Читать книгу Dreaming of Babylon - Richard Brautigan - Страница 9

Oklahoma

I went into my apartment and got my gun. I should clean this thing someday, I thought, as I put it into my coat pocket. Also, I should probably get a shoulder holster. That would be an authentic touch that might help me get more cases.

When I left my apartment to go out into San Francisco to hustle some bullets, my landlady was standing at the top of the stairs, waiting for me.

Oh, God, I thought. She’s come to her senses. I waited for a huge tirade of curses to bombard my ears and bring my life back to hell on earth again, but it didn’t happen. She just stood there watching me as I walked out of the building with a frozen smile on my face.

Just as I was opening the front door, she spoke. Her voice was almost child-like. “Why not oil wells in Oklahoma?” she said. “There’s a lot of oil in Oklahoma.”

“Too close to Texas,” I said. “Salt water flows under the highway.”

That finished her off.

There was no reply.

She looked like Alice in Wonderland.