Women - Charles Bukowski [137]
We had just split again and I had dropped off the head. I was drinking, a free man again. I had a young friend, Bobby, a rather bland kid who worked in a porno bookstore and was a photographer on the side. He lived a couple of blocks away. Bobby was having trouble with himself and with his wife, Valerie. He phoned one evening and said he was bringing Valerie over to stay the night with me. It sounded fine. Valerie was 22, absolutely lovely, with long blond hair, mad blue eyes and a beautiful body. Like Lydia, she had also spent some time in a madhouse. After a while I heard them drive up on the lawn in front of my court. Valerie got out. I remembered Bobby telling me that when he first introduced Valerie to his parents they had commented on her dress—that they liked it very much—and she had said, “Yeah, well how about the rest of me?” She had pulled her dress up over her hips. And didn’t have any panties on.
Valerie knocked. I heard Bobby drive off. I let her in. She looked fine. I poured two scotch and waters. Neither of us spoke. We drank those and I poured two more. After that I said, “Come on, let’s make a bar.” We got into my car. The Glue Machine was right around the corner. I had been 86’d earlier that week but nothing was said when we walked in. We got a table and ordered drinks. We still didn’t talk. I just looked into those mad blue eyes. We were sitting side by side and I kissed her. Her mouth was cool and open. I kissed her again and our legs pressed together. Bobby had a nice wife. Bobby was crazy to pass her around.
We decided on dinner. We each ordered a steak and we drank and we kissed while we waited. The barmaid said, “Oh, you’re in love!” and we both laughed. When the steaks came Valerie said, “I don’t want to eat mine.” “I don’t want to eat mine either,” I said.
We drank for another hour and then decided to go back to my place. As I drove the car up on the front lawn I saw a woman in the driveway. It was Lydia. She had an envelope in her hand. I got out of the car with Valerie and Lydia looked at us. “Who’s that?” asked Valerie. “The woman I love,” I told her.
“Who’s the bitch?” screamed Lydia.
Valerie turned and ran down the sidewalk. I could hear her high heels on the pavement. “Come on in,” I told Lydia. She followed me in.
“I came here to give this letter to you and it looks like I came at the right time. Who was she?”
“Bobby’s wife. We’re just friends.”
“You were going to fuck her, weren’t you?”
“Now look, I told her I love you.”
“You were going to fuck her, weren’t you?”
“Now look, baby…”
Suddenly she shoved me. I was standing in front of the coffee table which was in front of the couch. I fell backward over the coffee table and into the space between the table and the couch. I heard the door slam. And as I got up I heard the engine of Lydia’s car start. Then she drove off.
Son-of-a-bitch, I thought, one minute I’ve got two women and the next I’ve got none.
10
I was surprised the next morning when April knocked on the door. April was the one on ATD who had been at Harry Ascot’s party and who had left with the speed freak. It was 11 AM. April came in and sat down.
“I’ve always admired your work,” she said.
I got her a beer and got myself a beer.
“God is a hook in the sky,” she said.
“All right,” I said.
April was on the heavy side but not too fat. She had big hips and a large ass and her hair fell straight down. There was something about the size of her—rugged, like she could handle an ape. Her mental deficiency was attractive to me because she didn’t play games. She crossed her legs, showing me enormous white flanks.
“I planted tomato seeds down in the basement of the apartment house I live in,” she said.
“I’ll take some when they come up,” I said.
“I’ve never had a driver’s license,” April said. “My mother lives in New Jersey.”
“My mother’s dead,” I said. I walked over and sat next to her on the couch. I grabbed her and kissed her. While I was kissing