Бетти Смит - Maggie-Now

Heahly's face.

"Come in," said Mrs. Heahly, not meaning it.

"For a moment," said Maggie-Now.

"Sit down?"

"No, thank you."

"Somebody looks very nice today," said Mrs. Heahly with an ingratiating smile.

The poor thing's trying to get or my good sid e, thought Maggie-Now. She sighed. It's hard to be a landlord.

"About being late with the rent," said Mrs. Heahly brightly. "Never fear. You'll get it. My husband's working steady now, but we had some extra expenses, and. ."

"I didn't come about that. I came up to ask you for a favor."

"Any time! Any time!" said Mrs. Heahly eagerly. "If I

can do anything for you. ."

~ 200 1 "I'm going out tonight and my father might step out a few minutes while I'm gone. If you could kind of keep an eye on my brother. .t' "Glad to, Miss Moore. Glad to."

"You don't have to do anything. Just in case there's a fire or he gets sick."

"Sure! Sure!" The woman's relief at not being dunned for the rent was pathetically obvious.

Yet, after Maggie-Now left, Mrs. Heahly justified herself.

I don't mind her father getting it in the neck, the rip, telling me to go soak my head the time I told him the toilet was out of order. But it's a dirty trick to pull on the girl. She's halfway nice. Mrs. Heahly sighed. Ah, well, you can't make a deposit 077 a new fat and pay rent on the old one at the same time.

Then there's the cost of moving in the bargain.

By the time she had it all thought out, she was indignant.

She figured that the landlord owed her more than she owed hirn.

Maggie-Now had supper ready ahead of time and, of course, Pat took this special night to be late. Maggie-Now was sure he was doing it on purpose because he knew she was going out and he wanted to make her so nervous that she wouldn't enjoy herself.

When he got home, however, she saw that he had a reason for being late. He had been to the barber's for a shave and haircut. He smelled of bay rum, hair tonic and Danderine. Maggie-Now's heart sank.

He wasn't f ogling then, she thought, when he said he was going out. She tossed her head. Well, I wasn't fooling either.

He smelled the soap and talcum powder and the scent of lemon juice coming from her healthy hair. He noticed that she was dressed with unusual care.

So, he thought, I can talk meself deef, dumb and blind and she'll trot out all the same.

"We're getting in the war after all," he announced. He went into the bathroom to wash his hands.

The bathroom was no more than a windowless closet.

The tub was a shallow scoop of white-painted tin enclosed in an oblong box of zinc. Had it had a lid, it would have looked like a coffin for a shrimp of a man. The closed quarters smelled strongly of scented soap, talcum powder, wet hair and wet towels. The [201]

painted walls were still wet from steam. It was hardly the place or setting for Sybaritic rites of the bath and the voluptuous longings engendered thereby. But Pat feared the worst.

He thought: She must be serious about the bastid whoever he is. and she's out to get him. Then Vat's to become of me in me old days, he worried, and her married and away and one left to die alone in a furnished reborn?

As they sat down to supper, he said: "Who's been taking a bath, now? "

"Me," said Maggie-Now.

He fixed her with his eye and spoke slowly with hidden meaning: "Don't you think you're going a little too far taking a bath in the middle of the day?"

She saw Denny jerk his head to stare at her, "Eat," she said. "The both of you, befort it gets cold."

They were eating in complete but scented silence when a low voice came through the keyhole. "Are you all right in there?" asked the voice. Denny looked scared and Pat dropped his fork.

"That's only the lady upstairs minding Denny," she whispered. She raised her voice. "Thank you, Mrs. Heahly, but we're not gone yet," she said.

"Excuse me," breathed the voice.

So she fixed it! She fixed it so I got to go o?lt. But where, Pat thought in despair, ala I going to go?

Maggie-Now bribed I jenny to help her wash the dishes by giving him a nickel for a glass shooter. Pat went into his room to change from uniform to Sunday suit.

Maggie-Now went into her room to primp a little. After the dishes were done, Denny sat in the kitchen to do his homework. It wasn't exactly homework there was no school during Holy Week. It was "review work," one crayon picture each night to keep the kids out of mischief.

l\laggie-Now and her father came out of their rooms simultaneously and went into the front room. I le sat at one window, she at the other.

"We're getting in the war, now," he said.

"You said that before, Papa."

"Anything that important you can say twice."

"That's right," she agreed.

[202 1 He read his paper and she watched for Claude. She started to get nervous. "Papa, if you're going out, go."

"When I get good and ready."

"Look, Papa. I asked the tenant the favor of keeping an eye on Denny. That means I threw away my chance to push her about the back rent. So, since it's going to cost, take advantage. I want you to go out. I fixed it up."

Sure she wants me out, he thought, so's she can have him in here. He said: "Don't you go putting me out of me own home. First I want to see what kind of gink is coming for you."

She had feared he had that in mind. He and Claude couldn't meet. They just couldn't! Her father would insult him and throw him out and she'd never see Claude again!

Now it was a quarter to eight. She was so nervous she had to do something. She went out into the kitchen to talk to Denny.

"Denny, if you feel like buying your marble now, I'll walk to the corner with you."

The boy was willing. Pat was relieved when he saw them leave the house together. Taking the boy with her, he thought. I guess she can't be so serious about the man, then.

Anyways, there won't be no spooning. Not with a wet blanket of a boy along.

He relaxed. He took off his pinching shoes and his chafing celluloid collar and removed the brass collar button that had already branded his Adam's apple with a green circle. He unbuttoned his vest and put his feet up on a chair.

~ man, he told himself, stretching luxuriously, is a fool to go out sporting of a night when he's got a clean, decent home to sit in. Ah, yes.

Then Dermy came back.

"Where's your sister?" asked Pat.

"Don' know."

"Did she go off with a man?"

"Don' know."

"What do you know, hah?"

"I know she went with me to buy my marble and then she said I should go home because you ain't going out and you would be lonesome."

"So I ain't going out, she thinks!"

He buttoned his vest and with many a sigh he put his shoes back

~ 2 3]

on. The tarnishing collar button was put back into place and the restricting collar and tie He went for his hat.

"I'm gonna be here alone," said Denny.

"I'll tend to that," said Pat. He went out into the hall and bellowed up the stairs: ''Hey!"

Mrs. Heahly opened her door and hollered back down: "Hay is for horses."

"Don't forget to mind me kid," he said, "like me daughter told you."

"Mind your own kid,' she answered.

"Yeah? And you put that back rent in me hand first thing in the morning."

"Yeah? And you go to hell," she said, and slammed her door.