O l i v e r B e n j a m i n
There was a series of blinding flashes, each one more brilliant than
the next, and by the time the smoke cleared, the stage was totally
empty.
A smattering of applause was heard.
Hesitantly, the Master of Ceremonies walked out on stage. He
wasn’t sure what was going on. None of that had been in the script.
He took hold of the microphone and said heartily, “Let’s hear it for
Deaf Lemon Hopkins and his fantabulous tune, ‘Armageddon Outta
Here’! Apparently, Mr. Hopkins wasn’t kidding around, ah, about
getting out of here. However, he
was
supposed to stick around to
present the float awards. So, Mr. Hopkins, wherever you are—please
come back to the stage!”
The next time Deaf Lemon Hopkins appeared in public, he
would
be on a stage, though it wouldn’t be to sing or to present
awards; nothing so cheery or benign or frivolous as that. In the
annals of mankind, long as that would come to be, Deaf Lemon
would become known as one of the most important men in the
history of the species, and not because he was the first deaf musician
ever to earn a million dollars. It would be because the next time Deaf
Lemon Hopkins stepped into the limelight, it would not be to
promote his records, but his entire race.
CHAPTER 9
Harvey fiddled with the dial. He could find nothing but static and a
lone Spanish-language station. Still, either would have been
preferable to listening to the kid babble on about his sex life. Harvey
turned up the mariachi version of Whitney Houston’s
I Will Always
Love You
to six and reached down to adjust the plush red sheepskin
reclining-bucket seat, which, belonging to Milo Hernandez, not only
reclined down to a fully horizontal position but had also been
equipped with a powerful vibrating device to facilitate, in his own
words, “Amorama.” Harvey, having been unaware of these features,
was now far better-informed.
“Hhhhhheyyy, hhhhowww thththe hhhhelll dddooo yooo
tttturrrn ththtthisss mmmonnssttrrrossittty offfffff?”
“Oh man, stop fucking around,” Milo complained, “Fat guy like
you, you gonna break it or something. Deluxe features are only for
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