american tragedy

Chapter 17

Chapter 112
This kind of association may not be a big deal to some people, but it is a very important thing to Clyde.So far, he had not seen such a beautiful girl.Now he finally found one.Moreover, she is still very beautiful, and she still has affection for him, and she is willing to accompany him. Although she is a flirtatious girl, maybe she will be sincere to him?

If she kept her promise, she would meet him next Tuesday at the corner of No. 14th and Wyndott Streets near Greene Davidson.His excitement can't be expressed in words, so he can't do anything.However, in order to show that he was worthy of her, he dressed himself up in a "fancy dress", oiled his hair, wore a bow tie, tied a silk scarf, and wore short stockings. He specially dressed him for this date. The pair of shiny brown leather shoes that I bought set them off especially beautifully.

But after he met Hortense, these things did not necessarily mean anything to her, because she was only concerned with her own appearance, not his.What's more, she had to play some tricks, deliberately keeping him waiting until seven o'clock, which made him depressed for a while.Because what if she made up her mind afterwards that she didn't care about him, or never saw him again? If so, he would naturally not be able to communicate with her.But that is enough to prove that even though he wears beautiful clothes and has money to spend, he still can't attract the interest of beautiful girls.He made up his mind that he only wanted a beautiful girlfriend.Neither Ratterer nor Hegglund seemed to pay much attention to the appearance of their girlfriends, but to him it was a strong desire, and if he was satisfied with finding an unattractive girl, he would feel sick just thinking about it.

Yet he stood alone in the darkness at the intersection, surrounded by many signs and lights, hundreds of people hurrying about, many with expressions on their faces that showed that they were thinking about having a good time and he, perhaps only he, had to go back and eat alone elsewhere, go to the theater alone, go home alone, and go to the next morning work.Just as he was thinking that he might have missed nothing, Hortense's face and figure suddenly emerged from the crowd not far away.She wore a jacket of black velvet, with a collar and cuffs of a reddish brown, and a round cap of the same material, with a red leather button on the brim. A little rouge and lipstick on the face and lips.Her eyes were shining brightly, and this time she still showed the air of complete satisfaction as usual.

"Ah, hello, I'm late. I can't help it. I forgot to have an appointment with someone else. That friend is a really nice guy. I didn't remember until six o'clock that I had two appointments. Now I'm so torn, you two, I've got to turn one off, and I was going to call you up and reschedule another night, and then I remembered you weren't there after six o'clock. Tom wasn't always there either. Charlie is always there, he doesn't get off work until 06:30, sometimes later, he's such a good boy, he never loses his temper or anything. He was supposed to take me to the theater and restaurants too , of course I called him and said to reschedule him for another night, now you should be happy? I let a handsome guy like Charlie disappoint for you, do you think I treat you well?"

When she mentioned others, Clyde's eyes showed panic, jealousy and a little worry.She saw it at a glance, and it made him jealous, and it was a pleasure to think of it.She felt that he was very much infatuated with her.So she shook her head and smiled.As he walked down the street, she walked with him.

"Of course you're kind enough to come," he said reluctantly, and her remark that Charlie was a "beautiful lad" seemed to tickle his throat and his heart at the same time.How could he hope to catch such a pretty, self-willed girl? "You are so beautiful tonight, and this hat and this blouse are just right on you, and I like them both. ’ He stared at her, eyes shining with admiration, filled with a kind of eager desire.He wanted to kiss her so badly.Kissed her pretty little mouth, but he dared not do it anywhere.

"It's not surprising that you have to decline other dates. You are so beautiful. Would you like to wear some roses?" At this time they were passing by a flower shop, and when he saw the roses, he thought of giving her some thing.He had heard Hegglund say that women like people who are courteous.

"Oh, of course, I like roses very much," she answered, and walked into the flower shop. "I'll just have some violets. They're a pretty flower, and they'll look better with my dress."

Clyde's taste for flowers pleased her, and she was flattered by his flattery, and she believed him to be a young man inexperienced with the opposite sex.She likes more experienced young people and adults, but they are not so easy to tease and catch.Nor could she fail to think that Clyde was a step up and a little more refined than the boys and grown men to whom she had for a time been accustomed.Therefore, in her opinion, although he is a bit stupid, she still intends to tolerate him and see what happens to him in the future.

"Oh, these flowers are very pretty, I think I will wear them," she said, pinning a large bouquet of violets on her body.While Clyde paid, she stood in front of the mirror and pretended to repin the flowers as she wished.At last she thought she was satisfied, and turned around and said, "Hello! There you are."So he took his arm and walked out.

Clyde was a little taken aback by her energy and manner, and for a moment he hardly knew what to say.But he is not in a hurry, her greatest interest in life is always talking about herself.

"Boy, I had a great time last week. I was out every night until three o'clock in the morning, and I didn't come back until almost daylight on Sunday. Wow, there was a lot of fun at the dance last night. Burkett Ballroom, have you ever been there? It’s a beautiful place, just a little past the Sky Blue Theater on 39th Street. You can dance in summer, and when it’s frozen in winter, you can skate outside or dance on ice, And the best little band there."

Clyde watched her moving mouth, bright eyes, and quick gestures, but paid little, very little, attention to what she said.

"Wallace Tron was with us, hey, he was such a jerk, and then we sat down and had ice cream, and he went into the kitchen, blackened his face, put on a waiter's apron, put on a waiter's hood Coat, come back and say hello to us. That's a very interesting fellow, and he's done a lot of funny games with plates and spoons." Clyde sighed, for he himself was nowhere near as clever as that Tron.

"Later, when we went back on Monday morning, it was almost four o'clock, but I had to get up at seven o'clock. I was almost exhausted, and my job was almost ruined, if it weren't for those good people in the store Well, we couldn't keep our jobs. That Mr. Baker was the director of our department, and my mischief in the store was a headache for the poor man. One day I was late after lunch, and another The girl rang the time clock with my sign, you know? He happened to be in the doorway outside and saw her. Then at two o'clock in the afternoon, he said to me: 'Miss Briggs (who Call me Miss Briggs, if I let him bark, he'll be pissed off) Asking someone else to press the sign for you is a no-go. Don't do it again. They ain't fools. 'I couldn't help laughing.

He loses his temper with all of us sometimes.But I still made him docile.He was more polite to me, and he refused to fire me no matter what.So I said to him, 'Mr. Baker, listen to me, you can't talk to me like that, I'm not always late, and Kansas, I don't have to be here.If I get reprimanded for being late by chance, I might as well settle my bill, that's all, see. 'I would never let him go like this, but as expected, he softened.He just said: 'Well, anyway, I'm warning you, the next time you show Mr Tierney you'll have to try somewhere else. ' He knew it was a scare, and so did I, and I couldn't help laughing again. Two minutes later, I saw him laughing with Mr. Scout, and I can be a real mess sometimes. "

By this time she and Clyde had reached the door of the Frisell Hotel, and he had hardly a word, which made him feel at ease and at ease.This is the first time in his life that he can accompany his girlfriend to such a place for dinner so satisfyingly.He finally had a chance to taste it now.This romantic taste made him full of energy.Because she had a high estimate of herself and tried to exaggerate her friendship with so many romantic young men and women, he had an idea that he seemed to have lived in vain so far.He immediately thought of what she had just said, about dancing on the ice at the Burkett Ballroom near the Sky Blue Theater, and about Charlie Troon, the young man from the cigarette stand who had made an appointment to meet her tonight. The clerk, and Mr. Baker who liked her so much that he was reluctant to let her go.Then, seeing that she was ordering without regard for his purse, he took a quick look at her face, her figure, and the shape of her hands, which always reminded one of her arms. How slender and round, and her high, full breasts, the curve of her brows, the smoothness of her face and the seductive contours of her jaw.Her gentle and fluent voice also had a special flavor. For some reason, it always aroused his desire and disturbed his heart.It sounded pleasing to him.Oh, how pleasant it would be if he could possess such a girl completely!

In the restaurant, as outside, she chattered on about herself, evidently oblivious to the fact that she was eating in a place that was very important to him.She either admires herself in the mirror, or looks at the menu to decide what dishes she likes to order.Let's have a plate of roast lamb with lotus sauce, no egg rolls, and no beef, ah, yes, let's have a mushroom stew, and finally she decided to go with a side of celery and cauliflower.She wanted a cocktail too, ah, by the way, Clyde had heard Hegglund say that it would be too boring to dine without wine, so he tenderly suggested a cocktail.After they had finished their drink and had another drink, she seemed more energetic, happier, and more talkative than before.

But Clyde noticed that her attitude towards him was still cold and unkind from beginning to end.If he wanted to change the subject a little bit, talk about themselves, talk about his affection for her, ask her if she was interested in other young people after all, and so on.She declared that she likes all her boyfriends, and just threw him away.If they didn't, she wouldn't talk to them anymore, but they had to do it to her.Once she boasted that she "had a tin can tied to them." Her quick eyes flashed and her head swung proudly.

All this fascinated Clyde.Everything she does is seductive and expressive.She seems to like to tease people, make wishes to others, accuse and criticize everyone casually, and then restrain herself.Clyde, however, felt ecstasy and joy in her approach.It's a sweet torture.He was full of itchy thoughts, of how he would hold her close, and kiss her on the mouth, or kiss her until she was breathless! Hug her beautiful body, touch her! Then How wonderful it must be.Sometimes she deliberately looked at him with those watery eyes, which really made him feel unable to control himself.His only dream was to somehow get her interested in him.

But after he watched the play with her and sent her home, he still couldn't see any significant progress in himself.When "The Pirate" at the Libby's began, and because she still had no idea what her interest in him was, she devoted all her attention to the play, talking about similar plays she had seen before, and about the actors and actresses. And her opinion of them, and which lad took her there, etc.Not only was Clyde unable to get the upper hand on her with wit and challenge, and to compare his own experience with hers, but he could only go along with it and be a respondent.

All the while, she kept thinking that she had captured another prisoner this time.Since she was no longer a chaste girl and believed that he had some money to spend, she thought that as long as she could catch him and keep him infatuated with her, that would be a very happy thing.At the same time, when she wasn't enjoying herself enough elsewhere, she would mess around with him.

(End of this chapter)