U.S.A_ - John Dos Passos [395]
She took her glasses off again and tried to reach for the bedside table with them. The glasses dropped out of her
-33-hand and broke on the concrete floor. "Oh . . . my . . . never mind, I don't need 'em much here."
Charley picked the pieces up and put them careful y in his vest pocket. "I'l get 'em fixed, Ma." The nurse was standing in the door beckoning with her head. "Wel , goodby, see you tomorrow," they said. Once they were out in the corridor Charley felt that tears were running down his face.
"That's how it is," said Jim, frowning. "They keep her under dope most of the time. I thought she'd be more comfortable in a private room, but they sure do know how to charge in these damn hospitals." "I'l chip in on it," said Charley. "I got a little money saved up." "Wel , I sup-pose it's no more than right you should," Jim said. Charley took a deep breath of the cold afternoon when they paused on the hospital steps, but he couldn't get the smel of ether and drugs and sickness out of his head. It had come on fine with an icy wind. The snow on the streets and roofs was bright pink from the flaring sunset.
"We'l go down to the shop and see what's what," said Jim. "I told the guy works for me to cal up some of the newspaperboys. I thought it would be a little free adver-tising if they came down to the salesroom to interview you." Jim slapped Charley on the back. "They eat up this returnedhero stuff. String 'em along a little, won't you?" Charley didn't answer.
" Jesus Christ, Jim, I don't know what to tel 'em," he said in a low voice when they got back in the car. Jim was pressing his foot on the selfstarter. "What do you think of comin'
in the business, Charley? It's gettin' to be a good un, I can tel you that." "That's nice of you, Jim. Suppose I kinder think about it."
When they got back to the house, they went around to the new salesroom Jim had built out from the garage, that had been a liverystable in the old days, back of old man Vogel's house. The salesroom had a big plateglass window
-34-with Ford slanting across it in blue letters. Inside stood a new truck al shining and polished. Then there was a green carpet and a veneered mahogany desk and a telephone that pul ed out on a nickel accordion bracket and an artificial palm in a fancy jardiniere in the corner. "Take your weight off your feet, Charley," said Jim, pointing to the swivelchair and bringing out a box of cigars. "Let's sit around and chew the rag a little." Charley sat down and picked himself out a cigar. Jim stood against the radiator with his thumbs in the armholes of his vest. "What do you think of it, kid, pretty keen, ain't it?"
"Pretty keen, Jim." They lit their cigars and scuffled around with their feet a little. Jim began again: "But it won't do. I got to get me a big new place downtown. This used to be central. Now it's out to hel and gone."
Charley kinder grunted and puffed on his cigar. Jim took a couple of steps back and forth, looking at Charley al the time. "With your connections in the Legion and aviation and al that kinder stuff, we'l be jake. Every other Ford dealer in the district's got a German name."
" Jim, can that stuff. I can't talk to newspapermen." Jim flushed and frowned and sat down on the edge of the desk. "But you got to hold up your end. . . . What do you think I'm taking you in on it for? I'm not doin' it for my kid brother's pretty blue eyes." Charley got to his feet. "Jim, I ain't goin' in on it. I'm already signed up with an aviation proposition with my old C.O."
"Twentyfive years from now you can talk to me about aviation. Ain't practical yet."
"Wel , we got a couple of tricks up our sleeve. . . . We're shootin' the moon."
"That's about the size of it." Jim got to his feet. His lips got thin. "Wel , you needn't think you can lay around my
-35-house al winter just because you're a war hero. If that's your idea you've