“And why are you waitin here?” he axed me, and I said “My brother works in that factory over yonder.”
He says “Why do you say over yonder, are you from Texas in the West?”
“Texas in the West?” I said. “No, I don’t come from up there, I’m from North Carolina.” “Are there any cowboys there?” he axed, and I lied and said there was, and we talk. I liked that boy a whole lot. We’d a talked more but he had to go home quick. We was fixin to have a race but he left. Why, he had the goldenest hair and the clearest blue eyes, and I never seed him again.
Well at noon I went up to the factory, and seed Slim by the window with a shovel. All I had to do was sit on a barrel outside the window which was open, and watch Slim till it was time for us to eat.
Well, he was workin so fast he didn’t even see me, and when he did, all he had time to do was yell. He bent over with the shovel, and dug into a truckload of fudge, and heaved it up on a belt that rolled around from wheels and carried the fudge clear down the other end of the factory. Before it hit a big roller Slim flatted out the fudge with his hands, then it rolled under and got to be like a sheet of fudge, and then got pieced full of holes by a knife machine ’at jabbed down and made cookies. Slim had to shovel up and then drop the shovel and hurry to use his hands, so’s he never could stop one minute because the belt kept turnin. One time he blew his nose and the man down the way said “Send up some more of that chocolate,” thass how fast ever’body worked and the rollers rolled. The sweat jess fell from Slim’s head and fell in the fudge, and he couldn’t do nothin about it, had no time to dry himself. Then a man rolled up another truckload of fudge, only this time it was vanilla and all white and purty, and Slim jess stuck that old chocolate shovel in there and hauled it up, all streaky. When he spread the fudge with his hands he looked straight ahead and said “Phew!” because that was the only time he stoop up straight enough to talk to himself. That shore was some hard job and I knowed it.
Slim yelled to me “If I stop one second my arms are going to knot up round my neck from Charley Horse!” and jumped back in the fudge. One time he said “Ow!” and one time he said “Whee!” and another time I heard him say “Oh Lord a mercy, I’ll never eat a cookie again.”
Twelve o’clock, a big whistle blew and all the machines slowed down and ever’body walked off. But Slim, he only leaned there on the post and wiped his head and looked at his hands. Next thing you know, his right hand curled up and reached around for his wrist, and he said it was a cramp. Then half of his whole arm curled up like he was showin his muscles, but he wasn’t, it was jess another cramp, and he pushed it back and forth and looked at it, and sighed, and cussed.
Well, he came out and we ate the lunch on the office steps in the hot sun. “I hope my arms are better for this afternoon,” he said, and was glum and didn’t say much more, even when I told him about the little boy I met. Come about one o’clock that big whistle blew again and Slim went back to work.
I watched again. Well, you know, that poor man couldn’t grip the shovel when he reached for it, his fingers was so stiff. When he did close his fingers over it his arms began to shake and had no strength in them, and he couldn’t hold the shovel at all. The man down the fudge-belt yelled “Start up that vanilla will you? We ain’t got all day.” Slim called out to the boss and showed him his arms. Both of them stood shakin their heads and thinkin about this, because it was sad, and Slim tried again to grip the shovel and couldn’t do it, and the boss rubbed his arm some, but Slim jess couldn’t control his arms no more. They were red, and hot, and hurt him. Well, he wiped his hands with a rag, and they talked some, then by and by Slim came out the office door and joined me.
“What happened?” I axed him.
“I jess can’t work any more today, my arms is tied in a knot.” And that’s all he said, and we went home with one mornin’s pay in a envelope, $3.50.
Sheila came home at five o’clock, and hadn’t found a job. Slim told her what happened and we ate supper most silent.
Well, it was the first time I seen Slim gloomy.
“Well I’ll tell you,” he said after supper, and jess soaked his hands in the hot water, “I don’t like them kind of jobs like I had today. I can’t shovel fast enough to keep with no rollin belt like that and I used to be a prizefighter too. I don’t like to sink my hands in no whole tub of fudge. Do you make your own cookies, gal, or buy it? Shoo, what’s I goin to do with a thirty-five-dollar paycheck any how when the groceries theirselves cost about twenty, and the rent’s took up the rest. I can’t be shovelin that doggone stuff up and down myself just so’s ever’body can’t pay extra bills and can’t buy a hat, and my arms get so tired they hang like a broken branch in the tree. I don’t want to complain all the time, but shucks almighty no matter how much I love the world and get my kicks every live-long day, and I think Pic here loves the world and gets his innocent joys every day, and you love the world and feel fine in the mornin, it jess ain’t the same when there’s no dough and the house is black with money debts. It’s like a closet you have to sit in, doggone it, ’stead of a house.”
“Well, you’re just tired today,” said Sheila, and she kissed him on the ear and gave him a fine purty sidelook, and trotted off to make coffee on the stove. I reckon Sheila loved Slim like she was his slave. He didn’t have to do anything but sit there, and Sheila loved him fine, and watched him, and never passed him in the house without she touched him and sometimes winked at him.
Well, it was mostwise a glum evenin, like you can see, but somethin else happened jess then.
A tall man all well dressed and smilin come in the door, and whoopeed:—“Slim you old tadpole,” and ever’body began laughin and forgot their troubles for then. “You know why I’m here, man?” said the man, his name was Charley, and Slim lit up bright and said “You mean?”
“Yes, thass right, a job, and not only that I got a horn for you.”
“A horn? A horn? My kingdom for a horn! Less go!” and we all went downstairs to the street. Some other man was in the car that had the horn in it, and Slim took the horn out the case and blooped in it a little bit, right on the sidewalk, and felt jess grand. “Where we blow?” he said, and Charley said it was at the Pink Cat Club. “Do I have to wear a suit?” Charley said he shore did have to because the boss man at the Pink Cat was jess complete persnickity about such things and wouldn’t pay Slim no five dollars if he didn’t like him.
“Well hoe-down! Here we go for five dollars Sheila baby,” Slim said, and ran upstairs as fast as he could run to put on his suit. Sheila hurried and put on a nice dress, and brushed me up some, and here we was all goin to the Pink Cat Club together not five minutes after Slim had sat so glum and sad. Grandpa, life ain’t happy, and then it’s happy, and goes on like that till you die, and you don’t know why, and can’t ask nobody but God, and He don’t say nothin, do He? Grandpa, Slim and Sheila was so fine that night I knowed God was on their side jess then, and I thanked Him. Ain’t I right, grandpa, to pray when I feel grateful and glad like I did then? Well, that’s what I done.
The man zipped that car, and ever’body was glad, and it started rainin but nobody paid it mind, and we got to the club real early and set parked in front of it a minute whilst Slim and the men had theirselves a smoke and talked. We was still in Harlem about thirty streets up along the way, and it still looked like jess where we lived. The rain got on the street and made the purtiest manner of red and green lights, jess like a Arabian Nights and made rainbows. It was a fine rainy night for Slim to start workin inside that club in, and for me and Sheila to hear him. Well we shore had fun in that car. Slim took out the horn again and went “BAWP” with it to try out the lowliest note and then tried a run up and down the middle notes, and finished up with a little high “BEEP” and ever’body laughed. “Ouch my fingers,” Slim said. Those two fellows was fine fellows, Charley and th’other man, ’case they shore admired Slim and watched.
“Only thing, Slim,” Charley said,
“that suit of yours is a little beat.” Slim’s suit was his onliest suit, and it was a old blue coat with the whitebelly insides showin out under the arms, and there was a rip in the pants he didn’t have time to sew up. Charley said “I know it’s the only suit but this Pink Cat joint is s’posed to be a cocktail lounge, you know, nobody’s satisfied anymore with a regular old saloon.”
“Well,” Slim laughed, and didn’t care, “less go play some music.”
And we all went in the Pink Cat Club suit or no suit, on time or early or what-all, you know. Well, it was early. The boss wasn’t there yet. The bandstand wasn’t lit up. Folks was drinkin at the bar and playin the big jukebox machine and talkin low.
Slim ran up the bandstand, and clicked on the light. “Come on Charley, let’s have some piano.” Charley allowed it was too early and hung back shy, but Slim allowed no such thing and dragged him up there. Charley said the other boys in the band wasn’t here yet but it made no difference to Slim. The other man that was with us, he was the drummer, and didn’t say nothin, but just sat down behind Slim and knocked the drum and chewed his gum. Well, when Charley seen this he decided to sit down at the piano and play the music too.
Sheila bought me a Coca-Cola and made me sit down in the corner by myself to watch. She stood up right in front of Slim whilst he played his first number and didn’t ever move from there till he was finished, and he played the whole first song to her. He blew in the horn, and moved his poor fingers, and I tell you grandpa he made the purtiest deepdown horn-sound like when you hear a big New York City boat way out in the river at night, or like a train, only he made it sing up and down melodious. He made the sound all trembly and sad, and blew so hard his neck shaked all over and the vein popped in his brow, as he carried along the song in front of the piano, and the other man swisht the drum with the broom brushes soft and breezy. And on they went. Slim never took his eye away from Sheila till the middle of the song, then he remembered me and looked across the room and pointed the horn at me and play extra purty to show me how good he could play even though his hands was hurt and he couldn’t work in that old cookie factory. Then he turned the horn back to Sheila and finished the song with his head way down on the mouthpiece and the horn against his shoe, and stood like that bowed.
Well you know, ever’body at that bar clapped, and was excited too, and one man said “You blowed that one, son,” and I could see they liked Slim better and shut down that jukebox by all means.
Sheila come over and sat with me, and there we was, right by the window and could see the purty lights out on the wet street, and see the whole bar and all the folks in front of us, and the bandstand perfect. Now Slim beat down his feet real fast and the drummer man walloped one, and off they went and jumped. Whoo! Slim jess grabbed that horn and hoisted it up and blew with all his might and moved his head from side to side with his jaws workin hard and fast like workin with his hands that day. When I seen that I realized how strong Slim was all over, and made of iron.
Ever’body at the bar jumped when they heard him.
“Yes, yes, yes, yes,” yelled that man at the bar and grabbed his hat and hung on to it and stepped up and down in front of ever’body jazzy. He shore could make his feets go, that gen’l’man. Well, he was dancin to Slim.
Slim, he was walkin up and down where he was and jess carryin along that jump-song goin as fast, well, like that bus I was tellin you about earlier. He was pushin the horn to go ever’ old way zippin here and zoopin there, he then all drawed-out himself on one breath way high up, and threw it way down “BAWP” and back again in the middle, and the drummer-man looked up from his crashing sticks and yelled “Go Slim!” jess like that. Charley, he was poundin on the piano with all his fingers spread, blam, jess when Slim is catchin his breath, and blam again when Slim comes back. Grandpa, Slim had more breath than ten men and could go on all night like that. Wow, I never heard anything like it, and anybody makin some noise and music by himself. Sheila, she jess sat there grinnin at her old Slim and knocked her hands together under the table to the beat of the drum. Well, I done the same thing. I shore wished I could dance right then.
“Go, go, go!” yelled that man with the hat and flipped himself back and pawed at the air with his arms and said “Great-day-in-the-mornin!” jess as loud as a big old fog-horn ’bove the noise. Whee, he was funny.
Well now Slim was startin to sweat because nobody wanted to stop, and he didn’t wantsa stop neither and blew right on in that horn till the sweat begun pourin down his face jess like it did over the shovel in the mornin. Oh, he jess watered that bandstand from sweat. He didn’t ever run out of anything to play ever’time he crossed from one end of the song to th’other, and had a hunnerd years in him of it. Oh, he was grand. That song lasted twenty minutes and the folks at that bar got out in front of the bandstand and clapped in time for Slim in one great big jumpin gang. I could jess see Slim over their heads with his face all black and wet and like he was cryin and laughin all at the same time, only his eyes was closed and he didn’t see them but jess plain knew they was there. He was holdin, and pushin that horn in front of him like it was his life he was rasslin with, and jess as solemn about it, and unhappy. And ever’ now and then he made it laugh too, and ever’body laughed along with it. Oh, he talked and talked with that thing and told his story all over again, to me, to Sheila and ever’body. He jess had it in his heart what ever’body wanted in their hearts and they listened to him for some of it. That crowd rocked under him, it was like the waves and he looked like a man makin a storm in that ocean with his horn. One time he let out a big horselaugh with his horn, and hung on to it when ever’body yelled to hear more, and made all kinds of designs with it till it didn’t sound like a horselaugh no more but a mule’s heehaw. Well, they axed him to hold that but he moved on to a high, long drawed-out whistle that sounded like a dog whistle and pierced into my ears, but after awhile it didn’t pierce no more but jess was there like ever’thing was made dizzy like Slim felt from holdin that long note. It made you sympathize before he jumped on down back to reg’lar notes and made ever’body jump and laugh again.
A bunch of new folks come in and Slim seen them and decided to end the song there.
It wasn’t time to play yet anyhow. He wiped himself with a towel from the kitchen and we all sat down together in the corner, with Charley and the drummer-man. A man come over from the bar and axed Slim if he ever played with a big band. “Ain’t I seen you with Lionel Hampton or Cootie Williams or somebody?” Slim said no, and the man said: “You ought to be with a big band and start makin yourself some money. You don’t want to play for peanuts in a place like this all your life, with a taped-up horn. Go down see an agent.”
“Agent?” Slim said. “Is that who you see to work with a band?” Slim was s’prised and didn’t know any of these things.
Another man come by, and laughed, and shook Slim’s hand, and walked back to the bar, jess like that without talkin.
This was how they liked Slim, and what a real fine musician he was.
Well, here come the boss walkin in at nine o’clock, and the rest of the band is with him, includin the leader, who was Charley’s older brother, and they all get ready to go on the bandstand. But that big sharped-up boss man seen Slim’s tear under his coat and said, “Haven’t you got a better suit than that? No? Can’t you borrow one from one of these boys?” Ever’body looked at ever’body else, and talked about it, and come to figure there wasn’t but one suit they could loan him, only it was down in Baltimore. Well, Baltimore is a long ways off, and the boss had to admit it when he thought about it, but he jess didn’t seem to like the idea of Slim in that poor awful suit. He hedged and hawed about it, and began shakin his head after awhile, and I began to see Slim’s chance to make five dollars was all ready to go wrong. Slim seen that, and argued with the boss. He said “It don’t make no difference, nobody’ll see me, looky here I’ll hold my arms down” and showed him.
“Well,” said that boss, “I kn
ow but I’m havin a big holiday crowd tonight and it’ll be pretty toney as it gets in the later hours, and it just wouldn’t look good, don’t you see. It’s just not, ah, hem, the thing.” And if you ask me, grandpa, I’d say he wanted to save that five dollars anyhow. One of the boys in the band was sick and Slim was only takin his place, and the boss figured he didn’t need nothin or nobody, and didn’t.
So out we went, Slim, Sheila and me, to go home, and walked it this time, in the rain. And you know the first thing Slim said?:—“I didn’t really get goin on that horn tonight,” and that was what he was worried about. Sheila didn’t say nothin, but jess held Slim’s arm and marched along with him, and enjoyed the walk, and seemed gay.
Well, Slim asked her what she was so gay about, and she told him. You know how poor they was, and the money worries they had that very day, and the rent comin up in a day or two like Slim said. And you know how Slim was always talkin about Californy, and seemed to hint to Sheila about her comin there with him. I didn’t tell you. but he come from Californy to marry her before he come to get me, and was out there most of the time since he left North Carolina in his boyhood. Well, Sheila took all that and wrapped it up in one package for Slim, like a Christmas present, and said “Let’s use that hundred dollars in my girdle and go to California. I’ll tell my mother we have to do it and can’t help it. We’ll stay at my sister’s house in San Francisco to start with. Then we can get jobs, there as well as here I guess. What do you think?”
“Baby,” laughed Slim and hugged her, “that’s just what I want to do.”
And that’s how we come to decide to go to Californy, on that day Slim lost two jobs.
11. PACKING FOR CALIFORNY
WE SPENT TWO WHOLE DAYS PACKIN. Sheila’s mother lived right around the corner and come to visit us three, four times to argue with Sheila about goin to Californy cold like that. Seems Sheila’s family lived in New York so long, with such long jobs, they didn’t believe in traipsin around the country like that, and once tried to stop Sheila’s sister from goin to Californy, that was Zelda, the one we was goin to live with out there. But Slim said, “New York people are always afraid to move from where they are. Californy is the place to be, not New York. Didn’t you ever hear that song Californy Here I Come, Open Up That Golden Gate? All that sun, and all that land, and all that fruit, and cheap wine, and crazy people, it don’t scare you so much when you can’t get a job because then you can always live some way if you even just eat the grapes that fall off the wine trucks on the road. You can’t pick no grapes off the ground in New York, nor walnuts either.”