Bookmaker, The Read Online Free PDF

time.”
    “That’s very generous , Mr. Walker. You make a tempting offer, and please, call me Trent,” I said, putting my best business face on, trying to hide the building excitement his offer evoked.
    “Well all right…and you call me Preston. Let’s leave that formal shit for the Jimmy Ray Upshaw’s of the world.”
    “I do have a couple questions….”
    “Shoot .”
    “Well , I have to ask, why do you want me to write your book? I don’t have any real experience to speak of.”
    “Well , Trent, what I don’t want is a been-there-done-that writer. My story needs a raw, young voice, unsullied and with an open mind. That’s you. Besides, I checked some of your work in that college newspaper of yours, and I have to say, I like what I saw. Looks like you boys got a damn fine baseball team out there, what do they call ‘em…the Dirtbags?”
    “Yep , the Dirtbags.”
    “We ll, that’s all right, I think I can recall seeing them in that College World Series they got up in Nebraska.”
    “Yeah, they’re perennial contenders.”
    “You a big sports fan, Trent? Well, I guess you’d have to be in your line of work.”
    “Sure, but like anything else , when it becomes your job it loses some of its charm.”
    “I suppose .”
    “Now Preston, another question, this is in regards to the subject matter of this book you want written . Now are you saying—?”
    I was cut off. “Let’s go ahead and discuss that when you get here. You ever been to a college football game?”
    I was a little taken aback by the abrupt subject change, but answered, “Yeah, USC, the Coliseum a few times”
    “Those pansies. Ever been to an SEC game?”
    “Nope.”
    “Well , I’ll tell you what, Ole Miss has got LSU in a week, the season opener. We’ll go; you ain’t seen nothing like it.”
    “Sounds like fun ,” I said, and it actually did. Those SEC games are nuts, at least from what I’d seen on TV.
    Then a brief pause on his end.
    “Trent, you got a problem with niggers?”
    I was left speechless , not by the question or the word, but by how easily he slipped it into our conversation. “Can’t say that I do,” was the first response I could come up with, not knowing whether he wanted me to have a problem with them or not.
    “Well , good, neither do we; although, we do have our fair share out here, just so long as you’re prepared. On that subject, Ole Miss has got this great young runner, Deuce McAllister, best they had in years. You gotta see him live.”
    “Yeah, I’ve heard of him, actually Ole Miss looks pretty good this year.”
    “Goddamn right they do! So you coming out, or what? I promise we’ll show you the time of your life. You’ll get to meet Matador, my granddaughter Corynne, and Delotta is the best southern cook in all of Oxford.”
    “Well , like I said, Preston, you make a tempting offer and paint a pretty picture. Let’s just say I’m seriously considering it. Will you let me sleep on it?”
    “Of course, but as you know, unfortunately time is an issue. Yeah , sleep on it. I understand a man just can’t drop everything without considering his affairs—how about you give me a jingle in the morning?”
    “Sounds fair, I’ll call you tomorrow . Nice talking to ya, Preston.”
    “You too , Trent, I look forward to hearing from you.”
    I hung up with my mind made up—I was going to Mississippi.
    After a good night’s sleep, my mind hadn’t changed, so I phoned Preston Walker first thing in the morning and told him I’d take him up on his offer. My flight would be first class and I could stay in his guest house for as long as I liked. When I asked how long he figured it would take to handle our business, he guessed no longer than a couple weeks. He went on to emphasize how I had to stay long enough to really appreciate Oxford.
    His final words still hung in the air . “Son…I hope you’re prepared to step into another world rather another time. You come out to Oxford, and I’ll