Appointment in Samarra - John O'Hara [72]
No. Go ahead.
Well, I don t want you to take offense at this, and you can fire me if you get sore, but you been making a fool of yourself, and last night up at the Stage Coach Jesus, I don t know what to say. But you oughtn t to done that, taking that dame out, that torch singer. You know whose girl she is? Ed Charney s. One of the best friends we have, in a business way. There s a guy, a lot of people don t want to have anything to do with him, and I guess a lot of your friends think you contaminate yourself by selling him an automobile. But meanwhile Ludendorf is selling plenty of Packards to the same friends, so what they think don t matter. Ed Charney is a right guy, a square shooter. He pays his bills regular, and they re pretty big bills. He likes you personally. He told me that many s the time. He says you’re the only one in the whole high-hat crowd that he considers on the up and up. Well, what s the result? The result is, any time one of his bootlegger friends is in the market for a high-priced automobile, Ed sees to it that we make the sale. You don t see Ludendorf selling Packards to any of Ed Charney s pals. So then what? So then you turn around and pay him back by giving his girl a lay and making a monkey out of him right in his own spot, not to mention making a fool of yourself with your own wife and friends right there. You know what d happen to any of Ed s own crowd that tried to pull a fast one like that, don t you? Why it d be suicide, and just because your father happens to be a big shot here, Julian, don t think you’re in such a good spot yourself. I don t mean Ed s going to have his gorillas turn a Tommy gun on you or anything like that. But why can t you be more careful? I happen to know Ed is plenty burned up, and, my God, I don t blame him. He s been keeping that dame for over two years now, and everybody says he s nuts about her, and then you get cockeyed and take her out for a quick jump and ruin the whole works. My God, Julian.
You’re wrong about one thing, said Julian. What s that?
I didn’t lay that girl.
Lute hesitated before answering. Well, maybe you didn t, but everybody thought you did and that amounts to the same thing. She was out in the car with you long enough, and when she came back she didn’t look as if you d been sitting there listening to Father Coughlin on the radio. What surprised me was that you d have anything to do with her at all. Not that it s for me to say, but you always struck me as the ideal married couple, you and Caroline, Mrs. English. That s what Irma said too. I know it s the first time I ever knew of you going on the make for some dame. Honest, Julian, I don t want to talk out of turn, but if you and your wife are having family troubles, you ought to do your best to fix it up. You have the nicest, the swellest girl in the whole God damn Lantenengo Street crowd, and everybody in town thinks so, and if you take it from me and mind, I m ten years older n you you do the wise thing and patch it up. Irma and I, we have our troubles, but she knows how it is between she and I, and I think you feel the same way about Mrs. English. There. I ve shot off my face more than I intended to, but I m glad I got it off my chest. If you want to give me the air, that s your business, but everything I told you is the truth and down in your heart you know it, pal. I can get another job, or if I can t, I ll get by somehow. If you’re the kind of a guy that d fire me for what I been telling you, then you’re not the kind of a guy I always took you for, and I don t want to work for you. So that s that. Lute stood up slowly. Sit down, Lute. Julian was unable to say more than that. The two men sat opposite each other for a few minutes. Lute offered Julian a cigarette and Julian took it, and Julian gave Lute a light. Presently Julian said: What do you think I ought to do, Lute?
Gee, I wish I knew. I guess let it ride for the time being. You were cockeyed, and that s one consolation. Maybe Charney will take that into consideration. Aw, what the