green sofa and armchair and the coffee table that goes with it. We’ll also have that round table and chairsover there for the dining room, the oak bedroom suite, the Jenny Lind nursery set, and the maple bedroomsuite for the spare room.”
The oversolicitous furniture salesman grinned at Ben. “There’s something to be said for a ladywho knows what she wants.”
Every item on the Dinner Bucket’s lunch buffet was represented on Buzz Dobson’s tie. The factthat he seemed to have trouble conveying a forkful of food to his mouth didn’t exactly fill Lily withconfidence in his legal abilities. Could a man really have mastered the art of Socratic dialogue if he hadnever learned how to feed himself?
“So,” Lily asked, “where did you go to law school, Mr. Dobson?”
“Oh, call me Buzz,” he said, trailing his too-short tie through his mashed potatoes as he reachedfor his iced tea glass.
“Buzz,” Lily corrected herself. While trying not to stare at his gravy-soaked tie, she found herselffocusing on Buzz’s toupee, a dark brown, vaguely hairlike mass that was perched on his head like ajaunty hat.
“Ahh, I went to law school at your old stomping ground... down in Atlanta.”
“Emory?” Lily asked, picking at her overcooked macaroni and cheese.
“Naw I went to the Bushrod Washington School of Law...it’s off of Peachtree.”
“Oh, yes, I know it.” Under the table, Lily used her index finger to trace the letters l-o-s-e-r onBen’s thigh. Spelling out words in this way was a method of communication Dez had invented in order tosit through dull plays and lectures.
Ben traced back on Lily’s thigh: It’s okay.
Lily wasn’t sure she believed him. The Bushrod Washington School of Law was housed in adilapidated, graffiti-sprayed office building. It was widely known as the Last Resort School of Law, aninstitution whose only entrance requirements were a pulse and a checkbook.
“Yup,” Buzz said, discarding a thoroughly gnawed chicken bone, “took me six years, but I finallygraduated.”
Lily was trying to calculate how quickly she could gather Mimi and her belongings and return toAtlanta when Big Ben said, “Yup, me and Buzz go way back. Ole Buzz was the best running back,Faulkner County High School’s ever seen.”
Buzz grinned, clearly enjoying the compliment. “You tell that to my poor ole, broke-down knees.”He pushed his plate away. Lily expected him to wipe his mouth with his tie, but he didn’t. “So,” he said,clasping his hands on the table. “I hear you young people are in a spot of trouble. Why don’t you tell me a