Desert of the Heart: A Novel Read Online Free Page B

Joyce, Ann,” Bill said. “She’s got all her things. Her card’s in. Ann will show you just what to do, Joyce. And I’ll come by later and see how you are.”
    Joyce, rescued from Silver’s towering burlesque, turned to Bill’s protective, male height with gratefulness and relief. And, because she obviously did not want him to leave her, he walked across the alley with Ann and Joyce.
    “You mustn’t let Silver scare you to death,” he was saying. “It won’t be hard. Ann will show you….”
    He did not consciously intend his speaking of Ann’s name to be the repeated public announcement of his private feelings, but he could not help it. Ann moved away a little to be out of range of his tenderness. Because she could not accept it from him any longer, it touched her like a minor fear or pain. As they reached the door, he stopped and turned back to Ann.
    “I’ve left my ledger,” he said. “I’ll see you later.”
    “Is he married?” Joyce asked.
    “No,” Ann said.
    She put her weight against the door, pushing into the cold, conditioned air, the wrench and grind of the slot machines, the magnified voices of the dealers, the muted crowds. She took hold of Joyce’s arm and guided her through the maze of machines and gaming tables to the escalator, where they rode, half a dozen people apart, to the second floor. It was not as crowded there, but the noise was still beyond measuring.
    “Have you read any of those?” Ann asked, nodding to the mimeographed sheets and the book Joyce held in her hand. “I don’t mean How To Win Friends and Influence People. The only thing important about that book is that old Hiram O. Dicks thinks he looks like Dale Carnegie. So, if you ever run into him—he really looks like one of the janitors—tell him how much you enjoyed his book and how helpful it’s been to you in your work. But that other stuff is important.”
    “I haven’t had time,” Joyce admitted. “I just started this one.”
    Ann looked down at the first paragraph:
Hello! Welcome to FRANK’S CLUB . You may feel a little uneasy right now as you look around and realize that you are a member of this famous family of FRANK’S CLUB employees. Yes, you are a Green Horn in The Corral, and you aren’t sure what is expected of you. Don’t be nervous. Take it easy. All around you are other members of your family, ready to break you in. And every one of them was once a Green Horn himself. Remember, they also lived through their first day. …
    “Well,” Ann said, “when you get past the crap, there are things in that one you should know. Look, you go on up to the next floor. Have a cup of coffee. Read some of this stuff. Come down in half an hour. I’ll be right over there. Then I’ll check you in.”
    “Where?”
    “Right over there by the wagons. If you get lost, just ask anybody for the Corral.”
    At the cashier’s desk, Ann claimed the key for her floor locker where she could put her purse away. The key pinned to her shirt just below her name plaque, her green change apron strapped high around her rib cage, the change dispenser hooked in place, she went back to the cashier’s desk to check out her money. Janet was already there.
    “Five hundred tonight,” the cashier said, shoving a setup, an IOU, and a free pack of cigarettes to each of them. “How’s the kid?”
    “He’s going to the hospital in a week,” Janet said, counting the money carefully before she loaded her apron.
    “San Francisco?”
    “Yes.”
    “Well, he’s getting the best a kid could have. Hear you had a fight with my ma last night, Ann.”
    “That’s right,” Ann said. “I didn’t think she’d tell on herself.”
    “She thought it was funny. She always says, ‘If I’m tanked, I just stay near Ann. She’s unlucky as hell, but she keeps me out of trouble.’”
    Ann smiled. She had finished counting her money and was signing her IOU. “I’ll be back in about half an hour to check a new kid in.