About eleven or so we ran out of beer, and Sloane suggested that we slip out for a couple glasses of draft. Margaret pouted a little, but Jack took her back into the hallway and talked with her for a few minutes, and when they came back she seemed convinced. Jack pulled on a sport shirt and a jacket, and Sloane and I got ourselves squared away. We went outside.
Ill be seeing you, Margaret, I said to her as she stood in the doorway to watch us leave.
Now you know the way, she said in a sort of offhand invitation.
Be back in an hour or so, sweetie, Jack told her.
She went back inside without answering.
We took Jacks car, a slightly battered Plymouth with a lot of miles on it.
I wont ride with Sloane when hes been drinking, Jack said, explaining why wed left Sloanes Cadillac. The son of a bitch has totalled five cars in the last two years.
I have a helluva time gettin insurance. Sloane giggled.
We swung on out of the trailer court and started off down South Tacoma Way, past the car lots and parts houses.
Go on out to the Hideout Tavern, Sloane said. He was sprawled in the back seat, his hat pushed down over his nose.
Right, Jack said.
I hear that a man can do some pretty serious drinking in Germany, Sloane said to me.
Calvin, you got a beer bottle for a brain, Jack told him, turning a corner.
Just interested, thats all. Thats the way to find out thingsask somebody who knows.
A man can stay pretty drunk if he wants to, I said. Lots of strange booze over there.
Like what? Sloane asked. He seemed really interested.
Well, theres this oneSteinhäger, its calledtastes kind of like a cross between gin and kerosene.
Oh, GodJack gaggedit sounds awful.
Yeah, I admitted, its moderately awful, all right. They put it up in stone bottlesprobably because it would eat its way out of glass. Screws your head up something fierce.
We wheeled into the parking lot of a beer joint and went inside, still talking. We ordered pitchers of draft and sat in a booth drinking and talking about liquor and women and the service. The tavern was one of those usual kind of places with lighted beer signs all along the top of the mirror behind the bar. It had the usual jukebox and the usual pinball machine. It had the uneven dance floor that the bartender had to walk across to deliver pitchers of beer to the guys sitting in the booths along the far wall. There were the solitary drinkers hunched at the bar, staring into their own reflections in the mirror or down into the foam on their beer; and there was the usual group of dice players at the bar, rolling for drinks. Ive been in a hundred joints like it up and down the coast.
I realized that I was enjoying myself. Sloane seemed to be honestly having a good time; and Jack, in spite of the fact that he was trying his damnedest to impress me, seemed to really get a kick out of seeing me again. That unholy dead feeling Id been fighting for the last months or so was gone.
We got to get Dan some civilian clothes, Cal was saying. He cant run around in a uniform. Thats the kiss of death as far as women are concerned.
Ive got some civvies coming in, I said. I shipped them here a month agoparcel post. Theyre probably at the General Delivery window downtown right now.
Ive got to run downtown tomorrow, Jack said. Ill stop by and pick them up for you.
Dont I have to get them myself? I asked. I mean, dont they ask for ID or anything?
Hell, no, Jack scoffed. You can get anybodys mail you want at the General Delivery window.
Kinda shakes a guys faith in the Hew Hess Government, I said. I mean, if you cant trust the goddamn Post Office Departmentsay, maybe we ought to take our business to somebody else.
Who you got in mind? Sloane asked.
I dont know, maybe we could advertiseDeliver mail for fun and profitsomething like that.
Im almost sure theyd find some way to send you to Leavenworth for it, Jack said.
Probably, I agreed. Theyre awfully touchy about some things. Id sure appreciate it if you could pick those things up for me though. If you can, dump them off at a cleaners someplace. I imagine theyre pretty wrinkled by now. I emptied my beer.
Another round, Charlie, Sloane called to the barman. Put your money away, he told me as I reached for my wallet. This is my party.
About a half hour later, a kind of hard-faced brunette came in. She hurried across to the booth and sat down beside Cal. She glanced back at the door several times and seemed to be a little nervous. Hi, Daddy, she said. She made it sound dirty.
Hello there, baby, he said. This is Alders brother, Dan. Dan, this is Helen.
Hi, she said, nodding briefly at me. Hi, Jack.
I looked carefully at her. She had makeup plastered on about an inch thick. It was hard to see any expression under all that gunk. Maybe she didnt have any expression.
She turned back to Sloane with an urgent note in her voice. Babys got a problem, Daddy. It still sounded dirty. I decided that I didnt like her.
Well, tell Daddy. Sloane giggled self-consciously.
She leaned over and whispered in his ear for a moment. His face turned a little grim.
OK, he said shortly, wait in the cardrive it around in back.
She got up and went out quickly.
Dumb bitch! Sloane muttered. Shes been gettin careless and her Old Mans suspicious. Id better get her a room someplace until he cools off.
Is he pretty steamed? Jack asked. Youve got to watch yourself with that husband of hers, Cal. I hear hes a real mean mother.
He just wants to clout her around a little, Sloane said. See if he can shake a few answers out of her. Id better get her out of sight. Ill have her swing me by your trailer lot, and Ill pick up my car. Then well ditch hers on a back street. I know a place where she can hole up. He stood up and put a five-dollar bill on the table. Hate to be a party-poop but He shrugged. Ill probably see you guys tomorrow. Drink this up on me, OK? He hurried across the dance floor and on out, his hat pulled down low like a gangster in a third-rate movie.
That dumb bastards gonna get himself all shot up one of these days, Jack said grimly.
He cat around a lot?
All the time. Hes got a deal with his wife. He brings in the money and doesnt pester her in bed, and she doesnt ask him where he goes nights.
Home cookin and outside lovin? I said. Sounds great.
Jack shrugged. It costs him a fortune. Of course, hes got it, I guess. Hes got the pawnshop, and a used car lot, and he owns a piece of two or three taverns. Hes got a big chunk of this joint, you know.
No kidding?
Jack nodded. You wouldnt think so to look at him, but he can buy and sell most of the guys up and down the Avenue just out of his front pockets. You ought to see the house he lives in. Real plush.
Nice to have rich friends, I said.
And dont let that dumb face fool you, Jack told me. Dont ever do business with Cal unless Im there to keep an eye on him for you. Hell gyp you out of your fillingsfriend or no friend.
Nice to have rich friends, I said.
And dont let that dumb face fool you, Jack told me. Dont ever do business with Cal unless Im there to keep an eye on him for you. Hell gyp you out of your fillingsfriend or no friend.
Sure wouldnt guess it to look at him.
Lots of guys think that. Just be sure to count your fingers after you shake hands with him.
Whats the deal with thisbabywhatever her name is?
Helen? Shes married to some Air Force guy out at McChord FieldJohnson, his name is. Hes away a lot and she likes her nookie. Sloanes had her on the string for a couple of months now. I tried her and then passed her on. Her Old Mans a real mean bastard. He kicked the livin shit out of one guy he caught messin with her. Put the boots to him and broke both his arms. Shes real wild in the sack, but shes got a foul mouth and she likes it dirtyyou know. Also, shes a shade on the stupid side. I just didnt like the smell of it, so I dumped her in Sloanes lap.
Youre a real friends, I said.
Sloane can handle it, Jack said. He looked warily around the bar and then at the door several times. Hey, lets cut out. That Johnson guy might come in here, and Id rather not be out in plain sight in case hes one or two guys behind in his information. I think I could handle him, but the stupid bastard might have a gun on him. I heard that hes that kind.
I ought to be getting back out to the Fort, anyway.
Ill buzz you on out, Jack said, pocketing Sloanes five.
We walked on out to the parking lot and climbed into Jacks Plymouth. We were mostly quiet on the way out to the Fort. I was a little high, and it was kind of pleasant just to sit back and watch the lights go past. But I was a little less sure about the arrangement than I had been earlier in the evening. There was an awful lot going on that I didnt know about. There was no way I could back out gracefully now though. Like it or not, I was going to get reacquainted with my brother. I almost began to wish Id skipped the whole thing.
4
THE following Saturday I got out of the Army. Naturally, they had to have a little ceremony. Institutions always feel they have to have a little ceremony. Ive never been able to figure out why really. Im sure nobody really give a rats ass about all that nonsense. In this case, we walked in a line through a room; and a little warrant officer, who must have screwed up horribly somewhere to get stuck with the detail, handed each of us a little brown envelope with the piece of paper in it. Then he shook hands with us. I took the envelope, briefly fondled his sweaty hand, walked out, and it was all over.
You sure you got my address, Alders? Benson asked as we fished around in the pile for our duffle bags.
Yeah, kid, I got it, I told him.
Les-ter, a womans voice yodeled from the parking lot.
Thats my mom, Benson said. I gotta go now.
Take care, kid, I told him, shaking his hand.
Be sure and write me, huh? I mean it. Lets keep in touch.
Les-ter! Over here.
I gotta run. So long, Dan. It was the only time in two years hed ever used my first name.
Bye, Les, I said.
He took off, weighted way off-balance by his duffle bag. I watched him go.
I stood looking at the parking lot until I located Jacks Plymouth. I slung the duffle bag by the strap from my left shoulder and headed toward my brothers car. Its funny, but I almost felt a little sad. I even saluted a passing captain, just to see if it felt any different. It did.
Jack was leaning against the side of his car. Hey, man, you sure throw a sharp highball. He grinned as I came up. Why didnt you just thumb your nose at the bastard?
I shrugged. Hes still in and Im out. Why should I bug him?
You all ready? I mean have you got any more bullshit to go through?
All finished, I said. I just done been civilianized. I got my divorce papers right here. I waved the envelope at him.
Lets cut out, then. Ive got your civvies in the back seat.
I looked around once. The early afternoon sun blasted down on the parking lot, and the yellow barracks shimmered in the heat. It looked strange already. Lets go, I said and climbed into the back seat.
There was a guy sitting in the front seat. I didnt know him.
Oh, Jack said, this is Lou McKlearey, a buddy of mine. Works for Sloane.
McKlearey was lean and sort of blond. Id have guessed him at about thirty. His eyes were a very cold blue and had a funny look to them. He stuck out his hand, and when we shook hands, he seemed to be trying to squeeze the juice out of my fingers.
Hi, Dogface, he said in a raspy voice. He gave me a funny feelingalmost like being in the vicinity of a fused bomb. Some guys are like that.
Ignore him, Jack said. Lous an ex-Marine gunnery sergeant. He just aint had time to get civilized yet.
Lets get out of here, huh? Suddenly I couldnt stand being on Army ground anymore.
Jack fired up the car and wheeled out of the lot. We barreled on down to the gate and eased out into the real world.
Man, I said its like getting out of jail.
Anyhow, Jackie, McKlearey said, apparently continuing what hed been talking about before I got to the car, we unloaded that crippled Caddy on a Nigger sergeant from McChord Field for a flat grand. You know them fuckin Niggers; you can paint Cadillac on a baby buggy, and theyll buy it.
Couldnt he tell that the block was cracked? Jack asked him.
Shit! That dumb spade barely knew where the gas pedal was. So we upped the price on the Buick to four hundred over book, backed the speedometer to forty-seven thousand, put in new floor mats, and dumped it on a red-neck corporal from Georgia. He traded us a 57 Chevy stick that was all gutted out. We gave him two hundred trade-in. Found out later that the crooked son of a bitch had packed sawdust in the transmissionoldest stunt in the book. You just cant trust a reb. Theyre so goddamn stupid that theyll try stuff you think nobodys dumb enough to try anymore, so you dont even bother to check it out.
Well, we flushed out the fuckin sawdust and packed the box with heavy grease and then sold that pig for two and a quarter to some smart-ass high school kid who thought he knew all about cars. Shit! I could sell a three-wheel 57 Chevy to the smartest fuckin kid in the world. Theyre all hung up on that dogNiggers and Caddies; kids and 57 Cheviesits all the same.
So, by the end of the week, wed moved around eight cars, made a flat fifteen hundred clear profit, and didnt have a damn thing left on the lot that hadnt been there on Monday morning.
ChristJack laughedno wonder Sloane throws money around like a drunken sailor.
That lot of his is a fuckin gold mine, McKlearey said. Its like havin a license to steal. Of course, the fact that hes so crooked he has to screw himself out of bed in the morning doesnt hurt either.
Man, thats the goddamn truth, Jack agreed. How you doin back there, Dan?
Im still with you, I said.
Here, he said. He fumbled under the seat and came out with a brown-bagged bottle. He poked it back at me. Celebrate your newfound freedom.