Sally 2

The show wasn’t as bad as some I’ve seen. It was on the crappy side, though. It was about five hundred thousand years in the life of this one old couple. They were all just a bunch of actors. At the end of the first act we went out with all the other jerks for a cigarette. You never seen so many phoneys in all your life. Some dopey movie actor was standing near us, having a cigarette. I sort of hated old Sally by the time we got back in the cab, after listening to that phoney Andover bastard for about ten hours. We went ice skating. They gave Sally this little blue butt-twicher of a dress. She really did look damn good in it. I have to admit it. She kept walking ahead of me, so that I’d see how cute her little ass looked. It did look cute, too. I have to admit it. She’s probably the only reason why I am in New York.

Chapter 17 Sally

I was early when I got there, so I sat down on one of those leather couches, and watched the girls. Girls with their legs crossed, girls with their legs not crossed, girls with terrific legs, girls with lousy legs, girls that looked like swell legs, girls that looked like they’d be bitches if you knew them. It was really nice sightseeing, if you know what I mean. Finally, old Sally started coming up the stairs, and I started down to meet her. She looked terrific. She really did. She had on this black coat and sort of a black beret. She hardly ever wore a hat, but that beret looked nice. The funny part is, I felt like marrying her the minute I saw her. I’m crazy. I didn’t even like her much, and yet all of a sudden I felt like I was in love with her and wanted to marry her. I swear to god I’m crazy. I admit it. We horsed around a bit in the cab on the way to the theatre. At first she didn’t want to, because she had her lipstick on and all, but I was being seductive as hell and she didn’t have any alternative.

Museum

I walked through the park over to the museum even though I knew Phoebe wouldn’t be there. I knew that whole museum routine like a book. Our teacher Miss Aigletinger, took us there nearly every Saturday. We looked at the animals and the stuff the Indians made in ancient times. Pottery and straw and stuff like that. I remember after the Indian stuff, usually we went to see some movie in this big auditorium. The inside of the auditorium had such a nice smell. It always smell like it was raining outside. I loved that damn museum. You were only supposed to whisper. in that museum everything always stayed right where it was. The only thing that would be different would be you. Not that you’d be much older or anything. You’d just be different that’s all. You’d have an overcoat on this time. Certain things they should stay they way they are. When I got to the museum I couldn’t go inside. If Phoebe’d been there, I probably would have, but she wasn’t.

Chapter 16 Bench

I wasn’t meeting old Sally till two o’clock. I started walking over towards Broadway, just for the hell of it. Besides I wanted to find a record store that was open on Sunday. There was this record I wanted to get for Phoebe, called ‘Little Shirley Beans’. It was a very hard record to get. A boy at Pencey had it and I tried to buy it off him, but he wouldn’t sell it to me. The first record sore I went into had a copy, they charge me five bucks for it. I could hardly wait to get to the park to give it to her. After I got tickets to the Lunts show, I took a cab up to the park. When I got there I couldn’t she her anywhere. There was a few kids around. Then I saw a kid about her age sitting on a bench by herself. I asked her if she knew Phoebe and she said she did. She said she was probably at the museum. Then I remember it was Sunday. I told the kid it was Sunday and then she said she didn’t know where Phoebe was then.

Mum, Dad and Nuns

My father’s quite wealthy, I don’t know how much he makes, but I imagine quite a lot. He’s a corporation lawyer. Those boys really haul it in. another reason why I know he is well off is because he’s always investing money in shows on Broadway. They always flop though it drives my mum crazy. She hasn’t been to healthy since Allie died. She’s very nervous. That’s another reason why I hated like hell for her to know I got the ax again. I put my bags in one of those strong boxes at the station, I went into this little sandwich bar and had breakfast. These nuns came and sat net to me. We sort of struck up a conversation. All I said was that English was my Favourite subject. When they got up to go, the two nuns, I did something very stupid and embarrassing. I was smoking and by accident I blew smoke in their face. I didn’t mean to, but I did. It was very embarrassing.

Chapter 15

I didn’t sleep because it was only around ten o’clock when I woke up. I felt pretty hungry, the last time I’d eaten was two hamburgers. The phone was right next to me, and I started to call down and have them send it up some breakfast. I just lay in bed for a while. What I did do was give old Sally Hayes a buzz. I wasn’t to crazy about her. I used to think she was quite intelligent. The reason I did was because she knew quite a lot about the theatre and plays and literature and all that stuff. I think I would have found out a lot sooner if we wouldn’t have necked so damn much. My trouble is I always think whoever I am necking is a pretty intelligent person.

Sunny and Maurice

There was a knock at the door. Old sunny and Maurice, the pimpy looking elevator guy, was standing there. He wanted five bucks. He did all the talking. He said it was ten bucks a throw. I knew it was only five. My old heart was damn near beating out the room. I wished I was dressed at least. Then he gave me a shove with his crumby hand. I damn near fell over my can. They acted like they owned the place. Old Maurice sat down in the big chair and loosed his collar and all. Old Maurice unbuttoned his whole uniform coat. all he had on was this phoney shirt collar no shirt or anything. He had a big fat hairy stomach. He started threatening me. He was pretty sharp in his crumby way. She took the five buck from my wallet. I stayed in the bathroom for about an hour, taking a bath. Then I got back in bed.