? Twenty-two point one?”
    “I mean it does not concern you.”
    “Oh, I see, it doesn’t concern me. Let’s forget it, then, let’s drop it. Hey, people inherit twenty-two million dollars every day. What’d you do at work today? Oh, I inherited twenty-two million dollars, would you pass me the butter?”
    “Please stop mentioning that figure.”
    “Twenty-two million dollars? You want me to stop mentioning twenty-two million dollars? All right, I’ll stop mentioning twenty-two million dollars. Let’s call it alpha.” He began to pace around the rim of a rug. “Alpha equals twenty-two million dollars, twenty-two million dollars equals alpha, alpha being neither greater than twenty-two million dollars nor less than twenty-two million dollars.” He drew up. “How’d your father get so rich?”
    “Please, Louis, I asked you to stop mentioning the figure and I meant it. It’s very painful to me.”
    “Yeah, so I see. That’s why I suggested we call it alpha, although I’m afraid alpha doesn’t quite capture the impact. What a terrible painful thing, to inherit that much money. You know Dad says he’s not even going to quit teaching?”
    “Why should he quit teaching?”
    “Don’t tell me you need his salary when you’ve got twenty-two, oops.”
    “I would be grateful if you did not try to tell me what I need and don’t need.”
    “You’d be grateful if I just walked out of here and never mentioned this again.”
    Melanie’s face lit up as if he were a student of hers who’d blurted truth. “Yes, as a matter of fact, that’s exactly right. That is what I would most like from you.”
    Louis’s eyes narrowed further. He said: “Twenty-two million dollars, twenty-two million dollars, twenty-two million dollars.” He said it faster and faster, until it twisted his tongue, becoming twollers, twollers . “What a huge amount of money. It means you’re rich, rich rich rich, rich .”
    His