WHERE SHE WORKS, long narrow grey room, twelve clean plastic desks. At the end a door of yellow frosted glass like a motel shower. Man in the glass office, talking on a phone. Waves her in to share his shower.
3. BLACK EYES, OVERBITE, NECK FOLDS: ALAN MARYBELLA, THE NEWBORN TURTLE.
She sits behind his George the III mahogany, here before they were.
He says, It's stalled. I gave everyone the day, they don't know yet. Yeah, good luck in Pahrump. Timing, right? How's the .. The, uh --
Roger.
Nickname.
Crunch.
A new one.
He's fine.
Guarding the coppers from the Marines?
He's in South America. Do I have a job, Alan?
Movies. You walk here alone? Fine. This is the century, just not the city.
He sweeps paint chips off the desk with his hand.
Wanna go to the movies?
TO THE theater next door with the Turtle.
An Indian unlocks the door. He whistles in the dark, walking out in front of them, guiding them down the steep stair into the dark theater.
Lights, Camera, Instrumentation.
She smells dope. Not smoke, nutty paper bag weed smell.
The Indian could have offered.
On the screen a Fade In: Two French actors faking sex. The Turtle giggles. Same movie they've played for a year.
GUNFIRE ON THE STREET. The Indian comes, and waves that it's safe. The shooter went east.
She asks Alan, Do I have a job?
He's asleep.
THE OFFICE.
Alan goes behind the glass, on his phone. At the door she sees him pad and paper numbers. She knows when the call ends no matter how long he holds the phone.
I'll take you to dinner, He says.
I would have left the city. She says. Meaning: had she known there was no job.
Wear something nice. Eight. Your place. It's a thing!
Walk me home, She says.
Too many cops where you are. You would have left? He didn't ask you.
She'd like to say to him, Roger is an eagle, and you, a turtle. Roger would pluck you up, and drop you on a tragedian's head.
Instead she asks, What happened to Henny Newton?
Who knows. He says.
Down two years, and now it's fallen through with him?
Be womanly later. We'll have escorts.
A world of men. The shitheels.
0 comments:
Post a Comment