Had to give this a try.
Had to.
Story from this wonderful piece of art,
http://eeweems.com/reginald_marsh/artwork/use_the_L_700x530.jpg
Sleeping
by,
William Morgan
What if he wakes up? she thoughtClara's there,keeping an eye out.Should be easy.Man's drunk as a skunk.The stench! Must've drank a whole distillery!
Allie slowly turned her head toward the sleeping man,watching him intensely,her nerves strumming,a light sweat on her powdered brow.
His coat lay open,inviting.She'd noticed the thick wallet he had put away in the inside pocket after he'd paid his fare.He'd stumbled and mumbled his way onto the train,eyes half closed,face flaccid,mind stuporous from copious liquor.
An easy one,she thought, oh, wait'll Clara sees this one!
Clara giggled like a little girl when Allie pointed him out to her.She'd been smoking some serious weed after the dance.What was that guy's name? Chris?Dave?Oh,God, they're all the same, walking cocks with a rudimentary brains. Clara could get them to do anything with a little flash here, and a wink, and a smile there.Allie was too mousy with her limp hair, and her glasses made her look like a stern librarian,although some fellas liked that. If it wasn't for that hairbrush, she'd still be intact,for Christ's sake.No,she was no good with the bipedal dicks.
She had one thing going for her, though.
Nimble fingers
She could pluck a pubic hair from that super-sensitive bitch from Princess And The Pea without her Highness batting an eyelid.
Allie looked around and noticed people not noticing.There were only two other people on the train.An old woman who looked as if she'd escaped from a nursing home. Looked like she'd dressed herself from whatever was on the floor at the time.Pink scarf, red cardigan,green housecoat,and brown stockings that seemed to lay on her legs with protest.her threadbare slippers boasted a rainbow of colors, and stains.She was looking skyward, smiling, her loose dentures dancing in her mouth.
The other person was a man of indiscriminate age,face hidden in a book,wearing a business suit that was one size too small for him.His shoes, she noticed, were scuffed, and his socks were white, well, off white.They'd been washed many's a time.
Business not too good,dear? Thought,Allie,with a sadistic contempt.
Allie slowly scooted,almost imperceptibly,toward the sleeping man.
Clara coughed as she noisily turned the page of the newspaper she was pretending to read.
Allie knew the signal,sat straight up,placed her hands upon her lap and stared straight ahead.
A man came through from the other carriage, carrying a cup of coffee,whistling softly to himself as he walked down the aisle.
"Bernard?That you, love?" asked the old lady.
The man stopped and looked at her,and, with a sadness in his voice, replied
"No, Ma'am.No, I'm not Bernard."
"Shame," she said,"I've been looking for my son for years.Don't know where he went, who he went with, why he went.One of these days, though, I'll find him.Yes, one of these days"
The man stood there awkwardly,then bowed to the old lady,and made his escape.
Alone at last.
Allie, keeping one eye on the sleeping man, and, one eye on the other passengers, gingerly scooted beside him, and then deftly slid her hand into his right pocket,feeling that leather,my God, the thickness of it!
Her heart raced as the thrill of the pick came closer to fruition, her mind imagined what she and Clare would do with that money. Clare'd probably spend it on booze,drugs, and cock walkers(though the way she was going, she'd be better off putting a down payment on an abortion)
And, I, ahh, well, I'll be buying-
"Gotcha! You're under arrest!"
The sleeping man was not sleeping, not drunk, not even high on caffeine,the bastard was pretending!
Pretending!
As soon as she had grasped the wallet,his hand grabbed hers in a vice grip,She tried pulling away,struggling desperately,slapping his face with her free hand,screaming ferociously,but he wouldn't let go.
At the same time, the man in the business suit jumped up, pulled out a gun, and screamed at Clara,
"Police!Don't move! Down on the ground!Down on the ground! NOW!"
Clara sobbed, lay down on the ground,and put her hands behind her back,slamming her feet on the floor in a tantrum while Allie struggled with all her might to get loose from the waking man's grip.
"Lady!Lady!Give it up!You're under arrest!I'm not letting go!"
He then expertly twisted her arm behind her back, and placed his knees against the back of hers and lowered her to the ground.Allie gave a loud huff , and, sigh,then, gave up.
The waking man looked at his partner and said,
"Where the hell'd you get that suit?"
"Sam, he's the only one that had a suit."
"You look fuckin' ridiculous, man. Next time, at least wear black socks."
"Fuck you,Lou, you smell like a brewery."
"Ladies it's been fun, we're goin' downtown,gonna book ya, then me 'n' Steve here are gonna get drunk for real!"
Allie shook her head, rackin this up as an experience,something to learn by.
And Clara? Clara cried all the way downtown.
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2 comments:
Very nice one. You have some great lines and great details here. Plus a surprise ending. Some bad stuff can happen on subways, no doubt. Thanks so much for contributing a story.
Nicely done. I picked the same picture. Also had the women together and the man not as he seems. I like the seeming innocence of the seated woman in Marsh's picture. Invites a playful reading.
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