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Chapter five

Out on the Street

I went to live with Roland Major in a really nice apartment that belonged to Tim Grays parents. We each had a bedroom, and there was a big living room where Major sat writing his short stories. He was a fat, red-faced hater of everything who could turn on the warmest and most charming smile in the world when he wanted to.

The Rawlinses lived near the apartment. This was a lovely family - a young mother, with five sons and two daughters. The wild son was Ray Rawlins, and one of Rays sisters was a beautiful blonde called Babe. She was Tim Grays girl. And Majors girl was Tim Grays sister Betty. I was the only guy without a girl.

I asked everybody, “Where’s Dean?” They smiled but said they didn’t know.

Then it happened. The phone rang and it was Carlo Marx. He gave me the address of his apartment and I rushed over to meet him.

“Where’s Dean?” I asked him.

“Dean’s in Denver,” he said. And he told me that Dean was making love to two girls at the same time. Marylou, his first wife, and Camille, a new girl.

Carlo and I went through the streets in the Denver night. The air was so soft, the stars so beautiful, the promise of every street so great, that I thought I was in a dream. We came to an old red-brick building and went up carpeted stairs. Carlo knocked, then moved back to hide. He didn’t want Camille to see him. Dean opened the door. He had no clothes on. I saw a dark-haired girl on the bed, one beautiful creamy leg half-covered. She looked up.

“Sal!” said Dean. “You’ve arrived! You finally got on that old road. Now, Camille -“ He turned toward her. “This is my old friend from New York. It’s his first night in Denver and it’s absolutely necessary for me to take him out and find him a girl.”

“But what time will you be back?” she said.

“It is now -“ He looked at his watch. “Exactly one-fourteen. I shall be back at exactly three-fourteen for our hour together, darling, and then, as you know, I have to go and see the one-legged lawyer - in the middle of the night, strange as it seems.” (This was so that he could see Carlo later, who was still hiding.) We rushed off into the night, and Carlo joined us downstairs.

“Sal, I have a girl waiting for you this very minute,” said Dean. “A waitress, Rita Bettencourt, and I’ve just got to make love to her sister tonight. Tomorrow I know where I can find you a job in the Camargo markets.”

We got to the house where the waitress sisters lived. The one for me was still working, but the sister that Dean wanted was in. We sat down on her couch. I was due to phone Ray Rawlins at this time, and I did. He came over at once, took off his shirt, and began putting his arms around Mary Bettencourt. Bottles rolled on the floor. We drank. Three o’clock came, and Dean rushed off for his hour with Camille. He was back soon, and the other sister came. We needed a car now, and Ray Rawlins phoned a friend who came with his. We all jumped in.

“Let’s go to my apartment!” I shouted.

We did, and ran shouting into the building. Roland Major stopped us at the door. “I won’t let you behave like this in Tim Gray’s apartment!” he said.

“What?” we all shouted. Everything got confusing. Rawlins was rolling on the grass with one of the waitresses. Major was shouting, “You can’t come in!” Then we all rushed back to the Denver bars and I was suddenly alone in the street with no money My last dollar was gone.

I walked five miles up to Colfax to my comfortable bed in the apartment. Major had to let me in. The nights in Denver are cool, and I slept like a baby.