The Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck [219]
The truck edged slowly over the big hump and into the road. Tom retraced the road he had driven before, past Weedpatch and west until he came to 99, then north on the great paved road, toward Bakersfield. It was growing light when he came into the outskirts of the city.
Tom said, “Ever’ place you look is restaurants. An’ them places all got coffee. Lookit that all-nighter there. Bet they got ten gallons a coffee in there, all hot!’’
“Aw, shut up,’’ said Al.
Tom grinned over at him. “Well, I see you got yaself a girl right off.’’
“Well, what of it?’’
“He’s mean this mornin’, Ma. He ain’t good company.’’
Al said irritably, “I’m goin’ out on my own purty soon. Fella can make his way lot easier if he ain’t got a fambly.’’
Tom said, “You’d have yaself a fambly in nine months. I seen you playin’ aroun’.’’
“Ya crazy,’’ said Al. “I’d get myself a job in a garage an’ I’d eat in restaurants——’’
“An’ you’d have a wife an’ kid in nine months.’’
“I tell ya I wouldn’.’’
Tom said, “You’re a wise guy, Al. You gonna take some beatin’ over the head.’’
“Who’s gonna do it?’’
“They’ll always be guys to do it,’’ said Tom.
“You think jus’ because you——’’
“Now you jus’ stop that,’’ Ma broke in.
“I done it,’’ said Tom. “I was a-badgerin’ him. I didn’ mean no harm, Al. I didn’ know you liked that girl so much.’’
“I don’t like no girls much.’’
“Awright, then, you don’t. You ain’t gonna get no argument out of me.’’
The truck came to the edge of the city. “Look a them hot-dog stan’s—hunderds of ’em,’’ said Tom.
Ma said, “Tom! I got a dollar put away. You wan’ coffee bad enough to spen’ it?’’
“No, Ma. I’m jus’ foolin’.’’
“You can have it if you wan’ it bad enough.’’
“I wouldn’ take it.’’
Al said, “Then shut up about coffee.’’
Tom was silent for a time. “Seems like I got my foot in it all the time,’’ he said. “There’s the road we run up that night.’’
“I hope we don’t never have nothin’ like that again,’’ said Ma. “That was a bad night.’’
“I didn’ like it none either.’’
The sun rose on their right, and the great shadow of the truck ran beside them, flicking over the fence posts beside the road. They ran on past the rebuilt Hooverville.
“Look,’’ said Tom. “They got new people there. Looks like the same place.’’
Al came slowly out of his sullenness. “Fella tol’ me some a them people been burned out fifteen-twenty times. Says they jus’ go hide down the willows an’ then they come out an’ build ’em another weed shack. Jus’ like gophers. Got so use’ to it they don’t even get mad no more, this fella says. They jus’ figger it’s like bad weather.’’
“Sure was bad weather for me that night,’’ said Tom. They moved up the wide highway. And the sun’s warmth made them shiver. “Gettin’ snappy in the mornin’,’’ said Tom. “Winter’s on the way. I jus’ hope we can get some money ’fore it comes. Tent ain’t gonna be nice in the winter.’’
Ma sighed, and then she straightened her head. “Tom,’’ she said, “we gotta have a house in the winter. I tell ya we got to. Ruthie’s awright, but Winfiel’ ain’t so strong. We got to have a house when the rains come. I heard it jus’ rains cats aroun’ here.’’
“We’ll get a house, Ma. You res’ easy. You gonna have a house.’’
“Jus’ so’s it’s got a roof an’ a floor. Jus’ to keep the little fellas off’n the groun’.’’
“We’ll try, Ma.’’
“I don’ wanna worry ya now.’’
“We’ll try, Ma.’’
“I jus’ get panicky sometimes,’’ she said. “I jus’ lose my spunk.’’
“I never seen you when you lost it.’’
“Nights I do, sometimes.’’
There came a harsh hissing from the front of the truck. Tom grabbed the wheel tight and he thrust the brake down to the floor. The truck bumped to a stop. Tom sighed. “Well, there she is.’’ He leaned back in the seat. Al leaped out and ran to the right front tire.
“Great big nail,’’ he called.
“We got any tire patch?’’
“No,’’ said Al. “Used it all up. Got patch, but no glue stuff.’’
Tom turned and smiled sadly at Ma. “You shouldn’ a tol’ about that dollar,’’ he said. “We’d a fixed her some way.’’ He got out of the car and went to the flat tire.
Al pointed to a big nail protruding from