Saturday, January 19, 2013

63RD BINGO BOY episode 1/19/13

Bingo Boy - 63

Marty read it again. They didn't even have milk for the cornflakes. He ate 'em right out of the box. Muscles snored away on the reclining chair in the family room. You know that furniture jobber guy didn't take everything. Some a the stuff is crap. That he left...... Marty says - A hot dog cart. He wants to buy me a hot dog cart. Lousy son-of-a-bitch should drop dead and croak. What's he mean by a hot dog cart? Says I should think about it.(sighs) I could a had two million dollars, at least. Maybe more. I - I - I lost track. Kept stuffin' it in those God damned boxes and saltin' it away. This is my worst nightmare.... Muscles goes - Not your wife leavin' you?.... Marty says - No..... Muscles goes - Not her takin' the kids?.... Marty doesn't answer. He just sits there. Muscles farts. You can hear a fart real good on a fake leather reclining chair. The vinyl acts like a membrane. It magnifies it, like a microphone, like an ear drum..... Muscles mumbles - Excuse me.... But Marty don't pay him no mind. Still, you can tell he's thinkin' about something. Then he goes - Hey, how much you think one a them chrome hot dog carts go for?..... But Muscles is already sleepin' again, so he gets out the telephone book and makes a few calls...

Meanwhile, at the shore, it's cold. It's cold, but it's sunny. The sky looks so blue, like out of a Rogers and Hammerstein musical. All the old ladies are out walkin' their yappy dogs. Breakfast joints got people. Breakfast joins always got people.  Think when you buy a house at the shore, you forget how to cook eggs. Forget how to toast bagels too. Little Chrissie got the Baby in his stroller. He likes gettin' air. She wheels him down to the beach. Not on the beach, just right up to the bulkhead where you can see it. Water looks like a lake, all blue and shiny. Sea Gulls glide 'round like special effects. You couldn't computer generate a nicer scene than this..... Little Chrissie leans forward and says - You want some nice hot oatmeal?...... Baby goes - Yeah, yeah, yeah..... She makes sure he's all tucked in. Makes sure the blanket's coverin' him up real good. Then she wheels him over to The Downbeach Deli for some a that special, homemade, maple syrup and brown sugar kind they got. Wants a get it with raisins, but the waitress says not to with a baby, 'cause raisins might make 'em choke. Everybody makes a fuss over him. They go - Boy! Get a load a that curly, blond hair!..... Little Chrissie goes - Thank you. Baby just smiles and makes 'bashful' eyes.

She's waitin' for somebody. Not Ricky. Ricky went to talk to the real estate people. That's where he's gonna work. Everything's startin' to fall into place. Little Chrissie looks at her watch. Nine thirty. Then another young mommy with a newborn baby comes in. At first she stands in the entrance lookin' around. You know it takes a little while for somebody's eyes to adjust after comin' in from all that sun. But Little Chrissie waves her over. The other one nods, walks in and sits down. The waitress gives 'em another 'set-up.' She pours some coffee.  They just look at it.  The second mommy, Big Chrissie looks tired. She looks nervous. 

At first they're both quiet. Newborn baby's sleeping. Older Baby's eatin'. Little Chrissie feeds him, but he wants a grab the spoon.

Then, all of a sudden, the heavy-set one starts to talk...

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