On the Road_ The Original Scroll - Jack Kerouac [193]
slugs of whiskey in the livingroom. “Now you might go out in the yard for that, young man.” Upstairs---it was a kind of boarding house that summer---boarded a mad guy called Jim who was hopelessly in love with Beverly. He actually came from Connecticut, from a rich family they said, and had a career waiting for him there and everything but he preferred being where Bev was. The result was this: in the evenings he sat in the livingroom with his face burning behind a newspaper and every time one of us said anything he heard but made no sign. He particularly burned when Bev said something. When we forced him to put down the paper he looked at us with incalculable boredom and suffering. “Eh? Oh yes, I suppose so.” He usually said just that. Austice sat in her corner knitting watching us all with her birdy eyes. It was her job to be chaperone, it was up to her to see nobody sweared. Bev sat giggling on the couch. Ed White, Jeffries and I sprawled around in various chairs. Poor Jim suffered the tortures. He got up, yawned and said “Well another day another dollar, goodnight” and disappeared upstairs. Bev had no use whatever for him; she was in love with Ed White. He wriggled like an eel out of her grasp. We were sitting around like this on a sunny afternoon towards suppertime when Neal pulled up in front in his jaloppy and jumped out in a tweed suit with vest and watch chain. “Hup! hup!” I heard out on the street. He was with Bill Tomson who’d just returned from Frisco with his wife Helena and was living in Denver again. So was Hinkle and Helen Hinkle, and Jim Holmes. Everybody was in Denver again. I went out on the porch. “Well m’boy” said Neal sticking out his big hand “I see everything is allright on this end of the stick. Hello hello hello” he said to everybody “oh yes, Ed White, Frank Jeffries, how’d’y’do!” We introduced him to Austice. “Oh yass, how’d’y’do. This is m’friend Bill Tomson here, was so kind as to accompany me, harrumph! egad! kaff! kaff! Major Hoople sir,” he said sticking out his hand to Jim, who stared at him “yass, yass. Well Jack old man what’s the story, when do we take off for Mexico? Tomorrow afternoon? Fine, fine. Ahem! And now Jack I have exactly sixteen minutes to make it to Al Hinkle’s house where I am about to recover my old railroad watch which I can pawn on Larimer street before closing time, meanwhile buzzing very quickly and as thoroly as time allows to see if my old man by chance may be in Jiggs’ buffet or some of the other bars and then I have an appointment with the barber Brierly always told me to patronize and I have not myself changed over the years and continue with that policy---kaff! kaff!- -At six o’clock SHARP! sharp har me? I want you to be right here where I’ll come buzzing by to get you for one quick run to Bill Tomson’s house, play Gillespie and assorted bop records, an hour of relaxation prior to any kind of further evening you and Ed and Frank and Bev may have planned for tonight irrespective of my arrival which incidentally was exactly forty-five minutes ago in my old ’37 Ford which you see parked out there I made it together with a long pause in Kansas City seeing my stepbrother not Jack Daly but the younger one…” And saying all these things he busily engaged himself in changing from his suitcoat to T-shirt in the livingroom alcove just out of sight of everyone and transferring his watch to another pair of pants that he got out of the same old battered trunk. “And Diane?” I said. “What happened in New York.” “Officially Jack this trip is to get a Mexican divorce cheaper and quicker than any kind…I’ve Carolyn’s agreement at last and everything is straight, everything is fine, everything is lovely and we know that we are now not worried about a single thing don’t we Jack?” Well, lackadaddy, I’m always ready to follow Neal so we all bustled to the new set of plans and arranged a big night and it was an unforgettable night. There was a party at Al Hinkle’s sister’s house. Two of his brothers are policemen. They sat there in awe of everything that went on. There was a lovely spread