To her credit, Brooklyn never told anyone a single thing about her and Bill. She was especially careful not to offer any clues or indication of what was going on to Lily. She sucked up Bill like the succulent lollipop she’d thought he was from the start and she ate him up voraciously.
For his part, the one thing he’d remember about her was how sweet she was. She reminded him of this girl – it just worked out that way – he’d known when he was about fifteen. Her name was Mary Lamb. That was her real name and he was sure that at the time that he knew her she’d already taken a lot of guff for it and that she’d probably take a lot more for the rest of her life.
Anyway, there was a song about kisses being sweeter than wine. Well, Mary Lamb’s tongue tasted like pure white cane sugar. Sweetest tongue, sweetest lips he’d ever known. Brooklyn was near as sweet to taste and she tasted good all over.
He knew he was a dog for doing it. He knew he was a dog altogether. But it was done now, and he’d gone back to doing Arlene and Mary too and he was starting to feel glad that he’d be leaving this restaurant soon.
At first he was feeling very anxious about making any changes. After having been so broke that they’d had to borrow money every month to pay rent, they were now free and clear, had cleared off all debt including the money he’d borrowed from his father for his last quarter’s tuition. They had a good car and were on their way to being pretty well set.
If he had his preference, and thus far in his life he hadn’t really had much of his preference, he would’ve stayed there, maybe he would’ve been single. But it was what it was and the way it was he was kind of happy to finally be ending it. He liked Arlene a lot as a friend, as a friend with benefits, and he loved Mary, truly deeply loved her. So it was too complicated and it was time to move on.
He used the time his wife was away wisely. He had a lot of fun with Brooklyn. He stayed several times at Arlene’s house. They talked and messed around and drugged and had just a generally good time. He took Mary to the Upper Room one last time. This turned out to be a memorable time because on some level they formalized their goodbye but on another level they formalized their love for each other. Bill would remember way back when he first started at Suburban that Mary had told him that you always loved you first crew. She said you always remember them and you always love them.
Well, as Bill was starting to get ready to be leaving this place, he knew there were certain people he really would love forever and he knew that he would never forget any of them. From the dishwasher who’d been kicked by the horse and was crazy in the head to Henry Lee’s wife who insisted that he do her as a payback to her husband to the salad girl Marie who simply wanted to be with a white guy and finally had her hair cut by Alfreda in Alfreda’s fit-passion – he would remember them all.
First and foremost was Robert, that dark, dark chocolate teddy bear of a man at the City Hall Annex who had looked so sad standing there in his workhouse blues that day holding the broom but not pushing it too much, who Bill offered a cigarette to because he didn’t have any money to give him for his workhouse commissary. Robert, the numbers runner for Mr. Bowman, Mr. Suburban, the broiler cook and head cook for the whole operation who six weeks later happened into Bailey’s office to do Bailey a favor and give somebody from the workhouse – he didn’t know who – a job.
Pick up a copy of all my works here: By Peter Weiss
