Зима тревоги нашей

           "Youdon’thavetorubitinbecauseIwentbroke."

           "No.Yougotwrong.I’mtrytolearnyougoodbusinesssoyoudon’tgobrokenomore."

           "Fatchance.Ihaven’tgotabusiness."

           "You’restillakid."

           Ethansaid,"Youlookhere,Marullo.Ipracticallyrunthisstoreforyou.Ikeepthebooks,bankthemoney,orderthesupplies.Keepcustomers.Theycomeback.Isn’tthatgoodbusiness?"

           "Sure—youlearnedsomething.You’renotnokidnomore.YougetmadwhenIcallyoukid.WhatI’mgoingtocallyou?Icalleverybodykid."

           "Tryusingmyname."

           "Don’tsoundfriendly.Kidisfriendly."

           "It’snotdignified."

           "Dignifiedisnotfriendly."

           Ethanlaughed."Ifyou’reaclerkinaguineastore,you’vegottohavedignity—foryourwife,foryourkids.Youunderstand?"

           "Isafake."

           "Courseitis.IfIhadanyrealdignity,Iwouldn’tthinkaboutit.Inearlyforgotsomethingmyoldfathertoldmenotlongbeforehedied.Hesaidthethresholdofinsultisindirectrelationtointelligenceandsecurity.