Arthouse: A Novel

Branded to Kill

53 Branded to Kill Seijun Suzuki (1967) Cooking always wired his ass he’d been up almost twenty hours but was as far from sleep as Pueblo was from Paris he’d never been to Paris except in the movies Elevator to the Gallows Jeanne Moreau walking from zinc bar to zinc bar Miles Davis in the background looking for her Julien Julien or those seedy chic Montmartre cafés in Bob le Flambeur frosted glass black and white checkerboard floors Gitanes Pernod with water he’d been to London Berlin and Rome but only to France once with Connie on the train from Spain to Italy maybe it was time for a holiday springtime in Paris maybe a permanent vacation maybe it was time. He brushed the snow off his legs and chest and stomped his feet quietly didn’t want to wake his mom or Liz it was a bitch outside windy snowing like a motherfucker he could smell red sauce his mother’s recipe Liz must have made spaghetti for dinner the smell of home he smiled like George Bailey took his coat off hung it on the hook and went into the kitchen careful to close the door behind him before he turned on the light he filled a large glass with ice quietly then headed for the TV 54 J E F F R E Y D E S H E L L room he always drank after a cook until he slowed he’d down a few drinks pop a couple of Ambien and crash for twelve or so once out of laziness he’d done a couple of shots of Histenex that put him out for almost thirty and made him stupid for six more but tonight he’d stick with the Johnny Black maybe a little porn then back to his place for a flick he hadn’t been to town to pick up his mail so he didn’t have anything new but that was cool he could always find something to hold his interest maybe a double feature until dawn something like The Petrified Forest and Story of a Love Affair Lucia Bosé was hot better than porn but first whisky We can stop in Avignon and go down to Nice and Maybe Cannes I don’t want to stop in Avignon I want to get to Milan it’ll be the middle of the night anyway We could see Le Côte d’Azur he smiled you can be the Barefoot Contessa she took a drink of her wine a black Spanish Rioja and looked at him coolly it was loud the club car air thick with talking laughing and smoke I want to get to Italy if you wanted to stop in France you should have told me before I got the sleeper she attempted to pour wine into her glass but the small bottle was empty her thick lips were darkened by the Rioja contrasting sharply against the pale thinness of her face You want another drink You going to have one Might as well Sure he turned to look out the window it was nearly dark and he found himself staring back at his reflection and the reflection of the brightly lit bar car behind him. Dude You startled me what are you doing up Watching a little pussy you just finish he could see his brother’s silhouette illuminated by the 50 inch plasma in the darkened room Yeah he didn’t know why he was surprised to see Jerry his brother couldn’t be described as exactly having sleep patterns and he and Glow didn’t keep a television he closed the door moved to the liquor cabinet and filled his pint glass halfway the ice crackling and popping Jerry turned his head Jesus you got enough ice there cutting good whisky’s a waste might as well be drink- Branded to Kill 55 ing Ballantine I can see a little water maybe but you got a slushy there You learn how to drink in Kuwait or was it Saudi Arabia because when I left for school you didn’t know shit That’s one thing the army taught me bro how to get high I’m a trained expert on anything to get you off he sat down on the couch and put his feet up on the coffee table careful...