Secret Isaac by Jerome Charyn Read Free Book Online

side in the limousine. But Sam was happy. “You got them,” he said, “you got them with Herzog’s Bellow.”
    Something was drilling in Isaac’s skull. “Your Honor, you must know every Irish society in New York … does any of them carry a member named Dermott Bride? A rich man, a man who might make contributions here and there.”
    Sam wasn’t listening. He kept singing, “Herzog’s Bellow, Herzog’s Bellow,” and Isaac thought, he’ll lose the primary mumbling that song. And Molly would probably get a kiss from Mr. Bellow and throw Isaac to the dogs.

8
    H E wasn’t wrong about Jenny. She didn’t come to his hotel again. Ah, she’s found another primitive guy. Jesus, with a body like that? And those green eyes. He looked for her at John Jay College. There was no green-eyed lady taking down his words. His lectures fell to shit. He stopped caring if the Mayor won or lost. He had only Dermott Bride to consider. His deputies rang him at the hotel. They had no news of Dermott, but Melvin Pears had invited him to a party, a party for Rebecca, at her campaign headquarters in an abandoned Dodge showroom on West Fifty-third. Isaac thought, pish on Becky Karp. He wasn’t going to lend himself as a whipping boy to her campaign, appear as the curiosity cop, so Rebecca and her people could get at Mayor Sam through him. But Jennifer might be at the party. Jenny of the flawless back. Isaac arrived at the Dodge showroom in dungarees.
    The showroom was packed. All the movie stars had come out for Ms. Rebecca. Streisand; Dustin Hoffman and his wife. The First Dep went unrecognized until Rebecca grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled on him. “Isaac,” she said, “Isaac.” Even the worm could feel one of Becky’s shoulder grips. Isaac was squeezed into her like a bunny rabbit. It was a calculated move on Rebecca’s part. She wanted him near enough so she could whisper into his throat. “Cocksucker,” she said. This was the Rebecca Isaac enjoyed. “I’ll stick your balls in a jar of honey and give them to the rats for a lick … Fuckface, why did you marry yourself to a sinking man? You’re not supposed to be a fool.”
    Isaac wiggled out of Rebecca’s bear hug and kissed her on the mouth. “Senile he is. There are days Sam can’t remember his name …”
    â€œThen come over to us,” she said.
    Isaac smiled, but his lips were narrow, and Rebecca realized she’d just been given a Judas kiss.
    â€œCunt, he’s a better Mayor than you’ll ever be.”
    He would have gone out, tunneled under Streisand’s kinky hair on his way to the door, but he discovered Jennifer standing with one of Rebecca’s aides, a boy with red eyebrows. They were smiling, talking under their breath. What hotel did he live at? Did the boy have red hair on his chest? Would he like to borrow Isaac’s worm? Would she fuck him in a doorway? Isaac bullied through a crowd of campaigners, and snatched Jennifer away from the boy. “My savior,” she said. “With the iron grip … what synagogue do you have on your agenda today?… Isaac, my husband’s about three feet behind us. Mel . Do you remember him?”
    â€œHe won’t notice,” Isaac said. The First Dep was in a burly mood. “He’s fixing strategies for Rebecca.”
    So they walked down to Isaac’s hotel. He was into her body before she could get her panties off. It was a kind of friendly rape. He licked her armpits, filled her navel with spit, and sucked between her legs with a brutal energy. He left marks on her thighs, souvenirs for Melvin to look at.
    â€œIsaac, why are you so angry at me?”
    â€œWho knows?”
    Was he getting even with the worm, showing it the authentic Isaac, who could take any woman into his bed. He began to eat her nipples like a goddamn baby. She stroked his head, held it