Topaz - Leon Uris [137]
The letter in the great ashtray blackened around the edges and curled and blazed. As he watched it disintegrate, the terrible words ran over and over.... Old age is a shipwreck ... old age is a shipwreck.... old age is a shipwreck....
23
IT WAS A PLEASANT spring day. That certain magic of Paris and the Champs Élysées had Michael Nordstrom all but tranquilized. From his table at a sidewalk cafe he could observe in depth the march of slender and shapely legs, poodles, spike heels, and wiggling backsides. He finished his glass of wine and turned to Per Nosdahl, his Norwegian ININ counterpart.
“I keep telling old Liz I’ll bring her to Paris some spring. You know, Per, strictly a vacation, no business ... whatever the hell a vacation happens to be.”
The restaurant’s captain approached. “Mr. Nordstrom?”
“Yes?”
“Telephone for you, sir.”
“Be right back,” he said, folding his napkin and following the captain into the building. Inside, the orchestra played “Paris in the Spring” for the lingering luncheon diners.
The captain pointed to a phone booth across the lobby.
“Thanks,” he said and closed the door behind him. “Nordstrom.”
“Do you know who this is?” the muffled voice of André Devereaux asked.
“Yes, I know.”
“I may need help.”
“I will if I can.... I don’t know.”
“I’ll be at the Louvre, looking at the statue of the Winged Victory. That may be our only victory ... en route to heaven.”
“I’ll be there.”
Mike hung up and moved his large frame quickly to the outdoor tables. “I’ve got to go,” he apologized to Per Nosdahl. “I’ve got to say goodbye to an old friend.”
“Is your old friend in trouble?” Per Nosdahl asked.
“Yes, I’m afraid so.”
“Are you going to be able to help him?”
“I swear ... I just don’t know.”
“Please give him my heartfelt wishes,” Per Nosdahl said.
“Yes, I’ll do that.”
Michael Nordstrom went to the curb and hailed a taxi.
The driver dropped the flag, fell into the stream of traffic, and glanced in his rearview mirror.
“You are an American?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Congratulations.”
“For what?”
“Just this minute I heard the news. The Russians have surrendered. They are going to take the missiles out of Cuba .... Eh, you are tough guys, like cowboys.”
“Sometimes.”
“Where to, Monsieur?”
“The Louvre.”
A Biography of Leon Uris
Leon Uris (1924–2003) was an author of fiction, nonfiction, and screenplays who wrote over a dozen books including numerous bestselling novels. His epic Exodus (1958) has been translated into over fifty languages. Uris’s work is notable for its focus on dramatic moments in contemporary history, including World War II and its aftermath, the birth of modern Israel, and the Cold War. Through the massive popularity of his novels and his skill as a storyteller, Uris has had enormous influence on popular understanding of twentieth-century history.
Leon Marcus Uris was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He was the son of Jewish parents of recent Polish-Russian origin. As a child, Uris lived a transient and hardscrabble life. He attended schools in Baltimore, Virginia, and Philadelphia while his father worked as an unsuccessful storekeeper. Even though he was a below-average student, Uris excelled in history and was fascinated by literature; he made up his mind to be a writer at a young age.
After the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, Uris dropped out of high school to enlist in the Marine Corps. From 1942 to 1945 he served as a radio operator in the South Pacific, and after the war he settled down in San Francisco with his first wife, Betty. He began working for local papers and wrote fiction on the side. His first novel, Battle Cry, was published in 1953 and drew on his experience as a marine. When the book’s film rights were picked up, Uris moved to Hollywood to help with the screenplay, and he stayed to work on other film scripts, including the highly successful Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in 1957.
Uris’s second novel, The Angry