Andrew Vachss - Two Trains Running

“Maybe you don’t know as much as you think you do.”

“You’ll see for yourself,” the voice said. “Need more proof first?”

“Just get to it,” Procter said.

“Soon enough,” the voice promised.

1959 October 07 Wednesday 10:15

“Who wants him?”

“He’s expecting my call,” Dett said. “You got thirty seconds to get him.”

The hum of a live line was broken by Dioguardi’s distinctive voice. “You called for your answer?”

“Yes.”

“That’s your answer, pal. Yes.”

“Yes to what?” Dett said.

“Yes to the noncompetition fee. The ten large. Just come by my-”

“You’re a funny guy,” Dett said.

“Yeah. Yeah, I guess I am. All right. How do you want to do it?”

“Just put it in the mail,” Dett said. “I’ll give you the address.”

1959 October 07 Wednesday 11:33

“Oh, I’m so glad to see you,” Tussy told Dett, her arms wrapped tightly around his chest.

“Why? I… I don’t mean that, Tussy. You just seemed, I don’t know, so surprised.”

“It’s all my fault,” she said, taking his hand and pulling him toward the kitchen. “Even though it was me saying you couldn’t stay all night, I kept thinking about all those stories you hear. You know, how the man’s not there in the morning…”

“You’re crying,” Dett said, touching her face.

1959 October 07 Wednesday 12:06

“Rufus is a good man,” Moses said. “I don’t mean that the way you young folks talk, child. I mean, he’s a righteous man.”

“Rufus? You know he’s got all kinds of hustles, Daddy.”

“That’s just for now, Rosa Mae. He’s got plans. Big plans.”

“Every man who ever talked to me, that’s what he had,” the young woman scornfully said. “Big plans.”

“Not those kind of plans,” Moses said. “Not… personal plans. Not for himself. For all of us.”

“You and me?”

“Our people, child.”

“Oh. You mean, he’s one of those…?”

“Not one of those, girl. He might be the one.”

“The one for me?”

“Ah, that’s the thing, little girl. Rufus, he wouldn’t run around on you. Wouldn’t get drunk and beat you up. He wouldn’t toss the rent money across no poker table. But he’s a bound man. He’s bound to what he’s going to do.”

“I don’t understand, Daddy.”

“I got to be truthful with you, Rosa Mae. You put your trust in me, I got to do that. Rufus, the kind of man he is, you might only see him when you come to visit. Maybe the jailhouse, maybe the graveyard. Understand?”

“No!”

“Yeah, I think you do, child. I think you do. Rufus, he’s a leader. A brave man. You been in this world long enough to know what happens to a brave colored man.”

“You don’t think I should… see him?”

“I think you got to make up your own mind on that, Rosa Mae. But I tell you this: Rufus, he’s no halfway man. He wants you for his woman. Not his girlfriend, his wife. I know he’ll be a good man, loyal and true. I know he’ll take care of you. But, a man like Rufus, you can’t go to be his wife without knowing you got a good chance to be his widow.”

1959 October 07 Wednesday 12:16

“I invited you,” Tussy said.

“Sure, but…”

“But what, Walker? You don’t have to run around spending money on me every second. When I asked you for lunch, I wasn’t asking you to take me to lunch. I can make something right here.”

“That would be great.”

Tussy walked around behind the kitchen chair where Dett was seated. She put her hands on his shoulders, and leaned forward so her lips were against his ear.

“There’s another reason I want to stay here,” she whispered.

1959 October 07 Wednesday 12:33

“Tonight,” Dioguardi said.

“Ah cain’t do it, boss,” Rufus replied, holding the mouthpiece of the phone a few inches from his lips, projecting his voice. “No, sir, Ah jest cain’t.”

“Why not?”

“I got business, boss,” Rufus said, putting a sly veneer over his servile voice. “You knows what I’m talking about.”

“You can always get pussy, boy. One’s the same as the other. Take it from me-there’s no such thing as a golden snapper.”

“Yessir, I know you saying the truth. But I done promised-”

“You know the car wash out on Polk?”

“Yeah, boss,” Rufus said, resigned.

“I’m getting my car washed at seven o’clock. You just stand over to the side, you know, where the cars come out. They got nothing but- Uh, nobody’ll even notice you; they’ll think you work there. Everything I have to tell you, it’ll take five minutes, then you can go get your pussy… with money in your pocket.”

“All right, boss,” Rufus said, allowing his voice to brighten.

1959 October 07 Wednesday 13:04

“Do you think I’m… you know what I mean,” Tussy said. She was seated before her mirror, wrapped in a towel, brushing her hair vigorously.

“No, I don’t,” Dett said, standing behind her.

“Walker! Yes, you do. I’m asking, do you think I’m a nymphomaniac or something, asking you over for lunch just so we could… you know?”

“How could you be… what you said, Tussy? You never did anything like that before.”

“Like… Oh! How could you know that?” she said, smiling into the mirror. “For all you know, I invite men over to take me to bed all the time.”

“No, you don’t.”

“But how could you know?”

“I’ll tell you,” Dett said to her reflection. “I promise you, Tussy. Not today, but soon, I’ll tell you everything.”

1959 October 07 Wednesday 13:41

“I talked to Daddy,” Rosa Mae said.

“Then you know I did, too,” Rufus replied. “Like I promised.”

“He scared me, Rufus.”

“That’s his job. That’s what fathers do with their daughters.”

“I don’t know what to do.”

“Why, girl?”

“Because… it’s not a date you want, like you said. I’m standing in front of a door, and I don’t know what’s behind it. But I can’t find out unless I open it.”

“If you want, I can show you.”

“What if it still scares me, after you show me? What if I don’t want… If I can’t…?”

“Then you walk away, Rosa Mae. If I can’t have you with me, I’ll understand that.”

“Would you, Rufus? Would you really?”

“Honeygirl, you have to listen to every word. I could understand it, sure. A woman like you, you could have… other things than what I got to offer. I’m not saying it wouldn’t hurt my heart. But, yeah, I’d understand.”

“If something hurts your heart enough, it might make you change your mind.”

“No, little Rose,” Rufus said. “If you counting on that, you got the wrong man. I’ve got a road to walk. I wish you would be walking it with me, right at my side. But even if you say you won’t, I still got to walk it to the end.”

1959 October 07 Wednesday 14:04

“Isn’t it cute?” Tussy said, pointing at the little car in her driveway. “It’s a Henry J; they don’t make them anymore. I got it from a customer for twenty-five dollars, and Al deKay-he’s a wonderful mechanic-fixed it all up for me. Someday, when I save enough money, I’m going to get it painted. Pink. I always wanted a pink car.”

“Is it reliable?” Dett said, slowly walking around the car, his mind clicking off potential defects.

“Oh, it’s very good. It never overheats in the summer, and it always starts in the winter, even when it’s real cold. Mr. Bruton-he owns the Chevy dealership-he’s always after me to get a new car. But those payments… I would be so scared to miss one. Besides, I like my car. At least it’s not like every other one you see.”