The Sunset Limited(3)
Black Yeah.
White The answer is the question.
Black Say what?
White That’s your new number.
Black Four thousand seven hundred and twenty?
White Yes.
Black That’s a big number, Professor.
White Yes it is.
Black Do you know the answer?
White No. I dont.
Black It’s a hundred and eighty-eight thousand and eight hundred.
They sit.
White Let me have that.
The black slides the pad and pencil across the table. The professor does the figures and looks at them and looks at the black. He slides the pencil and paper back across the table and sits back.
White How do you do that?
Black Numbers is the black man’s friend. Butter and eggs. Crap table. You quick with numbers you can put the mojo on you brother. Confiscate the contents of his pocketbook. You get a lot of time to practice that shit in the jailhouse.
White I see.
Black But let’s get back to all them books you done read. You think maybe you read four thousand books.
White Probably. Maybe more than that.
Black But you aint read this one.
White No. Not the whole book. No.
Black Why is that?
White I dont know.
Black What would you say is the best book that ever was wrote?
White I have no idea.
Black Take a shot.
White There are a lot of good books.
Black Well pick one.
White Maybe War and Peace.
Black All right. You think that’s a better book than this one?
White I dont know. They’re different kinds of books.
Black This War and Peace book. That’s a book that somebody made up, right?
White Well, yes.
Black So is that how it’s different from this book?
White Not really. In my view they’re both made up.
Black Mm. Aint neither one of em true.
White Not in the historical sense. No.
Black So what would be a true book?
White I suppose maybe a history book. Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire might be one. At least the events would be actual events. They would be things that had happened.
Black Mm hm. You think that book is as good a book as this book here?
White The bible.
Black The bible.
White I dont know. Gibbon is a cornerstone. It’s a major book.
Black And a true book. Dont forget that.
White And a true book. Yes.
Black But is it as good a book.
White I dont know. I dont know as you can make a comparison. You’re talking about apples and pears.
Black No we aint talkin bout no apples and pears, Professor. We talkin bout books. Is that Decline and Fall book as good a book as this book here. Answer the question.
White I might have to say no.
Black It’s more true but it aint as good.
White If you like.
Black It aint what I like. It’s what you said.
White All right.
The black lays the bible back down on the table.
Black It used to say here on the cover fore it got wore off: The greatest book ever written. You think that might be true?
White It might.
Black You read good books.
White I try to. Yes.
Black But not the best book. Why is that?
White I need to go.
Black You dont need to go, Professor. Stay here and visit with me.
White You’re afraid I’ll go back to the train station.
Black You might. Just stay with me.
White What if I promised I wouldnt?
Black You might anyways.
White Dont you have to go to work?
Black I was on my way to work.
White A funny thing happened to you on your way to work.
Black Yes it did.
White Will they fire you?
Black Naw. They aint goin fire me.
White You could call in.
Black Aint got a phone. Anyways, they know if I aint there I aint comin. I aint a late sort of person.
White Why dont you have a phone?
Black I dont need one. The junkies’d steal it anyways.
White You could get a cheap one.
Black You cant get too cheap for a junky. But let’s get back to you.
White Let’s stick with you for a minute.
Black All right.
White Can I ask you something?
Black Sure you can.
White Where were you standing? I never saw you.
Black You mean when you took your amazin leap?
White Yes.
Black I was on the platform.
White On the platform.
Black Yeah.
White Well I didnt see you.
Black I was just standin there on the platform. Mindin my own business. And here you come. Haulin ass.
White I’d looked all around to make sure there was no one there. Particularly no children. There was nobody around.
Black Nope. Just me.
White Well I dont know where you could have been.
Black Mm. Professor you fixin to get spooky on me now. Maybe I was behind a post or somethin.
White There wasnt any post.
Black So what are we sayin here? You lookin at some big black angel got sent down here to grab your honky ass out of the air at the last possible minute and save you from destruction?
White No. I dont think that.
Black Such a thing aint possible.