U.S.A_ - John Dos Passos [399]
The streets were empty. Dry snow swished in his face as he went down the steps to the basement door. The bar was ful of men and girls halftight and bel owing and tit-tering. Charley felt like wringing their goddam necks. He drank off four whiskies one after another and went around to Mrs. Darling's. Going up in the elevator he began to feel tight. He gave the elevatorboy a dol ar and caught out of the corner of his eye the black boy's happy surprised grin when he shoved the' bil into his pocket. Once inside he let out a whoop. "Now, Mr. Charley," said the colored girl in starched cap and apron who had opened the door,
-205-"you know the missis don't like no noise . . . and you're such a civilspoken young gentleman."
"Hel o, dearie." He hardly looked at the girl. "Put out the light," he said. "Remember your name's Doris. Go in the bathroom and take your clothes off and don't forget to put on lipstick, plenty lipstick." He switched off the light and tore off his clothes. In the dark it was hard to get the studs out of his boiled shirt. He grabbed the boiled shirt with both hands and ripped out the buttonholes.
"Now come in here, goddam you. I love you, you bitch Doris." The girl was trembling. When he grabbed her to him she burst out crying.
He had to get some liquor for the girl to cheer her up and that started him off again. Next day he woke up late feeling too lousy to go out to the plant, he didn't want to go out, al he wanted to do was drink so he hung around al day drinking gin and bitters in Mrs. Darling's drapery-choked parlor. In the afternoon Mrs. Darling came in and played Russian bank with him and told him about how an operasinger had ruined her life, and wanted to get him to taper off on beer. That evening he got her to cal up the same girl again. When she came he tried to explain to her that he wasn't crazy. He woke up alone in the bed feeling sober and disgusted.
The Askews were at breakfast when he got home Sun-day morning. The little girls were lying on the floor read-ing the funny papers. There were Sunday papers on al the chairs. Joe was sitting in his bathrobe smoking a cigar over his last cup of coffee. "Just in time for a nice cup of fresh coffee," he said. "That must have been quite a din-nerparty," said Grace, giggling. "I got in on a little poker-game," growled Charley. When he sat down his overcoat opened and they saw his torn shirtfront. "I'd say it was quite a pokergame," said Joe. "Everything was lousy," said Charley. "I'l go and wash my face." When he came back in his bathrobe and slippers he
-206-began to feel better. Grace got him some country sausage and hot cornbread.
"Wel , I've heard about these Park Avenue parties before but never one that lasted two days."
"Oh, lay off, Grace."
"Say, Charley, did you read that article in the financial section of the Evening Post last night tipping off about a boom in airplane stocks?""No . . . but I had a talk with Nat Benton, you know he's a broker I told you about, a friend of Ol ie Taylor's. . . . Wel , he said . . ." Grace got to her feet. "Now you know if you boys talk shop on Sundays I leave the room." Joe took his wife's arm and gently pul ed her back into her chair. "Just let me say one thing and then we'l shut up. . . . I hope we keep out of the hands of the operators for at least five years. I'm sorry the damned stuff's listed. I wish I trusted Mer-ritt and them as much as I do you and me.""We'l talk about that," said Charley. Joe handed him a cigar. "Al right, Gracie," he said. "How about a selection on the vic-trola?" Charley had been planning al winter to take Doris with him to Washington when he flew down one of the sample planes to show off some of his patents to the experts at the War Department, but she and her mother sailed for Eu-rope the week before. That left him with nothing to do one springy Saturday night, so he cal ed up the Johnsons. He'd met Paul on the subway during the winter and Paul had asked him in a hurt way why he never came down any more. Charley had answered honestly he hadn't stuck his nose out of the plant in months. Now it made him feel funny cal ing up, listening to the phone ring and then Eveline's teasing voice that always seemed to have a little jeer in it: What fun, he must come down at once and stay to supper, she had a lot of funny people there, she said. Paul opened the door for him. Paul's face had a tal owy look Charley hadn't noticed before. "Welcome, stranger," he said in a forced boisterous tone and gave him a couple