William suddenly turned to Harpo. “Did you say how you’re feeling?” he asked. “I think I forgot to listen for the answer. How are you?”
“Chilly,” said Harpo. He was also a bit sad. But life changed so quickly. One minute you’re a scrawny tenement kid and the next you’re a movie star. You couldn’t be sad every day. Nobody could keep that up. Minnie had told him that, and his mother had known everything.
William looked out at the forest again. He put his hands on his hips like the king of the tenements, like they played when they were kids, when he and his brothers and all the neighbourhood kids all snuck onto rooftops just to see who would end up highest. He seemed very far away. So Harpo searched his thoughts for topics of conversation: beautiful women (probably not), Jews (nope), funera
