"Jack, what you got to do is beg for a little mercy." "Quitting to you would be like swallowing piss for eternity." "Come on, give it up!" "You got it." "Go for it." "Come on." "Come on, Eddie." "Come on, man." "You're going to need a priest, you prick!" "And when your mother's crying at the funeral I'm going to goose her with a turkey neck." "You got it." "Hey, cream him." "Put him away." "Oh, shit." "Hey, that's the best that you can do?" "You better phone for help." "Come on, Eddie." "Hit him." "Hurt him real bad." "Scumbag!" "Faggot!" "Stop it, Eddie." "Leave something for the garbage man!" "I hate that cheap punk!" "Where the fuck does he think he's coming from?" "You whipped him real good this time, Eddie." " Nothing left of him." " That's the third time." "You think that son of a bitch would learn by now to stop trying me!" "You are a genuine man." "Come on, Eddie." "Let me buy you a drink." "Come on." "Hey, we can't just leave him laying out there." "He might be dying out there." "He hates help." "He would piss on you if he could." "Fuck him!" "That guy has been gone for some time." "He was KO'd last night." "He might be a few steps slow." "He'll be back." "I am starving." "He opens and closes the place." "I say he's okay." "What's okay about him?" "He's like a wet rat in the rain." "A rat without any teeth." "Rat, hell." "He refuses to join the rat race." "He drinks and he waits." "I hope he doesn't wait for that sandwich to deliver itself." "Now look. $29 for that kind of head is outrageous!" "I did you good, old fart." "I did you good!" "I should have bit your champagne cork off." " I'm giving you $15." " $29!" "Nobody in this neighborhood can swallow paste like I can." "Oh, shit!" "Oh, beautiful." "Look what the cats drug in." "Good to see you, Henry." "Good to see you walk in here." "Hey, all of a sudden I'm so popular." "Maybe I ought to run for city council." "Keep the change." " All of it?" " Yeah, go ahead, all of it." " What are you drinking?" " Almost everything." "Give him a Scotch and water." "Who the hell invented the sandwich?" "They ought to write a book about him." "Henry, you have to stop fighting Eddie." "You don't have a reason." "That's why you lose every fight." "I can whip him without a reason because I got the guts." "Hey, I got the guts." "But the guts need fuel." "Hey, what the hell?" "Ham!" "It's ham with mustard and relish." " He's a goddamned rat thief." " That wasn't right!" "I ought to cream you good!" "Well, all I need is a little fuel." "That's all I need to whip Eddie." "You're out of line there." "You just don't swoop down on a man's food." "He's like a goddamn seagull." "Here's for the drinks." "We can't eat in here." "It's disgusting." "Henry, I want you to go to your room and lay down for a few hours." "Frankly, I'm sick of looking at your face." "Let me have a drink, Jim." "Come on, on the cuff, one on the house." "I think the last time you ever paid for a drink was the first time." "Cheers." " See you tonight, over here?" " See you tonight." "Too bad." "I don't see what you see in that guy." "He's as right as any of us." "I gotta have that money by tomorrow morning at 9:99 or I'll get the phone out of my room." "Then you're going to be in trouble and I'm going to be in trouble." "We'll both be in trouble, do you understand that?" "Fuel." "Some people never go crazy." "What truly horrible lives they must live." "You're listening to the Southern California Gas Company Afternoon Concert." "We've just heard The Poem of Ecstasy by Alexander Siloti." "We continue now with the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart..." "Shit!" "Come on!" "Young man like you, drunk every day at noon." " You ought to get yourself a job." " I have one." "Really?" "Yeah!" "Killing the cockroaches in that place of yours." "Son of a bitch!" "Kiss my tookus!" "Hi." "What's new?" "Grandma Moses is in the back working on Jack, the window washer." "That's what's new." "I need a draft." "Hey, boy, fetch me a draft." "Some guys really know how to get the women." "You don't know how?" "Hey, I can get one for 19 minutes." "But that's my limit." "How come you're so fucked up?" "Hey, you!" "You with the filthy apron!" "Be back in a second, sweetie." "I hear a voice down there but I sure as hell don't see much." "Seems like that beating I gave you last night must have rattled your bells." "I remember ordering a draft, barkeep." "What are you, on a brew or is that lobotomy finally taking hold?" "I'll drive your head right through the fucking wall tonight, you faggot." "I pulled my punches on you last night, but no more." "Yeah, it's definitely him all right." "So what do you want to do?" "Well, I'm not sure that you ought to come down here right now." "What the fuck you want tonight?" "You're looking at a new man, my boy." "I got a full tank of fuel." "You're going to pay for that goddamn beer." "Eddie." "Come close, I want to tell you something." " Come here, I want you to hear it good." " Yeah, what?" "Your mother's cunt stinks like carpet cleaner." "That's it!" "Fuck!" "Come on!" "Fuck you!" "Get away from that tap!" "I never see any of these fights." "My god, there's nothing left of me." "She's like a vacuum cleaner." "$29, Jack." "All right, I'm giving 3-1 odds I'll have this fag licking my balls inside of five minutes." "You on?" "How about you?" "How about you?" "You put that rat back in his hole, Eddie." " He's nothing!" " You got him, Eddie." " How about you?" " Yeah, I'll take $19 of that." "You' re on." "Hey, Jim!" "Maybe I can't." "Your life is just a bunch of "cant's. "" "You can't work, you can't fuck, and you can't fight." "I'm still putting up $19 and taking 3-1." "You're on." " You cover for Eddie?" " Absolutely!" "I'd like to get a hold of your $19." "Yeah, you would!" "Go get him, Henry." "I'd hate to be you if I were me." "You fight like a girl!" "Who's holding you up, sucker?" "You usually fall by now." "Come on!" "Take him out, Eddie!" "Okay, Eddie." "What's okay, you fucking rummy?" "What's okay?" "Come on, Eddie." "Get up!" "Put him away." "Take him out!" "Take him the fuck out!" "Go on!" "Come on, Eddie!" "Eddie!" "Come on!" "Come on, Eddie." " Got him?" " Got him." "Oh, man, here." "$19, $25..." "Eddie, what did that bastard do to you?" "My fucking head is killing me." "Hey, man, give me a draft." "No!" "No!" "Look, I'm sorry, man." "I can't serve you." "Yo, Henry!" "Look, Henry, take this." "Eddie wailed through his blood but he paid up." "Go on, take it." "You earned your cut." "All I did was watch." "I can't take the money, Jim." "Suppose I'd lost?" "You could buy a lot of drinks with this, slugger." "Since you put it that way, I'll take a couple of Scotch and waters." "I wish you'd take some more." "What do you think I am?" "A bum?" "Thanks, Jim." "You better not eat anything for awhile." "Might turn into something dangerous." "Give me a beer." " Christ, who's that one?" " Who?" "That woman." "She looks like some kind of distressed goddess." "Wanda." "Wanda." "Tell me, man." "This Wanda she looks pretty good." "How come nobody sits next to her?" "She's crazy." "Crazy?" "I can't stand people." "I hate them." "Oh, yeah?" "You hate them?" "No but I seem to feel better when they're not around." "Hey, barkeep." "Two Scotch and waters." "I'm going to ask you the same damn thing people are always asking me." " Like?" "Like, what do you do?" "I drink." "That's it." "That's what?" "I'm broke." "Can't buy another drink." "You mean, you don't have any money?" "No money." "No job." "No rent." "I'm back to normal." "Come with me." "I'll have a couple of packs of smokes." "Merits, long." "Care for a couple of cigars?" "Couple of good cigars." "And charge it to Wilbur Evans." "Now, Wanda, I'm going to have to call Wilbur for his okay." "Go ahead." "Wilbur." "Yeah, Wanda is here." "She's got some stuff." "It totals at $23.89." "Couple of bottles of Scotch, six-pack of beer..." "How'd your face get so beat up?" "You don't mind, do you?" "I think it looks beautiful." " Hey, you little pricks!" " Sorry, man!" "Pardon me, Wilbur." "Wilbur wants to know if you're coming over." "Yeah, she is." "It's okay, Wanda." "Grab the stuff and follow me." "We'll try my place." "Goddamn it!" "My place is next." "I'm up on the third floor." "Don't worry." "There's an elevator." "I love corn." " You want to pick some corn?" " Hey, wait." "You can't go up there." "That's out in the open." "You'll be seen." "I don't care." "I love corn." "I'm going to pick some corn." "What are you doing?" "You're drunk." "Baby, look at those ears." "They're still young." "They're green." "You can't eat that stuff." "Who's Wilbur?" "Is he your pimp?" "I'm no hooker." "I don't have a pimp." "Who's the guy?" "Wilbur is just an old guy who cares for me." "Oh, shit, it's the cops!" "Let's go!" "Which way?" "Quick!" "Head for the basement!" "There!" "Help me!" "Goddamn it!" "Stop!" "Police!" "Stay right where you are!" "Here." " Which way?" " This way!" "If the elevator isn't at the bottom, we're dead." "Stop, or we'll fire!" "Push your finger on the three button!" "Ah, shit!" "Get where this fucking thing stops." "Leave the door open." "Leave the lights out." "Now what?" "Take your shoes off." "I really want to get those fuckers." "Did you see that woman?" "She really flashed those legs when she ran." "Great legs." "Have they left?" "Let's not take a chance." "Let's be quiet for the rest of the night." "They might be camped out there." "I guess you'll have to stay the night." "Don't you hate cops?" "No, but I seem to feel better when they're not around." "I sure want to thank you for your hospitality." "Just one thing:" "I don't ever want to fall in love." "I don't want to go through that again." "Don't worry." "Nobody's ever loved me yet." "Oh, shit!" "I told you that stuff is green." "Look at it." "Nothing ever works." "Nothing in this life ever works." "Be quiet!" "They still might be out there." "Nothing ever works right in this life." "It's all right." "It's all right." " Hey, what the hell was that?" " Same old thing." "Only it's a little better than TV." "There you go, lover." "Lover?" "Don't you remember?" "But what's this?" "An extra key." "Two can get the rent better than one." "I don't know if I'm too good at this sort of thing." "Yeah?" "What are you good at?" "Juicing." "Yeah." "Wilbur!" "Jeez, Wilbur, I couldn't make it over last night." "Yeah, I got stinko and passed out." "I went to bed." "Tonight?" "Well, jeez, I don't know." "Let me think about it." "Hello." "Yeah, hey, Wilbur, how are doing?" "Hey, listen, Wilbur, you call here again, I'm going to come over." "I'm going to do a tap dance on your skull." "Listen, Wilbur, be very careful." "Yeah, he's a very jealous man." "He's a wrestler!" "He drinks beer, sits around all day, he farts, lifts weights." "He hung up." "We really cut off a good source of supply there, Mr. Vanbilderass." "Vanbilderass?" "What's that?" "It's the way you walk across the room." "The way you act." "Yeah!" "You're the damnedest barfly I've ever seen." "You act like some weird blue blood, like royalty!" "I don't know." "I wasn't aware of that, thank you." "I noticed your class, too, baby." "All right." "I've got to tell you something." "If a man came by with a fifth of whiskey I'm afraid I'd go with him." "I could get a lot of booze out of Wilbur." "I've given up too much." "I don't know about the next." "Hey, I'm the next." "I'll supply the booze." "How?" "I'll get a job." "What happened to you along the way?" "You're weird." "By the way, first thing I noticed about you were your legs." "Really?" "I guess I got lucky with legs." "It's brain I was shorted on." "Oh, yeah." "I could look at a woman's legs for hours." "I got nothing but time." "You think I'm crazy?" "What's crazy?" "I don't know." "We're all in some kind of hell." "And the madhouses are the only places where people know they're in hell." "I don't know!" "I'm just a crazy beer-drinking wrestler that likes to fart." "You ass!" "You got anything to pick up at your place?" "Some rags and a radio." "Hey, we don't need a moving van." "All right, let's go." "But I want to make myself look good." "Hey, Jim, could you hold this stuff for me for awhile?" "Yeah." "Sure." "Last time I saw you, you got nothing." "Now you've got a woman and a radio." "Jim, I'm used to radios." "Wanda, this is Jim." "Jim, this is Wanda." "Hi." "Give me a beer." "Yeah, likewise." "Hey, Jim." "Can you cash this check for me?" "I signed it." "Hey, what's this?" "You're not going to believe this, but that's an income tax refund." "I found it in the mailbox of the old place." " You worked last year?" " Six months in a toy factory." "You don't know how men suffer for children." "Hey, Henry." "You're going to buy one or be one?" "I'm going to be one." "Give her a beer." " Yes, sir?" " Shot of whiskey, please." "Hey, you old-timer, this one's on the house." "I thank you." "Thanks, Jim." "Why don't you take this?" "It should cover the rent." "I'll keep the rest." "You trust me?" "Why not?" "It's easier that way." "Oh, man." "Oh, look at this." "Shifrin, Incorporated laborer, no experience." "Hey, that's me." "I'm going to run down there, I'm going to hop on a bus." "You losing what's left of your goddamn mind?" "You mean you're gonna leave me here all alone?" "All alone?" "Hey, baby." "There's Jim, there's Lilly, come on." "What are you doing with a woman, Henry?" "Lilly, sometimes I think you could use one, too." "Four whiskeys." "Look, Hank, why don't you go tomorrow?" "I mean, we just met." "When you run off like this, I feel like you're trying to get away from me." "Hey, baby!" "I'm doing this for us." "We'll be able to drink with class." "We don't have to be barflies right down to the grave." "Thank you, bartender." "Okay, old-timer." "Hey!" "He didn't pay." "He already paid." "Oh, god, I'm going to get a job." "To the working class." "Right." "To us." " To us, with God's help." " The best." "No chance." "Even the devil wouldn't have you." "What's your problem?" "You got any of those little mints for your breath?" "Oh, yeah!" "Excuse me." "Who are you?" "The eternal question." "The eternal answer:" "I don't know." "How do you explain all these gaps in your employment record?" "Well, hey, anybody can get a job." "It takes a man to make it without working." "Excuse me." "Hey, I was just joking." "Everything here seems to read "none. "" ""Hobbies, none." "Religion, none." ""Education, none. "" "Even where it asks your sex, you've written "none. "" "Hardly none." "There you could put down "male. "" " So, how did the job go?" " They gave me a hard-on." "They couldn't use a hard-on." "This is a world where everybody's got to do something." "You know, somebody laid down this rule that everybody's got to do something." "They've got to be something." "You know, a dentist, a glider pilot, a narc a janitor, a preacher, all that." "Sometimes I just get tired of thinking of all the things I don't want to do all the things that I don't want to be all the places that I don't want to go, like India like get my teeth cleaned." "Save the whale, all that." "I don't understand that." "You're not supposed to think about it." "I think the whole trick is not to think about it." "Well, I guess Wanda went home, huh?" "Henry." "Yeah?" "Eddie came in with a fifth of bourbon." "Tonight's his night off." "Ben's working his shift." "I won't miss Eddie tonight." "Henry, Wanda left with Eddie." "What?" "Jim?" "Yeah?" "Scotch and water." "Humanity." "You never had it from the beginning." "Hello." "I paid the rent." "Did you get the job?" "Yeah." "I start tomorrow." "Maître d' at Musso and Frank's." "Listen, I told you not to leave me alone." "Don't hit me!" "Hit you?" "I'm not your goddamn pimp." "Stop acting like one." "Why did it have to be Eddie?" "He symbolizes everything that disgusts me." "What?" "Obviousness." "Unoriginal macho energy." "Ladies' man!" "You're right." "He's not much." "I made an error." "An unhappy error." "Look, I drink!" "When I drink I move in a wrong direction." "You know, every time I get with a woman something happens." "Sometimes it happens sooner, sometimes it happens later." "This time it happened pretty fast." "You know, we just met." "You don't own me." "Yeah, hey, that's right." "Nobody owns anybody." "I just thought that we had something a little special." "I guess it was just green corn." "What are we, just people that pass in the hallways?" "I guess I expect too much." "I can't handle this scene, you know, I ought to I ought to be a fucking monk." "Yeah." "Yeah." "Hello?" "Tully Sorenson." "I know this sounds like I'm out of a lunatic asylum or something." "But I have this reason why I wish to talk to you." "Well, what do you want to do?" "What can a man do with a third-rate chippie?" "You keep talking like that and I'm leaving." "I'll open the door for you." "I'll be a gentleman." "Go ahead!" " Okay, I'm going." " I hope you find a live one." "You rotten son of a bitch!" "Baby!" "I love you!" "You've got something hard in there." "Nothing but dripping sink." "An empty bottle." "Euphoria." "Youth fenced in." "Stabbed and shaven." "Taut words." "Propped up to die." "Are you Henry Chinaski?" "No!" "I'm Leon Spinks!" "You look in bad shape." "Should I call a doctor?" "No, I'm quite all right." " Where's the body?" "You?" " There's no body." "We got a call somebody was dying up here." "Everything's fine." "You know what each of these calls costs the taxpayers?" "Jesus, why don't you turn your radio down?" "I can't find anybody!" "This is room 399, ain't it?" "So you didn't put in the call, did you?" "No." "All right, sign this sheet to show that we've been here." "You don't look so good." "Better go to bed or something." "You gonna sign this, buddy?" "This guy's a fucking nut." "Right here, middle line there." "Get some sleep, you'll feel better." "Come on, let's go, Lenny." "Goddamn you!" "Who asked you anything, anyhow?" "You know, in spite of everything, I sometimes think I love..." "I always told you, you didn't have any goddamn thing." "I still think I love you!" "You know, the best thing about you is that after looking at you anything else that I look at looks a hell of a lot better." "Yeah?" "Well, try looking in a mirror sometime!" "Find out what a lying, son of a bitch you are." "Hello." "Yes, I'm all right." "Do I want to see you?" "Well, you know what Tolstoy said." "Tolstoy!" "Tolstoy said, "Regard the society of women..." ""... as a necessary unpleasantness of life..." ""... and avoid it as much as possible. "" "A what?" "Well, yes." "I know I'm in your apartment, but I paid this month's rent." "Yes." "Sure, I can always use a drink." "Where did you say you were calling from?" "All right, I'll see you in a minute." "How's your head?" "Well, my head needs a beer." "The booze is on Wilbur Evans." "Probably the last tab I'll be able to run on him." "I guess it's not fair on Wilbur." "But he's got nothing but money." "Poor Wilbur!" "What did you do while I was gone?" "Where the hell are my panties?" "Where the hell is anything?" "Did an earthquake hit this place?" "Well, I was looking for a lottery ticket." "You don't play the lottery." "Oh, well." "Is your head really all right?" "It's just fine." "You're living with a real man now!" "I'm tough and I'm good and I'm hard!" "I know a part of you that never gets hard!" "Not for you, baby!" "No way, ever!" "Who for, then?" "Bette Davis, 49 years ago?" "What is it?" "It's hatred." "It's the only thing that lasts." "That guy beats up his old lady, and I hear he's killed two guys." "No shit." "What the fuck's he doing out?" "I don't know." "He killed one man and they put him in and he got out and killed another guy and now he's out again." "Maybe it was self-defense or maybe it's our penal system." "Anyhow, he's out on parole." "He must jack off his parole officer when he comes around." "I'm getting out." "I'm sorry." "Get up, you whore!" "You can take a punch better than that!" "Go climb in a roach motel!" "Maybe this guy had a reason for killing." "Well, most people think they do." "What are we going to do about us?" "Well, "us"..." ""Us" is going to drink, I hope." "Pour me one, then." "Thanks." "I feel kind of sleepy." "I don't know if it's the booze or what, but I need a nap." "Hey, you go ahead." "I'll watch things." "By the way I didn't get that job." "Tomorrow's my turn." "I've been a waitress a typist I can do it again." "You don't have to do anything ridiculous." "I'll work something out." "This thing upon me, like a flower and a feast." "This thing upon me, crawling like a snake." "It's not death, but dying will solve its power." "And as my hands drop the last desperate pen in some cheap room." "They will find me there." "I never know my name my meaning." "No other treasure of my escape." "Henry?" "Yes, what is it?" "Are you there?" "Yes." "I'm right here." "I'm going to die." "What?" "I'm going to die." "I just saw this angel." "He came to take me." "He had huge white wings spread all across the room." "He was beautiful and glowing." "He came to take me." "Hey, you're going to be all right." "You better call an ambulance." " Call an ambulance!" " An ambulance?" "I can't breathe." "I'm going..." "Hello, operator." "I need an ambulance." "Jesus!" "What do you guys work, the day shift and the night shift, too?" " I was going to ask you the same thing." " This time he's got the body!" "Here, sign here." "Don't you ever change your underwear?" "Sorry." "Don't be sorry, just change your underwear." "No more calls here tonight, buddy." "We're not answering anymore calls here." "What about Wanda?" "Well, Wanda's just drunk and besides that she's too fat." "Come on, Harry, let's get out of here." "Did you hear what that son of a bitch said?" "He said you were all right." "No, that son of a bitch said I was too fat." "He had no right to say that." "Do you think I'm too fat, Henry?" "No, you're just right." "You're perfect." "I thought so." "Thank you." "If you're going after a job in the morning, you better get some sleep." "All right." "I really saw that angel." "His wings were moving." "Well, I'm glad he had the wrong address." "I would have missed you badly." "You lying SOB." "Hey, look, you're hung over!" "Look, why don't you go another day?" "Say when you're feeling better." "I said I'd look for a job." "What do you want me to do?" "Go back to my drunken babble?" "Yes." "The angel came." "That was a warning to get straight." "Hey, you don't believe in that crap, do you?" "Sure." "The more crap you believe in, the more better off you are." "Listen, do you have a cigarette?" " Where the hell you going, anyhow?" " Got a couple places in mind." " Don't you have a match?" " No." "Hey, buddy!" "You got a light?" "Well, indeed!" "I do have that!" " Thank you very much, sir." " The pleasure is more than mine, sir." "And, my lady." "See?" "The angels are everywhere." "It's time those fuckers came out of hiding." " You have bus fare?" " Yeah, wish me luck." "Hey, good luck." "Mister..." "Blake." "Bill Blake." "If you're Henry Chinaski..." "I tried your door, but..." "Hey, what the fuck is going on out there?" "But you weren't in, so..." "I decided to wait a bit." "All right, I am Chinaski, but I don't owe any money so if you're from the collection agency, you can forget about it." "I'm Tully Sorenson." "We met each other at the bar." "Come on!" "Please!" "Get the fuck!" "Get!" "Get!" "Can I come in for a moment?" "Well..." "Look, I'm not going to consume you." "Well, all right." "Come in." "I feel entirely foolish." " Well, how come?" " Just walking in here." "Would you care for a beer?" " Thank you." " Okay." "I'm a producer of the Contemporary Review of Art and Literature." "Producer." "I own the magazine." "So?" "So, we've discovered you." "I had an idea that I'd be discovered after my death." "You look well on the way." "You might beat our deadline." "What's with this deadline crap?" "Don't you remember?" "You've sent us dozens of stories." "You can't be that out of it." "I don't think so." "Why did you send your stuff to us?" "I liked the title of the mag, it boggled my scrotum." "Why don't you stop drinking?" "Anybody can be a drunk." "Anybody can be a non-drunk." "It takes a special talent to be a drunk." "It takes endurance." "Endurance is more important than truth." "Anyhow, you've had some luck." "We've decided to accept your last story." "And we pay upon acceptance." "You change your address quite a bit, don't you?" "I had to hire a private detective to find you." "The guy in the hat, right?" "Wait!" "I can't cash this fucking thing." "Okay, whore!" "I can't stand it another minute!" "You're a leech in the center of my mind eating away at me!" "This is it!" "So help me, Christ!" "I'm going to finish you off now." "Wait here, I'll be back." "No, Louie!" "No!" "No!" "Hey, man, you got a search warrant?" "You owe me for a lock and a door!" "I don't like the way you're handling your woman." "That right, buddy?" "Where you from, anyhow?" "Don't you know she likes it?" "Fucking A right!" "You get your ass out of here, buster!" "We don't need no Chamber of Commerce clearance to play around here!" "And move out!" "There." "It's love, you see?" "Anything else bothering you?" "Yeah." "I don't like you." "That's just the nature of the way things work." "I don't like you." "You don't like me." "Wait." "Hey, man." "Watch this one!" "Okay, let's go, killer!" "Nothing but dumb luck!" "Why the fuck I..." "Yeah, but that counts, too!" "Hello?" "I need an ambulance." "Royal Palm Apartments, 334 Westlake Place, South." "It's apartment 398 and hurry up." "A man is dying." "No, I tell you it's for real this time!" "There's a guy on the floor, gutted!" "Okay, hurry!" "Hey, baby, we got to get out of here!" "I tell you it was an accident!" "That sucker tried to kill me!" " Maybe the gods intervened!" " What happened?" "It wasn't my fault." "He fell on his knife." "Shouldn't we tell the police?" "Not unless you want your new discovery in jail." "They got the wrong kind of bars in those places." "God." "Give me the check." "I'll go in and get it cashed for you." "Hey, babe, what's up?" "Got a light?" "No!" "Hey, baby." "You know, for $75 I'll suck you till your asshole rumbles like a volcano." "I can always tell a classy lady when I see one." "Hey, what are you doing?" "$599." "Thanks so much, really." "There've been many angels around here lately." "Which way, my dear angel?" "Pull on out and I'll guide you." "Bitch!" "Bitch, your boyfriend's a faggot!" "What are you going to do with him?" "What was all that about?" "Misdirected animosity." "She doesn't know a damn thing about me." "But I know something about you." "Really?" "You've been jailed 12 times." "You like Mahler and Mozart." "You can't dance, you hate movies you like avocados and Schopenhauer." "Sounds like your man did his homework, baby." "When I read your stories, I had to find out." "They made me feel." "And they made me curious." "Very curious." "You can really write." "Why do you live like a bum?" "I am a bum." "What do you want me to do?" "You want me to write about the sufferings of the upper classes?" "This may be news to you, but they suffer, too." "Hey, baby." "Nobody suffers like the poor." "I'm a little worried about that guy who got knifed." "I think he got it in the side." "If you get it in the stomach, that's bad." "Fuck you!" "Maybe they're in love." "You call that love?" "I call that unoriginal exhibitionism." "Maybe it's only that you want to be the one who's kissing her." "Maybe." "I don't put it out on parade." "Why can't you be more romantic?" "Think of making love as being, say, on a roller coaster." "Look at these vain idiots!" "I'll give them a roller coaster." "What they really need is a hint of death!" "That's the awakener." "Hey, you son of a bitch!" "What the hell are you doing?" " Are you crazy?" " Yeah." "Where are you going?" "That whole thing was dumb." "A childishly impetuous act of a spoiled asshole!" "So, you hired a dick to find an asshole." "Take a left at this black gate and go on up." "Hey, open says you." "What do you want to be when you grow up?" "Tully, I'm not pretending to be anything." "That's the point." "I'm glad there's a point." "That's a guest house." "Do you need a drink?" "Yeah, like a spider needs a fly." "I'll get the drinks." "Here." " You're the bartender." " Hey, okay." "How does it feel to be on the other end?" "Either way is great as long as the bottle pours." "It seems to be a limited world." "Is there anything else to it?" "No, it's a self-sufficient delusion." " Look at that." " One of my ushers left those here." "You know, in the guest house you could write in peace." "Tully, baby." "Nobody who could write worth a damn could ever write in peace." "Jesus." "I take it you don't care for my world." "Hey, baby, look around." "It's a cage with golden bars." "You better go now." "I'm sorry for all this." "I'm not used to drinking." "Hey, Tully." " I better sleep it off." " Where's the bedroom?" "All right, I've got you." "There you go." "I can't sleep with my clothes on." "Wait a moment." "Tully, baby." "Hey, Tully, baby." "What is it?" "I got to go." "What is it?" "What went wrong?" "Look, baby." "I belong on the streets." "I don't feel right here." "I feel like I can't breathe." "You just aren't used to easiness." "You can grow into it." "Hey, baby, grow is for plants." "I hate roots." "You had all this feeling in your stories." " I thought maybe it came from you." " I'm sorry." " I got to go." " No, I'm not going to cry." "You fooled me, that's all." "It's been done before." "Hey, Tully." "I didn't mean to do anything ugly." "Get out." "Hey, Wanda." "Wanda." "Hey, Wanda." "Where the hell have you been?" "I brought you a little drink." "Where have you been?" "I smell it." "Perfume." "Get away from me, you pig!" "Hey!" "You're crazy!" "Look what I found." "That's frightening." "What have you done?" " Did you kill somebody?" " Yeah." "That's for you, before the angel comes and takes you away." "You crazy ass." "How about a refill?" "Hey, what are you doing?" "Dressing." "I know, but why?" "I just can't stand lying under that cover of money." "I feel so dumb." "I don't know." "Money isn't dumb!" "They say it talks, you know!" "By the way, the cops came by." "Came by where?" "Here?" "No, not here." "It was next door at 398." "Two ambulance guys carried him out." "He'd been knifed." "Was he alive?" "He must have been." "He was smoking a cigarette." "Great." "Henry, I didn't get the job." "Hey, that's okay!" "We're going to take that money and we're going to go to the bar and we're going to celebrate." " Okay?" " All right." "Hey, Henry!" "Yeah?" "Scotch on the rocks." "I'll have the same and I'm buying for the house." "Look, your credit is no good here." "You've got to have the green." "This can't be true." "Start trotting, my friends are thirsty." "Eddie is going to jump you tonight." "Go out and get something to eat." "It's too late for that." "Eddie would think I was running." "What do you care what he thinks?" "If Eddie whips me you going home with him tonight?" "One mistake is enough for me." "It's you and me." " Good girl." " But I'll tell you something." "If I find that one you went to bed with I'll rip all her parts off." "Well, honey, it wasn't me!" "To all my friends!" "Eddie!" "You're in, too!" "Pour yourself a drink!" "Listen, you owe me $49!" "Here!" "Keep the change!" "Pour yourself a drink!" "Go buy yourself some bubble gum." "Now give everybody a new round!" "Listen, punk!" "I'm going to tell you something." "Last time I fought you, I had the flu!" "What's it going to be this time, the AIDS?" "Now, come on, start trotting, boy." "I'm going to fucking pour you." "I'm making a phone call." "I'm going to tend the bar while he tends to you!" "Let me get you a hamburger." "I want a steak, soaked in whiskey!" "Look, Henry, you can fight him tomorrow, after a couple of meals." "Wait, I can't back down now." "Look how fast he's pouring those drinks." "He's ready for you, Henry." "Hey, his kind is no problem, one good punch he'll start backing up, looking for the exit." "You owe me $42.59." "Here, baby, keep the change." "Maybe you can get a taxi back to your room tonight." "To all my friends!" "To all my friends!" "Henry, thank you." "What is this, takeout service now?" " Oh, shit!" " What?" "I mean, drink up." "Come on in, boys!" "What you got to do to get a drink in this joint, anyway?" "Excuse me, please, lady." "Henry, I want to talk to you." "I told you I didn't want that cage with the golden bars." "Who's this?" "Wanda, this is Tully." "Tully, this is Wanda!" "Henry, I'm going to scoot over there for a few minutes." "Hey, Eddie, a drink for the lady." "Vodka, Eddie." "Tully's a publisher." "She took one of my short stories." "Yeah?" "What else did she take?" "Excuse me, I don't mean to be rude, but haven't I seen you before?" "Are you a friend of Henry's?" "I'm a real good friend of Henry's." "How about you?" "Well, Henry and I are acquainted." "I'll say you are." "That's the perfume." "Look, girls, there's really nothing to get upset about." "Let's have a few drinks and listen to some jukebox music." "Who's going to pay for that drink?" "I'm going to separate you from your parts, you Westside bitch!" "You get away from me!" "I just want to talk to Henry for a minute." "I asked:" "Who is going to pay for the goddamn drink?" " Here." " Thank you." "Now, look, girls, be realistic." "None of us hardly know one another." "We're basically strangers to each other." "We've passed in the night and met again in a bar." "Be realistic!" "There's no reality to any of this." "Another round of drinks!" "Either you get out of here or I'm going to peel you away from your perfume." "I have a drink and I intend to sit here and drink it." "Really?" "Just get out of here now, before I finish you off!" "All right." "I know you need this." "Good luck." "Goodbye." "Keep the money." "This girl is with me." "To all my friends!" "To all my friends!" "You going to fight him again?" "That's a laugh!"