Harry scanned the headlines
and the sports, then burrowed deep
into the personals ads while he waited
for Wilbur, his business partner, to arrive.
They split a carafe of hi-octane java
on the streetside patio with a strategic view
of the sidewalk while they discussed
the straight-to-video deal they were cooking up.
Harry's got Sandy, a 19-year old from Carson City
he spotted at the Rexall pharmacy last week
stashed in the Starlite Motel down the street.
Figures she'd be great for the baby sitter role.
Back at the motel, Sandy couldn't finish her burger.
it had been three days since Harry, that
producer at Melvin & Jones Productions
had promised to let her know about the part.
Maybe she had been too easy.
She crushed the cold half eaten burger
into the orange paper wrapper
and tossed it in the trash can.
She'd been sitting in that motel room
about as long as she could stand it
waiting for the call. If Harry didn't call
before tonight, she was going to take
the dancer job at the Top Hat Club.
She took the flyer that she'd peeled
off a utility pole out of her purse
and looked it over for the hundredth time.
200 dollars a week. plus tips.
She could afford a real decent place
making that kind of money.
..................
Edna and Mabel were making
their customary noon walk
on a sunny but cool
January day in Hollywood,
so they wore the customary
sensible warm coats they had
purchased soon after the war.
Their husbands, Bob and Abe,
had both been killed two weeks
after the liberation of Paris.
Bob had heard a kitten
mewling in an abandoned farmhouse.
Abe had joined him looking for the cat
when the booby trap exploded.
Today was Rexall day.
Edna bought a box of epsom salts,
and Mabel slipped a tube of her favorite
coral red lipstick into her pocket.
Ted, the sales clerk at Rexall,
saw her do it in the security
mirror over the aisle
but decided to let it slide.
He knew the sisters were
living on widow's pensions.
Besides, they paid for most things,
most of the time.
..............
Frank hosed some fresh oil
off the slab next to the pumps
at the discount gas station.
The shabby Rambler that the girl
selling the oversized teddy bears,
fluffy dogs, and camels
at the corner of the boulevard
drove, had a serious leak.
He told her she should get it fixed
before the motor seized up.
She started crying.
said she didn't have the money
for repairs. Nobody was buying
teddy bears or shaggy dogs lately.
He offered take a look at it,
see if it was something simple.
If she was lucky it might
just be a valve cover gasket.
Said he could fix it Saturday
in the parking lot at his apartment.
It was just around the block.
Frank nodded to Edna and Mabel
as they sailed gracefully by the station
arm linked in arm. They waved their always
properly gloved hands, smiling and speaking
together in a melodious unison
- good afternoon, Frank.
