Soul of a Whore and Purvis

Read Online Soul of a Whore and Purvis by Denis Johnson - Free Book Online Page A

Book: Soul of a Whore and Purvis by Denis Johnson Read Free Book Online
Authors: Denis Johnson
Ads: Link
hurt.
    But everybody else—this family,
    Our parents, this man’s wife, his wife’s relations—
    Het up by this fireball of faith,
    Yinked and yanked by hope in God like gobs
    Of spit he dangles from his fat, red mouth—
    His doctor shouldn’t let them play these games.
    I want this sucker ceremony canceled!
    Who is actually in attendance here?
    NURSE : It’s Dr. Cassady. He makes his rounds
    Just after lunch on weekdays, Sir.
    WILL : Then page old Hopalong immediately.
    Come on!—He doesn’t want to see his patient
    Used like bait to fish for dollars, does he?
    SIMON : LET IT THUNDER FARTS AND RAIN DOWN VOMIT
    JAN : STACY!
    STACY [ grabbing SIMON ’ s crotch ]: Hon, it’s simple courtesy.
    MASHA : He’s wild for me. The demon’s wild for me.
    WILL : Jesus Christ, Morticia—lighten up!
    BILL JENKS : I’d like to be alone with Simon now.
    WILL : Go right ahead. Remember—manly grip!
    DOC and NURSE begin dragging WILL out.
    BILL JENKS : No—Let him stay. I want him here. Let go.
    DOC : If I were Simon’s primary physician—
    BILL JENKS : Go on, the rest of you. Leave us alone.
    [ To MASHA ] You especially. We can’t have you here.
    All exit. BJ alone with WILL and SIMON . WILL collects himself, goes to window.
    WILL : What’s he saying?…(Jesus. What a morning…)
    Sights…heights…Keep your eyes—the prize—
    BILL JENKS : Keep your sights
    On the heights
    Keep your eyes
    WILL :                            On the prize. The guy’s a public nuisance.
    BILL JENKS : He’s with me.
    WILL :                              He would be, wouldn’t he?
    â€¦I’m calmer now.
    BILL JENKS :                       No need to apologize.
    WILL : I feel no need. I’m not apologizing.
    My position hasn’t altered; I’m just calmer.
    Simon, too.
    BILL JENKS :            I don’t expect you like this
    Invasion of your realm—
    WILL :                                         It ain’t my realm.
    I’m not a doctor. I’m just Simon’s brother.
    BILL JENKS : I thought you were a medical man.
    WILL :                                                               I am.
    BILL JENKS : Then please don’t be so hostile. I don’t go
    So far as to suggest you look on us
    As colleagues, but I think we share a goal.
    WILL : I’m a technician of a very special kind.
    I don’t fix people. Quite the opposite.
    I supervise the termination teams.
    BILL JENKS : Sounds like you’re in the personnel division.
    WILL : No.—The tie-down team, the I-V team…
    BILL JENKS :                                                        I see.
    WILL : Next to me, boys, Lucifer never fell.
    BILL JENKS : You execute the folks.
    WILL :                                              That’s not quite true.
    We execute the sentence, not the person.
    BILL JENKS : And who, exactly, executes the person?
    WILL : “To execute” means “to carry out.”
    Well, I guess in the end we carry them out.
    â€¦So you do the opposite of what I do.
    BILL JENKS : I’ve never raised the dead.
    WILL :                                                   But—in a sense.
    BILL JENKS : I’ve never raised the dead.
    WILL :                                                   Why don’t you try?
    Go where the dead go.

Similar Books

Black Silk

Judith Ivory

The Brotherhood of Book Hunters

Howard Curtis, Raphaël Jerusalmy

Soaring

Kristen Ashley

Spider Season

John Morgan Wilson