Read Online Ragged Company by Richard Wagamese - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Richard Wagamese
Tags: General Fiction
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thinkin’ about no more.”
“Me too, I guess,” he said.
It felt good knowin’ that someone like Digger could feel like I did. I was thinkin’ about that when One For The Dead an’ Timber walked out of the washroom doors.
“Well, that was certainly a good one, wasn’t it?” she asked, squeezin’ my elbow when she reached me.
“Yeah,” I said, lookin’ at Digger. “What are we gonna do now?”
“Well, I think we have an agreement with our seat-saver,” she said.
“Agreement?” I asked.
“Fuck sakes,” Digger said. “You’re kidding, right?”
“No,” she said an’ nodded toward the doors where the man was just comin’ out.
He was bigger than I thought. Sittin’ in the movies he looked like Digger’s size, but he was a big guy. Tall as me but bigger: wider, thicker. Like a worker kind of guy, an’ when he reached out to shake One For The Dead’s hand, his was so big it made hers almost disappear. Big guy.
“Well,” he said, kinda lookin’ around at us, the street, every-thin’ all at one time.
“Well,” she said back. “How’d you like that, mister?”
“The movie?”
“Yes.”
“The movie was fine,” he said. “Very, very fine.”
“Fine?” She looked at him an’ then at the three of us with that arched eyebrow that always told me she was gonna have some fun with one of us. “Fine like what?”
“Well,” he said kinda slow, playin’ with the buttons on his coat. “Fine like … like, like … you know, I don’t know.”
He laughed then. Shy kinda laugh like how I laugh sometimes on accounta I kinda know where I wanna go in my head but I can’t get there. The four of us all look at each other an’ I felt funny.
“Well, why don’t you think about it while we’re walkin’,” One For The Dead tells him.
“Fer fuck sake,” Digger said. “We ain’t gonna go through with this shit, are we? Where the fuck am I gonna go with some Square John? Tell me that, will you?”
The guy just looks at him like I look at people now an’ again on accounta I’m mystified. I asked Digger one time what that word meant an’ he told me it meant “buggered all to hell,” so I figure he was mystified.
“I think we should go somewhere where we can all be comfortable,” One For The Dead said.
“The Palace,” Digger said.
“The Palace? Downtown?”
“Well, where the fuck else do you think I’d go? This frickin’ neck of the woods?” Digger asked all hard.
“I know where the Palace is,” the guy said. “It’s a little out of my comfort zone, though.”
“Well, no shit, Sherlock,” Digger said, lightin’ a smoke.
“It seems like a good idea,” One For The Dead said. “You know, mister, we’re not exactly the indoor type of people. Going to the movies is something we started to do because of the cold. We like it out where there aren’t any walls, so I guess that would be a little out of our comfort zone too.”
“Well, let’s just do it then,” he said. “So I can get on with my evening.”
“Yeah,” Digger said, “wouldn’t want to hold you back.”
They looked at each other for a moment an’ I felt that funny feelin’ in my belly. I gotta give the guy credit, though. I ain’t seen many people get away with gunnin’ Digger off an’ he held that look for a good long time.
Timber
“F INE LIKE RAIN sometimes,” he said.
We were all seated around a table at the Palace, something I found to be unbe-fucking-lievable in the first place, and then this guy, this Square John guy, comes out with an unbelievable description that I could see in my head as soon as he said it. Fine like rain sometimes. When we all just stared at him, he went on.
“There’s days when the colour and the light of things are perfect for how you feel,” he said. “Or at least you think so. Grey days. You look out your window and you stand there feeling like there’s no separation between how you feel between the ribs and the shade of the day in front of
“Me too, I guess,” he said.
It felt good knowin’ that someone like Digger could feel like I did. I was thinkin’ about that when One For The Dead an’ Timber walked out of the washroom doors.
“Well, that was certainly a good one, wasn’t it?” she asked, squeezin’ my elbow when she reached me.
“Yeah,” I said, lookin’ at Digger. “What are we gonna do now?”
“Well, I think we have an agreement with our seat-saver,” she said.
“Agreement?” I asked.
“Fuck sakes,” Digger said. “You’re kidding, right?”
“No,” she said an’ nodded toward the doors where the man was just comin’ out.
He was bigger than I thought. Sittin’ in the movies he looked like Digger’s size, but he was a big guy. Tall as me but bigger: wider, thicker. Like a worker kind of guy, an’ when he reached out to shake One For The Dead’s hand, his was so big it made hers almost disappear. Big guy.
“Well,” he said, kinda lookin’ around at us, the street, every-thin’ all at one time.
“Well,” she said back. “How’d you like that, mister?”
“The movie?”
“Yes.”
“The movie was fine,” he said. “Very, very fine.”
“Fine?” She looked at him an’ then at the three of us with that arched eyebrow that always told me she was gonna have some fun with one of us. “Fine like what?”
“Well,” he said kinda slow, playin’ with the buttons on his coat. “Fine like … like, like … you know, I don’t know.”
He laughed then. Shy kinda laugh like how I laugh sometimes on accounta I kinda know where I wanna go in my head but I can’t get there. The four of us all look at each other an’ I felt funny.
“Well, why don’t you think about it while we’re walkin’,” One For The Dead tells him.
“Fer fuck sake,” Digger said. “We ain’t gonna go through with this shit, are we? Where the fuck am I gonna go with some Square John? Tell me that, will you?”
The guy just looks at him like I look at people now an’ again on accounta I’m mystified. I asked Digger one time what that word meant an’ he told me it meant “buggered all to hell,” so I figure he was mystified.
“I think we should go somewhere where we can all be comfortable,” One For The Dead said.
“The Palace,” Digger said.
“The Palace? Downtown?”
“Well, where the fuck else do you think I’d go? This frickin’ neck of the woods?” Digger asked all hard.
“I know where the Palace is,” the guy said. “It’s a little out of my comfort zone, though.”
“Well, no shit, Sherlock,” Digger said, lightin’ a smoke.
“It seems like a good idea,” One For The Dead said. “You know, mister, we’re not exactly the indoor type of people. Going to the movies is something we started to do because of the cold. We like it out where there aren’t any walls, so I guess that would be a little out of our comfort zone too.”
“Well, let’s just do it then,” he said. “So I can get on with my evening.”
“Yeah,” Digger said, “wouldn’t want to hold you back.”
They looked at each other for a moment an’ I felt that funny feelin’ in my belly. I gotta give the guy credit, though. I ain’t seen many people get away with gunnin’ Digger off an’ he held that look for a good long time.
Timber
“F INE LIKE RAIN sometimes,” he said.
We were all seated around a table at the Palace, something I found to be unbe-fucking-lievable in the first place, and then this guy, this Square John guy, comes out with an unbelievable description that I could see in my head as soon as he said it. Fine like rain sometimes. When we all just stared at him, he went on.
“There’s days when the colour and the light of things are perfect for how you feel,” he said. “Or at least you think so. Grey days. You look out your window and you stand there feeling like there’s no separation between how you feel between the ribs and the shade of the day in front of
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