From Here to Eternity_ The Restored Edit - Jones, James [362]
Warden looked bitterly at a panorama of the unbelievable work he had been doing for the past week, wanting to laugh wildly.
“I might, yes. Only this time it aint the work. This time its the mere fact of not being present during duty hours. With a situation like this nobody supposes you’ll get the work done, not even your loving husband can expect that. It’ll take months before it even begins to be straightened out; thats why its so important for everybody to be on hand and put on a big act of trying to help with the emergency. And every man who has to stay will make it his job to check up on the others.”
“Then you couldnt just go ahead and take off anyway. That would ruin all your chances of becoming an officer. And we certainly dont want that.”
“No,” Warden said, “we dont want that. Any more suggestions?”
Karen, watching his face which in adversity had suddenly assumed all the bitterness of a small boy who knows by experience he had no chance to defeat his parents, felt the vengeful cruelty (that she had carried for him as carefully as eggs for seven full days and then lost completely in as many seconds) suddenly blossom again in her, this time aimed at her husband, who had been such a stupid fool as to let things get into this state. That would have to be paid for by the bloody sweat of his whole Company. Or maybe he wasnt so stupid. Not even he could be that stupid. Maybe he had known all along what he was doing. Karen thought she had never seen such a downright deliberately cruel bastard. All right, she thought vengefully, let him just wait, let him just try to cash in on it. With the indignation of an experienced wife who is sure of her control she promised herself firmly that he’d wish he’d never seen the day.
“I dont know the intricacies of your work the way you do,” she said, “but it would seem to me that the best thing and the first would be to get Sgt Galovitch out of that supplyroom as quickly as possible.”
“Apparently you dont know your husband either. The ony way he’ll ever consent to relieving Ike Galovitch now will be after a month, or maybe two, but certainly no less than one, and probly a lot more than two; after he has saved his face, and after Ike has fouled him up enough times personally to make him mad.”
“Not when I get hold of him,” said Karen crisply. “Who do you want in the supplyroom in Sgt Galovitch’s place?”
For a moment, with a certified heart-skip, Warden found himself staring fullface at a new 100%-unbeatable method of rejuvenating and running his whole outfit; wanting to kick himself in the ass for not having thought of it before. With a deal like that there would be no limit to what a man could accomplish.
Then he remembered that it was already too late, that Leva had already flown the coop, that he couldnt be touched in M Company even with this wand, and the bottom fell out of it.
“Pete Karelsen,” he said without hesitation, bitterly viewing the fading wings of all the splendid opportunities he had let get past him. “He’s the only one who’s had supply work. And what he’s had was too damn little and too damn many years ago.”
“He certainly will be better than Sgt Galovitch,” Karen told him calmly. “And if he’s all there is he’s what you want. You’re in no position to pick and choose.”
“Sure, he’ll be better. But not enough better.”
“Then thats settled. Sgt Karelsen’s the man. You give me a week,” she said crisply. “Just one week. And Sgt Karelsen will replace Sgt Galovitch in the supplyroom. It mightnt,” she said firmly happily, “even take a week.”
“Either way it will take months.”
“But, darling, thats the best I can do for you. Certainly Sgt Karelsen will be better than Sgt Galovitch in the long view. And thats what we’re looking at, the long view. I thought we were working for something stable and permanent. At the very best, this way we’re living now—even not counting how we have to hide and sneak around like criminals—is only a temporary arrangement.”
“It may have been temporary,” Warden said sourly, “and