Aquarius Falling

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

May 12, 1964

An Eventful Evening

“Wow, what happened to you?” Jack asked. “You look like shit.”

He was stretched out on his bunk, a Pabst Blue Ribbon beer in one hand and his dog-eared copy of On The Road in the other.

“Just another day at the beach, Jack.” My grin belied the pain and depression I felt.

“You look like you could use one of these.” He pulled a PBR from a cooler beside his bunk and tossed it to me. I pressed the ice-cold white can with the blue ribbon to the side of my face as I sat down on my bunk.

“Ahhh, this feels so good.”

“Yeah, wait till ya drink it. Then you’ll feel even better.”

I popped the can, chugged half of it, and looked around the room. Nick and Bob were on their bunks reading the Baltimore Sun and drinking their beer. Nick had the sports pages while Bob’s face was in the comics.

“Where’s Jimmy?”

“He and Susan are somewhere swapping spit,” Jack said.

Jack asked about my day, and I gave him a short version of my labors at the Castle in the Sand—how I worked my ass off but got fired anyway. I finished off the beer, then grabbed a change of clothes and made for the shower. The hot water took its time to climb to the third floor, but that mattered little to me as the cold water flushed away the sandy, sweaty grit along with my body’s heat. Finally, I felt refreshed and new again with a light buzz from the cold beer.

“Hey, Delaney, we’re gonna go back to Melvin’s for supper. They got a steak dinner for five bucks. Why don’t you join us?”

“What the hell, why not? It’s just half of my day’s pay.” The baloney sandwich just didn’t cut it, and I figured a steak dinner could knock out my depression. Besides, one always sleeps better on a full stomach.

The six of us paraded over to Melvin’s, where Harriet was our waitress again. She gave Jack a scowl when she asked for his order, and that seemed to put him in his place. The meal was uneventful, and we each paid our bill at the register and walked out into the twilight. To the west, the sun appeared as a ball of orange fire as it dipped into the tree line on the other side of the bay.

“Hey, guys, I’ve got to pick up some stuff for my blisters. I’ll see you back at the dorm.”

“No, man, we’ll stay with you,” Jack said.

I didn’t argue, and they followed me to the next block. We saw a drugstore in the middle of the block on Philadelphia. “This place should have what I need.”

“We’ll wait here on the corner,” Jack said.

I glanced back at them as I was about to enter the open doorway. It was a funny sight, the five of them loitering on the corner, smoking cigarettes and looking at their feet. A middle-aged, red-haired woman was tending the cash register by the door. She looked as if she were sucking on a lemon. She offered no greeting but kept reading a True Romance magazine while a cigarette hung from her lips. The only other customer was a mother with a little girl who looked about six years old. The drugstore was more like a general store that seemed to sell everything. T-shirts hung from the rafters, beach balls, children’s sand shovels and buckets, fishing rods and reels—everything imaginable was for sale in the store. I wandered aimlessly up and down the narrow aisles. It was hard to find what I wanted among all the sundries. I came across work gloves and tried on a couple before finding the right fit. The gloves could come in handy on the next job. There were baseball caps—Senators and Orioles. I picked a Senators cap. I then found the Band-Aids and picked up a box. Before I got to the Coppertone, Jimmy and Susan came into the store, with Bob about ten seconds behind them. I was sorting through the sunscreens when I heard a crash.

“What was that?” the cashier yelled.

I looked up and saw Jimmy and Susan standing over a display of postcards that was now lying on the floor.  They shouted, “I’m sorry! It was an accident!”

The cashier ran toward the fallen postcard display, saying, “It’s OK. I’ll get.” As she did, Bob went to the register, hit a key, and grabbed the cash. The cashier heard the sound of the cash register opening and turned in time to see Bob run through the open door. Jimmy and Susan then bolted past the shocked cashier and followed Bob in a sprint down the street.

“Those bastards! I’ve been robbed! Somebody call the police!”

Then she realized she was the one who had to call the police. She went to the phone, dialed, and told the operator to send the cops. I walked up and dropped my merchandise on the counter.

“Can I pay for these, ma’am?”

“Did you see that?”

“Not much. I just heard the crash. I’ve got to get these Band-Aids to a friend. Can I pay you now?”

“I don’t know if I got change.”

“Well, let’s just see what it comes to, OK?”

I just wanted to get out of there before the cops arrived. I’m a terrible liar, and I didn’t want to have to answer any questions. Her hands were shaking, but she punched the prices into the cash register. The mother and child scurried out while my sale was being rung up.

“Total’s $7.23 with tax.”

“Here.” I laid out a ten. “Keep the change. You need it after what happened.”

I heard the approaching siren and gathered up my purchases without waiting for her to bag them. My heart was racing as I walked north on Philadelphia, the flashing lights and piercing siren of the police car behind me.