The Executioner's Song by Norman Mailer Read Free Book Online Page B

a problem. No patience.
     
    The poker games continued. Different people. By the third night, Sterling got Rikki aside and asked if he would take Gary somewhere. The guy was really getting on everybody’s nerves.
    So Rikki asked if he wanted to chase down some girls. Gary said Yeah.
    Rikki soon decided this was the horniest guy he had ever met. He was crazy.
     
    Rikki had split up with his wife again. He had been with Sue for six years ever since he was 17 and she was 15. They had three kids, and they knew how to fight. So Rikki now started to kid Gary. Told him how beautiful Sue was, big beautiful mean-looking blond yet a nice chick. Now that she was mad at her husband, maybe she’d like to meet Gary.
    In fact, Rikki had been so mad at her the last time he left that he took all the money in the house plus the food stamps and the welfare check. It would put her out of her mind for sure if he was to send over a steamed-up dude like Gary. So Rikki had said it, kind of half joking.
     
    Once the possibility was there, though, Gary wouldn’t quit bug ging Rikki about it. Rikki told him he had only meant it as a joke, it was his wife, man! But Gary kept asking when Rikki would take him
     
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    THE EXECUTIONER’S SONG
    over to Sue’s house. When Pdkki finally told him, No way, Gary got so mad they almost did have a fight. Rikki had to get Gary off the subject by saying they could go drag Center Street. Rikki was pretty good at chasing girls, he let Gary know.
    So they went up and down in Rikki Baker’s GTO. Would pass girls cruising in their cars and try to wave them over, then circle around and go down Center Street again, see the same girls, try to wave them over a second time, just driving side by side in traffic, part of a long line of other dudes in their cars, and pickup trucks, and the chicks in theirs, everybody’s radio going real loud.
    Gary got bored with the lack of positive results. When they came to a red light behind one carful of girls who’d been teasing them, he jumped out and stuck his head in their window. Rikki couldn’t hear what he was saying, but when the light turned green and the girls tried to take off, Gary wouldn’t get his head out of their window. Didn’t care about the cars stuck behind, or anything. After the girls finally got going, Gary wanted Rikki to chase them down. “Ain’t no
    way,” said Rikki.
    “Do it!”
    With all the traffic, Rikki couldn’t catch up. All the while, Gary was yelling to make a move and show he was as good as he said.
    They had started too late in the evening, however. There were a lot of cars with guys but only a few with girls, and they were just fooling around and very cautious. One had to come up on them easy, not scare them right out of the water. Gary made him promise to go out earlier next time.
    As they were saying good night, Gary had a proposition. What would Rikki think about learning up? Make a little money at poker.
    Rikki had already heard about this from Sterling. He gave Gary the same answer Sterling had given: “Well, Gary, I couldn’t cheat against my friends,” he said.
    For reply, Gary said, “Can I drive your car?” Being a GTO, it was a fast automobile. This time, he said yes. Figured he’d better. Not getting his way, bent Gary too far out of shape.
    The moment he got the wheel, he almost killed them. Took a corner fast and nearly hit a stop sign. Then he didn’t slow down at the intersection and went cata-humping over the drainage ditch that was there to slow you down. Next he almost ran some people off the road, in fact, one car coming toward them had to go onto the shoulder. Rikki kept yelling at him to stop. It felt like an hour with a madman. Gary kept telling him all the while that it was not bad considering how long it had been since he drove, and Rikki was near to having a heart attack. Couldn’t get him to stop until Gary popped the clutch without enough gas and the motor conked. Then he couldn’t get it