Lagerquist is standing1 right on the edge of Mark Norman's 24/7 Motorcycle Mall, waiting, when the man with the swords comes into view, striding down the sidewalk. A pedestrian is a peculiar2 sight in L.A., considerably3 more peculiar than a man with swords. But a welcome one. Anyone who drives out to a motorcycle dealership4 already has a car, by definition, so it's hard to give them a really hard sell. A pedestrian should be cake.
"Scott Wilson Lagerquist!" the guy yells from fifty feet away and closing. "How you doing?"
"Fabulous5!" Scott says. A little off guard, maybe. Can't remember this guy's name, which is a problem. Where has he seen this guy before?
"It's great to see you!" Scott says, running forward and pumping the guy's hand. "I haven't seen you since, uh -- "
"Is Pinky here today?" the guy says.
"Pinky?"
"Yeah. Mark. Mark Norman. Pinky was his nickname back in college. I guess he probably doesn't like to be called that now that he's running, what, half a dozen dealerships, three McDonaldses, and a Holiday Inn, huh?"
"I didn't know that Mr.Norman was into fast food also."
"Yeah. He's got three franchises6 down around Long Beach. Owns them through a limited partnership7, actually. Is he here today?"
"No, he's on vacation."
"Oh, yeah. In Corsica. The Ajaccio Hyatt. Room 543. That's right, I completely forgot about that."
"Well, were you just stopping by to say hi, or -- "
"Nah. I was going to buy a motorcycle."
"Oh. What kind of motorcycle were you looking for?"
"One of the new Yamahas? With the new generation smartwheels?"
Scott grins manfully, trying to put the best face on the awful fact that he is about to reveal. "I know exactly the one you mean. But I'm sorry to tell you that we don't actually have one in stock today."
"You don't?"
"We don't. It's a brand-new model. Nobody has them."
"You sure? Because you ordered one."
"We did?"
"Yeah. A month ago." Suddenly the guy cranes his neck, looks over Scott's shoulder down the boulevard. "Well, speak of the devil. Here it comes." A Yamaha semi is pulling into the truck entrance with a new shipment of motorcycles in the back.
"It's on that truck," the guy says. "If you can give me one of your cards, I'll jot8 down the vehicle identification number on back so you can pull it off the truck for me."
"This was a special order made by Mr.Norman?"
"He claimed he was just ordering it as a display model, you know. But it sort of has my name on it."
"Yes, sir. I understand totally."
1 standing | |
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的 | |
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2 peculiar | |
adj.古怪的,异常的;特殊的,特有的 | |
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3 considerably | |
adv.极大地;相当大地;在很大程度上 | |
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4 dealership | |
n.商品特许经销处 | |
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5 fabulous | |
adj.极好的;极为巨大的;寓言中的,传说中的 | |
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6 franchises | |
n.(尤指选举议员的)选举权( franchise的名词复数 );参政权;获特许权的商业机构(或服务);(公司授予的)特许经销权v.给…以特许权,出售特许权( franchise的第三人称单数 ) | |
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7 partnership | |
n.合作关系,伙伴关系 | |
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8 jot | |
n.少量;vi.草草记下;vt.匆匆写下 | |
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