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"But back to Dora of six years old. Daddy took Dora to New Yorkand got a suite at the Plaza. After that, Dora had everything Daddycould buy.""She cry for Terry even then?""Yes. And she was probably the only one who ever did. Before thewedding, Terry's mother had told me Terry was a slut. They hatedeach other. Terry's father had been a policeman. He was an okay guy.
But he didn't like his daughter either. Terry wasn't a nice person.
Terry was mean by nature; Terry wasn't even a good person to bumpinto in the street, let alone to know or to need or to hold.
'-'Her family back there thought she'd run off to Florida andabandoned Dora to me. That's all they ever knew till the day the old manand woman died, Terry's parents. There's some cousins. They stillbelieve that. But they don't know who I am, really, it's all ratherdifficult to explain. Of course by now maybe they've seen the articles inthe papers and magazines. I don't know, that's not important. Doracried for her mother, yes. But after that big lie I told her when shewas twelve, she never asked about anything again.
"But Terry's devotion to Dora had been as perfect as that of anymammalian mother! Instinctive; nurselike; antiseptic. She'd feedDora from the four food groups. She'd dress Dora up in beautifulclothes, take her to dancing school, and sit there and gossip with theother mothers. She was proud of Dora. But she rarely ever spoke toDora. I think they could go for days without their eyes meeting. Itwas mammalian. And for Terry, probably everything was like that.""This is rather funny, that you should get mixed up with a personlike this, you know.""No, not funny. Fate. We made Dora. She gave the voice to Dora,and the beauty. And there is something in Dora from Terry which islike hardness, but that's too unkind a word. Dora is a mixture of us,really, an optimum mixture.""Well, you gave her your own beauty top.""Yes, but something far more interesting and marketable hap^pened when the genes collided. You've seen my daughter. Mydaughter is photogenic, and beneath the flash and dash I gave her, there isthe steadiness of Terry. She converts people over the airwaves. 'Andwhat is the true message of Christ!' she declares, staring right intothe camera. 'That Christ is in every stranger you meet, the poor, thehungry, the sick, the people next door!' And the audience believesit.""I've watched. I've seen her. She could just rise to the top."He sighed.
"I sent Dora to school. By this time I was making big, big money.
I had to put lots of miles between me and my daughter. I switchedDora among three schools overall before graduation, which was hardfor her, but she didn't question me about these maneuvers, or thesecrecy surrounding our meetings. I led her to believe I was alwayson the verge of having to rush to Florence to save a fresco from beingdestroyed by idiots, or to Rome to explore a catacomb that had justbeen found.
"When Dora began to take a serious interest in religion, I thoughtit was spiritually elegant, you know. I thought my growing collectionof statues and books had inspired her. And when she told me ateighteen that she had been accepted to Harvard and that she meant tostudy comparative religion, I was amused. I made the usual sexistassumption: study what you want and marry a rich man. And let meshow you my latest icon or statue.
"But Dora's fervor and theological bent were developing farbeyond anything I had ever experienced. Dora went to the HolyLand when she was nineteen. She went back twice before shegraduated. She spent the next two years studying religions all over theworld. Then she proposed the entire idea of her television program:
she wanted to talk to people. Cable had made possible all thesereligion channels. You could tune in to this minister or that Catholicpriest.
" 'You serious about this?' I asked. I hadn't known she believed itall. But she was out to be true to ideals that I had never fullyunderstood myself yet somehow passed on to her.
" 'Dad, you get me one hour on television three times a week, andthe money to use it the way I want,' she said, 'and you'll see whathappens.' She began to talk about all kinds of ethical questions, howwe could save our souls in today's world. She envisioned short lec-tures or sermons, punctuated by ecstatic singing and dancing. Theabortion issue梥he makes impassioned logical speeches that bothsides are right! She explains how each life is sacrosanct yet a womanmust have dominion over her own body.""I've seen the program.""You realize seventy-five different cable networks have picked upthis program! You realize what news of my death may do to mydaughter's church?"He paused, thinking, then resumed as rapid-fire as before.
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