Page 122 of The Holy Grail
As silence fell over them, Evan tried to remain outwardly neutral as he continued to pet Dawn Corleone, as if he’d be fine, regardless of the answer. Inwardly, though, he braced himself for the answer he thought was coming, only to be shocked when it didn’t.
“I’m completely sure about this,” Malcom said.
Evan felt a rolling wave of tingles throughout his body and for a few seconds, he almost couldn’t breathe. The three of them looked at one another, eyes flicking back and forth, until it occurred to him maybe Malcom and Jules were waiting for Evan to say something profound.
“Okay,” said Evan, somewhat blandly.
“Okay?” Malcom and Jules asked together.
So, theyhadbeen expecting something profound, but unfortunately Evan didn’t really have anything for them. “Yes. Okay,” he repeated, and when they continued to stare at him, he prayed he wasn’t marching toward his own Waterloo as he added, “Let’s do this.”
“Really?”
“Really?”
“Yes, really. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?”
“Right.”
“Right.”
After a long pause, Jules then asked, “So, now what?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, what’s next? You know, the next step in all of this?”
“Well, first we should probably get naked and have sex. That’s usually how things get started.”
Her eyes narrowed a little bit. “Say what?”
Malcom coughed. “I think he’s fucking with you.”
“Yes,” Evan agreed. “I’m fucking with you. It’s probably a little too soon to get naked and have sex.” Then, adopting an exaggerated, hopeful look, he said, “Unless that’s something you’d really like to do … because if that’s the case, count me in.”
“I’m beginning to understand why your nickname is Dick,” Jules told him, although it was said with more amusement than with malice.
“Your nickname is ‘Dick’?” Malcom looked confused. “Why?”
“David gave it to Evan when they first met and he was being a dick,” Jules explained. “And I used to feel sorry for him, but not anymore.”
“Sorry, I couldn’t resist,” Evan said, not in the least bit offended. “It seems like you think there’s a formula to ‘all this’, and there really isn’t.”
“Okay, but you’re the one with all the experience, here, so even if there isn’t a formula, you at least know way more than we do about going forward.”
“That’s true, but I’ve always been the last one in—just like now—so I’ve never been a leader, for lack of a better word. I’ve always been the ‘go with the flow’ guy. Not to mention, my success rate with triads is obviously low, so … I’m only marginally more knowledgeable.”
“Well, neither Mal nor I know how this worksat all, so you’re going to be the leader this time.” Jules said, brushing aside his reasoning.
Evan shook his head. “No.”
“No, what?”
“No, to being the leader. I don’t want to have more power than either of you two, and you shouldn’t want me to have more power, to be honest.”
Malcom frowned a little, as the way Evan said the last part sounded sort of ominous. “Why not?”
“Because we should all have the same amount—you know, be equal.”
