William Gaddis - J R

— Did, did you sleep well, enough?

— Are you kidding? I mean… knees fallen wide under the blanket a hand plunged down there, — something’s been sticking me like, I mean like one of your fucking pencils… she came up with a square of glass, — like wow…

— Oh I’m sorry it’s just, it’s just my…

— Like man quit being sorry, it’s your picture of your dick dick… and her knees came down in a bounce. It was the first time she’d laughed. — Like is there more grape drink?

— Oh, oh yes wait…

— I mean look at my feet… she reached up for the cup, — like I mean that’s a bathtub in there under all that stuff isn’t it?

— Yes I think so but, we’d have to move all the…

— So like move it… Knee followed knee from a fling of the blanket, — like let me get… she had a foot up to the porcelained edge, — get up here and, wait give me your shoulder…

— I don’t know where we… her weight came on him, — where we can put it… a shirttail brushed his face, hung there, he caught breath and blew gently.

— No come on, like over in that corner there’s still room up to the ceiling, she turned abruptly, shirt drawn up in her reach for 12–2 lb 10 oz Round Pkgs QUICK QUAKER — like I mean what’s in all these, books?

— I… I don’t know, he reached up for it.

— Like I mean… down came 24–12 Oz Btls Fragile! — like I never saw anything so heavy…

— Yes they… he said getting breath between trips, — they… they are… finally, — is that the last one…?

— Yes but… I mean like I never… it came down with a crash. — Like what’s in them!

— Oh these are, these are film cans cans of film, he pursued one rolled toward the sink — I’ll, I’ll just stack them here…

— Man I, I don’t believe it… she was down knees and one elbow on half the tub’s porcelained cover lifting the other half. — I mean I don’t believe it man.

— But what, what’s…

— Like paper bags. Like I mean the whole fucking bathtub is full of these paper grocery bags.

— Well I, I guess they can go over there with the…

— I mean are you kidding? she came up glistening, rivulets coursing toward the undone button — like I mean you’re really going to save them?

— Yes well I, I mean none of this is really mine to throw away and someone might, Mister Grynszpan might want…

— Okay but like just don’t explain it okay? I mean here, she came up with an armload and then off to the floor — and here… feet planted apart bent over the side of the tub, — here…

— I’ll just, just squeeze them over by… he cleared his throat stooping close to pick them up two, three at a time, eyes on a trickle gaining momentum, — over there…

— There, she stood, — like I mean now I can’t turn the…

— Oh here wait… the five or six bags dropped, — it’s, it’s probably just, there.

— Like you think I’m getting in that? Man I’d come out looking like some rusty nail I mean…

— No, no if you let it run, he was down embracing an armload of paper bags.

— Till like when, I mean I’m supposed to stand here cooling my ass like till Christmas?

— No it shouldn’t take… he was forcing bags behind the Morning Telegraphs, back for the last of them — it shouldn’t take that long no, he said jamming them down with his foot, getting his shirt off coming back to the sink where he tilted the cookie tin top, reached down the razor and held the cracked yellow soap bar in the dwindled torrent.

— Like you’re going someplace? she said from the edge of the tub, looked in it and leaned in to press down the plug, — finally…

— Yes I, I have a business appointment with a Mister, Mister something, he drew blood — is that towel any, that old shirt I mean, he came after it past her, back blotting red.

— But like when’s your appointment, I mean like how can you have appointments when you don’t even know like what time it is here.

— No there’s… the razor raked down, — there’s a clock on the floor right there under the…

— Are you kidding? I mean I just saw it it says like one o’clock.

— Yes it’s… electric and it runs backwards, someone…

— Man like don’t try to explain it to me okay?

— No it’s very simple it… there’s a little conversion chart I made beside it you add whatever number to what it says to get ten except when it says…

— Man like I just don’t want to know! I mean are you done with the soap?

— Oh I’m, yes, yes… he turned to her shirt suddenly empty dangling from the dishcloth rack and she reached from the short tub knees drawn up failing to cover the circles gone pink from the edges somewhere the wrong way down the spectrum toward hollyhock.

— Like, man like this is laundry soap.

— I know but it’s the only…

— I mean like this will take the skin right off my, like I didn’t see this since my grandmother.

— Yes I’ve been meaning to get some but…

— I mean you’re not wearing that shirt are you?

— Yes well I, it’s the only clean…

— Clean? Like man look at the front of it where you were climbing around back there, like that should be some business appointment.

— Yes well, but there’s nothing I…

— Like just turn it inside out, I mean like then where the collar’s dirty it’s inside the collar you know?

— Oh, oh I never thought of that, he came out of it pulling its sleeves through.

— And like where’s there a mirror here.

— Well I, there isn’t really one but I’ve been using this…

— Man… she dropped a knee to reach for the cookie tin top, — like it looks it. I mean you’re leaving right now?

He paused there swallowing — I, I have to yes, yes I’d hoped I could wait for the mail but…

— Oh wow.

— No there’s something I’m waiting for…

— Like what, she had an arm up soaping under it, — the new issue of Forest Industries? I mean it already came didn’t you hear it? she called over the water tumbling at her feet, — like there was this tremendous thud out in the hall like it’s the next fifty volumes of… he came past her without even looking up, got the door open and balanced with a heel against it dragging a box over the sill and then envelopes, envelopes, grabbing one up addressed Edwerd B ast and tearing it open to pocket the crumpled bills inside before he stood. — Like you’re not opening your present?

— Oh, oh no I’ll look at it later, he dragged it under the sink, picked up his case and a soiled manila envelope.

— Wait like before you go, like right over the sink there’s some pins there, like I saw these rusty pins in a crack there.

— You, want one? he dug one out with a thumbnail.

— Just one like and I mean like turn around… she reached up for the hem of his jacket, folding it in working the pin — and then like where’s a towel when I’m done.

— I thought you, I mean all there is is this shirt, I…

— Like man if I use that I’ll be worse than when I got in here.

— I’m sorry I thought you, I didn’t think of it… he stood over her knees drawn up again there, looking slightly off balance. — When you, if you leave I don’t know how you’ll lock up, I only have this one key and if I lock the door now you…

— Are you kidding man? I mean like you think I’m going to get locked in this place? Like I mean I could drownd and nobody would know it, she said, the tumbling water still rising around her.

— Yes well, but if you leave can you fix the door so it…

— Look man like don’t worry, okay?

— Yes well, yes well, well it was nice to meet you maybe I’ll get back before you go if you, I mean, I mean you’re welcome to stay if you… he cleared his throat as her head went down, knees went down, hand seeking deep for the soap.