he sounded cheerful again , but jake did n't trust that tone ; he had sometimes heard his father start telephone conversations that way ( usually with some subordinate who had fub , fucked up big ) , and by the end elmer chambers would be up on his feet , bent over the desk like a man with a stomach cramp and screaming at the top of his lungs , his cheeks red as radishes and the circles of flesh under his eyes as purple as an eggplant .