Читать книгу The Bell Tolls for No One - Charles Bukowski - Страница 9

The Way the Dead Love

My head hurt for a week and a half. I had some beautiful hangovers that way. Lou would get on the wine and apologize until I felt like vomiting. I even worked a couple of days uploading boxcars. Lou found a wallet in the crapper of a bar with $35 in it. So we went on. A while. But I felt like I owed Lou something. I think I got it one night. Lou was talking about his girlfriend.

“What a body! What breasts! And she’s young, Hank, young!”

“Yeah?”

“Only she can’t stop drinking. She’s drunk all the time. She can’t pay her rent. She’s down in the cellar.”

“Down in the cellar?”

“Yeah, that’s where they put ’em when they can’t pay their rent.”

“Is she down there now?”

“Yeah.”

We drank a while. Then I said, “Lou, I gotta call it off early tonight. I’ve got something to take care of.”

“Sure, kid.”

He left and I went out and got a fifth of whiskey. I went down to the cellar. There was only one door down there. I knocked. The door opened and here stood this young piece in panties and bra, in high heels, with just this thin negligee on. I pushed my way in. She screamed:

“Get out of here! You get out of here!”

I took the fifth out of the bag and held it before her eyes.

“Get out,” she said in a lower voice.

“You’ve got a nice place here. Where are your glasses?”

She pointed. I went over and got 2 waterglasses, filled them half up and we sat on the edge of the bed.

“Drink up. I live upstairs.”

I worked her breasts loose. They were fine. I kissed her on the throat and mouth. I was in form. We had another drink, then I worked her pants off and put it in. It was still good. I stayed all night, we went another round, and then once again before I left in the morning. She seemed to like me. And she was a very good piece.

I was sitting up in Lou’s place one night and I asked him, “You seen your girlfriend lately?”

“No, no, I meant to tell you. They threw her out. They threw her out of the cellar. I can’t find her anywhere. I’ve looked everywhere. God, I’m sick. What a piece she was! You don’t have any idea how I feel!”

“Yes, I do, Lou.”

We both drank one to her in silence.