Read Online Midnight Cowboy by James Leo Herlihy - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: James Leo Herlihy
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straddling him there, and at his face, hovering very near his own. And he heard him speak in his friendly, deep, sweet and dark narcotic voice, “Now I’ll bet you feel a whole lot better, don’t you, Joe?”
Pinned. He was pinned down, pinned down by somebody friendly, wise, calm. Good.
At last!
What now?
“So now,” Perry continued, “all you got to do is let me know, give me a signal what you want. Otherwise, how can I give it to you?”
Who is this bird setting on my belly? Is he God? Is he Santy Claus? Is he magic? Give me what I want? Is he crazy? He ask me once again, just once more, I’ll tell him, I’ll tell him all right. Tell him I want me a blonde lady to fuck, and have her take care of me all my life, a blonde lady with long eyelashes and fat dimply knees, got to have meat on them knees, and wear a yellow dress with real tits inside, no foam rubber like poor old Sally, and be home a lot and bring me stuff to eat in front of the TV, and her come up to me during the horseshit part and say to me,
Cowboy, I love you so, and have her cry about how much she loves me. Tch tch, I’ll say to her, I never in my life seen anybody love somebody as much as you love me, how come is that anyway? And then have her say, with her voice milky as her tits, Why? Why I love you? Cause you’re Cowboy Joe Buck and you do me so good, and you don’t waste your juice trying to make a living when you don’t know how anyway. And besides they’s something special about a cowboy that loves as good as you and takes his time with it. So you just set back handsome and hard and tell me what you want from the kitchen. Jello? With cream on it? And how about a peach and a drumstick, sweetheart, for you to nibble while I sing you Blue Moon. And then we’ll make love here on the floor and when it’s over you sing me git along little dogie git along git along git along little dogie git along
…
8
“That’s nothing unusual,” Perry said. “Marijuana often induces hunger.” They were sitting at the counter of an all-night eating place somewhere on the highway, Perry smoking and drinking coffee, Joe finishing the last of two hamburgers.
“Want another one?” Perry said.
Joe shook his head, his mouth too full to speak. He felt wonderful, like a baby who has cried his lungs out and then been spanked and fed. He felt inexpressible warmth toward Perry.
“Who’s Sally?” Perry asked.
“Sally! How you know about Sally?”
“You said her name a lot, while you were having that crying jag. Is she an old girl friend?”
“Yep! An old girl friend.”
Lie!
That’s a fine way to do, he told you he likes the truth! Yeah, but a grown man can’t go telling somebody he been babbling about his gramaw.
“What would you like to do now, Joe? It’s only four a.m.”
“Me? What I want to do?
Hell
with what I want to do! What do
you
want to do?”
“No, no, this is your night, Joe. You say what you’d like to do.”
“I’d like to do what
you’d
like to do.”
“No. You say.”
“But Perry, I don’t know shee-it about stuff to do and all.”
“Yes you do. You know what you like. Everybody does.”
“Well, I, uh, I’ll tell you what we used to do in the army. That’s all I know about and it don’t amount to nothing, but what we’d do, we’d go into Columbus and pick us up a whore, and that was all they was to it. Never nothing special.”
“Is that what you want now?”
“Now? Shoot! You mean
now?”
“Yes, now. Do you want a woman now?”
“Aw, hell, I don’t have to have a woman. Shoot, I’m just fine as I am, I don’t need anything like that.” Joe stirred his coffee in silence for a moment. Then he looked at Perry and said: “Why? You want one?”
“Never mind about me. You want a woman, right?”
“Well …”
“You do, don’t you?”
“Oh, I suppose if they was something
Pinned. He was pinned down, pinned down by somebody friendly, wise, calm. Good.
At last!
What now?
“So now,” Perry continued, “all you got to do is let me know, give me a signal what you want. Otherwise, how can I give it to you?”
Who is this bird setting on my belly? Is he God? Is he Santy Claus? Is he magic? Give me what I want? Is he crazy? He ask me once again, just once more, I’ll tell him, I’ll tell him all right. Tell him I want me a blonde lady to fuck, and have her take care of me all my life, a blonde lady with long eyelashes and fat dimply knees, got to have meat on them knees, and wear a yellow dress with real tits inside, no foam rubber like poor old Sally, and be home a lot and bring me stuff to eat in front of the TV, and her come up to me during the horseshit part and say to me,
Cowboy, I love you so, and have her cry about how much she loves me. Tch tch, I’ll say to her, I never in my life seen anybody love somebody as much as you love me, how come is that anyway? And then have her say, with her voice milky as her tits, Why? Why I love you? Cause you’re Cowboy Joe Buck and you do me so good, and you don’t waste your juice trying to make a living when you don’t know how anyway. And besides they’s something special about a cowboy that loves as good as you and takes his time with it. So you just set back handsome and hard and tell me what you want from the kitchen. Jello? With cream on it? And how about a peach and a drumstick, sweetheart, for you to nibble while I sing you Blue Moon. And then we’ll make love here on the floor and when it’s over you sing me git along little dogie git along git along git along little dogie git along
…
8
“That’s nothing unusual,” Perry said. “Marijuana often induces hunger.” They were sitting at the counter of an all-night eating place somewhere on the highway, Perry smoking and drinking coffee, Joe finishing the last of two hamburgers.
“Want another one?” Perry said.
Joe shook his head, his mouth too full to speak. He felt wonderful, like a baby who has cried his lungs out and then been spanked and fed. He felt inexpressible warmth toward Perry.
“Who’s Sally?” Perry asked.
“Sally! How you know about Sally?”
“You said her name a lot, while you were having that crying jag. Is she an old girl friend?”
“Yep! An old girl friend.”
Lie!
That’s a fine way to do, he told you he likes the truth! Yeah, but a grown man can’t go telling somebody he been babbling about his gramaw.
“What would you like to do now, Joe? It’s only four a.m.”
“Me? What I want to do?
Hell
with what I want to do! What do
you
want to do?”
“No, no, this is your night, Joe. You say what you’d like to do.”
“I’d like to do what
you’d
like to do.”
“No. You say.”
“But Perry, I don’t know shee-it about stuff to do and all.”
“Yes you do. You know what you like. Everybody does.”
“Well, I, uh, I’ll tell you what we used to do in the army. That’s all I know about and it don’t amount to nothing, but what we’d do, we’d go into Columbus and pick us up a whore, and that was all they was to it. Never nothing special.”
“Is that what you want now?”
“Now? Shoot! You mean
now?”
“Yes, now. Do you want a woman now?”
“Aw, hell, I don’t have to have a woman. Shoot, I’m just fine as I am, I don’t need anything like that.” Joe stirred his coffee in silence for a moment. Then he looked at Perry and said: “Why? You want one?”
“Never mind about me. You want a woman, right?”
“Well …”
“You do, don’t you?”
“Oh, I suppose if they was something
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