An Orderly Life

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Arte Publico Press, 2004 M03 31 - 242 pages
Rafe Sabas is the ideal corporate man. He is on a first name basis with the president of his company and likes to think about a deal while talking about something else. ñI am not good at thinking alone,î he quips, ñcorporate life ruins you for that.î RafeÍs personal life, too, is right where he wants it. HeÍs got a proper wife and children to greet him in the evening, but he still dabbles in the occasional carefree infidelity at his companyÍs expense. He rhapsodizes on his theories of stoic emotion, casual sex, the starburst of pleasure offered by a shot of gin and the key to successful drinking binges. He is as cool as his favorite beverage: a crisp martini on the rocks. But when Jerry, a friend from RafeÍs past, resurfaces, RafeÍs world of order and convention begins showing fissures. RafeÍs planned evening of casual conversation and call girls is disrupted by JerryÍs emotional collapse at his impending divorce. After a few well-placed comments like ñDonÍt let it get you, fella,î Rafe expects to slip back into his old world unscathed. What follows is a devastating trip through their past sexual infidelities, friendship-breaking betrayals, and forgotten loyalties.

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Contents

One
1
Two
23
Three
49
Four
76
Five
94
Six
119
Seven
143
Eight
169
Nine
192
Ten
213
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About the author (2004)

The fiction of JOSE YGLESIAS (1919-1995) includes the novels Break-In (Arte PÏblico Press, 1996), The Old Gents (Arte PÏblico Press, 1996), The Truth About Them (Arte PÏblico Press, 1999), Double Double (Arte PÏblico Press, 2000), and the short story collection The Guns in the Closet (Arte PÏblico Press, 1996). His writing has appeared in such magazines as The New Yorker, Esquire, and The Atlantic, and he authored several acclaimed non-fiction works such as The Goodbye Land (Pantheon Books, 1967).

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