Cool-headed drug-running young Irisher swims for shore to start over
March 9, 2010 5:30 AM Subscribe
I'd like to re-read this short story and other work by this author: I think this was collected in Best American Short Stories or O Henry short story collection, probably the past fifteen years. A great story, tight writing, great characters, fast pace: Cool-headed young man, Irish heritage, gutsy adventurer, stone-cold in face of danger, and danger abounds in this story, as he's running drugs on a sailboat in the Mediterranean. Drugs purchased with money he borrowed from his sister on some pretext or other.
His partner -- who had either connections to buy drugs or sell them, maybe both, maybe connections to get the drugs off the boat, through customs -- his partner a blustering druggy idiot; they've a boatload of drugs under their feet, it's a time to be very, very cool yet his partner insists on doing drugs, and acting the fool, playing with guns, etc and etc, a real piece of shit; this guy really needs a beating. But our hero needs him, and in any case it's all in motion now, they're married in this thing.
A beautiful adventuress along for the ride, a model from Texas, gets high on dangerous men and dangerous situations and loves to play it all against the other -- a troublesome woman. If memory serves, the idea of a woman along made our boys look more like citizens than just drug runners, that might be how she ends up on this boat. When buying the drugs, she fucks some of the hard as nails, murderous shit-balls they're buying from, *really* setting up some very interesting tensions. A real piece of work.
The boat is stopped for the night, anchored in a dangerous place, and they're picked up by local scums as being characters, and said scums try some extortion, put down when drugged-drunk partner plays wild west, some gun play, they take off but you know they'll be around. Our hero knows they ought not be where they are but he's married to his partner, and needs him, the partner says they're not moving that night. Our hero accepts this, jumps into the water for a swim, enjoy the water, and the woman jumps in with him, she's taken some hallucinogenics and it's coming on now, strong, her pupils dilating, they're in the water, talking, enjoying one another, it's nice, she's nice, just likes to play with bad boys is all. Then a splash, and instantly our man knows it's all over, that the drugged/drunk/fool partner has also jumped into the water, and done so without setting the ladder down over the side, and now no possible way of getting back on that boat, the show is over, and so our hero sets in to swimming toward shore, leaving the boat and the partner and the adventuress to their fates. If I recall correctly, story ends with him coming ashore, with nothing of course, thinking to ask of where he might finds an Irish pub, so he can start over again...
tl;dr -- Short story, cool-headed drug-running young Irisher swims for shore to start over
His partner -- who had either connections to buy drugs or sell them, maybe both, maybe connections to get the drugs off the boat, through customs -- his partner a blustering druggy idiot; they've a boatload of drugs under their feet, it's a time to be very, very cool yet his partner insists on doing drugs, and acting the fool, playing with guns, etc and etc, a real piece of shit; this guy really needs a beating. But our hero needs him, and in any case it's all in motion now, they're married in this thing.
A beautiful adventuress along for the ride, a model from Texas, gets high on dangerous men and dangerous situations and loves to play it all against the other -- a troublesome woman. If memory serves, the idea of a woman along made our boys look more like citizens than just drug runners, that might be how she ends up on this boat. When buying the drugs, she fucks some of the hard as nails, murderous shit-balls they're buying from, *really* setting up some very interesting tensions. A real piece of work.
The boat is stopped for the night, anchored in a dangerous place, and they're picked up by local scums as being characters, and said scums try some extortion, put down when drugged-drunk partner plays wild west, some gun play, they take off but you know they'll be around. Our hero knows they ought not be where they are but he's married to his partner, and needs him, the partner says they're not moving that night. Our hero accepts this, jumps into the water for a swim, enjoy the water, and the woman jumps in with him, she's taken some hallucinogenics and it's coming on now, strong, her pupils dilating, they're in the water, talking, enjoying one another, it's nice, she's nice, just likes to play with bad boys is all. Then a splash, and instantly our man knows it's all over, that the drugged/drunk/fool partner has also jumped into the water, and done so without setting the ladder down over the side, and now no possible way of getting back on that boat, the show is over, and so our hero sets in to swimming toward shore, leaving the boat and the partner and the adventuress to their fates. If I recall correctly, story ends with him coming ashore, with nothing of course, thinking to ask of where he might finds an Irish pub, so he can start over again...
tl;dr -- Short story, cool-headed drug-running young Irisher swims for shore to start over
Best answer: It is definitely Robert Stone. Really good story.
posted by greensalsa at 9:28 AM on March 9, 2010
posted by greensalsa at 9:28 AM on March 9, 2010
Response by poster: Yep, that's it; thanx to both of you for responding.
Just nosed around online, found that the collection that "Under the Pitons" is from "Bear and His Daughter" has great reviews, too. And just found out library card needs renewed, ordered used off Amazon $4.33 shipped to my door.
Thanx yet again hive!
posted by dancestoblue at 11:43 AM on March 9, 2010
Just nosed around online, found that the collection that "Under the Pitons" is from "Bear and His Daughter" has great reviews, too. And just found out library card needs renewed, ordered used off Amazon $4.33 shipped to my door.
Thanx yet again hive!
posted by dancestoblue at 11:43 AM on March 9, 2010
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posted by iminurmefi at 7:28 AM on March 9, 2010