Chapter 7
"HEY, YOU WHITE STUD! You done ripped my dress! Hey, come back here!"
Feet clattering down the steps, he rushed pell-mell down the stairway feeling like a first class jerk. He should have made her take him to her room, or better still he should have passed her by in the first place.
The pedestrians on the sidewalks glanced at his disheveled appearance and gave him a wide berth. Erwin Street was only a few blocks away. Damn it, he would pull a stunt like that right in the same neighborhood where he lived! Each of the tenants who had watched him would probably spend the afternoon talking about the white creep who was banging a black girl in the hallway with the whole damned house looking on.
Selma was working away at the easel when he walked into the apartment. That was about all she did all the time now, drawing.
"Hey, what happened to you?" she asked.
"Got caught in that damn subway. Just got back from your job? How did it go?" Stepping into the bathroom, he began stripping. Damn it, there was a small tear at the elbow of the coat and this was only the first time he wore it.
"Not bad. I had a chance to catch up on my reading in the hour poses."
"I still don't see how you can be so off-hand about that job. Did anybody make a pass at you?"
"Oh, sure. In the cafeteria. It's not considered sporting to make a pass at a model while she's posing."
"I'm surprised you're still drawing like that. Ain't you tired of all that art stuff after working at it all day?" he asked, running water into the tub.
"Tired? When I get tired of it, I'll stop trying. What did you do today?"
"Oh, I went to see Chuck. He's laid up in the hospital at St. Albans with a concussion or something."
"How did it happen?"
"Got himself mugged when he left here. I think he must be hurt pretty bad. He was talking wild as hell when I left him. He says that they're going to let him go in a few weeks, though."
"Too bad. He seemed like a nice guy. Let that be a lesson to you, Eddie. This can be a rough town to get drunk in."
Eddie sat in the tub without answering and let the water fill up around him. The plaster was cracking on the walls and ceiling and every time somebody in the house used the toilet, the pipes shuddered and groaned like the Day of Judgment. A half-hour later he climbed out of the tub and went into the other room, dripping wet and naked except for a towel hanging around his neck.
"Watch it, you're dripping on my drawings," Selma said.
"Oh, yeah. Got anything to eat around the place?"
"There's some hamburgers in the ice-box. I'll cook them up in a little while. How about posing for me? You're dressed for it."
"I was thinking we could take off someplace and eat out. Maybe go to a movie or something."
"Can't do it, Eddie. I've wasted enough time away from my work. I intend staying in all night. Why don't you go yourself? Unless you'd like to stay around and, uh, you know."
"I think I'll just go out and grab a few beers."
In the next few weeks, Eddie fell into a routine of bar-hopping and movie going that was relieved only when he took Selma at night. He tried to interest himself in Selma's art but he just wasn't the type. He was getting irritated with her single-minded absorption in drawing. She took it so damn seriously!
Gabbing with the local barflies was a drag, too. They kept using words and expressions he didn't understand, subtly putting him down whenever he ventured an opinion. His stake was running low, too and he knew he'd have to start sweating a job damn soon.
The prospect of going to work didn't enthrall him.
He would see the hordes of people leaving their jobs at five, fighting their way home through the subways so they could watch television until it was time to sleep. Several times he bought a newspaper and looked at the help wanted ads, but he held back following them up.
Selma started bringing up the matter of work too. He was going to have to do something soon and the quicker he started, the better. He agreed that she was right but still made no move, knowing he still had the money he'd sent home to fall back on. It became more and more of an effort for him to do the simplest things and he slept daily until well into the afternoon.
Once he visited Chuck at the hospital but they didn't seem to have much to say to each other. He was a civilian now and the Navy was getting farther and farther away from his life. About the only thing Chuck wanted to talk about was Strang's wife. He kept saying what a wonderful woman she was and how he was a sap to have run off from her back in college.
When Eddie left, both knew he wouldn't be coming back.
Three times he climbed up the stairs to Strang's apartment, hoping to catch Kathy alone, but nobody answered the bell. Once she passed him on the stairs but Strang was right behind her. She looked through him as if he were made of glass and went on.
He was laying on the couch one day, reading the previous day's paper, when Selma came in. Looking around distastefully she bustled about, picking up scraps of paper and cigar butts.
"I don't know why you can't at least keep the place clean during the day. You don't have anything else to do with your time. Why don't you at least open one of the windows and let some of that stinking cigar smoke out?"
"What's eating you? Oh, yeah, I forgot it's your time of the month. How long's it going to last, anyway?"
"That's all you think about, isn't it? Nothing's important to you except getting your sex when you want it and how you want it."
"Oh for Pete's sake, knock it off, will you? You're acting as if we were married or something."
"Married! I'd have to be out of my mind to do a stupid thing like that!"
"Then what the hell are you bitching about? I'm paying the rent in this dump, ain't I? What the hell else do you expect?"
"And that's all you're doing. Don't get any ideas about owning me, Eddie. Nobody owns me."
"Who'd want to?"
"Maybe you'd like to move out? Go ahead, I managed to get by before I met you."
"Yeah, I can guess how."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I mean the suckers you had before me!"
"You dirty-minded bastard!" she said in a cold, intense voice.
"OK, OK, I'm sorry I said that," he muttered, getting up. "I'm going out awhile 'til you cool off."
"If you're going out at least shave, for God's sake. You're starting to look like a ass!"
"Damn it, stop nagging me!"
"Eddie, can't you see it's no good, your laying around like this all day, loafing and drinking? If you were doing something, I might be able to see it. But you just go from one bar and movie to another."
"Do something?" he asked, pulling on his sport coat. "You mean play games like you do with all that art crap?"
Whirling around, she went into the bathroom and closed the door. He was sorry they'd had another of their frequent arguments. No sense in sticking around, though. They'd just start in again. The best thing to do was to take off for a while 'til she cooled off.
It was too bad the way things were going, he thought as he went down the stairs. Just one damn argument after another. It might be best to leave her. But moving would be a lot of trouble. Next week, maybe next week he'd do something about it.
He'd been drinking in a neighborhood bar, but a change of pace might wake him up. Something different. There was a joint nearby that looked unusual as hell. Fran's it was called, he'd passed it several times. It looked like a cave from the outside but he'd noticed some good-looking stuff doing in there. It was several days since he had balled it with Selma. Maybe if he tried something different, he'd get out of his doldrums.
As soon as he entered the place he realized that he was wasting his time. There was nothing except women in the joint, all right. Even the bartenders were women. They looked at him distastefully when he took a seat at the bar.
Dikes, every one of them.
"What'll it be, Mac?" the bar-maid, a husky short-haired brunette, asked him in a gravelly voice.
"Bourbon and water. Old Taylor."
As she searched for the bottle, Eddie looked around the place. Walls, bar, tables, chairs, everything in the joint was painted a shiny black with strips of red trim around the edges. The other customers sat in pairs or alone, watching him with amusement.
When he got his drink he poured it down his throat and signalled for another one. No harm in killing a little time in this place. Might be good for some laughs. It'd be something to tell the folks about back home, too.
So this was what a Lesbian hang-out looked like, he thought, gazing around at the customers. Seemed a shame, some of them were damn good looking broads. Maybe he could make some kind of connection here if he played it right. Nothing to lose, anyway.
The door to the street opened and two more came in. One was a short, trim blonde, the other a tall, stacked red-head who looked familiar to him. She seemed to recognize Eddie too and pointed him out to her companion. Her clear laughter came ringing across the room and he remembered where he'd seen her before. She was one of those who had been watching him cop the colored girl.
Laura Welsey was her name and she wasn't a pure dike, not by any means. However, she did like a change of pace once in awhile and when this little blonde had made a pass at her getting off the subway, she decided to take her up on it. Seeing Eddie at the bar and remembering his performance on the stairwell above her apartment made her think that perhaps she'd have been better off getting herself a man for the night.
"See that guy at the bar?" she asked the blonde. "He was using the hallway of the place I live to ploy a little black tart a few weeks ago. He had the whole place watching them."
"He looks like a crude type," the blonde replied. She didn't have any use at all for men, was wondering how long it would be before she could lure Laura into bed with her.
"Let's go over and have a drink with him. He looks as if he'd be good for a few laughs."
"I'd rather not. I have to put up with men all day at my job without having anything to do with them after hours," the blonde said, not liking the idea of competition.
"Well, I'm going over." When she walked over to Eddie, the blonde had no choice but to follow.
"Hello, Stud," Laura said, taking a seat next to him. "I was just telling my friend here about you. I was watching you ball that Negress a few weeks back. Remember?"
"Yeah, I'd been kind of hoping it would have been forgotten by this time," Eddie said.
"Why? You did pretty good. One of the cats watching you even made up a song about it."
"Hot damn!"
"How come you grabbed her there."
"That was the way she wanted it. Besides, I was in a hurry."
"You sure were! Mind if we join you, Stud."
"Why not? My name is Eddie Chase, by the way."
"I like Stud better. I'm Laura Welsey and this is--what's your name."
"Eleanor Cleavers."
"Hello, Ely, Laura. I'm a little surprised to find anybody to talk to in here. I get the impression that I'm not wanted."
"You're not, Stud. This is a dike bar and they don't have much use for men," Laura said.
"Yeah, I figured that out by myself. How about you two girls? I hope you're not lezzies?"
"Oh, I'm sort of both ways. A little gay but I don't mind a guy like you who looks as if he knows the score in bed."
"How about you, Ely?"
"Am I a dike? You're God-damn right I am. All I've ever gotten from men is trouble. I've never seen a man yet whom I didn't hate and despise."
"Every man?"
"Every miserable, conceited male egotist it's been my misfortune to meet," Ely said, glaring at Eddie.
"This is damned interesting, talking to you," Eddie said, signaling for another drink. "We don't have any lesbians up in my old home town, Stubbin's Corners."
"Where's that? Siberia?" Ely sneered.
"Vermont, near the New Hampshire border."
"Vermont! God, you mean there's actually people living in Vermont? I always thought that it was just a joke, like Lower Sldbbovia. So you say there's no dikes up your way? That shows how much you know. I bet there's plenty!"
"Oh, I'm not saying there never was any. We did have one in town, back maybe five or six years ago."
"Really? What happened?" Laura asked.
"Oh, she was a school teacher from up-state. Naturally, most folks didn't have much to do with her, seeing how she was from out of town. They don't go much for strangers back home."
"I can guess."
"Anyway, she used to have a little club with some oi the girls in the school. It was a high school, you see. Go on trips, stay over night at her place, things like that."
"I'll bet they learned a lot from her."
"That they did. I guess she had a hell of a good time for maybe a year or so. Then one of the girls let the cat out of the bag and told her mother"
"Lousy, loud-mouthed little bitch!" Ely said.
"Well," Eddie said," when her father heard about it he was mad as hell, as you can imagine. Jim Turner, that was his name. First off, Old Jim was going to call up the principal and the cops and everybody else. He did try to get hold of the principal, but it was a Friday night and he was out. Then Jim, he got another idea. The county's dry but there's a place everybody used to go where they'd serve liquor."
"Lousy hypocrites!" Ely muttered.
"Go on, Stud. This is beginning to sound like something out of a Faulkner novel," Laura said.
"So anyway Jim has a drink, then he calls everybody around and tells them about what his daughter said about the teacher. First off, everybody thinks he's kidding but he convinces them. I don't mind telling you they were mad!"
"Lousy farmers! Don't tell me about hick-town boobs, I come from a small town myself," Ely said.
"Yeah? I thought you were supposed to be a big city girl, from the way you were talking," Eddie said.
"Go on, what happened?" Laura asked, eyes bright with excitement.
"Well, this dike teacher, she wasn't a bad looking woman-I guess a dike's a woman, aint she? They were all pretty drunk, you know so they figured they'd cure her. Cure her of being a dike, that is.
"The swine, the filthy swine!" Ely said.
"I was just a kid in high school then but I followed them. They were a rowdy bunch, farmers and mill hands and they went yelling down the street with me trailing them. They came to her house and broke in. By this time almost everybody in town heard about what was going on and we all stood in front of the house. Talk about screams! You could hear her clear across town!"
"Didn't anybody try to stop them?" Laura asked.
"Oh, the druggist started yapping about how they should stop it. Damn fool even ran into the house and got the hell beat out of himself for his troubles. After awhile it got quiet, then they all came out. They let the doctor go in then."
"What happened?" Laura asked again, leaning forward. Ely didn't say anything but she was rigid with rage.
"The next day they took her off in an ambulance. Never did hear anything else about her."
"Didn't the police do anything about it?" Laura said, licking her lips.
"No, there wasn't any trouble. What the hell, it wasn't as if it had been a regular woman. She was only one of those dikes," Eddie said, grinning pleasantly at Ely.
"You brute! You animal!" Ely hissed.
"Wow. Some story. I'm glad I'm here in the Village. If I were up in your God-forsaken part of the country they'd probably burn me at the stake or something, Stud."
"Well, something as good-looking as you, it'd be the something they'd be more likely to do."
"I guess you were sorry you couldn't get in with the rest of them, weren't you?"
"like I said, she was a good looking woman."
"Laura! You can't stay here with him, not now," Ely said, getting off the bar stool. "He's nothing but a vicious animal, a brute! You heard what he said. He's just as bad as those men he's been telling us about!"
"I don't know, I kind of like Stud here."
"What's the matter, Ely? Afraid of a little competition?" Eddie said, taking another belt of the bourbon.
"Say, that's the idea," Laura giggled. "Competition. You can both try and get me into bed with you."
"You can't be serious," Ely said.
"Why not?"
"I'm game," Eddie said.
"That's the spirit, Stud. That's what made America great, you know. Competition. At least that's what my boss keeps telling me when he's not trying to put his hand up my dress. Old goat!"
"Well, there's your trouble," Eddie said. "You've been around that old boss of yours. What you need is some strong, young blood like me."
"Cocky, aren't you?"
"You'd be surprised."
"How about you, Ely? Do you think you can make me happier in bed than Stud here?"
"Listen, Laura, don't play games with me," Ely said. "Send this clown on his way and come up to my place. You won't be sorry! It takes a woman to understand another woman. He's just like all men, able only to think of himself!"
"No, no, I don't buy that talk," Eddie said. The conversation was amusing him greatly. The little blonde dike was ready to spit fire, she was so mad.
"Don't listen to him, Laura. Come with me. I'm good ,damned good. Look at me, look at my body. Are you going to pass up a figure like mine for him?"
"Hmmm. You've got a good point there, Ely. Two good points, as a matter-of-fact. What have you got to say about that, Stud?" Laura said, thoroughly enjoying herself.
She really couldn't make up her mind whether she wanted a male or female bed partner that night. That had always been her trouble, she couldn't make up her mind. Ely was a hot little number, all right, with really first class breasts and clear, smooth skin. She was hot for her, too and that was good. It would mean that she would have to let Laura be the man in bed.
Laura always enjoyed that.
On the other hand, there was Eddie. He was all male and young. Remembering the joyous sounds that the Negro girl had given when he copped her in the hallway, Laura took another look at Eddie. A close look.
She liked what she saw.
A male animal, nothing more, nothing less. He wanted her, but he wasn't about to beg her to put out for him. There was a bright, lean hardness about him that seemed ready to burst into violent action at any moment. He would probably be a real wild man in action.
"I don't know why you'd want to waste your time with her," Eddie said. "Hell, what good's a woman to another woman? You just don't have the right equipment."
"You do, I suppose?"
"You should know. You saw me with that girl back in your place. She seem satisfied?"
"I'll tell you what. Let's go over to my pad, both of you. You can take turns and we'll see which one of you is the best. Maybe we can figure out something we can do together. How about it, Ely? Interested?"
"Not with this creep."
"Come on. It'll be for kicks!"
Laura and Eddie walked out. Ely let them get to the door before catching up with them. The strange group walked through the street, Eddie and Laura laughing while Ely sullenly hung back. Stopping at a liquor store they bought a fifth of bourbon and proceeded to Laura's place.
Her apartment was on the fifth floor. When she took out her key, she pointed up at the landing where he'd grabbed the whore and grinned at him. Everything felt a little strange and off-beat to Eddie. He was excited and uncomfortable at the same time. The little blonde dike made him a little nervous. Nervous and horny.
Opening the door, Laura motioned them in. It was almost a replica of Selma's place although much more elaborately furnished. A couch-bed combination was unfolded, the sheets rumpled and musty. Various ill-done drawings hung from the wall along with the usual collection of driftwood, Chianti bottles and assorted semi-bohemian knick-knacks. A television screen was set up opposite the bed.
"Well, here it is. What do you think of my pad?" Laura asked.
"Very nice. You have excellent taste," Ely gushed.
"What do you think of it?" she asked Eddie.
"What do you have all that junk piled up like that for? Ought to get rid of it," he answered, putting the fifth on the table and searching for some glasses.
"That's the way a Greenwich Village pad is supposed to look. At least, I always thought you were supposed to have stuff like that lying around. There's some glasses in that cabinet."
"Yeah, I see them. Well, Ely, what'll we do, flip for first crack at Laura? Tell you what, I'll be a sport and let you have first go at her," he said, pouring out three shots.
"All right. Take your drink and wait outside," Ely said.
"No dice. I'm staying here."
"Laura! Tell him to wait outside."
"What fun would that be? Let him stick around. Maybe we can teach this country boy something."
"I'll just sit here and work on the bourbon while I watch you. Don't worry, I won't make any noise. I've always wanted to see something like this." Hanging his sport coat on the back of his chair, he leaned back against the wall.
"Go ahead, Ely. Make your play," Laura said, sitting on the edge of the bed."
"At least turn off the lights. I hate having that big gorilla watching us."
"No, the lights stay on. It'll be more fun that way."
Glaring at Eddie, Ely went over to the radio and turned it on. WPAT was the station and it was playing dance music. Standing in front of Laura, she held her arms out. Laura stood up into them and they began moving around in a circle, shedding their shoes as they danced. There wasn't much room in the place but Ely didn't need a whole floor for her purposes.
They moved around in a close embrace, breasts touching, each trying to force the other to follow her lead. Around and around they circled, thighs together, heads resting on each other's shoulders. Laura's eyes were closed and there was a slight little-girl's smile on her face as her hands caressed Ely's back.
"You're a very good dancer," Ely whispered.
"So are you. You should let me take the lead, though."
"All right."
The music came to an end and an announcer started describing that days crises. Ely took the opportunity to kiss Laura quickly on the lips.
"Is that the best you can do?" Laura asked.
"No, Honey. I was just trying to warm you up a little."
"You don't have to worry about warming me up," she replied, pulling her closer and fastening her lips to Ely's. Swaying together in the long embrace, they began twisting their bodies together and clutching at each other's bodies.
"Oh, Laura, you're wonderful," Ely said when they moved apart. Reaching out a hand, she took the tip of Laura's left breast in her hand and squeezed gently.
"like that, don't you?"
"They're tremendous. Laura, when I saw you in the subway station, I just couldn't control myself. If you had cut me and not talked to me when I came up to you, I don't know what I would have done."
"That feels nice. You've got a nice pair here yourself. Let me get hold there ... ah, that's it. No bra, either."
"Laura, don't you think it's getting a little warm in here?"
"Yes, let's give them a little air."
Smiling at each other, they took off their dresses. Ely had on only a pair of panties beneath her dress. Her short, robust body was supple as an acrobatic dancer's. Perhaps she would run to fat in another ten years or so, but now there wasn't a sagging bit of flesh on belly, buttock or chin. Everything was firm and ripe like an August tomato. Still narrow-waisted, she had ample, comfortable hips that flared out to swelling round thighs and legs that were strong and well-developed. Obviously she once had harbored hopes of becoming a dancer.
Above the gently curving slope of her stomach, the two cantaloupe-sized mounds of creamy white flesh, tipped with glowing red nipples, thrust erect with only the slightest concession to the laws of gravity. Bobbing easily with every motion she made, they invited the eye to look, the hand to fondle, the mouth to nurse at their immaculate perfection.
Confidently standing with both hands on her hips, Ely eagerly watched Laura disrobe, secure in the knowledge of her ripe appeal. Without her dress she looked like a statue carved out of gleaming alabaster with a flawless complexion. Her wide mouth opened hungrily as Laura put the dress on the bed and stood in front of her in black panties and bra.
Taller and slenderer than Ely, she was like a thoroughbred racehorse, not carrying an extra ounce of weight but still strong and powerful. Not thin, she had ample curves at the places where women need curves. She reminded Eddie of a sleek-lined tin can, built for speed and utility. Small, almost invisible freckles covered her legs and shoulders as if someone had sprayed her with dots of paint.
"Ely, come here and let me get my hands on you," Laura said.
"What about him?" Ely said, pointing to Eddie. "Why don't you send him away? We don't need him for anything."
"I'm staying," he said flatly.
"You heard him. If he wants to hang around, that's his privilege. Just remember, Eddie, you wait your turn."
"Sure. Go ahead, don't mind me. This is more interesting than a movie."
Swaying to the radio-music, they locked themselves in another embrace, gliding around the small floor slowly. Reaching behind Laura's back, Ely released the taller girls bra. It didn't fall for a few seconds since it was held in place by Ely's own pushing breasts; then it fell between them and landed on the floor.
Now that there was nothing between their bodies but the smooth fabric of their panties. They paid less and less attention to the music and concentrated on getting as close to each other as possible.
"Laura, Laura, I've never dared hope I'd be able to score with as good a girl as you. You're-you're like a goddess. I could worship you, you're so beautiful," Ely said, pressing her head between Laura's conical, pointed breasts and stroking her slim back with both hands.
"Do you really mean that?" Laura asked, holding Ely's head and rumpling the close cropped hair. "Yes, yes. I adore you."
"Prove it then!"
"Anything, I'll do anything," she said, sinking to her knees.
"Kiss my foot." She did.
"Now higher. Higher. That's it!"
Pulling down the black panties, Laura let them fall to her knees. Hobbling backwards, she let herself fall on the bed, lifted her feet up and kicking the panties off. Standing up, Ely yanked off her own garment and joined Laura on the bed.
Eddie moved his chair closer.
A mass of intertwined female flesh, all arms and legs, rolled about the bed. Female flesh, ripe, naked and young.
Eddie began taking off his clothing.
"Oh, Laura, darling, are you ready yet?"
"Do that again. Don't stop, don't stop! Oh, I'm ready to go out of my mind! There! Ely! Ely!"
"Darling! Let me kiss you.
"Yes, yes!. . . "
Then there were no sounds except low-pitched moans.
Eddie felt somewhat left out of things.
The girls were busy but if they had looked up, they would have been able to see that he wouldn't be left out much longer. Standing over the squirming bodies, Eddie tried to figure his next move.
It wasn't too simple.
Grabbing one of the thighs before him, he wrenched the two women apart, like a referee breaking a hold in a wrestling match. Laura lay on her back, looking up at him with surprised eyes. She started to say something, then he was over her, brutally invading her body.
The change from female to male was abrupt, but
Laura had no trouble accommodating herself to Eddie. Ely had been kind of a preview, that was all. As Eddie had said before, a woman lacked necessary equipment. Dazed by the sudden turn of events, Ely watched, dumbfounded.
"That's it, Eddie, more, more!" Laura cried.
The spectacle of two beautiful women making love together had excited Eddie tremendously, now he was making up for lost time. The rank odor of female musk in her sweat, and gasping mouth assailed him, her long hot body was smooth, and slippery.
Horrified at what was happening betore her eyes, Ely began beating at his back with both hands, trying to drive him off. She might as well have tried to beat off an elephant with a fly swatter for all the attention he paid her.
"Stop it, stop it, you animal, you brute!" Ely screamed, pushing and pulling at his body.
Ignoring her, Laura and Eddie continued their driving, head-long pace, wet-skinned with effort. Stifled moans and grunts were the only answer they gave to Ely's entreaties. Laura met each lunge of his body joyfully, again and again, feeling herself merge into his wild desire, clasping him to her with arms and thighs until the two struggling bodies shook convulsively and then were still once more. Breaking free of each other, they lay on their backs, grinning at Ely's outraged glare.
"You-you were like animals," Ely said.
"You said that before," Eddie replied, reaching out for her arm.
"Don't touch me!"
"Join us, Ely. I owe you something for slugging me just now. Give me a hand with her, Laura."
"What are you going to do, rape her, Eddie?"
Laura giggled, helping him drag the struggling girl to the bed.
"No, I don't think it'll be necessary to rape her. I just want her to join the party," Eddie replied, grasping her arms and holding Ely between him and Laura.
Eventually, she quieted down and joined in the general merry-making, volunteering several ideas of an exotic nature that were truly astounding in their ingenuity....
The bars were closed, milk trucks were making their deliveries and dawn was in the east when Eddie emerged on the streets. The night's activities were still fresh in his mind and he shook his head as he ambled back to Selma. What a time! He'd never really believed things like that actually happened. It just went to show that it paid to keep your eyes open.
Selma stirred awake when he eased the door open and entered the room. He could hear her shift around on the couch. Silently stripping, he lay down near the edge, feeling like a husband who has just come home from a cat-house.
"You took your time coming back."
"So what?"
"Where were you?"
"Look, knock it off and let me get some sleep. What's it to you how I spend my time?"
"Nothing. Nothing at all," she answered, turning on her side away from him.
She was out of the house when he awoke, which suited him fine. She was getting to be more and more of a pain, nagging and looking at him. It'd be smart of him to move out but it was easier to keep putting it off. He could get by cheaper living with her than getting some room on his own. The longer he made his stake last, the longer it would be before he had to go back to Stubbin's Corner or pick up a job.
Maybe he'd be better off if he found himself a crap-game and risked his roll. That was how he made it and maybe his luck was still running strong. The trouble was, he didn't have any contacts in New York and he didn't care too much for the idea of playing with strangers. He liked the idea of gambling, though.
Slipping into a pair of dungarees, Eddie checked the coffee pot, found there was enough for a cup in it and lit the stove. Selma came in and started folding the bed back into a couch. He gave her a hand with it.
"You're getting around pretty good for a country boy, Eddie. Moving in on dikes and everything else nowadays, aren't you?"
"Who told you all that?"
"What do you think they call this the Village for? Everything on two legs in this neighborhood has had a turn at your girl Laura. Maybe four legs, too. I see her walking around with a Great Dane once in a while and I have my suspicions. The grocer couldn't wait to tell me."
"Guess you get gossips everyplace. Well, that's the way I am, Selma. It's too late for me to change now. If you want me to shove off, it's OK with me."
"No, Eddie. Stick around and get some benefit out of that bed you bought. It should be worth it for laughs to see what happens to you next."
"That's the right idea, Selma. It doesn't pay to take things as serious as you do. What the hell, I'll probably be moving on pretty soon anyway. We may as well be friends until then."
"Going back to Vermont, Eddie? When?"
"In another week or two. Might stick it out longer. I've had an idea for getting some cash next week."
"What? Don't tell me you're going to work!"
"I'll let you know how it works out. It's an outfit out on Long Island I've been hearing about."
"That's fine, Eddie. It's no use loafing around like this. I don't know why I'm worrying about you, though," she said, starting to prepare his breakfast. If anybody had ever told her she'd be putting up with a character like Eddie, she'd have laughed herself silly. She just couldn't get mad at the guy in spite of his sleeping around. He was like a big kid, natural and simple and direct in everything he did. The only thing you could do was to enjoy him and laugh with him. Maybe this job out on the Island would settle him down.
They spent the week-end in their customary manner, drinking, watching movies and making love. She tried to pump him about the job but he refused to say anything about it. Maybe, she thought, the job would turn out to be good. Eddie might even start thinking about settling down. Of course being married to an over-sexed clown like this one would be a lot of trouble, but it was something to think about.
Monday afternoon Eddie got on the subway at Times Square to the Long Island outfit he'd told Selma about. It was a well-known establishment, even had a direct train running out to it. It manufactured dreams and optimism. It was the Aqueduct Race Track.
Eddie had bought a tan straw hat for the occasion, and in company with a horde of other racing enthusiasts waited out the long trip. The crowd of intent scratch-sheet scholars he was riding with made him feel alive again. Hell, gambling was the way he made his roll, maybe he could push it into the big dough here at the track. Of course he didn't know anything about horse-racing, but it all boiled down to luck and having the guts to back your luck. He regretted not having a pair of binoculars like some of the sports on the train. Well, the next time.
The high, gleaming walls rose abruptly from the flat plain. Beyond the Grandstand, the wide expanse of the track spread out. It was still early and he wandered about the huge structure, studying the program. It all seemed fairly simple. When the ticket windows opened, he put ten to win on the number five horse. It came in, paying him some forty dollars.
At the end of the last race a broken figure wearing a once-jaunty straw hat staggered through the dejected crowd. It was Eddie, and he had twenty-two cents to his name. He'd shot his whole wad.
After buying a token he was down to seven cents. The train back wasn't a special and it hit almost every stop, giving him some time to think. He still couldn't understand exactly what had happened. Of course there was still the money he had sent home. That was his best move now, go home and lick his wounds for a spell. Good thing he still had that train ticket the Navy had given him. The damn thing had better be good!
He came sneaking into Selma's like a thief. Fortunately, she wasn't in yet. Quickly packing his gear, he prepared to leave. Damn it, he didn't have enough money to pay the subway fare to the railroad station! Feeling even more disgusted with himself than before, he searched through Selma's things until he found a quarter.
Scribbling a fast note on one of her drawing pads, he left.