R L'S Dream by Mosley Walter

Author:Mosley, Walter [Mosley, Walter]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Washington Square Press
Published: 2010-06-10T16:00:00+00:00

“Mary’s store was a big square room with a counter running across the back wall and shelves full of canned and boxed goods behind that. In the middle of the floor she had a pool table that had been shipped all the way from Ohio.

“There were tables and chairs around the room for nighttime when people came out to drink.

“Mary, who was a big woman, sat next to her cashbox behind the counter. She eyed every soul who came through the door. So when me and RL come in lookin’ like yesterday’s po’k chops she say, ’What’s wrong wit’ you an’ yo’ friend, Soupspoon Wise?’

“I told her that Heck Wrightson had us in jail but she says, ’ I know that. What I mean is why do yo’ friend look so beat-up?’

“RL was lookin’ ’round the room like a man comin’ awake after a long afternoon nap. ’You got music tonight, Mary Wade?’ he asked her. She said no. It was a weeknight and the juke joint wasn’t gonna have enough customers to pay musicians to play.

“But RL says that we’d play for a bottle’a whiskey and a hat on the table. ‘Yeah, momma, he said to Mary. ‘We play the house down for a quart bottle and a hat for some tips.’ And RL cracked a smile that woulda made a sweet girl’s photograph cry.

“He said, ‘You know we bluesmen, Mary Wade. Bluesmen born to trouble in a land Christendom never seed.’

“Mary was no saint. She loved the blues and the men and women who played it. She got all coy and toothy and said, ’You and Soupspoon can play okay. I give ya a pint right now an’ if we get some people in here like you had outside then I’ll pass you over another pint.’

“We took our bottle and sat at a table in the corner. I told RL that I couldn’t play too well because of my shoulder. It was stiff from where Heck hit me. RL rubbed his swole chin an’ said, ’You just strum on behind me, Soup. You just follow me an’ I show you how t’get there.’

“Booby and Linda got the word ‘bout us an’ come by t’help us drink our liquor.”

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