Abe walked into the tavern and looked around the smoke-filled dingy room at the hostile faces turnin’ his way. He was a little nervous but the half-pint of peppermint he swiped at the Liquor Store had pumped him up. A few more minutes. Then let ‘em gimme some shit, he thought, as he shoved his way through the crowd to the bar. He had just got home that afternoon and the long bus ride on the Continental Trailways had built up a hell of a thirst in his young ass. The peppermint gave him a little courage, and it acted fast if ya sucked it right down, which he always did. Drinkin’ it slow kinda wanted to make him puke it right back up. He had been twenty-one for more’n a week now. He slapped the bar top and said to the man behind it, “Gimme a Blue Ribbon!” The balding fella thought about asking him for an ID for just a second then slid the cooler open and grabbed the cold can and popped it for him, took his seventy-five cents and strolled off to the other end. Yeah, this is gonna be awright, he thought and sat down on the red plastic stool with chrome legs and looked at the fox over by the jukebox. Nice. He watched her shakin’ her fine ass for a few minutes while she punched buttons and dropped more quarters into the slot. The Duke Of Earl began, loud, and several of the patrons who thought they could sing tried to help. The bartender turned the jukebox volume up to the peg. The girl danced her way back to her stool, four seats down from Abe’s own, and he could see her in the back mirror. “Gawd damn she’s pretty,” he whispered. He fired up a Marlboro while he watched her. He wished the damn peppermint would work a little faster. She was alone, and the song that was blasting from the ‘box was making him feel like fallin’ in luv. “Fokk it,” he said and got up and walked over to her. “Hey, ya wanna dance?” She spun around slowly and looked him up and down and then grinned at him. “Yeah.” Takin’ the hand she offered he led her out on the ten foot square dance floor next to the pool table and folded her into his arms just as Pretty Woman started to play. He had never been this close to such a doll, and he whispered in her ear, “This song is about you.” She didn’t say shit just kinda snuggled a little closer, and when the song faded away said, “Why don’t you move down by me?” “Good idea, lemme grab my beer ‘n smokes.” As soon as he turned away from her the grin split his face wide open and he took his time gatherin’ his shit to give it time to go away. “Oh, man,” he said under his breath, then forced a sober look on his face and went to her. He slid onto the stool next to her and she said, “I’m Carol. I saw you watchin’ me in the mirror.” “Name’s Abe. Yeah, I’m guilty. Couldn’t help it, you’re so damn pretty.” Carol blushed and smiled at him. She liked him. He had neat wavy dark hair combed back with a little curl in the front like Elvis and long sideburns, too. He looked dangerous, but hell, Momma wasn’t here to chew on her ass so she said, “Well Abe, you don’t look so bad yourself. Are you from Galena?” “Yeah. Just got back though.” “Where were ya?” “Aw, down in Rockford. Hadda do ninety days for swipin’ some tires. I live right up the street wif the Ol’ Man above his restaurant.” “That one where they sell the Maid-Rite stuff?” “Yeah. Sloppy Joe’s ‘n shit. He got nailed fer sellin’ horse meat an’ they closed him up last month. I told him; people ain’t gonna eat that shit, but he wouldn’t listen.” “Damn. Horse meat? Gawd, I really liked them samwitches! Aw fuck, I’m gonna go puke!” Abe watched her jog to the barfroom and wished he woulda kept his damn mouf shut. “Aw shit,” he said, and ordered another Blue. She had some kinda red shit in her glass and he told the guy, “Better get Carol one too.” “Sloe Gin Fizz?” “I s’pose.” She prob’ly won’t wanna drink wif me now, he thought, after makin’ her puke like that. Carol flushed out her mouth several times but it still tasted like horse shit or somethin’. Shovin’ the door open she went out and climbed back on her stool and grabbed her glass. “Hey, you bought me a drink. Thanks!” Takin’ a big slug she sloshed it around a few times before swallowin’. “Damn. Don’t tell me shit like that! How long did he have the restaurant?” “The Ol’ Man? About three years. Used to make me cook up there sometimes. Didn’t make nobody puke then!” He glanced slyly at her as he said it, with a raised eyebrow and his crooked grin, dimples showin’. “Uh.” She couldn’t take her eyes from his handsome face and just kinda looked at him for a long moment. “I live here too. Me ‘n Momma got a place down by the levee across from the Gill buildin’, next to Tom ‘n Jerry’s  apartment.” “Aw hell, I think I seen ya down there once a few months back. I was drivin’ that black fifty-six Ford an’ pulled over to talk to Tom and some o’ the guys!” “Was that you? Man, that was a cool lookin’ car! Ya still got it?” “Damn right. Gotta get me a battery for it though. Sumbitch went dead from sittin’.” “My Momma’s car got a battery in it. Wanna go steal it?” Abe turned toward her on the stool. “You serious?” “Hell yeah! She don’t hardly ever drive the damn thing anyhow. Don’t need to, with Shady’s Store ‘n Meat Market right up the street. Wanna?” “Sure. Where’s it at?” “She got it up by her brother’s place. Ain’t no street light or nothin’. Some asshole shot it out. It’s right up behind Doc Logan’s, c’mon!” “I better grab a six-pack. You want some o’ that Sloe Gin too?” “Yeah! Get me a half-pint. No! A pint!” Abe grinned, likin’ her a lot, and yelled for the bartender. It was only a block away and didn’t take long. Abe carried a small vise-grip in his back pocket everywhere he went. Had to, with that old Ford. Momma’s car was a ’57 Chrysler four door with bat wings and he had the battery out in the blink of an eye and they were runnin’ down the street with Carol carryin’ the booze. “I got the Ford down behind the Library. Damn long hike wif this heavy sumbitch of a battery. Hey, there’s my pal Frank! Hey! Hey Frank!”

Ma lived a coupla doors down from Carol and I saw them comin’ but didn’t wanna get in the way, if ya know what I’m sayin’, and pretended that they surprised me. “Hi Abe. Good to see ya got home again. Hi Carol. Where’d you two run into each other?” “Down at the Silver Dollar. Got her to dance wif me an’ made her puke.” She poked him in the arm and laughed. “Naw! He tol’ me his daddy was sellin’ horse meat! I ate the damn stuff!” She had been sippin’ on her Sloe Gin as they walked down Bench Street and was slurrin’ a little as she spoke. “Wanna help carry this battery? Sumbitch is heavy.” “Where we goin’?” “Gonna fire up the ’56 an’ do some cruisin’. Comin’?” “Fuckinaye, man! Gimme that sumbitch!” I was seventeen and strong as a young bull from runnin’ with Abe and the older boys, junkin’ out cars and doin’ heavy labor around town, and had been in jail a number of times with my pals. Reform School down at Saint Charles. Twice. Nothin’ I liked better’n havin a good time. I had been runnin’ with Abe for years and never failed to have fun yet! I told ‘em, “I’ll run down an’ throw this in the Ford. Gimme the key an’ I’ll have ‘er goin’ by the time ya get there.” Abe tossed me the keys and I snatched the forty pound battery and took off runnin’ for the Library. An old fella we knew had a buildin’ that faced on Bench but had a garage and driveway out back and let Abe keep the car there when he was off on vacation somewhere for thirty or ninety days. He was a good ol’ boy and had a bunch of apartments here an’ there around town that he rented out. I had met the old fella when I was twelve and sold them little oval metal Social Security key ring tags for him that he punched the name and numbers on, for a dollar. Sold hundreds of ‘em, and got to keep half the money. He wouldn’t call the cops on me if he caught me out back fuckin’ with the Ford. I had a fifty Merc my own self, but hadn’t quite got it runnin’ yet, and a ’61 Dodge. Abe didn’t know about it and he was gonna shit himself when he found out. Sumbitch was the same color as James Dean’s ’49. The Merc was parked back behind the gas station I worked at in Dubuque, Mike’s Citgo. I couldn’t wait to get behind the wheel of that beast. My ’61 Dodge coupe was fast ‘n fun but the front end was mangled and it was hard to be cool in somethin’ so banged up. Maybe Abe’d let me drive tonight, since he’d gotten hooked up with Carol! I threw the battery in the Ford and pumped ‘er up and after a minute cranked her over. The ol’ gal was stubborn and the battery was gettin’ a little weak when she finally caught and took off, the burnt out glasspacks bellowing in the early evenin’ shadows and blastin’ off the walls of the Library. I cranked all the windows down and wiped the three months of accumulated dust off of the finish and stood around for a while. Where’n the hell did they go? When I was just about ready to go lookin’ for ‘em they strolled around the corner of the Library and stopped, kissin’ hell out of each other for a while and then walkin’ slowly hand in hand toward me. Ah. They’re gettin’ friendly! No wonder it took ‘em so long!

“So. Abe. I got ‘er goin’. Abe. Abe!” “Huh? Oh! How’s she runnin’? Good? Hey, you wanna drive for a while? Me ‘n Carol just met tonight an’ we wanna get to know each other, if ya know what I’m sayin’.” “No problem. Me’n that ol’ Ford are friends an’ she won’t buck too hard. Jump in!” That worked out just fine, Abe thought, and grinned at me like he was stealin’ somethin’. Prob’ly was. I grinned back and jumped in, threw it in reverse, and backed out of the alley. We rolled down off Bench to the stop sign and throwin’ a fast look right an’ left I shot across the intersection to the Mobil. The man said, “One o’ these days yer gonna git yer tit in a wringer if you don’t start stoppin’ fer that damn stop sign over there.” “Yeah. Maybe. Fill the sumbitch up with Ethyl will ya? Better check the oil too, Abe’s been in jail for the last three months an’ she leaks some.” She took five dollars worth, but the oil was fine. I cleaned the windshield and paid for the gas. “Hey Abe, we oughta get a case of beer, man. It’s hotter’n hell tonight. Whatta ya think, Carol, thirsty?” “I’m always thirsty. Git some more Gin too!” I drove up Main Street past the Desoto Hotel and pulled into the drive-thru Liquor Store, the old Stable where the Hotel kept buggies and horses and shit back in the old days. The ol’ boy was busy as hell sweepin’ out the alley and didn’t even see Abe put the stuff in the car. When he finally noticed me at the counter he said, “Yeah? Whatta ya want?” “Need a coupla packs of Marlboro.” “That it?” “Yeah.” “Two dollars.” I paid him and climbed in the car. Abe and Carol had crawled into the back seat and they were both gigglin’ like little kids as I headed out into the night. I drove around the corner and stopped across the street from Burbach’s Restaurant at the Green Street and Main intersection next to the Hotel. The place was full, but then, it had been since old Art had closed his place for good. This place didn’t serve nothin’ but beef! As I was gettin’ ready to pop the clutch and lay a slab of rubber around the corner two girls come rushin’ out the door of the restaurant yankin’ on each other’s hair and smackin’ hell out of each other. Fuck; I didn’t wanna miss a good catfight! I shut the car off right there at the stop sign and said, “Hey Abe, check this shit out, man!” They both leaned up over the seat and Carol said, “Awright!”

They were fightin’ over a boy, and they were pissed. I heard one of ‘em yellin’; ‘I’m gonna rip you a new asshole!’ That I had to see! They kicked the shit out of each other for ten solid minutes and everyone that had been inside the restaurant and about forty other people had gathered to watch the fun. There were wads of beehive hair and pieces of blouses and bras blowin’ around on the street, and one of ‘em was damn near naked when somebody hollered ‘The cops are comin’’ and everyone scattered. The poor damn-near naked girl tried to cover herself with her arms but they weren’t big enough. I yelled at her, “Come on, get in the car!” and she ran like hell and jumped in through the window and I jacked the clutch and did a huge burnout upMain Street. Even the damn-near naked girl was laughin’ like hell when we flew past the Pool Hall, but she was still tryin’ to hide herself. I got a good look anyway.

Abe wasn’t no dummy; he had swiped cold beer. He was workin’ the church key and passin’ twelve ounce bottles of Blue Ribbon around when I slowed to let some people cross the street to the Stanley Theatre, and the girl had to drop her guard to take the one he offered her. Nice…I grinned at her. “Hey, I can get you one of my sister’s blouses. Wanna go cruisin’ with us?” “Well, I sure ain’t gonna get back out onMain Street like this!”

I stopped on Bench and ran in the house and told my little sister what was happenin’ and she said, “Yeah, I know Judy, here, take this one. It should fit her.” I hollered thanks as I ran back to the car and jumped in. Judy was a little embarrassed as she put it on, what with me ‘n Abe watchin’ like hawks, but she was good natured about it and said, “Here, take a good look!” and flashed us. Carol didn’t want to be left out and showed us what a party girl she was. Abe opened another round and I nosed the ’56 down off Bench onto the highway.

It was just startin’ to get dark out so I turned on the lights. WLS inChicagowas playin’ some hot shit tonight to match the weather. Up On The Roof. Rag Doll.Memphis. The Seventh Son. Love Goddess Of Venus. I looked across the seat at the cute little tramp we had picked up and smiled at her. Hell, she was a whole lot more than cute! I knew who she was but had never been close enough to talk to her before. Saw her down at the Cozy a lot earlier in the summer. I had kinda been wantin’ to get to know her but didn’t think I had a chance of gettin’ anywhere with her. She was still madder’n hell and was tryin’ to fix her hair so I swiveled the rearview mirror over her way and she gave me a quick smile.

Abe handed me another cold one as I wheeled the black beast up Spring Street and headed for the old Dance Hall. A Rock band was supposed to be there tonight and it was always a rowdy sumbitch when there wasn’t a Big Band thing goin’ on. Sometimes those dances got a little rough too, like last New year’s Eve. I pulled into the lot and parked under one of the big Pines and shut her down but left the dome light on so Judy and Carol could make themselves presentable, and we got outta the car and had another beer while we waited on ‘em. Musta been a hundred kids in that lot visitin’ back and forth before goin’ into the Dance. I was kinda thinkin’ about tryin’ to get in Judy’s pants when Abe said, “Hey, here comes Wilkie. I thought he was still locked up over at Sheridan.” Wilkie and Abe’s brother Frank were in and out of damn near every jail around and were kinda like heroes to the younger bandits in Galena, but sometimes a coupla years went by without seein’ ‘em in town. Abe handed him a beer when he got to the ’56 and we shook hands all around. “You gettin’ any?” he says, and Abe said, “Workin’ on it. Got these girls wif us.” Wilkie ducked his head and looked into the car. After a careful assessment of the goods he grinned and said Hi to them, and then, knowin’ Carol fairly well, said, “Ya gettin’ any?” She grinned and answered, “Why, ya missin’ some?” “How’s yer ol’ tomato?” “How’s yer’s?” “I ain’t had none fer six months, ya wanna bang me?” “I’m with Abe tonight.” “Oh. Well, if he can’t give ya no satisfaction, look me up. I got a bone to pick wif ya!” “Yeah, I’ll do that Wilkie.” They got outta the Ford and we walked alongside the Hall to the front and climbed the steps. I thought I had better get movin’ on my little project and stepped up to the window and bought two tickets, handin’ one to Judy, and escorted her to the double doors and let her go first to hand over her ticket and get the black light stamp that would allow us to leave if we wanted and get back in at no extra cost. Abe bought Carol’s. Wanderin’ through the crowd we finally found an empty booth and sat down and waited for the band to quit fuckin’ around and start the music. There were two counters where you could buy mix and hot dogs and stuff but ya hadda bring yer own booze. Carol fished the pint of Sloe Gin outta her purse and Abe got four glasses of Seven Up.

Vilas Craig and the Viscounts were here tonight, a band from up in Wisconsin, that had a kind of hit song goin’ around called Harlem Nocturne. I didn’t like it much but a lotta other people did. They played cover songs too though, so it was gonna be a good time. Abe said, “What the fuck is a Viscount? Sounds like a discount, and discounts are for silly fuckers that can’t count.” The girls laughed. We got bored and left.

It was after nine o’clockand the line had disappeared into the theatre for the second show. I saw Hawk amblin’ down the sidewalk up by the VFW and pulled over to let him climb in. He was home from the Navy on leave for a month, and was a joke teller that had no equal, though Abe gave him a run for his money when we got together, and little Judy slid over by me to give him room. Real close. Every time I shifted gears with the floor-jammer I couldn’t help brushin’ her pretty, smooth leg under her short skirt and she just smiled at me. Hawk said, “I’m buyin’. Let’s get some more beer.” I drove back through the Stable Inn and we traded the empty case in on a fresh cold one and got a few bags of chips and some more cigarettes. Hawk paid Pete for the stuff and I rolled the beast through the cavernous alleyway to Commerce Streetand took a left. There was a ball game at the Park and we went out and parked next to Eddie in his new red and black ’66 Impala, set the case on the hood of the spotless Chevy, and started yellin’ obscenities back at Meat ‘n Dutch, who were yellin’ shit at us about ‘ya gettin’ any,’ and stuff like that. Judy stayed right by my side. I had leaned back against the Ford’s front fender to watch the game, and she came over and leaned against me. I smiled a lot. I knew what she looked like without that shirt. “You got nice muscles,” she said, feelin’ my arm. “So do you,” I told her. “Damn nice.” “Thanks,” she says quietly, smilin’ up at me. I thought, what the hell, all she can do is slap me, and picked her up and gave her my best Frenchie. Abe and Carol were still in the back seat. He was tryin’ his best Frenchie out on her too, and she was likin’ it. I didn’t get slapped when I set her down again. No way. She tried to climb back up me for more. Meat ‘n Dutch were really yellin’ shit at us now. Hawk grabbed a coupla beers and went over to entertain them and get their minds off of whether we was ‘gettin’ any’ or not, and we heard them laughin’ like hell a few minutes later. Hawk was the best, and never repeated a joke more than once a month. He spewed new ones like a machine and they were all hilarious, original, and never heard before. Ya had to be nuts to be able to do that!

I felt the car move and looked in. I yelped, “Jeeze, Abe, there’s a thousand people forty feet from us!” The cheeks of his white ass were boppin’ up an’ down and the car started to rock and roll from side to side. I said, “C’mon Judy, jump in the car, we better get outta here.” I left Hawk with Meat ‘n Dutch and drove out to Burton’s Bridge and pulled off the road onto a farm lane that went down under it and onto a turnaround the kids had created from parkin’ there for years. The moon was bright as hell and we got out. I sat on the fender of the car and Judy eased herself between my legs and we started kissin’ again and let Abe and Carol have their privacy.

“Do you like me?” she asked after a while. “Yeah. I like you.” That was fine with her, and she proceeded to show me just how fine she thought it was.

“AhhhmyGAWD!” I heard Carol say. The car was still. The crickets were so loud they almost drowned her out. Abe whispered, “Do ya luv me?” She said, real quiet, “Now I do!” The car started rockin’ again. Judy pulled me down off the fender and said, “Let’s go for a walk. That shit is gonna drive me nuts if I keep hearin’ it.” I took her hand and we followed the path down to the river and found a rock to sit on. “The moonlight is sure pretty on the water,” she told me after a few minutes. Hell, I never noticed. I was watchin’ how it played over her face as she tipped her head this way or that. “Not as pretty as you are, Judy. You’re a little doll. I’ve never been out with a girl as good lookin’ as you, and I think you are damned sweet too. I do like you. A lot. Uh…I ain’t got a girlfriend right now. I got this gold Tiger-eye ring here…you said ya forgot who that guy was when I kissed you and, uh…” She shut my mouth with her lips, and they burned. How the hell did she do that, I wondered, as the fire grew and got hot. We had kissed a lot, earlier, but nothin’ like this. I wanted more. Lots more. I pushed myself away from her. “What’s wrong?” “Nothin’s wrong! I just wanted to think for a minute is all.” “About what?” she asked in a whisper. “I think you’re makin’ me fall in love, that’s what. Will you be my girlfriend and wear this gold ring of mine?” “So you can do what Abe is doin’?” “Naw! Nothin’ like that! I mean it! I wanna go steady with you! You’re the most fun I ever had. You are. I wanna spend all my time with you. You’re sweet and beautiful and nice. All of it. Willya?” “Do ya think ya love me? Really?” “Damn, girl, ya make me dizzy when ya kiss me! What is that, if it ain’t love?” “Well, you make me awful damn dizzy too!” She took the ring and put it on the chain she was wearin’. Then she took me on the wildest ride I ever went on, right there on that rock.

It was almost eleven o’clockand Abe said, “I gotta piss real bad, Carol. Ya wanna get out for a while?” “Yeah. I gotta go too. Ya got any toilet paper or somethin’?” “Naw. Here. Take my shirt.” “Oh, that’s damn nice of ya, Abie baby, but you won’t want it back!” “I got a coupla old T’s in the trunk. I’ll put one o’ them on.” Jeezus, she’s gonna wipe wif it,  he thought, and then had to laugh at himself. “Come on, let’s get out.” They climbed out of the back seat and Abe went to the front to let her get herself back in shape and pissed like a racehorse. “Oh, yeahhhhh,” he yelled at the moon, and heard her laugh at the rear of the car. We heard him down at the river too, and Judy tightened her arms around me and burned me some more.

“Wanna go get a beer? Ya got me sucked dry or somethin’,” she said. “Where’s my shirt?” I looked around. “There it is, down there with my Levi’s.” I fumbled in the dark and found everything and we dressed and walked, rubbin’  against each other, back to the car. Abe was standin’ out in front of it naked as the day he was born drinkin’ outta one bottle and holdin’ another in reserve in his other hand. “Worked up a thirst there, me boy!” Then he laughed. “Guess I oughta put my damn pants on huh?” Carol came sheepishly from the rear. “Hi, you guys. Got any beer left? How ya doin’ Judy?” “Oh, I’m fine, jus’ fine. We went for a walk.” “Find anything?” Abe asked her with a shit-eatin’ grin. Judy showed him the ring I had given her, and Abe whistled. “I’ll be damned,” he says, and handed me the beer he was savin’. “You need this more’n I do!” There were only a half dozen left and we sucked ‘em down. Abe belched. “Better make a run, I s’pose, see ol’ Pete, get some beer. Where’s them chips at, hungry all of a sudden. Ah. Here Carol, eat some o’ these.” “Okay, Abie baby, gimme some.” “I’ll give ya some ya don’t cut that ‘Abie baby’ shit.” He was smilin’ though, and she knew he liked her callin’ him that, and he went back and opened the trunk. I went with him and held my Zippo while he rooted through the trash. “Gawd damn. All I got’s this ol’ greezy black shirt I had on when I changed the tranny. Stankin’ sumbitch.” He smelled it again. “Better put it on. Think she threw the other one away. Hope she did!” I said, “What the fuck are you talkin’ about Abe?” “Aw, never mind. Gawd damn I’m thirsty!”

Hawk was still at the game. Everyone else was gone, but the lights were on. I drove up next to him and hung out the window. “What in the fuck are ya doin’ Hawk? Why didn’t ya catch a ride with Eddie or the other guys?” “I knew you’d come back for me, and ya did. I didn’t want ya to have to go lookin’ for me.” “Makes sense to me! Get in! We gotta go get some suds.” He slid in next to my new sweetheart and took a deep breath. “Smells like pussy in here.” “Really?” “Yup.” “Aw, it’s just them damn fish flies. Look at ‘em up by the lights. There’s millions of ‘em. Ya got any money left? Me ‘n Abe ain’t got any. Thirsty out.” “Got a hundred. Should be enough.” Abe leaned up over the seat. “You got a hundred left? Hell, let’s go down to the Silver Dollar!” I looked back at him, “Me ‘n Judy ain’t old enough, Abe.” “Fuck that. You’re wif me. Anybody don’t like it I’ll kick the shit out of ‘em.” Hawk looked over at me and grinned, “I’ll help.” “Well, I ain’t ever needed no one to kick the shit outta somebody for me. Yeah. If they don’t serve us we can rip the gawd damn bar apart.” The girls got real excited about the prospect and started tellin’ each other about good fights they had seen around Galena on a hot Saturday night and made all us guys feel damn fine. Kinda hoped they wouldn’t serve us!

I parked in front of the Theatre and we headed for the Silver Dollar across the street, that song by Bobby Bare pullin’ at us like a magnet, loud as hell, DetroitCity. Tonight my luck had been fine so far, and we went on in, Abe and Carol leadin’ the way and Hawk bringin’ up the rear. The same guy was still tendin’ bar and Abe thought, shit, he ain’t even gonna ask Frank ‘n Judy for ID’s, and went to the bar and ordered two pitchers of beer and a plate of crackers ‘n cheese. The place was packed, the guy was busy as hell, and never even looked at me when I grabbed one of the pitchers and a handful of glasses. I grinned at him anyway and followed the girls to a table near the jukebox and folded into a chair next to my lil’ darlin’. About three minutes later the first pitcher was dry and I said, “Hawk, gimme some money, I wanna try my luck.” He handed me a five and I went back to the bar and held the pitcher up so the guy could see it. Wasn’t too long and he come down, grabbed the pitcher, slopped it full and handed it back to me, his other hand stretchin’ out for the five. I waited for the change, thanked him profusely, and went back to the table. From now on he would prob’ly remember servin’ me. I was in. Abe thought it was funny as hell and so did Hawk, who started tellin’ the girls a whopper about a one eyed Chinese who was goin’ blind and I said, “Man, I gotta piss!”

The girls were over at the ‘box pluggin quarters and punchin’ buttons and gigglin’ foolishly over Hawk’s wild story when I got back, and I leaned in their direction and hung my head over Judy’s shoulder. “What’re ya playin’, ya sweet woman?” “My favorites ; Da Do Ron Ron. Judy. Sugar Shack Do ya like ‘em?” “Hell Yeah! Who don’t? Hey. Play that one! It’s my favorite; I Fought The Law!” Carol laughed. “Yeah, I heard about that. Yer jus’ a lil’ bandit, ain’t ya? I’m gonna play me ‘n Abie’s song; Duke Of Earl. Duke, Duke, Duke…” “Jeeze, yeah, that’s the best damn song on the jukebox. I gotta go sit down for a minute.” I found my chair but it wasn’t easy gettin’ through the crowd. Thought I was gonna hafta smack somebody for a minute there but he finally got outta my way and I got to the table just as Eddie and The Fly pulled up a coupla chairs and joined the party. From the jukebox a high pitched voice screamed through the bar about a lion sleepin’ in the jungle tonight. “Louie, how the fuck ya doin’?” He got up and shook hands with me. “Just got home. Fuckin’ Marines. You drinkin’?” “Damn right! Let’s hoist a few!” Crazy Andy wandered in about that time and nudged my arm. “You pokin’ that? Seen ya walk in wif ‘er. Any good?” Hawk and Andy were old school buddies and Hawk had him fired up in ten seconds flat with a tale about the Navy, when he was standin’ on the dock wavin’ to his pals as the ship left the harbor or somethin’ when Judy touched my arm and said, “Dance with me.”

Da Do Ron Ron . Damn, she could move so fine! I just kinda bounced around in her general area and watched her, fallin’ deeper and deeper for her. Maybe I was just drunk as hell. I don’t know. She looked good enough to eat, I can tell ya that, and she made my mouth water. I was salivatin’. Shit! That always happened right before I barfed! I ran for the can.

Made me kinda light headed, leanin’ over the stool like that. Everything came out awright though, and I washed my face and went back out into the smoke-filled thunderous noise of the bar. She was gone.

Abe came over and slapped me on the back. “What’d ya do to that poor lil’ girl? She run outta here like ya slapped her or some fuckin’ thing.” “Aw shit! We was dancin’ to her favorite song an’ I hadda puke right fuckin’ now so I run for the can, man. I gotta go find her. See ya later.”

I wandered down the street and heard the bell ringmidnightup atCentralSchooland couldn’t find her. What the hell was I gonna do now? I musta hurt her feelin’s pretty damn bad but Jeeze, I didn’t wanna puke on her! I didn’t have a clue, and decided to head forBench Streetand work my way home. I’d try to find her tomorrow. I got to the top of the steps alongside Burbach’s without too much trouble and saw someone sittin’ about halfway up the steps to Central under one of the lights. Could it be Judy?

I ran across the street when a break in traffic came and started climbin’. It was a girl awright. Was it my girl? I couldn’t make her out; it was too dark. The moon had gone behind some clouds or I was a lot drunker than I thought I was, so I grabbed the rail and pulled myself higher and higher. One more level.

“Hey. Judy. I’m sorry baby. Can I sit by you?” She moved over and I fell down next to her. “Listen; when we were dancin’ alla that beer I sucked down got sloshin’ around and I got sick, baby, and I had to run to the can and barf. I know I hurt you runnin’ off like that but I couldn’t help it. Ya gotta forgive me.” “Why?” she sniffled, cryin’ or somethin’. “’Cause I love ya baby.” “What?” “I cleared my throat nervously and said it again. “You ain’t lyin’? Tryin’ to butter me up so ya can get in my pants? Fuckin’ with my head?” “Naw! Come here ‘n sit on my lap and lemme tell ya how I feel. Then if ya think I’m lyin’ to ya, well, you can give my ring back or throw it down the steps. C’mon.”

She climbed onto my lap like a child and I held her close like that for a long time. I could feel her heart next to mine, beatin’ like a scared lil’ rabbit, and felt real bad. I kissed her hair and buried my nose in it. “You smell good.” “I’m filthy. Rollin’ around fightin’ on Main Streetover some asshole, then rollin’ around out there in the weeds with you under that bridge sweatin’. I stink.” “How do you think you’d smell right now if I’da puked on ya in the bar? Hmmm?” “Ugh! Do ya really love me?” I started givin’ her a bath with my tongue. Pretty soon I made a believer outta her. Shoulda took her somewhere else though, instead o’ right there under that light. Ah, well…

I heard Abe’s Ford comin’ down Bench and when he got close whistled through my front teeth. He screeched to a halt and sat there waitin’ as we ran down the steps. “Found her huh? Well, get in! We’re goin to a party out at Al Bailey’s. Carol don’t have to be home an’ it’s too damn hot to sleep anyhow.” “You wanna go Judy? Al’s a nice ol’ fella, and gets pretty lonesome out there in the woods all by himself. Ain’t got no lights or water and lives in that old ten foot trailer year around. Me’n Abe found him one day when we were out road drinkin’, and he was damn glad we did. Hadn’t had a beer in over a month. Plays an old accordian if ya get him drunk enough. I took my guitar out there a coupla times and now every time I go out he asks me, ‘ya bring ya guitah wif ya?’ Talks just like the Beatles. FromLiverpoolEngland. Wanna go?” “You play the guitar?” “Well, I mean, I ain’t no Elvis Presley, if that’s what ya mean or somethin’, but yeah, I got a guitar.” “Will you bring it along and play it for me?” “Uh, yeah, I could prob’ly do that. Whatta ya think Abe? Should I go get it?” “Damn fool if ya don’t.”

He stopped in front of Ma’s house and I ran in and grabbed it. On second thought I snagged a clean T for Abe and a coupla towels for some reason, and ran back out to the car. While I was gone Abe had fished his harmonica out from under the seat and was entertainin’ the ladies. He was pretty damn good with it, and the girls were in for a surprise; he could sing as well as anyone you heard on the radio, especially them old heart-broken country songs. We were gonna make ‘em cry!

The party was goin’ strong when we got there. My brother Bernie had showed up with Eddie and Mark and was just as drunk as they were and havin’ a fine time, givin’ old Al a ration of shit for not takin’ a bath for forty years. “It ain’t been no forty years!” Al said with his toothless smile. “More like thirty.” He had washed his face but the rest of him was black as the coal he burned in the little iron stove in the trailer the trains threw off for him along with his mail and the newspapers. The darker it got around the fire the more his head seemed to glow and kinda just float there in the air. He was just about drunk enough by the time we parked down by the tunnel and made our way up to the fire. He saw me and right away said, “Ya bring tha guitah Frankie?” “Fuckinaye, Al! Here it is. Hey, I want ya to meet my sweetheart. This is Judy. Judy; Al.” He took her hand like an old English Lord and kissed it like she was someone damned special, and the other girls around the fire got a little jealous. He never kissed their hands! Yeah, but she was my girlfriend. I had never brought a girlfriend to Al’s before. Too damn wild to have one long enough, I s’pose. Someone handed Al his old red accordian and we butchered the Green, Green Grass Of Home for a while, then Abe got fired up and sang that Jack Greene song he liked to piss off the Sheriff with, about footsteps and lonesome walls and all kinda shit like that, and I sang right along with him, bangin’ the tune roughly outta the guitar.

My brother-in-law Denny Tranel was the Bass player in the Rockin’ Shades in the early Sixties, the hottest band in the Midwest, and he was teachin’ Artie Menz how to play. Artie looked more like Elvis than when Elvis looked in a mirror, and was startin’ to sing with the group but eventually would go out on his own, the best Elvis impersonator in America, and get to work with the King a coupla times. I hung out with the band sometimes and knew a shitload of songs, and thought I could sing. Sometimes. That night by the fire Judy thought I could sing too, and, damn right; we made ‘em cry. I kinda had a little Elvis look myself, I had been told a few times, and Judy loved me more and more. She was my girl, and everyone there knew it. I wasn’t singin’ to them, either. I was singin’ to no one else but her. It was a damn good thing everyone was drunk.

Somebody went toEast Dubuquearound two in the mornin’ and came back with a keg of cold beer and a half dozen blocks of ice and buckets of chili. Forgot to get spoons, and everbody ate it with their combs. Mine tasted strongly of Brylcream. Damn, it was a hot night. Carol hollered, “Hey, anybody wanna go skinny-dippin’?” A dozen guys headed her way and Abe stood up and stuck the harmonica in his back pocket, then, on second thought, removed his false front teeth and put them in the pocket too. Carol laughed. “Oh, Abie, I was only kiddin’. I ain’t goin’ unless you go.” He put his teeth back where they belonged and looked at me. “Wanna go, you ‘n Judy?” I said, “Fuck yeah! Let’s go jump off the bridge! I got a coupla towels in the Ford.” Three carloads followed us to wooden bridge about a half mile away, a fair mix of male and female, and the moon was still shinin’ away up there but gettin’ close to dippin’ outta sight.

“I ain’t jumpin offa that damn thing,” Judy said as we climbed outta the car. Abe laughed. “Hell, it’s only about twenty feet. We do it all the time.” “I’ll just walk down to the water. Besides, I don’t want alla them guys seein’ me naked.” Carol too had second thoughts. She didn’t wanna accidentally kill herself just when she finally found a guy she could get it on with, and the girls took half the fun out of it for us, makin’ us walk down with ‘em. Ah, but the moon was still shinin’, and we got to watch ‘em peel down and slither into the water like a coupla beautiful mermaids. It was cool. It got damned hot when we got in that dark water with ‘em though! We stayed for almost an hour and, bein’ that close to someone that gawd damn naked got to be too much and we started thinkin’ about secluded places along the road where we could park the Ford and nobody would disturb us for a while. Bein’ Carol’s favorite pastime she led us to the perfect place a few miles off the beaten path, and her ‘n Abe, in the back seat whisperin’ somethin’, finally came up with the solution. “We won’t look if you don’t.”

That old Ford had some damn nice seats in it. Cozy. Soft. Lots nicer than that rock under Burton’s Bridge! Much better than the cold concrete steps. A little cramped, maybe, but, man! I could see her when I flipped the little light on under the dash. Gawd, she was beautiful! I whispered that in her ear a dozen times, when I finally made it up that far, and she loved me. More’n once. The poor old Ford didn’t know which way to bounce, and it’s a damn good thing we didn’t bust alla the shocks and knock the exhaust system off. The moon went down.

The fire was burnin’ low when we got back to Al’s place and there were only about a dozen diehards stumblin’ around. Bernie and Eddie were sleepin’ in the red Chevy, and we saw one car rockin’ down by the tunnel when we walked past it but didn’t look; it wasn’t polite. She was movin’ pretty good, though. Old Al was wide awake but drunker than a pet ‘coon, the accordian layin’ in the gatherin’ dew. I put it in the trailer for him, and me ‘n Abe hauled his skinny old ass in and put him to bed. “Yeah,” Abe yawned, “I’m about ready to catch a few z’s my own damn self. Let’s put the fire out and chase them drunks outta here and go home.”

It wasn’t gonna be that easy, though. We still had a bunch of cans of cold, cold beer that someone had left there in a Coleman Cooler they had forgotten all about when they drove off. We stood lookin’ at it, the four of us. Abe said, “Fuck it; we gotta finish it off. Ain’t no sense lettin’ all that ice melt for nothin’. How many’s in there?” We started diggin’ and the girls counted as we laid ‘em in the grass. “Twenty one,” said Judy, as the last one came outta the deepfreeze. “Okay, I get six, the rest of ya get five apiece.” Abe put ‘em all back into the cooler but the ones we grabbed and popped. “Sounds good to me,” Carol said and started suckin’ on the can, and Judy lifted hers in a toast to me. I belched and opened the can. “Why did we put the fuckin’ fire out? Man, I can’t see shit! How we gonna find the damn car?” I shook my head and felt around for a place to sit that someone hadn’t pissed on and when I found a dry spot pulled my little darlin’ down with me. We listened to the crickets and frogs for a while. Owls. Coyotes, or wolves, couldn’t tell which, bein’ city boys. Judy said, “What the fuck was that?” Abe heard it too. Hell, we all did. “Mountain lion,” he says. “Aw, c’mon! We ain’t got no gawd damn mountain lions around Galena,” Carol yelped. I hated to disillusion the poor girl but I went ahead and did it anyway. “I hate to tell you dear lady but, last summer me ‘n Abe and Gary was in this really cool cave up Harney’s Creek and some big yellow eyed sumbitch of a cat weighin’ around two hundred pounds trapped us in the gawd damn place. Thought it smelled kinda funky in there when we went in. Anyhow, the sumbitch was gonna kill us or somethin’ but we found this skinny little air vent. Big Garywent up the fuckin’ thing first and got stuck a coupla times. Abe, bein’ a big brave sumbitch, made me go next and I got through pretty easy. Then Abe crawls in, the cougar right on his ass, and it bit his wallet right off his ass when it chomped down on him. He fuckin’ near pushed me outta the hole he come up so fast. We shoulda known the bastard was in the valley, ‘cause we seen where he’d been sharpenin’ his claws on the walls of the old abandoned brick house up by the Ale Brewery. Shoulda known better, yep. Them Scratches went all the way up to the ceilin’ and was ten inches wide and a inch deep. We’re damn lucky to be alive.” We heard it scream again, and Judy shuddered. “I’m gettin’ the fuck outta here!” Then Carol screamed. Something had touched her from behind in the pitch black night. Abe caught her before she ran too far, though. He couldn’t hold it back and busted a gut laughin’. “I’m sorry Carol! I just wanted to feel your ass!” She turned around and slapped the shit outta him. “Fuck it, let’s go home,” I said, and we carried the cooler down to the car and climbed in. The girls rolled the windows up really fast and we got a chuckle outta that. “We better go down by the Abbley House to turn around,” Abe said. “Gawd damn road’s too narrow to swing it here.” I grinned, knowin’ what was comin’. The girls were about to see the ‘ghost’. Different people swore they had; no reason why our girls shouldn’t!

He stopped under the train trestle where the road had washed out goin’ over to the ghost house. “Damn, I gotta piss,” he says, and I got out the other door. The girls were huddled in the back seat and I stuck my head back in. “Hey, if ya gotta go better go now, ‘cause we prob’ly won’t stop again ‘til we get to town.” They didn’t really wanna get out but didn’t wanna piss their pants either, so I held the seat ahead for ‘em. “Where are we?” little Judy asked me. “Well, this here is the Abbley House. See it over there against them rocks? S’pose to be haunted. Yeah, no shit, some guy got pissed at his wife and hung her in that big tree over there. See it? Anyway, a whole lotta people down through the years keep seein’ her ghost in that window there right above the door. No, that other one, to the right. See it?” “Ohmygawd! There’s a light in the window!” “Bullshit. There ain’t no electricity down this valley. Never has been. Hey, I think you’re right! A candle or somethin’ maybe. There it is again!” Carol moved closer to Abe. “Did you see that Abe?” “Fuckinaye. Maybe we better go on over there an’ see what it was. Might be some tramp or somethin’ livin’ in the house. Frank, grab the flashlight outta the glove box.” Carol screeched, “Fuck you guys! I ain’t goin’ over there! That light just floated past that other window now! It’s that fuckin’ ghost! Abe, if you ever wanna breed me again take me home right gawd damn now!” “Yeah! I wanna go too!” Judy begged, tuggin’ on my arm. We had all finished our business anyway and couldn’t talk ‘em into goin’ across the creek so we climbed back in the car and Abe fired it up and turned the lights on, then maneuvered the Ford around so the lights fell right on the front of the old rock house. “See? There ain’t no damn haunts over there. Nothin’ to be scared of.” Just then a curtain moved in that upper window and both girls screamed. I didn’t like it either and looked over at my pal. He nodded and turned the car around and we headed for town, talkin’ about ghosts and stuff the whole time it took to get there. When we came in Dewey Avenue I asked Abe, “You gonna stay up and go to Mass?” “Are you outta yer fuckin’ mind? I’m tired! Where you girls wanna get out at?” They both wanted to be dropped off right in front of their houses, still scared from seein’ the ghost, and ready to sleep the day away. So was I. Ready to sleep. Fuck that ghost.

Bernie woke me up about ten that mornin’. I felt kinda queasy and my head hurt pretty bad. “Come on, let’s go down to Boze ‘n Maggie’s ‘n get a coupla Bromos ‘fore I puke my guts out.” “’S’ matter, ya sick?” I asked, ready to barf, myself. “Hey, did ya get laid last night? How was it? C’mon, tell me!” “None o’ yer business. You’re too young to know shit like that.” “Hah! Ya did, didn’t ya!” I ignored him and got dressed and scraped the slime outta my mouth and we walked down to the Pool Hall and Boze cooked up a coupla painkillers for us. He had a boomin’ business Sunday mornin’s, maybe a dozen or more people standin’ in line next to that Bromo dispenser. It worked though, and before long I felt like I was prob’ly gonna make it through the day. Maybe. We went out and sat on the Pool Hall steps to watch the Churchgoer’s head for the restaurants to feed now that they were all holy and stuff again. The Ed-Mar and the Cozy Café were both packed and I thought I might be just about ready for some ham ‘n eggs and maybe a few hashbrowns myself when Abe parked across the street and came over and sat with us. “Old Man says we gotta move this week. Says he lost the buildin’. He found an empty apartment right above Moes’s Drug Store though, and I’ll be able work on my car in the alley; there’s a cement basketball slab up there an’ me ‘n him can both park our junk there. Won’t be too bad.” Bernie said, “When we gonna move yer stuff? Whose truck we gonna use?” “Well, Kernel, the Ol’ Man’s brother, he’s gonna bring his truck down tomorrow an’ load the big stuff, then we’ll throw all the smaller shit in the cars, I s’pose. Shouldn’t take long. The Ol’ Lady took most o’ the good stuff when she moved out. After the horsemeat deal.”

I thought about it for a while. “I know that place. Damn, Abe, it’s just what ya needed; a place to park right downtown like that, private as hell, yer own gawd damn alley, ya might as well say! Ya got a key for it yet? Well, let’s go check it out!”

It was only a block up the street so we hiked it and climbed the steps up from Main through a door right next to Moes’s and walked down the hallway about forty or fifty feet, then went outside and climbed another flight. “This is it. Been empty a coupla years, an’ ain’t very pretty.” He keyed the lock and shoved the door open across the warped board beneath it and had to kick it a coupla times. The roof had leaked for years and the remaining plaster was stained pretty bad but I liked it. It was almost in better condition than the Main Streetapartment we lived in! “Fuck, Abe, ya got a penthouse suite! Yer own parkin’ lot, alla these gawd damn windows an’ stuff! Hell, we can throw a little plaster in the holes an’ paint the sumbitch in the mornin’ while you go after the ‘fridge an’ stove an’ that old couch, can’t we Bernie?” “There’s some plaster an’ about a hundred old cans of paint in our attic. Better get some plastic to put down on the floor though. I ain’t real good at that kinda shit.” Abe nodded. “I wish you’d help me with the fuckin’ ‘fridge though, Kernel an’ the Ol’ Man are both seventy years old.” “Well, Bernie can plaster and paint the sumbitch by himself!” “Oh, yeah, thanks!” We went back down to the Pool Hall and snagged a bunch of volunteers and had it done that afternoon. It still wasn’t very pretty. None of ‘em was very good at that kinda shit, but at least it was the same color and the laths weren’t stickin’ outta the walls no more.

It was a bitch carryin’ the ‘fridge and stove up that narrow flight of steps from the lot. The rotted railing came loose and we lost the damn couch, but Abe’s Old Man said, “That’s awright, boys. Leave it down there in the parkin’ lot. I can sit on the damn thing outside just as easy.” Abe shook his head and said, “We’ll find a smaller one for ya, Pop. Don’t worry about it.” The rest of the move went smooth, and they camped out in the new place that night.

I was sittin’ on the wall at the Saint Michael’s playground a little later watchin’ the moon slide across the sky and got lonesome as hell all of a sudden. I wonder what she’s doin’? I hopped down and hit the bricks. Damned if I wasn’t gonna find out! Maybe she was missin’ me too. When I got to her house I got a little nervous, knowin’ her Momma had most likely heard about me bein’ a hell raiser around town, but I wanted to see her real bad so I went up and knocked on the door. Her Momma opened it. “Uh, hello. Is Judy home?” “Are you that Kennedy boy?” “Yes ma’am. Name’s Frank.” “Well, Frank, yes she is home, and that’s right where she’s gonna stay, you keepin’ her out all night like that!” “I’m sorry about that, but it wasn’t my car and we couldn’t find a ride with nobody else. Can I just talk to her for a while?” “I guess talking for a little while won’t hurt anything. Don’t you try to take her no farther than the porch though.” “Yes ma’am! Thanks a lot. You can trust me!” “Ho-ho that’s a good one! If I didn’t know she liked you so much I wouldn’t even let you on my porch! I’ll go get her.”

She came out and stood lookin’ at me for a moment. Two seconds later she had her arms around my neck so tight I couldn’t hardly breathe, and I prob’ly hurt her ribs the way I was huggin’ her so close to me. It took a while, but we got apart somehow and sat on the steps holdin’ hands, not sayin’ nothin’ but lookin’ at each other for a long time. “Hi.” “Hi. I was kinda sick after the party.” “Yeah, me too. We drank a lot of beer.” “I didn’t know if you would come.” “I’m here, ain’t I?” “Yeah.”

Maybe ten minutes dragged by. “I wanna kiss you real bad, sweetheart.” “Me too. She’s watchin’ though. Are we really goin’ steady?” “You got my ring, don’t ya? I wasn’t just drunk, if that’s what you’re thinkin’. I was sittin’ by myself a little while ago and all of a sudden I missed you so bad I couldn’t believe it. All day your pretty face kept poppin’ into my head, and I couldn’t think of nothin’ else. Abe thought I had a real bad hangover, but it was just a little one a coupla Bromos shook off soon enough. I can’t shake you off though, and don’t wanna anyhow. I told you I loved you last night and I guess it’s pretty serious.” “Yeah. Damn. I gotta go to school tomorrow. Alla that graduation stuff, ya know? Whatta you gonna do? You’re not in school anymore, are ya?” “Naw. My school days were over that first time I got sent to Saint Charleswhen I was fifteen, though I went to La Quinta High in Garden GroveCaliforniafor a semester in ’64. Did pretty good too. Had a good Art class and I amazed the shit outta the teacher.” “Are you an Artist?” “Yeah, but mainly I just draw flies.” “You idiot! That’s not funny! Well, maybe it is.” She got giggly then and we had some real fun sittin’ there until ol’ Momma came out and told me she had to come in now. She wouldn’t go away either. Stood there like an old vulture. We got up and I leaned down and kissed the horny little girl on her cheek and said, “Well, good luck with the graduation thing. Maybe I’ll see you afterward, if your Mother doesn’t mind.” “Momma?” “Young man, I’m not gonna have my daughter out runnin’ around all night with hoodlums! I know all about you. I go to church with your poor Mother! You ought to be ashamed of yourself!” “Yes ma’am, and I certainly am, but I ain’t got in no trouble at all since I got out on parole! I ain’ been in jail for nothin’ for way more’n a year!” “You got a steady job?” “Sure do, and my boss really likes me. Over in Dubuque. He’s helpin’ me restore a Fifty Mercury.” “Like the one in that movie?” “Well, that was a Forty-nine, but they were basically the same car except for the dash and front turnin’ signals. Same color though.” “Oh my! That was a good movie.” “Yeah. Rebel Without A Cause. Kinda hit home when I saw it. I think it changed my life, ‘specially when I was able to buy the Merc.” “Well, you sound like you’re at least trying! You behave yourself and don’t keep my little girl out all night getting her drunk and such, and maybe she can go steady with you. I made her tell me where she got that ring! None of that running around stuff though!” “Thank you. I promise I’ll do my best. I like her better’n anybody I ever knew, and sure don’t wanna hurt her.” “All right then. You better give her a little better good night kiss than that, though.” Then she smiled at us both and went in the house. I did. I gave her the best kiss I had in me, and the best long hug, and backed away and watched her go into the house, smilin’ at me over her shoulder until the door closed. Yeah. Fuckin’ near fell off the porch.

I got the Merc goin’ and all polished up with a few pals in Dubuque lendin’ a hand, and bought some chrome rocker panels and baby moons at Rotman’s Speed Shop and put ‘em on. It looked like a new car. The interior was perfect, after peelin’ the old moldy seat covers off and givin’ ‘em a shampoo. Velvet, blue and gray with little stripes, and so soft and warm. Everyone who ever rode in it loved the beast. Rotman’s had window tinting kits and I bought this pretty blue juice in a bunch of spray cans and spent three days wipin’ up the mess I made with it, but then that shinin’ old metal flake midnight blue paint job looked even better and the chrome sparkled and blinded ya out in the sunlight. I was ready to take her out on a date. I wanted her Momma to see what I had done with the Merc. I wanted to watch her face when she saw that I wasn’t a total waste, and might treat her daughter at least as good as I treated my car. I gassed ‘er up and headed forGalena.

I parked right in front of her house and started honkin’ the horn. Her and Momma came out and nearly shit ‘emselves when they saw me leanin’ on the hood smokin’ a Marlboro. I just stood there posin’ for ‘em ‘til they came down and I showed ‘em what I had. The old girl was almost droolin’. I don’t blame her, I s’pose; that car was prob’ly worth a fortune. It was mine. So was her daughter. She started to like the idea. “It’s beautiful, Son! You’ve done a wonderful job with it. Where are you kids going tonight?” “Thought we’d go to the Drive-In north ofDubuque, watch the movies, if Judy wants to.” Judy’s green eyes sparkled, “Yeah!” “Well, just don’t stay out too late all right? Have a good time!” She waved at us as I rolled the Merc down the street. Soon as Judy could no longer see her she scooted across the soft velvet and latched onto me, suckin’ on my neck like she was a vampire dyin’ of thirst. I drove right down to the Light Plant and two minutes later she was ridin’ me like a wild horse across the prairies.

Abe hadn’t seen the Merc yet, but I had told him all about it last week. We decided to look him up and drove around lookin’ for his car but never saw it, and parked down onMainin front of the Cozy and waited for him to come through town. Judy ‘n me went over and sat on the Pool Hall steps while the boys who had been sittin’ there were goin’ nuts by the Merc. They hadn’t seen nothin’ like it for a long time. I smiled at my little babe. “Nice, huh?” “Yeah.”

Abe crawled out of the car wipin’ sweat outta his eyes. “Damn woman, you’re gonna kill me!” Carol laughed and got out too, her clothes in a wad under her arm. “Can’t ya take it?” “I just wish ya’d cut them gawd damn fingernails! Fuckin’ things are two inches long! Like a gawd damn cat or somethin’; I’m scared to look at my back!” “It ain’t bleedin’ or nothin’. Ya liked it just fine when ya was pokin’ me.” “Ya got a point there. Hand me one o’ them beers, willya?” They threw their clothes on and Carol said, “What we doin’ tonight?” “Maybe hang out down at the tavern. Whatta ya think?” “I don’t care. It’s so damn hot out. Why don’t we go the Drive-In or somethin’? Somewhere where there’s a little breeze. Last time we went it was nice an’ cool over there.” “Yeah. We’ll get the cooler filled when we get back to town. We can get a pizza at the Drive-In; it ain’t too bad. Maybe we can find Frank ‘n Judy. They might wanna go.” “They’re fun to hang out with, but I think they’re fallin’ in love or somethin’, don’t you, Abie?” “Prob’ly. What’s wrong wif that? Ain’t that what we done?” “You never said ya loved me. Not once!” “Well, couldn’t ya tell? What the fuck I gotta do, bend over backwards?” She pouted and felt like cryin’. “Naw, Abe. Just say it.” Oops, think I fucked up, he thought. “Hey. Don’t start snivellin’ now. Of course I love ya.”  “You don’t sound like ya mean it, sayin’ it like that.” He took her shoulders and made her look him in the eye and said,  real soft, “Carol, baby, you’re the only woman for me in the whole fuckin’ world. I can’t help myself no more. Ya got chains wrapped ‘round my heart, an’ I can’t break ‘em loose. Every time I see you ya light a fire in my gawd damn soul the whole Dubuque Fire Department can’t put out. When we’re bangin’ it’s the closest thing to heaven I’m ever gonna find. Can ya find it in yer sweet, sweet heart to forgive this poor damn fool that don’t know how to talk to someone so gawd damn special? I luv ya baby, and don’t want no other woman.” All the while he talked he inched closer and was finally whisperin’ in her ear and she got chills and stuff runnin’ up an’ down her back and gawd damn near fainted from the intensity of emotions that raged through her. “Oh, Abie! I love you too! I ain’t never had a man like you! Do me! Now!” He licked the tears and sweat offa her cheek and stuffed her back in the car, thinkin’ Yeehaw!

He saw the Merc sittin’ there with my sweetie on the hood. I watched him park the Ford from where I was standin’ against the car, halfway up her summer dress, her legs lightly around my hips. We wasn’t doin’ nothin’ nasty, just likin’ to be close together, and people could tell and just smiled when they walked by. “What a cute couple,” an elderly lady said, and her husband said “Is that my fuckin’ old Mercury? Naw, mine was green. Nice shape.” “The girl?” “Naw, the gawd damn car!” Abe ‘n Carol sauntered across the street and Carol hopped up next to Judy. Abe slid his hand down the side of the car. “You lucky sumbitch, this fuckin’ thing is nice. How’s she run?” “Like  a new car. Hell, it’s only got 38,000 miles on it. Rings are stuck though, and it eats a case o’ oil a week, rain or shine.” “Oil’s cheap. Burn the tires?” “Yeah, she’ll smoke ‘em. Got a 257 Flat Head three speed, high compression Edmunds heads, Edmunds aluminum manifold with three deuces, a heavy duty eleven inch clutch, 4.10 posi-traction, and overdrive, with a new Hurst Speed-Shifter. Fucker’ll trot. Hey, you ‘n Carol wanna go to the Drive-In with us? We were waitin’ for ya’s!”

“Fuck yeah! That’s where we were goin’! Just gotta fill the cooler is all. We gonna take the Merc?” “Fuckinaye! Gotta break it in! Well, I guess me ‘n Judy already done that, didn’t we, sweetheart?” She blushed shyly and looked up at Abe from under her lashes, kinda embarrassed, but it passed quickly when she remembered how the four of us had Abe’s old Ford rockin’ ‘n rollin’ the week before. “Fuckinaye,” she says and laughed.

We drove through the Stable Inn and loaded the cooler, then rolled out onto Highway Twenty west, Abe in the back seat runnin’ the cooler and church key. “You hear what’s playin’?” “Yeah, some new biker movie. S’posed to be a wild assed song in it called ‘Blue’s Theme’. They got a biker movie with Jack Nicholson in it for the second one. I get off on stuff like that once in a while.” “Yeah, me too, since I rode that ol’ Indian Scout down by the Blanding junkyard. I shoulda bought the gawd damn thing, I s’pose.” Carol said, “Abie, why don’t you ‘n Judy swap places so us girls can talk too? I can’t even see her with you leanin’ over the seat like that.” I looked back over the seat. Yeah, there was room. “Judy baby, you crawl over the seat first, then Abe’ll have enough room to slither up front. Ain’t no sense pullin’ offa the damn road.” I got a fine flash of leg as she did it, too. Sweet…mmm…I’d get her back up front when we got to the Drive-In.

When he got situated he told me, “Think I found a Merc too. Big ’56 Monterey two door coupe. Red ‘n white. Got about 400 cubes under the hood.” “Jeezus. Where’d ya find it?” “Kernel’s got it. Bought it fer junk. Tranny’s out. Found an ol’ farmer in Elizabeth got a ’50 two door but he ain’t ready to part wif it. They’re out there, if ya look.” “Yeah. I got lucky. Sumbitch brought this one right to me, an’ sold it to me for a hundred dollars. Still can’t believe I actually own the old girl. Grab me another beer, willya Judy?”

She opened it and leaned up over the seat to deposit it between my legs, where I customarily kept my brew while drivin’, and her fingers left a trail of fire up my arm and over my shoulder when she slid back into the rear seat. Jeezus, How does she do that?

We stopped at Pusateri’s Pepe Pizza House on Fourteenth and Main when we got to Dubuque after cuttin’ the gut a few times. All the kids at Eighth and Main was yellin’ shit at us when we went by. They all knew me and a few of ‘em had seen the Merc a coupla days before when I took it on it’s maiden voyage. I honked the horn for ‘em like we was a one-car parade and then Carol showed ‘em her tits, hangin’ em out the back window. They loved it. Not Abe though!

I had worked at Pusateri’s for six months before gettin’ the job at the Citgo, and Mike always gave me a discount when I stopped in. Best damn Pizza in the Midwest. He liked Judy and congratulated me on findin’ such a jewel. She blushed a deep shade of red. It was crowded with college kids so we got the pepperoni to go and took off.

It was gone by the time we hit John Deere Road and turned right. The Drive-In was lit up like a Christmas tree and the girls were hangin’ over the seat while I paid. Carol suggested they show the boys at the gate their tits and Abe put his foot down. He had been sittin’ with one leg danglin’ over the other. “You ain’t showin’ them sumbitches to nobody but me, gawd dammit!” “Oh, all right,” she growled, and slid outta sight. Judy didn’t wanna show ‘em to nobody but me. She didn’t say it, but I knew.

They stopped us and asked, “Got anybody in the trunk?” I got out and opened it for ‘em. “There. Ya happy?” He nodded and we drove over the humps for about a quarter mile and Abe said, “Here’s a good spot. Won’t have to walk so far to piss.” I fucked around and got the speaker hooked up and set about right while the girls got out and boogied over to the concession stand, then me ‘n Abe just leaned on the hood with a cold one, and talked to the dozens of kids that came to look at the car.

It was the main attraction ‘til it got dark and the cartoons started. When the girls got back we went over to take our turns in the can. I’d seen that woodpecker cartoon before. I was waitin’ for the coyote. “Yeah, that fuckin’ Wile E. is a fun sumbitch. Hope we get back before it’s over.” A girl way too big for the door was in the way but Abe was nice about it. “Get yer refrigerator ass outta the gawd damn door! Ya need two or three more o’ them pizzas, don’t ya? You ain’t got enough buttered popcorn there! C’mon, I gotta piss!” I was laughin’ so hard I thought I might piss right there. Woody was goin’ nuts up on the screen and I heard people laughin’ all over the Drive-In. Thay shoulda been listenin’ to Abe! Somebody from behind the poor girl gave her a shove and she popped on through. “All she hadda do was wipe her hand on the doorframe, greezy as it was from the popcorn,” Abe said and grinned, as he watched her waddle away. He shook his head, “Man, she gotta weigh seven, eight hundred pounds! I couldn’t live like that. I gotta piss!”

We missed half the damn cartoon but got to see him ride the Acme rocket anyway. The movie was startin’ so we climbed back in the Merc and got the sound leveled out. Cheap gawd damn speaker crackled some, but not enough to make me bitch about it. Judy got  as close to me as she could, with the steerin’ wheel and shifter in the way, and I kinda folded her up in my free arm. “I love you, baby,” I whispered in her ear, and she started rubbin’ my belly. Jeezus…

I don’t remember much about the first movie but the song, but I thought Jack Nicholson was one crazy sumbitch in the second one, whenever she let me come up for air and I caught a little bit of the action. Abe ‘n Carol never came up above the level of the seat-back ‘cept when he handed me a beer now and then, but that didn’t surprise me. I woulda just as soon been layin’ down too, but I came to watch the fuckin’ movie!

We stopped at the Hi Hat Lounge in East Dubuque. A rockin’ hillbilly band was jammin’ people into the floor they was so loud. Yeah. The bartenders had been servin’ me for a coupla years now, from when I ran around with the band, and we got a table and when we had our Vodka Sours proceeded to do a little dancin’. Had to get right up nose to nose the place was so packed, and it was hot. I knew the place was Air Conditioned but there wasn’t no trace of it that night, and after drippin’ off about five pounds I yelled, “Let’s go to Duffy’s and get a Chili-dawg!”

When we walked past the Merc I saw a pimp and three of his stable admirin’ the car and hollered, “I’ll sell that to ya for eight thousand!” They ran off like they’d been surprised in the middle of a burglary or somethin’ and we all laughed and went on down the street. There was so much neon and bright lights and big crowds of happy people on the street it was like bein’ in Las Vegas. Too many gawd damn people! They were thicker than the sand flies we were all slidin’ around on! Judy said, “I never seen so gawd damn many people!” “Yeah,” I said, “And every one of em’s just as drunk as we are!” We tried to force our way into the doorway at Duffy’s but the bodies were crammed so deep there was no chance of ever gettin’ in. “I think everyone in the fuckin' world wants a Chili-dawg tonight,” Abe yelled. “Let’s get outta here an’ go to Rodden’s Truck Stop! Ham ‘n Eggs!” “Yeah! Let’s go.”

Saw that pimp again, but he was across the street and didn’t bother us as I backed my beautiful sled out into traffic and smoked the tires down the Main Street of East Dubuque. Abe was laughin’, “I bet that pimp wishes he woulda bought the old girl now! Man, this fucker does trot!”

Wanda was takin’ care of the counter for her Momma and was happy to see us. The only time she wasn’t was about five in the mornin’ when a bunch of us came in drunker’n hell and wantin’ to give the truckers a ration o’ shit. They had a great jukebox and the girls loaded it and played about forty good rockin’ songs, most of ‘em havin’ somethin’ to do with ‘love’… They didn’t mind us dancin’ in the place either, while we waited for the best damn food in Galena and the surroundin’ area. When Wanda served us the platters were absolutely beautiful; lightly grilled juicy ham steak, sunny-side up eggs with a tiny crisp edge on ‘em, hashbrowns with a fine golden crust, perfect toast with real churned butter, all the jelly we could ever eat, and an endless stream of the best coffee in town. It took almost two hours to eat it all, what with gettin’ up to dance every time a slow one was playin’ and bullshittin’ with friends as they came in.

When me ‘n Abe went over to pay the bill Wanda says, “You boys got yourselves a coupla honeys, huh? ‘Bout time ya settled down a little.” “Too tired to raise hell,” Abe told her, and grinned his best boyish grin for her.

It was midnight. I had to take Judy home but I didn’t wanna do it. I wanted to keep her, and sleep with her, and wake up with her. Jeezus, I thought, I’m too young for this shit! She didn’t wanna be apart from me either. There was no way I was gonna spoil it though. We dropped Abe ‘n Carol off at his car and I drove her home and walked her to the door. Yeah, Momma was waitin’ up for her. I told the old girl all I could remember of the movie and gave her a program for next week’s shows that I had grabbed for her, and some Drive-In napkins. She was happy as hell. Like I was Santa Claus or somethin’. “Well, I’ll let you two say goodnight then. Don’t be too long, Judy,” she says, smilin’ like I really was a nice young man, and closed the door. Soon as we were sure she couldn’t see us we were tongue-tied, nearly chokin’ each other in a deep, hot wet Frenchie. I saw the curtain move outta the corner of my eye and thought I’d better get on down the road. “Hey baby, I’ll see ya tomorrow after work, awright? Five o’clock? I love you sweetheart!” “I love you too. ‘Bye.”

Abe was waitin’ for me on Main. “Whatta ya wanna do?” I raised an eyebrow at him and grinned. “Silver Dollar?” He nodded. “I ain’t stayin’ out too late. Got a job at Duke’s yesterday. What the hell; it buys the beer.” We went across the street and hung out ‘til closin’ time, then I jumped in the Merc and hauled ass for Dubuque. I was stayin’ at my sister’s house on 29^th for a while yet. I wanted to move back to Galena real soon though. Real soon.

I parked the Merc out in front of the house and got out and closed the windows. Didn’t want the dew messin’ up my velvet. I could smell the sawdust and sweetness of the cooker up at the sawmill. Damn I loved that smell! Then I threw my smoke in the gutter and went in the house. Couldn’t sleep. I laid there for a long time, her face hangin’ in front of me on the ceilin’ in the darkness. Judy… Judy, Judy, Judy.

Fuck. I got up and went down and made some coffee. Denny came down and joined me. “How’s it goin’?” “Awright, I guess. Couldn’t sleep. Think I’ll run out to the sawmill and see if they need any help. I sure like that smell.” “Yeah, so do I. Whatta  ya been up to? Still seein’ that Al when yer s’posed to?” Al was my Parole Officer. “Yeah. He’s tryin’ to get ‘em to cut me loose early. I really fucked up that last time, when they sent me back to Charlie Town. Thanks again for gettin’ me outta that shit.” “Well, I was in Eldora, myself, when I was your age, an’ know what it’s like. Where’s that tiger-eye ring I gave ya? Lose it?” I grinned foolishly, “Naw, man, I didn’t lose the ring. I think I lost my heart, though. Gave it to a girl over in Galena. Judy. I’ll bring her over soon as I get her Momma trained a little better.” He laughed. “Gotta train the old bitch?” “Yeah. When I first came around she told me I was a worthless asshole and didn’t want me sniffin’ at her kid. She’s comin’ around, though. Hell, I’m even startin’ to like her.” “No shit! What’s this Judy look like? Must be a cute little thing. I’ve known you since you were eleven!”

I told him exactly what she looked like, and how sweet she was, and the strange feelin’s she was makin’ me have, even when she was just lookin’ at me, and how crazy her kisses got me when we were alone, and how lost I felt when I wasn’t with her, and that I wished we were a little older so we could be together. “Jeezus, boy, you got it bad. Just don’t knock her up, or you’ll be a sorry sumbitch. Well, I gotta go to work, see ya later.”