XXVI. Joe’s Brother-in-Law
Hoping to help Old Joe understand what Old Joe’s life meant, Michael explained a little about Michael’s life:
“It was charmed by any standard, there’s no getting around that. Not that there were no obstacles, but life never handed me lemons without also handing me sugar, a pitcher and an easy-to-follow recipe. God seldom closed doors to me, but, when He did, he not only opened a window but provided a stepladder so I wouldn’t strain myself climbing through it.
My family wasn’t rich, but they gave me every advantage I could ask for. They supported and encouraged me, and I excelled. I graduated high school as valedictorian. I was also the state champion in the 100 meter butterfly, and I attended Evergreen on a full athletic scholarship. When I met your sister in my sophomore year, I was handsome, intelligent, well-liked and unapolegetically ambitious. She was manifestly the most desirable woman within easy reach, and, since I knew I could have her, I did.
We were happy. The times being what they were, we talked a lot about changing the world. Not because we disliked it the way it was but merely to demonstrate we had the power to do so. After graduation, I landed an extremely prestigious internship with the Morris Investment Group in Boston. Within a few years, I had earned my MBA from BU, I was building a reputation and earning a relative fortune at Morris, and Meredith was expecting.
We had always wanted to travel, so I accepted a position at Morris’s office in London. We financed skyscrapers from Madrid to Tokyo, and I flew first class to the world’s grandest centers of commerce and culture. My work kept me busy, but I was always sure to make time for my many fulfilling hobbies and of course for my family. Meredith and my three wonderful children. We summered in the Alps and later bought a villa on the Morrocan coast.
Yes, I’d be lying if I said I was completely content. After all, the higher I climbed, the thinner the air around me seemed to become. I could see the ladder above me narrowing, and the rungs I was reaching for seemed occupied by an increasingly select group of men, all smarter, better connected and more dynamic than I. Still, it’s not a disaster to know your limits. And for every person I imagined was happier than me, there were 10,000 who I imagined were unhappier. You, for example, Joe.
Then one day I had this experience. Right here in Paris, just a block or two from where we’re sitting. How old would I have been? 34? It was an unseasonably pleasant day. I was walking home from a meeting, back to a flat the bank owned, overlooking the Seine. It was near the holidays, so Meredith and the kids were with me, but they’d gone out shopping or maybe to a show. In any case, I cut through an alley, a shortcut I’d taken many times before. I could still find it I’m sure.
When I stepped around the corner, into the alley, I heard a strangled squeal. It was coming from an old milk crate underneath an air conditioning unit. As I passed by, I looked into the crate, and a face peered up at me, its eyes reflecting the narrow sliver of sunlight that pierced the alleyway. The gray tufts of fur on its cheeks were matted with blood, and it sat amid several tiny, wriggling forms and several still ones. It was a mother cat. And she was eating her kittens.
For years, that image stayed with me. It colored everything I did, made it seem hollow and foolish. Then, in 1983, as you know, I had the accident. The roads were slick, I lost control of my car, and, the next thing I know, I’m being visited by a series of people trying to explain my life to me. My Aunt Clara. The inventor of the automobile. My mentor at Morris. An Olympic gold medal swimmer. Their observations were all pretty useless, but when it was time for my fifth person, I still felt a jolt of anticipation because I knew that this was the big finale, the one that would really tie it all together. So I touch down in Fifth Heaven, I open my eyes, and who is it? It’s the cat.”
“What did it say?” asked Joe.
Michael frowned.
“I wish I knew. Cats don’t talk.”