William Vollmann - Whores for Gloria

Jimmy

The entire time he had been sitting on Jack's bed staring at the two women with round round eyes going G-G-G —and his grey hair jerking crazy as he rubbed his chin-sandpaper with one unconscious hand, breathing fast and hard as he concentrated so that Dinah thought to herself God look at that disgusting old pervert I wonder where he gets his money from and Phyllis thought well now I've seen both ends of him I have to say his face is even uglier than his dick! and Dinah thought Christ is he getting off just like that I wonder if he's coming in his pants I wonder if he changes his underwear afterwards God this is so stupid and Phyllis thought how much more money does he have? and Jimmy thought Gloria I can feel you kicking inside me like I was a woman and you were my baby Gloria I can feel you growing inside me please Gloria. And he thought I have Dinah's hair should I get something of Phyllis's? and he thought Phyllis go on and Dinah go on; tell me so I can keep going on.

Dinah

Oh, said Dinah, . and I had this one guy, a real nice healthy fine young guy, an' what he would like, he liked for me to kick 'im in his balls as hard as I can with my boots on. And then what he'd do is he'd ejaculate while I'm kickin' 'im. With my pointed-toe boots! You think you'd like that? You kind of remind me of that guy. I had another date, like with six-inch heels he liked for me and this other girl to walk all over 'is face with heels, and step on 'im as hard as we can, just walk like we're walkin' on concrete, an' step on his balls an' stuff with the heels. It didn't hurt — he came! An' lemme think. Let's see some other dates I've had. — Oh! —I've had dates they wanted me to screw 'em with dildoes an' vibrators, an' they wanted to suck 'em like they were suckin' on a man's penis. They wanted me to screw 'em with a dildo an' a vibrator, and whup 'em. I've had plenty of slaves. Then I've had plenty that wanted to give me pedicures an' kiss my ass and all kinda shit like that. But that's OK, 'cause they never been harmful.

Phyllis

Once Phyllis had a date who didn't know that she was a deceiver and she really liked him and he liked her and kept buying her drinks and feeling her and she pushed his hands out of her lap and she went with him and he really wanted it and she said she'd blow him but he wanted to stick it in real bad and Phyllis said not on the first date and he got mad and said what are you? are you a woman or not? and Phyllis got insulted and slapped his face and said don't you talk to a lady that way and how dare you and the man said he was sorry and Phyllis said take me home and the man said he was really sorry and Phyllis said take me home. He took her home. The next week he called and Phyllis said what do you have to say to me and he said I'm terribly sorry and Phyllis said well I forgive you but I don't want to see you again and he said I'm horribly miserably sorry and Phyllis said all right come and pick me up. So he bought her drinks and cuddled up to her and Phyllis let him go a little farther and she could see he really wanted it so she said all right honey but I've got a surprise for you and he said what do you mean and she said I'm not what you think I am and when she showed him he was flabbergasted . But Phyllis said don't be afraid and she helped him and he went ahead and did it and thought it was wonderful. He fell hard for her. He was a married man with two kids, and he wanted to leave the family and come live with Phyllis forever. She finally had to break it off. — Oh, she was GOOD! (But Phyllis had needle tracks all over her arms.)

Dinah

Mmm, yawned Dinah. I had husband an' wives. Those benefit mosdy for the wife. But I'm not into it. I'm not bisexual, or into oral sex as far as givin' it to another female. Once we been in a situation, then the husband wants to say it's for the wife and the wife wants to say it's for the husband. So then I end up with two or three hundred dollars — I have to think of stories now. I have to think of 'em. — OK, now, there been times when girls have gotten killed; the Vice have come by with pictures and stuff and showed 'em to us, like the Green River Killer when we were up in Seattle. There been times when I've cut. . I've had to cut guys. Lot of 'em were, that's when I were drinkin'; that when I would get upset. Get vi'lent. 'Cause they'd get vi'lent with me. There was actually a time when I begged, actually begged this one guy not to get vi'lent with me, 'cause I knew what I would do. It's happened plenty of times, believe me. This one guy, when I begged him, actually begged him not to get vi'lent with me, and I pleaded and I started crying because I was in such a depressed state of mind that I didn't care. So he wanted to get vi'lent with me, so I just started stabbing him. He went to the hospital; we both went in an ambulance, 'cause he pushed me through a two-storey window. I didn't go out the bottom floor; I just went out the large window, and I took off running and he came running up and he fell, and I waited for the police, and they found me, and they held me in jail twenty-one days to see if he died. Then they let me go, 'cause there were no charges or anything. It was self-defense.

Phyllis

Once when Phyllis was in a hotel she had a man up and he was crazy; he kept saying what do you see? and Phyllis said I see a bed and a lamp and a dresser and then he jumped on her and she screamed until the manager came. Once a man picked her up and got into the freeway lane and Phyllis said where are you taking me? and the man just stared at her as if he had never seen her before and she knew he was crazy and started boo-hooing and begging him to take her back or let her out but he just kept going right across the Bay Bridge and onto the freeway, faster and faster toward the Orinda hills where a whole mess of girls had just been found with their cunts cut out and the needle was steady at sixty and Phyllis started screaming oh my God and the needle was steady at sixty and the man stared and stared at her and they came to Orinda among the poppies and the buttercups and snapdragons that sparkled like night-cities in the hills above the freeway (at night the houselights came on like pale white moonflowers) and it was evening, the traffic all dun-colored on the grey concrete, winding up and up among the hills, the headlights like dim round cheeses, but the sun still caught the ridgetops, making the trees as rich an emerald green as blood was red, and the man took Phyllis higher and higher but she would never reach Mount Diablo where my friend Seth picked a bouquet of wildflowers for Maureen; and into Phyllis's head came a crazy voice saying of her, Oh, she's headless — travelled a thousand miles without a head! and Phyllis screamed please, oh my God and the yards were steep and ivy-glossy, and there were hedges on either side of the little streets, and it was very warm and the evening sun was orange and somewhere not far away there were pink lawn-geraniums and children playing basketball and the trunks of eucalyptus trees shimmered like skeletons and tall narrow white houses with orange roofs rose upon the hills and the man stared at her with inhuman eyes and the freeway was a dead permanent color and the tail-lights of the cars ahead of her were shining very red and bright like her screams that no one in the other cars could hear, and the sky was hot and bluish-white above her head but orange behind and purple before, and the lights of the cars began to glow brighter and brighter and Phyllis screamed and opened the door and jumped out and her wig flew off and she saw it flying as she flew and it looked very small on the shoulder of the freeway and then she hit and her adrenalin was going so fast she got right to her feet and she hadn't broken any bones but her face was laid open from here to here and she had a concussion and she saw the car speeding, speeding, away, with the passenger door flapping like a single tremulous wing.