Women

"Hello, Cecelia. Come on to bed."

"It was nice out tonight."

"I suppose. Come say hello."

She went into the bathroom. I switched off the bedroom light.

She came out after a while. I felt her climb into bed. It was dark but some light came in through the curtains. I handed her the fifth. She took a tiny sip, then handed the bottle back. We were sitting up, our backs against the headboard and the pillows. We were thigh to thigh.

"Hank, the moon was just a tiny sliver. But the stars were brilliant and beautiful. It makes you think, doesn't it?"

"Yes."

"Some of those stars have been dead for millions of light-years and yet we can still see them."

I reached around and pulled Cecelia's head toward me. Her mouth opened. It was wet and it was good.

"Cecelia, let's fuck."

"I don't want to."

In a way I didn't want to either. Which is why I had asked.

"You don't want to? Then why do you kiss like that?"

"I think that people should take the time to get to know each other."

"Sometimes there's not that much time."

"I don't want to do it."

I got out of bed. I walked down in my shorts and knocked on Bobby and Valerie's door.

"What is it?" Bobby asked.

"She won't fuck me."

"So?"

"Let's go for a swim."

"It's late. The pool is closed."

"Closed? There's water, isn't there?"

"I mean, the lights are off."

"That's all right. She won't fuck me."

"You don't have a bathing suit."

"I have my shorts."

"All right, wait a minute…"

Bobby and Valerie came out dressed beautifully in new tight-fitting swim suits. Bobby handed me a Columbian and I took a hit. "What's wrong with Cecelia?" "Christian chemistry."

We walked to the pool. It was true, the lights were out. Bobby and Valerie dove into the pool in tandem. I sat at the edge of the pool, my legs dangling in. I sucked from the fifth of vodka.

Bobby and Valerie surfaced together. Bobby swam over to the edge of the pool. He pulled at one of my ankles.

"Come on, shit head! Show some guts! DIVE!"

I took another hit of vodka, then set the bottle down. I didn't dive. I carefully lowered myself over the edge. Then I dropped in. It was strange in the dark water. I sank slowly towards the bottom of the pool. I was 6 feet tall and weighed 225 pounds. I waited to touch bottom and push off. Where was the bottom? There it was, and I was almost out of oxygen. I pushed off. I went back up slowly. Finally I broke the surface of the water.

"Death to all whores who keep their legs closed against me!" I screamed.

A door opened and a man came ru

"Hey, there is no swimming allowed this time of night! The pool lights are off!"

I paddled toward him, reached the pool edge and looked up at him. "Look, motherfucker, I drink two barrels of beer a day and I'm a professional wrestler. I'm a kindly sou! by nature. But I intend to swim and I want those lights turned ON! NOW! I'm only asking you one time!"

I paddled off.

The lights went on. The pool was brilliantly lit. It was magic. I paddled toward the vodka, took it down from the pool edge and had a good one. The bottle was almost empty. I looked down and Valerie and Bobby were swimming in circles around each other underwater. They were good at it, they were lithe and graceful. How odd that everybody was younger than I.

We finished with the pool. I walked to the manager's door in my wet shorts and knocked. He opened the door. I liked him.

"Hey, buddy, you can flick out the lights now. I'm through swimming. You're O.K., baby, you're O.K."

We walked back to our apartment.

"Have a drink with us," said Bobby. "I know that you're unhappy."

I went in and had two drinks.

Valerie said, "Look, Hank, you and your women! You can't fuck them all, don't you know that?" "Victory or death!" "Sleep it off, Hank." "Goodnight, folks, and thanks…"

I went back to my bedroom. Cecelia was flat on her back and she was snoring, "Guzzz, guzzz, guzzz…"

She looked fat to me. I took off my wet shorts, climbed into bed. I shook her.

"Cecelia, you're SNORING!"

"Oooh, oooh… I'm sorry…"

"O.K., Cecelia. This is just like being married. I'll get you in the morning when I'm fresh."

81

A sound awakened me. It was not quite daylight. Cecelia was moving around getting dressed.

I looked at my watch.

"It's 5 am. What are you doing?"

"I want to watch the sun come up. I love sunrises!"

"No wonder you don't drink."

"I'll be back. We can have breakfast together."

"I haven't been able to eat breakfast for 40 years."

"I'm going to watch the sunrise, Hank."

I found a capped bottle of beer. It was warm. I opened it, drank it. Then I slept.

At 10:30 am there was a knock on the door.

"Come in…"

It was Bobby, Valerie and Cecelia.

"We just had breakfast together," said Bobby.

"Now Cecelia wants to take her shoes off and walk along the beach," said Valerie.

"I've never seen the Pacific Ocean before, Hank. It's so beautiful!"

"I'll get dressed…"

We walked along the shoreline. Cecelia was happy. When the waves came in and ran over her bare feet she screamed. "You people go ahead," I said, "I'm going to find a bar." "I'll come with you," said Bobby. "I'll watch over Cecelia," Valerie said…

We found the nearest bar. There were only two empty stools. We sat down. Bobby drew a male. I drew a female. Bobby and I ordered our drinks.

The woman next to me was 26, 27. Something had wearied her-her eyes and mouth looked tired-but she still held together in spite of it. Her hair was dark and well-kept. She had on a skirt and she had good legs. Her soul was topaz and you could see it in her eyes. I laid my leg against hers. She didn't move away. I drained my drink.

"Buy me a drink," I asked her.

She nodded to the barkeep. He came over.

"Vodka-7 for the gentleman."

"Thanks…"

"Babette."

"Thanks, Babette. My name's Henry Chinaski, alcoholic writer."

"Never heard of you."

"Likewise."

"I run a shop near the beach. Trinkets and crap, mostly crap."

"We're even. I write a lot of crap."

"If you're such a bad writer, why don't you quit?"

"I need food, shelter and clothing. Buy me another drink."

Babette nodded to the barkeep and I had a new drink.

We pressed our legs together.

"I'm a rat," I told her, "I'm constipated and I can't get it up."

"I don't know about your bowels. But you're a rat and you can get it up."

"What's your phone number?"

Babette reached into her purse for a pen.

Then Cecelia and Valerie walked in.

"Oh," said Valerie, "there are those bastards. I told you. The nearest bar!"

Babette slid off her stool. She was out the door. I could see her through the blinds on the window. She was walking away, on the boardwalk, and she had a body. It was willow slim. It swayed in the wind and was gone.