"Look, Granny." "Look what I got." "What you got?" "Tamales." "Mrs. Espinoza give them to me." "It was very nice of mrs." "Espinoza." "It's good." "Eat it." "Smells good." "What's them kids making that noise out there about?" "I don't hear nothin'." "You ain't deaf." "Them kids is slobs." "Them kids are slobs." "Well, they're slobs." "Honeybell, are you sure mrs." "Espinoza give you these tamales?" "She would've." "Well, did she?" "It don't make no difference now." "Honeybell, you ain't got no cause to lie." "It ain't refined." "I don't tell no lies." "You know, if I'd thought you snitched this," "I wouldn't have ate it." "Mrs. Espinoza give 'em to me." "Well, that's nice." "You must give mrs." "Espinoza something sometime." "Look at Ellie May!" "Well, you're happy about something." "Ma is supposed to come home today, ain't she?" "That's what her letter said." "What's the idea of them pigtails?" "What's wrong with them?" "You ain't gonna catch no fellas running around looking like that." "Wouldn't want one if I could get 'em, and I couldn't get one if I wanted one." "What are you going to do-change the world around?" "Is pa still sick?" "He's in there sleeping off his hangover, if that's what you mean." "Oh." "Maybe he ought to have some hot coffee." "I don't where he'll put it." "His stomach's all eaten out." "Awake, pa?" "Pa." "Pa, I brought you some hot coffee." "Here." "Thank you, darling." "You're very good to me, Ellie May." "You're very good to me." "Go on." "Drink it while it's hot." "What's the time?" "I don't know." "It ain't running'." "Is your mother home yet?" "No, she ain't." "Well, she should be here looking after the family." "Ma just likes to have a good time." "Oh, I'm not a fool, Ellie May." "I'm not a fool." "Ain't you gonna take your coffee?" "No." "It isn't coffee I need." "Don't you think maybe you drink too much, pa?" "It's only a substitute, Ellie May- a substitute for some dreams I once had." "But they've all gone, whistling down the wind." "I don't know what you mean, pa." "You keep your dreams, Ellie May." "After they've done, you've got nothing left." "'Cause if you let those go, you've got to invent new ones, and they're never as good as the old ones." "Oh, run away, dear." "Run away before you get like the rest of us." "But I ain't got no reason to run away, pa." "What on earth is going to happen to you in this horrible environment?" "Nothing's gonna happen to me, pa." "Wouldn't you feel better if you had some hot coffee in your stomach?" "I guess I'm a pretty good mess as a father, eh?" "Oh, you're swell, pa." "Aw, gee, pa, you're so smart and everything." "You've been to college." "I'm always telling everybody how much you know about them greeks." "Oh, my darling." "Hey, here's some of your writing on the floor." "Why, I guess that's as good a place as any for it." "Someday when your book's done, everybody will be talking about you." "I doubt whether I'll last long enough to finish it." "What's the matter, pa?" "You got a sick stomach?" "Maybe you ought to have some hot clam broth." "I could go down to the beach and get some clams." "There ain't nothin' wrong with your heart, is there?" "No, darling." "It's another kind of pain." "Oh, well. "we live not as we wish to, but as we can."" "So sayeth my old friend menander here." "Who was it that said it?" "Menander, darling - one of those old greek philosophers." "Hmm." "I wish I knowed more than I know." "Oh, my grip." "The gentleman paid for the cab." "Everything's taken care of." "Look out of my way, babies." "Yoo-hoo!" "Wo-hoo, wo-hoo!" "Hello, baby!" "Oh, she has some presents!" "Hello, mame!" "You look great!" "Here I am- what's left of me." "Did you bring any presents, ma?" "Oh, Honeybell, it ain't me you want." "It's the presents." "Stop talkin' to ma and let her get her breath." "Hello, ma." "Hello, Ellie May." "Oh, gee, you look pretty, ma!" "Do i, hon?" "Where's my present?" "Oh." "Oh, look." "Ma's got a new fur." "Ain't I the one?" "I want my present!" "Oh, Honeybell!" "You're a pest." "You take your present, run away, and keep quiet." "How's Homer?" "He don't feel good." "Oh, that's too bad." "Here's something for you, Ellie May." "And, ma, here's something smelly." "Say, ma, Thelma introduced me to the loveliest gentleman a mr." "Hawkins." "Tell you about it later." "Did you go to the fair, ma?" "Oh, boy, did i!" "Say, I've been jounced and bounced till I don't think there's a whole bone left in my body." "Look!" "A monkey in a pineapple!" "Oh, ma, ain't it cute?" "Ain't it cute?" "It looks like Homer." "Aw, let him be." "Well, its eyes light up." "It does look like Homer, especially when he hits the bottle." "Oh, Ellie May, ain't you pleased with your present?" "Sure, I'm pleased, ma." "Well, how can you tell if you don't even look at it?" "I'm going down to the beach to get some clams." "Now, there you are, ma." "Here I buy her the best pair of silk stockings I can for the money, and she don't even look at 'em." "I'll look at 'em after." "You're pretty particular about where your presents come from." "I ain't said nothin'." "Good-bye, ma." "Good-bye." "Silk stockings' ain't for a girl that acts like a boy." "You should've bought her a baseball bat." "I don't want none." "You got 8 pounds there." "All right." "Here she comes." "Are you going to say it?" "I'm not afraid of her." "I'll say it." "Go on, say it." "Afraid of a girl?" "I'm not afraid of her!" "Well, then I'll say it!" "her mother was a lady- yeah, you missed!" "Ow!" "It's a shame to waste a good smell in a place like this." "Well, maybe we'll go steppin' sometime, huh?" "Why not?" "You can always play a new tune on an old fiddle!" "Well, you're just as young as you feel, ma." "Sure." "Say, got some coffee, hon?" "I'll make you a fresh cup." "Bye-bye." "Say, is this genuine?" "Say, nothing else but." "That fella must have an oil well somewhere." "Say, ma, listen." "Say, I says to him, I said, "mr." "Hawkins," ""if you want to throw your money away, it's all right with me." "I ain't gonna be the one to stop you."" "And, ma, confidential- he wanted to marry me." "No!" "He did!" "And I says, "now, look here, mr." "Hawkins, one husband at a time's enough, ain't it?"" "And he laughed fit to kill." "He must be a god." "Oh, he's a god and very refined." "It's too bad Homer don't do you a favor and get run over or something." "Oh, ma." "Poor Homer." "Somebody has to look after him." "And of course it's got to be you." "Sure." "Isn't it customary for a wife to look after her husband when he's ill, instead of chasing around with other men?" "Hello, Homer." "Are you still alive?" "Ain't you feeling well, baby?" "Look at them eyes." "Looks like a couple of grapes floating around in his head." "You might reserve your acid wit for someone of your own class." "Wasn't no drunks in my family." "One tiny virtue is not sufficient to counteract your other endowments." "Big words ain't going to help that hangover." "Ma, leave him be." "Come on, now." "That's a good boy." "That's it." "That's a boy." "There." "Oh." "Working on your book, Homer?" "What difference does that make to you?" "I was telling mr." "Hawkins, a friend of Thelma's, what a smart man you was." "You don't have to further my humiliation." "Why, Homer, nobody's humiliating nobody." "Who is this Hawkins?" "What kind of a woman is your friend Thelma?" "Where have you been?" "What have you been doing?" "I've been to the fair and had some fun." "Don't you want your Mamie to have a good time?" "Look, Mamie, I... oh, my poor Homer." "Eyes are all red and watery." "My eyes are red with shame." "Why, Homer, you ain't done nothin' to be ashamed of." "Slinking up back alleys with my collar turned up to hide my disgrace." "Now, honey-bun, you know how upset you get after drinking." "I can't stand it any longer." "I'll put an end to myself - that's what I'll do." "Homer, you give that to me." "Give it right to me." "I only gave it to you because you was afraid of burglars." "Now, you mustn't play with it." "Someday I'll do it." "Someday I'll have the courage." "Now, don't you want your Mamie to rub your head for you, like a good little boy?" "I'm not a little boy." "I'm ill!" "Why, of course you are." "You're a great big boy." "Oh, dear." "Poor Homer." "Ain't got no gin left." "That's what's the matter with you." "The big bad gin's all gone, ain't it?" "Well, Mamie'll get you some money so you can buy some more." "I won't take any money!" "I won't take money from you!" "Why don't you go out and get a job- get some money of your own?" "The work Homer does takes brains." "They'll never read his book, even if he does finish it." "Now, here you are, Homer." "Take it and have a good time." "I'll take it." "And I hope you enjoy my degradation." "It's all right with me, toots." "Now, Homer, don't get tight and fall in a ditch like you done the last time." "If he fell in the ditch and I was along," "I'd just cover him up and let him lay." "Going down to the beach?" "Yeah." "Why?" "Hop in, and I'll give you a ride." "I ain't taking' no chances." "You don't have to be scared of a silly old man like me." "Oh, I ain't exactly scared." "Hop in, then." "I'm just hankering to have a talk with somebody." "Well..." "I ain't got much to talk about." "You don't have to worry." "I'll do all the talking." "Get down to the beach often?" "Going fishing?" "Nope." "Clamming." "Oh, you like to eat clams?" "I ain't gonna train 'em for no circus." "That's what I get for being nosy." "Why don't you buy 'em in town?" "Save you a long trip." "They got to be fresh on account of my sister Honeybell." "What's the matter with her?" "She's sick." "If they ain't fresh, she might get an awful sick stomach." "Oh, I'm sorry to hear about that." "Do you live down at the beach?" "Yeah." "I run a hamburger stand down by the fish canneries." "Hmm." "Funny." "I was going to have my lunch down at the beach today, but I forgot my pocketbook." "Maybe I could fix you up." "Oh, I didn't mean it that way." "That's all right." "Why ain't you at school?" "Don't have to be." "Why not?" "I get my learnin' from my pa." "Is he a schoolteacher or something?" "No." "He went to college." "He's learning me all about them old greeks." "Well, I wouldn't know about them." "They was mighty smart." "Don't the authorities never say nothin' about you not going to school?" "I'm older than I look." "What do you wear them pigtails for?" "Well, if fellas think you're a kid, they leave you be." "They're just to keep the fellas from getting fresh." "You don't mean me, too?" "You're a fella, ain't you?" "I'm just an old hunk of buzzard bait." "You used to be a fella." "I'll say I was!" "You said something, kid!" "Well, here we are." "What did you say your name was?" "Ellie May." "Well, come on in, Ellie May." "We'll see if we can't fix you up a sandwich or something." "Maybe I hadn't oughta." "You're hungry, ain't ya?" "Yeah, but I ain't got any money." "You can pay it some other time." "You can have my share of them fish canneries." "Them sardines is getting me down." "You get used to the smells after 5 or 6 years." "How'd you like to top off your lunch with a nice slab of sardine pie?" "I ain't feeling so good now." "Nobody feels good that eats in here." "Leave off them corny jokes." "You got to give the customers something for their money." "Our food ain't no good." "Fix up that kid with something to eat." "Boy, you're sure picking them young, grandpappy- right out of grammar school." "What'll it be, al?" "One of your 10 centers." "They're good ones." "Made 'em myself." "Best manila rope in town." "A little longer, you could hang yourself with it." "Bad enough to have to smoke 'em." "Uh, don't look now, but there's a truant officer standing right behind you." "What'll it be, sister?" "What do you think I ought to have?" "Well, you can't serve that to schoolkids." "How about a nice bowl of alphabet soup?" "Here you are." "Don't pay no attention to him." "His mind wanders." "Maybe it never came back." "You ain't getting no laughs on her, big boy." "She'll laugh when she eats that sandwich." "We paint the ham on with a brush." "There's the whistle." "Well, give my regards to the sardines." "Can I take this with me?" "Sure, go ahead." "Thank you." "Where's a good place this kid can dig some clams?" "What kind of clams does she want?" "The kind that don't make so much noise." "That ought to shut you up." "Say, she ain't so bad on the comeback." "Never mind about her." "Did you get to town and get them bolts for the pump?" "Aw, ain't no rush about them bolts." "Maybe there ain't no rush for you, but there is for the pump." "Say, who is that kid, anyhow?" "Never mind who that kid is." "If you could get your mind off women for 5 minutes, we might be able to do something around here." "Who wants to get their mind off women?" "How you doin'?" "Doing all right." "Getting any clams?" "There ain't any." "I told them some of your jokes, and they ran away." "You don't think I'm funny, do you?" "Nope." "Well, I don't, either." "What do you tell them dumb jokes for?" "In my business, you got to have repartee." "Got to have what?" "Repartee." "You don't put on an act, they go someplace else to eat." "What's that got to do with me?" "Oh, nothing, except when you didn't laugh," "I figured you had some sense." "You know, them portugee gals will laugh at anything." "Well, I ain't a portugee gal." "That's what I say." "Hey, you ain't doin' that right." "Who says I ain't?" "You expect to find clams under them rocks?" "Maybe you know better." "You ought to have a clam rake." "Maybe I oughta, but I ain't got one." "There's a right way and a wrong way to do everything." "What are you gonna do with that?" "What did you think I was gonna do- hit you over the head with it?" "Well, you better not." "Come on out here." "I want to show you something you don't know." "Now, anybody knows you can't find clams above the high water mark." "Well, what of it?" "I'm just telling you." "So we both know there must be clams down here someplace." "What are you gonna do with that rock?" "I'll show you." "Take the rock, drop it... clams spit, that's how you know where they are." "What makes them do that?" "I don't know, but that's how they give themselves away." "The real way to dig them's with a rake." "Yeah, but this is more fun." "Another way to get 'em is to sneak out on a dark night and whistle, see?" "Clam comes up to see what's making all the racket, why, you sprinkle a little salt on their tail." "Then you got 'em, see?" "That some more of that repartee business?" "Say, don't nothin' ever get a rise out of you?" "Not unless I want it to." "Hey, where are you going?" "Huh?" "Going home." "Come here." "I got some more clams for you." "I got enough of them." "What's wrong with you?" "Give me that bag." "Where do you live?" "Why?" "I'm going to give you a lift." "I don't want no lift." "I just want my clams." "You'll get your clams." "Who's your girlfriend?" "Oh, I found her down here with the clams, only the clams got more sense of humor." "Coming to the bluebell tonight?" "Sure, I'll be there." "Somebody's got to keep you gals happy." "Boy, I sure knock 'em dead, don't i?" "Yeah." "You probably want to go talk to them." "I'll just be getting on." "No." "I'll see enough of her tonight." "Here, let me help you up." "No." "I can take care of myself." "Go ahead." "Well, thanks for helping me with them clams." "I guess I'll be getting on home now." "Get in there." "Where are you taking me?" "I'm taking you where you're going." "Sure you ain't taking me noplace else?" "Where else you want to go?" "I don't want to go noplace." "Boy, I've seen some stubborn dames, but I never seen nothin' like you." "Don't you never open up?" "Where do you live in town?" "In a house." "I thought maybe you lived in a tree." "We moved." "Hey, you're harder to open up than one of them clams." "Well, it don't make much difference where you live." "We may never get to town anyhow." "Why?" "I've just learned to drive this thing." "One of these is the gas." "Look out!" "Where are we?" "Give you a thrill?" "No." "Yippee!" "You probably think you're pretty funny." "I'll get a rise out of you yet." "That's what you think." "What are you trying to do, dump me in the ocean?" "Why don't you just turn the thing all the way over and kill the both of us?" "I think I can do it." "What's it gonna get you?" "I'll... get a... rise..." "out of you... yet!" "Why don't you stay on your side of the road?" "Hey!" "Hey!" "You still here?" "Some of me." "I give up." "You just ain't got a rise in you." "I have if I want to have." "Shall I slow her down?" "What's the matter?" "You getting scared?" "Ain't you ever been out with a guy before?" "No." "Well, maybe that's what's the matter." "With who?" "What's that you got under your nose?" "Is it off?" "Here, let me have a look." "What did you go do that for?" "Well, I finally got a rise out of you." "You know, I don't go around letting fellas kiss me." "I don't go around letting girls slap me, neither." "Well, you should have been." "You'd think you'd never been kissed before." "Well, I ain't- not by a fella." "Well, I'm sorry." "I ain't one of them portugee gals." "I never said you was." "Maybe you can go around kissing them any time you like." "Forget it." "Well, I ain't one of them portugee gals." "I never said you was." "I knew you was different the first minute I seen you." "That's more like it." "How'd you know?" "Oh, your face and neck's all the same color." "Them portugee girls rouge up a lot." "Which way do you turn here-right or left?" "If I was you, I think I'd pull over to the curb." "I guess maybe I better have." "Who do you think you are-the wild man of borneo?" "What are you stopping us for?" "It's time somebody stopped you." "I didn't mind him bumping me around." "Well, I did." "Well, he was only trying to get a rise." "Well, he got one out of me." "Let me see your license." "I ain't got it." "I must have forgot my pocketbook." "Oh, so you haven't got a license." "I had one." "Well, I guess we'd better take a run down to the station." "Looks like I'm going to the hoosegow." "Oh, he can't do that to you, can he?" "That's the way it looks." "Oh, uh, I don't want that to happen." "And why not?" "After what I done to you?" "I didn't mind it that much." "That yours?" "Hey, where'd you get that?" "I just seen it on the beach, and I meant to ask you was it yours." "Hey, officer, I found it." "Are you sure you're Ed Wallace?" "That's me." "Hey, you could have kept that." "I'd never known the dif." "What makes you think I woulda?" "I never said you woulda." "I said you coulda." "Well, I wouldn'ta." "All right, so you wouldn'ta." "Maybe them portugee gals woulda, but not me." "Well, you don't have to get sore." "Well, I ain't sore." "I just wouldn't do nothing like that, that's all." "All right, so you wouldn't do nothing like that." "He won't have to go to jail now, will he?" "No, but you will if you don't pipe down." "You'd better run along before you get in trouble." "Well, thanks for everything." "I ain't done nothin'." "You helped me with them clams." "Aw, forget it." "When people do things for me," "I kind of like to let 'em know about it." "Well, you don't have to make a fuss about it." "Well... guess I'd better be going." "Well, so long." "I get down to the beach every once in a while." "Well, that's fine." "I'll be seeing you sometime." "Bye." "So long." "Here." "Here's your invite." "Thanks." "Do you suppose hoochamadingy will be in to supper?" "Homer?" "Probably will if he didn't go and fall in that ditch again." "Too bad to waste that nice chop suey on a stomach like his." "Well, there's plenty of it." "Wait till you see Ellie May." "What's the matter with her?" "She ain't sick, is she?" "She's putting powder on her face." "There's nothing to worry about that." "Have you washed for supper?" "I ain't a bit sweaty." "Oh, Honeybell!" "Horses sweat." "Ladies feel the heat." "Say, you come right here and get washed." "You can't set the table like that." "Now, run along." "I don't want to wash again." "Ain't you hungry?" "I ain't got nothin' but slat." "Honeybell!" "Wherever did you learn them dreadful words?" "I heard Granny say it." "Well, it ain't refined." "We can take his plate off." "It'll make more room at the table." "Sure." "I'm getting sick of looking at that pan, anyway." "Oh, Ellie May, you're all dressed up!" "Where are you going?" "I'm just going out." "I thought you didn't want them silk stockings." "I ain't never said I didn't want 'em." "Hmm." "Being so particular all of a sudden." "Oh, ma, let her be, will you, please?" "She ain't foolin' nobody." "What's his name?" "Ellie's got a fella, Ellie's got a fella ain't it all right for her to have a fella?" "Can't I dress up without having a fella?" "Who told you you could borrow my slippers?" "They're just rotting away in the trunk." "I can still use 'em." "You ain't gonna lay me away yet." "Oh, hush, ma." "She's wearing my best hat, ain't she, and using my purse." "Ellie May, wait a minute now." "Don't run away." "You gonna eat?" "I ain't hungry." "Ellie's got a fella" "I heard enough out of you." "I hope you don't grab the first cat out of the bag." "I ain't grabbin' nothin'." "Here you are, hon, here you are." "If you're gonna step out, you might as well do it in style." "Aw, gee, ma!" "Aw, thanks, ma." "Gee, I hope I don't lose it." "I don't care, hon, just so long as you look pretty." "You'd think she was going out to get hung." "Oh, Ellie May... what's come over my baby?" "Oh, ma, I didn't want this to happen to me." "Well, it just happens, and you can't help it." "But he just up and kissed me, and..." "I don't know what I've been doing ever since." "Other people have been in love before, you know." "Yeah, but I don't like it." "Don't you suppose I ever been in love?" "Sure, ma." "I guess you must've." "Oh, I don't mean pa." "It happened long before I met him." "He was..." "well, ma broke it up." "He didn't have no money." "But your ma ain't gonna let that happen to you." "Do you mean you didn't love pa when you married him?" "Ah, that's different." "You see, he'd been to college and said a lot of them big words, and it kind of swept me off my feet, I guess." "Pa is weak and drinks a lot." "Anyhow, I made my bargain and I want to stick by it." "Somebody has to take care of the family, and while it ain't just like I might have asked for, why, I done the best I knew how." "That's what them greeks said." "Them greeks down the street?" "No, pa's greeks." "They say, "you don't live like you want to." "You live like you got to."" "Well, that ain't got nothin' to do with your fella." "What's he look like?" "Well, he's tall and he's kind of got a big nose." "Oh, that's good." "Them men is usually generous." "What's his name?" "Ed." "Ed something." "If he hadn't have kissed me, I'd have been all right." "Supper's getting cold." "All right, ma." "I'll be right in." "You mean, he just kissed you and didn't say nothin' with it?" "Yeah. "I'll be seeing you sometime."" "Oh, he did?" "Oh, well, we got to do something about that." "Hey, give me that rouge." "You got to learn to make up, Ellie May." "Oh, but, ma, he don't like rouge." "Well, not on me." "Well, what kind of a man is he?" "I don't know him so good." "Now, look here, Ellie May." "You've got to pull yourself together." "Now, for instance, you got awful pretty-looking legs in them silk stockings, but you don't know how to walk on 'em." "Now, no matter what a man tells you, he likes a girl to flirt with him a little." "It's just the same as in a jungle or anyplace else, no matter what they tell you." "Now, Ellie May, I ask you, if you was a man, would you like a girl that walked like this?" "No, of course you wouldn't." "You got to put a little zing into it, like this." "See?" "No." "He wouldn't like that." "Well, he's human, ain't he?" "Yeah, but that wouldn't work with him- not with me doing it." "Well, I wouldn't know what to tell you without meeting him." "I wish I knowed him better so you could meet him." "Well, it's too bad we ain't got a better place so as you could bring him here." "I could ask him, maybe." "No." "Maybe you hadn't better bring him here." "You see, people got a lot of funny ideas, and then there's pa and Granny." "No." "No, maybe you hadn't better bring him." "But you got to meet him sometime." "Now, look here." "Ellie may, if he's your man, don't you let nothin' or nobody take you away from him." "Well, gee, ma." "You don't think I'm ashamed of you?" "No." "Now, you run along, honey, and remember... your ma is with you." "You're swell, ma." "Run along." "I'll be thinking of you." "Ma, why can't i have a fella?" "Eat up your chop suey." "You'll grow faster." "You can have all the fellas you want." "Poor little Ellie May." "It's about time she grew up." "What's the matter with ma?" "Poor little Ellie May." "This the place you're looking for, miss?" "Yeah, I think so." "Thanks ever so much for the lift." "Don't give it a second thought." "When I get home..." "when I get home... come on, now." "Pull yourself together." "I'll be right back." "If you go back in there, I'm going to divorce you." "We got to get my hat." "You got it on your dumb head." "Have i?" "Of course you have." "Give me them car keys." "What for?" "I'll drive." "Drive, where you can't even walk straight?" "Come on." "Oh, so i ain't a gentleman, huh?" "I didn't say you wasn't, even if you ain't." "Looking for somebody?" "I'm looking for a gentleman." "There's lots of them here." "Take your pick." "Never mind." "I see him." "Well, just in case, here's my card." "Hamburger by the sea." "Now, if you folks get tired of living, why, come down to my joint and eat." "Do you go with the joint, big boy?" "You said it, kid." "And listen... if you can ditch these 2 sailors, why, come over and join a hot party." "Can I bring my hangover with me?" "Sure, if it's good-looking." "Ok!" "Hey, Carmelita, how about a little action?" "Oh, no." "Come on!" "Oh, no." "Come on." "What'll you have to drink, lady?" "I'd like a drink of water, maybe." "You're a wonderful dancer, oh, you're a wonderful dancer." "Hey, how are them drinks coming?" "Coming right up." "All right." "Psst." "Hey, Ed." "I think you're getting the buzz." "Oh, that's all right." "Let me alone." "I'm all right." "Too bad she didn't break her neck." "I'll be right back." "She's pie-eyed!" "Well, if it ain't pigtails." "What in the name of time has happened to you?" "I fell down." "Now, you ain't been drinking, have you?" "Can't a girl fall down without having been drinking?" "What are you doing in a joint like this?" "I came to see you." "And what about?" "Well, it's awful important." "All right." "Come on out here." "Here, let me take a look at you." "Take that stuff off." "And where'd you get that hat?" "You don't like it?" "You don't want to be a freak, do you?" "No." "No, I don't want to be." "Well, beginning to look more like yourself." "Uh, what did you want to talk to me about?" "I..." "I just wanted to talk to you." "Say, your folks can't be so terrible strict or they wouldn't let you come down to a joint like this." "Oh, they don't know I'm here." "I sneaked out." "Yeah?" "Well, you're sneaking right back." "Oh, I can't." "You can't what?" "I can't go back home." "What's the matter?" "You scared of getting a licking?" "I can't never go back." "Well, why not?" "I lied to you before." "I run away." "You did?" "I run away on your account." "You run away on my account?" "Yeah." "Say, are you off your head?" "Yeah, I guess maybe I am." "Just what are you thinking about?" "Well, there's no place for me to go now, 'cept with you." "Hey, I'm tired of this double talk." "I'm taking you home." "Oh, it won't do no good." "They won't take me back now, even if you do." "Why?" "'Cause i... told them that I loved you." "You what?" "And that I was going with you." "And they said what did I know about you, and I told them, and they said I wasn't never to see you no more." "Oh, I ain't good enough, huh?" "Oh, it ain't that you ain't good enough." "What'd you go and kiss me for?" "I didn't do nothing to you." "Are you still harping on that?" "You'd harp, too, if it done to you what it done to me." "You're just making a big fuss over nothing." "They said if I even seen you again," "I needn't never come back." "Folks ain't got no right to be as strict as that." "Aw, I want to go with you, Ed." "Well, I ain't gonna let you." "I can't cook nor nothing like that, but I could wait on the people and wash the dishes and learn some of that repartee." "Well, ain't you got no friends to go to?" "I ain't got nobody now, 'cept you." "I don't like being put on the spot." "I could even learn to work them pumps if I had to." "But I ain't ready to get married yet." "You ain't what?" "I ain't ready to get married yet." "That's something a guy's got to think over." "Aw, don't do that, kid." "Don't be that way, please." "Hey, what is this?" "I'll be right in." "Oh, I know I ain't as pretty as her, but maybe I would be if i had them kind of clothes." "That ain't got nothing to do with it." "All I know is you've got to go home." "I ain't gonna have no more trouble with you." "All right, Ed." "I'll go... but I ain't going home." "And what do you think you're gonna do, sleep out here?" "Don't worry about me." "Go on back in to your portugee gal." "I'll be all right." "You're going right home." "Go on in." "Just leave me here." "Well, what you gonna do?" "It don't make no difference." "Before you go, would you kiss me?" "All right." "Make you happy." "Now you can go." "I don't like to leave you out here like this." "Do you need any money?" "No, not where I'm going." "You've got me all mixed-up." "Where do you think you're going?" "Don't worry about me." "You won't see me no more." "What do you mean by that?" "I won't never bother you again, if you'll just kiss me once more." "All right." "Not one of them long ones." "Thanks." "Now, you don't want to do nothing like that." "Well, I guess that's all I can rob you of today." "That'll be 92 cents." "You're feeling pretty good lately, ain't you, joe?" "Well, why shouldn't people feel good all the time?" "What's happened to your arthritis?" "Never heard of it." "You been taking pills or something?" "Pills are for old guys like you." "Everybody will think it was you that got married instead of Ed." "Oh, I ain't that crazy." "Hey, jake, did you catch that fight last night?" "No." "Where was it?" "A couple of portuguese got in a brawl." "It was pretty messy." "Cops come and grabbed them and took them to the station." "Hey, al, here's your soup." "Say, Ellie, do you call this chicken soup?" "That's what we call it." "Yeah?" "Where's the chicken?" "Crossing the road." "Says right here on the card, "chicken soup."" "Oh, well, don't let that fool you." "Just another name we got for hot water." "Ha ha!" "You better keep quiet, al." "You ain't getting none the best of it." "I'm going to bring my other glasses next time." "Maybe I can see the chicken." "Why, there's a great big hunk of it right on that piece of rice." "I give up." "Oh, we don't care what you say about the soup, but don't pick on the coffee." "It's too weak to fight back." "Had enough, al?" "I can't top her." "What unlucky guy gets the stew?" "Poor old jake halpern." "Where do you hide the toothpicks, joe?" "People that eats in here ain't got no teeth left." "That ain't bad, grandpappy." "She's got me doing it." "It's my own fault for picking up hitchhikers." "They either bat you over the head or they move in." "First thing you know, they're bossing you around." "A little bossing wouldn't have hurt you a long time ago." "I'll shut up, too." "And now, don't make no cracks about that beef stew." "Wait till you et it, and then nothing'll matter anymore." "Nothing to worry about, jake, till you start turning green." "Maybe I better get down to ike's place to eat my lunch." "He may have better beef stew, but we give free bicarbonate." "Ed, I'm afraid you've picked something for yourself." "Aw, I never picked her." "She picked me." "Yeah, and the picking was pretty slim that day." "How does it feel to be tied down, big boy?" "Who, me?" "Aw, I ain't tied down." "Oh, no?" "Ask me if I'm coming down to the bluebell tonight." "Ok." "Come to the bluebell tonight, Ed?" "Sure." "What time you gonna be there?" "Soon as I get through counting them fish." "I'll be there, if I can get rid of the ball and chain." "Going to the bluebell tonight, Ed?" "Oh, who said anything about the bluebell?" "Nobody said nothing what meant it." "How do you like that?" "What chance has a guy got?" "I used to be as free as air once." "If you ain't careful, I'm gonna let some of that air out of you." "Maybe I better get out of here and get some air." "Maybe you better had." "It's done." "Yeah." "Wait a minute, wait a minute." "Why don't you go out and get some air yourself?" "Who gets the stew?" "That's for al over there." "Tell him not to look for any meat in it." "Oh, I guess he's still complaining." "You got any scratch for them sea gulls?" "Si." "It's ok with me, whatever he said." "Say, can't a man do his work without someone always snooping around?" "I ain't snooping." "How about feeding the gulls?" "You know, you're gonna have all the gulls in the pacific around here if you don't quit feeding them." "Somebody's got to feed them." "When we going sailing?" "When the boat's ready, that's when." "When can I see?" "Will you get out of here and quit being so nosy?" "Oh, you like your old boat better than you like me, huh?" "Well, I can get a gal like you any day." "It's hard to find a good boat." "Is that so?" "Yes, that - don't lean on that." "It ain't dry yet." "Maybe some of them good-looking customers would care more about me than they would an old boat." "Oh, they would, would they?" "Well, how would you like to have your nose painted?" "I never said they did." "Maybe you been making eyes at some of them good-looking customers." "Maybe they been making eyes at me." "Have they?" "I only said, "what if they did?"" "I only said, "have they?"" "Maybe I ain't telling." "Maybe you ain't telling." "We'll see about that." "No!" "Stop it!" "Come back here." "You're going to get your nose painted." "No!" "Yes, sir." "Now what do you think you're going to do?" "What do you think?" "Oh, no, Ed." "Not that." "That ain't fair." "Ain't it?" "No." "No, you better hadn't." "Who said so?" "I said so." "Hey, somebody wants some gas." "Oh, let them wait." "Here, I'll get it." "Let them wait." "I'll get it." "No, you don't." "No, you don't." "Can't you hear that horn blowing?" "I'll be there in a minute." "Aw, go on with your mush." "You ain't much use around here anyway." "Now will you tell me?" "Will I tell you what?" "Have they?" "Have they what?" "Been making eyes at you." "What do I get if I tell you?" "Will you tell if you get it?" "Maybe." "Well, here we go." "Mmm, that was good." "Let's have some more." "Whew!" "Now can I see what you painted on the boat?" "I ain't never seen a girl like you." "All right!" "Go ahead and look." "You won't be mad?" "Naw." "The Ellie May." "Oh, Ed." "Aw, it ain't a very good job." "Maybe I should have had a painter do it." "The Ellie May." "Well, you don't have to feel that way about it." "It ain't that bad a job." "Oh, it ain't that." "It's just that, well, I'm happier than I've got any right to be." "You're a funny kid." "Come on." "Let's go out and feed them gulls." "You mean you ain't heard nothing from Ellie May at all?" "She just up and left." "And she had on my best pair of patent leather slippers." "Well, I hope nothing's happened to her." "I've looked through the death notices every day, and she ain't in them." "Did you call the cops?" "She ain't in the clink." "We'd have heard." "Ho ho." "You still worried over Ellie May?" "It must be a fella." "Well, she's old enough to have a fella." "Maybe she's run off with a hobo, like you tried to do once." "Ellie May can take care of herself." "It's a wonder she wouldn't let us see him." "It's about time that somebody in this family landed something beside a mini-fish." "Oh, say, mame, how about stepping on it?" "We don't own that taxicab, you know." "I know, but, honey, I've misplaced my best hat with the plumes on it." "Where'd you put it?" "Well, now, the last time I had it was in there." "Maybe Homer traded it for a bottle of gin." "Now, look at that." "Oh, look at that, now, will you?" "Now, ain't she a scream?" "She's a riot." "You can't stop her." "Come here and give me that." "I want to go with you and Thelma." "Oh, ho ho!" "Come here." "You've been at my perfumery again." "I ain't been at it." "That ain't your natural smell." "Oh, there's the mailman!" "If Ellie May was like her, we wouldn't have much to worry about." "Oh, quit fretting about Ellie May." "Say, mame, you better keep your eye on that waistline." "It's beginning to spread." "I ain't 16 no more." "Oh, well, with the new corsets, you ain't got nothing to worry about." "You said it." "Where'd you get that?" "From the mailbox." "What's that?" "You're sure it wasn't in mrs." "Espinoza's mailbox?" "Now, what is it?" "Why, it's for me." "Wonder what's here." "Maybe it's a bomb." "Hurry up and open it." "Maybe it's presents." "Now, stop it." "That's all you're thinking about is presents." "Oh... it's my fox fur." "It's from Ellie May." "Where is she?" "Doesn't say." "She's doing all right." "Don't take it so hard, Pete." "The first 100 years of married life's the worst." "Now, I'm telling you." "You're telling me." "Fresh out of cherry pie." "You think you can stand huckleberry?" "It don't make no difference." "All our pies taste just the same." "Hi, al." "Hello, Ellie." "Hello, Pete." "Hello, Ed." "Didn't think you'd be coming back here after eating here once." "I'm gonna see how long I can eat here without throwing up." "Here, let me take a look at you." "Stick your tongue out." "You ain't gonna last long, brother." "Here, let me see." "Oh, i know what's good for that- some nice irish stew, made out of some old inner tubes." "Oh, you can't tell, 'cause it's hid under gravy." "I'll take it and a side dish of arsenic." "While you're waiting, you can be chewing on some celery." "Oh." "One stew." "Delicious!" "What will you have?" "Some coffee and a sandwich?" "Want some pie?" "Best food I had in here yet." "How about a little stretch?" "Well, we certainly made some time." "Well, you're in fast company, dearie." "Say, big boy, how about some of that snappy service?" "Yes, ma'am." "Fill 'er up?" "No, just look at the oil and water." "All right." "What's the matter with elmer?" "Aw, he's passed out again." "Hee hee hee!" "Wake up, elmer." "You're slipping, big boy." "Oh, let him sleep it off." "Oh, say, I want to help." "What's this for?" "Oh, that's the water." "Where do you put it?" "Oh, right in there." "Here, I'll do it." "No, no, I want to do it." "Ooh, boy!" "I always wanted to work around a gas station." "The old gal's feeling pretty high." "Ain't we got fun?" "I always wanted to work around a gas station... poor old Ed's got his hands full." "You'll get us all wet!" "Aw, look, honey!" "You got me all wet!" "You sure get a lot of entertainment around here, boy." "Let's wake elmer up." "Come on." "If you get anything on my new dress, I'll slaughter you!" "Ah, come on." "We only live once." "That guy in the backseat sure got a shower he didn't expect." "Stop it!" "Aw, quit, mame, will you?" "Listen, you know who she is, don't you?" "I never saw her before." "That's Mamie Adams, from over primrose hill way." "And who is she?" "It ain't so much who she is, if you know what I mean." "What right have you got to talk about people when you don't know nothing about them?" "I didn't say anything about you." "Can't people have a little fun out of life without some mealy-mouthed guy like you saying mean things about them?" "Listen, lady, I was only telling him- she may be good and kind and wonderful for all you know." "What's the matter?" "I'm sorry, grampy." "I didn't know what I was saying." "Did he say something you didn't like?" "No, he didn't mean nothing." "Because if he did" "I didn't say anything- hey, what did he do?" "Make a crack about Ellie?" "What is this?" "I didn't say anything to her." "I was just telling him about who Mamie Adams- listen, mister, this is no place for wisecracks." "Take off your glasses!" "Why should I take off my glasses?" "I simply came in here to get a cup of coffee!" "Now, there you are!" "I don't have to eat in a joint like this." "I make an innocent remark, and I get in a great big argument with a bunch of country... did you hear what he said?" "No." "A lot of action going around here today." "Who was that guy?" "Oh, I don't know." "Some fresh guy." "I was going to let him have one." "He made a crack about Ellie." "Oh, he did, did he?" "Now, wait a minute." "Nobody said anything about Ellie May." "Well, he made her sore, didn't he?" "The whole thing's a mistake." "Ain't nobody gonna say nothing about Ellie May while I'm around." "It was a mistake." "It better be." "Well, it was." "You know al- how he always gets balled-up about everything." "Why don't you let me do the dishes?" "Oh, I don't mind doing them, grampy." "Aw, don't let a thing like that upset you." "I'm all right now." "Chico, you'd better go out and look after the customers." "Si." "Ooh, gosh." "Ain't there a lot, huh?" "A lot more than there was yesterday." "When there ain't no dishes to wash, that's the time to complain." "I still don't know what happened between Ellie May and that guy." "Ask benny." "He knows more about it than I do." "How about it, benny?" "What happened?" "Well, when that old girl was squirting water out there, this guy says to me, "do you know who she is?"" "And I say, "i don't know her."" "And he said, uh... what'd he say her name was?" "Oh, I don't know." "A Mamie something from primrose hill." "Wherever that is." "Yeah, I think I know." "It's the other side of town." "You ever seen this one?" "That's an old guy taking a bath." "Oh!" "Ha!" "That's what my schoolteacher did when I showed it to her." "Well, she should have." "Come on, now." "I'm way ahead of you." "Oh, you can't work all the time." "People's got to laugh." "Ho ho ho ho!" "How about letting me in on the joke?" "Oh, you wouldn't know one if you heard one." "Oh, maybe I would." "What was the joke about that old girl that was just out there?" "I don't know what he's talking about." "Do you?" "Say, what's all this mystery stuff?" "What goes on?" "Nothing's going on." "Why don't you go out there and work on your boat?" "Maybe I don't feel like working on my boat." "Now, look here." "Here's one i used to do when I was a kid." "I was very good at this one." "I used to catch- ain't I got a right to know what that guy said?" "He didn't say nothing." "Well, then what'd you jump him for?" "Well, he-he asked for some cherry pie, and I brought him apple and so he got sore- that ain't what benny said." "What'd he say?" "Well, benny said that the guy made some crack about the old girl, and you jumped him for it." "Oh, benny says, i says, you says." "What difference does it make what anybody says?" "Because if anybody makes a crack about Ellie May, it's my job to bop him." "Well, if you want to bop somebody, why don't you bop me?" "Come on, now." "Hey, Ellie... what are you trembling about?" "It ain't nothing." "I just don't feel good, I guess." "There, now." "You see?" "You got her all upset." "Don't you hear that horn?" "Go on out there and tend to your business." "Ain't you going over there and feed them gulls today?" "Oh, grampy, I'm scared." "Well, if I knew what you were scared about, maybe I could help you." "I got a feeling that Ed figures" "I ain't been telling him the truth." "Oh, he's too nosy." "Guess maybe I ain't told him everything I should have, especially about my folks." "Your folks is all right, ain't they?" "Well, it ain't what people is, it's what other people thinks about them." "Well, the world would be a lot better off if there was no people in it." "Well, that ain't gonna help me." "I guess I didn't have no right to all this happiness in the first place." "He didn't, neither." "Maybe he'd understand if I told him everything just like it is." "Well, where there ain't no brains, there ain't no feeling." "That's a pretty bad cough you've got." "Who, me?" "Yeah, you'd better go out and get some cough drops." "I want to talk to Ellie May." "I thought you was through talking." "That's all right, grampy." "I want to talk to Ed, too." "Oh, I see." "You're always talking." "I don't know wherever you get with all that talk." "Look, Ellie May..." "I don't want no funny business between you and me." "Me, neither." "I don't like lying." "I don't, neither." "That's why I was going to tell you about that lady squirting the hose." "What about her?" "Well, that was my ma." "Well, what'd you lie about her for?" "Oh, I didn't lie." "I was just all mixed-up." "Then why didn't you go out there and say something to her?" "I was scared." "Oh, you mean you were scared 'cause she was coming down here to take you away?" "Yeah, I guess that was it." "Now, look, silly, we're married now." "They can't do nothing about us." "But I ain't finished telling you about her." "Well, you don't need to tell me about her." "It looks like she might be a lot of fun." "Well, that's what I'm trying to tell you." "She may be strict with you, but she ain't so very strict with herself." "Well, she ain't the strict one." "Who is?" "Your pa?" "I guess so." "Was that him with her?" "It must have been." "Well, they can't be so very poor, driving around in a good-looking car like that." "Oh, that must have been uncle fred." "You mean the guy with her?" "Yeah, it couldn't have been nobody else." "You must get kind of lonesome for your folks once in a while, don't you?" "Sure, I do." "Then what do you say we barge up and see them some night?" "Do you really mean it?" "Why, sure." "They can't do no more than kick us out." "Oh, they ain't gonna do nothing like that." "You can't tell." "I might get to like them." "Well, even if you don't... that wouldn't make no difference to us, would it?" "Why should it make any difference to us?" "They're your folks, ain't they?" "gonna have a party we're gon- gonna have a party we're gonna have a party" "Honeybell, are you too lazy to sweep that dirt out the door?" "This is where you always sweep it." "Well, you don't have to do everything I do." "Well, then, why do you always tell me to?" "Boy, I don't know how many more times" "I'll be able to make that hill." "Got something for me?" "Go on with your sweeping, Honeybell." "Say, ma... here's them paper doilies to cover the spots on the table." "Doilies?" "Why do you have to spend your good money on somebody you've never seen?" "Well, he's Ellie May's husband, ain't he?" "You don't know what he is." "She may bring him in on a leash." "Here, ma." "That's the chow mein." "Put it in the oven." "Can I help?" "Yes, you can close the door." "Honeybell, you're a nuisance." "You can unwrap them candles." "What are we having, a wake?" "Now, Honeybell, I want you to remember- don't talk too much." "Can't I even open my mouth?" "Well, you can, but-heh!" "Don't let nothing come out." "Can't I even say my piece?" "What piece you learning?" "Granny learned me a new one." "Well, then, you better not say it." "Well, it's no use learning it if I can't say it." "Well, you can speak it some other time." "Didn't she say in her letter that she didn't want you to make a fuss?" "Yes, that's just what she said." "She said she wanted him to meet us just like we are." "Well, how does he expect to meet us?" "Ma, why can't i get married?" "You will probably someday." "All the women in this family are soft in the head." "Well, here we are." "Give it a toot." "Oh, here." "They're coming." "Now, hurry up now, Honeybell." "Help me pick up now, and I've got to fix myself." "Say, ma, make him feel at home, will you?" "I'll make him feel at home." "Your folks sure got as far away from it all as they could." "Well, it ain't much of a place." "Well, it looks all right to me." "I told you we was poor." "Say, listen, I've been thrown out of worse places than this." "Here, wait a minute." "Before we go in... come on." "Well, here we are." "This is Honeybell." "Let me have your hat." "Honeybell, this is Ed." "Well." "Oh, so you're Honeybell, huh?" "Who'd you think I was?" "You know, I thought you was two other people." "Did you bring me a present?" "I plumb forgot it." "If I had known that, i wouldn't have washed my neck." "Oh ho." "Grandma... this is Ed." "Glad to know you." "How do you do?" "Where's ma?" "She'll be out in a minute." "Why don't you sit down, young fella?" "Who do you think you're staring at?" "I ain't staring." "He wasn't staring." "I ain't in the zoo, you know." "I never said you was." "Well, why don't you sit down?" "Oh, ma!" "Ellie May!" "Hello, ma." "Oh, it's good seeing you." "Ma... this is Ed." "Well!" "So this is your young man." "My, ain't he handsome?" "Honeybell, did you give Ed a nice kiss?" "Why should i?" "He didn't bring me nothing." "Nobody learnt you them manners but yourself." "Anyhow, it's nice meeting you." "Won't you sit down?" "Supper will be ready most any time now." "I, uh, I seen you once before." "He seen you when you dropped in for gas one day." "Yeah." "What gas you talking about?" "Down to the beach." "The day you dropped in with uncle fred?" "The day she was down to the beach with who?" "What uncle fred?" "Uncle fred?" "Oh, sure!" "Of course." "Of course I remember." "Sure, I knew I'd seen you someplace before." "Where's pa?" " Where do you suppose he is?" "Pa?" "Well, uh... pa's went down to the library to find out something about them greeks." "You see, pa's what I guess you'd call kind of a bookworm." "You got part of it right, anyhow." "Well, come on in." "I want to show you some of pa's things." "This is where my pa does all of his writing." "And everything them greeks wrote is right in here- you know, ...philosophy- and he changes it into english." "Boy, that would sure be over my head." "Well, he's plenty smart." "Yeah." "Well, doesn't he ever do nothing else?" "Yeah, he gets drunk and falls in the ditch at the bottom of the hill." "Uh, you better run along, Honeybell." "And over here is his diploma." "They give it to him at college." "It says on it what for, but I can't read it so good." "Well, he must be quite a guy." "Oh, I wished he was here so you could meet him." "Uh, well, you run on out there now and make yourself to home while I fix up." "All right." "You go tell him a piece, Honeybell." "I can't." "Why not?" "Ma told me to keep my mouth shut." "Oh, well, you run along." "Come on." "If I get tanned, it's your fault." "All right." "Now come on out here and say your piece." "Look at her following ed around." "Ain't it cute?" "Oh, Ed, why don't you take the comfortable chair?" "Thanks." "You don't see a good-looking man around here often, do you, Honeybell?" "Ain't following him because he's good-looking." "Now, now, Honeybell." "Ellie wants me to say my piece." "Well, maybe Ed don't want to hear your piece." "Oh, sure, sure." "Go ahead." "I'd like to hear it." "Leave her be." "She says it cute." "And don't forget the motions." "Come on, now." "What is it?" "Don't swat your mother, boys." "Now, Honeybell, maybe ed's too tired to hear it." "Leave her be!" "Shall I say it?" "Sure." "Go ahead." "Don't swat your mother, boys." ""Don't swat your mother, boys, just 'cause she's old." ""Don't mop the floor with her face." ""Think how her love is a treasure of gold," ""shining through shame and disgrace." ""Don't put the rocking chair next to her eye," ""don't bounce the lamp off her bean." ""Angels are watching you up in the sky." "Don't swat your mother." "It's mean."" "Very good." "That ain't bad." "Homer." "See you have a visitor." "Homer, I didn't expect you back so soon." "Well, imagine... so this is why you tried to get rid of me." "Oh, nonsense, Homer." "Nobody's trying to get rid of you." "This is Ellie May's hus" "I know who it is." "So, mr." "Hawkins, you choose to affront me in my own home." "Oh, listen to me." "You think I'm a fool?" "Homer!" "It's Ellie May's husband." "Ellie May's husband." "My name is Wallace." "Oh, I'm sorry." "Are you so ashamed to have him meet Ellie May's father?" "Is that why you sent me away?" "Why does he always have to turn up at the wrong time?" "Pa." "Well, there ain't nothing the matter, is there?" "No, he's just pie-eyed again." "Oh, you ain't feeling well, are you, pa?" "Oh, why did you bring him here?" "Why didn't you stay away?" "Homer, please." "Well, now you know." "You know what we are-outcasts!" "All of us!" "Outcasts!" "Don't cry, pa." "Let him cry." "Maybe some of the gin will run out of his eyes." "It's all right, pa." "You sit here." "Outcasts... now, Homer, let Mamie put you to bed." "Wait a minute, ma." "Let me open this." "Let's take his coat off, dear." "Why'd you have to bring him here, darling?" "Don't look so surprised, young man." "Ellie May must have told you he was a souse." "Well, she didn't." "What kind of a family did you expect to meet?" "I don't know." "Well, we're just like you see us." "We ain't no better and we ain't no worse." "Well, who works in this family?" "We ain't on relief." "What are you, a millionaire?" "No, I ain't." "I might have known it." "So that's why you put Ellie out- just because she wasn't in love with a millionaire." "Who said we put her out?" "Well, you did, didn't you?" "I don't know what kind of fairy tale she's been telling you, but she ran out by herself." "And, besides, she took my best pair of slippers." "Hmm." "I think I begin to get the idea." "You begin to get what idea?" "Ain't you gonna stay for supper?" "No, I think I'd better run along." "I guess our supper ain't good enough for him." "Ain't he the stuck-up mutt?" "And you don't ever have to come around here again, as far as I'm concerned!" "Nyah nyah nyah!" "Stuck-up mutt!" "Freshest thing I've ever seen!" "Ellie May, I'm so sorry." "Oh, it's all right, ma." "Ed will understand." "Where's Ed?" "He's gone." "You're well rid of him, if you ask me." "Ed!" "Ed!" "What happened to Ed?" "He couldn't take it." "You didn't say nothin' to him, did you?" "I couldn't be bothered." "She called him a stuck-up mutt." "Oh, baby." "Ma, Ed's gone." "Ed!" "Ed!" "You ain't cryin' 'cause she lost that big baboon, are ya?" "Oh, ma, I've had enough excitement for one night." "Anyhow, it'll leave more chow mein for the rest of us." "You ready to eat?" "I don't want nothin' to eat." "I'll show 'em what a little boy am i." "Well, he's at it again." "Where is this Hawkins?" "Bring him on." "I'll show him." "I'll show him who's got courage in this house." "Mamie Adams, where are you?" "Oh, my." "Put that down." "Hello, Ed." "Where have you been keeping yourself?" "Oh, I've been kind of busy." "We've missed you." "Hey, gang." "Look who's here." "Hi, big boy." "Well, scratch my eyes out." "If it ain't our wandering boy." "Hello, Eddie." "Carmelita, look who's here." "Hi, taco." "Hey, boys, give him a card." "Where's the ball and chain?" "Let's not talk about that." "What's the matter with him?" "Don't ask me." "What's the matter, ed?" "I just feel kind of low, that's all." "A little domestic trouble?" "What do you ask that for?" "I figured it was gonna happen sooner or later." "What do you mean by that?" "I don't want a punch in the nose." "Hey, what are you trying to get at?" "Oh, everybody kind of figured how you were stuck on that Adams kid." "Well, maybe I was." "So what?" "That's why nobody said anything." "Sort of figured you knew who Mamie Adams was up on primrose hill." "You're a pretty right guy." "Nobody wants a punch in the nose." "That's why nobody said anything." "Back so soon?" "Ain't Ed here?" "Ain't he with you?" "I don't know where he is." "He just run out on me." "You mean to say he let you come down here all by yourself?" "Oh, I didn't mind." "I hitched a ride." "What did he run out on you for?" "Everything went wrong." "I guess my folks didn't set with him so good." "He ain't married to your folks." "Maybe it don't pay to be honest." "It don't with weak-minded people." "I'm gonna find him." "Aw, why don't you calm down?" "You make too much fuss about him anyhow." "I'd like to know what your folks has got to do with you." "Nobody darest go too far back." "They'd be bound to find somebody that was hung for horse stealing or something." "Hello, bluebelle?" "Bluebelle, is Ed Wallace there?" "No, I don't want to talk to him." "I just want to know is he there." "Thanks." "Grampy, would you drive me down to the bluebelle?" "I'll get something to throw around me." "I'd like to take this along with me and hit him over the head with it." "Maybe I'd get a little better music out of it that way." "Ha ha!" "Well, come on." "Let's go." "Ed." "Company's come." "I didn't find you at home, so I come here." "Ed, why did you run out on me?" "I didn't like your party." "It didn't turn out so good, did it?" "No." "Ed, ain't you feelin' well?" "You said it." "Don't you think maybe I better take you home?" "Who wants to go home?" "But I gotta talk to you." "Hmm... tell me some more of them lies?" "I ain't never gonna lie to you no more, Ed." "You said it." "Come on." "Join a live party." "I'd much rather talk to you." "You can talk." "Hey, folks, folks." "I want you to meet somebody who's got a lot of class." "Lolita, Carmelita, Dalya." "I think I know everybody." "Sit down." "Waiter!" "Now, how about a drink, huh?" "I'll take this one." "The same thing." "I'll have the same." "How about you?" "I'd like a glass of milk." "Milk?" "Maybe we ain't good enough to drink with." "The other stuff kind of burns my throat." "Yeah, I forgot to tell you." "She comes from a pretty strict family." "They're pretty strict." "They all drink now, don't they?" "That's a good one!" "I think maybe we'd better be going." "Oh, what's the matter?" "What's the matter?" "My friends ain't good enough for you?" "No, it ain't that." "It's just that I don't feel good." "I sort of got a headache." "Hey, tell them about your old man, how he gets a headache writing' about them greeks, huh?" "Maybe cannery girls ain't good enough company for you, huh?" "I ain't said nothin'." "Who do you think you are, anyway?" "'Course, we don't come from a swell neighborhood like primrose hill." "Now, these is all nice girls, ain't you, Carmelita?" "Sure." "Hey, big boy." "Save one of those kisses for me." "Oh, I got some rouge on me." "You got a handkerchief?" "Oh, all right." "Never mind." "I don't like that raspberry flavor." "You used to use vanilla." "Oh, Ed, please don't do this to me." "What's the matter?" "Can't you take it?" "No, I can't take it." "Well, I had to take it." "Go on and tell them what a sucker you made out of me." "Tell them how your family chased you out when you took up with me just 'cause I didn't have no money." "Go on, tell them." "Come back here!" "Ooh!" "So you can't take it, huh?" "Ed, please leave me be." "Who do you think you're fooling with that act?" "Go on out and try and jump off the end of the pier." "Maybe I'll stop you." "Go ahead." "I got it coming to me." "I'll say you got it coming to you." "Go on back up there on primrose hill where you belong." "Go on back to that swell family of yours, do your lyin' up there." "I only lied 'cause I loved you, Ed." "What kind of a guy do you think I am?" "You're a swell guy, ed." "I ain't blaming' nobody." "It's my own fault." "Only I wished you hadn't said them things in there." "I wished you'd just hit me instead." "Now, get this straight." "I never want to see you again." "All right, Ed." "I won't bother you no more if that's the way you want it." "That's the way I want it." "Hey!" "Hey, wait a minute." "You're goin' the wrong way." "Ain't you gonna jump off the end of the pier?" "Come on, big boy." "Forget about her and let's have some fun." "Go on, get away from me." "What time was this?" "Just a few minutes ago." "Then Honeybell comes running over to my house." "We sent for a doctor fast as we could." "Now, look, miss, you can't go in there." "Why don't you get back?" "But I live here." "Oh, are you the lady's daughter?" "How long have you had the gun in the house?" "I didn't have it very long." "I see." "What happened?" "What happened?" "Ma!" "Are you sick, ma?" "It ain't nothin', baby." "I'm all right." "You went to the drawer to get something out of it, and the gun went off, is that right?" "Yes." "That's what happened." "That ain't the way I think it happened." "What makes you say that?" "Don't pay no attention to her." "It happened like I said." "Her and my husband don't get on so particular." "You shouldn't say things you don't mean." "Doctor, it ain't nothin' serious, is it?" "She should be in a hospital, but it's too dangerous to move her." "What she needs right now is rest." "Well, take it easy." "I'll be back to see you again tomorrow." "Everything all right with you and Ed?" "Oh, don't talk about that now, ma." "Sure." "Everything's all right... between me and him." "Oh, I'm so glad." "Poor Homer." "Poor boy." "Let me see now." "That'll be 92 cents again." "What's the matter, joe." "Your arthritis kicking up?" "No." "Maybe it's your liver." "Maybe." "You know, I've been trying some of those new thyroid pills." "Oh, fine." "Here's your change." "Like to try a couple?" "Now, look here." "Why don't you try to take care of your liver and let me take care of mine." "Does that make you feel better?" "A man's got to have some pride, ain't he?" "You ain't gonna get her out of your mind doin' things like that." "Maybe I ain't done right." "Is that what you're trying to say?" "You know what's best for you." "I don't want you to mention her name around me no more, do you understand?" "I ain't gonna mention it, but things was different when she was around here." "I was different." "You was different." "Well, I don't want to hear about it." "I ain't gonna bring it up." "But I think you're blaming Ellie-her for something she ain't done." "I'm blaming' her for lying'." "Maybe she lied to you because she was in love with you." "She must have been, makin' a sucker out of me with all my friends." "Your friends ain't perfect." "All that guck about her family bein' strict." "That family strict!" "I wanted to use somethin' to get the taste out of my mouth." "She ain't her family." "Well, do you think I'd trust her after all them lies she told?" "Oh, you have your faults, too." "Yeah, so have you." "You're darn right I have." "I wouldn't like people who didn't have none." "Well, let's quit talkin' about it." "I won't bring her up again." "You better hadn't." "I won't." "Can't you move?" "Ma, please." "He sits around like a tired vulture." "Don't pick on Homer." "There ain't much to pick on." "Here's some hot broth for you, ma." "Doctor says you ought to take it." "Ain't no use, baby." "Couldn't get it down." "Why don't you eat something yourself?" "I ain't hungry." "Well, at least you got to get some sleep." "I'll set here with your ma." "Ma, I want you and Homer to go out a minute." "I want to talk with Ellie May." "Ma, you got to rest." "Such a lot I got stored up." "I got to talk about it." "Ellie May... if anything happens to me, will you take care of them?" "Please, ma, you mustn't talk like that." "I want you to promise." "I promise." "A lot of people is born to be looked after, and others is born to take care my kids." "It just seems to happen that way." "Ma, don't you think maybe you better try to get a little sleep?" "It ain't all been fun, baby." "I laughed a lot of times... when I didn't feel like laughing." "And I've cried a lot of times when I didn't feel like crying." "It seems kind of nice... and peaceful... lying here like this... just talking things out." "Peaceful." "Go to sleep, mama." "Eat your soup and stop fussing'." "I'm sick of eating soup." "That's all you're gonna get." "There's some on the stove if you want it." "What do you want?" "I want to see Ellie May." "What do you want to see her about?" "I just come up here to tell her I been wrong." "Well, she ain't here." "Where is she?" "She's gone to san francisco with another fella." "She won't be back for a week." "I don't believe it." "You don't, eh?" "You think she's hanging around here, wasting her time on a fella like you when she can get a real fella with plenty of money?" "Well, didn't she leave me no message?" "Oh, yes." "She said if that big horse face come around" "I was to tell him where to get off, and it wasn't the north pole." "So she's gone to san francisco." "That's what I said." "Do you want me to spell it out for you?" "No." "I guess not." "You better send her clothes back here." "And while you're at it, don't forget my patent leather slippers!" "Who was it?" "Just one of the neighbors." "Shh." "She's asleep." "There wasn't nobody here, was there?" "I ain't seen nobody." "Have you, Honeybell?" "There wasn't nobody here that I know of." "Ellie!" "Ellie!" "Oh!" "Oh, no!" "Ma!" "Ma!" "I'll be right out, taxi driver." "Honeybell, take off your rubbers before you go in the house." "Won't you come in and have a cup of coffee?" "No, thanks." "I want to talk to Ellie May for a minute, and then I got to go." "Be sure you thank mr." "Hawkins for all he's done." "I will!" "We wouldn't have had no funeral if it hadn't been for him." "He's what I call a real gentleman." "They don't come no better." "I'll just leave my phone number and address in case you want me for anything." "Thanks, Thelma, for everything you done." "We'll get along somehow." "We always have." "You're taking this too hard, if you ask me." "I hate to go in there." "Place won't seem the same without her." "But you gotta be sensible." "Here's my telephone number." "Things get tough, give me a buzz." "I can introduce you to some real people, and they won't walk out on you, either." "Gosh, I'm hungry." "You shouldn't play so hard, you wouldn't get hungry." "When we gonna eat?" "When Ellie May gets here." "I'm gettin' awful sick of that potato soup." "You got to take the bad with the good." "If ma was here, we'd have some good eats." "Well, she ain't here." "Stop talkin' about her." "Did you bring something to eat?" "Here's some bread." "Nothin' but bread!" "You wouldn't have had that if I hadn't have walked all day." "I take it you didn't find a job." "There wasn't any." "Did you try the canneries?" "I tried every place." "If you had any sense, things would be different around here." "Don't pick on me, grandma." "I'm tired." "Oh, I forgot to tell you." "Thelma dropped by this afternoon." "She's got a nice fella she wants you to meet." "But I suppose you're too high-falutin'." "We'll make out all right... without Thelma." "If you don't mind starving' to death, I don't." "Didn't pa find nothin'?" "He found a gin bottle somewhere." "Is he like that again?" "His breath would wither a geranium." "And if he don't stop mumbling in his beard soon," "I'm gonna call the authorities." "Oh, pa, did you go and sell the rest of them books?" "Oh, what do you want to go and do this for?" "You said you wasn't gonna drink no more." "Oh, is that you, Ellie May?" "Where's your mother?" "Pa, you mustn't talk like that." "She should be here looking after the family." "Why isn't she here?" "She'll be here soon." "Come on, pa." "You got to lay down." "I'll help you." "I don't want to be treated like a little boy." "No, you're not a little boy." "I'm not a little boy." "Come on out and get your supper." "I thought you said you was hungry." "I can't eat that stuff." "Are you gonna eat it, or shall I push your face in it?" "Makes me sick to even look at it." "Makes me sick, too." "But as long as you got the kind of sister you have, that's all you can expect." "I wish my ma was here." "Oh, Honeybell." "Oh, now, don't carry on like that." "I don't want to live here no more." "I'll run away, and I won't never come back." "Your ma was the one that knew how to take care of her family." "Why did she have to go away?" "Please, Honeybell." "You're gonna make me cry." "If you'd quit mooning about that hamburger guy, you might get some spunk." "Oh, hush, grandma." "He ain't goin' out of his way to take care of us, is he?" "Look, Honeybell, you don't have to cry no more." "We're gonna have lots of food to eat and lots of presents." "And everything's gonna be all right." "Now, I think that just about does it." "You sure don't look bad for a homemade job." "Let me have a look at you." "Say, you look better in that than I ever did!" "That's swell of you, Thelma." "I ain't never had such a lovely dress as this." "Oh, I never wore it very much anyway." "Maybe that's your boyfriend." "Hello?" "Hello, pootsie." "I'll say I have!" "And she's cute as a bug's ear." "Sure we'll be ready." "About 7:30?" "Well, what's wrong with that?" "I've had a lot of good times in Frisco." "We'll meet you out in front." "Ok, good-bye." "Was that him?" "That was him." "What kind of a fella is he?" "He's a live wire if I ever seen one." "Is he young?" "Well, he thinks he is." "Well, what's his name?" "You're as green as a salad." "Ha ha!" "What did I say that was so funny?" "No matter what a man's name is, he wants to be known as mr." "Smith." "Ain't it so, lillian?" "There's an awful lot of mr." "Smiths." "I'll say!" "Let me see you walk once." "Oh, I can walk." "You'll do." "Say, I better be gettin' dressed." "How about gettin' out my white satin?" "Yes, ma'am." "Where are we going?" "Oh, we'll have dinner someplace, and then a nice drive along the coast of Frisco." "How's that sound?" "I guess it sounds all right." "Do you mind doin' me a favor?" "Name it, and you can have it." "Could we stop off at the bluebelle for just a minute?" "It's on the way." "What do you want to stop off at a joint like that for?" "There's a guy there that I owe something to, and I just want to pay him off." "Good evening." "How about a table?" "I think so." "Follow me." "Got one over here in the corner." "That the best one you got?" "Let's have a drink at this bar and get out of here." "I'll have a better table for you in a little while." "Well, skip it." "This is really a joint!" "Yeah, the people ain't so high class, but the booze is pretty good." "Hello." "I see you still catching' them sardines." "How you doin' with the suckers?" "They had to toss none back." "Who's that, your uncle fred?" "I just call him daddy." "Where's his crutches?" "When he gets tired, he just leans on me." "How about tossin' your tootsies around, smitty?" "Why not?" "I want to tell that guy off." "Why not let good enough alone?" "Who is he?" "I used to sling hash for him." "Thinks he's pretty hot at repartee." "He's a pretty big guy." "Mostly air." "What do you two want to drink?" "Same thing you're having." "Same for me." "Make it 4." "How so I stack up with them portugee gals, big boy?" "They still got the edge." "Well, I'm learnin'." "It didn't take you long to get underway." "I'm pretty smart." "Oh, mr." "Smith," "I want you to meet an old friend of mine." "How do you do?" "This is, um, mister, um..." "I forget the name." "My name's smith, too." "A lot of us in the phone book." "But they all ain't so high class." "I don't want to get in no fight." "Oh, don't worry." "He only hits women." "Why don't you take mr." "Smith out on the pier and show him some of that high diving?" "He's too smart to fall for an act like that." "I'm not much good in a fight." "He ain't very brave." "He's pretty big." "He ain't very strong." "He eats in his own hamburger joint." "Why don't you slap her down?" "I think I will." "I heard enough out of you." "I knew it was coming." "Ah, don't be afraid of him." "He's just a big bully." "What makes you think you can come down here and pour it on?" "Ah, let go of my wrist." "Don't let's have any trouble." "There ain't gonna be no trouble." "I just want to tell this fella off." "I just wanted to see if you could take it, and you can't." "You had something once, and you didn't know what to do with it." "You wanted things this way, and that's the way you got 'em." "You got me out of your system, and I got you out of mine." "That makes us even." "So long, big boy." "Come on, smitty." "I've said my piece." "Let's get going." "Well!" "What was all the argument about?" "There was no argument." "He just couldn't take it." "Come on, let's be on our way." "See you outside, smitty." "Let me have the check." "Go ahead." "I'll be seeing you." "Sometime." "Don't have anything smaller?" "No, I haven't." "Oh, I'll have to get change." "Boss!" "I want to talk to you." "I can't put up much of a fight." "There ain't gonna be no fight." "I didn't want to come here." "It was her idea." "I don't know why." "I do." "See, we kind of went for each other once." "I made a heel out of myself." "She's just gettin' even." "Don't hold it against me." "I don't even know her name." "I ain't holding' it against you." "I just want to tell you what a swell kid she is, and I hope you treat her right." "Sure picked a nice spot to start something." "Oh, I didn't start nothin'." "I was just finishing it off." "Hope nothin' happened to smitty." "I don't think nothin' will." "If it don't, it won't be your fault." "You tried hard enough." "There he is now." "Come on." "You all right?" "Oh, don't worry about me." "I can take care of myself." "He didn't say nothin', did he?" "Not to me." "Let's get going." "Ok?" "You said it." "Let's get going." "Say, you're pretty quiet back there." "We're doing all right." "Mind if I run up the window?" "What is this?" "Get an exclusive?" "Gettin' drafty." "Agent Frisco." "You're not very talkative." "I'll snap out of it in a minute." "I been noticin' that ring on your finger." "You know, I forgot." "Oh, that's all right." "Leave it there." "That big fella back there your husband?" "He was." "None of my business, but i think he's still stuck on you." "He ain't said nothin' to me about it." "Maybe you never gave him a chance." "What are you doing that for?" "Oh, I like to play." "Look, mr." "Smith, what's all this about?" "My name ain't smith, and besides, I don't want a punch in the nose." "Oh, whatever your name is." "My name's Hawkins." "So I think you two ought to get together." "Get over there!" "Hey, gene, pull over to the curb." "We're gonna unload a passenger." "just because she made them goo-goo eyes" "I thought I'd win her home and catch a prize she is the best what is juanita in my biz just because she made them goo-goo eyes you get to bed." "Tell me another story." "Tomorrow's another day." "And don't forget your thanksgiving." "Can't I say it in bed?" "Say it the way I learned you." "I hope Ellie comes home soon and brings lots of presents for us and candy, that ain't exactly the way I learned you." "And bless grandma and ma and Ellie May and pa, too?" "Won't hurt none." "And pa, too." "Make me a good girl." "Amen." "just because she made them goo-goo eyes that's enough of that now." "You go on to sleep." "What's that?" "Sounds like that big baboon's back again." "He's got Ellie May with him." "You might know something would go wrong with Ellie May doing it." "I take back everything I said about her in my thanksgiving." "Hello, Honeybell." "Hello, grandma." "Here's some nice groceries for you." "Is that what you went to Frisco with?" "We ain't been to Frisco yet." "And I never got there the time you said I had, either." "I don't know what you're talkin' about." "Maybe Ed can tell you so's you'll remember." "Yeah." "You and me's gonna have a little talk." "Remember the time you told me Ellie went to Frisco and didn't leave me no message?" "You can't bulldoze me." "You're through breaking' up happy homes." "Is that so?" "Yeah, that's so." "From now on, I'm runnin' things around here." "I don't have to listen to you." "Oh, no?" "You leave Granny alone, you big baboon!" "And you're goin' to school and get some learnin', see?" "I won't go to no school!" "Yes, you will." "You'll go to school and like it." "Granny, help!" "He's hitting me!" "Take your hands off that kid!" "Stay there, if you know what's good for you." "I'm takin' care of this family from now on." "Is that so?" "Yes, that's so, and if you behave yourself, everything's gonna be all right." "Hit him with the poker, Granny." "You want another spanking?" "I don't take no orders from him." "Tell her who's boss, Granny." "You better do as this big bully says, Honeybell." "That's better." "You ain't so bad underneath." "Now, look, Granny." "Ellie May and me is goin' to san francisco on a kind of a honeymoon, see?" "And here." "That'll hold you until we get back." "What are you gonna do about him?" "I don't know, but he'll have to keep until we get back." "Oh, he'll keep, all right." "He's well-soaked in gin." "Honeybell, you know I don't think that fella's all there."