Young Lonigan - James T. Farrell [90]
He met Vinc Curley.
“Hello, Vinc,” said Davey.
“Hello! Say!”
“Yeh?”
“Say!”
“What?”
“Say, Davey! Say!”
“What in hell do you want?”
“Say, did you see Andy?”
“Yeh. Why?”
“Oh, I just wondered where he was, ‘cause he said he’d see me aroun’ this afternoon.”
Davey said that Andy was with the older guys at Iris’, where they were all having a gang-shag.
“What’s that?”
“You’re too young to know.”
Vine slowly realized what it was, and his feelings seemed hurt.
“What did he do a thing like that for?” Vinc asked, speaking in that slow sort of drawl he had.
“He wanted to. What do you suppose?”
Davey was impatient with the idiot.
“I didn’t think Andy was like that,” said Vine sadly.
“You’ll be the same some day, only don’t pick ’em like Iris.”
Vinc asked if Davey had seen Danny O’Neill, Paulie, Studs, Red and others. And he sadly said he didn’t think that Paulie would do a thing like that. Davey started to walk away. Vinc rushed up to him, tapped his shoulder, and said:
“Say! say!”
“Yeh!”
“Did you see Johnny O’Brien?”
“No, nuts!” said Davey.
“I was supposed to see him, too . . . Gee, I wonder why none of the guys came around this afternoon?”
“Say, Vinc, let me take a nickel, will you?” asked Davey.
“You say you ain’t seen any of the guys? Gee, that’s funny. All of them said they were gonna be around,” said Vinc.
“They shoulda been, if they said they would; it was a dirty trick, them tellin’ you they’d be around when they knew they wouldn’t be,” said Davey.
“Well, I just wondered,” said Vinc.
“Well, what do you say, Vine? You’ll let me take a jit, won’t you? I’ll give it back to you tonight. My old man is gonna give me a couple of bucks for deliverin’ clothes for him. I’ll give you the jit back with a nickel interest,” coaxed Davey.
There was an oblivious look in Vinc’s eye. He still wondered why none of the guys were around.
“But how about leavin’ me take that jit?” said Davey.
Vinc watched a kid pass on a bike. He exclaimed:
“Oh!”
Davey asked again. Vinc said that he couldn’t. He didn’t have any money. He wondered why no one was around.
Davey walked down the street, deciding that Vinc was another Irish bastard. Davey suddenly turned around and saw Vinc coming out of the drug store with an ice cream cone. He said he thought Vinc was broke. Vinc said he’d found a nickel in his pocket after Davey had gone. Davey said Vinc was a liar. He said that whenever Vinc got in trouble, he needn’t come around for Davey Cohen to stick up for him. He’d never stick up for a liar like Vinc Curley. Vinc said he was sorry. He said: Hones’ Dave! He got his tongue twisted in explanations.
Davey said the guys were coming. Vinc asked where. Davey pointed in back of Vinc. Vinc turned. Davey grabbed the cone, and blew, Vinc after him, yelling help, murder, robber, stop thief. Davey ditched Vine in the alley under the elevated tracks.
He walked down Fifty-seventh to South Park, and down back to Fifty-eighth. At Fifty-eighth and South Park, he met Stein, an eleven-or twelve-year-old mamma’s boy. Davey said hello. So did Stein. Davey got hard-boiled. Stein nervously moved away. Davey called him back.
“Where’s your wrist watch and tennis racket?” Davey asked.
“I haven’t a racket, and I’m going to the store.”
“Well, listen!”
“I am.”
“Listen!”
Davey made lip-noises.
Stein turned.
“Commere!”
“I have to go to the store for my mother.”
Davey dragged Stein back, and was going to sock him. He felt powerful. Then he let him go on, and felt even more powerful.
He walked around, and thought how he was going to be a great guy, when things got different, and he got away from the Irish. He would then be understood . . . He was sad . . . He came out of his sadness by imagining himself going back to Iris’, socking Studs and then hanging one on Iris.
He met Danny O’Neill. Danny asked