In Watermelon Sugar by Richard Brautigan

Author:Richard Brautigan
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9780099437598
Publisher: Random House
Published: 1970-01-02T05:00:00+00:00

Book Three:

Margaret

Job

I woke up feeling refreshed and stared at my watermelon ceiling, how nice it looked, before getting out of bed. I wondered what time it was. I was supposed to meet Fred for lunch at the cafe in town.

I got up and went outside and stretched again on the front porch of my shack, feeling the cool stones under my bare feet, feeling their distance. I looked at the gray sun.

The river shone not quite lunch time yet, so I went over to the river and got some water and threw it in my face to finish the job of waking up.

105

Meat Loaf

I met Fred at the cafe. He was already there, waiting for me.

Doc Edwards was with him. Fred was looking at the menu.

"Hello," I said.

"Hi."

"Hello," Doc Edwards said.

"You were really in a hurry this morning," I said. "You looked like you needed a horse."

"That's right. I had to go deliver a baby. A litle girl joined us this morning."

"That's fine," I said. "Who's the lucky father?"

"Do you know Ron?"

"Yeah. He lives in that shack by the shoeshop. Right?"

"Yeah. That's Ron. He's got a fine little girl."

"You were really moving along. I didn't know you had that much speed left in you."

"Yes. Yes."

"How are you, Fred?" I said.

"Fine. I put in a good morning's work. What did you do?"

"Planted a few flowers."

"Did you work on your book?"

"No, I planted a few flowers and took a long nap."

"Lazyhead."

106

"By the way," Doc Edwards said. "How's that book coming along?"

"Oh, it's coming along."

"Fine. What's it about?"

"Just what I'm writing down: one word after another."

"Good."

The waitress came over and asked us what we were having for lunch. "What are you boys having for lunch?" she said.

She had been the waitress there for years. She had been a young girl there and now she was not young any more.

"Today's special is meat loaf, isn't it?" Doc Edwards said.

"Yes, 'Meat loaf for a gray day is the best way,' that's our motto," she said.

Everybody laughed. It was a good joke.

"I'll have some meat loaf," Fred said.

"What about you?" the waitress said. "Meat loaf?"

"Yeah, meat loaf," I said.

"Three meat loaves," the waitress said.

107

Apple Pie

after lunch Doc Edwards had to leave early to go and check on Ron's woman and the new baby to see that they were doing all right.

"See you later," he said.

Fred and I stayed there for a while and drank another cup of coffee at our leisure. Fred put two lumps of watermelon sugar in his coffee.

"How's Margaret doing?" he said. "Have you seen her or heard from her?"

"No," I said. "I told you that this morning."

"She's in pretty bad shape over you and Pauline," Fred said.

"She's having a lot of trouble accepting it. I was talking to her brother yesterday. He said she's got a broken heart."

"I can't help that," I said.

"Why are you mad at her?" Fred said. "You don't think she had anything to do with insoiL just because everybody else does, except Pauline and me?

"There's no proof. It doesn't even make sense in the first place.

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