Thursday The Rabbi Walked Out

6

"WHY IT'S LIKE BEING ON THE WATER!" MIMI EXCLAIMED AS she sat down at the table near the window that Lawrence Gore had selected.

Her husband said. "Nice."

Gore beamed. "Right now, since the tide is in, you are on the water. This room is cantilevered over the water, but only when the tide is high." He laughed. "It would have to be about a hundred yards long to make it when the tide is out."

"And there are so many boats!" Mimi observed.

"Not half as many as there are during Race Week." said Gore. "The harbor is really crowded then. It almost seems as though you could cross it on foot Jumping from deck to deck."

"Very nice." said Segal. "All the members own boats? They all interested in sailing?"

"Oh no. Some had them and gave them up, there's a lot of work involved in owning a boat, and a big expense, too.

Some never owned a boat, but crew occasionally for their friends, and then there are some who aren't the slightest bit interested."

"And you?"

"I used to be pretty keen. But nowadays the only facility I use is the pistol range." He smiled shyly. "I'm the club champion."

"Pistols, eh? I don't believe I've ever fired one."

"Oh, it's really a lot of fun. Would you like to try it—after lunch. I mean?"

"No. I think I'll pass it up." said Segal, smiling.

The waiter approached and they ordered, there were not many dining, and they were served quickly—fish chowder, and then broiled mackerel, they ate slowly and Segal obviously enjoyed it. "They do you very good here," he remarked. "This fish, and the chowder—excellent."

"Delicious." murmured Mimi.

"Well, we've got a good chef, and the fish was probably caught this morning, that's the advantage of living on the coast."

"I like fish." said Segal. "Only members allowed to eat here?"

"And their guests, of course." said Gore. "What's involved in becoming a member?"

"The usual." said Gore. "A member sponsors you. Your name is posted, and then the membership committee votes on you. You pay your fees and that's it."

"Oh, Ben, wouldn't it be nice to come here for dinner whenever we wanted a seafood meal." said Mimi.

"Yeah, Suppose you put my name up for membership," Segal suggested negligently.

"I'd be happy to." said Gore. "But you know I could always fix you up with a guest card for a few days whenever you come down."

"Thanks, but we expect to be here more than just a few days every now and then. In fact, we're thinking of settlina here."

"You mean right here in Barnard's Crossing? I'm glad to hear that. You'll like it here. It's really a wonderful old town." He hesitated. "Does that mean that you are planning on holding Rohrbough?"

"That's right. I'm going to operate it personally, that's confidential."

Gore smiled slyly. "Does that mean you want me to keep it a secret, or that you want me to leak it discreetly?"

Segal stared, then he laughed shortly, a single explosive. Ha. "You're all right, young man, as a matter of fact, it doesn't mean a damn thing. It just came out—automatic. I suppose, we've got a controlling interest in the company, and I think it has good possibilities. No reason for keeping it secret."

"And you'll be living here? Have you found a place yet?"

"I suppose we'll build, as a matter of fact. Mimi and I have been doing some looking around. You know a good realtor?"

Because he had been talking about him with Molly Mandell earlier, and also because he thought Segal might appreciate his showing preference for a Jew, he said. "Henry Maltzman whose place is just down the street from the bank is a good man, he knows all the property in the area that's available."

"But we've already found a piece of land." said Mrs. Segal.

Segal showed momentary annoyance. "That's right,” he said, "but I don't mind paying a commission, a good agent is worth it."

"You're absolutely right." said Gore. "There are a lot of local ordinances, and in an old town like this, there are tricky rights-of-way that you want to know about before you buy, a local agent can save you a lot of grief."

"Oh, I always make it a point to deal with local people." The waiter brought their coffee and Segal lit a cigar.

"I'm glad to hear you say that." said Gore, "because we're local, too, the bank. I mean. Rohrbough started with us, and we did all their banking until they went public and got too big for us and had to go into Boston. But they continued to maintain their connection by having us do their payroll. I don't mind admitting that I'd hate to lose it. It's a great convenience to the people working at Rohrbough, and we like to be of service to our friends and neighbors."

Segal cocked a quizzical eye at the younger man. "You get something out of it besides the chance to be of service to your friends and neighbors, don't you?"

Gore laughed self-consciously. "Well, of course, there's our fee for the bookkeeping, and it means extra people, a lot of extra people, coming into the bank. It gives us a crack at them for Christmas Club and personal loans and auto loans and occasionally a mortgage."

Segal smiled. "Not to mention the float on maybe a quarter to a half million dollars a week."

Gore grinned ingenuously. "Not to mention it. But it rarely goes up that high, especially these days, and while some deposit their checks in their own banks, so there's the delay of having it go through the Boston clearinghouse, and others maybe cash them at the supermarket, where it also has to go through Boston, an awful lot cash their checks directly with us the same day they get them."

"All right," said Segal. "I'll think about it. You won't forget about that membership, will you?"

"I'll take care of that right away."