As of last week, even before Mad Mike and company started demolishing the shop, I agreed to start doing seven meetings a week, at Y’s, conference halls, corporate headquarters, downtown clubs, you name it. Maggie does the bookings. One night I’m in a one hundred year old theater on State Street staring up at balcony tiers and above them, rococo chandeliers. Another night I’m addressing a bunch of business types at the Marriott. Some nights, I speak to a few hundred people, other nights a few dozen. I do my little shows in library discussion rooms and Methodist conference halls, basement bingo parlors, and yesterday afternoon, in the stately home of the woman presiding over the Kenilworth Beautification Association.
[This post is an excerpt from Diary of a Heretic, the novel. Click here to read the first episode, or here to read the previous one.]
I used to think maybe Carlos was right—I have a special gift, but lately, seven nights a week, I have to wonder if it makes a bit of difference what I do or say. I’ve promised Carlos I will keep going until we’re financially secure.
Meanwhile, he is in the process of buying three new bakeries, where I can extend the blessings of the bread and benedictions of the chocolate éclairs.
“And who,” I ask, “is negotiating these purchases?”
“Fletcher and Franklin and I.”
“Really.”
“I know about real estate, Malcolm. I know this city. I know what I’m doing. And I’ve waited all my life for this, okay?”
“Oh, me too,” I say as Maggie closes down her phone.
“Next Tuesday,” she says, “Oak Park Town Hall Theater, eight o’clock.”
“You know, when I was a little boy,” I tell them, “and people asked me what I wanted to do when I grew up? I always said: dash about a great, big rented conference room, lift my billowy shirt, and show everybody my wounds.”
“Are seven meetings a week,” Maggie wonders, “too much?”
“No,” Carlos says. “Don’t get all cynical and self-critical, Malcolm. You’re doing great. It’s easy for you—anybody can see that! Besides, this is the crucial time. We either build momentum now or interest will fade. I know! I’ve been through this before: If we don’t keep growing, we’ll die.”
(Click here to read the next episode.)
