Chapter 32 Section 26

A set of colorfully furnished rooms can have a panoramic view of the garden in the backyard of the hotel.The newly transplanted palm trees were lit by strings of orange lights.Two large swimming pools glowed deep blue in the desert light.The horizon in the distance is full of sand and stone mountains, surrounded by the dazzling mountain city of Vegas illuminated by neon lights.Johnny Fontane drew down the golden and colorful embroidered curtains, and turned to join the activity in the room. There were four people in the room, a casino keeper, a card dealer, a replacement dealer, and a cocktail waiter in a skimpy nightclub attire, who were getting ready to gamble.Nino Valenti was lying on the sofa in that apartment with a glass of whiskey in his hand.He watched as the people in the casino set up a wooden table with six upholstered chairs around the horseshoe-shaped table.

"It's a good thing, it's a good thing," he said in a muffled voice that wasn't quite drunk. "Come here, John, and play games with these little bastards with me. I'm now Luckily, we'll win, and their fritters too." John sat on a low stool opposite the couch. "I don't gamble, you know," he said. "How do you feel now, Nino?" Nino Valentine gave him a grin. "Great, every midnight I have girls who come to sleep with me, then have supper, and finally come back to the wooden table. I made the whole casino lose a total of fifty thousand dollars."

"I know," said Johnny Fontane, "to whom are you going to leave that fortune when you die?" Nino picked up his glass and drank it down. "John, how on earth did you get the name of messing around with men and women? You eat dry food all day and don't go out for activities. John, the tourists in this city are more fun than you!" John said, "That's right. Help you to that wooden table?" Nino struggled to sit upright on the sofa, his feet planted firmly on the carpet. "I can walk by myself," he said. The glass fell from his hand to the floor.He stood up and walked very steadily to Dongmu's desk.The card dealer is ready.The croupier watched from behind the dealer.The man who was going to replace the dealer sat on a chair far from the gaming table.The cocktail waitress sat in another chair, choosing her position just so she could see what Nino Valenti was doing.

Nino tapped his fingers on the gaming table. "Get the chips!" he yelled. The casino owner took out a stack of loan slips from his pocket, filled out one, and placed it in front of Nino together with a small pen. "Please sign, Mr. Valentine," he said. "Usually five thousand dollars at first." pocket.Then nodded to the card dealer: you can start to deal the chips. With incredible dexterity, the dealer picked up stacks of black and yellow hundred-dollar chips from the grid shelf in front of him with incredible dexterity. In less than five seconds, Neil Five stacks of chips of the same height were placed in front of Nuo.

The gaming table had six squares slightly larger than a playing card etched into the green tablecloth.The position of each square is exactly aligned with the seat of each gambler.Nino placed bets on the three squares. The so-called bets were chips one by one, which meant that he would play three games in a row, one hundred dollars each.He refused to count the three together, because the dealer had already got six points more, and he took a "swelled" card, and the dealer was really blown to death.Nino took his chips back with his hands, and turned to Johnny Fontan and said, "Tonight is a good start, haha, John, what do you think?"

John smiled.It is also unique for a gambler like Nino to sign a receipt while gambling.For those who are jealous of gambling, one sentence is enough, maybe they are afraid that he will get drunk and forget all that should be paid.In fact, they didn't know that Nino remembered everything clearly. Nino keeps winning.After the third set, he pointed a finger at the cocktail waitress.She then went to the special liquor counter and brought him whiskey rye by the glass.Nino took the drink with his right hand, then switched to his left so that he could put his right arm around the waitress. "Sit in front of me, dear, play a few games, and bring me good luck!"

The waitress was a very pretty girl, but John had seen early on that she was an ordinary solicitor rather than a girl with a charismatic personality, although she tried desperately to look attractive.She smiled from ear to ear at Nino.But the tongue stretched out long, trying to push the pile of yellow chips into it.John was wondering: Why on earth shouldn't she get some leverage?He regretted that what Nino paid for was only a few chips, not something better. After Nino asked the waitress to play a few games for him, he gave her a chip and patted her on the buttocks, making her leave the gaming table.John gestured to her to bring him a glass of wine.The wine came, and she served it with the coquettishness of playing out the most dramatic scene in the most dramatic film.She poured all her charms into the famous Johnny Fontane.Her eyes shone with tenderness, as if in courtship.She walked with her hips twisting and twisting, a gait that was the most erotic and rare.Her mouth was parted slightly, almost like a sensual tigress, but her obsequiousness was deliberate affectation.Johnny Fontane was thinking: Ah, Christ, one of those girls.This was the most common tactic used by women who wanted to sleep with him.This tactic only worked when he was drunk.He grinned at the girl (his grin was famous) and said, "Thank you, sweetie."

The girl looked at him, her lips parted slightly, showing a "thank you" smile.Her eyes are foggy, her long legs in glass silk stockings are tapering off from above, and her upper body is slightly leaned back, so her whole body is tense.There also seemed to be an unusually great tension forming inside her body.Her breasts seemed to swell even more, almost to the point of tearing through her thin corset.Then, her whole body shook slightly, and with this shaking, a sexy smell emanated from her body.The impression she gave of all this was that Johnny Fontane smiled at her and said "Thank you, sweetie," and she was immediately in a state of arousal.She did a fantastic job.John had never seen such a wonderful performance before.But he decided it was all a hoax.Experience has always proved that a girl who gives such a show is always a nuisance.

He watched her go back to her old chair, and he slowly sipped the wine she had brought her.He didn't want to see that little trick again, and he wasn't in that mood tonight. After an hour Nino Valenti wanted to go.He lurched forward, then staggered backward, then lunged forward and fell from his chair.But the croupier and the replacement dealer saw him wobble and grabbed him so he wouldn't fall.They picked him up and carried him through the opened door and into the bedroom. John has been watching from the sidelines, and the cocktail waitress helps the other two undress Nino and push him under the covers.The croupier counted Nino's chips, recorded them in the stack of loans, and filled the table with the dealer's chips.John said to the casino owner: "How long will it take to recover from this fainting?"

The owner of the casino shrugged his shoulders: "Tonight he had an attack very early. When he had an attack for the first time, we invited the doctor in the hotel to come. I don't know how the doctor cured him, and he also taught him a way to maintain his health. Then, Nino told us that from now on he doesn't need to call a doctor if he faints, just put him to bed for one night, and he will be fine the next morning. That's what we did. He was lucky, today Won again tonight, nearly three thousand dollars." Johnny Fontane said, "Well, let's get the hotel doctor here tonight, okay?"

After about fifteen minutes, Juris Sigal arrived.John looked, indignantly, that the boy didn't look like a doctor at all.Tonight, in a baggy polo shirt trimmed with white, no socks, white suede shoes on his bare feet, and a traditional black medical bag in his hand, he looks ridiculous . And John said, "If you're going to make a fool of yourself, you'd better find a long golf-club bag and cut it off in the middle, and put your things in it." Julius smiled knowingly, "This large bag used by medical students is really a big burden. It can make people scream out of fear, at least it can make people's faces brighten." He walked over to the bed where Nino was lying, and when he opened the bag, he said to John: "I was just a consultant doctor at that time, and I thank you for the money you sent me. Most of the money you sent, The work I do is not worth that much money." "You haven't forgotten," said John, "whatever it is, it was a long time ago. What's wrong with Nino?" Juris quickly checked the patient's heartbeat, pulse and blood pressure.Then he took a needle out of his bag, slipped it into Nino's arm carelessly, and pushed the plunger behind the needle.Nino fell asleep, the waxy white on his face disappeared, and his complexion returned to normal. "A very simple diagnosis," said Julius crisply. "I had the opportunity to examine him when he first fainted, and to perform some experiments. Before he regained consciousness, I called He was sent to the hospital. After an examination, it was found that it was mild, stable, and adult-type diabetes. Just pay attention to it, pay attention to taking medicine, diet, etc. This kind of disease is not a big problem. He is obviously sick, but he deliberately ignores it. In addition , He still wants to drink, and he wants to drink himself to death. At the same time, his liver function is declining. Brain function will also decline in the future. Right now, he is in a mild diabetic coma. My opinion is to transfer him to another place." John felt a burst of relief when he heard it.The condition was not that serious, the important thing was that Nino himself had to take care of himself. "Do you mean to say that they're exhausting in these gambling dens?" John asked. Julius went to the liquor cabinet and poured himself a glass. "That's not what I meant," he said, "I meant to lock him up, you know, to put him in a madhouse." "Don't say it's cool," said John. "I'm not joking," Julius said, "I don't fully understand psychiatry, but I do know a little bit, which is essential knowledge for my profession. As long as the liver disease It's not hopeless, and Nanino can recover with treatment. As for the liver disease, we can only know the truth after the autopsy. But the real disease is in his head. Let's just say die , he doesn't care, or, he even wants to commit suicide. If the disease in his head is not cured, then he has no hope. That's why I say lock him up. Only after he is locked up can he be treated for mental illness .” There was a knock on the door, and John opened it to see that it was Lucy Mancini.She threw herself into John's arms as soon as she entered the door. "Hey, John, great to see you," she said. "We haven't seen each other for a long time," said Johnny Fontane.He saw that Lucy had changed: her figure had grown much slimmer; the clothes on her body were indescribably better than ever; A doll, it complemented her face wonderfully; she looked younger and more beautiful now than ever.So it occurred to him that she could keep him company in Vegas.It's quite comfortable to sleep with a decent woman at night and hang out together during the day.But just as he was about to use his magic to seduce her, it suddenly occurred to him that she was the doctor's mistress, so that thought was dismissed, and he smiled, trying to keep his smile from being merely friendly.He said, "You came to Nino's room in the middle of the night, what do you want to do, huh?" She punched him on the shoulder. "I heard that Nino was sick, and Julius came to see a doctor. I just wanted to see if I could help. Nino won't be in danger, right?" "I'm sure he's in no danger," said John, "and he'll recover." Juris Sigal was sprawled out on the couch. "He's bad enough at the moment," Julius said. "I suggest we all sit here and wait for Nino to wake up. Then we all advise him to confine himself. Lucy, he likes you, maybe You can talk about it and it will work. John, you are a true friend of his, and you might as well persuade him. Otherwise, old friend Nino's liver will soon become the number one exhibit in some university's laboratory .” John was angry at the doctor's frivolous attitude.How old does he really think he is?Just as he was about to say this, Nino's voice happened to come from the bed: "Hey, old man, how about a drink?" Nino sat up on the bed.He smiled at Lucy, and said, "Hey, baby, you're here to see me, old man." Then he spread his arms wide.Lucy came and sat on the edge of the bed and hugged him.It was quite strange to say that Nino didn't look bad at this moment, almost normal already. Nino snapped his fingers.Come here, John, pass me a glass of wine.It's not dark yet, where is the wooden table? Holding the glass in his hand, Julius took a big swig, and then said to Nino: "You can't drink alcohol, your doctor forbids you to drink alcohol." Nino stared angrily. "Turn my doctor's head off for me." Then, a staged regret appeared on his face. "Hey, Jury, it's you. You're my doctor, aren't you? I wasn't talking about you, man! And John, get me a drink, or I'll get out of bed and pour it myself." liquor." John shrugged, and walked helplessly to the wine cabinet.Julius said lazily: "I said he shouldn't drink." John knew why he was angry with Julius himself.The doctor's voice is always cold, no matter how urgent the matter is, he will never be passionate and generous after talking about it.His voice was always low, calm and steady.If he wanted to warn, the warning was contained only in words, and the tone itself was always indifferent, as if absent-minded.This made John suffocate, and deliberately brought Erno a glass of whiskey.When he was about to hand over the wine, he said to Julius first: "This drink won't kill him, will it?" "Yes, it won't kill him," Julius said calmly. Lucy glanced at him with concern, and was about to say something, but stopped.Meanwhile, Nino took the glass and poured the whiskey down his throat. John stared at Ji Nuo and smiled.The two of them are acting to show this ugly doctor.Suddenly, Nino opened his mouth wide and gasped; he was blue and out of breath, as if something in his throat was choking him.His body was writhing like a fish; his face was red and swollen, and his eyeballs seemed to bulge out.Julius came to the other side of the bed, facing John and Lucy.He grabbed Nino's neck, pressed him to prevent him from moving, and hit the joint between the shoulder and the neck.Nino immediately went limp.Although his body was still writhing, he was getting weaker and weaker.After a while, he fell on the pillow, eyes closed, and fell asleep. John, Lucy, and Julius returned to the living room and sat down around a large coffee table.Lu Xi picked up the phone and asked Jane to deliver some coffee and meals.John went to the wine cabinet to mix a glass of wine. "You know how he reacts when he drinks whiskey?" John asked. Julius shrugged. "I knew very well that he would react that way." John said sharply, "Then why didn't you remind me earlier?" "I warned you earlier," said Julius. "You reminded me in the wrong way." John suffocated, "You are really a messy doctor, your farts don't even smell bad. You said you were going to send Nino to a madhouse, but you didn't move Sanatorium is a nice word for brains. You're always stinging, aren't you?" Lue Xi stared down at his thighs, and Julius kept smiling at Fang Tan. "Nothing will prevent you from passing that wine to Nino. Anyway, you must show that you have no need to accept my warnings and my orders. After curing your throat, you offered to ask me to be your personal doctor , do you remember? I refused at the time because we would never get along. A doctor always thinks he is God, and he is a high priest in modern society, which is also an honor he deserves. But , you don't think of me like that at all. Be your personal doctor and I'll be a sycophant of God, like you lowdown doctors in Hollywood. Where the hell did you get those doctors! Christ, Do they understand medicine? Do they care about patients? They must know what kind of disease Nino is suffering from, but they only give Nino some messy medicines, just to keep him walking around. What they wear is Garnet, they lick your ass because you are the powerful in the film industry. And you, because of this, you think they are great doctors. Bosses in the entertainment industry, quack doctors, do you still have hearts? Is there any? They don't care whether the patient lives or dies. Well, I admit that I have a little hobby. Although this hobby seems unforgivably absurd to you, it is also very common, that is, curing diseases and saving lives. I asked you to pass the wine to Nino just now, and my purpose was to let you see for yourself how serious the reaction that wine caused on him." At this point, Julius leaned his upper body toward Johnny Fontane, who remained calm and unmoved. "That friend of yours is pretty much dead. Well, do you understand? Without treatment, without strict nursing care, he has no hope of living. His high blood pressure, diabetes, bad habits, will immediately cause a cerebral hemorrhage, and he Your brains will break apart on their own. That's enough. Yes, I was talking about a madhouse, and I want you to understand what must be done. Otherwise, there's nothing you can do. I'd like to give you my advice straight to the point. Come out. You can save your old chap's life by locking him up. Or kiss him good-bye." Lucy murmured, "Juris, dear. Julius, don't be so stubborn. Tell him seriously." Julius stood up, his usual cold demeanor was swept away.Johnny Fontane saw it and was satisfied.The calm, uninflected monotony of his voice was also gone. "Do you think it's the first time I've had to talk to someone like you in a situation like this?" Julius said. "I do that every day. Lucy said don't be so stubborn, but she didn't understand what she said." What. You know, I always say to people, 'Don't eat so much, or you'll die; don't smoke so much, or you'll die; don't work so much, or you'll die; Don't drink so much or you'll die.' It's a pity that no one listens. Do you know why? The reason is that I don't say, 'You're going to die tomorrow.' Well, right now I can say to you : Nino will probably die tomorrow." Julius went to the bar and mixed another glass. "How about John, are you going to lock Nino up?" John said, "I don't know either." Julius had a quick drink at the bar, then poured another. "Look, it's really interesting to say that smoking can kill yourself, drinking can kill you, working you can kill you, and even eating can kill you. But you admit that it's good for you Yes. From a medical point of view, the only thing you can't do is sleep with the opposite sex and kill yourself. However, they have put up all kinds of obstacles in this regard." At this point, he stopped and drank the glass in his glass. liquor. "It's a problem, though, and it's a problem for women anyway. I used to sleep only with women who weren't supposed to have children. 'It's dangerous,' I always say.' You I'm going to die," I said to them. A month later, they came suddenly, their cheeks were rosy, and they said, "Doctor, I think I'm pregnant." It goes without saying that they wanted to kill Die that little bud.' But it's dangerous,' I always say to them too. In the past, my voice was expressive. And they always say to me with a smile: 'But, I Both my husband and I are very strict Catholics.’ That’s actually their mantra.” There was a knock on the door, and in came two waiters from a restaurant, pushing a food cart laden with food and a large silver coffee pot.They pulled a portable table from the bottom of the food truck, propped it up, and left. After the waiter left, they sat around the table, eating warm sandwiches and drinking coffee.John leaned back in his chair and lit a cigarette. "Well, even if you save lives. How do you become an abortion expert?" Lucy spoke for the first time: "Well, he wants to help girls who are pregnant. Girls might kill themselves when they get pregnant, or they might do something dangerous to abort the fetus." Julius smiled at her, then sighed. "It wasn't that simple. I ended up being a surgeon. As ballplayers say, I had great skill in my hands. But my skill was so good that I freaked myself out. Sometimes I cut open a little bastard's stomach and I know he's going to die. I still do the surgery, but I know in my heart that the cancer or tumor will grow back after I remove it, and I have to send them home. Put on a smile, and a lot of prevarication. One poor girl came, and I scraped off a little bit of her placenta. A year later, she came again, and I scraped off a little more. Another year later, she came again, and I scraped out all the contents of her womb, just like digging out the seeds when you eat melons. After repeated scraping, she gradually died. At the same time , the husbands keep coming and asking, 'What did you see during the operation?' Therefore, I have specially hired a secretary to take care of these kinds of visits.For me, I only see the female patient who has undergone examination and operation.I treated the female patient, and I tried to squeeze the time to a minimum, because I am a busy person after all.In the end, I could only talk to her doctor for two minutes. 'It's time to die', I always say that.And those people can't always hear the last word 'reminder period'.They all understood what it meant, but they still couldn't catch it.At first, I thought it was me who said the last word too softly, so I deliberately said the last word very loudly.However, they still couldn't hear clearly.Once, a person actually asked me back: "You said puberty", what does this mean? " At this point, Julius also laughed. "Growing period, urging period, whatever the hell. I started turning to abortion. It was comfortable and easy, everyone was happy, like washing dishes, like cleaning drains. This is my business. I Love my business and I love being an abortion specialist. I don't think a two month old embryo is a human being so abortion is a no problem. I help pregnant girls and young wives and I make a lot of money. I I don't fit in with the world. When I was arrested, I felt like a deserter being caught. However, I was lucky, a friend gave me a back door, and I was let out , but the big hospital refused to allow me to operate. So, I came here. My task here is to put forward effective treatment opinions, but just like back then, my opinions were all ignored.” "I don't take your opinion for granted," said Johnny Fontane. "I'm taking your opinion seriously." Finally, Lucy changed the subject: "John, let me ask you, what are you doing in Vegas? Are you tired from work or work and want to relax?" John shook his head. "Michael Corleone asked me to come and talk to me. He flew up here with Tom Hagen tonight. Tom said they were going to meet you too. Do you know what's going on?" Lu Xi shook his head. "We're going to have dinner together tomorrow night, with Freddie, and I think it might be something to do with the hotel. Casino revenues have been dropping lately, which is very unjustifiable. Maybe the old man wants Michael to check it out himself." reason. "I hear Michael finally got his face done," John said. Lucy laughed aloud. "I reckon he agreed to it on a whim. When they got married, he didn't want to have his face fixed first. I don't know why. The one was hurt." His face looks horrible, and he's got a runny nose. He should have had it done." He paused a moment before adding, "The Corleone family hired Dr. The operation was advising, and they had him as a consultant and observer." John nodded, and said dryly, "Mr. Juris was recommended by me." "Why," said Lucy, "whatever he is, Michael said he was going to do something for Julius. So he's asking us to have supper tomorrow night." Julius said thoughtfully: "He didn't trust those doctors. He reminded me to pay attention to everyone's every move. It was a fairly simple and common surgical operation. Anyone who is qualified to be a surgeon can do it." That kind of surgery." There was a noise from the bedroom of the suite; they all looked towards it.Nino woke up again.John went and sat on the edge of the bed.Julius and Lucy went to the bed and stood at the foot end.Nino grinned miserably at both of them and said, "Well, I'm not being smart anymore. I really feel like hell. And John, do you remember when we played in Palm Springs a year ago with two girls I swear it now: I wasn't jealous of the turn of events. I was quite open. Do you believe me now? John!" John made a clear promise: "Of course, Nino, I will take your word for it." Lucy and Juris, you look at me, and I look at you.Judging from what they had heard and learned about Johnny Fang, it seemed unlikely that he would snatch a girl from a friend as close as Nino.Then, why did Nino say that he didn't feel jealous after that situation happened?The idea passed through both of their minds that Nino was going to hang out with Johnny Fontane because a girl had left him, and that he was going to drink himself to death. Julius checked Nino again. "I'm going to get a nurse to look after you tonight," Julius said. "You're going to be in bed for two days, no joke." Nino smiled slightly. "Okay, doctor, but don't want a too pretty nurse." Julius called the nurse, and he left with Lucy.John sat in a chair and waited for the nurse to arrive.At this moment, Nino seemed to be asleep again, with an exhausted look on his face.John was thinking about what Erno had just said.John never thought that Nino might be jealous. A year ago, Johnny Fontane sat in his luxurious office, the office of the movie studio he led, feeling terribly bored.He had never felt so bored.This is also puzzling, because in the first film he shot, he himself was the star, and Nino played a very popular role, which caused a sensation and earned tons of money.Everything is done properly, and everyone is committed to their duties.The film actually cost significantly less than budget when it was made.Everyone would get rich because of it, but Jack Woltz would lose ten years of life because of it.Right now, John still has two films in production, one with himself as the star and the other with Nino as the star.Nino is so good at playing a magical, foolishly in love teenager that women want to hold him in their arms.The boy fell in love with others, and what John touched, he made money, and the money kept rolling in.The godfather got his due dividend through the bank.It pleased John, too, that he had lived up to his godfather's trust.But today, such a happy event does not have much effect. Today, he is a thriving independent film studio owner.Compared with any time since he became a singer, his strength at this time is the same, or it is much greater.Pretty girls came at him as before, but more for business reasons.He has his own private jet, and he lives a more luxurious life, which is icing on the cake with the special tax treatment that artists don't get, but businessmen get.So why on earth was he bothered? He knew what was going on in his own mind: his forehead was hurt, his nose was hurt, his throat was itchy.The only way to scratch that itch was to sing, but he dared not even try.For this reason, he had already asked Juris Sigal when it was safe to try singing.Juris' answer was: anytime he felt like singing.So he tried to sing, but his voice sounded so hoarse and unnatural that he himself had to give up the attempt.The next day his throat hurt like hell, which was different from the pain before the tumor was removed.The pain got worse and there was a burning sensation.He didn't dare to continue singing, fearing that his voice would never recover and that it would be ruined. If he couldn't sing, what was the real point of everything else?Everything else is just a passing cloud.Singing is something that he really knows the joys and sorrows of it.Perhaps he has a much deeper understanding of singing, of this music, than anyone else in the world.He understood now that these few years of singing had made him a real pro.No one is qualified to tell him what is right and what is wrong.He doesn't have to ask anyone.In this respect, he knows everything.Talking about music with other people is a waste of words, and a waste of words. Friday came and he decided to spend the weekend with Virginie and the kids.As always, he called her first and told her he was going.His intention was to give her a chance to say no.But she never said a word no.Not in the years since the two of them divorced.Because she absolutely couldn't bear to say no to their father and daughter meeting.What a woman she is, thought John.He was lucky to meet a woman like Virginia, and although he knew in his heart that he liked her more sincerely than other women, he also knew in his heart that it was impossible for the two of them to resume their sexual lives.Maybe when they were sixty-two years old, as one retires at that age, the two of them retired together, from all activity. However, reality shattered this wishful thinking.他去了之后，发现维琪妮娅闷闷不乐，而那两个小女看到他也不那么亲热了，原因是两个小囤事前已同几个女伙伴约好要到加利福尼亚大牧场作一次周末旅游，顺便还可以在那儿骑骑马玩玩。 他对维琪妮娅说，还是让两个小女到大牧场去玩玩吧，他喜笑颜开地同她们吻别了。他很了解她们的心理。哪家的孩子不愿意到大牧场去骑马开开心而心甘情愿守在一个满腔牢骚的父亲的周围打转呢，尤其是这个父亲好以父亲自居而自以为是。他对维琪妮娅说：“我想喝几口酒，然后就滚蛋。” “那好，”她说。 她今天心情不好。她难得显出心情不好，但这次却很明显，她一天天这样过下去也不容易啊！ 她看到他喝了大量的酒。 “你为什么要用酒解愁呢？”维琪妮娅问。“你目前一切都称心如意，我做梦也没有想到过你身上还有善于当实业家的气质。” 约翰呢对她微笑了一下。 “日子也还不算那么艰难，”他说。 他心里在想：毛病恰恰就出在这里。他很了解女人，眼下他心里明白维琪妮娅之所以垂头丧气，就因为她觉得他样样事情都如愿以偿。女人实际上很不愿意看到自己的丈夫青云直上。这会使她们憋一肚子闷气。这会使她们对自己丈夫的控制变得不那么保险。因此，约翰呢一方面自己发牢骚，另一方面还为消除她思想上的顾虑，就故意说：“要是我唱不成歌了，这一切到底有多大意义？” 维琪妮娅的声音听上去挺烦躁的。“哎呀，约翰呢，你不再是个娃娃了。你已经是三十五岁的人了。你干吗还惦念唱歌那个毫无意义的玩艺呢？管它去，你当上制片厂老板，赚的钱很多嘛！” 约翰呢好奇地打量了她一下，说：“我是个歌唱家，我爱唱歌。老啦，老啦与唱歌有什么相干？” 维琪妮娅不耐烦了。“反正我不喜欢唱歌。如今你既然已经表明你有能力制造影片，那你不能再唱歌了，我才高兴。 接着，约翰呢怒气冲冲，维琪妮娅感到莫名其妙，连他本人也感到莫名其妙。他说：”你那样的话真缺德。” 他忐忑不安。维琪妮娅怎么会有那样的感情？她怎么会厌恶他厌恶到了这种地步？ 维琪妮娅看到伤了他的感情，微笑了。因为她的话实在说得令人无法忍受，他理所当然地要对她发脾气，所以她才说：“当那么多姑娘听你唱歌唱得动人而跟着你的屁股转的时候，你以为我感觉如何？要是我光着屁股在大街上招摇撞骗地勾引男人跟着我的屁股转，请问你有什么感觉？你唱歌也是这个道理，我总巴不得你嗓音变坏，永远不再唱歌。但是，我说的是在咱们离婚之前的感情。” 他把自己杯子里的酒一饮而尽。“你什么也不懂，这个屁也不懂。 他到厨房，拨了尼诺的电话号码。他安排他们两个一块儿到棕榈泉去度周末，同时把一个姑娘的电话号码告诉尼诺，让他打电话约她一同去。这个姑娘是一个真正的鲜嫩美人，他一直想把她搞到手。她会给你带来个朋友，”约翰呢说，“一小时以后我就到你那儿去。 " 当他离开的时候，维琪妮娅向他冷冰冰地说了一声再见。他什么也没有说，他难得向她发一次脾气，这次是很少几次中的一次。管它三六二十一，他一心想脱身，去度周末，这样也好把他身体内部的毒气统统消散出来。 的的确确，在棕榈泉那里一切都很圆满。约翰呢在那儿有三栋房子，他就住在自己那栋房子里。在一年中的这个时候，他那栋房子总是准备好让人住的，里面也配备着服务人员。来的两个姑娘都很年轻，玩起来也大有乐趣；同时她们对抚爱不太贪婪，倒也讨人喜欢。有些人也围拢过来，在游泳池旁边陪着他们一直玩到晚饭的时候。尼诺领着他的女伴进了自己的房间准备吃晚饭，同时趁着晒了一天太阳而身体还有点热气的时候就忙里偷闲再寻求一下刺激。约翰呢却没有这个兴趣，因此他让自己的女伴独自去洗淋浴澡。他那个女伴是个矮矮的新鲜的白肤金发碧眼姑娘，名叫婷娜。他同维琪妮娅刚吵过架，没有心思再去同另一个女人谈情说爱。 他来到伸出房外的、四面有玻璃墙的起居室，里面放着一架钢琴。当年他在同乐队唱歌的时候为了开开心也胡乱弹过钢琴，因此他也能弹奏一点民歌歌曲。他坐下来，一面弹，一面哼了几句，声音非常轻柔，但却不是在真正唱歌。他还没有发觉，婷娜已经来到起居室，给他掺和了一杯酒，然后就挨着他坐在钢琴前面。他弹奏了几个曲子，她同他一道随着琴声哼哼。他让她独自去弹钢琴，自己上楼洗澡去了，他一面淋浴，一面唱了几句很短的歌词。说是唱，其实更像说话。他穿好衣服，下了楼，婷娜仍然孤孤单单的。尼诺耍么是同他的女伴已经于过，要么是喝醉了。 当婷娜游游荡荡地出去欣赏游泳池的时候，约翰呢又坐下来弹琴。他唱起了过去唱熟了的老歌子，喉咙里也没有火烧的感觉；他发出来的音调很低，但抑扬顿挫，有权有眼。他向起居室周围望了一下，停娜还在外面，玻璃门是关着的，她听不到他在唱些什么。不知为什么，他不想要任何人听到他唱歌。他又开始唱他所喜爱的古代民歌。他放开嗓子尽情唱，好像他是在大庭广众之中唱歌一样；他让自己想怎么唱就怎么唱，同时等待着喉咙里出现那种熟悉的火烧似的刺痛，但什么痛感也没有。他细听自己的声音，总是有点不同，但他喜欢这个声音，更加浑厚，是地道的成年男子的声音，不再是年轻人的声音了。他认为这种声音很圆润，浑厚而圆润。快唱完的时候，嗓子倒感到轻松了。他坐在钢琴前面默默地沉思着。 尼诺在他身后说：“不错，老朋友，很不错。” 约翰呢转过身来一看，原来是尼诺站在门口，就他一个人，他的女伴没有同他在一起。看旁边没有外人，约翰呢放心了，尼诺听他唱歌，他是不介意的。 “这样吧，”约翰呢说，“咱们还是把那两个女人赶走好了，打发她们回家去。” 尼诺说：“你去打发她们回去吧。她们都是好姑娘，我不忍心伤人家的感情。要是连晚饭也不请她们吃一餐就打发她们回家去，那像什么话？” 约翰呢想，管它去，索性就让那两个女郎也听听他唱歌吧，即使他的嗓音不好听也罢。他打电话给棕榈泉的乐队指挥，要他给尼诺送一个曼陀林琴来。那个乐队指挥反驳说：“哎呀，整个加利福尼亚洲就没有人会弹曼陀林琴嘛！”约翰呢大声吼道：“叫你送，你就送一个来吧！” 屋子里堆满了录音器材。约翰呢让两个姑娘一个替他翻乐谱，一个替他传递乐谱。他们吃过晚饭以后，约翰呢正式上班了。他让尼诺弹奏曼陀林琴作为伴奏，他自己演唱熟悉的老歌子。每支歌都是从头唱到尾的，一点儿也不同自己的嗓子。他的歌喉满好嘛。他觉得今后可以放心大胆地唱歌了。他在不能唱歌的那几个月里老是想着唱歌，还订了一套计划，研究如今唱抒情歌和少年时代在吐字方面该如何不同。他只是在嘴里哼哼着唱，对抑扬顿挫的变化更加强调。如今，他真的放声唱起来了。在实际演唱过程中会出差错，有时音调原来在嘴里哼的时候，自己听着也满好，但当唱出声音来的时候，却并不那么好听。他想，首先是唱出声。这时他只顾唱，不再分心去倾听自己的声音了。他试唱着，摸索着正确的节拍，但节拍是没有问题的，只是好久不唱了，声音不那么纯熟。他头脑里有个节拍器，这个节拍器是非常可靠的。他目前的当务之急就是稍稍练习一下而已。 最后，他停下不唱了，婷娜眼睛亮晶晶地向他走了过来，抱着他吻了很久很久。“如今我才知道我妈为什么遇到你演出的电影总是要去看一下，”她说。 这句话在别的任何时间说出来都是错误的，只有在这种场合说，才是情有可原的。约翰呢和尼诺两个听了都放声大笑起来。 接着他们放刚才的录音，这一下约翰呢·方檀才能真正听到自己的声音了。他的声音变了，变得很厉害，但万变不离其宗，听上去毫无疑问还是约翰呢·方檀的声音。同以前相比，现在他的声音更加丰富，更加浑厚。此外还有音质上的变化，如今他的声音听上去就是一个成年男子的声音而不再像一个男娃娃的声音。现在的声音具有更丰富的真实感情。具有更鲜明的个性特色。而他歌声中的技巧成分同别的成分比较起来显得特别突出。他的技巧简直达到了炉火纯青的高度。如果现在的嗓音由于长期没有练唱而显得荒疏，但听上去仍然那么悦耳，那么，要是再纯熟的话，他的嗓音将会多么悦耳呀！约翰呢对着尼诺笑了一下，问道：“我认为我的嗓音很好，真如我所想的那么好吗？” 尼诺若有所思地端详着他那眉飞色舞的笑脸。 “好听得要命，”他说，“不过，咱们还得看看你明天唱得怎么样。” 尼诺竟然说这种煞风景的话，约翰呢感到受了刺激。“你这个狗娘养的，你自己明白你不可能唱得那么好，别担心什么明天，我感到我很行。” 不过，那天晚上他没有再唱。他同尼诺领着女伴去参加晚会，过后婷娜就睡在他的床上，但是他却并不那么中用，女伴感到有些失望。不过，约翰呢认为，管它去，你总不可能在一天里把每件事都办好。 第二天早晨醒来，他有一种忧郁感，一种模模糊糊的恐惧。他做了一个梦，梦到他的嗓音完全恢复得和原来一样了，接着当他确知那不是做梦之后，却又惊慌起来，深怕他的嗓子再次遭殃。他走到窗口，哼哼了几声，然后穿着睡衣睡裤就下楼到了起居室。他弹了一个曲子，过了片刻，跟随琴声试着唱了起来。他抿着嘴唱，喉咙里没有痛感，也没有沙哑声，于是他放声高唱，声带发出的声音既准确又丰满，丝毫也不感到勉强，简直就像流水一样，很轻松，很轻松。约翰呢感到，倒霉阶段已经过去了。他的嗓音如今完全恢复了。只要他的嗓音恢复了，就是在电影制片厂方面一败涂地，也无关紧要。就是维琪妮娅因他又能唱歌而恨他，也无关紧要。此刻，他只有一点遗憾，要是那天他为自己的女儿唱歌时他的嗓音就恢复了，那该多美啊！那可实在是太美了！ 护士推着装满药品的送药车进了病房。约翰呢站了起来，俯视着尼诺。尼诺正在熟睡，或者也许正在断气。他知道，对于他恢复嗓音这件事本身，尼诺并不吃醋。他明白，尼诺吃醋的只是他对自己恢复嗓音这件事的那股高兴劲儿。不过，眼下非常清楚的是：尼诺·华伦提对于能够使他继续活下去的任何欲望一概不关心。