The Big Both Ways by John Straley Read Free Book Online

good life. You know that, don’t you?”
    A couple of them muttered.
    “You deserve a good life,” she almost whispered.
    “Just bring out the coffee,” someone said, and the others laughed.
    “It looks like you got what you deserved, lady,” a feeble old tramp called out.
    She looked at him and drew in a deep breath, but instead of launching back into her oratory she spoke with a soft, husky voice as if she were alone with the tramp.
    “There’s a lot we all deserve, isn’t there?” And she looked at him with her blue eyes that seemed to make shadows wherever she looked. “Yes, we all deserve things. Good things … and then bad things,” and again she gestured toward her face. “We’re all probably due payment from both accounts. But aren’t you getting tired of only getting paid for the bad? I know I am.”
    The men shifted in their chairs. The floor creaked under the threadbare carpet, and two of the men took off their hats and stared at the speaker, who looked at them each one by one, and she ended up staring directly into Slip’s eyes and holding him there as if he were floating up out of his chair.
    “Ain’t it about time you got some of those good things you deserve?” She looked at them until they could bear it no more. Then she walked around the room shaking their hands.
    Most of the men stood up and looked around for the food. The little man brought out a coffeepot and some mugs and they gathered around as if standing at a campfire. A couple of them stuffed extra doughnuts into their pockets to be kept in reserve for the revolution.
    Slip looked over and saw two men by the door motioningEllie over to where they stood. Ellie refused to acknowledge them. Slip moved between the hungry tramps and tried to get her attention but she purposely ignored him now as well. Finally she handed the coffeepot back to the little nervous man, and walked toward the men by the door.
    They were both several heads taller than she was, with wide shoulders, and one had a long, crooked nose that he aimed as if sighting down a barrel. Then he pointed his finger in her face. He appeared to be speaking slowly and urgently. Slip could not hear the words until one of them stepped back suddenly and said, “Fine, then!” And both the big men walked out the door.
    Ellie walked slowly back toward Slip. Her hands were nervous once again, tugging at her clothes, and she seemed to have shrunken back to size.
    “That wasn’t so good,” she said.
    “Who were they? What did they have to say?” Slip asked.
    “They’re nobody. I meant that the speech didn’t go so well.”
    “I’ve got to talk to you,” Slip said to Ellie.
    “I don’t doubt it,” she said softly, putting her hand once again on his lap.
    “I got a friend who says you’re going to get me killed.”
    “Your friend sounds like the nervous type,” Ellie said. “Besides we got bigger troubles,” and she nodded toward the door.
    “You stole my goddamn money, sister.” Slip blew up. “There ain’t no
we
to this.”
    “I will give you back your two thousand one hundred and twenty three dollars. Trust me. You don’t have anything to worry about,” she said.
    “Why should I trust you?” he asked.
    Ellie was standing by the window holding the curtain back slightly so she could keep one eye out on the street. “That is a good question, and I don’t really know the answer. I just know that you do. I know it because you had plenty of chances to walk away and you didn’t. You do, Jack Wilson. You trust me.”
    “I do not trust you,” he said with as much conviction as he could muster.
    She squeezed his hand again. “We’ll see,” she said.
    Slip felt like shaking the girl in hopes of waking her up, for it struck him that she was acting with an odd formality that he hadn’t seen in her before. It was as if she were aware of someone else’s presence and was consciously putting her best foot forward. Then for the first time, he noticed the