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. Thanks. Nate grabbed the coat and put it on. You're skinny as a rail. You wanna lose fifteen pounds, find the right mosquito.They moved with a mob toward the exits, bodies jostling and bumping, a shovehere, a push there, the throng squeezing tighter to fit through doors.Welcomehome, he said to himself. You're traveling light, Josh said, pointing at his gym bag. My worldly possessions.With no socks or gloves, Nate was freezing on the curb by the time Josh foundhim with the car.The snowstorm had hit during the night, and had attained thestatus of a blizzard.Against the buildings the drifts had reached two feet. It was ninety-three yesterday in Corumba, Nate said as they left theairport. Don't tell me you miss it. I do.Suddenly, I do. Look, Gayle is in London.I thought you could stay at our place for a coupleof days.Josh's house could sleep fifteen. Sure, thanks.Where's my car? In my garage.136Of course it was.It was a leased Jaguar, and it no doubt had been properlyserviced, washed, and waxed, and the monthly payments were current. Thanks,Josh. I put your furnishings in a mini-storage.Your clothes and personal effectsare packed in the car.Page 157ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html Thanks. Nate was not at all surprised. How do you feel? I'm fine. Look, Nate, I've read about dengue fever.It takes a month to fully recover.Level with me.A month.It was the opening jab in the fight over Nate's future with the firm.Take another month, old boy.Maybe you're too ill to work.Nate could writethe script.But there would be no fight. I'm a little weak, that's all.I'm sleeping a lot, drinking a lot ofliquids. What kind of liquids? Get right to the point, don't you? I always do. I'm clean, Josh.Relax.No stumbles.Josh had heard that many times.The exchange had been a bit sharper than bothmen wanted, so they rode in silence for a while.The traffic was slow.The Potomac was half-frozen with large chunks of ice floating slowly towardGeorgetown.Stalled in traffic on the Chain Bridge, Nate announced,matter-of-factly,  I'm not going back to the office, Josh.Those days areover.There was no visible reaction from Josh.He could've been disappointed becausean old friend and fine litigator was calling it quits.He could've beendelighted because a major headache was quietly leaving the firm.He could'vebeen indifferent because Nate's exit was probably inevitable.The tax evasionmess would ultimately cost him his license anyway.So he simply asked,  Why? Lots of reasons, Josh.Let's just say I'm tired. Most litigators burn out after twenty years. So I've heard.Enough of the retirement talk.Nate's mind was made up, and Josh didn't wantto change it.The Super Bowl was two weeks away, and the Redskins were not init.They seized the topic of football, as men usually do when they have tokeep the conversation going in the midst of weightier matters.Even under a heavy layer of snow, the streets looked mean to Nate.THE STAFFORDS owned a large house in Wesley Heights, in Northwest D.C.Theyalso had a cottage on the Chesapeake and a cabin in Maine.The four kids weregrown and scattered.Mrs.Stafford preferred to travel while her husbandpreferred to work.Nate retrieved some warm clothes from the trunk of his car, then enjoyed a hotshower in the guest quarters.The water pressure was weaker in Brazil.Theshower in his hotel room was never hot, and never cold.The bars of soap weresmaller.He compared the things around him.He was amused at the thought ofthe shower on the Santa Loura, a cord above the toilet that, when pulled,delivered lukewarm river water from a shower head.He was tougher than hethought; the adventure had taught him that much.He shaved and then worked on his teeth, going about his habits with greatdeliberation.In many ways, it was nice to be home.Josh's office in his basement was larger than the one downtown, and just ascluttered.They met there for coffee.It was time to debrief.Nate began with theill-fated effort to find Rachel by air, the crash landing, the dead cow, thethree little boys, the bleakness ofChristmas in the Pantanal [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]