He knew what he wanted. He missed breakfast in Santa Fé, in the Eagle
Cafe. He wanted to go in and sit on a stool before the counter, the
greasy crumb-strewed coffee-splashed table that stretched the length of
the restaurant. He wanted another breakfast with the _Capital Times_ to
read; a stale roll and coffee with milk in it, and people to talk to.
People! And afterwards to stroll down De Vargas Avenue to the
barber-shop, or to sit in the taxi-stand and have a smoke with Harvey,
waiting for trade. He wanted to talk to someone, Harvey or the barber or
the Mexican who lived next door and kept a goat in the back yard.
And the others—Bob, or Lucy, or even Phyllis Parker. Who was new in
town, he wondered? Who was being taken for the Circle Drive, or eating
lunch in the Plaza?
The car stopped in front of a little frame shack with a green door and a
red gas pump. A Mexican came out when Blake honked the horn, and filled
the tank sullenly. Blake tried to find out something about the road
ahead. How far was El Paso? Would there be a place where they could have
lunch? Did the Mexican have an extra carrier for gasoline? The man
grunted in reply. He had no gas tank. El Paso wasn’t beyond three hours’
drive. A place for lunch three miles farther on. Road pretty good. He
shuffled back into the house and slammed the door.
There was a poster on the wall that looked new enough to be
contemporary. Curiously, Blake sauntered over to examine it and to read
it aloud:
“Prize Fight,” he said. “Between José Baca and the Montero Kid. Tonight.
Seats twenty-five cents. Reserved fifty. At the Palace Theatre....”
“Where is it?” Gin asked eagerly. “I’d like to see one. Or is it over?”
“It was last night, I guess. September sixth—what is today? Is it the
seventh?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Gin said. “Come seven, come eleven.... Isn’t it my
turn to drive?”
They rearranged themselves and settled down. Teddy was in a daze. There
was something he had forgotten; he had certainly forgotten something.
Gin had reminded him of it. What was it?
The morning passed slowly and the sun grew hotter. Blake was excited,
more and more so as they drew near the border.
“What do you think the border looks like?” he asked cheerfully. “I
expect a sort of chicken-wire fence with flags on each side.”
“I think it’ll be a row of milestone things,” Gin said. “We can tell
better when we hear them talk. Blake, you wink at me when you hear
someone say ‘Carramba!’ and we’ll know that we’ve arrived.”
They screamed with laughter. Teddy stared at the road and frowned. Come
seven, come eleven. What was it? Something was wrong: he had forgotten
something.
“I’m off to my love with a boxing glove,” sang Blake. “Whoops!”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account