Last Exit to Brooklyn - Hubert Selby Jr (12 page)

sonafabitch who fucked herup and left with anyone who looked at her
or had a place to flop. The honeymoon was over and still she pulled
the sweater tight but there was no one there to look. When she
crawled out of a flophouse she fell in the nearest bar and stayed
until another offer of a flop was made. But each night she would
shove her tits out and look around for a liveone, not wanting any
goddamn wino but the bums only looked at their beers and she waited
for the liveone who had an extra 50cents he didnt mind spending on
beer for a piece of ass and she flopped from one joint to another
growing dirtier and scabbier. She was in a South street bar and a
seaman bought her a beer and his friends who depended on him for
their drinks got panicky fearing he would leave them and spend their
beer money on her so when he went to the head they took the beer from
her and threw her out into the street. She sat on the curb yelling
until a cop came along and kicked her and told her to move. She
sprawled to her feet cursing every sonofabitch and his brother and
told them they could stick their fuckin beer up their ass. She didnt
need any goddamn skell to buy her a drink. She could get anything she
wanted in Willies. She had her kicks. She/d go back to Willies where
what she said goes. That was the joint. There was always somebody in
there with money. No bums like these cruds. Did they think she/d let
any goddamn bum in her pants and play with her tits just for a few
bucks. Shit! She could get a seamans whole payoff just sittin in
Willies. People knew who she was in Willies. You bet yasweet ass they
did. She stumbled down the subway and rode to Brooklyn, muttering and
cursing, sweat streaking the dirt on her face. She walked up the 3
steps to the door and was briefly disappointed that the door wasnt
closed so she could throw it open. She stood for just a second in the
doorway looking around then walked to the rear where Waterman Annie,
Ruthy and a seaman were sitting. She stood beside the seaman, leaned
in front of him and smiled at Annie and Ruthy then ordered a drink.
The bartender looked at her and asked her if she had any money. She
told him it was none of his goddamn business. My friend here is going
to pay for it. Wontya honey. The seaman laughed and pushed a bill
forward and she got her drink and sneered at the ignorant
sonofabitchin bartender. The rotten scumbag. Annie pulled her aside
and told her if she tried cuttin her throat she/d dump her guts on
the floor. Mean Ruthys gonna leave as soon as Jacks friend comes and
if ya screw it up youll be a sorry sonofabitch. Tralala yanked her
arm away and went back to the bar and leaned against the seaman and
rubbed her tits against his arm. He laughed and told her to drinkup.
Ruthy told Annie not ta botha witha, Fredll be here soon and we/ll
go, and they talked with Jack and Tralala leaned over and interrupted
their conversation and snarled at Annie hoping she burns like hell
when Jack left with her and Jack laughed at everything and pounded
the bar and bought drinks and Tralala smiled and drank and the
jukebox blared hillbilly songs and an occasional blues song, and the
red and blue neon lights around the mirror behind the bar sputtered
and winked and the soldiers seamen and whores in the booths and
hanging on the bar yelled and laughed and Tralala lifted her drink
and said chugalug and banged her glass on the bar and she rubbed her
tits against Jacks arm and he looked at her wondering how many
blackheads she had on her face and if that large pimple on her cheek
would burst and ooze and he said something to Annie then roared and
slapped her leg and Annie smiled and wrote Tralala off and the cash
register kachanged and the smoke just hung and Fred came and joined
the party and Tralala yelled for another drink and asked Fred how he
liked her tits and he poked them with a finger and said I guess
theyre real and Jack pounded the bar and laughed and Annie cursed
Tralala and tried to get them to leave and they said lets stay for a
while, we/re having fun and Fred winked and someone rapped a table
and roared and a glass fell to the floor and the smoke fell when it
reached the door and Tralala opened Jacks fly and smiled and he
closed it 5 6 7 times laughing and stared at the pimple and the
lights blinked and the cashregister crooned kachang kachang and
Tralala told Jack she had big tits and he pounded the bar and laughed
and Fred winked and laughed and Ruthy and Annie wanted to leave
before something screwed up their deal and wondered how much money
they had and hating to see them spend it on Tralala and Tralala
gulped her drinks and yelled for more and Fred and Jack laughed and
winked and pounded the bar and another glass fell to the floor and
someone bemoaned the loss of a beer and two hands fought their way up
a skirt under a table and she blew smoke in their faces and someone
passedout and his head fell on the table and a beer was grabbed
before it fell and Tralala glowed she had it made and she/d shove it
up Annies ass or anybody elses and she gulped another drink and it
spilled down her chin and she hung on Jacks neck and rubbed her chest
against his cheek and he reached up and turned them like knobs and
roared and Tralala smiled and O she had it made now and piss on all
those mothafuckas and someone walked a mile for a smile and someone
pulled the drunk out of the booth and dropped him out the back door
and Tralala pulled her sweater up and bounced her tits on the palms
of her hands and grinned and grinned and grinned and Jack and Fred
whooped and roared and the bartender told her to put those goddamn
things away and get thehellouta-here and Ruthy and Annie winked and
Tralala slowly turned around bouncing them hard on her hands
exhibiting her pride to the bar and she smiled and bounced the
biggest most beautiful pair of tits in the world on her hands and
someone yelled is that for real and Tralala shoved them in his face
and everyone laughed and another glass fell from a table and guys
stood and looked and the hands came out from under the skirt and beer
was poured on Tralalas tits and someone yelled that she had been
christened and the beer ran down her stomach and dripped from her
nipples and she slapped his face with her tits and someone yelled
youll smotherim ta death—what a way to die— hey, whats for
desert—I said taput those goddamn things away ya fuckin
hippopotamus and Tralala told him she had the prettiest tits in the
world and she fell against the jukebox and the needle scraped along
the record sounding like a long belch and someone yelled all tits and
no cunt and Tralala told him to comeon and find out and a drunken
soldier banged out of a booth and said comeon and glasses fell and
Jack knocked over his stool and fell on Fred and they hung over the
bar nearing hysteria and Ruthy hoped she wouldnt get fired because
this was a good deal and Annie closed her eyes and laughed relieved
that they wouldnt have to worry about Tralala and they didnt spend
too much money and Tralala still bounced her tits on the palms of her
hands turning to everyone as she was dragged out the door by the arm
by 2 or 3 and she yelled to Jack to comeon and she/d fuckim blind not
like that fuckin douchebag he was with and someone yelled we/re
coming and she was dragged down the steps tripping over someones feet
and scraping her ankles on the stone steps and yelling but the mob
not slowing their pace dragged her by an arm and Jack and Fred still
hung on the bar roaring and Ruthy took off her apron getting ready to
leave before something happened to louse up their deal and the 10 or
15 drunks dragged Tralala to a wrecked car in the lot on the corner
of 57th street and yanked her clothes off and pushed her inside and a
few guys fought to see who would be first and finally a sort of line
was formed everyone yelling and laughing and someone yelled to the
guys on the end to go get some beer and they left and came back with
cans of beer which were passed around the daisychain and the guys
from the Greeks cameover and some of the other kids from the
neighborhood stood around watching and waiting and Tralala yelled and
shoved her tits into the faces as they occurred before her and beers
were passed around and the empties dropped or thrown and guys left
the car and went back on line and had a few beers and waited their
turn again and more guys came from Willies and a phone call to the
Armybase brought more seamen and doggies and more beer was brought
from Willies and Tralala drank beer while being laid and someone
asked if anyone was keeping score and someone yelled who can count
that far and Tralalas back was streaked with dirt and sweat and her
ankles stung from the sweat and dirt in the scrapes from the steps
and sweat and beer dripped from the faces onto hers but she kept
yelling she had the biggest goddamn pair of tits in the world and
someone answered ya bet ya sweet ass yado and more came 40 maybe 50
and they screwed her and went back on line and had a beer and yelled
and laughed and someone yelled that the car stunk of cunt so Tralala
and the seat were taken out of the car and laid in the lot and she
lay there naked on the seat and their shadows hid her pimples and
scabs and she drank flipping her tits with the other hand and
somebody shoved the beer can against her mouth and they all laughed
and Tralala cursed and spit out a piece of tooth and someone shoved
it again and they laughed and yelled and the next one mounted her and
her lips were split this time and the blood trickled to her chin and
someone mopped her brow with a beer soaked handkerchief and another
can of beer was handed to her and she drank and yelled about her tits
and another tooth was chipped and the split in her lips was widened
and everyone laughed and she laughed and she drank more and more and
soon she passedout and they slapped her a few times and she mumbled
and turned her head but they couldnt revive her so they continued to
fuck her as she lay unconscious on the seat in the lot and soon they
tired of the dead piece and the daisychain brokeup and they went back
to Willies the Greeks and the base and the kids who were watching and
waiting to take a turn took out their disappointment on Tralala and
tore her clothes to small scraps put out a few cigarettes on her
nipples pissed on her jerkedoff on her jammed a broomstick up her
snatch then bored they left her lying amongst the broken bottles
rusty cans and rubble of the lot and Jack and Fred and Ruthy and
Annie stumbled into a cab still laughing and they leaned toward the
window as they passed the lot and got a good look at Tralala lying
naked covered with blood urine and semen and a small blot forming on
the seat between her legs as blood seeped from her crotch and Ruthy
and Annie happy and completely relaxed now that they were on their
way downtown and their deal wasnt lousedup and they would have plenty
of money and Fred looking through the rear window and Jack pounding
his leg and roaring with laughter ....
 

Part V

Strike

I went by the field of the slothful,
and
by the vineyard of the man void of
understanding;

And, lo, it was all grown over with
thorns, and nettles had covered the face
thereof, and the stone wall thereof was
broken down.   
Proverbs 24: 30, 31

HARRY looked at his son as he lay on the table
playing with a diaper. He covered his head with it and giggled. Harry
watched him wave the diaper for a few seconds, He looked at his sons
penis. He stared at it then touched it. He wondered if an 8 month old
kid could feel anything different there. Maybe it felt the same no
matter where you touched him. It got hard sometimes when he had to
piss, but he didnt think that meant anything. His hand was still on
his sons penis when he heard his wife walking into the room. He
pulled his hand away. He stood back. Mary took the clean diaper from
the babys hand and kissed his stomach. Harry watched her rub the
babys stomach with her cheek, her neck brushing his penis
occasionally. It looked as if she were going to put it in her mouth.
He turned away. His stomach knotted, a slight nausea starting. He
went into the living room. Mary dressed the baby and put him in the
crib. Harry heard her jostling the crib. Heard the baby sucking on
his bottle. The muscles and nerves of Harrys body twisted and
vibrated. He wished to krist he could take the sounds and shove them
up her ass. Take the goddamn kid and jam it back up her snatch. He
picked up the t v guide, looked at his watch, slid his finger down
the column of numbers, twice, then turned on the set and twirled the
dials. In a few minutes his wife came into the room, stood alongside
Harry and rubbed the back of his neck. What show you watchin? I dont
know, twisting his head and leaning away from her hand. She walked
over to the coffee table, took a cigarette from the pack on the table
and sat on the couch. When Harry shook her hand from his neck she
felt disappointed for a second, but it passed. She understood. Harry
was funny sometimes. Probably worrying about the job, what with the
chance of there being a strike and everything. Thats probably what it
is.

Harry tried to ignore the presence of his wife but no
matter how he stared at the t v, or covered the side of his head with
his hand, he was still conscious of her being there. There! Sitting
on the couch. Looking at him. Smiling. For krists sake, what thefuck
she smilin at? Got hot fuckin pants again. Always breakin my balls.
Wish takrist there was somethin good on t v. Why cant they have
fights on Tuesday nights. They think people only wanna look at fights
on Fridays? What the fuck ya smilin at?

Harry yawned, turning his head and trying to hide his
face with his hand—Mary said nothing, just smiled— trying to
interest himself in the show, whatever it was; trying to stay awake
until she went to sleep. If only the fuckin bitch would go tabed.
Married over a year and you could count the times she went to sleep
first. He looked at the t v; smoked, and ignored Mary. He yawned
again unable to hide it it came so quickly. He tried to swallow it in
the middle, tried to cough or some damn thing, but all he could do
was let his mouth hang open and groan. Its gettin kindda late Harry,
why dont we go tabed? You go. Im gonna have anotha cigarette. She
thought for a moment of having another one too, but figured she/d
better not. Harry got very aggravated, when he was like this, if you
bothered him too much. She got up, stroking the back of his neck as
she passed— Harry jerking his head forward—and went into the
bedroom.