The Heavenly Table

“Okay, okay,” Cane said. He reached into his coat pocket, pulled out a roll of bills, counted some off. “Here’s two hundred. Even at four dollars a shot, that’s fifty pieces of ass.”


“Yeah, but what about—”

“No, that’s it. You run through that, I expect to see you walkin’ bowlegged.”

“You sure you don’t want to go with me tonight? Try out that fat one?”

“No,” Cane said, shaking his head. “We’re gonna go see that show at the theater, the one with the monkey.”

“Well, suit yourself,” Chimney replied. Secretly, he was relieved. He’d been thinking that he might spend the entire night with Matilda if the pimp was agreeable, and having his brother along would just complicate things up. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

“Be careful out there,” Cane said. He finished reading the newspaper, and thirty minutes later he and Cob each paid the fifty-cent admission fee and entered the Majestic. The place was packed and their seats were near the back under the balcony. A shiny-faced man in a tuxedo came out and told a few jokes, including one about a farmer with a homely daughter who put the Jewett Gang up for a night, thinking they were traveling salesmen. Thankfully, Cob wasn’t paying any attention, the main thing on his mind at the time being the popcorn he was eating. But as soon as he swallowed the last kernel, he started asking Cane when the monkey was going to appear until finally an old woman with an ear trumpet seated in front of them told him to keep quiet.

Donald Ray Pollock's books