The Heart is a Lonely Hunter - Carson McCullers [146]
‘They’re smart, all right,’ Jake said sneeringly. ‘Caused by labor agitation.’
‘That’s remarkable.’
‘Anyway, the whole thing is very unfortunate.’ Jake held his hand to his mouth and looked down at his empty plate. ‘What do you mean to do now? Tm leaving. I’m getting out of here this afternoon.’ Brannon polished his nails on the palm of his hand. ‘Well, of course it’s not necessary--but it might be a good thing. Why so headlong? No sense in starting out this time of day.’
‘I just father.’
‘I do not think it behooves you to make a new start. At the same time why don’t you take my advice on this? Myself--I’m a conservative and of course I think your opinions are radical. But at the same time I like to know all sides of a matter. Anyway, I want to see you straighten out. So why don’t you go some place where you can meet a few people more or less like yourself? And then settle down? ‘ Jake pushed his plate irritably away from him. ‘I don’t know where I’m going. Leave me alone. I’m tired.’ Brannon shrugged his shoulders and went back to the counter. He was tired enough. The hot rum and the heavy sound of the rain made him drowsy. It felt good to be sitting safe in a booth and to have just eaten a good meal. If he wanted to he could lean over and take a nap--a short one. Already his head felt swollen and heavy and he was more comfortable with his eyes closed. But it would have to be a short sleep because soon he must get out of here.
‘How long will this rain keep on?’
Brannon’s voice had drowsy overtones. ‘You can’t tell--a tropical cloudburst. Might clear up suddenly--or might thin a little and set in for the night.’
Jake laid his head down on his arms. The sound of the rain was nice the swelling sound of the sea. He heard a clock tick and the far-off rattle of dishes. Gradually his hands relaxed.
They lay open, palm upward, on the table.
Then Brannon was shaking him by the shoulders and looking into his face. A terrible dream was in his mind. ‘Wake up,’ Brannon was saying. ‘You’ve had a nightmare. I looked over here and your mouth was open and you were groaning and shuffling your feet on the floor. I never saw anything to equal it.’
The dream was still heavy in his mind. He felt the old terror that always came as he awakened. He pushed Brannon away and stood up. ‘You don’t have to tell me I had a nightmare. I remember just how it was. And I’ve had the same dream for about fifteen times before.’
He did remember now. Every other time he had been unable to get the dream straight in his waking mind. He had been walking among a great crowd of people--like at the show. But there was also something Eastern about the people around him. There was a terrible bright sun and the people were half-naked. They were silent and slow and their faces had a look in them of starvation. There was no sound, only the sun, and the silent crowd of people. He walked among them and he carried a huge covered basket. He was taking the basket somewhere but he could not find the place to leave it And in the dream there was a peculiar horror in wandering on and on through the crowd and not knowing where to lay down the burden he had carried in his arms so long.
‘What was it?’ Brannon asked. ‘Was the devil chasing you?’ Jake stood up and went to the mirror behind the counter. His face was dirty and sweaty. There were dark circles beneath his eyes. He wet his handkerchief under the fountain faucet and wiped off his face. Then he took out a pocket comb and neatly combed his mustache.
‘The dream was nothing. You got to be asleep to understand why it was such a nightmare.’
The clock pointed to five-thirty. The rain had almost stopped.
Jake picked up his suitcase and went to the front door. ‘So long. I’ll send you a postcard maybe.’
‘Wait,’ Brannon said. ‘You can’t go now. It’s still raining a little.’
‘Just dripping off the awning. I rather get out of town before dark.’
‘But hold on. Do you have any money? Enough to keep going for a week?’
‘I don’t need money. I been broke before.’ Brannon had an envelope ready and in it were two twenty-dollar bills. Jake looked at them on both sides and put them in his pocket.